Chapter 18 — Eat It Long Enough and You Get Used to It
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
He stir-fried the vegetables in the stock until fragrant, added the seasonings, then poured in water, and in no time the broth was ready. Wei Zhao, for his part, had not been idle either: he boiled a pot of clean water, dropped in the noodles, and once they had come up to a rolling boil, fished them out and divided them between two bowls. Then he ladled the broth over them, and two steaming bowls of plain yangchun noodles were ready.
Strictly speaking, Wei Zhao's yangchun noodles had not been made by the proper steps, yet they had a flavor all their own. The old man at home loved nothing better than the noodles Wei Zhao cooked.
There were still some noodles left in the pot. Wei Zhao reckoned one bowl was enough for Shen Yushu, and the remainder would do him nicely for a second helping.
"Are they ready yet?" Shen Yushu, breathing in the waves of fragrance, swallowed her saliva again and again. At last she could bear it no longer; she slipped on her little slippers and came flip-flopping into the kitchen, calling out to Wei Zhao.
"Ready — I was just about to call you in to eat," Wei Zhao said, untying his apron and hanging it to one side.
"Hey, you used Yaoyao's apron! Whatever you do, don't let her find out!" Shen Yushu glanced at the apron on the wall, then said, "Since you've gone and cooked for me, I won't tell her."
"Hm?" Wei Zhao was somewhat puzzled. Since when had Shen Yushu grown so kind-hearted? But on second thought, he realized her heart was in fact thoroughly bad — one only had to recall how gleefully she had gloated yesterday when Gu Mengyao drank from his water. She probably meant no good this time either. Still, what she thought was no concern of Wei Zhao's; so long as Gu Mengyao did not seize the chance to make trouble for him, he would be content to keep his head down and play the companion tutor.
As for Wei Zhao sitting across from her while she ate, Shen Yushu furrowed her brows. A grown man sitting opposite her while she ate made her feel rather uncomfortable.
But then she thought: these fragrant noodles were all Wei Zhao's doing, and it would hardly be fair to drive him off now. So she put up with it — better to fill her belly first and worry about the rest later.
Shen Yushu had never eaten noodles this good. Ordinarily, in the mornings, she would make do with instant noodles or a glass of milk before heading off to school; this was the first time she had eaten hand-pulled noodles made entirely from scratch.
Still, afraid of making Wei Zhao proud, she kept her admiration to herself and said not a word of it aloud. Head down, she demolished the noodles in the bowl before her and paid the man across the table no mind at all.
Shen Yushu's silence suited Wei Zhao fine — what he had dreaded was the girl finding some new fault to pick with him. He wolfed down the noodles in his own bowl like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds, then carried the bowl off to serve himself a second helping. But when he reached the pot, he thought of Shen Yushu again and asked, "Want any more?"
"No," Shen Yushu said, shaking her head. "Go and pour me a glass of water."
"Isn't there a drink right behind you?" Wei Zhao pointed at the cooler cabinet behind her, then helped himself to another bowl of noodles.
"Juice first thing in the morning is bad for you — plain water is what's good for your health... Why must you be so full of pointless questions? Are you going or not?" Shen Yushu glared at him and spoke with impatience.
"All right, all right..." Wei Zhao set the bowl of noodles he had just filled down on the table, then turned and went out to the living room to pour Shen Yushu her water. What choice did he have? The girl had him over a barrel.
"Where's your cup?" Halfway there, Wei Zhao remembered he had never seen Shen Yushu's cup — what was he supposed to pour the water into?
"Oh, it's in the cupboard under the water dispenser. The pink one is mine," Shen Yushu said.