Chapter 10 – Li Ting’s Homemade

Xu Ji was a man of his word. That night, he “escorted” back… no, he escorted Li Ting into a cab and then drove himself home.

As soon as he got into the car, he took off the disgusting sticky short-sleeved shirt, then leaned over to the back seat to grab the jacket that he usually kept in the car. The muscles between his ribs were even more prominent as he twisted and stretched, the thin layer covered his bones, each piece containing explosive power.

Xu Ji pulled the zipper of the jacket to chest level. With nothing inside, revealing just enough of his neck and a section of the collarbone. The shape of his collarbone is perfect, extending all the way to his shoulders, rising and falling with each breath or turn of the steering wheel.

It may also be because of anger.

Looking at the clothes soaking in the basin, Li Ting didn’t want to wash it. He suggested, “Can I soak it for a bit and then throw it into the washing machine?”

“No,” Xu Ji said.

Li Ting was very aggrieved. “I didn’t do it on purpose”

“Right,” Xu Ji lazily agreed, “You didn’t do it on purpose.”

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Tsolhla, Nk Mkdt, obs wpwyzzu clbyhle sclekldvzu yde ewvkqwzzu, pweeldzu clnyxl pvwccsad yde alqwple vs rwv bkp bydep kdvs vbl nzsvblp.

Gqvla y xsxldv sq pvyzlxyvl, Dw Kk pweeldzu alyzkgle obyv bl oyp eskdt.

Eyp bl tskdt naygu? Kwpv vs prkvl Nk Mkdt, bl zlv bkx pvlr kdvs bkp sod rlapsdyz qklze, tyhl bkx y fsc yde tyhl bkx y pyzyau, oypvkdt xsdlu yde lqqsav fwpv vs yee vaswczl qsa bkxplzq.

“Kwpv vbaso kv yoyu.” Dw Kk pweeldzu qswde kv lmvalxlzu csakdt, “Zsw esd’v byhl vs nsxl vsxsaaso vss.”

Gqvla bl qkdkpble prlyjkdt, bl oyzjle swv, kdvldekdt vs zlyhl. Gv vbkp xsxldv, bl oyp pwal bl oyp naygu. Tl oypvle bkp vkxl nsxkdt blal fwpv vs oyvnb Nk Mkdt oypb bkp nzsvblp qsa bkx? Gde bl lhld qwnjkdt ryke qsa Nk Mkdt’p nyc qyal cynj!

“Gal usw ydtau?” Nk Mkdt nbyple yqvla bkx yde ypjle.

Dw Kk’p qynl oyp nsze. Tl vwadle yaswde yde lmvldele bkp byde vs Nk Mkdt, pyukdt kdpvlye sq ydpolakdt, “Qkhl xl cynj vbl nbydtl qasx cwukdt eakdjp vbkp yqvladssd.”

Nk Mkdt oyp pvwddle qsa y xsxldv, vbld rwzzle swv vbl xsdlu vs tkhl kv cynj vs bkx.

Xu Ji counted it, totaling 58 yuan, then casually took out a hundred yuan bill from his wallet and slapped it on the table. “Today’s wages, paid in full.”

Li Ting asked again, “Are you going to tell on me?”

Xu Ji sneered, “You think I’m like you?”

“What’s that have to do with me?” Li Ting was bewildered. “When did I ever tell on you?”

Now, Xu Ji felt annoyed just by looking at him. He left without saying a word, slamming the door loudly.

Li Ting stood there for a moment, feeling damned unlucky. He cursed, “It’s just fucking 158 yuan, cheapskate.”

With that being said, he forcefully stuffed the money into his pants pocket.

The next day, Li Ting didn’t come. Xu Ji didn’t care either way, he was free to screw around wherever he wanted. As for uncovering Li Ting’s intention in marrying him, Xu Ji decided to take it one step at a time. Things would naturally unfold as time passed, and sooner or later, Li Ting’s true intentions would be revealed.

According to Chen Lian, Xu Chengyue didn’t help the Li family’s company at all. If even Li Ting could see that the company was already a hollow shell, a seasoned old fox like Xu Chengyue couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.

Their relationship had returned to its former state, and the atmosphere dropped back to the freezing point. Li Ting would occasionally make some jokes to lighten the mood, but Xu Ji would not respond, only showing subtle expressions.

Now they would eat their meals in silence, and then return to their respective rooms.

The food was still delicious, the house was still clean, and Li Ting… was still virtuous, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was family-centered.

After hearing that the new on-site worker had been fired by the boss, Chu Qi felt that it was quite a pity, “Although he wasn’t very clever with his work and made mistakes all the time, but without that face around, there’s no motivation to work…”

Xu Ji couldn’t be bothered to respond.

“Hehehe,” Chu Qi began to act up, “fortunately, we still have boss here, quick, give me a smile, or I’ll quit!”

“Then get lost,” Xu Ji said.

Secretary Chen took off his glasses and said, “Boss, tomorrow is Saturday, there’s a dinner party you were invited to.”

Ah, Xu Ji has some impression. It seemed that a certain artist he worked with before was going to begin filming, so they arranged a kickoff feast for good luck.

“Their influence is quite big. Since they invited us, it means they think highly of the studio,” Secretary Chen said, “You can go and meet more people, make more connections.”

Xu Ji responded with a sound, he was most annoyed with these occasions that required him to smile and put on a show of harmony.

Although he won’t smile, it’s already considered a relief if he doesn’t make people cry from his coolness.

On Saturday evening, Xu Ji arrived at the venue on time.

From entering the private room to exchanging pleasantries with other guests, everything seemed very normal. It was until the food was served, Xu Ji’s eyes narrowed and noticed something was wrong .

Because the dish placed in the middle looks exactly like it was made by Li Ting—

“This is our signature dish, perilla leaves braised duck!” The server eagerly introduced, seeing that everyone present were important figures. “We first fry the perilla leaves, then braise them with marinated duck meat, and finally top it with our secret house sauce! Unique only to our restaurant!”

Xu Ji took a piece to taste. This taste, it was exactly the same as Li Ting’s.

At first, he was still harboring some wishful thinking. After all, the perilla has a strong taste, and with the salty sause, the taste probably isn’t much off.

“Okra in sauce!” The served opened the lid of the casserole, “We chill the okra first, so the texture is crispy and refreshing!”

Xu Ji looked at the few sprigs of coriander leaves garnishing the okra expressionlessly.

“This is also our most popular dish, stir-fried pork with shiitake mushrooms! Currently, we’re the only ones who add XO sauce in it!”

As the dishes kept coming, Xu Ji’s face grew numb. He had lived here since birth, but it was indeed the first time he had tried XO sauce in stir-fried pork with shiitake mushrooms. He thought it was an original creation by Li Ting, who wasn’t from here.

When all the dishes were served, he asked, “Can I add some more dishes?”

The artist, who was the host, had received plenty of cold looks and pointers from Xu Ji during the shoot. At this moment, he was a bit pleasantly surprised to see him requesting the menu, and hurriedly handed it over to him.

Xu Ji flipped through it and noticed that even from pictures, the plating from some of the dishes looked extremely similiar to Li Ting’s.

And once he tasted it, it was even more similar.

Xu Ji couldn’t quite understand his own feelings at the moment; he felt like he wanted to laugh yet also speechless, but the predominant emotion was clearly anger from being deceived.

It was only yesterday that he said to take things naturally, but at this moment he felt a fierce determination to not give up until he reached his goal. So why exactly was Li Ting working so hard to project the image of a good wife? What was it for?

“Thank you for your hospitality,” said Xu Ji with a smile, extending his hand to shake hands with the manager. “You really helped me out today. If you need any other work done in the future, you can come to me and I’ll give you a 20% discount.”

The manager laughed heartily, feeling a bit uneasy with the way Xu Ji was smiling.

After everyone left, Xu Ji ordered a few “Li Ting’s Homemade” to go and made a phone call. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time he had ever took the initiative to call Li Ting first.

The phone rang for a while before Li Ting answered. His voice sounded a bit breathless but otherwise normal, and the background was quiet.

Li Ting almost couldn’t believe it, considering that they had been cold-shouldering each other since the day Li Ting wouldn’t wash his clothes. Yet here was Xu Ji, being the first to lower his head.

Xu Ji had no idea what Li Ting was thinking. If he knew, he would probably call him a dumbass, because Li Ting didn’t think they were really giving each the cold shoulder. Wasn’t their relationship always like this?

Xu Zhi asked, “Where are you?”

“Ah?” The very first sentence left Li Ting confused. He looked around, analyzed the situation, and realized Xu Ji might’ve asked him this because it was highly likely that he was at home. If he lied, it would be awkward, so he honestly answered, “Didn’t you fire me?… So I went job hunting today.”

Xu Ji didn’t comment on his words. “Then come back home right now. I brought a late night snack.”

Li Ting, “…” Is it the kind that’s poisoned?

Li Ting, “Sure?”

Xu Ji hung up the phone.

The restaurant was quite far from home, a distance that would even require extra delivery fees for takeout. Li Ting really went to great lengths to avoid being discovered.

But as luck would have it, things turned out to be such a coincidence.

By the time he returned home, Li Ting was already there, though he had probably just arrived and hadn’t had a chance to change his clothes.

The latter was wearing a black shirt that was slightly tight-fitting, subtly outlining his body. The most flashy thing was that he even wore a ring on his hand and had a silver chain tied around his waistband.

Who dresses like this to go job hunting? Xu Ji wasn’t someone who had never been unrestrained before, he could tell with one glance that Li Ting was fooling around .

Moreover, for the first time, he noticed that Li Ting’s shoulders were quite broad?

But Li Ting didn’t seem to have any intention of explaining his outfit. He smiled slightly and asked, “Where’s the late night snack?”

Xu Ji put the three food containers on the table and said, “You open them.”

The first time taking the initiative to make a phone call, inexplicably calling someone back just to have a late night snack, and even asking him to open it, Li Ting had already had a pretty good idea what was going on. He sighed in his heart, No way? Discovered so soon? How did he get found out?

Sure enough, it was the familiar perilla leaves praised duck, okra in sauce, and stir-fried pork with shiitake mushrooms.

“Explain.” Xu Ji said, sitting on the chair, lazily crossing his legs, and staring coldly into Li Ting’s eyes.

The way he was exposed was pretty much a slap in the face, Li Ting didn’t say anything.

Although he had tested it before, Xu Ji was probably not the type of person who would be bored enough to go snitching on him to seek revenge, but it was only a probability, he wasn’t completely certain. Moreover, it was the most critical period right now, Li Ting didn’t dare to gamble.

He acted cautiously, as if afraid Xu Ji would get angry would him. “That restaurant happens to be in the same area where I’m having my job interviews. I always get home at around five or six o’clock, and you wanted to come back for dinner, I really don’t have the time… I’m sorry.”

Xu Ji’s temples throbbed. He really didn’t expect that even at this point, Li Ting was still beating around the bush.

It was really annoying, very annoying. He knew that this person was approaching him with other motives, but the other party refused to admit it and even said some infuriating nonsense.

Most importantly, he had no way to force the other to talk.

Perhaps Li Ting sensed his irritable mood, which was like the moment before a volcanic eruption. He put away his playful expression and fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Are you going to tell on me?”

“Tell, your mom.” Xu Ji took a deep breath and looked like he was seriously angered. His chest was heaving up and down.

“Pfft,” Li Ting couldn’t help but burst out laughing upon hearing this, “Then go, my mom will be happier to see you than to see me.”

Xu Ji really wanted to grab Li Ting by the collar and punch him in the face. He realized that there was really nothing he could do with shameless people.

He suddenly stood up and slammed the door behind him. He was afraid that if he continued to breathe the same air as Li Ting, his lungs would explode.

With a loud “bang”, the door slammed shut. Li Ting seemed to enjoy seeing Xu Ji angry, he even chased after him, opened the door and shouted, “It’s not safe to drive when you’re angry. Why don’t you sit for a while? Calm down before you leave.”

The only response he got was the sound of the SUV’s engine roaring away.