On the side of the guesthouse building, between the front and back yards, there was a moderately sized shed with a stove underneath. During winter, the tabletop was always cluttered with various items, and occasionally Du Yunyan would park his motorcycle under the shed. Gu Wenxi had always thought that this place had been abandoned long ago.

However, on the second Sunday after his return, Gu Wenxi was surprised to find that the stove had been cleaned up, and Du Yi had even brought a bundle of firewood, apparently preparing to light a fire.

“I’ll do it,” Du Yunyan said to him, “You go see if Du Hong needs any help.”

“Okay.”

Du Hong had arrived early that day, and he had spent the morning in the kitchen cleaning the chickens that had just been delivered, cutting the whole ones into pieces.

Gu Wenxi squatted beside him, peering inside eagerly. There were two iron pots, each about seventy to eighty centimeters in diameter, on either side of the stove.

“Are you going to cook on this stove?”

“Braising chicken. It’s delicious when cooked on this clay stove,” Du Yunyan glanced at him, “Haven’t you seen it before?”

“I’m not that ignorant,” he had been to many places after all, “But why didn’t I see you use it before?”

“It’s troublesome. Now that there are more people, we can make a few every weekend.”

He told Gu Wenxi that there was a farmer up the mountain who specialized in raising chickens, but the location was quite high up, and it was more troublesome than going to town. Buying a small amount and feeling embarrassed to ask for delivery, only during the busy spring and summer seasons, would they ask the boss’s son to bring down a few chickens every weekend. Diners had to book in advance to get them cooked.

Du Yunyan lit the fire with a lighter, throwing the kindling into the dark stove. The two of them filled it with firewood. The chickens on Du Hong’s side were also prepared.

Gu Wenxi wasn’t skilled enough to handle this type of dish, so after the oil was heated in the pot, he watched as Du Yunyan added the chicken pieces along with scallions, ginger, and red peppers, continuously stir-frying. White smoke rose above the pot, and as the chicken released its juices, he added cooking wine, soy sauce, fermented black beans, and soaked shiitake mushrooms, then poured in some water to cover the ingredients, waiting for it to simmer.

The fragrant aroma wafted out, becoming stronger and stronger, even covering the pot couldn’t conceal it. Gu Wenxi kept sniffing, feeling tortured.

“This pot is ours,” Du Yunyan pointed to one side, “You go ahead and eat when it’s ready.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll continue cooking,” he lifted the lid and glanced inside, “Anyway, I don’t like eating meat.”

Lunchtime was usually busy, and they often didn’t eat until after the lunch rush. Gu Wenxi had developed this habit since he arrived, and even though Du Yunyan said so, he still felt embarrassed to eat first. Du Hong and Du Yi were both busy with kitchen work, and there weren’t many hands to help.

But the flavor of the chicken was too enticing, stronger than the clear soup chicken they used to stew, so he reluctantly took two pieces to taste.

“Do you never like eating meat?” Gu Wenxi licked the soup from the corners of his mouth desperately, he couldn’t understand how Du Yunyan could resist the delicious smell.

“It’s not that,” Du Yunyan continued to add firewood to the stove, “Actually—”

“What’s wrong?”

“I used to crave meat for a while when I was a kid,” Du Yunyan hesitated for a moment before telling him, “Because my mom only ate vegetarian, and even the kindergarten I attended was mainly vegetarian. I hardly had any chances to eat meat.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, after my mom went through some things, she became somewhat Buddhist and felt that she shouldn’t take life, so ever since I can remember, she’s been vegetarian.”

Gu Wenxi began to understand, “And then?”

“But I still really wanted to eat meat. Especially when I saw other kids eating. Once, my mom had some business at work, so she asked the neighbor auntie to have dinner with me,” Du Yunyan blushed with embarrassment as he recalled, “The auntie thought she should treat me well and made several meat dishes. I had been looking forward to it for a long time, but I accidentally ate too much and ended up throwing up everything when I got home.”

“Ah?” Gu Wenxi didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him, “That happened?”

“Well, being young, my stomach wasn’t that good.”

“So, you developed a trauma from that?”

“It’s not that serious. I just feel that meat is nothing special. It’s uncomfortable to eat too much, so I lost interest.”

Du Yunyan became more open about his own life, sharing happy, sad, interesting, and even boring stories with Gu Wenxi in just a few days after their reunion, revealing many embarrassing past events he had been reluctant to mention to his new lover.

Gu Wenxi set down his bowl, having cleaned the bones thoroughly. Du Yunyan asked him, “Tastes good, right? Should we cook it again in a couple of days?”

“Don’t we only cook meat on weekends?”

“Rules are made by people,” Du Yunyan lowered his head slightly, “They’re not set in stone.”

Gu Wenxi didn’t immediately respond. While he was happy that Du Yunyan was willing to break some rules for him, he thought of a question, “By the way, the guest house serves vegetarian meals six days a week. Is that because of… auntie?”

“Yeah,” Du Yunyan admitted, “If my mom were still here, she might have wanted completely vegetarian meals. I made some adjustments based on her principles.”

Gu Wenxi nodded, “I think it’s good the way it is now.”

“Aren’t you craving meat?”

“If I ate it every day, I probably wouldn’t find it so delicious anymore. It’s like a ritual,” he used to live alone, with more freedom in his food choices, but it seemed to lack a sense of anticipation and satisfaction, “And the guests are very satisfied with the current style of cuisine. There’s no need to change it deliberately.”

“Is that so,” Du Yunyan’s lips curled up slightly, “You really are different from most people.”

“What’s different about me?”

The curve of his lips widened a bit more, approaching his lover’s ear as he said in a very low voice, “You like to make trouble for yourself.”

Thinking he was about to say something nice, Gu Wenxi widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Yunyan!”

“Okay, I have to get busy,” Du Yunyan put aside his teasing tone, “If you don’t want to drool anymore, go inside and rest for a while.”

As lunchtime approached, more guests arrived, and Gu Wenxi helped with the service. After everyone had finished, they ate together, and Yangyang and Beibei also enjoyed a delicious meal.

In the afternoon, Gu Wenxi and Du Hong cleaned the recently vacated room and changed the bedding. While doing so, Du Hong casually asked, “Gu ge, are you staying with the boss now?”

He asked this question without any ulterior motive, but Gu Wenxi felt nervous for a moment. “How did you know?”

“I saw that your room had someone staying in it again,” Du Hong pressed the bedding down, “And yesterday, I passed by the boss’s room, the door was open, and I saw your bag inside.”

The vacant large bed room, Du Yunyan hadn’t mentioned hosting anyone again, but Gu Wenxi felt it was a waste to leave it empty. He had mentioned it to him the day before, and once he got his consent, he immediately arranged for someone to move in.

This matter would be discovered sooner or later anyway. Gu Wenxi admitted, “Yeah, isn’t it better to have one more room occupied?”

“That’s true,” Du Hong was simple-minded, “I told you, our boss doesn’t have a concept of making money. You two get along so well, staying together is convenient.”

Gu Wenxi suddenly remembered that in Du Hong’s eyes, he and Du Yunyan were relatives, saving him the trouble of explaining. He wasn’t afraid of revealing their relationship, but ultimately, it was their own business. Making it too high-profile and broadcasting it to the world wasn’t interesting. As long as others didn’t suspect anything for now, they would just let things flow naturally.

“You still need to prepare dinner. I’ll take care of the rest,” Gu Wenxi’s cooking skills weren’t great, but his cleaning skills were already up to par. According to Du Yunyan, he had “unlimited potential” and didn’t need someone to watch over him.

“Ah, okay, I’ll go see if there’s anything to do in the boss’s place.”

“Mm.”

After Du Hong left, Gu Wenxi finished tidying up another room and opened the window to let in some fresh air. Peering out the window, he saw the two large dogs below. Beibei lay on the ground, his head drooping, with a small puddle of filth beside him, while Yangyang wandered around, barking.

He quickly went downstairs.