Cecilia Gu wasn’t one to hesitate—her first act upon getting home was to roll up her sleeves and head straight into the kitchen to make dinner.
She saw that everything in the kitchen had already been prepared just the way she liked it.
Cecilia washed her hands, picked up the kitchen knife, and started bustling around, the clinking sounds echoing through the kitchen.
"Mine!" Cecilia looked up at Charles, bristling with indignation, looking adorably flustered.
The gloom that had been weighing on his heart these past few days vanished in an instant!
After all, Cecilia had lived on her own for a long time, so she was no stranger to cooking. By the time the rice was steamed, she’d already whipped up several dishes and had a pot of pork rib soup simmering.
"You've already got a whole plate of meat!" Cecilia protested. She’d only made a small plate, and in this fancy house, all the dishes were delicate and artistic—no big serving platters.
Cecilia couldn’t make fancy meals, but home-style dishes were a breeze for her.
A hint of a smile flickered in Charles’s eyes, but he couldn’t help teasing: “Not great!”
Charles Yin looked at the modest dinner spread before him, but showed no sign of being picky or critical.
The butler could clearly see that the young master was in an unusually good mood tonight.
Cecilia brought out the last dish, and someone immediately rushed over to take the plate from her—worried she might get tired.
Cecilia sat down across from Charles Yin, her cheeks flushed from all the cooking, making her look especially charming as she gazed at the table full of food.
Charles inhaled the aroma of the dishes—even the plain white rice seemed sweeter than usual tonight.
“I only know how to make home-style dishes, so don’t judge me,” Cecilia said, knowing just how refined Charles’s tastes were and how luxurious his meals usually were.
But those complicated, fancy dishes—she really couldn’t make them!
“Mm, as long as you know.” Charles made a face as if he were picky, but he quickly picked up a piece of veggie with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.
Cecilia looked at Charles with anticipation.
A hint of a smile flickered in Charles’s eyes, but his words were still sharp: “This is terrible!”
Sure enough, Cecilia looked crestfallen, poking at the rice in her bowl.
Charles Yin watched Cecilia Gu lower her head in a huff, the smile at the corner of his eyes growing bigger and bigger.
He picked up a piece of leafy greens and placed it into Cecilia's bowl. "Here's a reward for you."
Cecilia didn't even look up at Charles, but obediently ate the greens he gave her.
As Cecilia ate, she suddenly looked up. Huh? Where did the plate of fried pork she just made go?
She looked up again and saw that Charles already had a generous pile of fried pork on his plate!
Ahhh! My meat!
With a swift flick of her chopsticks, Cecilia moved all the remaining fried pork back to her own plate.
When there was only one piece left, both of them reached out their chopsticks at the same time for that last, precious morsel!
Both of them grabbed onto the piece of meat, neither willing to let go.
The butler felt utterly embarrassed to witness this scene.
He thought, wasn't the young master supposed to be cold and charming? Tonight, his IQ and EQ seem to have dropped by twenty years!
Young master, where's that icy, mysterious charm you promised?
All for a piece of fried pork? Really?
"Mine!" Cecilia looked up at Charles, bristling with indignation like an adorable little mole.
"I grabbed it first," Charles raised an eyebrow at her on purpose.
He just loved seeing Cecilia get worked up—she was ridiculously cute when she was mad.
"You've already got a whole plate of meat!" Cecilia protested. She’d only made a small bowl, and there weren’t any big plates in this fancy house—just delicate, artsy little dishes.
Everyone in N City and S City eats like this—tiny bowls and plates, everything super refined.
So even though Cecilia cooked a whole table of food, it wasn’t nearly as much as the big, hearty dishes you’d find in the Northeast.
That’s why one plate of fried pork really didn’t have much to go around.