Chapter Fourteen: Your Cooking Is Truly Delicious

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“Where are you? I’ll have Rang Wu come pick you up.”

“I heard it’s packed with people everywhere today, and it’s hard to get a ride.”

Only then did Wen Zhi turn her head. “All right.”

And so began their awkward life together...

How would Wen Zhi grow accustomed to having a man constantly “watching” her?

—

Perhaps it really was because of the publicity generated by Wen Zhi’s post-competition interview. Star Pavilion actually managed to recruit several chefs.

Some were students working part-time to support their studies, hoping to win Wen Zhi’s attention and learn a few things from her. Others were members of the general public.

Even Zhang Zheng himself said that, if they pooled their money, they might truly be able to open a restaurant one day. They could separate their online and offline businesses, and perhaps expand beyond simple food delivery into services such as housekeeping, creating employment opportunities for older people and those with little education.

“Fine, then! When you open your restaurant, I’ll definitely be the major shareholder!”

Yu Hang draped an arm over Zhang Zheng’s shoulders.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Zheng’s face changed at once. “No. I don’t want your money.”

He spoke coldly, shrugging off Yu Hang’s arm.

Yu Hang failed to notice the change in his mood, assuming he was merely irritable from not having slept well the night before.

“You’re usually the stingiest one of all, never willing to let even a penny slip away. Now that I’m offering to invest, you’re refusing?”

She grinned.

“No. I don’t want your money.”

Zhang Zheng remained cold. Only then did Yu Hang realize that something was wrong with his mood. She shouted,

“If you don’t want it, then don’t take it!”

When Yu Hang walked out, Zhang Zheng hurriedly glanced back, but the foot he had lifted came down again.

【If you didn’t want it, then fine—but why did you lose your temper with Yu Hang?】

Wen Zhi asked.

“I just don’t want her money,” Zhang Zheng muttered.

Wen Zhi hurried outside after Yu Hang.

“Who knows what’s wrong with that man’s head!” Yu Hang shouted.

【Perhaps... Yu Hang, you truly haven’t noticed?】

“Noticed what?”

【Zhang Zheng likes you.】

“What?”

Yu Hang looked utterly bewildered.

【Perhaps men really do have a hard time accepting a great deal of money from a girl they like.】

Yu Hang’s face flushed crimson. Her first reaction was to insist that it was impossible, so Wen Zhi pulled her into a nearby café and carefully explained how, as an outside observer, she had watched the two of them grow closer over this period.

【Do you like him?】

“No.”

Wen Zhi shook her head. 【He messaged me, asking where you were so he could come find you.】

Yu Hang immediately panicked. “Don’t tell him!”

【He only wants to apologize and clear things up with you.】

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Yu Hang hesitated for a moment. “All right, then.”

【I’ll leave first. You two talk things over.】

“No, don’t, Zhizhi!”

Yu Hang clung tightly to Wen Zhi.

【What is it?】

“I really don’t know how to face him now.”

【Since you’re certain you don’t like him, just treat him as a friend. Besides, that was only my guess. Perhaps the two of you can talk everything through.】

“Oh!”

“That’s right. I don’t like him! What do I have to be afraid of?”

Yu Hang tried to encourage herself.

Wen Zhi smiled and left.

W University enjoyed a nationwide reputation. There was even an affiliated primary school nearby, as Wen Zhi discovered while walking back to campus.

It was lunchtime dismissal, and both sides of the street were crowded with students and their parents. The sunlight was warm and bright, and the air was filled with the carefree joy of childhood.

Wen Zhi suddenly remembered her own primary-school days. Back then, she had not even understood what studying meant, much less the education that awaited her in adulthood. Yet her grandmother had resolutely sent her to an ordinary school.

Even while enduring countless curses and attacks from people who called her fatherless and motherless.

She had told them, “I have a grandmother.”

Wen Zhi considered herself emotionally mature, especially when it came to the hostility people directed at her.

Now, standing at W University—one of Country Z’s finest institutions of higher education—she finally understood the painstaking care behind her grandmother’s decision all those years ago.

“Stop right there, you mute!”

“Mute, mute! No father, no mother!”

Mocking voices drifted from a nearby alley.

They overlapped with the voices from her childhood memories.

Wen Zhi headed toward the sound.

Sure enough, a group of short children had surrounded a little girl in the corner and were hurling insults at her.

They were young, yet the humiliating words they used were ones Wen Zhi had never even heard in her nearly twenty years of life.

Wen Zhi pushed through the crowd and pulled the little girl away from them.

“What are you doing? We’re not finished playing!”

“We were only having fun.”

The moment the children realized that an adult had arrived, they exchanged glances and scattered.

【Are you all right?】

The words had barely left Wen Zhi’s mouth when she caught sight of that familiar face.

There was a small bruise on the girl’s cheek, left by a blow from a bottled-water container.

【Zhuang Sui?】

【I’m fine.】

【Does your family know?】

Wen Zhi asked.

【Sister, no one takes care of me.】

...

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Bo Ye sneezed in the office.

Rang Wu said, “Boss, the weather must be a little unpleasant today. I’ll pour you a cup of hot water.”

Bo Ye: “.”

Wen Zhi could more or less guess what had happened. The roots of school bullying in modern society ultimately lay in family education. The families of the aggressors often failed to teach them properly, while the families of the victims were frequently unable to provide their children with a sense of safety. Caught between these two forces, many children were plunged into endless suffering.

【Sister, I’m hungry.】

Zhuang Sui rested her little hands against Wen Zhi’s back.

Wen Zhi set her down. 【I’ll take you to eat. I just received a bonus a few days ago, so I have money.】

【I want to eat something you make, Sister.】

【All right.】

At last, the girl smiled. The smile on that small face should have been radiant and carefree, but now it only made the wound stand out more clearly. Wen Zhi’s heart ached even more.

The instructors at the practical-training kitchen were familiar with her. There were still some ingredients left over from her earlier competition preparations, and she could afford the facility fee.

【I’ll make you some beef.】

There were not many ingredients in the refrigerator.

Zhuang Sui hesitated for a moment, then obediently nodded.

Wen Zhi took an ice pack from the refrigerator.

【Hold it against your injury and roll it gently over the spot.】

【Okay.】

Her own lunch was conveniently taken care of as well. In the practical-training kitchen, one adult and one child sat with their heads bowed, concentrating on the food before them.

Wen Zhi wanted to ask when the girl attended school, but then she reconsidered. After what had just happened, Zhuang Sui might already have developed an aversion to school. And judging from what she had said, there was no one at home to look after her.

How pitiful.

【Actually, when I was your age, I was bullied many times too because I couldn’t speak.】

Wen Zhi said, 【Since you like my cooking so much, come find me whenever you’re unhappy. And if anyone bullies you, you must tell your teacher, understand? If your teacher refuses to help, go to the police.】

【Okay.】

The girl understood, then added, 【Sister, your cooking is really delicious!】

Wen Zhi flushed shyly at the praise.

Her insecurity about having stayed out of the kitchen for so long began to fade.

She picked up her phone and replied to the letter offering her an opportunity to study abroad: “I would like to apply.”

The girl’s presence had given her courage.

Wen Zhi had nearly finished eating and was just about to rise and clear the dishes when she looked up and saw that the girl’s face was frighteningly red.

【What’s wrong?】

Before the girl could even raise her hands, her body crumpled heavily to the floor.

Wen Zhi hurriedly reached out and caught her—

She could not speak; she could only make anxious, muffled sounds where she stood.

But the girl had already lost consciousness...

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