Chapter 435 — Guess Again

"Huh?!" Sun Jie was utterly speechless. He had guessed right even this way? Yang Ce had guessed correctly—these sweet potato balls were indeed her handiwork. But how had Yang Ce known?

"How did you know?" Sun Jie's eyes went wide as she stared at Yang Ce in disbelief.

"Heh, of course I guessed." Yang Ce shrugged. "Intuition, I suppose?"

Sun Jie frowned, seemingly unconvinced by Yang Ce's words. Still, that was only natural—if Yang Ce had guessed one or two dishes right, it would have been possible. Even a blind cat sometimes stumbles upon a dead mouse. But to have guessed four dishes in a row made Sun Jie suspicious!

Even if Yang Ce had gotten one right by luck, or two, there was no reason he'd get three or four right by luck.

"I don't believe it!" Sun Jie shook her head emphatically. "Wait a moment—step aside for now. I have something to discuss with my sisters!"

"Honestly, so much fuss over a meal!" Yang Ce shrugged.

"We let you guess because we like you. Any other man, we wouldn't even bother playing this game with him!" Sun Jie snorted.

"Fine, fine, out with it then!" Yang Ce said. "But let's agree on this—one last dish. Otherwise, being able to look but not eat like this, I'd rather go back to sleep!"

"All right, one last dish. We've agreed, haven't we?" Sun Jie nodded.

"Good, then." Yang Ce turned and walked away, settling down in a spot far from the dining room, waiting for the women to finish their discussion before returning.

"Sisters, have you noticed anything suspicious?" Sun Jie had by now become the undisputed big sister of the group. "Yang Ce is only human, not a god. How could he repeatedly guess who made each dish? If I remember correctly, while we were busy cooking, Yang Ce should have been in Little Wang's room, shouldn't he?"

"Yes, I found it a bit strange too!" Zhou Yanning nodded in agreement. "If it were only Sister Xiao Qing's fish soup, guessing it right would be possible, since Sister Qingqing said beforehand that she was going to make fish soup. But the others…"

"So I think there's a problem!" Sun Jie nodded. "You may not have noticed, but I did—when that fellow Yang Ce tasted each dish, your faces showed looks of anticipation and nervousness depending on who had made it. I suspect that's what Yang Ce saw, and that's why he guessed so accurately!"

"Sister Sun Jie, what you say is quite possible!" Zhao Ying nodded. "At the time I really was watching Yang Ce nervously—he probably noticed…"

"But Xiaojie, the last dish he tasted was yours. Since you'd already discovered that flaw, you shouldn't have given Yang Mo any opening, right? Don't tell me you also showed a nervous, expectant look?" Xiao Qing asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I didn't!" Sun Jie shook her head. "But I think it's precisely because I didn't that Yang Ce grew suspicious of me, and guessed that this taro-and-sweet-potato-ball dish was mine."

"Oh?" Xiao Qing was briefly taken aback, then seemed to grasp the gist of it. "You mean, Yang Ce thought you were deliberately pretending to be indifferent—because I, Zhao Ying, and Jiajia showed nothing, you became the most suspect instead?"

"Exactly, that's it!" Sun Jie nodded. "That's my guess too! So I'm going to test him once more. In a moment, I'll have Yang Ce taste another dish, and we'll all put on expressionless, indifferent faces—no nervousness, no anticipation. Let's see what he says this time!"

"All right, then it's decided…" The women all nodded in agreement, for they too were puzzled as to just how Yang Ce had guessed.

"Yang Ce, you can come over now!" Sun Jie called out to him.

"Coming!" Yang Ce stretched lazily on the sofa, then rose indolently and headed for the dining room. Though he had been far away, he had seen Sun Jie and the women's conversation clear as day.

Yang Ce laughed inwardly. Sun Jie, oh Sun Jie, haven't you heard the saying? However cunning the fox, it can never escape the hunter's eye!

"Yang Ce, come here and taste another dish. If you guess right, we'll let you eat!" Sun Jie said with a grin.

"Just eating? That's no fun at all!" Yang Ce shook his head. "You've all worn me out so much I've rather lost my appetite—I'm not even hungry anymore! If you promise me something else, I might consider reluctantly guessing one more time!"

"This… Yang Ce…" Sun Jie pressed the ample swell of her chest against him. "Good man… just guess one more time! At worst… at worst I'll give you anything you want—whatever you want, we'll do it…"

Yang Ce knew Sun Jie's powers of seduction were second to none, yet he still could hardly resist. "Then it's your word—whatever I say goes?"

"Of course! If you don't believe me, ask Qingqing!" Sun Jie shot Xiao Qing a meaningful glance.

Though Xiao Qing had no wish to join Sun Jie in her foolishness, she also found it hard to believe Yang Ce could guess who had made the other dishes with no clues at all. So she could only smile and nod in assent. "Xiaojie's meaning is my meaning…"

"All right then!" Yang Ce nodded. "One more guess!"

With that, Yang Ce picked up his chopsticks and placed them on a dish of pan-fried tofu. It was a very ordinary home-style dish, yet not at all easy to cook well! Fry the tofu too long and it burns; fry it too briefly and it's too watery and unpalatable.

And the sauce, poured over the fried tofu at the end, was a challenge in itself. First, the flavor of the broth had to be right; second, the timing had to be precise—too long, and the tofu's surface would go soft; too short, and it wouldn't absorb the flavor…

So Yang Ce had chosen this rather difficult dish to put into his mouth.

This time, having heeded Sun Jie's words, the women all put on expressions of utter indifference, as though it had nothing to do with them, and avoided looking at Yang Ce.

Yang Ce had long since seen through the women's scheme, so he paid it no mind—he already had a plan in his heart.

Suddenly, Yang Ce furrowed his brow, his expression turning ugly in an instant! He picked up a drink from the table and took a sip. "This tofu… what's wrong with this tofu…"

Zhou Yanning was alarmed, looking at Yang Mo at a loss. This pan-fried tofu was her own work, but she had tasted it specially after cooking, and it had been quite good. Why did Yang Ce make such a face after eating it? As if it were unbearably salty? Could there have been salt crystals that hadn't dissolved?

Seeing Zhou Yanning's expression, Sun Jie inwardly cried, Not good! She finally understood Yang Ce's trick—never mind Zhou Yanning, even she had nearly fallen for it!