Chapter 59 Happy Birthday, Ning Buyi! Li Changchao's Braised Pork...
Li Changchao winked at the braised pork: "Mr. Zhu, try this one too."
Zhu Yan and Wen Yan paused in their actions, then picked up a piece of meat that wasn't so dark from the plate and swallowed it without any expression.
The boy couldn't help but swallow hard as he looked at him. This...this...
Li Chang thought he had met his soulmate, and laughter filled the lounge. He then boasted that his cooking skills had greatly improved.
Li Chang moved the remaining two dishes to a different position and pushed them in front of him: "Try these two too."
The man's eyes flickered, but he finally put down his chopsticks. Zhu Yanhe had never eaten anything that could only be called food in his twenty-odd years of life. This was probably the legendary test from his father-in-law.
Zhu Yanhe's actions made Li Chang extremely happy, and all the previous misunderstandings between them disappeared: "Then what else is there to say? From now on, you're my little brother too! Come over for meals often."
Zhu Yan and Qianqian smiled and nodded. He said he could come often, but they could skip the meals.
"Zhu Yanhe, I want to eat crabs." Ning Buyi pointed to the pile of hairy crabs in a pyramid on the plate, glancing at the man who rarely touched his chopsticks.
He now eats with Zhu Yanhe more often than Li Chang. Ning Buyi has gotten used to being taken care of by Zhu Yanhe when they eat together, and he would even get anxious if he wasn't taken care of, which is exactly what someone wants.
The man gave a low "hmm" and started working without any displeasure. Zhu Yanhe usually used tools to disassemble things, or they were already disassembled when they were delivered. He had never done this kind of dirty work before.
Even when facing a crab, his movements exuded an air of nobility. His gaze, hidden by the strands of hair falling over his forehead, was fixed on his hand, making it feel perfectly natural and even elevating the crab's perceived value.
Li Chang, observing Li Chang's expression, secretly clicked his tongue. A CEO worth hundreds of millions, who signs contracts worth hundreds of millions or even billions, is here peeling crabs for his son. His son really knows how to enjoy life.
"Thank you, thank you."
Ning Buyi finished his rice bowl with a few crabs, finding the other dishes too salty. Li Chang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you full?"
The boy nodded honestly. He had already finished his plate, so of course he was full. Ordering takeout now would be like having an extra meal!
Are you really full?
"I'm hungry..." Ning Buyi poked Zhu Yanhe, who was sitting quietly beside him, and then pinched him, feeling uncomfortable after poking him: "Aren't you hungry?"
Zhu Yanhe ate less than him; he was starving.
There were only two people in the spacious and quiet waiting room. The warm yellow light created a cozy atmosphere. Zhu Yanhe glanced at the magazine in his hand, then looked at the mischievous boy and raised his wrist to check the time: "We're about to board the plane."
Neither of them could compliment Li Chang's cooking skills. After struggling to swallow their food, Ning Buyi used the excuse of missing their flight to drag Zhu Yanhe away.
"But I'm so hungry..." The boy lay back on the sofa feeling uncomfortable, so he lifted Zhu Yanhe's arm and used it as a chicken leg to bite into it. His white teeth rubbed against the soft flesh, leaving a few purple marks, but it didn't hurt or itch.
Zhu Yanhe didn't pull his hand back. He remembered something, reached into his pocket, rummaged around for a bit, and then took out a large rice ball. The plump rice ball filled with meat made Ning Buyi's mouth water.
The rice ball was the one Ning Buyi hadn't eaten that morning and had stuffed into his pocket. Just as the boy was about to reach out to take it, he pulled his hand holding the rice ball back a short distance. Ning Buyi looked at him in confusion: "What are you doing?"
Zhu Yanhe said with a half-smile, "Didn't you say you weren't going to eat?"
Ning Buyi stared at him blankly. When did he say he wasn't going to eat? This morning, he was so sleepy that he couldn't open his mouth, which is why he pushed away such a tempting rice ball.
"I'm going to eat."
Zhu Yanhe waved the rice ball in his hand: "It won't be served after this time."
Ning Buyi squinted, staring intently at the meat-stuffed rice wrapped in crisp seaweed. He braced his hands on the sofa, like a kitten preparing for a hunt, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Zhu Yanhe casually flipped through the magazine, a slight smile playing on his lips. He glanced at Ning Buyi, who was secretly gathering his strength and looking determined to win, but pretended to be nonchalant.
As my fingertips traced the oil-coated cover, a gust of wind swept before my eyes, causing Zhu Yan and the strands of hair on his forehead to flutter, and suddenly a weight settled on me.
Ning Buyi locked onto his target and, with perfect timing, location, and manpower, pounced on him, slamming him hard onto Zhu Yanhe. The impact made Zhu Yanhe's jaw ache. The boy curled up in the man's arms, his palm covering his badly injured jaw: "It hurts!"
The next second, Zhu Yanhe casually tossed aside the magazine and rice ball, then reached out and pinched his chin to check the situation.
Where does it hurt?
Her fingertips brushed against his chin, the skin slightly red from the injury. Ning Buyi pouted, angrily pulling away from her hand and jerking upwards, crashing straight into Zhu Yanhe's chin: "Ouch! I bit my tongue!"
It didn't hurt so much when he bumped his chin, but then he bit the tip of his tongue, and the pain was so intense that he couldn't beg for mercy.
Zhu Yanhe wasn't annoyed. He wrapped one arm around the boy's wrist and held it tightly, while his other hand pinched the boy's chin: "Let me see."
Ning Buyi stuck out a little bit of her tongue, the tip of her soft, rosy tongue adorned with a touch of different shades of red. Zhu Yanhe's thoughts stirred slightly, and she inexplicably thought of that day when she was entangled with him in the same tenderness.
He responded softly, reached out and picked up a rice ball from the side, tore open the packaging with one hand, and handed it to Ning Buyi.
Having finally achieved his goal, the boy's eyes shone brightly as he took the food with both hands and stuffed it into his mouth in bites, eating like a little pig with a bit of dirt on the corner of his mouth, completely forgetting the pain he had just felt.
"Delicious?" Zhu Yanhe pulled out a wet tissue and wiped away a bit of dirt from his clean face. This had almost become a daily ritual when he ate with Ning Buyi.
"Delicious." The boy nodded vigorously, but after a moment, Ning Xiaozhu's true nature was revealed. He lay on Zhu Yanhe's body, listening to the rhythmic heartbeat, and closed his eyes.
The person in charge of making the notification didn't dare to make a sound when they came in. The only sound in the hall was the humming of the heater, which enveloped every corner of the room.
On the dark brown leather sofa, a little boy was nestled in the arms of their major shareholder. The two seemed to be reading a financial magazine together. He took two steps forward quietly and realized that the little boy's eyes were already closed, and their major shareholder was no longer reading the magazine.
The plane took off and cut through the sky. Ning Buyi rubbed his eyes and woke up. He had never seen the surrounding facilities before. There was a window to his right.
Outside the window, the sky was blue and the clouds were white. The sky that he usually looked up at was now right in front of him. The boy pressed his face against the window and stared blankly. This was his first time on an airplane.
After enjoying the view, he looked around. Zhu Yanhe sat beside him, still looking calm and composed. His well-tailored suit made him look even more elegant.
"Is it fun?" Zhu Yanhe didn't look up; her eyes were fixed on the literature book in her hands.
Ning Buyi lay back down, put on the small blanket, and covered herself with a little bit of it, also covering Zhu Yanhe's legs, a satisfied smile on her lips: "Fun."
There are no direct flights from China to Tromsø, Norway, so Zhu Yanhe took him on a connecting flight in a European country. The temperature in Europe was low, and Zhu Yanhe wrapped him in scarves before he even got off the plane.
Half of his head was covered. Ning Buyi initially thought it was unnecessary, but as soon as he got off the plane, a gust of wind blew by. The biting wind was unlike that in China; it felt like knives on his face.
Zhu Yanhe carried the suitcase in one hand and held his hand tightly in the other, her soft palm continuously providing warmth to Ning Buyi's cold hand.
Ning Buyi saw many foreign faces along the way. He curiously observed these diverse people, with their light-colored hair and light-colored eyes. How amazing!
"Are you hungry?" Zhu Yanhe turned to ask him, knowing that Ning Buyi had probably already digested the little food he ate after flying for several hours.
Ning Buyi stared at his stomach, trying to gauge whether he was hungry, and finally nodded heavily. He would be hungry.
Zhu Yanhe hummed in agreement and pulled him to a retail store. He picked up a bunch of snacks that Ning Buyi couldn't understand, and Ning Buyi found everything novel and pretended to understand them, throwing them into the basket.
When paying the bill, Zhu Yanhe placed a few banknotes on the table. Ning Buyi stared at them, unable to recognize where they were from. Banknotes were becoming increasingly rare; in China, you couldn't even go out without a mobile phone. Thinking this, he picked up a banknote, held it up to the light, and asked, "What country is this from?"
Ning Buyi followed the man out without thinking about anything else. He only needed to follow, and he had no idea where the man was or where he was going.
The cashier smiled and said, "Euros."
Zhu Yanhe politely replied, "Thank you."
But Ning Buyi didn't understand. Zhu Yanhe leaned slightly forward and said, "He said: Euro, in Danish."
He understood it—it was Mandarin!
“Hey! Are we in Denmark now? Is it the Denmark from the Andersen fairy tale? The Andersen who told the story of the little match girl? The fairy tale where the match girl will see good things?” Ning Buyi’s eyes sparkled as he grabbed Zhu Yanhe’s hands and rattled off a string of words.
The man chuckled and answered him earnestly, "In Denmark, it's the Denmark of Hans Christian Andersen, the Andersen who sold matches, the fairy tale where you can see your dreams by lighting a match."
"Wow!" Ning Buyi exclaimed, as happy as a child, unable to believe that he was standing on a book!
The cashier chuckled and said to Zhu Yanhe, "Your boyfriend is very cute."
Zhu Yanhe smiled slightly and replied, "Thank you, I think so too."
The wind outside was blowing harder and harder, the trees were swaying wildly from side to side, the fallen leaves were swept away by the wind and disappeared into the distance, water droplets were hitting the ground one by one, and the rain was falling in response. In my coat pocket, my cell phone was ringing.
Zhu Yanhe opened his phone and guessed it was a message about the delay of his connecting flight: "I won't be able to reach Norway today."
Ning Buyi was staring down at the tiny water droplets splashing on his toes, tapping them and shaking them back into the puddle. Hearing the sound, he looked up and asked, "Oh~ So where are we staying?"
The man asked again, "Are you disappointed?"
Without hesitation, he shook his head, then fell into deep thought: "Are you and Zhu Yan looking forward to it?"
Ning Buyi tiptoed and patted Zhu Yanhe's head: "If you can't watch it today, you can watch it tomorrow. If you can't watch it on your phone at all, you can still watch it. It's no big deal!"
For Ning Buyi, his life motto is now reduced to just seven words, which is quite good!
Zhu Yanhe's black coat was damp with a few water droplets. He stepped forward and gently pulled Ning Buyi into his arms: "I was afraid you'd cry."
That annoying Zhu Yanhe!
The rain gradually subsided, leaving water droplets on the transparent glass. Gusts of wind lashed against the window, and night quietly fell. Ning Buyi sat on the edge of the bed as the man meticulously dried his hair. Ning Buyi had caught a cold from the rain at the shop entrance earlier.
The boy sat obediently cross-legged, and soon yawned several times as sleepiness washed over him, his eyelids starting to droop.
Zhu Yanhe glanced at the time, turned off the hair dryer, and after a while spoke: "Ning Buyi, happy birthday."
-----------------------
Author's note: Happy birthday, Ning Buyi!
I just made this; I'm afraid I won't make it in time for the birthday jokes, so I'll make them up tomorrow!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
