Chapter 9: No Green Hat, Only a Red One

When the group arrived at the restaurant, a server politely came over and asked: “Welcome, would you like to sit in the main hall or a private room?”

“Private room.” Fu Shixu replied, walking ahead.

“This way, please.” The server led the way and selected a private room with a simple yet elegant décor. He handed them the menus.

Each of the four had a menu in hand. Fu Shixu let everyone order dishes.

Fu Shiyuan asked Qiao Yanyan beside him: “Wife, what do you want to eat?”

Qiao Yanyan made her selections. “One order of Chopped Chili Fish Head, one Hot and Sour Shredded Potato. You can order the rest.”

Su An’an looked at Qiao Yanyan suspiciously and asked: “Sister, Chopped Chili Fish Head is really spicy. Don’t you never eat spicy food?”

Qiao Yanyan shook her head. “I actually like spicy food.”

“How’s that possible? We grew up together, and you always liked food that’s just a bit salty.”

“Oh, but lately I find spicy food quite nice.”

Su An’an nodded. Her sister used to be terribly afraid of spicy food—almost couldn’t tolerate any level of spice. Maybe people’s tastes change?

Fu Shixu also kept an eye on the two sisters.

It had been more than half a month since Qiao Yanyan married into the Fu family, and he had a fairly good idea of her preferences—she liked salty food and had no musical sense at all.

Yet from this morning, Qiao Yanyan had dumped a ton of chili and vinegar into her noodles. She had never eaten anything spicy or vinegary before.

Could it be a side effect from the palm strike he gave her last night…?

Fu Shixu then ordered a few more dishes: Peking Duck, Stir-fried Organic Bok Choy, Mapo Tofu, and Deer Antler Chicken Soup. Six dishes were more than enough for the four of them.

It didn’t take long for the food to start arriving. Fu Shiyuan grabbed a wheat pancake, placed two slices of Peking Duck in it, added a bit of cucumber, dipped it in sauce, and was just about to eat when he saw his wife. He moved the wrapped duck toward Qiao Yanyan’s mouth and smiled goofily. “Wife, you eat first.”

Qiao Yanyan, surprised by the attention, shook her head. “You eat it. I’ll make one myself.”

“Wife, open your mouth. Open up.” Fu Shiyuan insisted on feeding her.

Qiao Yanyan really had no choice. She opened her mouth and took a bite.

“Wife, tasty?” Fu Shiyuan asked with a hopeful expression.

“Mm.” Qiao Yanyan’s mouth was full, so she could only nod in response.

Only then did Fu Shiyuan wrap one for himself and eat it.

Fu Shixu looked across at his older brother. He thought of the man his elder brother used to be—the one who could command the wind and clouds, the one who had always protected him. But now\… well, that was fine. His big brother had protected him back then; now it was his turn to protect his brother.

Once all the dishes were served, they began eating.

Qiao Yanyan dug into the Chopped Chili Fish Head, scooping the chilies with a spoon. Su An’an was dumbfounded!

“Sister, doesn’t that burn?”

“These chilies are okay. Want some?”

“No, I don’t eat spicy food.” Su An’an quickly waved her hands.

She hadn’t expected her sister to actually enjoy spicy food!

Fu Shiyuan looked tempted. He took a bite of chili and immediately exclaimed: “Ah! Spicy, spicy… so spicy…”

Fu Shixu quickly handed him a drink, frowning. “Big brother, you can’t handle spice—why did you eat it?”

Fu Shiyuan took a few gulps, but his tongue was still burning. “I saw Wife eating it so deliciously… I thought it wasn’t spicy. Who knew it would be this hot!”

He gulped down two more glasses of drink before feeling a little better.

Qiao Yanyan laughed. Shiyuan was just too cute! Especially with his cheeks flushed red from the spice.

Suddenly, the sliding door opened. Before the people even entered, voices came through.

“So it is Shiyuan and Shixu! You’re eating here too? We heard your voices from far away!”

Two men entered, one after the other. Both were quite handsome. Qiao Yanyan glanced at them. They had a noble air about them—clearly not ordinary people.

Fu Shixu narrowed his eyes at them. “Qinghua, Chenglin, what are you doing here?”

“Qinghua and I were just eating nearby. Didn’t expect to see you here too. You have so many dishes—why don’t we join you?” Mo Chenglin glanced at the two women sitting beside the Fu brothers. He understood why Shiyuan had someone beside him—Qiao Yanyan was his wife. But who was the beautiful woman next to Shixu?

“Shixu, you don’t mind, do you? And the beauty beside you won’t mind either, right?” Mo Chenglin stared at Su An’an.

Fu Shixu squinted at Mo Chenglin, warning him with a look to say one more word and see what happens.

“Oh, I don’t mind.” Su An’an said softly.

Fu Shixu introduced: “These two are friends of mine and my brother’s. This is Mo Chenglin, and this is Qu Qinghua.”

Su An’an nodded politely at the two men.

The two didn’t stand on ceremony and joined the table, asking the server for two sets of chopsticks and bowls, and even added three more dishes.

At that moment, Fu Shiyuan happily spoke to Mo Chenglin. “Chenglin, remember yesterday you came looking for me and said my wife was going to give me a green hat? Well, she’s not knitting me a green one—but she will knit me a red hat!”

Suddenly, the dining table fell into a few seconds of silence.

Qiao Yanyan slowly lifted her head and stared at Mo Chenglin.

Mo Chenglin was at a total loss for words and could only try to cover up. “When did I say that? Shiyuan, don’t make things up!”

“I’m not making it up! You even told me to keep an eye on my wife and Shixu. You said my wife liked Shixu and didn’t like me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Mo Chenglin could see that Fu Shixu’s face had darkened as if he wanted to kill someone!

Su An’an looked at her sister, then at Fu Shixu, a question arising in her mind.

Qu Qinghua picked up a piece of food and stuffed it into Fu Shiyuan’s mouth. “Shiyuan, try this little bok choy, it tastes pretty good.”

Mo Chenglin glanced at Shixu’s face—it looked like he had been constipated for several days.

Then he looked at Qiao Yanyan. Her beautiful eyes were fiercely locked on him.

It was over. It was totally over. He was BBQ’d. Completely done for.

Mo Chenglin could only force a smile and wave his hand. “Eat, eat, let’s eat.”

Fu Shiyuan placed a piece of bok choy into Qiao Yanyan’s bowl and said: “Wife, this bok choy is really delicious, you should try it too.”

Qiao Yanyan smiled and replied: “Mm.”

Qu Qinghua broke the awkwardness by asking Fu Shixu: “Shixu, the lady beside you is?”

Fu Shixu put down his chopsticks and introduced: “She’s Su An’an, also Qiao Yanyan—my eldest sister-in-law’s younger sister, my cousin.”

Qu Qinghua raised his glass toward Su An’an. “So we’re all family, then. Miss Su, let’s have a drink.”

Su An’an also raised her glass, nodded, and drank her beverage.

Qu Qinghua looked at Su An’an and asked: “Miss Su, are you still a student?”

“Mm.”

“May I ask which school you attend?”

“I go to the same school as my sister—Huada University.”

“What major?”

“Foreign Languages Department.”

“Oh, are you planning to become a translator in the future? How many languages have you learned?”

“Mainly English and French.”

Fu Shixu watched his close friend chat so happily with Su An’an and felt rather uneasy in his heart.

Fu Shiyuan and Qiao Yanyan had mostly finished eating. Fu Shiyuan held onto Qiao Yanyan’s arm, and the two sat closely together.

“Wife, I’m full.”

“Then just sit properly.”

“Mm, I’ll listen to you, Wife.”

Mo Chenglin felt puzzled—why was Qiao Yanyan being so good to Shiyuan today?

And something felt different about her. Even the way she looked was different from before.

“Wife, I want to go to the restroom.” Fu Shiyuan tugged on Qiao Yanyan’s hand, swaying it.

“Mm, go ahead.”

“I want you to come with me.”

“You’re going to the men’s room. I’m a girl; I can’t go in there.”

“Then just walk me to the door. Come with me, please?”

“Aiyo, you’re really something. Fine, let’s go!” Qiao Yanyan stood up. Fu Shiyuan happily stood up too, linking arms with her as they left.

Mo Chenglin looked at the affectionate couple in disbelief and asked Fu Shixu: “Shixu, what on earth happened between Shiyuan and Qiao Yanyan?”

How would Fu Shixu know? He didn’t reply.

Qu Qinghua said: “Looks like Shiyuan’s married life is going pretty well.”

Mo Chenglin thought: Pretty well, my ass. Qinghua didn’t know what he knew—how Qiao Yanyan used to look at Shixu all the time. That was why he told Shiyuan that Qiao Yanyan was going to make him wear a green hat. But now Shiyuan’s gone dumb. He didn’t even understand what wearing a green hat meant!

Qiao Yanyan walked with Fu Shiyuan to the restroom door. Only then did Fu Shiyuan let go of her hand. “Wife, wait here at the door for me, I’ll be quick.”

“Okay, go ahead, I’ll wait for you.”

“Mm.” Fu Shiyuan went into the restroom.

At that moment, a girl walked past Qiao Yanyan. She glanced at her disdainfully, even rolling her eyes before walking right by and entering the women’s restroom.

Qiao Yanyan noticed the look—the eye roll was obviously directed at her. Did this girl know her? But judging from her expression, the girl didn’t seem friendly.