☆, Chapter 23
Chapter 23
A rainstorm came suddenly, the car windows were covered with water droplets, and the air was filled with a damp and humid smell.
Gu Hengsheng had just finished a three-hour forum and was on his way back to the hotel when he was suddenly hit by heavy rain.
Lin Xin sat in the passenger seat, looking at Gu Hengsheng in the back. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, his gray suit jacket draped over the seat beside him. Even the simple black sweater looked like something out of a runway model. She smiled and sighed, "Manchester is a rainy city. Ever since I moved here, I've had to carry an umbrella in my bag every day, just in case I get soaked."
Gu Hengsheng smiled and asked, "How many years have you been in Manchester?"
Lin Xin frowned and recalled: "I came here when I was seven years old, so..."
A dull humming sound echoed from the car. The source of the sound was Gu Hengsheng's cell phone. He reached into his suit pocket, pulled out the phone, gestured, and said, "Sorry, wait a moment."
Lin Xin said, "You go ahead and do your work."
She tactfully turned her head and looked out the windshield, giving him space to talk on the phone.
His voice came from behind, very gentle: "I'm not busy, what's wrong?"
Then I heard him ask in a puzzled tone, "Carp and tofu soup? You want to make it?"
Lin Xin played with the charm on her phone, listening intently, wondering who was on the other end of the line. A friend, a family member, or perhaps a girlfriend? Suddenly, she felt a little envious of the person on the other end of the line.
When Gu Qingyue said, "I want to make crucian carp and tofu soup," she felt a little guilty. After all, she was the one who had said with certainty that she had a bad relationship with the kitchen. She looked away and said, "I just tried it according to an online tutorial, but the result was terrible. I thought there was a ready-made teacher nearby, maybe I could ask him for some advice."
"So I am the ready-made teacher?" Gu Hengsheng asked back with a hint of smile in his eyes.
"Yes, Teacher Gu."
Gu Hengsheng thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to explain over the phone, how about guidance via video call?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the call was hung up without any explanation. He held the phone and laughed for a moment, and then the next second, the WeChat video call popped up.
The camera shook for a moment before focusing on his upper body.
He was wearing a black high-end cashmere sweater with broad shoulders and distinct fibers. Because he had fair skin, the dull black gave him a gentle and elegant look.
"You're in the car?"
"Yes, on the way back to the hotel," he said.
"It's raining over there?" She seemed to hear the sound of rain.
"Yeah, it's raining outside."
Gu Qingyue was about to ask again when she heard him say with a smile, "Qingyue, perhaps you want to chat with me first and then make the crucian carp and tofu soup later?"
She stuck out her tongue childishly, a little embarrassed, and raised her voice, "Now, let me show you the ingredients I prepared."
The camera showed a cooking table with ingredients placed in glass bowls. Looking at the tofu cubes of varying sizes and the processed crucian carp, she said with a hint of pride, "Luckily, I had the foresight to buy two fish."
Gu Hengsheng said: "Well, you are very smart."
Gu Qingyue felt a little embarrassed by his serious tone. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, these are scallions and ginger slices. Isn't that too little?"
"You can cut two more slices of ginger."
Then there was a snapping sound and the phone screen went black, probably because she put the phone on the kitchen counter.
Gu Hengsheng looked out the window. A minute later, a few slices of ginger appeared in the black video avatar, and her voice rang out: "Now, is the ginger enough?"
"Can."
"Is there any hot water?"
"What do you need hot water for?" She had a confused look on her face.
"Hot water is needed to stew crucian carp." He explained patiently.
"Hey, I just used cold water."
"Use hot water, the milky white will be richer."
"I always thought that the milky white color of crucian carp and tofu soup was due to the addition of milk."
"That's a good idea, maybe we can give it a try?" he said.
"Wouldn't that make it a dark dish?" She looked doubtful.
"It might be an innovation, but if it fails, it's just a screw-up."
Gu Qingyue frowned and whispered, "I've already messed up once before. Teacher Gu, please be kind. This is my last crucian carp."
He seemed to be laughing. After a while, he said, "There's no rush. We can try it together some other time if we have the chance."
When the car stopped at the hotel entrance, Gu Qingyue's crucian carp and tofu soup was ready.
Su Xi came in from the living room and smelled the delicious aroma of fish soup. She thought it was Aunt Xu in the kitchen, but when she saw her figure in the kitchen, she was surprised and asked, "What are you doing?"
"I just cooked the crucian carp and tofu soup. Would you like to try it?" Gu Qingyue scooped a spoonful of soup in her hand.
Su Xi approached with a suspicious look in her eyes, and glanced at the crucian carp and tofu soup in the pot. It was milky white in color and didn't look like a dark dish. After taking a bite reluctantly, her eyes lit up and she said, "Are you sure this isn't the takeout you ordered?"
"Please, is my character so questionable?"
"It's not your character, it's your cooking skills." Su Xi said half-jokingly.
Su Xi walked to the kitchen trash can to make sure there were no takeout bags. She said in disbelief, "Hey, who would have thought that someone who can't even cook instant noodles properly could actually make a pot of crucian carp and tofu soup like this? Did you learn it by watching a tutorial?"
“There are teachers teaching online.”
"Hey, the teachers in the cooking class are so responsible now, they offer online teaching via video?" Su Xi added, "This is for Auntie, right? Wait for me to go upstairs and change clothes, and I'll take you to the hospital."
Gu Hengsheng took off his coat and placed it on the sofa. He sat down on the sofa, leaning his shoulders against the backrest, and raised his hand to rub his eyebrows. Because of the time difference, he had not rested very well in Manchester these past few days.
The phone in his suit pocket vibrated. He opened his eyes, grabbed his coat, and took the phone out of his pocket.
Gu Qingyue: [The fish soup is delicious, thank you.]
Gu Qingyue: [Oh, by the way, I went to see Zaisif these past two days. He eats well and sleeps well. I guess it doesn't matter to him whether his owner is home or not. He's such a stupid cat.]
Gu Hengsheng's mouth relaxed, and he remembered something, and he replied to the message.
[Don’t forget, you have to go to Dr. Xu for vaccination tomorrow.]
"Give me the contact information of the teacher who taught you the cooking class."
"What teacher?" Gu Qingyue held the phone and looked at Su Xi with confusion.
"It's the teacher who taught you how to make crucian carp and tofu soup." Su Xi said, "Even someone like you who can't even tell the difference between grains can make such rapid progress in cooking. I should have some hope too."
She had just made up an excuse, but she didn't expect Su Xi to take it seriously. Gu Qingyue looked embarrassed and said slowly, "Actually, he's not a teacher in the cooking class, he's my third uncle."
"Gu Hengsheng?" Su Xi tilted her head and looked at her.
Gu Qingyue nodded slowly. Su Xi suddenly thought of something and laughed, "Hey, he's really too enviable. Has he ever considered opening a cooking class or something?"
"That shouldn't be possible. He's quite busy."
Su Xi just said it casually. After a while, she said, "Hey, the girl who marries your third uncle in the future will have a good time."
Gu Qingyue nodded in agreement, and suddenly felt a little envious of Gu Hengsheng's future wife, and an inexplicable emotion emerged in her heart.
Gu Qingyue: [Have you ever thought about starting a cooking class or something?]
When Gu Hengsheng received this message, he felt a little puzzled. He felt that the ideas in this little girl's head were always very interesting. Gu Hengsheng picked up the coffee and took two sips. When he was about to text her back, his phone received another message.
Gu Qingyue: [Okay, I asked a stupid question, please ignore me.]
Gu Qingyue, impulsively sending the message, regretted it the moment it occurred to her. Look, what a silly question! A professor at a prestigious academy of sciences wants to teach a cooking class?
The phone screen lit up, she bit her lip in annoyance, unlocked the screen, and saw the message he sent.
Gu Hengsheng: [This is a good suggestion. Perhaps if my job goes south someday, I could consider this possibility.]
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