Chapter 2 - substitute romance 02
The fish skin is crispy and fragrant, the fish is white and tender, the golden, clear soup bubbles merrily, a handful of green chillies and a sprinkling of green peppercorns add freshness and flavour, and the pungent, spicy aroma wafts up in the steam.
Let me have a taste!
‘It smells so good…’
‘It’s a bit hot…’
‘Have a drink.
Yu Huan hurriedly brought Lin Zhen a drink, then ran out and fetched another cup, refilling Yan Yi’s as well.
Lin Zhen was in a daze.
It was customary for her dormitory to gather for meals in their free time.
The girls would sit together, enjoy a good meal, take some nice photos to fill their social circles, and also strengthen their mutual affection.
When you say that their dormitory has a good relationship, it is really not without the credit of Yu Huan.
Yan Yi is cold on the outside and hot on the inside, and her expression is cold and hard; her roommate Qiao Xi has a lively personality and a weak sense of boundaries; she is quiet and introverted, sensitive and fragile.
Yu Huan happens to be a neutralising agent between them. She talks a lot but doesn’t get on people’s nerves. She likes to cling to people and be flirtatious, and she is the king of the cheering section of the atmosphere group.
She will look at you with twinkling eyes and say sincerely, ‘How did you know…?
Nobody can resist.
Even Yan Yi, who is the most difficult to approach, has been won over by her.
Yu Huan herself, on the other hand, is unaware of her own abilities. Perhaps this is because wherever she goes, there is harmony and beauty.
After they had eaten for a while, the boss came to deliver the food as promised. There was a plate of shredded chicken with fried peanuts and a plate of spinach and bean sprouts in a sour and spicy sauce.
Yu Huan solemnly picked up a peanut and lovingly fed it to Yan Yi for the first bite, earning a slap on the head from Yan Yi, who was now honest.
Suddenly a plate of very thinly sliced watermelon appeared on the table. The fingers holding the plate were long and white, not the hands of the boss just now.
Yu Huan, holding the peanut, looked up, but it was the young cashier she had seen outside.
The watermelon is frozen, it’s delicious, but eat less,’ the young cashier said.
The young cashier’s voice was as fresh and clean as his appearance, and his attitude was very good. Having delivered the watermelon, he drew the curtain and walked out.
Before I knew it, the returning boss came in with an ice-cold watermelon. He saw it on the table and froze for a moment, then turned and left: ‘I told you to serve the food, you just collect the money…’.
Now there’s nothing left for me to do…’
There were customers walking back and forth outside, so I couldn’t hear what he said.
In fact, Yu Huan’s part was already more than halfway through, and she could stop working as soon as the female lead returned to China in two years and the two got together.
Therefore, Yu Huan is always very proactive in order to move the plot forward.
In the evening, Yu Huan lies comfortably on the bed watching a movie while not forgetting to send the male lead a message to enact their persistent scene.
The male lead is not impressed with her and does not frequently send her messages.
Yu Huan, however, is not discouraged and can force herself to talk about everything: what she ate, what she did, what tasted good and what didn’t, who she went with, who she met, what time she got back…
She rambled on about her daily life, adding a few uninspiring words to make a little essay that showed how sincere she was. At the end, she asked if the male lead had eaten yet.
The male lead wouldn’t read the messages she sent anyway, so Yu Huan clicked send, feeling guilty.
She just didn’t know that sometimes your mood can change a lot of things.
As night fell, the riverside was lined with tall buildings, dazzling with neon lights – a view unique to bustling cities.
In front of the huge French windows, a young man sipped a glass of intoxicating red wine and commented on the usual view of the river: ‘Boring’.
He tilted his head back and swallowed the wine. The alcohol gave him some courage, and he fixed his gaze on the man sitting on the sofa. His throat was still a little dry, so he pretended to invite him naturally, “Qin brother, do you want to go golfing?
Qin Yunye looked lazy, playing with his phone. He looked over when he heard the sound and nodded slightly to indicate his agreement, but he firmly refused: ‘No.
The young master only guessed from Qin Yunye’s action of turning the phone from time to time that the other person might be in a state of doing nothing, so he plucked up the courage to speak.
Since it was Qin Yunye, he was a little flattered by the rejection.
The vibration of the phone was transferred to his palm.
Qin Yunye skilfully opened the message, and a short composition of just the right length appeared in front of his eyes.
It was an ordinary sentence.
But as Qin Yunye read it, he could feel the little girl’s overflowing emotions coming towards him, and he imagined her racking her brains over it, tapping away at the keyboard. The neat and regular text became simple and beautiful.
He habitually opened the memo and organised the little girl’s preferences, which she had inadvertently revealed to him.
Lin Jingyang, who was familiar with Qin Yunye, walked over and teased, “Who sent the message to keep our Qin brother waiting?
Qin Yunye did not deny it, and replied with the two words “I ate” on his hand. But he said to his good friend, ‘I will introduce you to each other in the future.
Lin Jingyang’s eyebrows raised, is this serious?
I ate.
Just two words.
Yu Huan let out a cry of despair. It really wasn’t a good feeling to have one’s warm face slapped into the cold. If it wasn’t for the mission, she would have ignored Qin Yunye a long time ago.
Yu Huan,’ Yan Yi, who was still downstairs, suddenly called out to her.
‘Huh?’ Yu Huan poked her head out of the upper bunk.
A dried mango was handed to her.
Open your mouth,’ Yan Yi said.
You just think I’m annoying and want to shut me up,’ Yu Huan grumbled and took the mango stick.
Although it was a task, the constant negative feedback was inevitably frustrating.
Yu Huan had worked diligently for a long time and finally couldn’t help but take a holiday.
She didn’t message the male lead, so naturally he wouldn’t respond to her. He might even forget who she was in a few days. Yu Huan muttered to herself, but she really didn’t have the motivation to continue these days.
During these days of relaxation, she became addicted to a game that Qiao Xi’anli played.
At first, Qiao Xi played with her, but then Qiao Xi’s younger brother, Qiao Rui, joined in and it became a two-on-one game.
Rui is two years younger than Xi and has just started university. He is like the bright, cheerful boy next door.
He is a very good player, always the top scorer and never puts pressure on his teammates.
He can also take a joke, sometimes calling Yu Huan ‘sister’ and even fooling her into calling him by his nickname ‘Naonao’, saying that Xi usually calls him that.
In the end, Qiao Xi revealed the truth in a second: ‘What a ghost, I still call him Naonao, I haven’t been allowed to call him that since I was eight because I was ashamed. Now I remember…
The eloquent boy was rarely frustrated. A blush slowly crept up the back of his ears, and he was so worried that he started scratching his ears and shouting into the microphone, trying to drown out his sister’s voice.
Yu Huan was overjoyed, lying on the bed listening to the two siblings outwit each other.
While they were having fun, the little handsome guy that Qiao Xi had been chasing recently called, and he immediately blocked Qiao Rui.
Yu Huan also wanted to log off and was about to take off the headset when she heard the boy muttering to himself, “I just want to hear my sister scream, Na Na Na, what’s wrong?
Just like a child who doesn’t get sweets.
Yu Huan laughed again.
Later, Qiao Xi was lured away by the handsome little man to play other games, and only Qiao Rui remained to play with Yu Huan.
Rui was undoubtedly an excellent playmate, with high quality skills, boundless enthusiasm and a pleasant voice – not a forced one, but a natural tone that made even casual conversation enjoyable.