Chapter 8
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
Two short knocks sounded, and Li Ye opened the door and led Zhou Yuan directly into the kitchen. He had sent a message last night and made an appointment this morning for Zhou Yuan to come to her house this afternoon to learn how to make cakes.
When Li Ye returned home with dinner, she placed the dishes on the table and took out her phone to take a picture to send to the family group chat. As soon as her phone screen lit up, a new message popped up.
It looked so familiar. Just these past few days, I opened the message and sure enough, it was from Zhou Yuan. Did he install radar on me? He always calculates things so accurately.
Naoki Haru: I heard you're learning to cook. Do you know how to make cakes? I'd like to learn as a gift. Could you teach me?
Can you bake a cake? Of course I can.
Can you teach me? Of course you can.
After agreeing to this, Li Ye wasn't too concerned. She felt there would be at least some buffer time. For example, if Zhou Yuan needed to buy cake-making tools, it would be more convenient to buy some tools online. The delivery time could be used for lesson preparation and mental buffer.
As a result, at nine o'clock this morning, which is usually Zhou Yuan's wake-up time, he ran over and knocked on Li Ye's door.
"Hello, Uncle. This is Jie Li. We've arranged to go shopping together."
The person who opened the door for Zhou Yuan was Teacher Li, who was at home on winter vacation. Zhou Yuan was very well-behaved in front of his elders, so he greeted them first, and then pointed to Li Ye, who was watching an archaeology program with Teacher Li in the living room.
Teacher Li only had a subtle understanding of Ms. Li's thoughts. In his eyes, Li Ye and Zhou Yuan were probably still two half-grown children. He waved his hand and told Li Ye to go and handle his own affairs.
Li Ye blinked at Zhou Yuan in confusion. "When did we make an appointment?"
Zhou Yuan mouthed "cake" to Li Ye.
Li Ye got up, turned around, and walked towards the bedroom. "Wait a minute, I'm going to get a bag."
Li Ye randomly grabbed a backpack near the door and followed Zhou Yuan out of the house. Only after leaving the building did he manage to organize the contents of the backpack and neatly put it on his back.
Only then did Zhou Yuan dare to explain: "As we said yesterday, we'd learn to make cakes, so today we're buying the ingredients."
"You didn't specify a time!"
Li Ye was obviously not happy, and he showed it. "Just because I'm a freelancer, does that mean you can disturb my ideas without an appointment?"
"Although I have been quite free lately, to be precise, I didn't have any plans before the Lunar New Year."
Zhou Yuan knew that his actions hadn't been very respectful to Li Ye. Yesterday's unexpected date with someone he didn't know had left him flustered and confused. Knowing he was in the wrong, the young man obediently lowered his head, revealing his puppy-dog eyes as he apologized to Li Ye.
"I'm sorry, I'll let you know the time in advance next time."
"The tools and materials are on their way. I want to learn as soon as possible. Li can do it. The Li family has the tools. I'll learn from the Li family first."
The dog-like gaze had no effect on Li Ye; she was a cat person who dared not keep a cat. However, she could tell that Zhou Yuan's apology was very sincere, and since nothing like this had ever happened before, she quickly relented: "I forgive you this time."
"I do have cake-making tools at home. You want to come to my place this afternoon to learn how to make cakes?"
There were no baking supplies at the supermarket near their home, so the two of them had to drive to a large supermarket to buy them. Zhou Yuan was in charge of driving, while Li Ye sat in the passenger seat, intending to find out what they needed to buy first.
Have you decided what you want to buy?
"Materials are self-supplied."
"Would you like to learn how to make cakes?"
"Easy to learn, for birthday celebrations."
Li Ye dared not let her gaze drift toward the driver's seat. Every year on New Year's Eve, in addition to the New Year's Eve dinner, her family would also have a birthday cake and a bowl of noodles to eat during the transition between the old and new year to celebrate her birthday.
When she was even younger, all that little Li Ye had was a bowl of chicken soup passed down from her grandparents and some vermicelli that her mother scooped in.
As Xiao Liye grew a little older, the couple did not take him back to their elders' house for the New Year. On New Year's Eve, they held chicken soup noodles that Ms. Li had specially made.
When Xiao Liye grew up, he began to learn how to make his own birthday cake, which he would share with his family on New Year's Eve. Ms. Li would still make noodles with chicken soup, but instead of a bowl of chicken soup noodles, she would make longevity noodles with chicken soup.
This is a family tradition of Li Ye, and Zhou Yuan knows about it.
After all, his family eats New Year's Eve dinner on the first day of the Lunar New Year. On New Year's Eve, they only have dumplings, and in the early hours of the morning, each person has a small bowl of pure chicken soup. After drinking it, they go to sleep and don't stay up all night at all.
Li Ye had boasted to Zhou Yuan for a long time that she only stayed up all night once a year, while Zhou Yuan, who was also young, was never allowed to be an exception.
"How about a fruit-filled chiffon cake for a simple and easy birthday cake?"
"Although most birthday cakes sold in bakeries are sponge cakes, chiffon cakes are easier to make and less sweet."
Zhou Yuan had no objection to this; just as Li Ye had suspected, this was indeed the birthday cake he had prepared for her. Of course, the promised unique birthday gift would definitely include more than just this; this was just part of a smokescreen.
"I'll do whatever Li says."
Zhou Yuan said she would provide the ingredients herself, and Li Ye didn't stand on ceremony and bought whatever she liked. When it came time to choose fruit, she looked at the bananas that looked very good and suddenly wanted to eat pancakes. She nudged Zhou Yuan with her elbow.
"Is what I made for myself also included in your self-produced materials?"
Zhou Yuan wasn't sure where Li Ye's thoughts had wandered, but he understood what Li Ye meant and generously said, "It's the tuition fee; we'll be together until we learn it."
So now Zhou Yuan could carry two large bags of groceries and go home from the supermarket with Li Ye.
Then, fast forward to the present, where Li Ye, wrapped up tightly in an apron, and Zhou Yuan, dressed in an exquisite outfit, are looking at each other.
"Is it my problem or yours? Go into the kitchen and get to work, Brother Zhou?"
It was a very serious mistake, and it was only then that Li Ye remembered what the Zhou family was usually like.
Zhou's father is mainly responsible for cooking at the Zhou family home. His dishes are delicious and varied. Occasionally, Zhou's mother will cook, but the taste is just average, though still edible. As for Zhou Yuan, in Zhou's mother's eyes, he is destined to be a musician, and he is even more otherworldly than she, a music teacher.
In other words, Zhou Yuan had never cooked before. However, Li Ye had seen the Zhou family's kitchen, and the equipment was quite complete, except that there were no special molds for making cakes. Hopefully, Zhou Yuan had bought all the necessary tools on the way.
“We don’t have an apron that’s your height. Go home and change into a coat first, then put on your dad’s apron before you come over.”
While Zhou Yuan was at home, Li Ye rummaged through his bedroom and found a camera he had used to take photos on a trip with his parents six months ago. The camera was recommended and used for basic instruction by photography enthusiast Yao Yao.
When Zhou Yuan entered the kitchen again, he was greeted by a flash and the sound of a camera shutter being pressed, accompanied by Li Ye's smile behind the camera, "My first time cooking, let's keep this as a memento."
After placing the camera on the coffee table in the living room, Li Ye and Zhou Yuan's kitchen teaching activity officially began.
"Watch my stirring motions, pay attention to my hand gestures."
"If you pour in too much, don't add it all at once. Mixing the batter in batches will make it more even."
"This is fine. I'll go get the mold."
Mixing the batter isn't too difficult; the main problems that lead to failure are related to temperature, oven baking, and whether or not to invert the cake.
"Different ovens have different heat levels, so you'll have to adjust it yourself. Uncle Zhou seems to have made cakes before, so you can go back and ask him. The temperature and time you mentioned can only be used as a reference."
Throughout the entire performance, Zhou Yuan remained mostly silent, but as usual, he nodded obediently. When mixing the batter, he seemed completely at a loss for what to do with his hands and feet, vividly demonstrating what it means to be at a loss.
"Remember to preheat the oven, and wear gloves when handling baking trays."
"Now that we've prepared the cream and fruit, what kind of filling do you want?"
Li Ye poured the two cake batters that he and Zhou Yuan had made into the molds, placed them steadily in the oven to bake, and turned around to see Zhou Yuan holding a fruit knife and a large mango, gesturing at the counter for a long time.
"First, cut the mango vertically from the stem, then split it in half along the pit. Next, score the mango with a knife and spread it in the opposite direction. Use a fruit knife or spoon to cut out the flesh."
Zhou Yuan was still studying the fruit that hadn't been cut like this before, while Li Ye took two bananas and started mixing the pancake batter, which was even simpler.
Just as Zhou Yuan finished cutting the first mango, Li Ye was already making the first pancake. By the time Zhou Yuan had prepared the amount of fruit Li Ye wanted, Li Ye had already set out the afternoon tea for the two of them, just waiting for them to come and eat.
The afternoon tea area was on the balcony. Li Ye moved the small round table with knitted roses to the balcony and placed it together with the small chairs covered with cushions and covers. It looked quite presentable. The two young people wearing only aprons seemed out of place here, no matter how handsome or beautiful they were.
"Every single pancake was perfect this time, they were delicious."
Seven or eight pancakes are stacked together, honey is poured over them, and a cup of freshly brewed milk tea is placed next to them. Take a picture with your phone first, and then enjoy the dessert quietly together.
As the oven emitted an increasingly sweet aroma, Li Ye felt even more fortunate to have prepared the desserts in advance. He also brewed a large pot of milk tea. During the tea time after finishing the pancakes, Li Ye would still chat.
"How did you like the photos?"
She opened her phone, showed Zhou Yuan the photos she had just taken, and then deliberately swiped her hand to the previous photo, which was the widely circulated candid group photo that Zeng Yuan had mentioned yesterday.
Do you think this picture is nice?
Upon seeing the special photo still saved on his computer, Zhou Yuan immediately realized the details of the date and asked with certainty, "So you went out with Zeng Yuan yesterday?"
Her aura quickly returned to her usual well-behaved self, and she apologized to Li Ye again: "I'm sorry, I should have told Li Ye myself."
“And the forum.” Li Ye wanted to clarify one by one what Zhou Yuan had kept from her.
"The photos show that Li left to go to school, which won't affect anything."
"I heard she was even called in for a talk with the teacher later?" It's not like you can just brush it off because it didn't affect her.
Zhou Yuan recalled his conversation with the teacher and replied tentatively with a hint of doubt, "It only happened once, when we were talking about further education. It was just a coincidence."
Li Ye thought this development made sense. "That's possible. So much time has passed, it doesn't matter anymore."
"You know Zeng Yuan, no, it should be that you and Zeng Yuan know each other."
"The abbreviations are the same, so we mistook them."
Seeing Li Ye suddenly laugh, Zhou Yuan smiled as well.
"bite!"
The cake in the oven is ready.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com