Really, Really Miss You

Chapter 21

Yan Du Xian [Salted Pork Soup] (6)

Yan du xian. Toupai. Toupai. Yan du xian...

Even after the dish was brought out and served up onto the table, Gu Sheng was still feeling like she was in a fantasy. She, here alone, and Toupai, also alone, sitting face to face, having yan du xian soup...... T T. She wanted to be calm and dignified and not allow her mind to wander, but this was simply, totally their first meeting, ah... Obviously, that night in the grocery store when she had been holding her dog and watching him pay definitely could not be counted as a "real" encounter.

Yan du xian was her favourite dish, and she had to wait every year for the cold weather to come before she could have it. Positively one of the most wonderful things Gu Sheng looked forward to.

And then...

Well. The most wonderful food coupled with the most beautiful voice. Sitting together...

She used her chopsticks to stab at a bamboo shoot in front of her. Her first time having dinner with a boy that was neither a schoolmate nor a relative. What should she say? T T

She lifted her gaze.

At the same moment, Toupai happened to be reaching for food with his chopsticks and glanced at her. "What's the matter?"

Nothing. T T Just that, Toupai, do you really think that such a peaceful, harmonious atmosphere without any speaking is a good thing for the first time having dinner together? You're honestly not feeling awkward at all?...... Gu Sheng blurted out, "The food is delicious here."

Mo Qingcheng chuckled, "It is indeed delicious here."

It was a simple and clean place and was also near the recording studio, less than a ten minute walk away ... It must be a place that Mo Qingcheng and the others frequented?

"I really like yan du xian," Mo Qingcheng suddenly told her.

"Me too," Gu Sheng echoed. "But most of the time, my dad and mom just make it at home for me to eat. We rarely go out to have it."

"My parents are very busy with their work," he said casually. "It seems I've always cooked for myself. After I graduated and lived with Jue Mei, when I was too lazy to cook, we would go out together to eat."

Poor guy. T T

But he's so much taller than you, even when he's sitting... Gu Sheng, what's up with this mood of yours, like you're looking at a stray, unwanted cat? ... She lowered her head. Keep eating, keep eating.

"Have you tried to make it before?" Mo Qingcheng's voice was warm and gentle, as if he was having a casual conversation at the dinner table with an old friend... Wait, no, it really was a casual conversation at the dinner table. Just unfortunately, not with an old friend.

Gu Sheng shook her head in reply.

"It's really simple." He very naturally started to go over the recipe with her, and Gu Sheng also very naturally listened to him. "First, you blanch fresh bamboo shoot slices in hot water. Then you use cold water and briefly soak salted pork meat and cured bamboo shoots in it to remove some of the saltiness."

Nodding, she listened carefully to him, for the recipe itself but also for his ridiculously beautiful voice.

Mo Qingcheng picked out some of the more tender bamboo shoot tips and placed them in her bowl. Unhurriedly, he continued, "Next, put some scallions and ginger in cold water and bring it to a boil. Then add the salt-cured meat and some spare ribs. I also like to add salted pigs feet. When everything comes to a boil over high heat, skim off the foamy scum on top, and then cook it for twenty minutes to half an hour." He was recalling the recipe in his mind while saying, "After, you add both the cured and fresh bamboo shoots. When the soup becomes a milky white, you turn the heat down to low and stew it for about an hour or so."