Chapter 27
The moment the waiter said this, both Song Jinzhi and Gu Sijiu felt a chill run down their spines. They glanced at each other involuntarily, then shook their heads and firmly told the waiter they didn't need a comped meal. Seeing how reluctant they seemed, the waiter didn't dwell on it, simply assuming the couple was on the shy side, and left with a smile.
When the waiter was gone, the embarrassment caused by that little exchange remained. Gu Sijiu arranged the cutlery and stole a sidelong glance at Song Jinzhi's face, her gaze finally settling on Song Jinzhi's lightly pursed lips. Song Jinzhi had a beautifully shaped mouth, thin and lean rather than full, with naturally pale lips that took color easily. Today she wore an orange lipstick, making her look less tightly wound than usual, much more relaxed and carefree.
Thinking about kissing those lips, Gu Sijiu was actually curious. What did it feel like to kiss a woman? She had no experience kissing anyone at all, let alone a woman. Now this little interlude had sparked her curiosity. Song Jinzhi was always sensitive to being watched. She sensed Gu Sijiu's gaze, raised an eyebrow, and looked back, her eyes brushing inadvertently over Gu Sijiu's lips.
Gu Sijiu's lips were small and delicately full, with a well defined shape. Because she liked applying a vivid shade of red, they looked like a ripe, plump cherry, intensely inviting to kiss. Of course, Song Jinzhi only felt that in a detached way, she would never act on it. Just imagining kissing Gu Sijiu was enough to give her a visceral shudder.
While they sat in silence, the waiter finally brought their dishes. Though billed as a romantic sweetheart dinner, it was essentially standard Western fare.
Gu Sijiu could tell the steak was excellent quality, but the flavor always fell short. It was what you might call soulless, top tier ingredients used without the skill to match.
Gu Sijiu took a few bites, then set her fork down in distaste. Song Jinzhi, on the other hand, ate with focused diligence.
Gu Sijiu was taken aback. She'd noticed long ago that people in this world were truly indifferent to food. Take Song Jinzhi, for example: she should have been quite picky. She disliked machine prepared dishes, yet she was perfectly content eating what the household staff cooked. To Gu Sijiu, the staff's cooking couldn't compare to her own by a long shot.
"Doesn't it suit your palate?" Song Jinzhi had also noticed Gu Sijiu barely eating and looked puzzled. From what she remembered, Gu Sijiu used to have a pretty hearty appetite; as an Alpha, her food intake should have been larger than hers. Since the car accident, Gu Sijiu had mostly been taking nutrient supplements and eating fruit. Her consumption of actual meals had indeed dropped.
"Mm, it's not exactly that. I just feel the flavor is kind of flat, not very pleasant to eat." Gu Sijiu murmured quietly. Seeing that Song Jinzhi had already finished half the steak on her plate only puzzled her more. "The food here is better than plenty of restaurants. I think it's quite good," Song Jinzhi said, deciding that Gu Sijiu had become even more finicky. Clearly the food here was already decent, yet she was acting disdainful. Song Jinzhi didn't bother with her, focusing on her own plate instead. Gu Sijiu watched for a while, then thought of the ingredients she'd bought and started mentally planning her own private late night cooking session.
When they'd finished eating, they lingered over glasses of red wine. Though the food hadn't been much, the wine here was first rate. Watching Gu Sijiu turn to take in the city's nightscape, Song Jinzhi pressed her lips together, feeling that now was probably the best time to apologize. As much as backing down before Gu Sijiu made her uncomfortable, a mistake was a mistake, and she should at least show the proper attitude.
"Gu Sijiu, what happened the other day was my fault from the start. I'm sorry I said those things." Song Jinzhi's voice was small, but the private dining room was well soundproofed, and Gu Sijiu heard her clearly. Truth be told, most of Gu Sijiu's anger had already evaporated after today's clothes and grocery shopping. Shopping really did lift the spirits, no lie there. Hearing Song Jinzhi initiate the apology now, Gu Sijiu didn't play hard to get. She smiled, raised her glass, and clinked it against Song Jinzhi's.
"Wooden Face, you could have apologized earlier. I'm not that petty or childish. I never planned any revenge or anything. Let's make up." Gu Sijiu took a sip of red wine. Despite suspecting Gu Sijiu's claim about not wanting revenge, Song Jinzhi murmured a faint "mm" and bowed her head to sip her wine, too. Watching her, Gu Sijiu noticed the tips of Song Jinzhi's ears turning pink. At first she thought it was a trick of the light, but then both ears reddened, confirming that someone was probably blushing with embarrassment.
Gu Sijiu savored her wine, moving her seat right up to the floor to ceiling window to drink and enjoy the view. Song Jinzhi watched her, noticing how the bright street scenes reflected in Gu Sijiu's striking red eyes. Her deep cherry blossom pink hair fell loose, and she wore a short black dress. The profile was perfect, the nasal bridge and the curve of her cheek, all flawless. Song Jinzhi had to admit that though Gu Sijiu was a scumbag, her packaging was extremely good.
Song Jinzhi stared at Gu Sijiu in a daze, unsure why her gaze was glued to the other woman. The air purifier in the compartment was excellent and set to maximum, yet she could still catch that scent from Gu Sijiu, the one that made her unbearably crave. That's my Alpha. That's my Alpha's pheromones.
That thought flickered through her mind, making Song Jinzhi even more bashful. She quickly shook her head, trying to cast aside such strange notions, but at that moment Gu Sijiu looked over. Song Jinzhi abruptly turned away, trying to hide the flush rising on her face, unaware that this whole shrimp like shrinking act was already fully visible to Gu Sijiu.
In the past, she'd never understood why anyone found a woman's coy, bashful mannerisms endearing. Now she finally got it. It was the contrast, that disparity. If a woman who was always demure and shy acted that way, most people wouldn't think much of it. But now, the typically calm, unruffled Wooden Face was blushing and curling into a ball of embarrassment. Gu Sijiu admitted she was utterly charmed. I really want to reach out and pinch Song Jinzhi's cheeks until they turn even redder...
After they'd finished their wine and rested a while, they prepared to leave. The drive home was clearly more pleasant than the trip out. Gu Sijiu mentally calculated the ingredients she'd bought and planned the evening's menu, while Song Jinzhi showed her the extra daily essentials she'd picked up, asking what Gu Sijiu needed. Neither of them noticed how drastically this atmosphere differed from their old hostility, they truly seemed like a married couple coming home from a shopping trip together.
Once home, Song Jinzhi went to organize the household supplies, and Gu Sijiu sorted the groceries into the food storage freezer by category. She was very satisfied with this world's storage appliances; they kept food at peak freshness for long periods. Even fruits and vegetables wouldn't spoil for up to a month once placed inside. Gu Sijiu set aside the ingredients she'd use for tonight's dinner and put the rest into the storage unit.
"I'm planning to cook a few dishes tonight. Is there anything you can't eat?" Gu Sijiu went upstairs and asked at Song Jinzhi's door. Hearing that she intended to cook, Song Jinzhi was startled. She'd assumed the ingredients would be handed off to the household staff, not prepared by Gu Sijiu personally. Remembering that Gu Sijiu had been pampered since childhood and couldn't possibly know how to cook, Song Jinzhi thought this was probably just a sudden whim to dabble in culinary experiments, the results of which might very well be inedible.
"Whatever you make is fine. I don't really eat much in the evenings." Song Jinzhi replied lightly. Hearing that, Gu Sijiu simply said "oh" and decided to make whatever she herself wanted. She put on the little chef's hat she'd bought to keep her hair free of cooking fumes, tied on her apron, and indeed looked a bit like a professional.
Upstairs, Song Jinzhi was reading when a faint, incredibly delicious aroma reached her. It was the scent of food, and its pleasantness was unquestionably the most fragrant dish she'd ever smelled. Song Jinzhi couldn't believe Gu Sijiu could produce such a thing. Unable to resist, she opened her door and crept downstairs, standing cautiously by the stair landing to take a peek.
One glance showed her Gu Sijiu dressed remarkably like a chef, seriously stir frying vegetables in one pan while meat sizzled in a skillet on another burner. The captivating scent was coming from there. Song Jinzhi couldn't help swallowing. She'd never imagined Gu Sijiu really could cook. If that was the case, why did she still employ household staff?
Song Jinzhi suddenly recalled her own words about not eating dinner and felt a twinge of regret. Lunch had been filling, but now it was evening and that food had long been digested. She touched her flat stomach and inhaled the aromas wafting up from downstairs. I'm feeling very tempted to eat my own words.
"What are you zoning out for? It's almost ready. Come down and eat. I made quite a bit; I doubt we'll finish it all," Gu Sijiu called, setting the last dish on the table. She'd wanted to eat so many things and hadn't wanted to spread them over several days, so she'd ended up making four dishes and a soup. The soup was a simple pork rib and corn soup. The four dishes were two meat and two vegetable: crispy pan fried meat, lemon tea scented chicken, a lightly sauteed vegetable medley, and a fresh vegetable salad.
"I never knew you could do this." Song Jinzhi stood by the table, staring at the dishes in a daze, utterly unable to process that one day she'd actually see Gu Sijiu cook a whole table of food and invite her to join. It felt as surreal as a dream. Hearing the question, Gu Sijiu knew this might clash with the original host's actual personality and had prepared an explanation long ago.
"There's plenty you don't know. I got bored in high school and learned all this. Plus the food in the military was terrible. If I didn't cook for myself, my fussy palate wouldn't survive." Gu Sijiu used the most fitting excuse. After all, Song Jinzhi didn't know much about the original host's past or army life, so this was perfectly plausible.
Song Jinzhi answered with an "oh" and then obediently took her seat, looking up at Gu Sijiu as she waited for bowls and chopsticks to be brought.
Gu Sijiu was caught off guard by this expectant, served like a princess look, but she just sighed and brought over their bowls and chopsticks, even filling a small bowl of rice for Song Jinzhi.
Song Jinzhi picked up her chopsticks, but remembering her earlier declaration about not eating dinner still made her slightly awkward. She moved slowly, taking a sip of water first and waiting until Gu Sijiu had taken the first bite before she ate. When she saw Gu Sijiu place a piece of crispy meat in her mouth, Song Jinzhi's lips pressed together, and she quickly grabbed a piece to taste as well.
A mild, savory meat flavor unfurled in her mouth. Song Jinzhi's eyes widened, she had never imagined ordinary crispy pan fried meat could taste this good. With complicated feelings, she ate the delicious dishes before her, suddenly understanding why Gu Sijiu had worn that helpless expression at lunch when she'd praised the restaurant's food. Song Jinzhi ate elegantly, never wolfing down her food but taking small, refined bites in surprisingly large quantities.
Gu Sijiu was still worrying about whether her skills had slipped from not cooking in a while, but then she saw Song Jinzhi, with a perfectly straight face and the utmost composure, polish off half the crispy meat and sauteed vegetables, not to mention a good share of the lemon tea scented chicken. Seeing her empty rice bowl, Gu Sijiu stood and served her a bowl of soup instead. Yeah, she was worried Song Jinzhi might choke.
After a harmonious dinner, Gu Sijiu discovered that apart from a little leftover pork rib soup, nearly every plate of the once full table was clean. Gu Sijiu didn't think she'd eaten all that much herself, so the bulk had clearly ended up in Song Jinzhi's stomach. She looked across at the person sipping soup and asked with a teasing grin.
"Was it good?" Gu Sijiu inquired, her voice laced with good natured mockery. Song Jinzhi set down her soup, dabbed her mouth with a napkin, and replied matter of factly, "Passable. If there's nothing else, I'll go rest." With that, she hurried away from the table. Watching her flee after clearly finding the food delicious but refusing to admit it, Gu Sijiu was speechless. If it wouldn't make Song Jinzhi too embarrassed, she'd have loved to say: If it's just passable, why did you eat so much?
Song Jinzhi didn't want to know what Gu Sijiu was thinking. She'd hurried off precisely because she felt she'd eaten far too much and was a bit overstuffed. She paced a few laps in her room, her stomach experiencing an unprecedented fullness. Glancing at the moonlight outside, which was especially fine, she suddenly felt like taking a walk in the garden.
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