Hedonist Prodigy

Chapter 108: Foolish Woman

A few hours later, Jiang Feng slowly opened his eyes. He smelled a faint burnt odor in the air, but assuming it was just burnt food in the kitchen, he didn’t pay much attention. After a while, someone knocked on the door, so he got up to go downstairs for dinner.

Just as he stepped out of his room, he saw Ye Qingxuan in the living room downstairs, wearing an apron and carrying a plate of food. She was carefully moving her feet, slowly groping her way towards the dining table.

Jiang Feng frowned slightly. What was she doing?

Could it be that the burnt smell he had smelled earlier was because Ye Qingxuan was cooking?

Only then did Jiang Feng notice the oil stains on Ye Qingxuan’s clothes, and faint black stains on her delicate, fair face. Seeing the middle-aged woman following behind Ye Qingxuan with a helpless expression, her hands nervously unsure of what to do, he understood immediately that Ye Qingxuan must have been cooking.

Jiang Feng’s expression turned extremely strange. He found it hard to imagine what it would be like for this pampered young lady, who never lifted a finger in the kitchen, to cook.

Watching Ye Qingxuan’s clumsy and awkward movements, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly, saying nothing more, standing at the top of the stairs watching her every move.

Ye Qingxuan stumbled around for a while, finally managing to bring the dishes to the table. A faint smile appeared on her face as she turned to head back to the kitchen.

Seeing this, the middle-aged woman quickly said, “Miss Ye, you’ve finished cooking. I’ll go get the dishes. Please sit down and rest for a while.”

“It’s alright, I’m not tired. You don’t need to come with me, it’ll be ready soon.” Ye Qingxuan gently shook her head and walked towards the kitchen by feel.

This was a meal she had personally cooked for Jiang Feng. She wanted to do it herself and not trouble others. Even if it was a little tiring, she was happy.

The middle-aged woman couldn’t stop Ye Qingxuan. She glanced timidly at Jiang Feng, unsure what to do. Jiang Feng shook his head, telling her to be quiet.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Ye Qingxuan finally managed to bring four dishes and a soup to the table. She then quietly sat down. 

Jiang Feng slowly came downstairs. Hearing footsteps, Ye Qingxuan smiled happily and mouthed, “Jiang Feng, come quickly, dinner’s ready.”

“Okay, let’s eat,” Jiang Feng said.

Once Jiang Feng sat down, Ye Qingxuan immediately started serving him rice. Watching her struggle as she did this, Jiang Feng felt a complex mix of emotions.

This side of Ye Qingxuan would likely shock many people if word got out. Even he found it quite unusual. He didn’t know if Ye Qingxuan had ever cooked before, nor how he should react. After hesitating for a moment, he remained silent.

Ye Qingxuan ladled out some rice and carefully handed it to Jiang Feng, saying, “I’m not very good at cooking. Just eat a little bit. If you don’t like it, tell me, and I’ll learn and improve.”

Jiang Feng smiled, picked up his chopsticks, and took a big bite. 

Ye Qingxuan’s chopsticks then reached over, holding a slightly burnt piece of braised pork. She said, “Jiang Feng, try it and see if you can eat it.”

Jiang Feng took the braised pork with his bowl, ate it in one bite, and said, “It tastes good.”

Ye Qingxuan smiled shyly and said, “This is my first time making this dish. I’m glad you like it. Eat more.” She picked up more food with her chopsticks.

Jiang Feng hummed in agreement and began to chew heartily. Hearing the sound of Jiang Feng chewing, Ye Qingxuan’s expression was as serene as a gentle wife’s, but she only ate small bites of rice. It seemed that as long as Jiang Feng was happy, she was content.

Five minutes later, Jiang Feng put down his chopsticks and said, “I’m full.”

Ye Qingxuan asked in surprise, “So fast? Are you really full? Do you want some more?”

Jiang Feng laughed, “If I eat any more, my stomach will burst.” He then said to the middle-aged woman, “Clear the table, and make a pot of bird’s nest soup. She’s not fully recovered yet, so she needs to eat something light.”

The middle-aged woman looked at the table full of undercooked or burnt dishes, wondering how Jiang Feng had managed to eat them. A look of pity crossed her face. Understanding Jiang Feng’s meaning, she came over to clear the table.

Ye Qingxuan quickly reached out to stop him, complaining to Jiang Feng, “I’m not full yet! Honestly, you only care about yourself and don’t care about others at all.”

Although he couldn’t hear Ye Qingxuan’s voice, her expression, a mixture of reproach and delight, clearly meant to be coquettish, possessing a rather alluring charm. Jiang Feng was slightly taken aback, not expecting Ye Qingxuan to have this side to her. 

As Ye Qingxuan stopped her, the middle-aged woman hesitated, unsure whether to stop or not. 

Ye Qingxuan reached out with her chopsticks, picked up a slice of braised eggplant, and put it in her mouth.

The moment it entered her mouth, Ye Qingxuan’s expression changed drastically, and she involuntarily spat it out. 

Jiang Feng had eaten quite a bit of that braised eggplant, and besides being undercooked, it was also over-salted. Seeing Ye Qingxuan’s reaction, he immediately said to the middle-aged woman, “Quickly, get a glass of warm water to rinse your mouth.”

The middle-aged woman quickly ran to get water, while Ye Qingxuan’s expression froze completely. She hadn’t expected the eggplant to be so undercooked and so salty, making it impossible to swallow.

But Jiang Feng had clearly eaten so much! Was she imagining things?

With these thoughts in mind, Ye Qingxuan picked up her chopsticks and tried several other dishes. Without exception, they were either undercooked, overly salty, or burnt. Even the simplest tomato cake tasted watery.

With a “clatter,” Ye Qingxuan’s chopsticks fell to the floor, and she slumped into her chair, lost in thought.

Although she knew it was her first time cooking, and being blind, her dish probably wouldn’t taste very good, which was why she asked Jiang Feng if he could eat it, she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

Yet, despite how terrible it was, Jiang Feng still ate so much.

Was he deliberately eating so much to comfort her?

Ye Qingxuan’s lips trembled slightly as she said to Jiang Feng, “Jiang Feng, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it would be like this, otherwise I wouldn’t have let you eat it.”

Jiang Feng gently comforted her, “It’s okay, I know what you mean. Besides, it wasn’t that bad. I’m never picky about food; as long as I’m full, that’s enough.”

“But…” Ye Qingxuan wanted to say something more, but couldn’t bring herself to speak. She got up and slowly began clearing the table. With a “bang,” a bowl and plate slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor with a crisp sound.

Hearing the sound, Ye Qingxuan took a step back in fright, almost falling backward. 

Jiang Feng quickly caught her and pulled her into his arms.

Ye Qingxuan clutched his clothes tightly with her small hands, her body trembling slightly, filled with sorrow.

How could she be so clumsy? It was one thing to be bad at cooking, but she couldn’t even clean the table. She considered herself a pampered princess, yet she couldn’t even do such a small thing right. It was embarrassing, and Jiang Feng would look down on her too, wouldn’t he?

Jiang Feng took the water glass from the middle-aged woman, gave her a look, signaling her to clean the table, then led Ye Qingxuan to the sofa, helped her sit down, and fed her water to rinse her mouth.

Ye Qingxuan took a sip of water, her expression growing even more sorrowful. 

Jiang Feng knew she was blaming herself, but regardless of how badly she had cooked, it was ultimately a well-intentioned act. How could he blame her? He said softly, “Ye Qingxuan, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Ye Qingxuan grabbed Jiang Feng’s hand and said, “Why did you eat it when it tasted so bad? You’re so silly! Why didn’t you tell me? If you had told me, I wouldn’t have let you eat it. Go to the bathroom and throw up now, otherwise your stomach will definitely hurt.”

Her expression was so distressed that Jiang Feng felt a pang of pity. He said, “Ye Qingxuan, you don’t need to do those things for me. You can’t do them yourself, so why force yourself? If you don’t like it, I like it even less.”

From the moment Ye Qingxuan offered to make him tea, Jiang Feng sensed something was off about her. Now that she was cooking, Jiang Feng knew that if he didn’t explain things clearly, driven by guilt, Ye Qingxuan might do even more. And that was not what he wanted to see.

Ye Qingxuan slowly loosened her grip on Jiang Feng’s arm, staring blankly at him. After a long pause, she managed to say with difficulty, “Jiang Feng, you don’t like me, right?”

Because he didn’t like her, he didn’t care whether what she did was good or bad.

Because he didn’t like her, he didn’t care whether she did it or not.

At this moment, for some reason, Ye Qingxuan felt as if her heart had been hollowed out, a pain so intense it was almost suffocating.

She knew she was stupid, incapable of doing anything, but she had tried so hard to do things to make amends to Jiang Feng.

Why did Jiang Feng still treat her this way?

Could it be that no matter what she did, Jiang Feng would never forgive her?

Jiang Feng looked at Ye Qingxuan’s pink lips, remaining silent.

Because if saying he liked her meant making Ye Qingxuan like this, he simply didn’t know how to answer.

Besides, to him, Ye Qingxuan was Ye Qingxuan; her pride was unique, and there was absolutely no need for her to change anything for him.

She changed herself to win his favor, which was no longer her true self. What was the point?

Ye Qingxuan didn’t receive Jiang Feng’s reply. Thinking she had guessed correctly, her face turned deathly pale. She staggered to her feet from the sofa, dragging her leaden steps to the stairs, and began her ascent.

Jiang Feng watched Ye Qingxuan leave, wanting to explain, but the words wouldn’t come out.