Si Shao led the person forward, and when they reached the vegetable area, she stopped and asked, "What vegetables do you want to eat?"
The person she was leading didn't answer, and she finally realized something was wrong. She turned her head and saw the short-haired girl.
Si Shao: "......"
At that moment, Si Shao's feelings were beyond what "mmp" could describe.. She blushed and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
The girl was very understanding and just smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's alright."
Si Shao relaxed and was about to look for Tao Ran when she heard the girl shyly ask, "Do you want to exchange numbers?"
Si Shao: "......"
Si Shao finally found Tao Ran standing in the same spot, prompting her to walk over in frustration. "Why didn't you follow me? I can't believe you're still here," she scolded.
Tao Ran covered his heart and said, "Watching you drag someone else away broke my heart into pieces."
Feeling embarrassed, Si Shao lightly patted Tao Ran and said, "You really… You should have reminded me when you saw I pulled the wrong person."
Tao Ran couldn't help but chuckle and replied, "You were so happy while dragging her, I didn't have the heart to ruin your moment."
Si Shao: "Hmph!"
"Have you bought the vegetables?" Tao Ran asked. "Let's head home once we're done."
Si Shao took Tao Ran to her home, which was also quite spacious, but had a different style from Tao Ran's. As Tao Ran looked around, he noticed a hint of an ancient charm in the decoration. When they entered Si Shao's study, he saw many history books and ancient texts lining the shelves. "My dad is really into this stuff," Si Shao explained. "He wanted to study history, but my grandfather disagreed and forced him to study finance."
Tao Ran could understand the situation. The Si family was wealthy and influential, and Si Shao's father was his grandfather's only son. If he were allowed to pursue his interests in history and culture, there would be no one to inherit the family business in the future.
Looking around, Tao Ran remarked, "It's quite nice here, much better than my dad who likes to spend all his time outside."
Si Shao nodded in agreement, acknowledging that what Tao Ran said was true. Although she had visited the Jing family several times, she rarely saw Jing uncle, as it was always auntie who greeted her. Si Shao suggested, "Why don't you explore the house on your own? I'll go cook for you."
Tao Ran agreed, and Si Shao went to the kitchen.
Uninterested in exploring the house, Tao Ran aimlessly wandered around for a bit before heading to the kitchen to check on Si Shao. She was wearing an apron and had already washed the vegetables and was carefully chopping them. Despite not being very skilled in the kitchen, she wanted to perform better in front of Tao Ran. So, the speed of cutting vegetables was excruciatingly slow. Tao Ran watched her struggle for a while by the door, and Si Shao hadn't finished cutting a single vegetable.
"Can I help you with that?" he offered.
Si Shao, of course, refused, waving her hand dismissively. "No, go out. I don't need you here. Just wait for the meal."
Tao Ran sighed and silently made his way to the living room, thinking that I'll probably be too hungry to eat by the time you finish preparing the meal.
As he sat in the living room, he noticed a bowl of oranges on the coffee table. He picked one up and began peeling it to eat. Growing bored, he turned on the TV and continued to snack on oranges. Before he knew it, he had devoured all of the oranges in the bowl. He glanced over towards the kitchen but saw no sign of food from it.
At that moment, Tao Ran received a text message from loud-mouthed Zhang inquiring about the progress and when he would return. Tao Ran replied that everything had been settled and he could return to school the next day as the other party was now his own.
This made Zhang Da envious. Don't look at the outspokenness of these people, he and their other dorm mates were still single. They all belong to the type who have rich theoretical knowledge but zero practical experience.Tao Ran was the only one who had successfully crossed the single’s threshold, making them all jealous.
In an attempt to pacify him, Tao Ran said, "I have remained single because I haven't found someone I truly like. Even though I received love letters from several female classmates, I only entered a relationship when I fell in love. You should also do what's right for you, don't be influenced by me."
This arrogant tone made Zhang Da angry, not only him, but also the others who were having fun. They discussed together and decided to make Tao Ran pay heavily by asking for a treat from him.
Tao Ran had no idea what Zhang Da and the others were discussing, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. He waited outside until he was almost asleep, and then finally Si Shao brought out the dishes.
Si Shao spent a considerable amount of time cooking, but only served four dishes. One was stir-fried green beans with minced meat. Maybe she was afraid the green beans weren't cooked enough, so she stir-fried them a little longer and now the green beans turned slightly brown and wrinkled. Tao Ran ate a chopstick of green beans, although they were a bit dry, they tasted fine.
The next dish that Si Shao served was stir-fried greens. As greens are something that can be eaten raw, even the best cook can't make much of a difference with them. Si Shao's dish was passable.
Since there were two vegetarian dishes in a row, the next dish had to be meat. Si Shao prepared braised pork, which looked oily and glossy on the plate and had a good appearance. Tao Ran took a bite of the meat and his first reaction was that it was too hard to chew, and the second was that it was too salty.
Hoping to cleanse his palate, Tao Ran quickly turned to the soup. But, Si Shao didn't cook fish soup this time; instead, she prepared oyster mushroom and meatball soup. After taking a sip, Tao Ran furrowed his brow, wondering why the soup tasted a bit sweet.
Tao Ran looked at Si Shao with a complicated expression and asked, "Did you put sugar in the soup?"
"No, I didn't," replied Si Shao. "I only added salt."
After tasting the soup herself, Si Shao wrinkled her nose and eyes and said, "Oops, I accidentally added sugar instead of salt. Just a moment, let me add some salt."
Tao Ran thought it might be best to give up on salvaging the soup by adding both sugar and salt, as who knew what it would taste like. However, Si Shao seemed undeterred. She added some salt and tasted it again, saying, "It's not as bad now, but why does it still taste so weird?"
"What do you think?" Tao Ran replied.
Despite the dish not turning out as planned, Tao Ran had no intention of having Si Shao redo it. They sat down to eat the meal together. Tao Ran stuck to eating only the green beans and vegetables, and Si Shao asked, "Why are you eating vegetables only? Have some meat."
Tao Ran casually added a piece of braised pork to her plate. After just one bite, Si Shao understood why Tao Ran had avoided the meat, and she never tried to persuade Tao Ran to eat meat again. They both ate in silence, burying their heads in their plates. Tao Ran was starving, and in the end, they finished two plates of vegetables and a pot of rice. Si Shao poured out the soup and braised pork, feeling dejected.
Tao Ran didn't want to discourage Si Shao's enthusiasm and instead said, "You've just started learning to cook, and this is already impressive. Your green beans and vegetables taste delicious."
In fact, Tao Ran didn't need to say anything, Si Shao herself felt that she was pretty good, she replied, "Give me some more time, and I will definitely make a delicious braised pork."
Tao Ran smiled and nodded before asking, "Which room is yours?"
"I'll show you," Si Shao replied and led him to her room.
Even in modern society that advocates gender equality, a girl's bedroom is not a place where just anyone can casually enter. Tao Ran entered Si Shao's room and noticed nothing particularly unique about its decoration, except that there were many musical instruments in the room.
Tao Ran inquired, "Do you know how to play all of these instruments?"
Si Shao responded somewhat bashfully, "Well, when I was younger, my mother always took me to learn dancing and painting. However, I didn't enjoy them and wanted to learn how to play musical instruments instead. My mother asked me what I wanted to learn, but I was young and unsure of what I liked, so I ended up learning a little bit of everything. I'm not an expert in any of them, but I can play a little bit of each."
Si Shao's room had a sizable balcony that overlooked the lake, which provided a different ambiance than the Jing family home, which faced the mountains.
Tao Ran then suggested, "Why don't you play me a song? No one has ever sung or played a song for me before."
Si Shao shyly selected a guitar and played a prelude on the balcony. The melody was too unusual to Tao Ran, and he couldn't discern it even after listening for a while.
However, the moment Si Shao began to sing, he understood that she was singing 'Feng Qiu Huang…' (A Male Phoenix Seeks His Mate Phoenix…)
Playing guitar and singing 'Feng Qiu Huang…'!
What a whimsical idea! Looking at Si Shao playing and singing, Tao Ran felt so funny that eventually he couldn't hold back his laughter. After she finished singing, Si Shao grew angry and scolded him, "You're so mean. I sang for you, and you're making fun of me."
Tao Ran allowed her to pinch his neck with her hands and chuckled, "What were you thinking? You played the guitar and sang 'Feng Qiu Huang.'"
Si Shao explained, "Well, I can't play the guzheng, so I opted for guitar instead. My dad taught me this song, and he sings it to my mom every day whenever he has free time."
Tao Ran was speechless for a while and said, "Your father is really romantic and has good taste."
"Hmph," Si Shao said. "That's for sure. My mother said that my father was a genius of his generation when he was young."
Tao Ran sat on Si Shao's bed, and Si Shao straddled him with her hands around his neck. At first, it didn't feel like anything, but the atmosphere became awkward as it quieted down.
Tao Ran held Si Shao's waist with both hands, and Si Shao looked at Tao Ran, feeling a bit dry in her throat. She thought of the most intimate thing she had done with him, but unfortunately, she was never sober during any of those times, and she didn't know what it would be like if she kissed his delicate and tender lips.
As Tao Ran gazed into Si Shao's eyes, Si Shao was also looking at him. Their faces drew closer, and they were about to kiss when Tao Ran suddenly spoke up, "Did you bring me to your home just for this?"
Si Shao blushed with embarrassment and started to leave. But Tao Ran quickly turned her over and pressed her onto the bed, then leaned in for a kiss.
A pair of young men and women, at the age when it is easiest to ignite passion, and a bed beneath them, it was truly an opportune time. As they kissed passionately, their hands couldn't stay still; they fondled and tugged at each other's clothes. Before they knew it, their clothing had become increasingly scarce. By the time they came to their senses, they were both naked and faced each other with an utterly sincere confrontation.
Tao Ran leaned against Si Shao and whispered, "You can't back out this time. That mushroom soup you made with sugar and salt didn't intoxicate us, so this time we won't use drunkenness as an excuse."
Si Shao blushed and replied, "You're the one who talks a lot of nonsense. Let's just get on with it."
With that, getting the order, Tao Ran thrust inside. But before they could move more or moan, they suddenly heard Si Shao's mother's voice from outside, "Shao Shao, are you home? I noticed that there are still unwashed dishes in the kitchen."