35th Meow

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Hugging was such a strange behavior.

In the cluttered living room filled with the aroma of chicken soup, He Yunzhou hugged Huo Zheng and thought aimlessly.

It was just such a simple act… yet the man’s breath, heartbeat, temperature, and scent were all so close, as if through the hug, they could slowly seep into another person’s body.

He Yunzhou’s hand pressed against Huo Zheng’s back, and the muscles, which had been tense to the extreme, were now slowly relaxing. Obviously, not a word was being said but He Yunzhou could still clearly feel that something deep inside Huo Zheng had been soothed.

However, neither Huo Zheng nor He Yunzhou released each other. An unintentional meeting of their eyes caused their gazes to inexplicably lock together.

He Yunzhou keenly noticed something burning flash through Huo Zheng’s eyes. The face that was slightly fragile from the previous emotional turmoil, looked particularly handsome and upright at this moment.

He always felt that Huo Zheng, he…

It seemed as if a certain thought slowly slipped through the depths of He Yunzhou’s mind.

Huo Zheng’s face slowly moved closer to He Yunzhou.

If this were a TV drama, at this moment they would probably be about to kiss…

However, the next second, He Yunzhou shivered and instantly became clear-headed.

No, wait, something’s not right—

Embracing the heartbroken Huo Zheng was a natural reaction, just like how a cat lover would instinctively hug their unwell cat… Even now, He Yunzhou didn’t feel anything abnormal about it.

But when Huo Zheng started to move closer bit by bit, He Yunzhou felt something was off: Were he and Huo Zheng becoming a bit too close?

“Thanks.”

Fortunately, just as He Yunzhou extremely stiffened from his own thoughts, Huo Zheng merely whispered these words softly in He Yunzhou’s ear. Then he suddenly let go of He Yunzhou and stumbled back a step.

“No, no need to thank me?” He Yunzhou didn’t know why his cheeks felt a bit hot, and he instinctively responded. It was only then that he realized how foolish his reply sounded.

Luckily, Huo Zheng seemed still lost in his own thoughts. He overlooked He Yunzhou’s awkwardness but instead took a deep breath, lowered his head, and gave a soft, bitter smile before meeting He Yunzhou’s gaze.

Facing He Yunzhou, Huo Zheng still appeared somewhat uncomfortable.

“I lost my composure a bit; after all, today has been really terrible for me… but, you just now… well, I feel much better now… thanks.”

Huo Zheng’s expression was very tense, and even his words of thanks were jumbled and sounded particularly stiff.

He seemed to have reverted to that unapproachable, cold, and awkward demeanor.

But seeing him like this, He Yunzhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter what, Huo Zheng’s current state was much better than before.

“Meow wu—”

Nan Gua timely jumped onto Huo Zheng’s lap. It stared blankly at Huo Zheng for a long time before tilting its head and rubbing against Huo Zheng’s coat, leaving quite a bit of cat hair on the dark fabric.

“Nan Gua, get down! Do you think you have too much fur and need to share some with others?!”

Seeing Nan Gua’s little actions, He Yunzhou’s temple twitched, and he let out a scolding.

“Pfft—”

Huo Zheng, watching He Yunzhou scold the cat, couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

“It’s fine, it’s got a nice feel to it.” Huo Zheng added, then casually picked up Nan Gua and held it in his arms.

The rather large cat was like a giant, fluffy hot water bag—Soft, heavy, and warmly comforting.

Huo Zheng couldn’t resist running his hand over Nan Gua’s soft belly a few more times, causing Nan Gua to let out a protesting howl immediately.

As soon as he saw Nan Gua’s grumpy demeanor, Huo Zheng couldn’t control his hands and reached for Nan Gua’s jiggly belly once more—

“Meow wu!”

Nan Gua’s displeasure instantly doubled.

…

He Yunzhou gently watched the man and the cat in front of him, and a faint smile naturally appeared on his face. How to put it, if he had given Huo Zheng some support earlier, now Huo Zheng was also reciprocating in his own way. Just seeing Huo Zheng and Nan Gua playfully wrestling together made He Yunzhou feel his heart slowly filling with warmth.

However, the short moment of warmth lasted only a while.

“Cough… Stop bothering Nan Gua. I’ve reduced its food intake these past few days, so it’s in a bad mood…”

A moment later, seeing that Huo Zheng and Nan Gua were starting to get into a real tussle, He Yunzhou hurried over and weakly tried to mediate.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a rumbling sound coming from Huo Zheng’s stomach.

Huo Zheng was hungry.

Huo Zheng never expected that one day he would let the person he liked hear his stomach growl.

This realization caused his entire body to instantly freeze in place.

He Yunzhou’s eyes widened as he glanced at the overwhelmed President Huo. He had to tense all his muscles to keep himself from laughing out loud.

“Ah, look at me, I forgot… go wash your hands, dinner will be ready soon.”

He pretended not to have heard the awkward sound and walked casually toward the kitchen as if nothing happened.

Only he knew that the moment he turned his back, he couldn’t help but start laughing.

…

Back in the kitchen, He Yunzhou quickly checked the dishes. The chicken soup in the pot on the stove was still warm. Thanks to the pot’s good heat retention, it could stay warm for some time even after being removed from the heat.

Although it had simmered for less time than expected, the chicken soup’s flavor was already quite rich.

But other than that, after the delay just now, He Yunzhou hadn’t had time to prepare some side dishes and rice he had planned.

And judging by Huo Zheng’s earlier behavior, he was indeed hungry—let alone Huo Zheng, even He Yunzhou himself, after drinking a bellyful of tea and eating a few sweet pastries in the afternoon, was quite hungry by this time.

In this way, the time-consuming and labor-intensive dishes were out of the question.

With a little thought, He Yunzhou quickly devised a new menu.

The chicken soup remained the same, but the way it was served changed. He Yunzhou first took the chicken out of the soup, placing it on a large porcelain plate to cool slightly. Then he took two eggs from the refrigerator and brought a small pot of water to a boil. Using chopsticks, he stirred the water into a small whirlpool before cracking the two eggs into it, covering the pot and waiting for a moment.

When he lifted the lid again, there were two poached eggs in the pot, with soft, tender whites and still-runny yolks.

He Yunzhou placed the two poached eggs in a bowl, sprinkled some chopped green onions and a pinch of fine salt on top, washed a few tender lettuce leaves, and added them. Then he poured the boiling chicken soup directly into the bowl with the poached eggs and lettuce.

While doing this, he had another pot of water boiling on the stove. In the short time it took for the water to boil again, He Yunzhou quickly donned gloves and deboned the previously cooled whole chicken, breaking it down into small pieces. The boiling water was salted, and he added a handful of thin hollow noodles. When the noodles were done, he combined them with the shredded chicken in a bowl, drizzled sesame oil, minced garlic, chili, and finely chopped pickled vegetables over them, and added soy sauce and a tiny bit of fish sauce, creating simple chicken noodles.

Finally, he prepared a side dish of fried cucumber with perilla.

The recipe is also as simple as it gets: a large amount of fresh perilla and minced garlic, stir-fried with chili peppers and other seasonings. Lastly, he added thick slices of cucumber, quickly frying both sides before serving.

In just over ten minutes, a meal of soup, a side dish, and a bowl of noodles was served on the table.

Huo Zheng was called by He Yunzhou to sit at the dining table. Looking at the simple dishes on the table, he couldn’t help but be stunned.

It seemed that only the first time he met He Yunzhou had he seen such homely and plain meals… But strangely enough, the dishes and noodles presented to him today were more appetizing than ever.

“I didn’t have time to make anything special today, so let’s just eat this for now,” He Yunzhou said. He hadn’t felt anything was wrong before, but seeing Huo Zheng’s dazed expression, he felt a bit embarrassed.

“This is clearly… a very good meal,” Huo Zheng said in a low voice, looking up at him.

In fact, Huo Zheng wasn’t just saying this to coax He Yunzhou. He truly liked everything on the table today.

He did like everything on the table today.

The poached eggs made with chicken soup looked especially white and tender in the golden broth, with the delicate egg whites and the beautiful orange-yellow yolks peeking through. The green lettuce and golden chicken soup made it look fresh and tasted equally delicious.

The bowl of noodles, though it looked ordinary, had a unique flavor. This was due to the handmade, naturally air-dried hollow noodles, which had a rich wheat aroma and absorbed the sauce much better than store-bought noodles. The chicken pieces, though bland from the soup, became tender and flavorful with the help of finely chopped pickled vegetables and a few drops of sesame oil. Paired with the soft yet chewy noodles, it was exceptionally tasty.

The most delightful part was the small plate of fried cucumber with perilla.

The intense aroma of perilla mixed with garlic created a fragrance that made one’s mouth water just from smelling it.

The thick cucumber slices were fried to a semi-raw state, providing a unique texture that was both tender and crisp. The salty and savory sauce might have seemed ordinary, but the addition of perilla transformed the freshness of the cucumber into a distinctive flavor that danced on the tongue, making one’s mouth water and appetite grow.

It was a refreshing dish that paradoxically made one crave more, pairing perfectly with the fragrant bowl of chicken noodles.

After taking several big bites of the noodles, a few sips of chicken soup followed.

The chicken soup was rich and delicious. When scooping up a poached egg with a spoon and biting into it, the yolk inside had a translucent, gel-like consistency. Soaked in the chicken soup, it had a texture somewhat reminiscent of sea urchin.

Finally, a bite of lettuce.

The lettuce, cooked to a crisp-tender state by the heat of the chicken soup, retained its crunchiness while being infused with the soup’s rich flavor, making it both refreshing and tasty.

Huo Zheng ate to the point where the tip of his nose was slightly sweating. It wasn’t until he came to his senses that he realized the five bowls on the table were nearly empty.

The bottom of the white porcelain dishes, under the restaurant lighting, reflected a clean, shiny surface.

He Yunzhou, on the other hand, had already finished his portion at some point. At this moment, he was sitting at the table with his chin in his hand, smiling at Huo Zheng.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Huo Zheng put down his chopsticks and was just about to speak…

“Burp—”

A long burp rushed out uncontrollably straight from his throat.

Huo Zheng: “…”

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The author has something to say:

One day, after they got together, Huo Zheng suddenly noticed the expression on He Yunzhou’s face while he was feeding Nan Gua.

Huo Zheng: I extremely feel like the way you look at it seems a bit familiar.

He Yunzhou: …No, it doesn’t ah.