Stir-Fried Uncle

"Beep—beep beep—"

At the end of the workday, Ye Shuang gripped the steering wheel, watching the congested traffic ahead.

"So many people."

"Right, right."

"There are more and more cars in this city. I wonder if we'll ever get to see a subway system born in Haizhu City."

"Right, right."

Ye Shuang: "..."

He turned his head to look at An Shiyu, who was wearing a maid dress beside him, and couldn't help but say,

"So, why are you in my car?"

When he was leaving work, this fish had just trotted along after him and gotten in the car.

He didn't even realize she was there until after he started driving, finding her somehow already seated in the passenger seat.

Like a ghost.

"How mean. I've been serving you all day, and you won't even give me a meal?" An Shiyu put on a deeply wounded expression, clutching her chest. "It hurts right here, you know."

"Hurt my foot," Ye Shuang twitched the corner of his mouth. Though, making a meal for this one wasn't really a problem.

"Oh, wash kelp yo~ wash kelp yo~"

"Stop singing..." Ye Shuang said helplessly.

The car drove on for a while longer when Ye Shuang suddenly heard rustling sounds from beside him. He glanced over instinctively and his expression froze. An Shiyu had already taken off her maid dress, revealing smooth, pale shoulders.

"Tsk, you pervy uncle, you're so creepy." Noticing his gaze, An Shiyu hugged her clothes and said, half-squinting her eyes.

"How am I creepy when I'm just driving normally?! And why are you changing clothes in the passenger seat?!"

"There's no rule against changing clothes in a car, is there?"

Ye Shuang: "..."

I really can't win an argument with you.

An Shiyu then somehow produced a set of casual clothes from who-knows-where. After changing, she stretched, folded the maid dress, stuffed it into her skirt, and with a flick, it was gone—like magic.

Whatever, just pretend I didn't see it.

"What do you want to eat tonight?" Ye Shuang finally asked.

"Stir-fried Uncle."

"That's not a dish, thank you."

"Hot pot," An Shiyu said lazily. "Haven't had it in ages."

Hot pot?

If it's hot pot, that's not too troublesome. Just need to prepare the broth and ingredients—seems An Shiyu's taste is relatively normal, not asking for anything weird.

"Fruit juice broth," the girl added.

"There's no such thing?!"

After driving all the way to near his residential complex, Ye Shuang parked the car in the garage and took the fish into the Aeon Mall.

"So many people," An Shiyu said with a lollipop in her mouth, noticing the supermarket was especially crowded.

"Probably because there are discounts."

Ye Shuang didn't pay it much mind, grabbing a shopping cart from the side.

"This cart is too small, I can't sit in it," An Shiyu bent over slightly, reaching out, almost hanging onto the cart.

"Please put merchandise inside it."

"..."

Pushing the cart to the fresh produce section, Ye Shuang started picking out ingredients suitable for hot pot. The weather was starting to get colder, after all, so something to warm the body was fitting.

"Hmm..." Ye Shuang picked up a block of tofu to check the production date, but couldn't help wondering, "What will Yu You and the others eat tonight?"

"Probably a feast. You think they'd miss you so much they can't eat?" An Shiyu said from the side, sounding somewhat disdainful. "You really are a worrier."

Ye Shuang smiled. "Maybe. I always have a hard time letting go of a lot of things."

Watching Ye Shuang's gentle smile, An Shiyu suddenly fell silent. She touched her hair, then turned and walked away. "I'm going to look over there."

"Hm? Need to buy something?"

"Juice."

"Okay."

Ye Shuang pushed the cart for a while, picking up quite a few ingredients. With Yu You and the others not home these few days, he could stock up on some things for himself—then he wouldn't need to buy groceries later.

Or he could just eat out. When Ye Shuang was home alone, he was always very casual about what he ate.

But since An Shiyu was here, he should make a proper meal.

"This one likes sushi so much, these should be good too," Ye Shuang glanced at the sushi in the chilled section. About twenty or thirty for a box, salmon slightly more expensive, forty or fifty.

"Better take one box."

Though it couldn't compare to proper restaurant sushi, for eating at home, one couldn't be too particular.

In a corner out of Ye Shuang's sight, a short-haired girl leaned back against a shelf. She lowered her head, seemingly looking at her toes, her earlobes faintly tinged with red.

"..."

...

"Huh? You were gone so long and only bought one bottle of juice like this?" After a while, Ye Shuang looked at the juice An Shiyu was carrying and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"No good brands," An Shiyu said.

"I want freshly squeezed."

"Freshly squeezed is healthier, but in terms of taste, it's actually not as good as these," Ye Shuang said with a laugh.

"Fine then," An Shiyu clearly understood this logic.

After buying the ingredients, Ye Shuang took the fish back home.

"Mee—ow—?!"

Yi Wan came down from the cat tree. It stretched, licked its nose, and upon seeing that one of the people who returned was An Shiyu, it turned its butt and jumped back onto the cat tree. Even its usually high-pitched, clipped meow became much gruffer the moment it saw An Shiyu.

"Have a seat for a bit. I'll prep the ingredients."

Ye Shuang carried the bags into the kitchen to start preparing the food for later. Hearing this, An Shiyu plopped down on the sofa.

Watching Ye Shuang's back in the kitchen, she blinked, seemingly preoccupied.

"I'll help too," An Shiyu said.

"No need, it's just a little bit of ingredients. It'll be ready soon."

Just as Ye Shuang said, he quickly finished prepping and came out carrying an induction cooker with a divided hot pot on top—one side was a broth as clear as water, with some coconut meat floating in it.

The other side was a bright orange, bubbling and gurgling.

"What's the yellow one?" An Shiyu stood nearby and asked curiously.

"Fruit juice," Ye Shuang smiled.

Hearing this, An Shiyu looked at Ye Shuang with a strange expression, as if asking, "Are you serious?"

"I just saw the divided pot and thought I'd try it. Since we're not having a spicy broth, I made a coconut chicken broth and a fruit juice broth," Ye Shuang continued cheerfully.

"It's pretty fun. Weren't you the one who wanted it?"

"I was joking."

"Well, what if it wasn't a joke?" Ye Shuang's words left An Shiyu standing there dumbfounded.

She lifted her head, looking at Ye Shuang's profile, and suddenly remembered a saying.

It seems there's always someone in this world who will do weird things with you, someone who will remember the things you mention offhandedly.

"You need to change your personality," An Shiyu said, kicking him with a snap of her leg.

"What was that for?"