Seated at the dining table, Fang Yu kept his head bowed, shoveling food into his mouth without so much as a glance at Yan Ting and Lin Ruofei beside him.
The two young women were eating with equal rapture, and though they said nothing aloud, a flicker of quiet surprise stirred in both their chests. For all the man's infuriating, roguish ways, his culinary skills were truly remarkable.
"It's a little too salty. Go easy on the salt next time." Lin Ruofei mumbled around a mouthful of noodles, her words muffled and indistinct.
"Exactly, exactly." Yan Ting nodded repeatedly, then pushed herself to her feet, hauled the entire big pot over in front of her, and began slurping down the broth straight from it.
Fang Yu was on the verge of tears. I slaved away for ages to make this, he raged silently to himself. The flour was mine, the seasonings were mine, even the damn pot is mine. Could you two at least not eat every last bite? Leave a little for me, won't you?
Yet these words remained nothing more than silent thoughts in his head; he dared not speak a single one of them aloud. Heaven only knew what bizarre new torments the two young women would dream up if he dared voice his grievances.
Thankfully, by the time he set about clearing the bowls and chopsticks, the two young mistresses had not uttered a single word to make his life difficult. And why would they? The pair were sat there, patting their full, rounded bellies, far too sated to bother tormenting him for the moment.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Fang Yu hung his head in helpless exasperation, patting his rumbling stomach with a weary sigh. Great. He'd slaved over a huge pot of noodles, hadn't gotten so much as a sip of the broth for himself, and now he was stuck cleaning up the dishes too.
And so, our poor, beleaguered Fang Yu set to washing the dishes in the kitchen, a seething well of resentment bubbling in his chest.
When Fang Yu emerged from the kitchen, Lin Ruofei and Yan Ting were nowhere to be seen in the living room, though faint peals of giggling and laughter drifted down from one of the bedrooms upstairs.
"Ugh, finally, a moment to rest." Fang Yu sprawled out flat on his back across the sofa, ready to catch his breath after the endless chaos of the day.
But no sooner had he closed his eyes than a shrill, sharp voice rang out.
"Get up off there this instant."
Fang Yu jolted upright, shooting to his feet from the sofa, his face etched with bewildered alarm as he stared at Yan Ting, who was marching toward him with her hands planted firmly on her hips, murder blazing in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Fang Yu asked in a small, timid voice. Yet when he saw Lin Ruofei standing off to the side, her arms crossed over her chest and a mischievous, amused glint in her eye as she watched the scene unfold, his heart sank into his boots. He was doomed. That little vixen Lin had definitely whispered something in Miss Yan's ear. There was no other reason she'd suddenly come looking to pick a fight with him.
"You. Get up." Yan Ting jabbed a finger straight at the bridge of his nose, then pointed at the sofa he'd just been lying on. "This sofa is mine. You are not to touch it."
Er…
Fang Yu broke out in a cold sweat. What kind of ridiculous nonsense was this? Even so, a flicker of relief passed through him, and he darted a subtle glance toward Lin Ruofei, who was snickering silently to herself.
"Oh." Fang Yu's eyes darted back and forth for a moment, before he stood meekly to the side, like a small child who'd been caught misbehaving, waiting for the headstrong young mistress to hand down her sentence.
"Hmph. Fine. Seeing as you made us noodles earlier, I'll let you off the hook this time." Seeing his meek, chastened demeanor, Yan Ting assumed he was apologizing for his mistake, and decided not to torment him further.
Beside her, Lin Ruofei watched the scene unfold, and a thought seemed to strike her, making her snort with laughter.
"What's so funny, Lin Niu?" Yan Ting asked, bewildered, as she watched Lin Ruofei clutch her stomach, giggling to herself.
"Nothing, nothing at all." Lin Ruofei shot a quick glance at Fang Yu, then turned back to Yan Ting, grinning. "I was just thinking, since Fang Yu is such an amazing cook, we're going to be eating like queens from now on."
At those words, Fang Yu let out a long, relieved breath, shooting Lin Ruofei a grateful look. At least you've got a shred of decency, he thought to himself.
Yet just as he was breathing a sigh of relief, Lin Ruofei spoke once more.