After closing the study door, Lu Wanzheng went straight to the kitchen. She didn't know when Mr. Xiao had gotten up. She took out coffee beans from the cabinet and started grinding them by hand, leaning against the edge of the countertop as she did so.
The year has passed too quickly, and the New Year is just around the corner. During this time, Xu Jingxing and Xiao Qifeng's people have been searching for traces of their mother in the south, but too much time has passed, and the traces of that year have long been washed away by time.
She doesn't know when she'll be able to find him. She also has another question: if her biological father is still alive after her mother was rescued, would he have remarried? What would be the point of her finding her father then?
But if her biological father died in that accident back then, then what is she doing looking for this family? It can't be that she's looking for revenge.
Thinking about it this way, Lu Wanzheng didn't know what to do about her unknown father and his family. Now she could only take things as they came. If she could find them, great; if not, so be it. She always cherished family ties, but she didn't crave them. She had a lover now, and his family liked her very much, which made her feel less worried.
She put the ground coffee powder into the coffee machine, and the hot coffee flowed out. Lu Wanzheng took a cup of coffee. She had learned how to froth milk when she was filming before, but she didn't know many patterns on coffee. She only knew a few simple patterns, but that was enough.
She made a heart shape, found a tray, and carried the coffee back to the study. She tiptoed into the study, where Xiao Qifeng was still in a meeting. When she entered, she saw that he had a furrowed brow, probably troubled by work. Not wanting to disturb him, she tiptoed to the desk, making sure her figure wasn't seen by the person on the computer. She moved the coffee to Xiao Qifeng's right front, so he could reach it with one hand.
Xiao Qifeng looked up and saw that there was twice as much coffee beside him. Lu Wanzheng mouthed to him, "I ground this coffee by hand. Try it. I won't bother you anymore." He nodded to her, his expression no longer showing the annoyance he had just displayed, and was now quite gentle.
After delivering the coffee, Lu Wanzheng left again with the tray.
Xiao Qifeng spent more than two hours in the meeting. He twisted his slightly sore neck, which was aching from sitting for so long. The coffee cup on the table was already empty, with a light coffee stain on the inside. He closed his laptop, picked up the coffee cup, and left the study.
It was getting late. As soon as he stepped out of the study, he smelled a wonderful aroma. He followed the scent and found Lu Wanzheng busy in the kitchen. She was kneading dough, and something was cooking in a pot next to her. The aroma was coming from that pot and smelled delicious.
Lu Wanzheng had her back to him, fiddling with her arms, seemingly doing something.
Xiao Qifeng put the coffee cup into the sink and rinsed it with water. He then turned to look at Lu Wanzheng, and this time he finally knew what Lu Wanzheng was doing.
She held a dough ball in her hand, then pinched it open and shaped it into an irregular, flat circle.
"Is this lunch?" He was in a rush to attend a meeting this morning and didn't make breakfast. He just ate a couple of bites of bread before going to the meeting, and now his stomach is completely empty.
Lu Wanzheng didn't stop what she was doing. She picked up another pot, added water, and brought it to a boil. "Hmm, we're having noodles for lunch today. I've prepared some meat broth. Does it smell good?"
With nothing to do, she thought about what to have for lunch. She thought for a long time but couldn't think of many things to eat, so she scrolled through short videos for a while and saw someone eating noodles. Seeing how much the person in the video was enjoying their meal, she had an idea and that led to her current actions.
Xiao Qifeng placed the clean cup on the shelf, turned around and hugged Lu Wanzheng's waist. "It smells very good," he said in a deep, magnetic voice. Lu Wanzheng felt as if a firework had exploded in her ear. She had to admit that she blushed and her heart raced because of his voice.
Although she was lost in thought for a moment, she quickly refocused her attention on the dough in her hands. "Then you should eat more later. If you like it, I'll make it for you again next time."
Xiao Qifeng nodded, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, he lightly brushed against Lu Wanzheng's neck as he nodded. It tickled, and Lu Wanzheng's whole body stiffened, feeling a tingling and slightly weak sensation.
She stammered, "It's a little...inconvenient for you to be holding me like this."
Xiao Qifeng naturally understood why she was being so obviously asked to leave. At the same time, he noticed that Lu Wanzheng's ears were burning red. So he smiled and stared intently at Lu Wanzheng's fair neck.
"Are you just feeling inconvenient or shy? I won't laugh at you." The man's voice was quite gentle, as if he were seducing her.
Lu Wanzheng shifted her gaze from the dough in her hands to the pot beside her. The water in the pot was gradually boiling, and a lot of steam was condensing on the lid. White foam was gradually rising inside the pot.
She ignored Xiao Qifeng, but since she had her back to him, the shyness in her eyes went unnoticed by the person behind her.
However, Xiao Qifeng was too shrewd to miss Lu Wanzheng's embarrassment. He chuckled softly in Lu Wanzheng's ear, "Don't be shy. If you're shy now, there are many more things that will make you shy in the future." His words were ambiguous, and Lu Wanzheng felt a ticklish sensation on her ear. She unconsciously shrank her neck.
She turned around and glared at Xiao Qifeng. If she didn't have the dough in her hand, she would have shoved him away and told him to stop nagging in her ear. She shouldn't think she didn't know what he meant. Now that the relationship between the two of them is getting closer, she sometimes feels that the man behind her is being indecent from time to time.
Lu Wanzheng threw the dough ball in her hand into the boiling water. She tore the dough and immediately threw it into the pot. She nudged Xiao Qifeng with her elbow, "Go cook the noodles, don't stick to me like that."
She turned off the heat of the broth, lifted the lid, and a rich aroma of broth wafted out, smelling wonderful.
Xiao Qifeng stirred the noodles in the boiling water with chopsticks. Lu Wanzheng's hands moved very quickly; each dough ball was like a work of art in her hands. She stretched it very evenly, and the thickness of the entire dough sheet was basically the same.
Before long, she had thrown all the dough balls in her hand into the pot.
Lu Wanzheng took the chopsticks from Xiao Qifeng and began stirring. "Bowl." With just one simple word, the two seemed to understand each other perfectly. Xiao Qifeng found a large bowl in the cupboard and handed it to the person stirring the dough in the pot.
Lu Wanzheng had sharp eyes and could tell at a glance which noodles were cooked and which were still a little undercooked. With a flick of her chopsticks, she picked up one and put it in her bowl. After picking up about three or four ounces of noodles, she stopped, picked up a spoon, and ladled the meat broth into the bowl, filling it to the brim. She dipped the spoon a little deeper, since the meat she used to make the broth was all at the bottom. She scooped up a whole spoonful of meat and covered it on top of the noodles as a topping. The bowl was a little hot, and Lu Wanzheng frowned as she held it, looking like she couldn't lift it. Seeing this, Xiao Qifeng immediately took the bowl from her and put it on the table.
"I'll get the next bowl, don't burn your hands."
"It's okay, I won't carry it in a bit. I'll put it on the counter to serve the soup, and then you can take it over."
"good."
The noodles in the pot were about two ounces, which was about right for Lu Wanzheng. She couldn't eat any more than that. She also scooped herself a spoonful of shredded meat. Xiao Qifeng put the bowl on the table and washed a pair of chopsticks.
"Don't clean up yet, I'll do it in a bit. Let's eat."
Lu Wanzheng and Xiao Qifeng sat down to eat noodles. Xiao Qifeng rolled up a noodle and ate it all. The noodles Lu Wanzheng made were springy and chewy, and the dough didn't feel like it was made from dead dough, but rather from fresh dough. The texture was excellent. He ate very quickly, and soon finished the noodles and even the soup on his face.
"Are you full?" Lu Wanzheng looked up and took in his empty bowl.
Xiao Qifeng hummed in agreement. "It's delicious."
"The main problem is that we don't have enough ingredients at home. I'll change the topping next time and make it for you again."
"good."
Lu Wanzheng finished eating quickly, and the two divided the work. Lu Wanzheng put all the dishes and chopsticks into the dishwasher, while Xiao Qifeng poured out the water from the pot and put it into the dishwasher as well. As for the messy kitchen counter, Lu Wanzheng handed the task over to Xiao Qifeng, blaming him for verbally bullying her earlier.
...
That evening, Lu Wanzheng and Xiao Qifeng changed their clothes. Lu Wanzheng wore a red turtleneck sweater and a brown skirt. Xiao Qifeng noticed that she was dressed a bit thinly, so he got her a black coat. He straightened her collar and neatly buttoned the two sides of the coat. "Do you need a scarf?"
Lu Wanzheng turned around and looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She shook her head. "The turtleneck sweater is actually warm enough. Wearing a scarf always makes my neck feel uncomfortable."
"Okay." Xiao Qifeng quickly took off his shoes and didn't argue with her.
He also changed his clothes, putting on a red sweater, black pants, and a brown coat.
The two stood in front of a full-length mirror at the same time. Although they were wearing different styles of clothes, at first glance, they looked like they were wearing matching outfits.
“Mr. Xiao really doesn’t let a moment go by.” She was naturally referring to the clothes on the two of them.
Xiao Qifeng looked at the charming Lu Wanzheng in the mirror and smiled without saying a word. He had already inquired and found out that his grandmother, who had been living in a temple, had returned home a few days ago. Naturally, he had to appear to be a perfect match for Lu Wanzheng. Otherwise, if his grandmother saw that Lu Wanzheng was so young, she would probably think that he was trying to seduce a young girl. These days, old people are quite old and have a lot to worry about.
However, he didn't tell Lu Wanzheng about this, knowing that she would be nervous when meeting her elders. If he told her in advance, she would probably be nervous all day.
Not saying anything is for her own good.
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