Jiang Ting's cooking ability, if compared to something, was almost the same as Han Xiaomei's professional level as a criminal police officer — rich in theoretical knowledge but lacking in practical opportunities. Although there were some good parts, it was impossible to make a full-fledged feast on his own.
Fortunately, Yan Xie's purpose was just to let Jiang Ting add some points to his parent's hearts, and not to amaze them with his superb five-star-chef level skills, so:
"Last night's beef stew with potatoes was good, make it again, I'll ask people to send over the wagyu used for sashimi immediately. The fried prawns were also delicious, I'll call them to ask if they still have the New Zealand deep-sea crayfish, and to pick out two kilograms of the most expensive ones. Ah, scrambled eggs with tomatoes! My dad loves to eat that! Let's throw away that box of eggs at home, I'll ask someone to send another carton imported from Turkey. Go and boil the water and prepare to scald the tomatoes, hurry up!"
Jiang Ting: "..."
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang, and Yan Xie, like a soldier who heard the horn of the charge, jumped up and rushed to the gate, running back and forth to move boxes into the kitchen, which were filled with various high-end ingredients.
Jiang Ting looked at the kitchen full of enough ingredients to supply a hotel. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't say a word.
Yan Xie once again proved with practical actions: Any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem, and any weakness or shortcoming in the practice could be solved by throwing money.
"That's not right, Jiang Ting, didn't you tell me to soak the beef in water to remove the blood? I read a tutorial that says that it's best not to wash the beef, otherwise, it will lose its flavor?"
Jiang Ting was stir-frying prawns, and without lifting his head, he grabbed Yan Xie's mobile phone, flipped the "Charcoal Grilled Steak" page to the "Beef Stew" page in his newly downloaded cooking tutorial app, and stuffed it back into his arms.
"Oh…" Yan Xie was suddenly enlightened, and with tears welling up in his eyes, he continued to chop onions with all his might.
Yan Xie boiled water, washed vegetables, chopped peppers, peeled shrimp, and like a diligent worker bee buzzing and flapping its wings, he flew to the sink for a while, and then to the stove. Father Yan and Mother Yan, who had never cooked in their life, peered around the kitchen doorway, only to see their son and "daughter-in-law" walking around the kitchen countertop intimately. The scene was incomparably harmonious and happy, just like the Totole chicken essence advertisement on TV. They couldn't help but sigh for a moment.
"Release the air from the pressure cooker, and get a bowl of beef stew from the pot." Jiang Ting poured the sauce on the fried prawns for the last time and instructed Yan Xie: "Put out the scrambled eggs with tomatoes and let the rice simmer for a few more minutes, and come back to bring me a bottle of water, I'm thirsty."
Yan Xie's eye fell into the pan of red and fragrant prawns and he hurriedly took the dishes to the table outside. When he came back, he brought a bottle of iced mineral water, drank a large mouthful of it himself, and grabbed Jiang Ting's chin quickly when he looked up and fed him mouth to mouth.
"Hmm…"
Jiang Ting was caught off guard by the sneak attack, the spatula in his hand raised and the shrimp flew up, drew a parabola in the air, and with a snap directly hit Yan Xie's body. The agile Unit Vice-captain Yan was not frightened as expected, and grabbed the shrimp on the spot and swallowed it, burning himself to the point where he was gasping for breath.
Jiang Ting hurriedly covered his mouth, and his heart jumped: "…Is it delicious?!"
"Well, it is delicious." Yan Xie looked outside, then leaned closer and whispered, "You are more delicious."
Jiang Ting: "..."
Yan Xie was feeling triumphant with Jiang Ting's blank expression, so he personally shoveled the fried shrimps out of the pan while humming a little tune.
After a while, Yan Xie put the rice on the plate by himself, looked at the steaming dishes on the table, and declared with authority like the head of the family, "Let's start the meal!
Father Yan and Mother Yan had raised their good-for-nothing son for more than thirty years, and today was the first time they ate the meal made by their son himself, and their hearts burst with tears: "Delicious! It's delicious!" "Good cooking!"
Father Yan looked at the scrambled egg between the chopsticks and sighed: "Cuicui — look at this color and aroma, I've never seen such a good scrambled egg with tomatoes in my life!"
Madam Zeng Cui was full of emotions, her heart was surging up and down, and she didn't even realize that her words were full of countless points that overflowed from the TV screen.
Jiang Ting's eyebrows couldn't stop twitching, so he pretended to support his forehead and raised his hand to cover his face. Yan Xie glanced at him smugly, which meant you see how much my parents like you, then he got up and went to the wine cabinet to pick up a bottle of wine and poured it for his father himself.
"You will be an adult from now on," the touched Father Yan said to Vice-captain Yan. "You must work hard and live a good life, understand?"
Yan Xie raised his glass and said solemnly, "Understood."
Mother Yan took Jiang Ting's hand: "The two of you live under the same roof, get along well, and don't quarrel and fight, okay?"
Jiang Ting thought I can't beat Yan Xie again and again in his heart, and besides, he was both eating and living for free, so how could he beat the owner of the house, so he just nodded and replied, "Understood."
Jiang Ting didn't know if it was his delusion, but he clearly saw Madam Zeng Cui's eyes flickering with a complicated, gratified, and loving emotion like a mother leaning on the delivery bed while watching her second child who she had just given birth to after exerting all her strength.
"Come here, come here, drink." Father Yan patted his son's shoulder, then stood up, poured half a glass of red wine for his wife and "daughter-in-law", and looked around the table with satisfaction, "All four corners are complete and harmonious, good! Good!"
Everyone raised their glasses together to toast. Jiang Ting felt that something was wrong, but Yan Xie grabbed his hand and forcibly clinked the glasses. The dinner table was filled with a harmonious and affectionate atmosphere.
Father Yan had been forbidden from drinking by his wife for a long time, and finally found a legitimate reason to have a "relatively small drink" with his son. The father and son couldn't even drink two bottles of Maotai before they finished their meal. Yan Xie, a policeman who was bound by the five prohibitions of the Ministry of Public Security, had not had a good drink for a long time, and his alcohol intake was far less than that of his father. After half a bottle, his face immediately became flushed. Father Yan, who was still unfinished, wanted to ask his daughter-in-law to drink, but his wife, who was wearing high heels, kicked him hard, and he immediately sobered up a little.
Yan Xie pushed his dad with both hands: "No, no, it's over 50 degrees. He's not in good health and can't drink. I'll do it." as he said this, he involuntarily grabbed the bottle to drink it all.
"You can't drink anymore, like father, like son!" Madam Zeng Cui tugged at her husband's collar in disgust, took the wine glass, and gave it to Jiang Ting, who was trying to get up to clean up and called the driver who was waiting downstairs to come up and clean up the mess. Father Yan also shouted that he wanted to have two more drinks with "Comrade Xiao Lu" and have a heart-to-heart talk with him, but his wife dragged him to the door by his ear: "Nonsense, your son is already wasted, do you want to put them both down??! Go home after eating!"
Jiang Ting immediately got up and put on his shoes, and said, "I'll see uncle and aunt off."
Yan Xie sat paralyzed on the chair and gulped down a big mouthful of cold tea, with a flush he said, "I-I… I'm going too, I didn't… I didn't drink too much!"
Mother Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She slapped her son, took Jiang Ting's hand, and turned around to go out, leaving the two father and son behind to support each other.
In this expensive and strictly managed community, there were no people on the road in the afternoon. The Yan family's car was parked outside the gate, and all the way one could only hear Yan Xie's shouting from behind: "Hey-mom, what are you pulling him for, you pull my dad there instead! Hey, you take my dad!" Saying that he shoved the drunken dad into his mother's hands, grabbed Jiang Ting's back, and forcibly put his hand on his back.
Mother Yan had just opened the car door, and she couldn't help but poke her finger at her husband's red forehead, gritting her teeth, she said, "Why did I marry a beast like you?!"
Father Yan held his wife's hand tightly with his tongue out. "F*ck, I'm so happy today… You've been married to me for so many years…"
Mother Yan hurriedly broke free, and poked Yan Xie's forehead with another finger: "How did I give birth to such an evil creature like you?!"
"Go, go," Yan Xie leaned on the curb, with one hand in his trouser pocket and the other on Jiang Ting's shoulder, he looked at his blue-veined mother indifferently: "Hurry home, I won't delay you anymore. Don't come to see me often, and don't scold my dad when you get home, okay."
Mother Yan said angrily, "It's better to raise a pig than you! Xiao Lu, I've made you worry. I'll come back to see you again, we haven't talked much today, remember to come over to our house in the future!"
Jiang Ting was afraid that Yan Xie would have more words to say, so he could only politely nod his head in agreement and send Yan Xie's parents into the car, watching the car start. Suddenly the rear window lowered again, revealing Mother Yan's face that was hesitant to speak.
"Mom, what do you want to say?"
Mother Yan hesitated again and again, took out her phone, and quickly sent a text message. Yan Xie's phone rang.
"Remember to read my message later!" Mother Yan urged earnestly, then turned to Jiang Ting: "Xiao Lu, thank you for today! Next time, be sure to remember to come and see me and his father!"
"..." Jiang Ting's eyelids jumped up again involuntarily, and just as he couldn't help but reiterate his solid and pure friendship with Yan Xie, the car slammed away, leaving only a curl of smoke.
"What did Auntie send you?"
Yan Xie took out his phone and turned it on, and the screen displayed the latest WeChat message from the old and beautiful Zeng Cui:
[Live a good life, and support and trust each other. Two young people should pay attention to moderation! Your mother.]
"...…" Jiang Ting suddenly became furious: "You didn't explain it to your parents at all, did you?!"
Yan Xie hurriedly covered his mouth: "Shh, shh, I'm dizzy, I drank too much…"
Yan Xie leaned on Jiang Ting drunkenly and walked back along the long tree-lined road of the community. He was like a human-shaped sandbag with the smell of alcohol, dragging his feet with every step he took, shamelessly putting most of his weight on Jiang Ting's shoulders, and muttering indistinctly, "I told you, our parents are mentally prepared to recognize you as their daughter-in-law. Don't you see how much they like you? It was all because of my idea to cook at home, shouldn't you thank me quickly?"
Jiang Ting said coldly: "You brought them here on purpose from the very beginning?"
Yan Xie: "Oh, that's not true…"
"What nonsense are you talking about, didn't we already make a pledge to not marry without our parent's approval?"
Yan Xie was complacent, and just as he wanted to boast that they shouldn't marry without parents' approval, and it was a fate for three lives, but he saw Jiang Ting's face, and immediately held his head and groaned: "I drink too much and I have a headache. Ah, I can't walk, help…"
Yan Xie graduated from the police academy and was assigned to the police station in his early years. He saw many drunkards fighting and making trouble, and after practicing superb acting skills, his expression of pain was so lifelike that even the passing elementary school students turned their heads, and shouted in a milky voice: "Mommy! Look at that uncle with long legs, he is frowning, he is sick!"
Yes, this uncle with long legs is really sick in his brain — Jiang Ting grabbed Yan Xie's hand and calmly and steadily strode forward, forcibly dragging Film Emperor Yan back home before he pushed the fake illness to the peak of his acting skills.
The house had been cleaned up by the driver of the Yan family, even the windows and even the floor had been cleaned over, and the dishes and chopsticks were all washed bright and shiny, neatly stacked in the disinfection cabinet. Jiang Ting pushed Yan Xie, who was staggering, onto the sofa, closed the door with his backhand, and lowered his head to change his shoes.
However, just as he stepped one of his feet out of his flat shoes, he suddenly heard breathing from behind him, followed by a fiery embrace, pulling him back and pressing him against the wall: "Jiang Ting…"
Jiang Ting walked unsteadily, one foot was still in the shoe, while the other foot was on the cold floor tiles wearing socks, but before he could even let out a slight breath, Yan Xie firmly kissed him. With the kiss, a strong aroma of wine was sent to the throat along the tip of the tongue, giving the illusion of being slightly drunk. Jiang Ting raised his hand, and Yan Xie grabbed his palm and pressed it against the wall, sliding down along the wall, and then groping and trying to reach into the back of the shirt.
"..." Jiang Ting gritted his teeth, grabbed Yan Xie's wrist with a backhand, and took it away a little: "You drank too much, give it a rest…"
"No." Yan Xie stared at him from a close distance. His eyes shone brightly, and there seemed to be two clusters of small flames flickering in the depths of his pupils: "I drink too much, can't stop."
After a pause, he said: "And we have already worshiped in the high hall, so there's no need for excuses, we can enter the bridal chamber."
Jiang Ting turned his head and left without saying a word. Before he could take two steps, he was hit by a strong force behind him, and then the world turned around. He was picked up by Yan Xie and pressed onto the sofa. The large leather cushion suddenly made a creaking sound.
The two overlapped up and down, and even the tips of their noses rubbed together intimately. Yan Xie narrowed his eyes and hummed: "We are already officially crossed paths in love, don't move and let me do it for a while, be good, don't move…"
The sofa cushion creaked regularly with his movements, Jiang Ting's ears warmed, and he whispered, "You were just pretending to drink too much and get drunk!"
"Yes." Yan Xie emphasized seriously, "In ancient times, husband and wife had to drink wine when they got married."
Jiang Ting was taken aback. Immediately he overthrew him with force, and sat up: "Who's the husband and wife?"
Before he could roll over and get off to the ground, Yan Xie's strong and powerful body pushed him firmly against the back of the sofa: "Why are we not husband and wife?"
"I've already said…"
"That's fine as well. It's up to you. Why don't I take it as we're getting married, and you consider it as sex with no-strings-attached?"
Jiang Ting's expression froze a bit, and then an indescribable and annoyed expression emerged, and he pushed Yan Xie back off the sofa: "Okay, don't pretend to be drunk and make trouble. I'll go make you a cup of tea, you can drink some hot water and lie down to rest."
"I'm not pretending to be drunk! I…" Yan Xie shouted unwillingly behind him: "I just drank too much! I'm sexually unhappy after drinking! Is it illegal for an adult to do it?!"
Jiang Ting just pretended not to hear his nonsense and went straight into the pantry.
Yan Xie was sitting in the living room, wanting to forcibly pursue but not daring to do it. He pondered all kinds of ideas in his mind and put his elbows on his thighs. This posture made the muscle lines on his shoulders and back stand out under his shirt, which was rising and falling under his heavy breathing.
Jiang Ting was in the pantry.
The sound of the opening and closing of the cabinet door was heard, and Jiang Ting's footsteps, movements, and even his breathing, every little bit of movement became extraordinarily clear as if scratching directly on the sensitive nerve endings that were too much to control, and they jump and throb with some kind of impulse.
He held his breath, but the heat spread and collided in the blood vessels, gradually becoming unbearable.
We've saved each other's lives in the toughest times, and have spent the night in the same bed, hugging and even kissing each other, why can't we go further?
We've even seen and were approved by our parents, so why can't we go further?
Yan Xie raised his head and caught a glimpse of the last half bottle of Maotai left on the table. He reached out his hand to get it, and after a while, his adam's apple slid up and down violently, and he raised his head and drank the whole bottle of wine.
The fiery alcohol entered the limbs and bones along the throat, and the hidden flame accompanied with courage, burned with a roar. Yan Xie casually stomped the wine bottle on the table and got up to walk into the pantry. He saw Jiang Ting with his back to him, bending down to take out a colored plaid mug from the lower cabinet; and from this angle, the lines of his waist, hips, and long legs were unbelievably obvious.
"Hey, why are you…"
Jiang Ting had just stood up when he was suddenly grabbed by Yan Xie, who was full of alcohol and pressed his back against the wall.
In daily life, Yan Xie's slightly aggressive movements were very common. Jiang Ting did not respond immediately, only turned his head against the wall and asked, "Did you drink again?"
Yan Xie didn't answer and just turned his elbow back, and gently kissed his slightly wet palm in this position.