Chapter 28: Relationship Heats Up
If they hadn't exposed Chi Chen's identity, they could have spent the weekend like any ordinary couple, snuggling in bed together watching a movie or going on a date.
Xu Yan didn't dislike these somewhat childish itineraries.
But now he can only rest in his room as before, and he also has to take care of patients from time to time.
It wasn't until she felt hungry that Xu Yan realized it was already afternoon. Usually, Chi Chen would prepare the meals, but now she could only order takeout.
The patient could not eat much, so Xu Yan ordered two bowls of porridge.
Forty minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Xu Yan got up to get the takeout.
He carried two steaming bowls of nourishing porridge back to Chi Chen's room and placed them on the bedside table.
Chi Chen was probably sick and was sleeping soundly. Xu Yan touched his forehead and found that his temperature had returned to normal, so the fever reducer must have worked.
"Brother...?" Chi Chen opened his eyes groggily, and upon seeing Xu Yan beside him, he grinned foolishly. "Brother, have you been watching over me all this time?"
Her voice didn't sound so weak anymore.
Xu Yan's face remained expressionless. "No, I just brought you some food."
"Oh." Chi Chen looked somewhat regretful, but still propped himself up and sat up in bed.
He saw the porridge that had been delivered to him, and a look of gratitude crossed his face. His voice choked as he said, "Brother... you actually ordered this especially for me?"
Xu Yan was opening her own box when she noticed a hint of tears in Chi Chen's eyes. Her expression was complicated. "What are you talking about? I just opened the app and randomly clicked on something."
"Brother is so good to me." Chi Chen's gaze was fixed on Xu Yan, as if he couldn't wait to repay her with his body.
Xu Yan remained silent, truly hoping that Chi Chen would recover soon. He had absolutely no desire to insult such a fool.
He sat at the small table next to him, slowly drinking his bowl of porridge.
Chi Chen also lowered his head and focused on eating.
The two ate for quite a while before Xu Yan finally packed up all the takeout packaging. She did it very skillfully because she used to eat takeout often.
Watching Xu Yan's busy figure, Chi Chen bit his lip, "Brother, I will definitely get better as soon as possible and not cause you any trouble."
"If you know it's going to be troublesome, then don't be so careless." Xu Yan frowned. He really didn't like taking care of people; he even found taking care of himself troublesome.
Chi Chen had taken such good care of him recently, handling almost every little thing. Suddenly having to do things himself, including Chi Chen's share, was indeed making him a little annoyed.
This also made Xu Yan realize that she seemed to be somewhat dependent on Chi Chen's practicality.
It's really too practical. Before Xu Yan gets tired of using it, he will find a way to make Chi Chen devoted to him.
"When I get better... I'll cook some hometown dishes for my brother," Chi Chen said earnestly. He had been learning for a while and was now fairly competent.
Xu Yan isn't someone who really likes money, so simply throwing money at him is unlikely to sway him.
Moreover, Xu Yan now knows that he is not short of money, so spending money should only be the most basic thing for Xu Yan, and not enough to warrant forgiveness.
"Then you can continue to rest." Xu Yan paused for a moment, then took the trash and went out.
Although Chi Chen really wanted to stick close to Xu Yan, he also knew that he might infect her.
Moreover, the fastest way to recover from a fever and cold is to rest.
Chi Chen could only put aside what was on his mind and obediently curl up in bed to sleep.
He slept for quite a while, and when he woke up, Chi Chen felt much better. His previously hazy mind was now much clearer.
He instinctively wanted to get up and tell Xu Yan the good news.
On the second-floor corridor, Chi Chen suddenly heard conversations downstairs and subconsciously looked over.
The scene before him stunned Chi Chen for a moment. His childhood friend, the gloomy and socially awkward Jian Xin, was actually chatting happily with Xu Yan downstairs.
Xu Yan even had a relaxed and beautiful smile on her face that she hadn't seen in a long time.
Chi Chen moved closer to the railing uncontrollably, his fingers clenched so tightly they turned white, but he didn't make a sound.
A strange voyeuristic urge rose from the bottom of his heart, and he stared intently at the two of them.
As Jian Xin got up to leave, Xu Yan politely got up to see her off.
The two reached the door, and Jian Xin turned around to tell Xu Yan that she didn't need to see them off.
Immediately afterwards, he took Xu Yan's hand very naturally and lowered his head to place a gentle kiss on the back of Xu Yan's hand.
A burning anger and bitterness exploded in Chi Chen's chest, instantly shattering his restraint and rationality. He ran downstairs as fast as he could, his footsteps startling the two people in the entryway.
Xu Yan turned around and was somewhat surprised to see Chi Chen, who was so disheveled that he had even put his shoes on backwards.
Jian Xin had already withdrawn her hand, her posture composed, a smile on her lips, "It seems my cousin is almost recovered. Mr. Xu has really gone to great lengths to take care of him."
Xu Yan didn't speak to Chi Chen, but instead smiled and said goodbye to Jian Xin.
Fortunately, Jian Xin didn't stay any longer to provoke Chi Chen; she waved and left.
Xu Yan closed the door, and when he turned around, Chi Chen was already in front of him.
Before Yan could react, Chi Chen had already hugged him tightly, "Brother, what is your relationship with him?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xu Yan was a little confused. "I only talked to him about renewing the lease, and isn't he your cousin?"
“Hmm…” Chi Chen almost forgot that this was also part of the lie, “I thought my brother was going to like someone else.”
Xu Yan wasn't in the mood to talk about such sentimental topics with Chi Chen. "That's none of your business."
As he spoke, he tried to push Chi Chen away, but he couldn't budge him.
He sighed helplessly and said, "What's wrong with you? You used to see all those comments in the live stream, so why are you pretending now?"
“That’s different…” Chi Chen said in a muffled voice, “Those people can’t see you, and they’re saying what’s on my mind.”
"I fell in love with my brother a long time ago."
"You're just lusting after her." Xu Yan's voice was indifferent, showing no emotion at being confessed to. It wasn't that he was narcissistic.
Everyone was drawn to him because of his appearance.
Even Chi Chen only spent money on him and added his contact information after seeing his face in the live broadcast room.
Their two-year relationship was perhaps based more on physical appearance than anything else.
"No, even when my brother gets old, I will still hug and kiss him every day." Chi Chen's voice was very firm.
But Xu Yan distrusted sweet words the most. His voice was flat, "You should go and fool someone else with this meaningless stuff."
“I know, brother.” Chi Chen was not surprised. He looked at Xu Yan seriously. “I will prove it to you.”
"Whatever you want." Xu Yan pushed him away and went back to her room.
The next morning, Chi Chen woke up very early.
He slept all day yesterday and is in excellent spirits now.
Yesterday, Chi Chen also took the opportunity to confess that he wasn't the one cooking before, and all the lies he had told.
Xu Yan didn't seem surprised, perhaps because she had already sensed it.
Dinner was still prepared by the chef, since there was no longer any need to hide it.
But today, he's going to actually start cooking.
Although he had only learned to cook Xu Yan's hometown dishes before, it gave him a foundation, making it easier for him to learn other dishes from the chef.
When Xu Yan got up for lunch, she saw a table full of dishes that were even more extravagant than usual.
It seems a little different from before... and there's also that dish they ate in the South City.
Xu Yan walked towards the kitchen and actually saw Chi Chen wearing an apron, cooking with some difficulty.
He was covered in the smell of cooking oil. When he saw Xu Yan come in, he busied himself with what he was doing and coaxed him to leave, saying, "It's too smoky in here, brother, please go out."
Xu Yan frowned. "You've made so much food, we can't possibly finish it all."
"I can eat what my wife can't finish," Chi Chen said with a smile, seemingly finding cooking a very happy thing.
“…Who’s your wife?” Xu Yan said, turning around and leaving.
Since it was Chi Chen's first real cooking experience, Xu Yan still ate quite a bit to show her respect.
He only stopped eating when he felt quite full.
Chi Chen's appetite was indeed a mystery; he actually finished more than half of the remaining food.
Since they were both quite full and didn't want to stay home any longer, Chi Chen suggested going out for a walk.
Xu Yan rarely ate so much, and she didn't refuse Chi Chen's suggestion. They wandered aimlessly out of the neighborhood, the atmosphere was a little awkward, and it was basically Chi Chen who was trying to find topics to talk about.
Unbeknownst to them, Chi Chen had led Xu Yan into the supermarket.
"Since we're already here, let's buy the groceries." Chi Chen said, pushing a large shopping cart, ostensibly to experience life, since their usual groceries were delivered the freshest the next day.
However, this actually concealed a bit of Chi Chen's selfish motive: he wanted to see Xu Yan's preferences and memorize them all at once.
Xu Yan had hardly ever shopped at supermarkets before, so she found this experience quite novel and gradually became quite immersed in it.
Wandering among the neatly arranged shelves seemed to inexplicably relieve stress. Before I knew it, an hour had passed, and Xu Yan was no longer full; her shopping cart was also full.
They had a good haul. Chi Chen carried four large bags home and then told Xu Yan to rest while he went to put away the ingredients. He then mysteriously went to the kitchen.
Perhaps because she had eaten too much and walked for so long, Xu Yan felt a wave of languid weariness shortly after getting up.
Xu Yan thought she would just sleep in and relax all weekend, but she didn't expect Chi Chen to have a show up.
It was just getting dark when Chi Chen woke him up.
Xu Yan walked downstairs sleepily and was pulled to the backyard by Chi Chen.
In the center of the already beautifully maintained garden, a barbecue grill was set up, with orange-yellow flames already burning inside, creating a warm and lively atmosphere under the night sky.
Next to the stove was a bowl of skewered ingredients, all of which they had bought that day. The knife skills didn't look very good; it was probably Chi Chen who cut them himself.
He even built a small shed, decorated it with fairy lights, and placed white outdoor tables and chairs underneath. Next to the tables was a small iron bucket filled with chilled beer.
Xu Yan's gaze slowly swept over everything here, and everywhere seemed to reveal Chi Chen's meticulous preparations.
"A barbecue party for the two of us," Chi Chen said, his eyes sparkling. "Would you like to try cooking, honey?"
Xu Yan was a little stunned; he hadn't expected Chi Chen to put in so much effort.
Because Chi Chen isn't very good at cooking, he spent the whole morning preparing lunch, and then continued cooking until now.
Xu Yan is an adult who is not easily moved.
However, he felt he couldn't bring himself to spend both money and effort on Chi Chen.
Even though Xu Yan was selfish and cold-hearted, at this moment she could feel Chi Chen's clumsy but sincere desire to create shared memories with him.
If you just want to sleep with him, is it really necessary to go to such lengths?
Xu Yan was pulled to the grill by Chi Chen, who picked up a few skewers and put them on it. "Wife, let me teach you how to do it."
As he spoke, he walked behind Xu Yan, placed his hand on Xu Yan's hand, and taught him how to flip the grill and sprinkle seasoning.
After grilling, Chi Chen took a moment to pour some ice-cold beer and let Xu Yan sit down and eat first, while he continued to grill a few more plates.
The sizzling aroma of oil mingled with the smell of beer, and Xu Yan was exposed to a life she had never experienced before.
So this is what weekends are like for young people? Oh, I see.
Xu Yan looked thoughtfully at Chi Chen's busy profile.
He was almost at the point where he couldn't find an opportunity to cause trouble.
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