" When? Hmm.." Jun Lan stretched the syllables as if she is thinking deeply. Jun Yuan stared at his secretive granddaughter haltingly. This girl is hiding many things from him, how come he didn't know anything about this girl. Well, he never paid any attention to her before, right? He could only curse himself and a bitter feeling bubbled up in his heart.
" It's a secret old man." a certain little girl was smirking in her heart. She couldn't possibly tell him that she learnt it in her past life; and make him look at her as if she is a weird thing. So, she chose the safest option and spoke in a mischievous tone.
Jun Yuan was disappointed with her vague reply. Jun Lan noticed his dispirited expression, but she did not console him. Instead, she placed each of the dish in separate bowls and walked towards him.
" No one knows that I can cook. But, you are the first one to taste my handiwork. Have a taste now." She was speaking the truth. In both lifetimes, he was the first one to taste her cooking. She did not lie about this. On seeing that old man was frozen stiff, she nudged him with her shoulders.
" Oh!" Jun Yuan snapped out from his daze and grabbed the chopsticks with excitement written all over his face. Initially he was like a deflated balloon, but after hearing that he was the first one to taste her cooking his face lit up like a thousand watt bulb.
After taking a look at the dishes, he decided to try the dumplings first. After blowing on it, he took a large bite of the steamy dumpling.
Hmm… Soft and juicy!
" Good! Very Good! Very Very good!" The old man couldn't stop himself from praising her. Jun Lan felt amused on seeing his reaction. His reaction was far better than what she expected. He then went for the pork noodles. They were both salty and spicy. Jun Yuan licked his lips, he wanted to eat all the noodles by himself. Don't blame him for being a glutton, the noodles are so tasty!
Then the read bean soup. He had no words to describe it…
" Well then, how are they? Did you like them?"
Jun Lan observed her old man and she felt relieved after seeing the expression of complete bliss on his wrinkled face. Nevertheless, she was nervous as it was the first time someone tasted her cooking. Her expectant tone did not escape Xu Zian's sharp ears.
The girl was staring at her old man with large doe like eyes and Xu Zian's dark eyes were fixed upon her grey orbs. Her long eyelashes and the expectant look in her eyes which resembled a kid waiting to be praised by his elders attracted him deeply. He could not bring himself to look away from that pair of enchanting eyes.
Jun Yuan was completely smitten by this girl's skills ah! So, he generously praised her.
" Excellent! I never expected that your tiny hands could do such wonders."
Jun Lan was gloating in happiness after hearing his praises, but his next words made her completely petrified.
" Now, marrying you off is not a big problem. After tasting your cooking, anyone would be willing to marry you. I can be at ease now."
Marriage! Jun Lan felt goosebumps all over body after hearing that taboo word. If she knew that her cooking would result in such adversities, she would have stayed put without showing off. Now, she was really regretting her decision of cooking ah!
" Grandpa, don't even think of my marriage. If you start looking for suitable candidates, I promise you that I will run away."
" Aiya! This kid, I was just joking ah! Now, don't be so serious." he tried to coax the angry little bird.
" Don't crack such lame jokes again!" a certain little girl gritted her teeth. She was not pleased with such humour.
" Alright, I won't. When will I taste your cooking again?"
" For my safety, I've decided to not cook again." Jun Lan spoke in a stern voice leaving no room for further discussion. After speaking her words, she completely ignored her old man.
" Sis Lian, can you show me my room. I need to clean myself." she spoke while pointing to her clothes which are completely covered in black soot. Cooking is not an easy task ah! Chu Lian and Jun Lan left the kitchen chatting with each other. Obviously, the girls hit off together.
Xu Zian stared at her disappearing back with a thoughtful look. He sensed the bitter resentment in her voice when the word marriage was mentioned. He wondered what made her to have such an attitude towards marriage. Not that he cared about it! Pushing such irrelevant thoughts to the back of his mind, he left with Ye Fang after politely taking leave from Jun Yuan.
" Use my dress since you don't have any spare clothes." Chu Lian offered a white robe, but Jun Lan declined her politely " Sis Lian, I bought a few clothes earlier today. I don't want to bother you."
" All right…" Chu Lian sighed helplessly. This little girl is too thoughtful and meticulous.
" I will be setting the table for dinner. You can have a relaxed bath in the meanwhile."
Jun Lan closed the door after the older girl left the room. She then slipped out of her sweaty clothes and relaxed herself in the warm bath.
After drying herself, she changed into a set of white robes. Since her hair is still wet she put on a simple veil, which just covered the lower half of her face leaving her wet hair out to the air.
Jun Lan was able to hear the voices from below. The atmosphere down there seemed lively. Without thinking twice, she hurriedly left the room and dashed forward in the corridor. She walked through various turns and she absentmindedly turned into the left corner which leads to the staircase.
Thump!
" Ouch!" Jun Lan exclaimed in pain as she hit something really hard.