Chapter 52

“Big brother, I’m done.”

Huo Youqiao said, “Thank you.”

He washed his hands and came over, and Ye Zhi quickly handed him the chopsticks. The two of them ate the noodles together. There was no conversation during the meal. Huo Youqiao didn’t finish a big bowl of noodles, only eating half before stopping.

“Is it not tasty?” Ye Zhi felt a bit nervous.

“No, it’s very good, I like it a lot. It’s just that my appetite hasn’t been great these past few days.” Huo Youqiao comforted him, “That’s how it is during the sensitive period, it’ll be fine once it’s over.”

Ye Zhi pursed his lips, thinking of many things to say next, but when it came to his mouth, he felt it was inappropriate and swallowed them all. After finishing dinner and tidying up the kitchen, just as he hung up the dishcloth, he smelled a stronger scent of pheromones. When he turned his head, he saw Huo Youqiao standing at the doorway.

“Would you like some coffee?” Ye Zhi asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll make it right away.” Ye Zhi took out Huo Youqiao’s favorite cup, thought for a moment, and then said, “Actually, drinking too much coffee at night isn’t very good. In your current situation, it’s better to rest early at night. How about I make you a cup of milk instead?”

He had wanted to say this for a long time, but in the past, their relationship wasn’t so close, and saying it would have seemed abrupt.

Huo Youqiao frowned slightly, his tone fluctuating more than usual, not unhappy, but more like complaining, “I don’t like drinking plain milk.”

“Ah, then how about I make you a cup of hot cocoa? The temperature has dropped a bit today, so it’s perfect.” Ye Zhi was actually a bit nervous. He had crossed the line, he knew. But he didn’t feel fearful in his heart, probably because he had already understood that Huo Youqiao’s personality wasn’t as cold as his appearance, but rather quite gentle.

“Okay.” Huo Youqiao didn’t leave but instead came in and stood aside watching Ye Zhi’s movements.

“Since there’s no cocoa powder, I’ll use chocolate instead. Ranran also likes to drink this kind of beverage on weekdays.” Ye Zhi took out the ingredients, boiling milk in a small saucepan over low heat while cutting the chocolate with a knife. His movements were very agile, not stumbling like when he talked to people, and very skilled, obviously accustomed to it.

Huo Youqiao raised an eyebrow, “Has she tried it?”

“Yeah, but kids shouldn’t eat too much chocolate, so I’ve only made it for her occasionally.”

“You seem to understand children’s diet and nutrition very well. Did you take care of children before?”

Ye Zhi paused for a moment before saying, “I learned from the nanny at home.” It wasn’t for him, but for Ye Mu. The nanny was there not to prepare for him but for Ye Mu. The Ye family treated their precious Mumu as if he were delicate and fragile, wanting the best for his in everything, especially in his diet. Ye Zhi was not well-regarded by his family at that time, and his brother didn’t want to play with him either, but the nanny liked him helping out, so she taught him some kitchen knowledge as well.

That’s when he started learning to cook.

Being in the same space, chatting was the most appropriate thing to do because staying silent would be strange. Huo Youqiao clearly had many questions he could ask Ye Zhi, and he could even use them to generate more topics, but he swallowed those topics and instead said, “You seem to like reading?”

Ye Zhi was curious, “How do you know?”

“I went to your room last time to get a card and saw many books on the cabinet.”

“Yeah, I like reading. I think reading is a great way to pass the time.”

Huo Youqiao said, “I have many books in my study. You might like them. If you want to read them, you can take them anytime.”

Ye Zhi was a little surprised but quickly thanked him.

“Do you still like music?”