Everyone who got an invitation from Elder Norman Nian was trying to guess what he was up to this time.
Even Ian Song, all the way down in the South Domain, heard the news. But he didn’t really care—he figured the Military Council elders were just late-autumn grasshoppers, jumping around for a bit before they faded out. Let them mess around; they couldn’t stir up any real trouble now.
That evening, after finishing his official duties, Ian Song headed home and found Harriet Gu waiting for him with a bright smile.
"You're back, darling!" Harriet came over and affectionately hugged Ian’s arm.
"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting." Ian smiled, playfully tapped Harriet’s nose, and laughed.
"I made your favorite dishes tonight, so you have to eat a lot!"
Ian looked surprised. "When did you learn to cook, Harriet? How come I never knew?"
Lynn Ning chimed in, "Sister Harriet’s been learning to cook for days, and she made me promise not to tell you. She wanted to surprise you, Brother Huang." Ian could tell Lynn sounded a little down.
"That’s awesome! I’ll definitely eat a ton tonight!"
With both women at his side, Ian walked into the dining room.
Several dishes were already set out on the table, and they looked pretty good.
Harriet, Lynn, come sit down and eat.
Okay.
The two women sat down, one on each side of him.
"Try this, Ian." Harriet picked up some food and put it in Ian's bowl.
Ian nodded, put the food in his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and couldn't help but praise, "I didn't expect your first time cooking to taste this good, Harriet."
"Really?"
Harriet asked happily.
"Of course it's true." Actually, Ian wasn't lying to Harriet—while her cooking wasn't as good as his or Lynn's, for a beginner, it was already impressive.
"Try this one too, Ian." Harriet picked up another dish and put some in Ian's bowl.