Chapter 35: If I Had Known, I Wouldn’t Have Teased Him

Gu Ye was pushed into the kitchen by Jiang Yue, but he liked the smell of chili. Although the strong oil and smoke in the kitchen was somewhat stinging, it wasn’t too bad for him.

“Gu Ye, could you scoop the braised meat and bring the rice out as well?” Jiang Yue was sitting on a small stool by the stone table in the courtyard, sweating profusely from the heat.

On the stone table was the oat vegetable dish that Jiang Yue had cooked earlier. Her habit was to always have meat with every meal, and she also needed to have leafy vegetables.

Jiang Yue was contemplating something. It wasn’t yet midsummer, and she was already sweating this much after cooking a meal. She feared that when the hot summer days arrived, she might not even have the courage to step into the kitchen.

Gu Ye came out with the dish and saw Jiang Yue fanning herself with a fan. This fan was the kind used to stoke a fire in the stove, and it was cracked all over. In the past, Jiang Yue wouldn’t have touched it.

“Hey, Gu Ye, don’t serve me. I can’t eat it!” Jiang Yue weakly waved the fan when she saw Gu Ye serving her food, indicating that she had no appetite.

Gu Ye looked serious. “You hardly ate anything for lunch, and now you’re saying you can’t eat for dinner? How will your body get better if you keep skipping meals like this?”

Jiang Yue blinked her big eyes, threw the fan aside, and leaned close to Gu Ye with a smile. “Gu Ye, are you concerned about me?”

Gu Ye had his sleeves rolled up, revealing his forearms with distinct muscle definition. There was a hidden strength beneath his skin, ready to explode at any moment. His honey-colored skin glowed with a healthy, seductive sheen. Jiang Yue couldn’t resist, and she reached out to pinch his arm.

Gu Ye’s body stiffened in an instant, and his muscles tensed.

Jiang Yue was about to touch him again when suddenly a full bowl of rice was placed in front of her.

Gu Ye’s handsome face was stiff, and he coldly said two words: “Eat up!”

Jiang Yue was stunned: “…This is more than enough for my entire day’s worth of food. How could I possibly finish all this in one meal?”

“Gu Ye…” Jiang Yue looked up at him, her eyes full of pitiful pleading.

If she had known that Gu Ye would be this stern, she wouldn’t have teased him during meal times.

Gu Ye ignored her, and Jiang Yue, pretending to be nonchalant, picked up a piece of food. When Gu Ye lowered his head, she quickly pushed half of the rice from her bowl into his bowl. As soon as Gu Ye looked up with a stern expression, she smiled cheekily and said: “Gu Ye, you eat it. If I don’t finish it, it’ll be such a waste. If I eat it all and then give you the leftovers, you’ll just complain.”

After speaking, Jiang Yue, afraid that Gu Ye would serve her more food, quickly moved to the opposite side of the table. She picked up her chopsticks and began eating, all while stealing glances at him, looking like she was on edge.

Gu Ye: “…” Wasn’t she bold enough when she pinched his arm just now?

“By the way, Gu Ye, our courtyard is so big. Why don’t we plant a tree here? That way, when the sun is really strong in the summer, we’ll have some shade, and it won’t look so empty and bare.”

At this moment, the sun had set, and the sky was painted with a soft glow of the evening sunset. The evening breeze blew gently, and the heat from Jiang Yue’s cooking had dissipated. Although she had been eating with Gu Ye for a few days, Jiang Yue knew that he had a habit of not talking while eating. Still, she wanted to find something to chat about.

Gu Ye paused for a moment, his large hand holding the chopsticks, then looked up at Jiang Yue with a somewhat strange expression in his eyes. “Jiang Yue, wasn’t it you who didn’t want a tree planted in the courtyard?”

Jiang Yue: “…Huh? Really? I forgot…” How could she not remember that?

Gu Ye narrowed his eyes but didn’t pursue the topic further.

Jiang Yue noticed that Gu Ye had picked up a piece of crispy fried pork skin stir-fried with chili, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

She was curious to see if Gu Ye would act as the original book described—after eating the female lead’s stir-fried chili pork, his eyes would turn red, and he’d be reminded of his mother…

One chopstick, two chopsticks, three chopsticks.

Jiang Yue watched as Gu Ye ate half a plate of the fried pork skin stir-fried with chili. Aside from a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead, his expression didn’t change at all. There was no redness in his eyes, no grateful or admiring gaze—Gu Ye remained as calm and indifferent as ever.

So, what went wrong?

Could it be that because she wasn’t the female lead, Gu Ye didn’t have that kind of reaction?

Or maybe the dish was wrong? The female lead made stir-fried chili pork, but she made fried pork skin stir-fried with chili…

That’s it! Tomorrow, she’d try stir-fried chili pork instead!

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Gu Ye noticed that Jiang Yue had been staring at him, and he also sensed that her gaze was odd, as if she were carefully observing him.

But it was just him eating some food. What was there to observe?

“I’m not eating. I’m afraid it’s too spicy!” Jiang Yue waved her hand, lowered her gaze, and continued eating.

She could only handle the mild spiciness of bell peppers or sweet peppers. The kind of super-spicy dish that Gu Ye was eating would cause her to explode on the spot.

“You want to plant a tree in the courtyard?” Gu Ye suddenly asked.

Jiang Yue swallowed the meat in her mouth and nodded. “Yes, yes, I want to plant an osmanthus tree. It should be big and tall, so in the summer, it can provide some shade, and we won’t have to worry about the sun while eating under it. In the fall, it will be filled with fragrance, and we can pick the flowers to make jam, or dry them to make osmanthus tea…”

“Alright!”

Jiang Yue remembered that when she was little, there had been a huge osmanthus tree in her grandmother’s courtyard. Every autumn, her grandmother would pick a lot of flowers from the tree. There was also a jujube tree at her grandmother’s house, and the jujubes were sweet and delicious.

But Jiang Yue didn’t plan on planting a jujube tree because those trees had thorny “foreign chili” (a type of spiny plant), and touching them would cause itching and pain. When she was a child, she used to be mischievous and got pricked by the thorns more than once.

Thinking about her childhood made Jiang Yue feel as if it was from another life—no, not just a feeling, it truly felt like another world altogether.

“Hmm? What did you just say, Gu Ye?” Jiang Yue had vaguely heard Gu Ye speaking just now, but she was too lost in thought to hear clearly.

“I said yes. I’ll go look for one on Sunday.” Gu Ye answered calmly.

Hearing this, Jiang Yue was overjoyed. “Gu Ye, can I go with you? I also want to plant some flowers, just by the corner of the wall. How about we plant some roses? They bloom every month, and the house will always smell nice.”

Gu Ye seemed to hesitate for a moment before responding: “Okay.”

“And also, Gu Ye, can you get me some bricks, cement, and cement boards?” Jiang Yue saw that Gu Ye had been very agreeable today, so she made another request.

“What do you need those for?” Gu Ye could understand the idea of planting trees and flowers, but when it came to bricks and cement, he couldn’t make sense of it.

“I have my reasons! You’ll know when the time comes!” Jiang Yue winked, keeping her secret.

Gu Ye’s gaze lingered on Jiang Yue’s face. Over the past few days, she had been tying her hair up in a high ponytail, and whenever she walked or spoke, her hair would sway behind her. The gauze on her forehead had already been removed, leaving a faint bruise that only made her delicate face seem even more porcelain-white.

She used to have a sad expression, with her lips constantly pressed together. Now, her lips were always curved upwards, and her beautiful eyes always carried a smile.

Not only had her personality changed, but Jiang Yue’s appearance also seemed far more lively than before.

After finishing dinner, without Jiang Yue needing to say anything, Gu Ye automatically began clearing the dishes and took them to the wellside to wash.

“Gu Ye, can we put the leftover rice in the well to keep it cold, and then fry it tomorrow morning?” While Gu Ye was washing the dishes, Jiang Yue squatted next to him, resting her chin on her hand, gazing at him.

He’s so handsome! Just looking at him was a pleasure.

“Mm!” Gu Ye knew that Jiang Yue was watching him. Over the past few days, she had been looking at him with this same gaze.