Chapter 24: I’m Keeping You

She actually wanted to know whose family member it was so she wouldn’t feel awkward if they met again.

But all Huo Beiqing gave her was: “A family member.”

Helpless, Xia Ruanruan had to ask again, “Which doctor’s family member?”

“Which doctor?” Huo Beiqing thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook his head. “Not sure. Probably not from my department.”

Xia Ruanruan silently gave a thumbs-up.

When they returned home, the door to the small bedroom was open, and Xia Ruanruan’s newly bought bed immediately caught Huo Beiqing’s eye.

Huo Beiqing raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Xia Ruanruan, however, started chattering, “I took the afternoon off from school today and went to buy a bed and a quilt,” she said while placing her things on the floor. “These are what I bought from the market.”

“If you ever need anything, you can tell me. If I have time, I can go buy it for you.”

Huo Beiqing nodded.

Xia Ruanruan quickly sorted out the things she had bought and then handed some to Huo Beiqing. “Dr. Huo, these are for you—slippers, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.”

Huo Beiqing reached out and took them. “Thank you.”

Xia Ruanruan waved her hand happily. “No need to thank me, no need! It was your money, after all.”

“Do you have enough left?”

“It’s enough, more than enough.”

Hearing that, Huo Beiqing picked up the slippers. “These… I can’t wear them.”

“Don’t like the style?”

Xia Ruanruan made a helpless expression. “I looked around for a long time but couldn’t find any particularly nice ones. Otherwise, I would have picked a better-looking pair for you.”

Huo Beiqing shook his head. “The size is too small.”

He lifted his foot and held the slipper against it for comparison.

Well, it was indeed too small.

Xia Ruanruan asked, “Then… what size do you wear?”

“43.”

Xia Ruanruan: “……”

That’s not even that big, but…

She looked at the slippers in her hand. She had thought they were already pretty large!

She had even tried them on herself and felt like she could fit both feet in them. How could they be…

“Well, I’ll go exchange them tomorrow.”

“The elderly lady selling the slippers told me they could be exchanged, so I’ll swap them for a size 43 tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Xia Ruanruan packed the slippers back up, planning to exchange them the next day.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Xia Ruanruan called out, “Who is it?”

At the same time, Huo Beiqing walked over to open the door, saying, “It’s Xiao Zhu. I asked him to bring some groceries over.”

When the door opened, it was indeed the young man from that morning. He handed the groceries to Huo Beiqing and said, “Dr. Huo, here are the groceries you asked for.”

Huo Beiqing took them and nodded, and the young man immediately ran off.

Xia Ruanruan walked over and remarked, “He was the one who delivered things this morning too.”

Huo Beiqing nodded to show he knew.

Xia Ruanruan thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go buy the groceries from now on. It feels a bit embarrassing to keep troubling others like this.”

Huo Beiqing had no objections. “Okay.”

With that, he carried the groceries into the kitchen.

Xia Ruanruan followed him in.

She had gone in to cook.

But as soon as Huo Beiqing put the groceries down, he started preparing the meal himself.

Xia Ruanruan was surprised. “Dr… Dr. Huo, you… you know how to cook?”

Huo Beiqing looked at her puzzled. “What’s so strange about that?”

If he didn’t know how to cook, was he supposed to eat raw food?

Xia Ruanruan: Alright, she had overthought this.

Back then, she had learned to cook only because she had to participate in a variety show. She had specifically hired a teacher and practiced for days. Before that, she had never known how to cook.

Not just her, but many young people didn’t know how to cook. Well, not exactly that they didn’t know—just that they could boil things in a pot, but whether it would be edible was another story.

After all, modern life was too convenient.

If you wanted, you could even have hotpot delivered right to your doorstep.

Cooking wasn’t really a necessity.

But in this era, restaurants were scarce, so knowing how to cook was the norm.

Xia Ruanruan thought to herself—good thing she had practiced cooking back then. Otherwise, she really would have… starved.

Well, maybe not starved, since this man…

She glanced up at Huo Beiqing, who was already steaming the rice.

The man could cook.

“Stir-fried lotus root slices and small stir-fried pork—how about that?”

Xia Ruanruan had been lost in thought when Huo Beiqing suddenly asked her. She quickly nodded. “Sounds perfect!”

Not having to cook herself? Of course, it was perfect!

Today, she was finally going to taste Dr. Huo’s cooking.

Huo Beiqing finished cooking the two dishes in no time.

Xia Ruanruan could only marvel—this man really was impressive at everything he did!

She picked up a piece of thinly sliced lotus root with her chopsticks. It was hard to believe it had been cut by hand.

Thinking back to when she had trained for her variety show—while she had managed to get the flavors right, her knife skills had been terrible.

But looking at his knife skills now, anyone who didn’t know better would think he was a professional chef with decades of experience!

She put the lotus root into her mouth—it was crisp and refreshing.

Then she picked up a slice of pork. The meat was cut into fine strips, fragrant with a hint of spiciness and no unpleasant aftertaste.

As she chewed, Huo Beiqing looked up and asked, “I added a bit of chili for flavor. Can you handle it?”

Xia Ruanruan nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, absolutely!”

She even gave a thumbs-up. “Dr. Huo, your cooking is amazing!”

Then she started buttering him up. “Dr. Huo, how about this—you cook, and I’ll be your kitchen assistant?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll cover the grocery expenses.”

“Or better yet, I’ll work hard to make money and sponsor you!”

“Your cooking is just too good!”

Huo Beiqing had been feeling pleased at the compliments, but as soon as he heard the word “sponsor,” his face darkened.

That word had only recently become popular, and not many people used it yet. But he knew exactly what it meant.

The fact that Xia Ruanruan knew it meant she had been exposed to nonsense talk.

So his face turned grim.

With a dark expression, he picked up his chopsticks and piled more food into Xia Ruanruan’s bowl. Then he said with a stern face, “Eat.”

Seeing his expression, Xia Ruanruan didn’t dare joke anymore.

She felt that Huo Beiqing probably didn’t want to cook every day—who would? Working all day was exhausting enough.

Xia Ruanruan immediately buried her head in her food. After a while, she looked up with puffed cheeks and mumbled, “I didn’t consider it carefully before. You’re busy with work every day, so you probably don’t have time to cook…”

Huo Beiqing glanced at Xia Ruanruan, who kept talking with her cheeks full, and placed another serving of food into her bowl before replying, “If I get off work early, I’ll cook. If I’m not home, you’ll have to manage on your own.”

“And also,” Huo Beiqing’s expression turned serious, “you’re going to school to study and gain knowledge. Stay away from people who say nonsense, and don’t take their words to heart.”

He was certain that Xia Ruanruan’s mention of “sponsorship” must have come from some nonsense she overheard at school.

Xia Ruanruan: “…”

“…What do you mean by nonsense?”

Seeing her genuinely confused expression, Huo Beiqing was no longer as upset. Since she was still young, he figured he had to guide her more. “‘Sponsorship’ is not a proper term. You shouldn’t use it casually on others.”

Xia Ruanruan: “…”

In modern slang, friends and close sisters used it as a playful way to show affection…