Jiang Yan had visited, but Wen Man was unaware. Whenever she worked, even if lightning struck, she wouldn't be distracted.
After work, Wen Man was washing her hands at the sink. Chun Xia came over and asked her, "Manman, do you have any free time this weekend?"
"Is there something you need?" Wen Man asked.
"My husband is coming back from a business trip and wants to have a big meal," Chun Xia said, her eyelids constantly blinking.
Wen Man tilted her head and looked at her, "Chun Xia, what's wrong with your eyes?"
"Nothing. Maybe some sand got in when I ran back inside just now. It'll be fine after I blink a bit," Chun Xia said, pretending to rub her eyes.
"Well, if your husband is coming back and you want to treat him, I'd suggest sticking to some home-cooked dishes at this time of year. It's better to eat lightly in the spring," Wen Man, knowing the reason her good friend brought this up, began planning for her.
"Manman, you know I'm not as skilled as you in cooking. Why don't you come over and help me?" Chun Xia held onto her hand, earnestly pleading.
Wen Man smiled, "Sure."
Chun Xia was Wen Man's best friend. Wen Man remembered that during college, she once fell seriously ill and didn't dare to tell her family. It was Chun Xia who took care of her day and night in the hospital for a week and even used her own scholarship to help penniless Wen Man pay a large medical bill. From that time on, Wen Man decided that no matter what Chun Xia asked for, she would never refuse. As for Chun Xia's husband Du Yu, they had met him in college, a senior two years older than them. Although not much to look at, he was kind-hearted and honest, and most importantly, he doted on his wife Chun Xia and insisted that a man should cover all household expenses. Therefore, Chun Xia never had to contribute her salary to the household expenses and could spend it as she pleased. With such a husband, what more could a wife ask for? Consequently, Wen Man's ideal man was also someone with a good character; other qualities were secondary. Unfortunately, she hadn't met one yet.
On that weekend, Wen Man brought a bag of apples and went to Chun Xia's place.
Chun Xia and her husband lived in a rented apartment of a few dozen square meters. It wasn't that they didn't want to buy a place, they just didn't know where they wanted to settle down. The city wasn't bad, but neither Chun Xia nor Du Yu was from there, and as a young couple, they were always aspiring to carve out a better life for themselves. Hence, a long time ago, they had the idea of moving to Beijing. Today, Du Yu had found a better job in Beijing and planned to take his wife with him in the near future. Chun Xia also had everything arranged with her company to leave at any time.
On her way to Chun Xia's place, Wen Man pondered about moving to Beijing. She was eager to make the move with Chun Xia. Beijing was the cultural center of the country, and as someone in the arts, she naturally wanted to go there. That was one reason, and the second, as Chun Xia said, was that the Wen Family had so many people and issues that staying at home unwed made her parents look bad. It would be better to move away and avoid gossip.
If she was going to leave, going with Chun Xia was the best route since it would give her someone to rely on.
She pressed the doorbell, and Chun Xia came to open the door, "Come in. My husband is also bringing a friend home on the way," she said.
"Dinner for four?" Wen Man asked.
"Yes."
After placing the brought apples into the refrigerator, Wen Man washed her hands and entered the kitchen to help Chun Xia prepare lunch. With Manman's help, Chun Xia spent a short while in the kitchen, then left to arrange the table and chairs, place the bowls and cutlery, and meanwhile clean up the place, as they were expecting a guest.
When it was almost time, Chun Xia instantly went to the door upon hearing the sound of the lock clicking. Upon opening the door, to the two men standing outside, she pressed a finger to her lips and whispered, "Manman doesn't know yet. I didn't tell her."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Du Yu grabbed his wife's hand and let out a hearty laugh in a true manly fashion, "Jiang Yan really is our friend now."
So the person following behind Du Yu was Jiang Yan.
Speaking of which, the day Jiang Yan encountered Chun Xia at Wen Man's company and expressed his feelings, he had started to inquire about Manman. Chun Xia learned that this man wasn't actually a pauper and that he took a sincere interest in her best friend, so she let slip a few of Manman's likes. Jiang Yan knew from the experience at the Wen family's home that Wen Man was not a frivolous woman easily coaxed into a date, so he asked Chun Xia for advice. Chun Xia immediately suggested: Have a meal together.
Chun Xia's idea was: If this man could truly appreciate Manman's qualities from a single meal, then entrusting Manman to this man would be absolutely fine. After all, she and her husband had become Manman's most devoted best friends exactly because of a meal Manman had cooked. Of course, there was also Manman's exceptional family, who ate her cooking every day yet still found fault with it.
After the two men entered, they asked, "Do you need any help with anything?"
After thinking for a moment, Chun Xia said, "Do you guys drink? There's a bottle of red wine left in the house. Please open it."
Without a proper wine opener, the two men examined how to pry the cork out of the bottle with other tools.
Suddenly, Wen Man called out from the kitchen, "Chun Xia, come help me!"
Just then, Chun Xia had gone into a room and was searching for something, so she didn't hear. Du Yu, with a thought, gestured to Jiang Yan with a jerking of his chin. Jiang Yan accepted the kindness with a smile and walked into the kitchen by himself.
The kitchen in Chun Xia's home had a narrow, elongated layout, and the aisle was just wide enough for two people to stand side by side. When Jiang Yan walked in, he saw Wen Man's ponytail twisted into a small bun, secured by a green hair clip, exuding a charming femininity. His steps faltered at the doorway, his mind briefly dazzled by the rich aroma of the soup, as the beautiful woman before him seemed shrouded in a mist.
"Chun Xia!" Wen Man, with both hands holding the ears of the pot on the stove, called out, "Hand me the scallions on the chopping board, quickly!"
Startled by her voice, Jiang Yan focused and noticed her hands gripping the pot were scalded red. This frightened him, and in a quick step, he rushed over, took the pot from her hands and placed it back on the stove. Immediately afterward, he grabbed her wrists and put her hands under the faucet.
The water cascading down turned her shrimp-red skin back to pale in an instant.
He exhaled deeply, relieved that there was no serious harm. However, he soon felt a chill run down his spine, seeing Wen Man's crescent moon eyes fixed on his face. Those cold eyes seemed to catch a thief, and perhaps because he felt guilty, his hair stood on end as he quickly released her hands and explained, "I didn't mean to—"
But Wen Man ignored him, and at the smell of something burning, she quickly turned off the stove and lifted the lid of the pot. Upon seeing the charred food, she wheeled around to face him, "Get out! And don't ever enter my kitchen again!"