Chapter 28: Dressed to Impress, Yet Outshined Effortlessly

“Thank you, you’re very beautiful too,” Li Xia replied with a smile. 

She didn’t mean anything by it—since the novel’s female lead had complimented her looks, she simply returned the gesture as a matter of politeness. 

However, to Su Wenyen, those words sounded like mockery. 

Li Xia didn’t seem to have deliberately dressed up. To make cooking easier, she had casually tied her hair up. After working in the kitchen for so long, a loose strand had fallen, curling slightly as it rested against her fair neck. 

In contrast, Su Wenyen had carefully applied powder to her face before leaving home that morning, all in an effort to make a good impression on Gu Weicheng. 

She had always been confident in her appearance, but she was particularly self-conscious about her skin tone, feeling it wasn’t fair enough. This was something that had always bothered her. 

Not only that, but she had also applied a touch of lipstick.

The dress she was wearing was the latest style of a Bolaji made from crepe fabric, which she had bought at the Department Store in Shanghai before coming to the army base. 

She had planned everything carefully. The last time she encountered Gu Weicheng on the train, she had been exhausted from the long journey, and there was even a strange smell on her clothes. So, this time she wanted to take the opportunity to dress up beautifully and make an impression in front of him. 

But now, she wished she could go back and wipe off the lipstick from her lips. 

If she had known things would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have bothered to dress up at all. 

At least that way, she could still tell herself that the reason Li Xia outshone her was because she hadn’t put in any effort. That would have been much better than her current situation—dressed to the nines, only to be effortlessly overshadowed by Li Xia, who hadn’t even bothered to dress up! 

“Since everyone is here, let’s eat,” Gu Weicheng, as the host, said. 

“Yes, let’s eat before the dishes get cold,” Li Xia chimed in. 

“That’s right! Sister-in-law’s cooking smells amazing. If you all don’t start eating soon, I won’t hold back!” Hu Songlin joked. 

Nearby, Commander Ma’s three children stared at the food with wide eyes, their faces full of longing. Their mouths practically watered as they anxiously waited. 

They were just waiting for the adults to give the signal so they could finally dig in.

But the adults sure talked too much! Couldn’t they save their conversation for after the meal? 

Now that they were finally eating, the children couldn’t be happier. They quickly grabbed their favorite dishes, took their bowls, and moved aside to eat. 

Li Xia picked up some food for An An and smiled at him. “An An, go eat with your older brothers.” 

With so many people today, there wasn’t enough space at the table, so the children weren’t seated with the adults. 

An An nodded, took his bowl, and went over to join the other kids. 

Taking the opportunity, Su Wenbin brought out the dish that Su Wenyen had prepared and said, “Wenyen told me that on her way to the army base, she was lucky to have met Commander Gu and Deputy Commander Hu, who saved her from human traffickers.” 

“She originally wanted to invite both of you to our house for a simple meal as a token of gratitude. But since Commander Gu’s wife and child have recently arrived at the base, things have been quite busy, so we didn’t get the chance to extend the invitation.” 

“As a way to express her thanks, Wenyen specially prepared a dish today and brought it over for everyone to try.” 

With that, Su Wenbin lifted the lid and placed the dish on the table.

Su Wenbin was giving Su Wenyen a chance to shine. At twenty, she had reached the age when marriage discussions were expected. 

Now that she was at the army base, Su Wenbin intended to find a suitable match for his sister. Good cooking skills were an important quality in a wife. 

“Wow, this dish was made by Commander Su’s sister? It looks like a painting—absolutely stunning,” Hu Songlin praised generously. 

The others also chimed in with compliments. 

Hearing the praise, Su Wenyen smiled and said, “My cooking skills aren’t that great. It definitely won’t taste as good as Sister Li’s, but I hope you don’t mind.” 

However, what everyone else thought didn’t matter to her. The only person she cared about was Gu Weicheng. 

She stole a glance at him, only to find that he hadn’t even looked at her dish. Instead, he was focused on picking food for Li Xia. 

“If there’s anything you want but can’t reach, just tell me—I’ll get it for you,” he said.

The small spark of joy that had just risen in Su Wenyen’s heart was instantly extinguished. 

Li Xia’s dishes didn’t focus on elaborate plating, but their flavor was unexpectedly outstanding. Every dish on the table was refreshing, delicious, and perfect with rice. 

More importantly, she had only made simple home-cooked dishes—the kind that every household could prepare. Yet, despite being the same dishes, the taste was worlds apart. 

“This shredded potato dish is really something,” Commander Ma praised. 

“This spicy and sour pork intestine is fantastic, and the stir-fried river snails—so flavorful! They’d go great with a drink,” Deputy Commander Yan added. 

He couldn’t handle spicy food. Even though Li Xia had been considerate and toned down the spiciness, it was still a bit much for someone like him, who had never eaten spicy food growing up.

Yet despite this, Deputy Commander Yan kept eating with enthusiasm, even as he huffed and puffed from the spiciness. 

In contrast, the dish Su Wenyen had brought remained mostly untouched. 

Its plating was exquisite, but it didn’t look particularly appetizing—more like something meant for display rather than eating. 

Aside from everyone taking a polite bite at the start out of respect for Commander Su, that was as far as it went. After tasting it, the difference was clear, and everyone naturally gravitated back to the dishes Li Xia had made—flavorful, satisfying, and perfect alongside rice or alcohol. 

Especially Ma Aidang, Commander Ma’s sharp-tongued second son, who muttered under his breath, “Looks all fancy, but it’s just a donkey dung egg—shiny on the outside, tasteless on the inside.” 

At that, Sister-in-law Tao immediately raised her hand, ready to smack him. “Ma Aidang! You need a good lesson, don’t you? Talking about donkey dung while everyone’s eating!” 

She then turned to Su Wenyen and said, “Kids don’t know any better and talk nonsense. Xiao Su, don’t take it to heart.” 

Hearing Ma Aidang’s words, Su Wenyen clenched her fists tightly, seething inside. But she couldn’t let it show. Instead, she forced a stiff smile and said, 

“Sister-in-law Tao, don’t worry. How could I take offense at a child?”

“Everyone has different tastes. It’s normal if he doesn’t like the food I made, and I even think Sister Li’s cooking is so good that after tasting it, I want to learn more from her.” 

While saying that, he secretly cursed in his heart, ‘This clueless kid has no business eating her food!’

Su Wenyen looked over at An An, who was quietly eating—nothing like the noisy Ma family kids. 

That child really did resemble Gu Weicheng; he was so well-behaved that she could even imagine being his stepmother. 

After thinking it over, Su Wenyen beckoned An An over. “Are you An An? You look just like your dad. Do you like the food I made? Would you like some candy from Auntie?” 

An An glanced at Su Wenyen—after all, candy is highly tempting for a child. 

But An An shook his head. He didn’t want any, because he felt that the food made by this aunt just wasn’t as good as what his mommy makes. 

Su Wenyen’s smile froze for a moment, on the verge of cracking.

“An An is a bit shy around strangers. Once he gets familiar, he’ll be fine,” Hu Songlin stepped in to smooth things over for Su Wenyen. “Commander Su is right—everyone has different tastes. Personally, I think this dish is quite good.” 

At this table, aside from Hu Songlin and the Su couple, no one else continued eating the dish after the first bite. 

In truth, Hu Songlin also found Su Wenyen’s cooking rather average. If eaten on its own, it would have been passable, but when placed alongside Li Xia’s dishes today, the difference was immediately noticeable. 

Still, he made an effort to show appreciation, not wanting to hurt the young woman’s feelings. 

Unfortunately, Su Wenyen did not seem to acknowledge his kindness. She merely gave him a perfunctory smile before shifting all her attention toward Gu Weicheng and Li Xia. 

The two sat together, with Gu Weicheng leaning in close, whispering something into Li Xia’s ear. 

Li Xia struggled to extract the snail meat from its shell, so Gu Weicheng patiently picked each one out for her, completely unfazed by the effort. 

A strong wave of jealousy surged through Su Wenyen, filling her with discomfort. Suddenly, she spoke up: 

“Sister Li, I heard that you and Commander Gu have been married for five years. Why did you refuse to relocate with him all this time, and why did you suddenly decide to come now?”