Chapter 146 The Brightest Star in the Crowd

"I've cooked some congee and made steamed buns. Are you guys hungry? Would you like me to fix something to tide you over first?"

"Sure, I bet Zhang Zhang is a bit hungry. He barely ate at noon and seemed a bit airsick on the plane; he only had a couple of sips of water after getting off."

Chen Xin kissed the little chubby boy, told him to play nicely, and said she would go make him something delicious.

Zhang Zhang pouted, unwilling to let go of his auntie. In the end, the two reached a compromise, and Zhang Zhang sat by the dining table, watching his auntie whip up something good for him in the kitchen.

Zhou Hao had carried both the luggage and the child, working up a good sweat. Once he finished unpacking and tidying up, he went off to take a shower and change clothes.

Earlier, Chen Xin had already started boiling plain congee, planning to figure out what flavor everyone wanted once Zhang Zhang and the others got back.

Zhang Zhang loved sliced fish congee. The moment Chen Xin asked earlier, he piped up and demanded that. Fortunately, Chen Xin had prepared ahead of time when they arrived, buying a snakehead fish from the market. Now, she lopped off the head and tail, filleted the snakehead down the middle, and sliced the most tender meat from along the spine, placing the translucent slices into a bowl.

The remaining parts could be used for pickled fish or garlic-braised fish, but these sliced fillets were simply perfect for the quick-boil fish congee.

Just then, the plain congee came to a rolling boil. She added a few slices of ginger, some white pepper, and a pinch of salt, letting it continue to simmer until a rich layer of rice oil formed and the congee grew thick before turning off the heat.

The fish slices were seasoned with a little cooking wine and salt, then set aside to marinate for ten minutes or so. This timing was just right for steaming the buns.

Before long, a rich fragrance drifted out from the kitchen. The meat gelatin inside the soup dumplings had melted into broth under the heat, locked tightly within the dough wrappers, with only a wisp of aroma escaping through the folds and diffusing with the steam throughout the entire room.

The little chubby boy could barely control his saliva, swallowing hard as his large eyes fixed on the steamer, refusing to look away.

When Zhou Hao came out after his shower, he caught the enticing scent as well and wandered over to the kitchen entrance, peering inside.

"It smells even better today than the other day. What did you add to it?"

"I added a bit more bay leaf and clove when simmering the meat gelatin, and cut back a bit on the star anise and galangal. The flavor turned out quite nice. I even packed a separate box and put it in the fridge; we can take it out later, slice it up, and pour some seasoned dressing over it to eat."

This cold tossed meat gelatin was very popular back in Chen Xin's hometown, especially among the older men who loved a drink. A single plate of gelatin could see off three or four ounces of liquor, absolute bliss.

As she talked, Chen Xin lifted the lid, checked that the soup dumplings were done, and turned off the heat to let them steam for another two minutes. Meanwhile, she gave the marinated fish slices another toss. As she turned off the heat, she slid the fish slices straight into the boiling congee, stirred them rapidly with chopsticks, covered the pot, and let it steam for another minute.

The little chubby boy refused to eat scallions, so she scooped out his portion first before scattering chopped green onions over the rest of the fish congee.

Zhou Hao took over, carrying the earthenware pot of congee directly to the dining table, while Chen Xin set about mixing the cold dressing sauce.

Cutting the meat gelatin was no trouble for Zhou Hao; his knife skills were decent enough, and the box of gelatin yielded a full plate once sliced. Chen Xin tossed the mixed dressing evenly and poured it over the slices of meat gelatin. Bright red chili rings, milky-white meat gelatin, emerald-green scallions, and dark savory sauce made this inexpensive little dish look crisp, refreshing, and deeply appetizing.

"Let's have a bite to tide us over, and we can go out for a proper meal later."

After taking Zhang Zhang to the bathroom to wash his hands and face, Chen Xin had him kneel on the dining chair to eat by himself. Since they hadn't prepared a high chair for him here, he just had to make do with kneeling.

Just as they were about to dig in, the doorbell rang. Chen Xin went to open the door and found Zhou Yu and his brother standing there, drenched in sweat and hugging a basketball.

"Aren't you two supposed to be going to a gathering with your classmates?"

"Not going anymore." Zhou Sheng's expression wasn't great. After stepping inside, he didn't even greet Zhou Hao, heading straight to his room to change clothes and shower.

Zhou Yu lingered behind, winking and signaling at Chen Xin.

"What's wrong? Who set him off?"

"Some idiot gave Zhou Sheng a hard time, claiming he stole his girlfriend! Heaven knows whose girlfriend that was; Zhou Sheng doesn't even have a romantic bone in his body." Zhou Yu lowered his voice to explain, then noticed Zhang Zhang kneeling on the dining chair, holding a bowl and carefully eating a soup dumpling with Zhou Hao's help. Zhang Zhang's eyes lit up instantly. "Sister Xin, is this your nephew? What a cute little chubby boy."

"Who's a chubby boy! I have baby fat!" Zhang Zhang cared deeply about his appearance now and couldn't bear anyone calling him fat, except for his auntie.

"Fine, fine, baby fat, baby fat, Uncle was wrong. I'll buy you something delicious later to make it up to you, alright?"

Zhang Zhang let out a huff, refusing to accept the bribe; he held a grudge!

Seeing that the two brothers were back as well, Chen Xin hurriedly went to steam another cage of dumplings. There wasn't enough time to cook more congee, so she had to whip up a quick seaweed and egg drop soup to go with them.

When Zhou Sheng emerged from his shower, his mood had calmed down. After formally introducing himself to little Zhang Zhang, he successfully won over the little fellow's favor. Chen Xin avoided Zhang Zhang's gaze and rolled her eyes internally—she hadn't expected that after a month apart, the little chubby boy had turned into a superficial fan of good looks.

They had originally planned to take Zhang Zhang out for street snacks in the evening, but with Zhou Yu and his brother added to the mix, they simply decided to find a buffet restaurant specializing in barbecue.

At this time, western-style self-service barbecue restaurants where you didn't have to grill the food yourself were extremely popular, featuring all kinds of side dishes, snacks, and fruit ice cream. The price wasn't high either—just over twenty yuan per person. The four of them came out to exactly one hundred yuan, and the little chubby boy ate for free.

Eating barbecue was all about the lively atmosphere. Chen Xin checked out the environment, found it quite decent, and went straight to the cashier to reserve a table for lunch the next day. This little bit of money wasn't an unaffordable burden for her.

Yet the world can be surprisingly small. As they went to fetch food, they spotted Tong Qing again. This time, Tong Qing wasn't with that heavy-set guy, but rather a middle-aged balding man.

"I have to say, Sister Xin, what is up with your classmate's taste? She looks decent enough, and after all, she's a graduate student from a prestigious university; how come she always ends up dating such total oddballs?"

Even Zhou Yu couldn't make sense of it, and neither could Chen Xin. Tong Qing wasn't an absolute beauty, perhaps, but at least she was all-natural with no plastic surgery, easily scoring above average in looks. Plus, as a young woman with a curvaceous figure, she could easily find a genuinely handsome and wealthy boyfriend. Yet she seemed determined to sabotage herself, repeatedly picking boyfriends who were truly indescribable.

Upon spotting the four of them, Tong Qing's expression shifted as well. This time, she didn't look for trouble, instead making a wide detour to the other side—out of sight, out of mind.

However, the restaurant was only so large, and the central buffet area was quite spacious; walking a complete circle basically gave a view of every table in the place. As Tong Qing went to pick up food, her gaze inevitably drifted toward Chen Xin's group, and that was when she laid eyes on the brightest star in the crowd!