After putting that bite of food into her mouth, Xia Zhi clearly realized that it had been such a long time since someone had cooked for her.
Tears fell into her empty bowl. She thought about how long ago, her mother and father would often take time to personally cook for her, and even bake cakes.
The food her parents made wasn’t bad, but it couldn’t compare to the meals prepared by the family chef.
Back then, she told her parents there was no need to cook personally, but they said that cooking for their child was itself a happy thing.
At that time, Xia Zhi didn’t understand, nor did she realize how happy a child with parents cooking meals at home could be.
Now, she finally understood all of that.
Back then, she thought it was just ordinary.
Clearly, this wasn’t a dish cooked by her parents personally, and the style and taste were completely different, but as she ate it, she inexplicably felt moved.
She missed her mom and dad.
It was then that she suddenly realized in horror that she could no longer even remember the taste of her parents’ cooking.
Su Ziyan had personally tasted the food before serving it. It wasn’t that tasty, but it wasn’t bad enough to be disgusting, right?
After all, there were only two possibilities for her crying: either it was too delicious or it was too terrible. No matter how he thought about it, his cooking couldn’t be that bad, could it?
“Uh…”
After hesitating repeatedly, for the sake of his job, Su Ziyan tentatively asked, “Miss Xia Zhi, does the food not suit your taste?”
Xia Zhi did not respond, only lowered her head and wept. She picked up her phone and typed while crying. After finishing, she directly turned the phone over and placed it on the table.
Su Ziyan was still wondering why his own phone hadn’t rung when he heard a sound coming from her phone.
“No, I really like the food you made. The reason I’m crying is simply that it’s been a long time since someone personally cooked for me.”
The sound from the phone was a very formulaic AI voice, devoid of any emotion.
But to Su Ziyan, this voice devoid of emotion seemed incredibly heavy, so heavy that it was hard for him to breathe.
There must be a story behind why she got depression, but honestly, he didn’t really want to hear her story.
It might sound strange, but although he was only eighteen years old, he wasn’t some hot-blooded young man.
He wouldn’t jump in to help whenever he saw injustice, nor would he become a savior for a stranger.
So he didn’t want to be like some protagonist, listening to her story, untangling her heart’s knots, walking into Xia Zhi’s heart and living a happy life.
He just wanted to earn a lot of money, then happily spend his life with Xu Duyan.
In his eyes, there were invisible threads between people who knew each other. For example, between him and Xu Duyan, that thread was very important; if it broke, it would change his entire life.
As for classmates or colleagues, as long as they didn’t become close friends, the thread wasn’t that important. It could break easily, and could also be reconnected easily after a reunion.
Because these threads weren’t important, they could change in countless ways.
And if he became Xia Zhi’s employee, a thread would connect them, but that thread would undoubtedly be the latter kind—a very ordinary employer-employee relationship.
When the job ended in the future, the thread between them would break.
Many years later, if they met by chance, they might recognize each other and exchange a few words, or they might not recognize each other at all.
This was the normal relationship that should exist between the two of them.
Like a fork in the road. Many years ago, he and Xu Duyan had come to such a fork, but the two of them didn’t separate, and so they bore each other’s lives.
Now, Su Ziyan and Xia Zhi also stood at such a fork in the road.
Although it wasn’t to the extent of bearing each other’s lives, once he stayed, it would inevitably lead to entanglement. Su Ziyan was very sure of that.
Even if that entanglement might be a good thing, he didn’t need it, because he didn’t need any close friends.
He had had close friends before. But after helping them, he was betrayed. The feeling of anger at that time, he would never forget it for the rest of his life. If it weren’t for Xu Duyan… well, it’s all in the past.
In short, Xu Duyan, as always, stood firmly by his side and helped him resolve that matter.
So he wanted to devote all his future life and emotions to Xu Duyan, to defy worldly ethics and be with her.
In a sense, he was a person of such gravity.
He was also sure that Xu Duyan was that kind of person.
So this was fine. He didn’t need friends, nor did he need to understand her. What he needed was just a wealthy employer.
So he spoke: “Miss Xia Zhi, as long as you enjoy it. I’ll go clean up the trash in the living room. When you’re done eating, call me to wash the dishes.”
After saying that, he turned and left. After all, this not only showed her his competence but also successfully avoided his boss’s embarrassing moment.
‘Was he this clever?’
Thinking this, he turned to leave, but was tugged at the corner of his clothes.
Turning around, he saw Xia Zhi looking at him with pleading eyes.
The girl’s eyes were red, her face covered in tears. She wanted to speak but couldn’t; when she opened her mouth, only short, rapid “ah ah” sounds came out.
She was begging him to stay, even if just to sit across the dining table and watch her finish this meal.
Like a little dog begging its owner not to leave…
Su Ziyan almost immediately turned back to accompany her for the meal, but he quickly came to his senses.
‘Was he really such a compassionate person? Just seeing her pitiful look made him unable to bear it?’
‘Su Ziyan, have you forgotten how you were betrayed by a close friend? Have you forgotten that as long as you have Xu Duyan, that’s enough?’
So…
***
So how did it turn out like this?!
Su Ziyan scratched his head in exasperation. Watching Xia Zhi eat the food he had cooked, he felt that he really was too overflowing with compassion.
‘Why did he sit across from this girl a year ago and accompany her through that entire meal?’
Thinking this, Su Ziyan looked up at Xia Zhi across the dining table, his face full of resentment.
After seeing Su Ziyan’s expression, Xia Zhi couldn’t help but be flustered. Hiding her rice bowl against her chest, she cautiously asked, “Didn’t you say you weren’t going to eat?”
Looking at Xia Zhi protecting her food like that, Su Ziyan became even more exasperated.
‘What on earth had made him think a year ago that she was a mourning beauty full of world-weariness?’
But she was still his boss after all. In the end, he forced a smile and said, “I’m not eating. I told you, I’m not hungry.”
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