Chapter 13.1

At noon, it was He Dongchuan who cooked.

Although Su Ting had the appetite of a kitten and was very picky with food, He Dongchuan couldn’t just watch her starve, so he decided to cook himself. At least the rice at home was better than what they got at the canteen.

However, when the little kitten herself found out about this, her first reaction was not joy, but hesitation. “You’re going to cook?”

After asking, she felt like she had overstepped, so she quickly explained: “I’m not doubting your cooking skills, it’s just… you’ve just returned from a mission and it’s not easy to get a couple of days to rest. It’s not good to have you cook.”

In truth, she was doubting He Dongchuan’s cooking skills.

The reason was simple. The original person (the previous version of Su Ting) had terrible cooking skills, and after going to the island with the troops, she cooked every day, trying all sorts of ways to make food for He Dongchuan, just to win his heart through his stomach.

If He Dongchuan could cook, why didn’t he do it himself before?

Given the original person’s love-stricken brain, Su Ting thought that as long as He Dongchuan cooked and the food was passable, the original Su Ting would have been moved and would have actively given up the chance to show off her cooking skills.

But before going on the mission, He Dongchuan had never cooked. To avoid terrible food, his only option was to eat three meals a day at the base.

Therefore, Su Ting couldn’t help but doubt his cooking abilities.

If that were the case, they might as well just eat at the canteen. It was cheap, convenient, and most importantly, their stomachs wouldn’t suffer.

However, there were some things she couldn’t say too bluntly, as it might hurt his feelings. Besides, they didn’t have much of a relationship yet, so Su Ting tactfully said: “Actually, the canteen food is pretty good.”

But He Dongchuan clearly didn’t catch her drift and said: “I’m pretty good at cooking too.”

Since he had said that, Su Ting couldn’t say anything else. Of course, she rolled up her sleeves to help, while silently praying that he wouldn’t cook anything awful!

…

It turned out that He Dongchuan was being modest.

His cooking skills were more than just “okay.” Su Ting thought his cooking was at least as good as the canteen chef’s, and even the dishes he made tasted better.

When it came to food, Su Ting was always generous with compliments, hoping that by making him happy, he would be willing to cook more often.

With her leading the way, He Yan also began to lavish praise on Dad’s cooking.

God knows how miserable he felt when he returned home from school and learned that they wouldn’t be eating at the canteen for lunch. He didn’t want to eat the food his mother cooked!

Later, when he was told that it wasn’t Mom but Dad who made lunch, he wasn’t much happier.

Before coming to Pingchuan Island, he thought cooking was a simple task because Grandma Wang made everything taste amazing. But after the experience of being subjected to his stepmother’s cooking on the island, he finally realized that cooking wasn’t something everyone could do.

He had never heard of Dad cooking, so it was natural for him to be worried that Dad might not be up to the task.

But after a bite of the braised fish, He Yan was won over.

However, his vocabulary for giving compliments wasn’t that vast. He kept saying “delicious” and “Dad, you’re amazing.” and occasionally echoed Su Ting’s words.

But that was enough. Surrounded by praise from both the big and the small, He Dongchuan happily finished his meal.

So when, after lunch, Su Ting said she wanted to eat sweet and sour pork ribs for dinner, and He Yan looked at him with anticipation, He Dongchuan couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He agreed to go to the butcher shop to see if there were any ribs left.

They were in luck. When they got to the butcher shop, there were exactly two ribs left, just enough to make sweet and sour pork ribs.

This, however, was a hardship for Jiang Wei, who had been at sea for half a month and thought he would finally get to eat something good upon returning home.

The food on the ship wasn’t bad. To say nothing else, there was no shortage of seafood, but after so many years of being in the army, Jiang Wei had grown tired of seafood and longed for chicken, duck, and pork.

He had been hoping to eat something good when he got back home, but when he saw what was on the table, his expectations were shattered.

Wang Lixia regretted it too. Since she didn’t know when he would return, she had only bought the usual vegetables: radishes, greens, potatoes, cucumbers. The only thing that was a little different was that she added extra shrimp skins to the soup, but otherwise, there was no meat or anything substantial.

But it was no use regretting now. She could only comfort him, saying: “Let’s just make do with this today. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go buy some pork belly to make braised pork.”

The two little ones’ eyes lit up at the mention of meat; finally, there would be meat.

Jiang Wei sighed and picked up his chopsticks to start eating.

The moment the greens touched his tongue, the enticing aroma wafted with the sea breeze, reaching him from across the room. Jiang Wei perked up his ears and heard the faint sizzling sound of pork meeting oil, which made his throat involuntarily tighten and salivate. As a result, the already bland-tasting vegetables became even harder to swallow.

The two children also smelled the fragrance. The eldest, Jiang Rong, was a quiet child, and even though he smelled the delicious aroma, he didn’t dare to say a word. The younger one, Jiang Weidong, however, didn’t have such reservations. He sniffed the air and said: “It smells so good! They’re eating meat again.”

Jiang Wei asked: “Who’s eating meat?”

Although he already had a guess, his ears and nose were perfectly fine, and he could clearly tell that the smell was coming from the house next door. However, when he had been at sea, the neighbors had also cooked meat, but it hadn’t smelled nearly as tempting as it did today, so he wasn’t entirely sure.

“Who else could it be? The He Family next door.” Wang Lixia scoffed. “You wouldn’t know, but Colonel He’s wife really isn’t the type who knows how to manage a household. When Colonel He’s around, it’s fine. But once he leaves, she shows her true colors, wandering around all day, never doing any housework. They eat all three meals at the canteen, always picking the meaty dishes. Fish one day, meat the next. Tsk tsk.”

She probably shouldn’t have said that, but as soon as she did, Jiang Wei and his two sons couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

They had all imagined such a “life without worries” before!

If they could eat fish and meat, who would want to eat radish and vegetables every day?

Jiang Wei thought to himself, and the aroma in his nose seemed even more overpowering, with a hint of sweetness. He licked his lips and said: “So today it’s his wife cooking, right? Her cooking skills should be pretty good.”

He assumed it was Su Ting cooking next door.

Wang Lixia thought the same, but she didn’t want to admit that Su Ting was a good cook. With a humph, she said: “You haven’t tasted Xiaoying’s cooking. She’s the one who really knows how to cook! It’s just that Xiaoying isn’t as wasteful as Colonel He’s wife. She wants to eat well every day. You’d think Colonel He would do something about it, but he’s back, and still lets her spend money like that!”

Jiang Wei knew that Duan Xiaoying was a good cook, but since he didn’t get to eat her food and the two families lived far apart, he didn’t pay much attention to the first half of Wang Lixia’s comment.

As for the second half, Jiang Wei thought that as long as there was food, He Dongchuan wouldn’t complain.

If his wife could cook like that, he’d also want to eat well every day.

Sigh, he shouldn’t think about it.

The more he thought about it, the less appealing the food in front of him seemed.

…

The Jiang family ate their meal in dull silence, while the He family’s three members were enjoying their food with great satisfaction. By the time they had finished their meal, Su Ting had already decided what to order for tomorrow’s dishes.

She had asked, and He Dongchuan had two days off, so he wouldn’t be going to the base until the day after tomorrow.

However, she didn’t have the nerve to ask directly. Although He Dongchuan seemed to have a good temper—after eating two meals he cooked, Su Ting had a big change in her opinion of him.

She thought to herself that if she had met someone like He Dongchuan, wealthy, handsome, and hardworking, before she had crossed over, she would definitely have taken the initiative.

But now, she felt a little stirred, though every time she thought about the original person’s unrequited love from the novel, it would deflate her feelings.

She didn’t have the confidence the original had.

That being said, while He Dongchuan was easygoing, Su Ting wasn’t the type to directly pick a dish, as that would be taking advantage. So, she planned to go about it indirectly.

The next morning, Su Ting woke up at 6:30 AM, planning to go with He Dongchuan to the seafood supply station.

However, when she went outside, she didn’t see He Dongchuan. Instead, He Yan was squatting in the bathroom, brushing his teeth.

Su Ting walked in and asked: “Where’s your Dad?”

He Yan was gargling, then spat out the water and said: “Dad went out.”

“He went out so early?” Su Ting asked in surprise, squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush.

He Yan nodded: “Dad always leaves really early!”

“Okay then.” Su Ting’s face showed disappointment. Since He Dongchuan had already gone out, going with him to pick out seafood for the day was obviously out of the question.

She wondered what he would buy today.

While thinking about it, Su Ting took a sip of water, swished it around, and was about to spit it out when she suddenly heard He Yan ask: “Are you thinking about Dad?”

Water went down the wrong way, and Su Ting coughed violently, clutching her chest. After a while, she caught her breath, looked up, and said: “When did I think about him? I just didn’t see him when I woke up and was asking casually. Do you know what ‘casually’ means?”

He Yan asked uncertainly: “Just asking casually?”

“Exactly!” Su Ting nodded vigorously. “Next time, don’t just blurt something like that out. You could scare someone half to death, you know?”

He Yan said: “…Okay.”

Even though he said that, there was still some confusion in his mind. He couldn’t understand why asking if she missed Dad would scare someone. After all, others had asked him that so many times, and he was still alive and well.

He didn’t get it.

———-

He Dongchuan had indeed left before dawn, but he did not go to the seafood supply station. Instead, he went for a workout. After returning, he quickly took a shower before joining Su Ting and He Yan for breakfast in the canteen.

After breakfast, He Yan went to school while he and Su Ting went to the seafood supply station and the vegetable station. That afternoon, Su Ting finally got to eat the oil-braised shrimp he had been craving.

After eating and drinking to his fill, Su Ting returned to the Master’s Bedroom to catch up on sleep.

He Yan did the same. The Military primary school started classes at two in the afternoon, so after eating, he could sleep at home before heading to school.

However, today he had trouble falling asleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Su Ting had said, and the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He turned to his side and stared at his father, who was sitting at the edge of the bed reading.

Originally, He Dongchuan thought that his son would fall asleep after a while, so he didn’t plan to pay him any attention. However, after more than ten minutes, he could still feel his son’s gaze. He had no choice but to close the book, turn his head, and ask: “Can’t sleep?”

He Yan snapped back to his senses. “Huh?”

“Why are you staring at me?” He Dongchuan asked.

He Yan climbed over to his father’s side and propped himself up with his elbow. “Dad, why can’t I ask Mom if she misses you?”

He Dongchuan didn’t understand, furrowing his brow. “What do you mean?”

He Yan pressed his lips together, looking at him. Though he didn’t speak, his eyes clearly conveyed: “You’re so dumb, how can you not understand this?”

This was his biological son.

He Dongchuan took a deep breath. “You’re not making any sense. How would I know the answer? Tell me the whole story from the beginning.”

“Fine.” He Yan sighed. “This morning, I was brushing my teeth when Mom ran over and asked if you weren’t at home. So, I asked her if she missed you. Mom said no and that she was just asking for the sake of it. Dad, do you know what ‘asking for the sake of it’ means? It means just asking casually…”

He Dongchuan interrupted him. “Get to the point.”

“That is the point.” He Yan said, feeling aggrieved.

“…Then continue.”

“I answered correctly about what ‘asking for the sake of it’ means. Mom said that I shouldn’t ask suddenly like that because it would scare her.” He Yan finished speaking in a roundabout way and repeated the question: “Dad, why would asking Mom if she misses you scare her? When others ask me if I miss you, I’m never scared.”

Listening to He Yan, He Dongchuan couldn’t help but imagine Su Ting’s embarrassed expression. The corners of his lips curled up slightly. “What your mom meant by ‘scaring her’ was just an expression. It doesn’t mean she’s really scared.”

He Yan didn’t understand a word and asked in confusion: “Then what does that mean?”

He Dongchuan didn’t explain. He just said: “…You’ll learn it eventually. Just know that when she says things like that, it’s because she’s shy and embarrassed.”

“Oh—”

He Yan suddenly understood and exclaimed: “Mom is so easy to embarrass!”

……