Chapter 301 — Xinxin's Bias
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Ha..." Wei Zhao had long since guessed Guan Xin's motive. Guan Xuewen had praised his granddaughter to Wei Zhao more than once, describing her as a girl of surpassing culinary skill and refined, sensible character, and Wei Zhao naturally understood the old man's intentions.
And since Guan Xuewen had said such things to Wei Zhao, he must have said similar things to Guan Xin at home as well, so her resistance was only natural. Any girl suddenly told that a talented young man would be coming to call and that she should get to know him would be less than pleased.
"You—" Guan Xuewen was beside himself with anger. For the first time, his granddaughter had made him lose face. "Wei Zhao is my guest, no matter how you look at it. How could you do such a thing? It's only because you two already knew each other that this can be smoothed over. If he had been a stranger, he would probably have stormed out by now! What kind of dinner invitation is this? You were practically trying to poison him!"
"I'm sorry, Grandpa..." Guan Xin lowered her head. Only now did she feel she had gone a bit too far. She hadn't thought much of it before—she had simply wanted that talented young man to leave as soon as possible. Only now did it occur to her: if things had really turned out that way, where would Grandpa have put his face?
"Ha ha, it's nothing, Grandpa Guan. Don't blame Guan Xin," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "To be honest, when you kept telling me how wonderful your granddaughter was, I was a little afraid to come calling myself. It's only natural that Guan Xin would feel something similar."
"Is that so? Then you're saying I, old man that I am, was *worrying* too much?" Guan Xuewen thought it over; it did seem he had been a bit hasty about the whole matter. He shook his head. "All right, then. Have Auntie Liu whip up a few simple dishes!"
"Let me do it..." Guan Xin rose from her seat, a little embarrassed...
The dishes on the table were all cleared away. It was a bit of a pity, but they truly were not the sort of thing a normal person could eat. Wei Zhao steered the conversation toward medicine, and Guan Xuewen soon forgot his earlier displeasure, animatedly discussing medicinal formulas with Wei Zhao...
By the time Guan Xin carried several plates of steaming dishes to the table, Guan Xuewen had completely forgotten what had happened before. "Xinxin, come pour Grandpa some wine!"
"Okay..." Guan Xin glanced at Wei Zhao, a flicker of doubt in her heart. This man was remarkable, wasn't he? Not only was he highly skilled in martial arts, but he also understood medicine? To earn such admiration from Grandpa was no easy feat!
The dishes Guan Xin cooked afterward were quite ordinary: scrambled eggs with scallions, a stir-fry of mushrooms, a quick-sautéed tofu, a plate of smashed cucumber salad, and a bowl of hot-and-sour egg soup, all brought to the table steaming hot.
Four perfectly ordinary home-style dishes and one utterly common soup—yet in Guan Xin's hands they had been prepared so that color and aroma alike were complete.
"This time, try them again..." Guan Xin poured her grandfather his wine, then said to Wei Zhao, a little embarrassed.
Wei Zhao nodded and picked up a bite of the mushroom stir-fry—then let out a "Hm?" He thought to himself, *She's actually caught up to my own level?*
"How is it?" Hearing Wei Zhao's "Hm?", Guan Xin could not tell whether it was good or bad. She watched him nervously, waiting for his answer. But for these few home-style dishes, she had already given everything she had, pushing her little kitchen-goddess skills to their absolute limit.
"I never would have thought home-style cooking could taste this good!" Wei Zhao said in praise. Back home, Old Man Wei often praised him in just the same way...
"Then... have some more!" Guan Xin was a little delighted and smiled with pursed lips. "Try the others too..."