Read Novel Full Chapter 141 – Old Classmate and Good Friend
Chapter 141 – Old Classmate and Good Friend
After the plane landed, Jiang Li immediately took a cab back to campus. She figured that Wen Wan’s flight had arrived earlier than hers and that she was probably already at the school by now. If traffic weren’t bad, she might even be able to grab lunch with her.
Tong Yi walked her all the way to the dorm building before handing back her backpack. “Put your stuff away and come back down. I’ll take you to a nice place for lunch.”
Jiang Li deliberately challenged him, “I’ve already tried almost every restaurant and food stall around here. Nothing’s that special.”
Tong Yi asked right away, “Then do you want to try my cooking?”
“You can cook?” Jiang Li was surprised.
Tong Yi smiled. “I tried a bit at home during winter break. If you want to be my apprentice, I’ll teach you for free.”
Jiang Li gave him a skeptical look. “You’re a beginner and still have the nerve to brag?”
Tong Yi looked completely confident. “You’ll find out soon enough whether I’m bragging once you try my masterwork.”
His smug attitude successfully piqued Jiang Li’s curiosity. “Alright. I’ll go drop off my things and call Wen Wan. We’ll come together to test your cooking.”
Tong Yi nodded. “Sure. Be quick.”
Jiang Li turned and headed into the dorm building, hurrying upstairs. But when she got to her room, Wen Wan still wasn’t there. She called to check in.
Once the call connected, Wen Wan explained that her flight had been delayed, so she wouldn’t get to school until the evening.
After hanging up, Jiang Li saw that she had unread messages on QQ. Opening them, she found Wen Wan had already messaged her earlier about the delay—but since she hadn’t checked her phone much that day, she’d missed it.
She sent Wen Wan an emoji reply, then closed the app, called her family to let them know she’d arrived safely, and finally headed downstairs to meet Tong Yi and try out “Chef Tong’s” cooking.
Since Tong Yi was going to cook, of course he’d need a kitchen, so they headed to the villa Feng Qi had purchased for Jiang Li.
After they left the campus, Jiang Li said, “There’s no food stocked over there. We’ll have to go grocery shopping first.”
In order to sleep a little longer in the morning, Jiang Li normally stayed on campus, leaving the villa mostly unused. Though a cleaner would come regularly, no one cooked there, so there were no fresh ingredients stocked.
Tong Yi grinned at her. “Then let’s go grocery shopping together. Do you think people will misunderstand us…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but Jiang Li could already tell he was up to no good and raised her fist. “Itching to get punched, are you?”
Tong Yi caught her fist in his hand. “Jiang Xiao Li, did you know your hand is super soft?” Compared to his own, it was practically boneless. Was this the difference between girls and guys?
Jiang Li yanked her hand free. “Let’s buy the groceries and eat first. After we’re done, I’ll give you a proper beating.”
Tong Yi chuckled. “If you want a sparring partner, I’m happy to oblige. No need to act all fierce.”
Jiang Li gave him a deadpan stare. “Whether I’m acting or not, you’ll find out soon enough.”
Tong Yi quickly replied, “Of course it’s not an act. Our Jiang Xiao Li never pretends to be something she’s not.”
As a man, you had to know when to back down. If he really pissed her off, he’d be the one suffering.
While shopping at the supermarket, Jiang Li noticed that Tong Yi was picking out all her favorite foods. She couldn’t help asking, “You know how to cook all these?”
Tong Yi replied lazily, “That’s not the right question. Anyone can cook by following a recipe. What you should be asking is whether my cooking tastes good.”
Jiang Li jabbed his arm with her finger. “You’re talking pretty big right now. If it tastes bad, you’re eating all of it by yourself.”
Still, she had a feeling Tong Yi’s cooking wouldn’t be too bad. After all, he knew her tastes so well and had practiced in advance—he’d clearly come prepared.
Was this Tong Yi’s way of pursuing her? First, investment profits. Then, an amusement park. Now, he was going after her stomach…
Jiang Li decided: even if the food turned out a little subpar, she’d give him a compliment or two as encouragement.
After leaving the supermarket, Tong Yi was carrying several plastic bags in both hands, filled with all of Jiang Li’s favorite ingredients.”
While shopping, Jiang Li had reminded him multiple times that they didn’t need to buy so much—there were only two of them, and they couldn’t possibly finish it all. But Tong Yi had just smiled and said, “If we can’t finish it, just store it. It’s so cold now, we don’t even need a fridge—the food’ll last for days. I’ll cook again when I have time.”
So Jiang Li didn’t stop him again. She figured school hadn’t started yet anyway, so if they had the leftover meals for the next couple of days, they might actually manage to finish everything.
As soon as they got to the villa, Tong Yi tied on an apron and headed straight for the kitchen. Jiang Li hesitated for a moment, then followed to help out. It didn’t take long for her to notice that Tong Yi’s chopping skills didn’t look amateurish at all, piquing her curiosity, “You really only started learning to cook over winter break?”
Tong Yi answered while slicing vegetables, “Yup! Why? Do I seem gifted?”
Jiang Li replied bluntly, “Maybe you’re just good at chopping vegetables.”
Tong Yi chuckled and shook his head. “Just watch. Once the dishes are on the table, you’ll see I’m good at everything.”
Though that’s what he said, the moment the shredded pork with garlic sauce was done, Tong Yi immediately picked up a portion with his chopsticks and offered it to Jiang Li. “Try it and see how it tastes. If it’s not good, I’ll make a new batch.”
Jiang Li raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t this a little inappropriate?”
Tong Yi smiled. “There are only two of us in the kitchen—what are you afraid of? Back in junior high, you used to eat snacks in front of me all the time.”
Jiang Li: “…”
How was that even comparable?! She was only fifteen back then—she didn’t worry about things like this.
But seeing the look of anticipation in his eyes, she still took the bite from his chopsticks. Her eyes lit up instantly. “It’s really good! Big Nephew, you do have talent!”
Tong Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, curious. “Is it that good?”
He then took a bite himself with the same chopsticks. After a few seconds, he nodded. “Not bad. Passable, at least.”
Jiang Li: “…”
She really wanted to remind him that she had just used those chopsticks, and they were probably still coated with her saliva. Wasn’t that… a bit much?
But in the end, she said nothing.
Since there were only two of them, Tong Yi kept the menu simple: the shredded pork, a portion of steamed pork ribs with rice flour, and a tofu and greens soup.
Once the food was on the table, Jiang Li realized everything was completely to her taste. As she ate, she couldn’t help imagining how Tong Yi must have fumbled around when he first started cooking. She wondered what he’d done with his failed attempts.
But she didn’t ask—because she knew he’d never tell her the truth.
After the meal, Tong Yi was about to clean up when suddenly, a woman in her fifties entered the house. She looked surprised to see Tong Yi and Jiang Li, clearly not expecting anyone to be home.
Tong Yi gave Jiang Li a confused look—he had never seen this woman before.
Jiang Li greeted the woman and then turned to Tong Yi. “This is Auntie Wang, the cleaning lady. My uncle hired her to come regularly.”
Auntie Wang had been assigned to clean the house even before Jiang Li came to Beijing for school. In reality, “cleaning” mostly meant wiping dust since the villa had been vacant, and there was hardly any trash or mess.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Li to be here today—and even bring a boy along.
Auntie Wang couldn’t help but glance at Tong Yi a few more times, thinking that he and Jiang Li looked quite well-matched.
Jiang Li cleared her throat. “Auntie Wang, can you help me clean the bedroom first?”
Auntie Wang nodded right away. “Of course. That’s what I came here for today.”
Miss Jiang Li had probably stayed here overnight, which was why she wanted the room cleaned—she thought.
Jiang Li then turned to Tong Yi. “There’s a dishwasher in the kitchen. Just tidy up a bit. I’ll go upstairs for a moment and be back soon.”
Tong Yi nodded. “Sure, no problem.”
Auntie Wang laughed. “Why are you two doing any of this? Just leave the dishes on the table—I’ll take care of them.”
“But you’re helping me clean the bedroom right now,” Jiang Li said.
Auntie Wang wasn’t about to argue with her employer, so she smiled and said, “Then let’s go upstairs now.”
Once upstairs, Auntie Wang went straight to Jiang Li’s bedroom—only to find no signs of anyone having stayed there. Still, she pulled out a cloth and started dusting nonexistent dirt. With her employer standing nearby watching her, even if the room was spotless, she had to pretend to work.
Jiang Li stood next to her, hesitating for a while before finally asking, “Auntie Wang, does my uncle contact you directly?”
Auntie Wang paused, then answered honestly, “For something as small as house cleaning? Of course not. I’ve only met Third Master Feng once, and that was at the beginning of last semester, when he sent you off for school.”
Jiang Li nodded, then tried to sound casual as she added, “The guy outside is my old classmate from junior high. We’re close—we’ve always been good friends.”
Auntie Wang was quiet for a few seconds before replying, “I see, I see—just good friends, correct? Totally not a boyfriend.”
Whether that young man was actually Miss Jiang Li’s boyfriend, Auntie Wang couldn’t be sure. But what she was sure of was that Jiang Li didn’t want Third Master Feng to know she had brought a boy home for lunch.
If she had to guess, the two likely had mutual feelings, but hadn’t reached the point of introducing him to family—hence the secrecy.
As just a hardworking cleaner, Auntie Wang had no connection to Third Master Feng anyway—so she certainly wouldn’t be passing along any intel regarding his niece’s love life.
Jiang Li: “…”
Auntie Wang was a little too straightforward—she didn’t even know how to respond. Still, she’d achieved her goal, so whatever Auntie Wang was imagining didn’t matter.
After the conversation, Jiang Li turned to go back downstairs, only to see Tong Yi standing in the doorway. He leaned lazily against the doorframe, his expression somewhere between a smile and a smirk—absolutely begging for a punch.
“What are you doing up here?” She frowned. Had he finished cleaning up already because she took too long?
Tong Yi replied immediately, “My junior high classmate hadn’t come downstairs for a while. As her good friend, I got a little worried, so I came to check.”
Jiang Li: “…”
Seeing her speechless expression, Tong Yi burst into laughter. “Well, now that I see my old classmate is safe and sound, I can rest easy.”
Jiang Li: “…”
Right now, she really wanted to punch someone.
Just wait—once Auntie Wang left, she was absolutely going to beat up this smug bastard!
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Translator’s Note:
Introducing our newest novel, Dreaming Among the Pear Blossoms! This is a historical novel with imperial music bureau as a background. Takes quite a while for me to like the ML, but once I do, this is a very nice story. Try it~
PS. AerialRain is still short one title to replace the ending ATCF. Drop your suggestion!