[WrongThenWrong] Chapter 34.2 — Day 11 (Struck By An Idea)

The two of them cooked the stir-fry together.

Cheng Liu stood next to him holding the phone, and Ji Chaozhou followed the steps one by one.

There was no sudden inspiration, no inferences, only step-by-step instructions.

“It’s done!” Cheng Liu exclaimed, looking at the vegetables in the wok. She exited the recipe video and took photos of the vegetables. She didn’t forget to praise, “It looks very delicious.”

Seeing that she had no complaints about his cooking, Ji Chaozhou’s pursed lips finally loosened a little. He glanced at the cheerful Cheng Liu beside him, feeling a little aggrieved in his heart.

Ordinarily, at this time, he would have been quietly staying alone in his study instead of learning how to cook with her in the kitchen.

“There are two more dishes.” After Cheng Liu took another photo, she volunteered to join the battle. She clicked on the video and handed the phone to Ji Chaozhou, “I’ll make the next one.”

Cheng Liu learned online that it took two people to handle a family’s affairs. Things must be shared together.

He did one, then she must also do the other.

Cheng Liu confidently poured the ingredients into the wok and began to stir-fry.

Ji Chaozhou stood beside her with the phone this time, silently watching the explanation in the video. “A pinch of salt, a dash of MSG…”

As a perfumer, he was used to controlling precise measurements. Ji Chaozhou could tell at a glance what the ‘pinch’ of salt in the video was.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Cheng Liu scooping up a spoonful of salt and was about to sprinkle it on the wok, and he instinctively restrained her wrist.

Cheng Liu had pushed up her cuffs earlier, exposing half of her forearm. Ji Chaozhou’s fingertips directly touched the skin of her wrist.

A little cool, not as hot as her heart.

Ji Chaozhou was inexplicably confused for a moment, startled by the thought he had, and quickly took his hand back.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Liu turned to look at him, confused.

Ji Chaozhou turned away and said, “There’s too much salt.”

He put the phone on the kitchen island and was about to turn away, but Cheng Liu held him back. She held the spoonful of salt to him and said, “What about this, is it too much?”

“…less.” Ji Chaozhou pulled back and broke away from Cheng Liu.

“Then you put in the seasoning, and I’ll be responsible for frying,” Cheng Liu quickly divided up the work. The hand he had just broken away from restrained him again, and she stuffed the salt spoon into his hand.

She held Ji Chaozhou back, and the warmth from her hand spread along his back instantly, until a trace of itch burned at the tip of his heart, which made him feel a little… aggrieved.

Probably because of the difficult experience in the kitchen, Young President Cheng lost her survival instinct. She looked at Ji Chaozhou and, without checking with her brain first, said directly, “Why are you staring at me?”

Ji Chaozhou was now fully annoyed and said coldly, ” …Shut up.”

“Oh.” Cheng Liu picked up the spatula and stirred the ingredients, then urged Ji Chaozhou, “Hurry up and add salt.”

It looked like she was about to succeed this time!

Young President Cheng was immersed in the joy of succeeding in cooking and didn’t notice the frosty look on Ji Chaozhou’s brows next to her.

“Okay!” Cheng Liu plated the dish. She has tasted sweet victory and was ready to move on to the next dish.

Ji Chaozhou was forced to stand by and help her control the amount of various seasonings.

“Three dishes and one soup, there’s still a soup missing.” Cheng Liu was still not finished.

“No need.” Ji Chaozhou who had been standing nearby all this time suddenly refused.

“You don’t want to drink soup?” Cheng Liu hesitated for a moment, “Okay, there’s no need then.”

She took the plates out to the dining table. It was already past eleven o’clock.

Cheng Liu didn’t feel uncomfortable. She was always busy, and it was common for her to eat in the middle of the night.

But this was the first time for Ji Chaozhou to eat so late.

Ji Chaozhou looked at Cheng Liu across from him with an expressionless face. He should have woken her up directly in the private box before instead of causing so much trouble for himself.

Probably because he hadn’t eaten anything tonight, or because of the influence of Cheng Liu who was engrossed in eating across from him, Ji Chaozhou actually ate.

“I think it tastes better than the one at Guyu Pavillon,” Cheng Liu commented seriously once she was full, “Especially the food you cooked.”

Ji Chaozhou didn’t comment. He looked down at the empty bowl in front of him, feeling an inexplicable annoyance in his heart.

Cheng Liu had already started to put the used dishes into the dishwasher. She came out and said to Ji Chaozhou, “Then I’ll head back first. See you tomorrow.”

Although they missed the date because of her sleepiness, they had different kind of date after they came back. Young President Cheng was very satisfied, and after returning to her house next door, she immediately posted a message on WeChat to show off.

No. 6: [My neighbor and I cooked together 😀 ]

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

It was midnight, and most of her middle-aged business partners had already gone to bed, but Director Li, who was kicked out of the room tonight by his wiife, was still awake. He was lying on the sofa scrolling through Moments when he saw Cheng Liu’s post. He sat up instantly.

President Ji’s son was famous for keeping away from people. It was Young President Cheng who had outstanding skills in making friends after all.

Director Li commented below her post: [Young President Cheng, you are amazing! You can have a good relationship with anyone!]

… …

Ji Mushan had just finished working for the day and was frowning at his phone. He stared at the familiar stove and commented with some disbelief: [?]

Cheng Liu and Chaozhou cooked together? This was impossible. Not to mention him, Yun Se has never eaten Chaozhou’s cooking.

… …

He Bai, who was still awake, also saw this post. Cheng Liu rarely posted on WeChat Moments, and yet this was already the second time this year.

However, judging from Director Li’s comment, it seemed that her neighbor was a difficult person to get along with.

He Bai thought for a moment and could probably guess something: Cheng Liu had changed her residence, and she should be establishing a good relationship with someone to cooperate with.

Maybe it would be a good idea to find out tomorrow what new direction she was planning to go, so he could prepare in advance.

… …

At this moment, Young President Cheng went to wash up after posting to WeChat Moments, and fell asleep happily. She had everything she wanted in her dreams.

If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

T/N: I feel like the word ‘wok’ has already migrated into the English language by now but in case you’re not familiar with the word, it’s a deep, sloped pan that works best in distributing heat evenly, as opposed to frying pan or skillet.