When the waiter made this remark, both Song Jinzhi and Gu Sijiu felt a chill down their spines and and then they instinctively looked at each other. They shook their heads vigorously, strongly indicating to the waiter that they did not need the complimentary meal. Seeing that the two seemed to reject the idea, the waiter thought they were just a shy couple and left with a smile.
However, the awkwardness caused by the earlier comment lingered after the waiter departed. Gu Sijiu set the tableware neatly, stealing glances at Song Jinzhi's face, eventually focusing on her slightly pursed lips. Song Jinzhi had beautiful lips—thin and delicate, with a light color that easily suited various shades. Today, she had applied orange lipstick, making her look less serious and much more lively than usual.
Thinking about kissing those lips made Gu Sijiu curious about what it would feel like to kiss a woman. She had no experience with kissing anyone, let alone a woman. Now, this little incident piqued her curiosity. Song Jinzhi was sensitive to gazes, feeling Gu Sijiu looking at her, she raised an eyebrow and returned the glance, casually glancing at Gu Sijiu's lips.
Gu Sijiu's lips were small and full, and with her preference for bright red lipstick, they looked like ripe cherries, inviting a kiss. Of course, Song Jinzhi only thought so but wouldn't act on it. Just imagining kissing Gu Sijiu sent a shiver down her spine.
As they sat in silence, the waiter finally brought their dishes to the table. Although it was called a "Sweet" couple's meal, it was essentially just regular Western food. Gu Sijiu could tell the steak was of excellent quality, but it lacked flavor, so to speak. It was what one would call "soul-less," using high-quality ingredients but failing to deliver the expected standard of preparation.
After a few bites, Gu Sijiu found it unappetizing and stopped eating, while Song Jinzhi, on the other hand, was eating very seriously. Gu Sijiu was slightly taken aback, she had long noticed that people in this world weren't particular about food. For instance, Song Jinzhi seemed to be quite picky, she didn't like machine-made food but could eat dishes made by the housekeeper. In Gu Sijiu's opinion, the servants' housekeeper was still far inferior to her own skills.
"Is it not to your taste?" Song Jinzhi noticed that Gu Sijiu hadn't eaten much and felt puzzled. She thought Gu Sijiu used to be quite a hearty eater. As an Alpha, her appetite should be larger than Song Jinzhi's. Since the car accident, however, Gu Sijiu had mostly been consuming nutritional supplements and fruit, leading to a significant decrease in her regular meals.
"Um, it's not that... it's just that it lacks flavor, not very appetizing." Gu Sijiu whispered. Seeing that Song Jinzhi had already eaten half of her steak, she was even more puzzled.
"The taste here is already much better than many restaurants, I think it's not bad." Song Jinzhi thought Gu Sijiu had become more picky, although the food here was already good, she still seemed disdainful. Song Jinzhi ignored her, focusing on her own meal. Gu Sijiu, after watching for a while, started thinking about how to cook the ingredients she bought for herself later that evening.
After their meal, they slowly sipped red wine. Although the food wasn't great, the wine here was excellent. Seeing Gu Sijiu admiring the city's night view, Song Jinzhi pursed her lips and felt that now was probably the best time to apologize. Despite feeling uncomfortable showing weakness to Gu Sijiu, she knew that admitting mistakes was important, and she should at least show the right attitude.
"Gu Sijiu, I was wrong that day. I'm really sorry for saying those things." Song Jinzhi said softly. Although her voice was low, the soundproofing in the booth was excellent, allowing Gu Sijiu to hear her clearly. In fact, after buying clothes and ingredients today, Gu Sijiu had calmed down significantly. Shopping was definitely a mood booster. Now that she heard Song Jinzhi actively apologizing, Gu Sijiu didn't keep up her guard, she smiled and raised her wine glass, clinking it against Song Jinzhi's.
"You should have apologized earlier, Wooden face. I'm not that childish or petty, and I never thought about getting back at you. Let's call it even." Gu Sijiu said, taking a sip of her red wine. Although Song Jinzhi questioned her claim of not wanting revenge, she quietly agreed and lowered her head to take a sip of her wine. Gu Sijiu noticed that Song Jinzhi's earlobes were a bit red. Initially, she thought it was her imagination, but when both of Song Jinzhi's ears turned red, she confirmed that Song Jinzhi was probably feeling shy.
Gu Sijiu enjoyed her wine and decided to sit by the floor-to-ceiling window, sipping her drink and admiring the view. Song Jinzhi watched her, noticing the beautiful street scenes reflected in Gu Sijiu's bright red eyes. Her deep cherry-colored long hair flowed, dressed in a black skirt, her profile was perfect, with impeccable curves on her nose and cheeks. Song Jinzhi had to admit that although Gu Sijiu was a scumbag, her appearance was undeniably appealing.
Song Jinzhi stared at Gu Sijiu, unable to understand why her gaze was fixed on her and couldn't be moved away. was excellent and set to maximum, yet she could still smell the scent that made her crave Gu Sijiu even more. That scent belonged to her Alpha, her pheromones.
As this thought flashed through her mind, Song Jinzhi became even more bashful. She quickly shook her head, trying to shake off these strange thoughts. However, when Gu Sijiu looked over at that moment, Song Jinzhi hastily turned her head, trying hard to hide the blush on her face, unaware that Gu Sijiu had already noticed her shrimp-like appearance.
In the past, she couldn't understand why some girls acted coy and delicate, but now she finally grasped why some found it cute. It was the contrast—the feeling of contrast. If a woman who was usually shy and delicate behaved like this, most people wouldn't think much of it. But now, seeing someone who usually wears an indifferent expression shyly curl up, Gu Sijiu admitted that she found it adorable, wanting to reach out and pinch Song Jinzhi's cheeks to make them even redder.
After having a drink, the two rested for a while before getting ready to leave. The atmosphere on the way back was noticeably much better than when they arrived. Gu Sijiu calculated the groceries she had bought, thinking about what to cook that evening, while Song Jinzhi showed Gu Sijiu the extra daily necessities she had purchased and asked if she needed anything. Neither of them noticed that the atmosphere now was completely different from their previous tense encounters, almost like a married couple going out shopping together.
Once home, Song Jinzhi went to organize the daily necessities while Gu Sijiu categorized and stored all the groceries in the food freezer. Gu Sijiu was quite satisfied with the storage facilities in this world, these machines could keep food fresh for a long time, even fruits and vegetables, without spoiling for up to a month. Gu Sijiu set aside the ingredients for tonight's meal and stored the rest in the storage machine.
"I want to make a few dishes tonight. Do you have any food preferences?" Gu Sijiu asked as she walked upstairs, stopping at Song Jinzhi's door. Upon hearing that she was going to cook, Song Jinzhi was slightly surprised. She had thought that the groceries were bought by Gu Sijiu for the housekeeper to handle, not realizing that Gu Sijiu intended to cook herself. Considering that Gu Sijiu had been pampered since childhood and likely didn't know how to cook, Song Jinzhi figured that she must have suddenly developed an interest in cooking and whatever she made might be inedible.
"Anything is fine, I don't usually eat much in the evening." Song Jinzhi replied softly. Hearing this, Gu Sijiu responded with an "oh," and decided to cook what she wanted. She put on a small chef's hat to keep her hair from getting greasy and tied an apron around her waist, looking quite professional.
Song Jinzhi had been reading upstairs when she caught a whiff of an incredibly delicious aroma. It was the smell of food, and the level of deliciousness was definitely the best she had ever encountered. Song Jinzhi didn't believe Gu Sijiu could create such a dish. Unable to resist, she opened the door and carefully made her way down the stairs to take a look.
At a glance, she saw Gu Sijiu, who looked like a chef, seriously stir-frying vegetables in a pan. Meanwhile, the frying pan was sizzling with the sound of meat cooking, and the delightful aroma wafted from there. Song Jinzhi couldn't help but swallow, she hadn't expected Gu Sijiu to really know how to cook. If that were the case, why did she still hire housekeeper?
Thinking back to her earlier statement about not eating, Song Jinzhi suddenly regretted it. Although she had eaten well at noon, it was now evening, and she had digested everything by then. She touched her flat stomach and inhaled the fragrant smells from downstairs, feeling as though she might want to go back on her word.
"Why are you standing there daydreaming? It's almost ready! Come down and eat with me, I made a lot, so I probably won't finish it all." Gu Sijiu called out as she placed the last dish on the table. She had wanted to make a lot and didn't want to spread it out over several days, so she ended up preparing four dishes and a soup. The soup was a simple spare rib and corn soup, with two meat dishes and two vegetarian dishes - crispy fried meat, lemon tea-infused chicken, a stir-fried vegetable platter, and a vegetable salad.
"I had no idea you could cook all this." Song Jinzhi stood by the table, staring blankly at the dishes in astonishment. She never expected to see Gu Sijiu preparing a table full of food and inviting her to eat together. It was as surreal and bizarre as a dream. Upon hearing Song Jinzhi's comment, Gu Sijiu also realized that her behavior might deviate from the original host's character, so she had already prepared an explanation.
"There's a lot you don't know about me. I learned these things out of boredom in high school, and the military food was so bad that if I didn't cook for myself, I couldn't satisfy my picky appetite." Gu Sijiu found the most suitable explanation, considering that Song Jinzhi was unaware of the original owner's past and military life, her response seemed quite reasonable.
Seeing Song Jinzhi respond with an "oh" and then obediently sit down, Gu Sijiu felt a bit taken aback by her demeanor, as if she were waiting to be served. With a resigned sigh, Gu Sijiu brought the bowls and chopsticks for both of them and served Song Jinzhi a small bowl of rice. Song Jinzhi picked up her chopsticks, feeling a bit embarrassed about her earlier comment about not eating dinner. She slowed her movements, took a sip of water, and decided to wait for Gu Sijiu to take the first bite before she did.
When she saw Gu Sijiu put the crispy meat in her mouth, Song Jinzhi pursed her lips and quickly picked up a piece for herself. The faint aroma of the meat spread in her mouth, and Song Jinzhi's eyes widened in surprise, she had never expected such a simple dish would taste this good. Eating the delicious food in front of her, she felt a mix of emotions and suddenly understood why Gu Sijiu had looked helpless when she praised the restaurant's food at lunch.
Song Jinzhi ate elegantly, not wolfing down her food but taking small bites, though she consumed a lot. Meanwhile, Gu Sijiu was lost in her thoughts, worrying that she hadn't cooked in a while and her skills had deteriorated. But when she looked up, she saw Song Jinzhi calmly eating half a plate of crispy meat and a good portion of the stir-fried vegetables, as well as a fair amount of the lemon tea-infused chicken... Seeing that Song Jinzhi had almost finished her bowl of rice, Gu Sijiu got up to serve her another bowl of soup, worried that Song Jinzhi might choke.
After the two of them enjoyed a harmonious dinner, Gu Sijiu noticed that out of the full table of dishes, only the pork rib soup had some left, while the other plates were nearly empty. Gu Sijiu thought she hadn't eaten much, so most of the food must have gone into Song Jinzhi's stomach. She glanced at the person sitting across from her, who was sipping soup, and playfully asked,
"Was it good?" There was a hint of teasing in Gu Sijiu's tone.
Upon hearing Gu Sijiu's question, Song Jinzhi put down her soup, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and casually replied, "It was alright. I have some other things to do, so I'll go rest now." With that, she hurriedly left the table. Seeing Song Jinzhi, who clearly enjoyed the food but was being so evasive, Gu Sijiu was speechless and choked back her words. If it weren't for wanting to spare Song Jinzhi any embarrassment, she really wanted to say, "If it was just alright, why did you eat so much?"
Song Jinzhi didn't want to know what Gu Sijiu was thinking, and her swift departure was indeed due to feeling like she had eaten too much and was a bit bloated. She paced around her room for a few moments, feeling a fullness in her stomach like never before. Glancing at the nice moonlight outside, she suddenly felt like taking a stroll in the garden.
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