Chapter 24

In an atmospheric cafe lit up by warm yellow light, three people were sitting by a wooden table.

With beautiful music in the air, Chen Kexin was eating a plate of pasta with contentment written all over her face.

While the elegant Chen Keren was drinking coffee and looking at Chen Kexin, she was wearing a mixture of feelings on her face.

Sitting across from them was a equally elegant man with dark hair and a perfectly scuptured face, exuberating an air of a sedate man. As he sat looking out of the window, his gentle eyes coupled with a faint smile on his face accentuated his charm.

“How have you been these years, Kexin?” he said. Compared with Wang Weixi, his voice sounded gentler and warmer.

Chen Kexin nodded and smiled faintly. “It has been great, how about you Xiaoxiao?”

The man frowned lightly as he thought in his heart, “How could I be well without you?” In an attempt to cover up the melancholy feeling in him, he replied, “I had been well.”

Chen Kexin nodded as she continued eating the pasta. Chen Keren, however, tightened her grip around the cup in her hand. She was trying to hold back the urge to vent her anger on Chen Kexin.

“Why did you come back so abruptly?” Chen Keren asked, putting down her coffee cup.

Lan Xiao continued to smile warmly and gently, looking extremely attractive with those dimples on his face. He averted his gaze to rest on Chen Kexin, who was concentrating on her food and said with a melancholic tone, “Abruptly? I thought I came back a bit too late.”

Chen Keren turned to look at Chen Kexin and with a hint of a smirk on her face, she said, “Indeed. You can’t turn back certain things once you missed it.”

Lan Xiao nodded and held his peace.

Supporting her chin with her palm, Chen Keren fixed her gaze on Chen Kexin. The only sound audible in the room came from Chen Kexin eating.

“Xiaoxiao, how did you become such a great chef? This is amazing…” Finally, Chen Kexin finished eating the entire plate of pasta and looked at Lan Xiao contentedly and admiringly.

Lan Xiao chuckled and cast a loving look at Chen Kexin, saying, “That’s because I love to watch the look of contentment on the face of someone I like when she enjoys my cooking.” “It is because then, you said you are looking for a man who could whip up various delicacies.”

As Chen Kexin took a sip of her coffee, an admiring look appeared on her face and she asked, “Someone you like? Who’s that?”

Lan Xiao revealed an embarrassing smile while Chen Kexin continued, “What a lucky girl she will be.”

Lan Xiao looked at Chen Kexin with pensive sadness. Indeed she was a blessed girl, but her blessings did not come from him.

Chen Keren set this date up for Lan Xiao and her sister, but she did not come here to hear their meaningless conversation, so she cut in before Lan Xiao could finish his sentence. “I heard you opened a company, Lan Xiao?”

Lan Xiao was taken aback as he stared at Chen Keren. He found it strange to have received Chen Keren’s invitation since there were not many who knew about his return. How was she so clear about his whereabouts?

As their eyes met, Chen Keren felt uneasy and quickly looked down. Her red hair, which stood out under the lights, made her look stunning.

Lan Xiao chortled. “It’s not a big deal. I have no desire to take over my parents’ company. I have merely set up a small company for myself.”

“Small company? What type of small company is it?” asked Chen Kexin with curiosity. To her, Lan Xiao had always been like some divinity. A small company did not seem to fit well with this impression.

Lan Xiao seemed a little shy as he answered, “It’s nothing great, it’s just…” As he stopped mid-sentence, he realized that Chen Kexin was looking at him with interest. Her expression was exactly like the time she used to ask him questions about life. For some unknown reason, Lan Xiao felt sad.

“It’s a training center for housewives,” he said shyly.

Chen Kexin’s eyes widened. Was there even such a thing as a training center for housewives? She burst out laughing and this made Lan Xiao and Chen Keren uneasy.

“A training center for housewives… what a strange company. What kind of training are you providing for housewives?” She asked innocently.

Chen Keren rolled her eyes and said, displeased, “Now you are talking nonsense, you are such a dimwit!”

Chen Kexin pouted, feeling that she had been misunderstood. “I am just curious…”

“Has the training classes started?” Chen Keren ignored Chen Kexin’s feelings and continued her conversation with Lan Xiao.

Lan Xiao nodded.

Chen Keren nodded in unison and asked, “There’s someone I want you to personally train. Is that possible?”

Both Lan Xiao and Chen Kexin looked surprised upon hearing Chen Keren’s words. They looked expectantly at Chen Keren.

Chen Keren cleared her throat and with an expressionless face, she added, “You are well aware that my sister is clueless about everything. It’s time for her to pick up some skills.”

Lan Xiao and Chen Kexin looked even more stunned.

Chen Kexin’s face fell. She waved her hand and said, “No, I don’t want to go for classes. I hate attending classes!”

Lan Xiao, on the other hand, started frowning.

After Chen Keren lifted her cup of coffee calmly to take a sip, she put the cup down and with a determined look, she said, “Just take a look at your hand, Chen Kexin.”

Lan Xiao and Chen Kexin shifted their gaze towards the plaster on her thumb, when Lan Xiao asked with concern, “What happened to your hand, Kexin?”

Chen Kexin revealed an uneasy smile, but held her peace, when Chen Keren said with an impassionate voice, “She was learning how to cook, but she burnt her thumb when her husband left to answer a phone call.”

Lan Xiao’s facial expression turned severe.

“It was merely an accident,” said Chen Kexin, embarrassed.

Chen Keren smiled coldly and said, “Indeed it was an accident. How about those dishes you broke while you were cleaning them up?”

“I… That was the first time I tried to do the housework…” Chen Kexin felt even more embarrassed.

Chen Keren let out a laugh and did not speak further.

Lan Xiao frowned deeply. With a gentle voice, he asked, “Does your husband ask you to wash dishes and cook for him, Kexin?”

As Chen Kexin lifted her gaze and saw Lan Xiao’s concerned look, suddenly she was at a loss of what to do. She was at a loss of words.

“You have never done those things before in your life, right?” Lan Xiao continued to speak with a warm and gentle voice which betrayed a faint quiver in his voice.

Chen Kexin bit her lips and kept silent.

“I would advise you to go for the training so Lan Xiao can teach you a thing or two. Since you have the desire to learn, why don’t you take lessons from the professionals?” said Chen Keren.

Lan Xiao looked intently at Chen Keren with mixed feelings. All of a sudden, he realized the reason Chen Keren tracked him down.

Before Chen Kexin raised her objection, Chen Keren continued, “If you want brother-in-law’s friends to approve of you, or if you don’t want to be so useless, take my advice.”

Chen Keren’s voice was freezing cold. Her expression and her tone of voice had always been so dispassionate.

Chen Kexin pondered for a moment and finally nodded. “Alright, I will attend the training.”

A triumphant smile appeared on Chen Keren’s face. However, the smile was so subtle that the other two did not notice it.

Lan Xiao, on the other hand, remained silent.

He appeared severe when he kept himself. He did not feel good at all when he thought about the man whom Chen Kexin married.

“Oh, my car had broken down, sister. Lan Xiao will send you home,” Chen Keren said all of a sudden.

Surprised, Chen Kexin blurted out, “But you just drove us here!”

Chen Keren wanted to laugh as she realized that her sister was not hopelessly dim-witted. “Sorry, it’s broken down now,” she said. Lan Xiao lifted his gaze to Chen Keren, puzzled. All she did was to chuckle.

As Chen Keren tried to get up from her seat, she said, “I have something one, you two can continue.” Before Chen Kexin could react, Chen Keren was already out of the room. The sound made by her stiletto faded into the night.

The atmosphere in the room turned awkward as Chen Kexin and Lan Xiao were left alone.

At this moment, there was turmoil in Lan Xiao’s heart. While he could somehow guess Chen Keren’s intention, he knew Chen Kexin was immensely infatuated with her husband. “Am I going to forgo the woman I love, or should I take hold of the opportunity created by Chen Keren to win Chen Kexin’s heart?”

He held his head with his hands. The more he thought about this, the more troubled he felt.

Watching the woman he had been longing for and looking at the ring on her ring finger, suddenly Lan Xiao’s lips curled upwards as he thought of how blessedly happy she was.

“Will you come for the classes, Kexin?” He could sense Chen Kexin’s reluctance despite her agreeing to Chen Keren a moment ago.

Chen Kexin sighed helplessly as she gave her positive answer once again, though her expression was that of unwillingness.

Although Lan Xiao could not bear to see her sad countenance, he was secretly happy at the same time. If this was going to happen, she would be with him every day. The anticipation was sufficient to keep him happy and feeling blessed.

As Chen Kexin reflected on the happenings in the last few days, she started speaking. “My husband’s friends are organizing a gathering. I am expected to prepare some dishes. I also have to wash the dishes because he has to work…”

Lan Xiao frowned as he fixed his gaze on Chen Kexin and continued watching her quietly.

“Sigh… why is my life so sad!” Chen Kexin continued to complain.

While secretly Lan Xiao tightened his fists, he controlled his voice to sound calm and gentle. “I remember… didn’t you use to say you will marry someone who could wash laundry and cook for you? Someone who will dote on you and never allow you to do chores? What happened…?”

Chen Kexin burst out laughing as she witnessed Lan Xiao’s expression of disbelief. Then she remembered Wang Weixi’s protective love towards her.

“Weixi doesn’t let me do chores, but I can’t embarrass him in front of his friends. I have totally forgotten what I’ve said after I meet him, because I just wanted to be with him so badly. Haha…”

Sadness flashed across Lan Xiao’s face for just a moment. “Have you forgotten it? I had left my family so determinedly because of this very statement you had made…”

“Oops! It’s nine o’clock, I have to go home.” Chen Kexin cried out as she glanced at her mobile phone.

Lan Xiao nodded and said, “Alright, I will send you home.”

Chen Kexin returned with a sweet smile. She did not turn down his offer.