CH 41

Five minutes of pain.

‘Gu Zai, you didn’t let me thank big brother Yan Fen for saving me,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘If it wasn’t for him, I would be serving guests at a brothel.’

‘Zhen Zhen, I’ll ask someone to thank him on your behalf,’ Yue Gu Zai said. ‘Right now, let me hug you.’

Yue Gu Zai hugged Zhen Zhen, and he fell asleep on her lap.

‘Miss Zhen Zhen since you were missing, boss hasn’t slept,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘Miss Zhen Zhen, I understand you’re an independent woman. You’re capable of looking after yourself and young master Zhen Wu. Boss cares about you as much as your parents care about you. I hope in the future you’ll consider the feelings of the people around you who truly care about you.’

Zhen Zhen thought deeply about Bai Yu Tian’s words. It was true she was an independent woman. She liked being in control of her own life. She didn’t consider her parents’ feelings before she decided to have Zhen Wu and raise Zhen Wu as a single mother. She didn’t consider her best friend Nan Ma would be worried about her when she was working for weeks in a row without contacting Nan Ma. She took Yue Gu Zai for granted. She looked down at him hugging her waist and his head sleeping on her lap, he must have been sleepless and worried about her when she was missing. If she had contacted Yue Gu Zai earlier, his body wouldn’t have been as worn out.

At Yue Gu Zai’s home, Zhen Zhen stayed in bed with Yue Gu Zai to let him sleep comfortably for the whole night.

In the morning, Yue Gu Zai woke up refreshed. He walked downstairs, and a fragrant aroma hit his nose.

‘Gu Zai, you’re awake,’ Zhen Zhen said. She smiled at Yue Gu Zai, and she brought the breakfast she cooked for him to the dining table. ‘I made you breakfast.’

Zhen Zhen pulled out a chair for Yue Gu Zai to sit. She sat next to him, and scooped him a bowl of soup.

‘Gu Zai, taste the soup,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘I cooked it for you.’

Yue Gu Zai didn’t understand why Zhen Zhen was so happy about a bowl of soup. But he didn’t want to spoil her good mood so he obediently ate the soup. Each spoonful of soup was painful to swallow.

‘Gu Zai, is it delicious?’ Zhen Zhen asked.

Yue Gu Zai didn’t want hurt Zhen Zhen’s feelings, he smiled at her.

‘If it’s delicious, eat more,’ Zhen Zhen said. She scooped another bowl of soup for Yue Gu Zai. ‘I spent two hours to make the soup for you. It’s my first time cooking.’

Yue Gu Zai’s hands trembled, and he continued to swallow.

‘Zhen Zhen, where did you learn to cook?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.

‘From a cook book,’ Zhen Zhen said.

‘Zhen Zhen, aren’t you eating too?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.

‘I ate dinner leftovers from the fridge for breakfast,’ Zhen Zhen said. She scooped a bowl of rice and picked up vegetables for Yue Gu Zai. ‘Gu Zai, taste the vegetables too.’

It was the first time Zhen Zhen cooked and fed Yue Gu Zai. He didn’t know what else to do except slowly swallow and smile at her.

‘What smells delicious?’ Cheng Yi asked.

‘Cheng Yi, join Gu Zai for breakfast too,’ Zhen Zhen said.

Since Yue Gu Zai didn’t object, Cheng Yi sat and rolled up his sleeves. Everything on the table looked delicious and was fragrant, he couldn’t wait to dig in.

Cheng Yi scooped a bowl of rice, and he piled vegetables into his bowl. He ate a mouthful of vegetables, and his face tensed. He looked at Yue Gu Zai’s stern eyes, and forced himself to swallow.

‘Miss Zhen Zhen, did you cook everything on the table yourself?’ Cheng Yi asked.

‘Yes, is it delicious?’ Zhen Zhen asked.

‘Delicious,’ Cheng Yi said.

‘If it’s delicious, you should eat more,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

Yue Gu Zai packed beef into Cheng Yi’s bowl, and Cheng Yi wanted to cry.

‘Huyen Di, come join us for breakfast,’ Cheng Yi said.

Cheng Yi believed misery loves company.

‘Boss, I found some evidence about the traitor,’ Huyen Di said.

Huyen Di understood when Yue Gu Zai didn’t want to talk business, Yue Gu Zai wouldn’t answer him. He sat down, and Cheng Yi scooped him a bowl of soup.

Huyen Di naively ate the bowl of soup.

‘Huyen Di, Miss Zhen Zhen cooked the soup,’ Cheng Yi said. ‘Is it delicious?’

‘Delicious,’ Huyen Di said.

‘Why didn’t anyone call me for breakfast?’ Chu Gian asked.

Chu Gian sat down at the dining table, and she smiled at Zhen Zhen.

Chu Gian scooped a bowl of rice, and she picked up the vegetables and beef.

Everyone except Zhen Zhen, knew that Chu Gian wasn’t a graceful eater. If Chu Gian ate slowly, it meant the food was bad.

Huyen Di scooped a bowl of soup for Chu Gian.

‘Taste the soup,’ Huyen Di said.

‘Thank you,’ Chu Gian said.

‘What a lively atmosphere,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘Everyone’s eating breakfast together.’

‘Join us for breakfast,’ Cheng Yi, Huyen Di and Chu Gian said together.

Bai Yu Tian smiled and shook his head.

‘I ate breakfast outside this morning,’ Bai Yu Tian said.

Chu Gian didn’t want Bai Yu Tian to not suffer with her. She used her legs to pull out a chair for Bai Yu Tian.

‘Yu Tian, eat more breakfast with me,’ Chu Gian said.

Bai Yu Tian knew it was a trap. But the trap was made by the woman he loved. He willingly fell into the trap, he sat and ate.

‘Who cooked breakfast today?’ Bai Yu Tian asked.

Zhen Zhen raised her hand enthusiastically.

‘I cooked breakfast,’ Zhen Zhen said.

Everyone except the oblivious Zhen Zhen, prayed Bai Yu Tian found a bit of tact at the bottom of Bai Yu Tian’s heart.

‘Miss Zhen Zhen, it’s delicious,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘I hope you cook every day during our stay in the U.S.’

‘Really?’ Zhen Zhen asked. ‘I’ll go buy more cook books, and I’ll cook more dishes for everyone.’

Zhen Zhen ran upstairs to search online for good cook books.

At the dining table, everyone else wanted to kill the Bai fox.

‘Mr Bai Fox, remember what you said today,’ Cheng Yi said. ‘You better eat Miss Zhen Zhen’s delicious cooking.’

‘I forgot to mention,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘Tomorrow I’m flying to Canada for a medical conference.’

‘No one can leave until there is no food left on the table,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

Zhen Zhen was Yue Gu Zai’s wife, he benefited from eating Zhen Zhen’s bad cooking. But everyone else wanted the Bai fox to suffer with them. If they didn’t have to eat with a conscience then they would have told Zhen Zhen not to make the soup sweet as a desert and not to make the rice, vegetables, and beef salty.

***

End of Chapter Forty-One