About twenty minutes later, Yvonne Yang came back lugging a load of groceries, and Ian Song hurried up to help her.
"Ian, when Shelly said you were coming, I went out and bought extra ingredients!" Yvonne Yang said with a smile.
"Auntie, you don't need to be so formal with me—I'm family!" Ian grinned.
"You haven't visited in over a month! Of course I wanted to make something tasty for you. Look at you, you've gotten thinner!"
Ian carried the groceries into the kitchen, noticing Yvonne Yang already had her apron on. He stopped her, handed her a jade pendant—a glass-grade jadeite, just like the one he'd given Shelly.
Yvonne had a sharp eye—she immediately recognized the pendant as glass-grade jadeite and was stunned. "Ian, this is way too valuable. I can't accept it!"
"Auntie, don't be so polite! Expensive or not, it's a gift from me, so you have to accept it!" Ian said sincerely.
"Alright then, I'll accept it," Yvonne said, nodding with a smile.
"By the way, I'm actually pretty good in the kitchen. Let me cook dinner tonight! Is Uncle Stephen coming home to eat?" Ian asked. Ever since Stephen Song became director at the Education Bureau, he's been busier than ever—he rarely even comes home for dinner on weekends.
"I'll call him and let him know you're back. I'm sure he'll come home for dinner! You know, he's been talking about you this whole time!"
While Yvonne called Stephen, Ian went straight to the kitchen and started prepping dinner.
"Ian, let me help!" Shelly Song called out.
Shelly slipped into the kitchen, eager to join in.
"No need—just watch the show!" Ian laughed.
As he spoke, Ian tossed three washed potatoes into the air and began slicing at lightning speed.
Swish, swish, swish!
In seconds, the potatoes were sliced into perfect chips. With a flick of his wrist, Ian sent them all neatly into the dish.
Shelly stared, totally stunned. "Are you doing magic tricks or something?"
"Not magic—just cooking skills!" Ian replied, grinning.
Ian showed off his knife skills again, and in less than five minutes, every veggie and cut of meat was ready. Yvonne returned from her call and found everything prepped; she couldn't help but exclaim, "Ian, how are you so fast?"