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墨書 Inktalez
Chen Rui's impression of the chef suddenly dropped significantly. Seriously? As long as it doesn't kill you? What if it makes you sick?
The chef seemed to see through Chen Rui's thoughts and smiled, "Don't worry, nothing will go wrong."
Chen Rui was somewhat skeptical of Li Li's words, but since it was him cooking, Chen Rui decided to enjoy it and naturally had no complaints.
After buying the essentials, Li Li pondered for a moment, gave a self-deprecating smile, shook his head, and walked out of the market.
Once in the car, he tossed the shopping bag into the trunk. Zhou Yan asked curiously, "Buying so much, what do you plan to make?"
"Home-cooked meals," Li Li replied as he placed another bag filled with fresh meat into the trunk and quickly hopped into the driver's seat.
Seeing that the chef refused to tell him what was for dinner that night, Zhou Yan felt a bit displeased. However, this annoyance was quickly suppressed by Zhou Zhi's comforting words.
"Alright, alright, he’s making home-cooked meals. You believe that? He only knows how to make home-cooked meals? Look at that dish he made—'home-cooked'?" Zhou Zhi pointed at the chef in the driver's seat and laughed.
"Enough teasing him. If he gets angry and decides not to cook anymore, there won’t be anywhere to cry about it," Wang Xinzhuo gently pinched Zhou Yan's waist. The smooth skin combined with its comfortable elasticity made Wang Xinzhuo a bit infatuated, and he kept pinching Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan winced from the pinch and twisted her slender waist, trying to escape Wang Xinzhuo's grasp. Unfortunately, her movements were too exaggerated for her to completely avoid it.
"That hurts!" Zhou Yan exclaimed with raised eyebrows. She angrily swatted at Wang Xinzhuo's hand and said indignantly, "Get your hands off me!"
Wang Xinzhuo wasn't upset; after all, he had just indulged himself. He laughed and retorted, "A 'salty pig hand' is used to describe lewd actions of a perverted man. Although I admit my actions were inappropriate just now, I’m not a man."
"Get lost! You’re still trying to justify yourself," Zhou Yan laughed and scolded. After thinking for a moment, she added with a grin, "Then you must be a 'wet pig hand!' Yes! That description fits perfectly! No need to worship me; just praise me silently in your hearts. Otherwise, I might get proud."
"Wet pig hand?" Zhou Zhi struggled to suppress his laughter, coughed twice, and pretended to be serious. "I think that description is quite acceptable; my sister is indeed clever. I admire you."
"Same here! Same here!" Chen Rui also chuckled and performed a standard fist-and-palm salute with his right hand clenched into a fist and his left hand open. His graceful movements combined with a smile made him look like a martial arts master.
Wang Xinzhuo's face flushed red as she complained, "Stop joking around! Wet pig hand... so annoying! What kind of nonsense are you thinking up in that head of yours?" She lightly tapped Zhou Yan's forehead with her index finger in an attempt to cover up her embarrassment.
"Alright, alright, hurry up and move everything to the kitchen. I'm going to say hello to the Boss," Li Li's words pulled everyone back to reality. Unbeknownst to them, the car had already arrived at the hotel entrance. The journey hadn't been long, especially with all the laughter along the way, so no one had noticed how quickly time had flown by.
Li Li parked the car in the lot, and everyone got out, laughing and carrying groceries. Li Li quickly entered through the hotel’s main entrance and confidently approached the Front Desk Attendant. "Get your Boss over here."
The attendant recognized her and knew she was not someone to be trifled with. However, due to Li Li's tone, she misunderstood her intention, thinking that this guest was upset because of poor service. She hurriedly put on a smile. "Sir, the Boss is currently busy. If you have any complaints, you can tell me, and we will do our best to resolve them."
Upon hearing this, Li Li understood that the young woman had misinterpreted her words. She smiled and said, "I don't have any complaints; I just need to speak with your Boss about something that only they can handle. So please let her know."
Relieved that it wasn't a complaint, the Server Sister quickly used the intercom to call for the Boss to come to the lobby.
A girl rushed out from the manager's office. She was quite young, still wearing slippers that indicated she had just gotten out of bed.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" The girl brushed her bangs aside and smiled.
Li Li was surprised because this girl was clearly not the one who had checked them in at noon. Her friend was supposed to be the hotel’s Boss who would personally welcome them. She quickly asked, "Are you the Boss? Who was it that received us at noon?"
"That’s my mother; she’s out on business right now." The girl switched to Mandarin to speak with Li Li, her standard Beijing accent mixed with a few grammatical errors. Li Li realized that this girl had likely studied abroad in China and switched to communicating in Mandarin.
"Here’s the thing: because of a friend's connection, we would like to borrow your hotel’s kitchen and some utensils if possible," Li Li said shyly while scratching the back of her head. Her sunny smile was so charming that it left the girl momentarily mesmerized.
Noticing this reaction, Li Li gently reminded her, "Um… did you hear me?"
"Oh! Oh! You want to borrow the kitchen?" The girl pondered for a moment, biting her lip as if struggling to make a decision.
Li Li sighed and smiled wryly. "If it’s too much trouble, then never mind; I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you."
"Oh! No trouble at all," the girl replied with a smile. "Are you planning to cook? Do you need someone to help you?"
"No need; we can manage ourselves," Li Li thought with a bitter smile. Who knows if your chefs can even cook Chinese food? If they can't, having them around would just complicate things.
The girl nodded, seemingly seeing through Li Li's thoughts. She glanced at the clock and said, "Is that so? How long do you think it will take? If you're in a hurry, we can start now; there aren't many customers at the moment."
It was only a little past three in the afternoon, so it would be unusual for customers to be ordering food at this time.
Li Li quickly ran through the cooking process in his mind and replied, "It should take about an hour and a half, not including the time needed for cleaning up afterward."
"That's fine; you won't need to clean the kitchen. We have staff assigned to that task. Feel free to use any materials in the kitchen. If you need anything else, just come find me; I'll be right here." The girl took a key from her keyring and handed it to Li Li, then turned to the server beside her. "Take them to the kitchen; there shouldn't be anyone there at this hour."
"Okay," the Server Sister replied, softly saying to Li Li, "Follow me," as she led the way down the corridor.
Li Li signaled to the six people behind him and confidently followed the Server Sister, which made everyone else grit their teeth in frustration.
"This guy! He’s using us as a cover when he clearly wants to borrow the kitchen himself," Zhou Yan pouted, dissatisfied, yet her steps were quicker than anyone else's.
Wang Xinzhuo watched Zhou Yan's actions with a mix of amusement and exasperation, sighing, "That girl."
Zhou Zhi chuckled and said, "She should have a point, but her actions betray her true intentions, making her lose that point."
"What do you mean?"
"Mr. Li didn't actually discuss borrowing the hotel kitchen with us beforehand. Suddenly using our name—even if he has a reason—doesn't make it right. However, Yan's behavior clearly shows our reliance on Mr. Li. So even if we have a point, it becomes irrelevant."
Zhou Zhi explained with a smile; his words were complex enough that one would need to hear them two or three times to fully grasp them. After listening, Wang Xinzhuo repeated what he understood and chuckled helplessly. "Indeed, it's all this girl’s fault; I can't even scold Li Li now."
In mock annoyance, Wang Xinzhuo hurried after Zhou Yan, shifting the bag from his right hand to his left while swiftly delivering a light smack on Zhou Yan's backside. The sound echoed clearly throughout the hall.
Zhou Yan's face instantly turned crimson; it was hard to tell if she was more angry or embarrassed. She shot Wang Xinzhuo an annoyed glance but forced herself to suppress the urge to curse and pretended nothing had happened.
Chen Rui watched the two beautiful women getting along so well and smiled as he patted Qin Xin and Zhou Zhi on their shoulders. "You two brothers are lucky! Your wives are both stunningly beautiful and have such a close relationship. With wives like these, what more could a husband want? Hahaha!"
Qin Xin and Zhou Zhi were momentarily taken aback, then turned to look at Chen Rui seriously. Each placed a hand on his shoulders, and Zhou Zhi said solemnly, "Brother Chen, don't say that. If you do, we'll only feel more sorrowful."
How could that be? The two ladies had already recovered so well; what was there to be unwilling about? What more could they feel sorrowful for?
Qin Xin nodded in agreement. "Exactly, exactly. Brother Chen, please stop teasing us."
Chen Rui forced a bitter smile. He truly hadn't expected this reaction, but he could vaguely guess what they meant.
As he gazed at the graceful figure ahead, Chen Rui felt a surge of emotions, mostly helplessness.
That figure suddenly turned around, her long hair cascading like a waterfall as it floated slightly with her movement. Paired with her stunning beauty, she resembled a celestial fairy who had descended to the mortal realm, evoking a sense of affection.
"Brother Chen, why are you walking so slowly? Hurry up and catch up!" With that, the fairy smiled and turned to run ahead, her cheerful laughter echoing in the corridor, continuously reaching Chen Rui's ears.
"See? So Brother Chen, please stop teasing us," Zhou Zhi said with a smile as she turned and walked toward the kitchen.
Qin Xin remained silent but looked meaningfully at Chen Rui. Suddenly, she playfully punched him in the chest and then turned to run away, as if afraid he might retaliate.
Chen Rui didn't pay much attention to their antics; his mind was elsewhere as he recalled Li Xue's words.
Brother Chen—did she see me as Chen Zijing? Or has she already recognized me for who I am? That way of addressing me is truly hard to refuse.
He took a deep breath, burying this matter deep in his memory before quickening his pace to catch up.
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