Chapter 27: This Person Is Really Easy to Please

After a whole morning of rehearsal, Shen Nanqing kept feeling like someone was staring at her. It was strangely creepy. But whenever she turned around, there was nothing unusual.

Only when she went to the cafeteria did she realize who the person watching her was.

At lunchtime, the cafeteria was bustling, with a long line already formed at the food counters. Today’s staple was the usual golden-yellow steamed corn buns, and the dishes were the same old three: pickled vegetables stewed with vermicelli, stir-fried shredded carrots, and tofu soup.

Shen Nanqing carried her lunch box and found an empty seat to sit down. Ever since Li Zhen and Su Xiangqin left, she had become a lone wolf, basically acting alone except for rehearsals and performances.

She chewed on the corn bun bit by bit, forcing herself to swallow it, as if what she was eating wasn’t food but poison.

For the sake of managing her figure, Shen Nanqing was no stranger to coarse grains, but the texture of the cafeteria’s corn buns was relatively rough. Even with the tofu soup, she just couldn’t swallow it easily. If it weren’t for the afternoon training, she honestly wouldn’t want to eat.

Just as she was picking out the bits of pork belly mixed here and there in the dishes, an aluminum lunch box appeared in front of her.

The lunch box looked a bit old, with many scratches and dents on the lid.

Shen Nanqing looked up, puzzled, and when she saw who it was, she instinctively glanced around.

Sure enough, she instantly became the center of attention in the whole cafeteria.

When Song Huaiwen first showed up, the girls in the troupe acted like wolves spotting meat, eager to pounce on him. But his cold and indifferent nature left many disappointed; though the girls admired him, none dared to get close anymore.

He usually sat with Song Tuan and the others, so it was surprising when he suddenly sat down opposite Shen Nanqing. The girls around looked on with envy, jealousy, and mostly scrutiny.

Shen Nanqing was used to those gazes, but since she hadn’t yet reported her relationship to the higher-ups, she felt a bit nervous and whispered, “Why are you sitting here?”

After speaking, she glanced toward Song Huaizhi.

Song Huaizhi seemed to have expected this, smiling at her with a meaning behind her smile.

Shen Nanqing awkwardly returned the smile.

Alright! So they already knew!

No wonder the intense gazes during rehearsal came from her.

Song Huaiwen seemed to already know about her worries and chuckled lightly: “Don’t worry! My relationship report has already been approved. Sitting here isn’t a mistake.”

“That fast?” Shen Nanqing was surprised—her own report wasn’t even written yet, but his was already approved.

Song Huaiwen nodded, then cleared his throat. His ears were slightly flushed as he opened the aluminum lunch box, looking a bit embarrassed.

To make things official, Song Huaiwen had been pestering the political commissar since last night until this morning, leaving the commissar speechless.

At first, the commissar tried to reason with him patiently, but Song Huaiwen was stubborn as a rock—stinky and hard-headed. Now, pressed for time, the commissar had no choice but to fast-track the approval.

Song Huaiwen couldn’t tell Shen Nanqing all this because it would make him seem overly desperate, which would be embarrassing.

“You said you like fish, so try this and see if it suits your taste,” Song Huaiwen said, trying to change the subject, afraid she might start digging for details.

When he opened the lunch box, a strong, rich aroma of fish wafted up. But the fish looked a bit unappetizing—the body was broken apart, revealing unevenly colored fish meat.

Shen Nanqing assumed it had been broken during packaging and didn’t think much of it. Seeing Song Huaiwen’s hopeful yet slightly nervous expression, she picked up a small piece of fish and put it in her mouth.

The fish was very tender, breaking apart gently in her mouth. Compared to farmed fish in modern times, this tasted so much better.

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“The taste is really good, very delicious, just a bit too many bones,” Shen Nanqing said as she took another bite. Then she asked, “Where did you buy this braised fish? There doesn’t seem to be any state-run restaurants nearby!”

Seeing her enjoy the food, Song Huaiwen’s face showed a satisfied smile. He picked up his chopsticks and started picking out fish bones. “I didn’t buy it. I made it myself. If you like it, I can make it for you again next time.”

“You made it yourself?!” Shen Nanqing paused mid-bite, surprise clear in her voice.

She looked Song Huaiwen up and down. He was tall and upright, with a stern and cold expression, usually always serious and strict-looking—he hardly seemed like someone connected to kitchen work or cooking.

Noticing her doubt, Song Huaiwen turned his head slightly, a faint blush coloring his ears, and said quietly, “When I was a kid, my father was always busy. My siblings and I took turns cooking. Later, in the army, in special situations, we also had to cook for ourselves.”

“That’s good, keep it up,” Shen Nanqing smiled slightly. “I’m not very good at cooking. There has to be someone in the family who can cook, otherwise we can’t eat cafeteria food every day.”

Actually, besides making some terrible diet meals, Shen Nanqing’s cooking skills were decent. She had helped out at a restaurant during her work-study period and learned a bit here and there.

Being able to cook doesn’t mean you have to do it all the time, so men need some encouragement and praise to keep motivated.

“Family!” she added lightly.

“Mm,” Song Huaiwen nodded heavily, his mouth almost stretching to his ears.

“Pfft!” Shen Nanqing couldn’t help but laugh at his expression.

This guy is really easy to please.

This scene caught Song Huaizhi’s eye, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. Luckily, she was a staunch materialist; otherwise, she might have suspected her brother had been possessed by someone else.

That morning, when she was about to leave and ran into Song Huaiwen returning from his morning run, he was full of energy, almost like he’d been injected with adrenaline, and immediately asked her where to buy fish.

She thought he was just craving fish and planned to get some for him in the evening.

But apparently, it wasn’t his craving—it was because his sweetheart wanted to eat it.

Commissioner Zheng was a bit confused. As far as he knew, Song Huaiwen and Shen Nanqing had no connection—how did they suddenly get together? It truly surprised him.

He asked suspiciously, “Did you play matchmaker?”

“Mm,” Song Huaizhi answered vaguely. She couldn’t exactly say her brother had finally come to his senses and started “digging for cabbage.”

After Shen Nanqing finished eating, Song Huaiwen quickly cleaned up the table, officially in the name of not wasting food but actually knowing Shen Nanqing had a habit of secretly throwing away food.

The cafeteria dishes were mostly vegetarian but mixed with occasional bits of pork belly to add some fat and nutrition.

Meat was a luxury in this era. Anyone who got to eat meat would be ecstatic, but Shen Nanqing, having eaten coarse grains before, just couldn’t get used to meat that hadn’t been cooked well to remove the fishy smell.

Wasting food would get punished if discovered, so she had to secretly discard leftovers. Song Huaiwen must have noticed this when he was at the state-run restaurant, so he was certain she didn’t like meat.

Outside the cafeteria was a row of faucets. After eating, everyone would take their lunch boxes there to wash.

Not wanting Shen Nanqing to get her hands wet, Song Huaiwen took both their lunch boxes to wash them himself.

Someone saw this and scoffed disdainfully, their tone sour: “Hmph, look at her. She doesn’t even wash her own bowl after eating, just sits there—such a spoiled brat.”

“Exactly. With a woman like her, how can that man stand it? Sooner or later, it’ll be over,” another person chimed in.