Chapter 82

He didn’t know when the corridor lights had turned on. The yellow light shone behind Xi Ze, giving him a faint halo.
After the door opened, the first thing Xi Ze noticed was the fine necklace around MIng Yu’s neck. The necklace was very thin and looked charming against the youth’s clavicle. Only one pendant hung at the end of…it… a small crystal mushroom.
Xi Ze raised an eyebrow when he saw it and asked,
You still remember about the gift?

Ming Yu grinned and nodded from in front of the door.
Yes, I remember. I won’t let you in if you don’t have this gift.

Xi Ze made a helpless look at the words, but his lips curved upwards. He pretended to think for a long moment before saying,
Then I will cook for you.

Ming Xiaoyu,
…

After a moment, Ming Yu asked,
Can I exchange the gift?

Xi Ze raised an eyebrow.
No.


…I’ll close it.

Ming Yu raised a hand to the door handle. How could Xi Ze not know what he meant? Xi Ze sighed and grabbed the youth’s skinny wrist. When Ming Yu didn’t respond, he took a step and officially entered the house, cloasing the door behind him.
Ming Xiaoyu,
…?＿?

Xi Ze,
^＿^

Xiaoyu really didn’t want to see the dishes made by Xi Ze. But once Xi Ze entered, he wasn’t mean enough to chase him out. Ming Yu had the idea of ‘maybe I can watch’ and offered to help in the kitchen. Xi Ze made a look of consideration at Ming Yu’s offer before abruptly entering the kitchen.
In fact, Xi Ze had been holding a big bag in his left hand when he knocked on the door. However, his hand was covered by the door and Ming Yu didn’t see it. As he pulled out the ingredients from the bag, Ming Yu looked at them one by one and his expression gradually changed from
（⊙口⊙）
to
（/=＿=）/～┴┴
.
Ming Xiaoyu wondered, ‘What is this? This shrimp, lion head, pork and pieces of meat!!! What do you want to do?’
As if he perceived the youth’s grief and indignation, the handsome and elegant man calmly removed the shrimp from the preserved box and replied quietly,
Oh, today’s time is limited. I will make something simple. For example, braised lion’s head, crystal shrimp, sweet and sour pork…ah, and boiled meat.

Ming Xiaoyu’s face turned red as he heard these familiar dishes. But he knew that the man was quietly looking at his flushed face with curved lips.
The thing that happened next made Ming Yu’s eyes become bigger. It was the first time he received such a big stimulus since his sudden rebirth. It was because he saw that this man could smoothly and skillfully cook!!!
Vinegar, soy sauce, cooking wine… these ingredients seemed alive in the man’s hands. As long as he needed them, Xi Ze didn’t even look as he directly picked up the right seasoning and calmly placed them in the pot.
For example, Ming Yu always got mixed up when he put in sugar. He had to pay careful attention, not putting in too much or two little. But how did Xi Ze do it?
He didn’t even look as he used a spoon to scoop up sugar!
The fine white sugar covered the pork tenderloin like snowflakes with a single movement of the man’s wrist. The sweet and sour fragrance soon diffused from the pot to the surrounding area. Ming Xiaoyu smelt it and drooled, but Xi Ze’s leisurely movements didn’t slow down.
Xi Ze picked up the cooking wine and poured some inside. Ming Xiaoyu was extremely thrilled to find that—
The pan was on fire!
…Ming Xiaoyu’s cooking ability might be ordinary, but he still knew it was easy to put alcohol in a pan. The combination of alcohol and fire and could make meat more delicious and authentic. However, this was just a theory. In both his lifetimes, Ming Xiaoyu had never seen any friend do it!
How could he imagine that this man had such good cooking skills?
It couldn’t be!
This was Xi Ze!
Xi Ze’s cooking was delicious? Ming Xiaoyu now believed it.
Once the crystal shrimp was done, Ming Xiaoyu had already removed the expression of astonishment on his face. He calmly helped Xi Ze by passing over bowls and dishes… Yes, this was the only help he could give in the kitchen.

Aren’t you surprised?
Xi Ze asked calmly while holding white soy sauce.
Ming Xiaoyu smiled slightly and nodded.
Yes, I’m not surprised.

How could he not be surprised?
Ming Xiaoyu saw the man pick up a carrot and small kitchen knife, carving a lifelike flower. The surprise turned to numbness as Ming Yu realized. Xi Ze really had cooked for him when he was sick.
Ming Xiaoyu thought of this and couldn’t help asking curiously,
Don’t you have a serious obsession with cleanliness?

Xi Ze placed the crystal shrimp on the plate and said casually,
You and I are the only ones eating what I cook.

The man’s face was calm with no ups and downs, as if he really was speaking casually without any other meaning. However, Ming Yu was slightly startled. At this moment, Ming Yu felt the intoxication from lunch once again hit his brain.
Ming Yu’s lips curves and he felt like laughing as he looked at the man’s tall, upright back. He finally gave a low chuckle and didn’t answer.
Zhao Rui said that Ming Yu’s female skills were top notch?
Ming Xiaoyu felt that he was a novice compared to this man.
—Ah Ming Xiaoyu, don’t you know Xi Ze? He only uses this skill on one person. It might be hard to believe, but this is the small mushroom skill!
There were only four dishes. However, they were as exquisite as those from the best restaurants. The braised lion’s head was rich in sauce and savoury. The excellent taste could be felt just by looking at it. The crystal shrimp was fresh and bright, with some green leaves used (Ming Xiaoyu didn’t really know these types of things). The green leaves were placed around the plate, highlighting the shrimp like stars around the moon.
In addition to being fragrant and tasty, Xi Ze’s dishes also had impeccable visual beauty.
If Ming Yu was holding a measuring tape, he would find that all the leaves on the plate were placed at a fixed distance, with the maximum error margin being no more than 3mm.  In addition to the man’s paranoia, this type of placement suited his aesthetic requirements.
Since this arrangement was the most beautiful, it had to be done.
Ming Xiaoyu ate the dishes while full of thoughts. His ‘I can’t give into evil forces, calm down’ slowly became ‘How can this dish be so delicious?’. In the end, it changed to the grief-filled ‘No, how can it be gone? I can still eat 10 bowls of rice.’
Xi Ze didn’t move his chopsticks. He ate two random mouthfuls before putting them down on the white porcelain bowl. He crossed his hands, gently supported his chin and stared at the youth with a light smile.
Once Ming Yu was full, Xi Ze laughed at his satisfied appearance and couldn’t help laughing. Then he asked,
Now that you have eaten, do you want to go see my gift?

Ming Yu jerked and responded after a few moments,
Your gift isn’t this meal?

Xi Ze raised an eyebrow.
You don’t want another gift?

Ming Xiaoyu immediately shook his head.
Go, I want to see your gift!

Xi Ze was almost empty handed. He didn’t bring anything except the big bag of ingredients. Therefore, Ming Yu followed him into the elevator, intending to go to Xi Ze’s apartment to see the so-called gift.
A long time ago, Xi Ze told Ming Yu that his apartment was on the top floor of this building. He didn’t say that his apartment was on the top floor, but that the entire top floor was his apartment.
The house was as clean, simple and stylish as Ming Yu once envisioned.
There were only three colours in the whole house: black, white and blue. The luxurious and sophisticated black, the concise and pure white and the charming blue, these three colours merged together to form a wonderful visual effect. Of course, the main colours were black and white, with only a handful of blue tones scattered in between to play the role of icing on the cake.

Come to the cloakroom.

Xi Ze didn’t disturb him while Ming Yu was looking around the house. But once he saw the youth’s failure to take another step, Xi Ze immediately laughed, took the youth’s hand and walked towards a room.
Once the door was opened, Ming Yu was completely startled.
Don’t talk about just the fashion industry. Many outsiders and ordinary people wanted to design a cloakroom or dressing room like this. In his last life, Ming Yu’s cloakroom contained various clothing, watches, perfumes and shoes that he obtained since his debut. It was a dazzling sight and his friends once praised it as a ‘fashion paradise.’
In this life, the Muse apartment was too small and Ming Yu didn’t design a cloakroom. But the new place he bought was being renovated. After he moved in, there would be a big cloakroom waiting for him.
Ming Xiaoyu was very confident of his future and designed the cloakroom to be very large. He thought he wouldn’t need to change it for at least five years. However, it was just a drop in a bucket compared with the cloakroom in front of him.
This cloakroom had two floors. Ming Yu hadn’t noticed that there was a loft on the top floor of the Muse apartment building. The loft was directly above the designed cloakroom, creating a two-storey design.
On the left side of the cloakroom, all of the men’s high fashion clothing was arranged. On the right side of the cloakroom, there were men’s jackets, ranging from elegant suit jackets to long trench coats, arranged in their respective order. Ming Yu’s eyes widened at the sight and he didn’t know how to react.
The three large glass cabinets in the centre of the room contained watches, collar clips and cuffs. On the opposite wall was a full row of shoes, from leather shoes to leather boots, the elegant leather shining under the bright lights.
But seeing this, Ming Yu suddenly thought about something.
I remember, this isn’t your main house?

Xi Ze nodded.
Yes, it is a set.

Ming Xiaoyu asked,
Then in your other house, there is a cloakroom like this?

Xi Ze smiled at the ‘You don’t have to say it or I will kill you on behalf of the readers’ Ming Xiaoyu and nodded,
Well, basically. The room in the villa is a little bigger than this.

Ming Xiaoyu,
…（┙>∧<）┙へ┻┻

He really wanted to represent the people and wipe out these wicked rich people!
Since Xi Ze brought Ming Yu upstairs, he naturally had a gift for him. This gift wasn’t just a good meal.
Ming Yu was stunned when he saw the beautiful clothing, turning to look at Xi Ze with a questioning gaze. Xi Ze nodded in confirmation and said,
I am giving this high-end set to you.

After a pause, he added,
I had some inspiration since I drew you. Thus, I made two sets of clothing, one male and one female. Maybe you can see it in the next Ji and Ya high-end fashion show.