Chapter 48: Rain and Dinner

“Wow!”

“Huh?”

The two of them were startled and looked up toward the window. Under the streetlight, the yellow glow scattered chaotically in the rain, and the sound of pattering rain grew louder.

“No way… Why is it raining again?” Yaqi grumbled.

“Really… Then Yaqi, you…”

Gongyu turned to look at Yaqi, but her view was blocked by something hanging right in front of her face. She froze, then frowned in disgust and turned her head away, saying irritably, “You… shouldn’t you get down by now?”

“Huh? Oh! Sorry, sorry…”

Yaqi finally noticed that she was pressing Gongyu down, and also saw her own wobbling body. Her face flushed bright red. She got up and sat properly, then grabbed a nearby blanket to cover herself.

“Um… I got a bit carried away… Ahaha…” Yaqi scratched her cheek sheepishly.

Gongyu sat up, sighed helplessly, and then chuckled.

“Uh… Gongyu, what are you laughing at?”

“Heh… Nothing. But you can’t just stay naked… Let me find a shirt for you to wear.”

“Oh, okay.”

Gongyu got up, went to the wardrobe, and found a relatively loose white shirt. She tossed it to Yaqi. The washing machine had been beeping for a while. Seeing Yaqi changing, Gongyu went to hang the washed clothes on the balcony first.

When she came back, she saw that the originally loose shirt was tight on Yaqi. She blinked in shock.

“This…”

“A bit tight… but… it’s fine!”

“Yaqi, you’re too…”

“Don’t say anything!”

Yaqi shyly stopped her.

“Heh… Alright. So what are you going to do now, Yaqi?”

“Ah…”

Yaqi sighed, opened her phone’s weather forecast, then turned to stare out the window.

“The forecast says it’ll keep raining like this, only stopping at 4 a.m….”

“I see… Then…”

Gongyu was about to speak when a phone ring interrupted her. Gongyu frowned unhappily and clenched her fists slightly. Yaqi saw that the call was from Auntie, so she quickly answered.

“Hello, Auntie.”

“Yaqi. I see it’s raining again. Can you come back?”

“This…”

Hearing this, Yaqi lowered her head and tugged at the blanket. Seeing Yaqi troubled, Gongyu hesitated, then pursed her lips and whispered, “Yaqi, you can stay at my place tonight…”

“Huh?”

Yaqi moved the phone aside and asked quietly, “Is that okay? Won’t it be a problem?”

“It’s fine. I live alone anyway. And with this heavy rain, I can’t let you go back alone!”

“But…”

“Yaqi? Are you still there?”

On the other end, Auntie asked anxiously when Yaqi didn’t respond. Yaqi quickly put the phone back.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Auntie! Um… I… Probably won’t come back tonight?”

“What? Yaqi, what do you mean?”

“Um… Gongyu said I can stay over at her place tonight… And the rain is really heavy…”

“If you need, Auntie can come pick you up!”

“Oh, no need, Auntie. I don’t want to always trouble you… Besides, I’m not a kid anymore!”

As she spoke, Yaqi’s expression turned complicated, and her tone became a bit impatient. Auntie was silent for a moment, then sighed softly. “Alright. Then I won’t say much. Remember not to cause trouble for others. If anything happens, call me!”

“Okay! Thank you, Auntie!”

“Then I’ll hang up…”

“Wait, Auntie!”

“Is there something else?”

“Um… Could you please apologize to Liu Ya for me first…”

“…Yaqi. I won’t do that favor.”

Auntie answered firmly without hesitation.

“I see… Alright…”

“Okay.”

“Bye, Auntie.”

“Mm. Bye.”

After hanging up, Yaqi slowly put down her phone and sighed. Gongyu heard this, sat on the edge of the bed, thought for a moment, and asked curiously, “By the way, that auntie of Liu Ya’s is just hired, right?”

“Mm… Probably.”

“Okay. But… Liu Ya aside, you can tell she really cares about you. If she’s just hired, she wouldn’t need to go this far, right?”

Yaqi shook her head with a smile and looked at Gongyu. “Aunt Zhao is different!”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well… Mm… I remember from when I was very little, Auntie was already at Liu Ya’s house, always taking care of us!”

“Us?”

“Hehe… Liu Ya and I used to be quite naughty, caused her a lot of trouble… But Auntie was really gentle, never scolded us!”

“Heh, I see.”

Gongyu noticed the expression on Yaqi’s face and smiled. “I can tell you really like that auntie!”

“Mm-hmm!”

Yaqi nodded with a smile.

“By the way, Gongyu, I forgot to ask. Is it really okay for me to stay here?”

“What? You’re complaining?”

“Of course not! It’s just… Won’t it be a bother?”

“Heh, what bother? Besides… See?”

Gongyu turned to look out the window. Scattered raindrops had formed a curtain on the glass, pattering loudly.

“You can’t go back in this weather, can you? What if something happened to you on the way?”

“Just stay here tonight. I’ve already washed your clothes, so you can wear them straight tomorrow.”

“Mm… Hey! Gongyu, you’re so nice!”

“Hehe.”

Gongyu looked at the giggling Yaqi, feeling warm inside, but her expression was somewhat unreadable. She pursed her lips and slowly said, “And…”

Before she could finish, a “gurgle” sounded in the room. Yaqi realized it was her stomach and quickly covered it, looking up with an awkward smile.

“Pfft…”

“Ahaha…”

“Are you hungry?”

“A… A little…”

Gongyu smiled and turned to leave. Yaqi curiously followed.

“Hey? Gongyu, what are you doing?”

“Aren’t you hungry? I’ll make something for you.”

“Oh, oh. Thanks~”

Yaqi obediently followed Gongyu, but just as they were about to enter the kitchen, Gongyu froze at the door, looking left and right…

“Huh? Gongyu?”

Yaqi tilted her head to look. Gongyu gave an awkward smile, quickly walked into the kitchen, picked up an apron, tied it clumsily, and stared at the counter blankly.

‘Oh no… Do I know how to cook? I don’t seem like the type who can cook!!’

‘Just now, when Yaqi’s stomach growled, I instinctively wanted to show off… But I’m the kind of person who eats frozen food. What do I even have to cook with…’

Seeing Gongyu staring at the counter with a troubled face, Yaqi pretty much guessed what was going on and secretly smiled.

“Hehe~ Gongyu?”

“Ah?”

“You don’t know how to cook, do you~?”

“Uh…”

Yaqi said playfully, hopping over to Gongyu and tilting her head to look at her. Gongyu’s face turned bright red, and she silently turned away.

“Sorry… Sorry for making you laugh… I’m also the type who eats instant food. At best, I can fry an egg…”

“Haha. So that’s why you were staring at the counter.”

“Ah~ I just remembered I can’t cook… The groceries at home were bought by my mom, saying I could cook something, but…”

Gongyu sighed helplessly, looked down shyly at Yaqi, and whispered, “It’s a bit embarrassing… but I still have some frozen dumplings from the day before yesterday. Do you want some, Yaqi?”

Gongyu pursed her lips, looking ashamed. Yaqi looked around the kitchen, put her hands on her hips, thought for a moment, then took Gongyu’s hand and said with a smile, “Gongyu! How about I cook for you instead?”

“Huh? You can cook?”

“What? Doesn’t it look like it?”

“No… Not at all…” Gongyu shook her head seriously. “Honestly! The first time I saw you, I thought you were the type of well-behaved girl from a wealthy family who can’t do anything!”

“Huh? Hey hey~” Yaqi pouted in dissatisfaction. Gongyu couldn’t help herself and laughed. “Pfft… Haha… But can you really cook?”

“Really~ Want me to show you?”

“Sure! Uh… But you’re the guest…”

“Oh, aren’t we good friends? What’s the big deal! Hehe!”

With that, Yaqi untied Gongyu’s apron and put it on herself, patting her chest. Gongyu smiled and nodded.

“Then I’ll help you. I can wash dishes!”

“Haha, then I’ll leave it to you~”

“No problem!”

Yaqi took out potatoes and cabbage from the basket, crouched by the trash can, and started peeling. As she worked, she suddenly burst out laughing.

“Huh? What are you laughing at?”

“Ha~ I just suddenly thought about what you said about your first impression of me. I think it’s funny, hehe!”

“Heh. What’s so funny about that?”

“Well… Gongyu, do you know what my first impression of you was?”

“Hehe…” Gongyu laughed awkwardly, leaning against the counter, and quietly lowered her head. “A… A delinquent? Haha…”

“Hehe. Wrong~”

“Then what?”

“Hmph~ Actually, the impression you gave me was very capable, like a top student type!”

“Heh, really~?” Gongyu crossed her legs and squinted at her with a smile.

“Mm. At the time, I thought you must be really good at studying! Looks like I was right!”

Yaqi turned and winked at her, then turned back to peel. Gongyu chuckled, looked up, and said, “Well… I’d say you’re only half right~”

“Huh? What’s the other half?”

“Actually… My grades used to be pretty bad. Probably not even average in class.”

“Huh? Really~? Haha…” Yaqi couldn’t hold it in herself.

“Ha! Oh, you! You’re mocking me? Haha…”

“No, I’m not~”

As they chatted, the ingredient preparation was finished. Yaqi pushed herself up from her knees and stood, her eyes scanning the kitchen. In an instant, her presence changed, like a commander marshaling troops on the battlefield.

Gongyu watched with growing interest, got up, and started rummaging through the cabinets. “So what do you need, Yaqi?”

“Just a knife, spatula, and plates!”

“Okay!”

“Oh, Gongyu, after dinner, I want to hear about your childhood, hehe~”

“Heh. Sure! Consider it thanks for cooking!”

“Mm-hmm!”

With the main event underway, the kitchen wasn’t exactly a whirlwind of activity, but it was orderly and smooth. Based on the ingredients, Yaqi planned to make a potato stew. She handled chopping, simmering, and seasoning all by herself, looking quite impressive. Gongyu was cowed by her demeanor, afraid that her own incompetence would mess things up, so she just handed over plates and vegetables, helping out on the sidelines.

Soon, the hot iron pot was bubbling and filling the air with a tempting aroma.

“It’s ready!”

Gongyu leaned over to take a look. The dish looked legit, maybe even better than her mom’s.

“Oh~ Yaqi, you’re amazing!”

“Oh, it’s just something casual. I saw potatoes and onions in the basket and thought this would work.”

“And I see there’s some rice left in the pot. Is that from your meal yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

“Perfect. Soaking it in the soup and mixing it will be delicious!”

“Hehe. You’re making me hungry~”

“Then let’s eat!”

“Okay!”

Yaqi served the dishes, one bowl each, while Gongyu got the bowls and chopsticks. They walked to the dining table one after the other, sat down, looked at each other, and smiled.

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