“Yes, when I meet my true destined partner, I will get married. There’s no rush right now. I’ll wait until my seventh brother gets married first. Anyway, the elders aren’t pressuring me yet.”
“They’ll get to you sooner or later.”
“We’ll deal with it when they do.”
The two of them looked at each other and smiled.
They stayed in the backyard for half the afternoon. Then Zhan Yue needed to start preparing dinner, so Zeng Xiaoya followed him back into the house.
The children were having a wonderful time playing, with their fathers keeping them company. Zeng Xiaoya did not have much to talk about with the other two young masters of the Zhan family and was not familiar with them. She felt more at ease staying with Zhan Yue.
The old lady and the others had already finished their afternoon nap and were discussing something in the house. When they saw the two come back, they instinctively stopped talking.
“Grandma, what were you all discussing?”
Zhan Yue walked over and asked curiously.
The old lady said: “We were talking about your seventh brother’s wedding and the guest list. It has nothing to do with you. Just hurry up and get married when it’s your turn. We’ll arrange everything for you properly. You only need to be the happy groom.”
“Alright then. You carry on chatting. I’m going to cook now.”
Zeng Xiaoya said to everyone: “I’ll help Zhan Yue in the kitchen.”
She followed Zhan Yue into the kitchen.
The old lady smiled brightly and said softly to the others: “Don’t you think the two of them seem a bit closer today?”
The only one who agreed with her was Haitong.
Because Haitong knew how Zhan Yue and Zeng Xiaoya usually interacted.
The third madam said: “Mum, we only found out about Old Eight and Xiaoya today. We really don’t know how they got along before.”
Haitong said: “Xiaoya relies on Zhan Yue a little when she’s here, so the two of them appear a bit closer.”
The old lady said: “That’s trust in Old Eight.”
Haitong smiled. “Grandma is right.”
Whatever the old Buddha said was always correct.
“Are the children still playing outside? I’ll go and have a look.”
The old lady stood up to go out and called her two granddaughters-in-law to accompany her.
Soon afterwards, everyone was sitting in the courtyard. Inside the house, only Zhan Yue and Zeng Xiaoya remained.
Although Zeng Xiaoya had followed him into the kitchen, she did not really need to help much. Zhan Yue could manage everything on his own.
Still, she did not go outside. She stayed in the kitchen and occasionally passed him the vegetables he needed to stir-fry.
Watching Zhan Yue busy working alone, Zeng Xiaoya quietly used her phone to record a short video of him stir-frying.
Time passed quickly. The sun sank into the sea in the west, bringing the day to an end, and night was about to fall.
Zhan Yue had been busy in the kitchen all afternoon and finally prepared a table full of sumptuous dishes for dinner.
Zeng Xiaoya helped him carry out the finished dishes one by one and arranged them on the dining table. After all twelve dishes were served, she used her phone again to take a photo of the abundant spread.
She felt that the dishes Zhan Yue cooked tonight looked even more colourful, fragrant and delicious than what the chef had prepared at lunchtime.
