Chapter 56

Jiang Zhe said he was looking forward to it.

Jiang Yu smiled as she bent her lips. The next day, she got busy in the shop.

The shop had a fairly large kitchen, and the pastry chef saw Jiang Yu bustling around early in the morning and smiled, asking, “Are you cooking today?”

Jiang Yu shook her head, “No, I’m not good at cooking. It’s just that my husband’s birthday is coming up soon, so I want to prepare a little birthday gift for him.”

“I just don’t know if I can make something delicious.”

Auntie curiously asked, “What do you want to make?”

Jiang Yu thought for a moment and said, “I’ll make longevity noodles and a cake. Aunt Song, can you teach me how to make a cake?”

Jiang Yu was cheerful, and Aunt Song liked her personality very much. Hearing her request, she immediately smiled and said, “Of course! I’d be delighted if you want to learn from me.”

Jiang Yu picked up her phone to look up a tutorial: “I’ll learn how to make the cake tomorrow; today I’ll make longevity noodles.”

“Your husband must feel very lucky to have a wife like you.”

Jiang Yu felt a bit shy from the compliment, saying, “It’s fine, haha. He does most of the cooking at home.”

“I can also make longevity noodles, and they taste better than those online. Do you want me to teach you?”

Jiang Yu’s eyes lit up with surprise as she smiled, “Really? Thank you, Auntie! I’ve been struggling a bit; I don’t quite understand those tutorials.”

Aunt Song smiled, “If you don’t cook much, it’s natural you wouldn’t understand them.”

“Cooking is quite simple,” she added.

Upon hearing this from Aunt Song, Jiang Yu felt relieved.

However, since she was inexperienced, it still took some effort to make the noodles, but the result turned out well, even though she burned her hand a little.

After rinsing her hands under water for a while, Jiang Yu asked Aunt Song to taste the noodles. Once Aunt Song confirmed they were fine, Jiang Yu finished her meal and returned to the front.

At this time, there weren’t many customers, so Jiang Yu leaned against the counter to reply to messages from Jiang Zhe. He had been busy with work lately and had been called away by Wei Cheng, so he hadn’t been to her shop much. However, they were still going home together in the evening.

Just as she finished replying, she saw someone enter through the door.

It was Chi Le.

Jiang Yu squinted, feeling puzzled.

What was she doing here?

Chi Le looked equally surprised, then joyfully asked, “Aunt, what are you doing here?”

“This is your shop, right?”

If Lin Sicheng called her “Aunt,” Jiang Yu would be very pleased, but hearing Chi Le say it felt a bit strange.

Jiang Yu rubbed her ears and said, “It’s better if you don’t call me that. It feels odd.”

Chi Le readily replied, “Okay, Xiao Yu.”

Jiang Yu felt that Chi Le was being overly familiar.

She asked, “What would you like to drink?”

“An iced Americano, please.”

Before Jiang Yu could say anything, Chi Le happily informed her, “I came with my dad today. We just met with Senior Wei, my dad’s team is looking to collaborate on a project with them.”

Jiang Yu asked, “…Does Lin Sicheng know?”

Chi Le said mysteriously, “I won’t tell him for now. I plan to let him know later. His uncle is a reliable relative, and he will find out eventually.”

Jiang Yu couldn’t tell if Chi Le was smart or not.

After making her coffee, Jiang Yu politely asked, “Miss Chi, where would you like to sit?”

Chi Le replied, “Aunt… oh, no, Xiao Yu, I’ll just stand here and drink. I want to talk to you.”

Jiang Yu said, “Let’s not block the way. If you want to talk, we can go over there.”

“Okay.”

Seeing that Jiang Yu was willing to sit with her, Chi Le agreed eagerly and said, “Aunt, can you tell me about Lin Sicheng’s past?”

Jiang Yu wasn’t sure if this girl was naive or had ulterior motives. “You know I had an ambiguous relationship with Lin Sicheng before.”

Chi Le nodded, “But you’re with his uncle now, right? I can see that you two are doing well together. I know you must not have feelings for him anymore.”

Jiang Yu: “…”

In the novels, the second female lead is often filled with jealousy and resentment toward the original owner, depicted as very narrow-minded. However, this person Jiang Yu was encountering didn’t seem to be like that at all.

Yet she secretly hoped that Chi Le would fit that description from the novels, so she wouldn’t come to bother her.

“Oh, you really are a generous person.”

Just then, more customers came into the shop, so Jiang Yu went to attend to them.

In the following days, she spent her time in the kitchen learning to make cakes and didn’t come out much. She didn’t know if Chi Le had come back during that time.

One day, Jiang Yu went out to buy a birthday gift for Jiang Zhe. Unsure of what to buy, she got him a set of clothes and a pair of shoes. Just as she exited the mall, she heard a scream outside: “A bag snatcher! Someone is stealing a bag!”

Jiang Yu glanced over to see a man with a shifty face running away with a woman’s bag.

Looking at what she was holding, she didn’t hesitate and charged toward him. With her previous fighting experience, she quickly swung the box in her hand, hitting him on the head. Taking advantage of his moment of pain and distraction, she yanked the strap of the bag, easily retrieving it. The robber quickly fled as he saw people running toward him.

The girl who had her bag snatched quickly approached Jiang Yu and, seeing her holding the bag, expressed her gratitude, “Thank you so much!”

Behind her, her friend rushed up, out of breath from running in high heels. Upon seeing Jiang Yu, she was stunned.

“Xiao… Xiao Yu, it’s you!”

Jiang Yu hadn’t expected Chi Le to appear there.

Chi Le quickly wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulder and introduced, “This is my friend, Fu Miao.”

Then she introduced Jiang Yu: “This is Lin Sicheng’s aunt, Jiang Yu.”

Fu Miao looked at Jiang Yu with surprise, “Are you really that person’s aunt?”

Jiang Yu nodded, “I guess so.”

Chi Le remarked, “You don’t look like family at all.”

It seemed Chi Le’s friend was well aware of Chi Le’s crush on Lin Sicheng.

Jiang Yu smiled and replied, “That’s true.”

Fu Miao was smart and instantly understood the implication. She gratefully said, “Since that’s the case, I’d like to treat you to dinner sometime as a thank you.”

Jiang Yu declined, “It was just a small effort; it’s nothing.”

Chi Le interjected, “No, no, no, Xiao Yu, you should go! If it weren’t for you, that thief would have succeeded.”

Jiang Yu lamented, “But he got away.”

Fu Miao reassured her, “That’s okay. There are plenty of security cameras around; I’ll make sure to find him. Miss Jiang, no, just like Chi Le, I’ll call you Xiao Yu. So, it’s settled. I’ll treat you to dinner sometime, and let’s add each other on WeChat.”

Jiang Yu didn’t let them stop her from leaving. Feeling helpless, she added them on WeChat and said goodbye. Glancing at the crumpled shoe box, she turned back reluctantly.

Fu Miao felt quite apologetic. “How about I compensate you?”

Jiang Yu refused, saying, “The shoes inside are fine; they’re a birthday gift for my husband, so the box just looks bad now. I’ll just buy him another pair. Of course, the shoes are for him, so it’s okay.”

Fu Miao nodded, “Alright, we can keep in touch in the future.”

Fu Miao was dressed in designer clothes, and Jiang Yu didn’t think they would get along well. She considered it just polite talk and replied, “Sure.”

Jiang Yu went to buy another pair of shoes. On the way back, she noticed that her hand had developed a cut at some point. It was likely from hitting the robber too hard, and she accidentally injured herself. She didn’t think much of it, bought the shoes, and took a taxi home.

When she got home, she saw Jiang Zhe reading a story to the little one. The man held the child in his arms, looking exceptionally gentle. Watching this scene made Jiang Yu feel warm inside.

Jiang Zhe noticed the things she was carrying and asked, “What did you buy?”

Jiang Yu replied, “It’s a secret.”

However, Jiang Zhe had already seen the logo on the shoe box, so he guessed they were for him.

He felt unprecedentedly excited about his birthday.

After Jiang Yu dashed into her room to put down the things she was holding, she came out, looking pitiful, and told Jiang Zhe, “I cut my hand.”

Jiang Zhe looked at the blister on her hand and asked, “How did you do that?”

Jiang Yu didn’t want him to see her burn, so she had been avoiding it for the past few days by making excuses. She didn’t expect today to give herself away.

She pouted, “I didn’t want you to see that; I wanted you to see this—my cut.”

The cut on her thumb wasn’t as serious as the blister, but Jiang Zhe frowned and said, “I’ll go get some medicine. Wait here.”

And he really went to get it.

He returned quickly. Seeing his serious demeanor, Jiang Yu said, “It’s really not that serious.”

Jiang Zhe didn’t care; he opened the bottle and applied the medicine while asking, “How did you get the blister?”

Jiang Yu stared at the ceiling, feeling guilty, and said, “I got it while making coffee.”

Jiang Zhe wanted to say something but knew this was her job.

“And how did you cut your thumb?” he asked.

Jiang Yu then animatedly recounted her heroic act today.

Jiang Zhe frowned and, after taking a moment to compose himself, said, “Don’t act impulsively next time.”

Jiang Yu: “?”

“I thought you would say I’m amazing.”

Jiang Zhe stopped his movements and said, “Others might think you’re amazing, but I don’t want you to do that. He was committing a crime with intent; what if he had a knife? You don’t know how to fight, and what if something happened? What would I do with the child?”

Jiang Yu felt he made a valid point and nodded, “Then I’ll learn some self-defense techniques when I have time.” Jiang Yu had acted based on her previous fighting experience, but her body wasn’t as fit as before. It wouldn’t hurt to work out a bit.

Jiang Zhe knew Jiang Yu’s personality; if it happened again, she definitely wouldn’t ignore it, so he thought this was the best approach and nodded.

Noticing he wasn’t smiling, Jiang Yu pinched his cheek and said, “Then don’t be mad, okay?”

“I’m not mad.”

“Then why the serious face? Smile for me?”

Jiang Zhe forced a not-so-great smile.

Jiang Yu felt helpless.

“Daddy.”

The little one suddenly spoke up.

Jiang Yu was a bit surprised, “You can call him Daddy now?”

Jiang Zhe nodded, “He just learned today. I was going to tell you.”

Jiang Yu picked up her little treasure, smiling, “Baby, can you say Daddy again?”

The little one didn’t cooperate. Instead, he took his mother’s hand and blew on the spot where the medicine was applied. He didn’t ask if his mother was in pain but seemed to know how to comfort her.

Jiang Yu hugged the little cutie and showered kisses on his adorable face.

“Our baby is so smart!”