51 Spring
◎ Peeping into her beauty◎
The two men were troubled by a fish.
Ji Shijing looked at the lively black fish in the basin for a long time before he said, "I'll give it a try."
He rolled up his sleeves, and just as his slender, clean fingers grasped the fish, he suddenly let go, his hands suspended in mid-air, at a loss.
The fish's body was smooth and tender, just like her skin.
"What's wrong?" Shu Yao asked.
He shook his head, regained his composure, and went to catch fish again.
This time, he held the fish tightly in his hand. The fish kept flapping in his hand, and the water on the tail fin was everywhere. A drop accidentally fell into Shu Yao's mouth. She quickly spit it out "Pooh, pooh, pooh", then took the chopping board and kitchen knife and put them in front of Ji Shijing, making a "please" gesture.
She didn't dare to kill the fish.
Ji Shijing placed the fish on the chopping board, holding it with one hand while holding up the kitchen knife with the other. He turned to look at her and asked, "How do you do this?"
Shu Yao looked at the struggling little fish and suddenly felt a pity for it. However, she really wanted to eat the braised fish. A conflicting feeling ran through her mind. Finally, she covered her eyes and said to him, "Just watch."
After a while, there was no sound. She opened her eyes and found Ji Shijing holding a knife, at a loss. The fish kept flopping and looked like they were on the verge of death.
Seeing this, Shu Yao walked up, took the fish from his hand, and put it back into the water. The fish came alive as soon as it touched the water and immediately started swimming, wagging its tail.
She turned to Ji Shijing and said, "Let's not eat fish today."
Ji Shijing nodded without saying anything. His hands were slippery and smelled of fish. He frowned, washed his hands with water, and rubbed them until the backs of his hands turned red. When he looked up, he found that Shu Yao had already started working.
There were several kinds of ingredients on the stove. She rolled up her sleeves and looked like she was going to do a big job.
She looked up at Ji Shijing, her eyes smiling, her chin slightly raised, her eyes bright.
Ji Shijing was stunned. Spring had not yet arrived, but he felt as if he was bathed in the spring breeze.
"Ajing, today I'll let you taste my chef Shu's cooking skills." Shu Yao said with confidence.
He raised his hand to his lips to hide the smile on his face and approached her: "I'll make the fire."
Shu Yao patted his shoulder and said, "This boy is teachable."
Looking at the pile of ingredients on the stove, her eyes were fixed on the piece of beef.
First dish: beef brisket stewed with tomatoes.
During the years when she was a celebrity, she appeared on many food shows of all sizes, which really allowed her to learn a lot. Today, she just cooked a few home-cooked dishes.
She cut the beef into small pieces, put it into a pot with cold water, and blanched it with green onions and ginger. Then she put it into a small casserole, added two chopped tomatoes, and simmered it on a stove on the side over low heat.
Ji Shijing was quietly making a fire, but her busy figure was visible in his peripheral vision.
Shu Yao tilted her head and thought, what should I make for the second dish?
"Ah Jing, is there anything you particularly want to eat?"
Ji Shijing put down the match in his hand, thought for a moment, and shook his head. He didn't have much desire for food, as long as he could fill his stomach.
Shu Yao: "Okay." She suddenly saw the lotus root on the stove.
Got it, the second dish: lotus root slice box.
She washed the lotus root and cut it into thin slices, then chopped the lean meat and put it in the lotus root slices. After the oil was hot, she added the seasonings and started stir-frying.
The kitchen was filled with the smell of smoke.
Then came the third and fourth dishes... until all ten dishes were finished. Shu Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the ten delicious dishes in front of her, she nodded with satisfaction. Everything produced by Chef Shu was a top-notch product.
Ji Shijing didn't expect that she could make ten dishes, and each of them looked so good. He looked at Shu Yao, wondering if there was anything else she knew that he didn't know.
Together, they brought the dishes to the small square table next to them, and then set up a charcoal fire under the table. After doing all this, Shu Yao filled a basin with warm water to wash her hands.
Ji Shijing looked at the wood ash in his palm and washed it with her water.
After the meal was served, the two sat opposite each other. Shu Yao couldn't wait to say, "Ajing, try it soon." Her eyes were full of anticipation.
Ji Shijing met her gaze and picked up a box of lotus root slices. The lotus root slices were coated with a layer of flour and fried in oil. They were crispy and fragrant when bitten, and the taste was oily but not greasy.
He chewed lightly, then put down his chopsticks and said to her seriously, "It's delicious."
Shu Yao felt relieved and started to eat.
I don't know when it started snowing heavily outside. Today's snow was heavier than ever before. It fell on the roof and the ground, and soon a thick layer of snow had piled up.
The cold wind could not penetrate into the small kitchen. The charcoal fire was burning brightly inside, and Shu Yao felt warm all over.
At the dinner table, she shared with Ji Shijing the interesting stories from her childhood. He listened quietly and did not interrupt her when she encountered words he did not understand.
Half a minute later, Shu Yao lay carelessly on the chair, touching her round belly with her right hand: "I'm so full."
Ji Shijing stood up and cleared the dishes.
Shu Yao wanted to help, but she was too full to move. After struggling for a while, she finally lay back down on the chair. "Ah Jing, will there be fireworks here during the New Year?"
Ji Shijing didn't stop moving his hands: "Yes."
Shu Yao put her hands behind her head, feeling very comfortable. She had never seen ancient fireworks before, so she had to celebrate the New Year today.
They had their New Year's Eve dinner late, and it was dark right after they finished. Shu Yao boiled a large pot of bath water. She had to take a good bath today to wash away the bad luck of the year so that the coming year would be smooth sailing.
She used six buckets of water until the tub was full. Then she stopped. After closing the door, she untied her belt and sat in, sinking her body into the hot water, feeling comfortable all over.
After an unknown amount of time, the water in the tub began to cool down, and she got up and started to put on her clothes. As a result, she realized that she had forgotten to take her bellyband.
She turned the clothes on the stool upside down and finally believed that she had really forgotten to bring them.
Shu Yao put on her coat one by one, then opened the door and peeked outside. After making sure that Ji Shijing was not there, she ran into her room.
Ji Shijing was roasting sweet potatoes over the fire in the kitchen. He remembered that she loved eating them.
Guessing that it was almost done, he took the sweet potato out of the fire, brushed off the ashes on it, carefully placed it in a porcelain bowl and took it out. When he came out, he saw that Shu Yao's room was brightly lit.
He thought she should have finished washing, so he walked towards her room.
Perhaps because she was in a hurry after entering, Shu Yao did not close the door tightly.
Ji Shijing had never expected that he would actually witness this scene.
A red plum blossom was blooming on the snow pile. It was so beautiful that he wanted to pick it and hold it in his hands to look at it carefully.
The room was lit by candlelight. Shu Yao was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her upper body clothes had been taken off, revealing a large area of porcelain white skin. The water characters on it were still lingering and attached to her delicate skin, shaking precariously.
She leaned sideways, tilted her head slightly, and pushed her half-dry hair aside, revealing her beautiful neck. She casually picked up a goose yellow bellyband and placed it in front of her body, wrapped the two thin straps around her neck and tied a knot, and then wrapped the lower thin strap around her waist.
Ji Shijing only felt his lips were dry, so he stretched out his tongue to moisten them. His mind was in turmoil, and his pale lips now had a hint of blood, and his dark pupils were dim.
Shu Yao put on her clothes and felt a breeze coming into the room, so she turned around and found that the door was ajar.
She wondered if she hadn't locked the door properly when she came in. Without giving it much thought, she bent down and took out the money jar from under the bed, took out ten taels of silver and put it in her purse.
How can you not give your children lucky money during the New Year?
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Ji Shijing standing at the kitchen door holding sweet potatoes. She walked over with a smile.
He immediately raised his right hand, which had been hanging down, and placed it in front of his abdomen, with his wide sleeves covering his private parts.
"A Jing, the sweet potatoes are baked so quickly?" She reached out to take them, but it was too hot, so she retracted her hand.
Ji Shijing put the bowl on the small stone block next to him and said, "Wait until it cools down before eating."
She said "Oh" and looked up at him. She felt that he looked much better today, with fair skin and a rosy glow. "Ah Jing, go take a shower quickly before it gets too late."
He nodded.
Shu Yao moved a small stool and sat at the kitchen door, eating sweet potatoes while watching the falling snowflakes.
Ding Dong~
System: [After testing, the trust value is 23%.]
Shu Yao's sweet potato almost fell to the ground. This surprise came too suddenly.
She picked up the sweet potato, brushed off the dust on it, and continued to eat it in small bites. Until she finished the sweet potato, there was still no movement in the bathroom. Ji Shijing had been there for a long time, and her heart skipped a beat.
Nothing will happen to him, right?
She stood up and was about to take a look when she saw the bathroom door opened from the inside. Ji Shijing's face still had no expression, but her little face, which had been rosy just now, had turned pale again.
Shu Yao felt that he must have been left out.
At night, the two of them stayed up in the house to celebrate the New Year. Shu Yao was working on her face, trying to come up with a better-looking makeup look, while Ji Shijing was reading a book next to her. The candle was half burned, but he still hadn't turned the page.
Until she finished putting on her makeup, she took out a purse from her bosom and handed it to him.
He turned the page back in surprise.
Looking at the small and exquisite purse in front of him, he asked, "Is it for me?"
Shu Yao smiled and said, "In our area, adults always give children lucky money during the Chinese New Year."
Ji Shijing: "Children? Lucky money?"
Shu Yao scratched her head and said, "Just take it."
He didn't accept it, so Shu Yao pretended to be angry: "Do you think it's too little? Or do you look down on my kindness?"
Hearing her say this, Ji Shijing was flustered for a moment. He took it and saw a fat, round rabbit embroidered on the purse, which looked inexplicably funny. This... couldn't be embroidered by her herself, could it?
Thinking of this, he gently stroked the rabbit with his fingertips.
Time passed little by little, and Shu Yao felt sleepy. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she finally fell asleep.
Ji Shijing gently supported her head and let her rest her head on his shoulder. Looking at the peaceful sleeping face of the person beside him, he thought of the scene today again and his breathing became slightly faster.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his vision was clear.
By candlelight, he slowly read the book in his hand, but he couldn't concentrate on reading a single word. Unconsciously, his gaze returned to her.
Late at night, the heavy snow stopped and fireworks began.
"Bang, bang, bang"
Shu Yao was awakened by the noise. She opened her eyes, still a little confused.
"Fireworks are being set off."
The voice of Ji Shijing was in my ears.
When she stood up, she found that she had an extra cloak on her body. She hugged him and pulled him into the yard. Looking up, she saw the dark sky was lit by fireworks.
The fireworks are bright, and God blesses the world.
"Ajing, make a New Year's wish."
Shu Yao looked up at the fireworks, and he looked down at her, with the corners of his mouth slightly curved.
She turned her head and met his gaze, and saw that his eyes, which were as dark as the bottom of a pool, were now sparkling with starlight.
…
Chen Jing'an opened the window and looked up at the brilliant colors in the sky. His long eyebrows were stretched and his eyes were indifferent. The lively scenes in this world had nothing to do with him.
He sat alone by the window, picked up a pot of cold wine, tilted his head back and took a sip. He no longer had his usual unruly demeanor, but instead exuded a kind of loneliness that was difficult for others to understand.
He looked at the portrait next to him, which depicted a gentle woman.
"Another year has passed." He murmured as he looked at the woman in the portrait, his thoughts drifting away.
This year, the fireworks in the capital city lasted for a whole incense stick. The whole city was bustling with activity, and everyone was looking forward to good weather and good harvests in the coming year.
In the second half of the night, the capital city became quiet.
That night, Ji Shijing had a dream that was difficult to talk about.
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