IMGH Chapter 54

Whatever You Want to Eat

Walking out of the cinema, the streets were already lit up with the glow of evening lights. Jiang Yi glanced at the time and said to Chen Yuhe and Qiu Rui behind him, “It’s getting late. Let’s find somewhere to eat.”

Chen Yuhe’s beautiful eyes darted lightly as she trotted a few steps to catch up with Jiang Yi, tugging at his arm and acting coy. “Jiang Yi, Xuan Xuan said your cooking is amazing — I’ve been wanting to try it for ages! Why wait when today is just as good? How about you cook tonight! I want to mooch a meal at your place!”

Chen Yuhe’s suggestion put Jiang Yi in a bit of a bind. Cooking, more often than not, depended on the mood.

And clearly, Jiang Yi was not in that mood today. All he wanted was to hurry up and send Chen Yuhe home. Lately, things had been spiraling further and further beyond what he had anticipated, and he needed time to sit down and sort through his thoughts properly.

Jiang Yi was just about to turn Chen Yuhe down when, right as the words were forming on his lips, he caught a glimpse of Qiu Rui standing beside him.

The usually silent male ghost’s eyes had betrayed a flicker of quiet eagerness. It was well-concealed, but Jiang Yi had caught it with his sharp eye nonetheless.

The refusal died in his throat. Knowing Qiu Rui’s stubbornly contrary nature all too well, Jiang Yi understood that even if Qiu Rui wanted something, his mouth would never say so.

But that was exactly the contrary streak Jiang Yi adored about him — the more he saw of it, the more endeared he felt.

Jiang Yi’s mood lifted in an instant. If his dear Rui’er wanted to eat his cooking, then no mood be damned — even if he were half-dead, he’d still drag himself into the kitchen. Such was the duty of a devoted loyal dog!

Chen Yuhe, eagerly anticipating a good meal, grew anxious when Jiang Yi still hadn’t responded. “Jiang Yi, so is that a yes? Let’s go to your place for dinner tonight!”

“Since the lovely lady wishes to taste my cooking, it would naturally be my greatest honor,” Jiang Yi said, pulling back the corner of his mouth into a smile — his gaze, however, had drifted squarely to where Qiu Rui stood.

The words were clearly laced with a hidden meaning. Faced with the man’s little scheme, Qiu Rui responded with nothing more than a cool, sidelong glare.

Jiang Yi had long anticipated that his warm, honeyed words would earn him nothing but an icy sideways look. Yet that certain someone, possessed of an impressively resilient heart, remained cheerful as ever, not the least bit wounded by Qiu Rui’s attitude.

Chen Yuhe fell in excitedly beside Jiang Yi, and the two of them — plus one ghost — made their way into the supermarket to pick out ingredients.

“Yuhe, is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?” Jiang Yi asked, pausing in the produce section to look at Chen Yuhe beside him. A guest was a guest, after all — if he was going to treat the young lady to a meal, there was no reason to be stingy about it.

“Well then, don’t mind if I do — can I really order anything I want?”

Questioned about his abilities, Jiang Yi put on a mock look of displeasure, straightening his face. “Little miss, are you doubting me? Just say what you want! Things that fly in the sky, things that run on land, things that swim in the water — there’s nothing you could name that big brother here can’t make!”

Chen Yuhe let out a soft scoff. “Keep dreaming!”

Jiang Yi argued back with exaggerated urgency, “Don’t believe me? Go ahead and order — brother here will show you what a legendary chef looks like!”

Chen Yuhe then genuinely named two dishes with a fairly high level of difficulty. Jiang Yi listened, then curled the corner of his lips with confidence. “Just those two? Completely within my abilities.”

Jiang Yi picked out the necessary ingredients and placed them in the shopping cart, then turned to Qiu Rui beside him. “Qiu Rui, what would you like to eat?”

It had been a long time since Qiu Rui had eaten anything Jiang Yi had cooked. During the period when Jiang Yi was ill, his mother Xiao Wenya had taken over managing his daily life and meals. Jiang Yi had described his mother’s cooking skills as being permanently stuck at the beginner level — either too little salt or too much vinegar, with the only remotely presentable dish being a tomato and egg stir-fry. Qiu Rui had been forced to eat it day after day, for what felt like an endless stretch. It was only after Xiao Wenya finally left that the suffering came to an end — except that Jiang Yi’s health still hadn’t recovered enough for him to cook, so it had been yet another string of days living on takeout.

His palate having been thoroughly spoiled by Jiang Yi’s cooking, Qiu Rui had eaten until his face practically turned green. It was around that time that he had begun to miss a certain someone’s dishes — the kind that looked good, smelled wonderful, and tasted even better. So when he heard today that Jiang Yi would be cooking, Qiu Rui felt a small, quiet flutter of excitement stir inside him.

He had to admit that Jiang Yi was unreliable as a person in many ways, but his culinary skills were beyond reproach.

As eager as he was on the inside, Qiu Rui had no intention of showing it. If that insufferable man ever found out what he was really thinking, he would certainly get carried away and say something outrageous.

Qiu Rui turned his head away with practiced aloofness, his pretty face settling into a cool expression. “Whatever.”