CH 91

Chapter 91: A Bit Greasy

The phrase “what goes around comes around” is quite fitting to describe the relationship between Jin Yang and Zhou Mushi.

On the anniversary of their three-year relationship, Zhou Mushi had put in a lot of effort to prepare for the occasion, such as cleaning the house, buying red wine and roses, only to receive news from Jin Yang that he had to go on a last-minute business trip.

Feeling neglected for the past few days, Jin Yang, who is not known for being romantic, suddenly wanted to create a warm atmosphere at home and have a talk with Zhou Mushi.

Jin Yang, who is usually dedicated to his work and never takes a day off or comes in late, took half a day off for the first time.

He drove to a flower shop and had the owner help him make a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Although he didn’t think it was a big deal, he knew it would make Zhou Mushi happy.

Zhou Mushi had mentioned wanting to eat saucy pork ribs a few days ago, and they hadn’t had ribs in a while. Jin Yang decided to learn how to make it and found a few masters at the market to teach him.

At the supermarket, Jin Yang carefully selected the items he needed.

He never visited the snack area before. Jin Yang himself doesn’t have much of a dependence on snacks, and growing up in an environment where even being well-fed, clothed, and educated was a luxury, snacks were considered a luxury item for him.

Even though it’s not diamonds or gold, for Jin Yang, it’s a perception that these things can only be given to the best people.

Zhou Mushi is someone who deserves to be given snacks by him, for no particular reason. Even if he only has ten yuan in his pocket that he needs for food, if Zhou Mushi wants a ten-yuan milk tea, Jin Yang would rather go hungry to satisfy his request.

Of course, he is not short of money now, but the concept is the same.

Italian-style red stew flavored extra-large bag of potato chips, Sprite with added dietary fiber, peach brandy flavored cocktail, slightly spicy Wei Long spicy strips, large bowl of fruit jelly with ice, sandwich cookies, nutty chocolates, yogurt flavored gummies… These are all Mu Shi’s favorite snacks.

In addition, there is a row of AD calcium milk and his recent new favorite, eight treasure porridge with coconut milk flavor.

When Jin Yang was picking snacks, he saw peanut nougat with cheap packaging in the corner of the shelf. The familiar white and blue pattern packaging was a brand he was familiar with from childhood.

He took the peanut nougat from the bottom of the shelf and put it in his shopping cart.

This was the only thing that made him feel happy when he was a child.

The orphanage was always short of funds. During festivals, the head of the orphanage and the teachers would give each child two or three pieces of these cheap nougats. Even the popular White Rabbit candies were not available, as they were not considered cheap at the time.

Jin Yang still remembers the taste, the fragrant peanut bits embedded in the milk candy, which tasted particularly rich when chewed in the teeth.

Carrying big and small bags of groceries and snacks, he also bought a canopy and a beautiful starry lamp hanging at the bedside from the supermarket.

Zhou Mushi is very sensitive to his sleeping environment and does not like too bright a setting when sleeping. Unfortunately, their current apartment has excellent natural lighting, so much so that even with thick curtains, one can stretch out their hands and still see five fingers at night.

With this canopy, he can sleep more comfortably, and as for the almost useless starry lamp, it was just a nice addition.

Perhaps they could chat together at night to increase their sense of happiness.

Jin Yang went home and cooked pork ribs in the kitchen. While cooking the pork ribs, he installed the canopy and starry sky lights in the bedroom.

The light blue canopy surrounded the bed in a semi-circle, creating a much more comfortable atmosphere.

He carefully picked apart the flowers from the bouquet, removing the thorns and piecing together the petals into a heart shape.

While doing these things, Jin Yang’s face remained flushed, and he kept taking deep breaths while holding the red petals.

A 30-year-old man doing these things felt more ashamed than a little girl.

After finally tidying up the bedroom, he still felt unsatisfied with something, so he decided to tidy up the living room as well. At 4:30 in the afternoon, he even went out specifically to buy two beautiful solid color cushions to place on the balcony.

He wasn’t really a person who understood how to create a romantic atmosphere, or he wouldn’t have cooked dishes like fragrant pork ribs in this kind of environment.

No one has told him that this is not good, and he has no experience of being in a relationship with anyone else, so he can only fumble around on his own.

When it was time for Zhou Mushi to get off work at 5:30, he finally finished everything, took a clean shower, changed into a slightly more energetic-looking outfit, and sat on the sofa pinching his phone, waiting for him to come back.

The company is only a ten-minute walk from home, and it is not a busy season recently, so there should be no overtime situation. If everything goes according to normal speed, Zhou Mushi’s time to return home should be around 5:45.

As the clock on the wall ticks, Jin Yang’s heart beats faster.

It’s not the first time they’ve had a date, why is he feeling so uneasy now?

He kept taking deep breaths, blaming himself for not being calm enough.

5:45, 5:47, 5:50, 5:55…

Zhou Mushi’s phone call came at 5:57.

“Hey, Brother Yang, you don’t have to wait for me to have dinner tonight. I forgot to tell you earlier that I made plans to have dinner with Zhou Hang a few days ago. Let’s catch up later. Enjoy your meal and don’t settle for anything, okay?”

The phone call ended, and suddenly the room was filled with an unexpected silence. Even the occasional sound of cars passing by on the street sounded abrupt.

Jin Yang was sitting on the sofa in his beautiful yet somewhat constricting clothes. His deliberately styled hair still faintly emitted the scent of hair gel, and the only sound in the room was his breathing.

The sauce pork ribs in the clay pot were still emitting hot steam from the cracks, and the bathroom floor had not completely dried, faintly showing a bit of water stains…

At this moment, his heart suddenly felt as if it had been stabbed by something. He couldn’t describe the feeling, as if there was always a leak in his heart that he couldn’t fill no matter what.

He opened the rice cooker and scooped out a bowl of rice. He took a bite of the saucy pork ribs, spitting out the bones. It was nothing compared to the gourmet food served in Michelin three-star hotels.

Jin Yang gave a bitter smile as he took another bite of rice. Suddenly, he felt the pork ribs were a bit greasy.

End of Chapter 91

TL/Note: is Jin Yang deserved it? I feel (little, just a little) bad for him (T⌓T)