Dinner

“Sizzle, sizzle—”

At home, Ye Shuang stood by the stove, pan-frying steaks in a skillet while an old-fashioned, richly simmered soup bubbled away on the burner beside it. He glanced at the time, turned off the heat, and covered the skillet to let the steaks rest for a while.

“Chop, chop, chop, chop.”

Ye Shuang continued mincing the meat with a kitchen knife, then stuffed it into deseeded green peppers. After serving all the steaks from the skillet, he looked at the beef fat left in the pan. Rather than washing it, he tossed in some garlic and placed the stuffed peppers inside to fry.

While washing his hands, Ye Shuang did not forget to turn over the fried chicken in the air fryer. He also added potatoes to the braised beef in the rice cooker. Despite preparing so many dishes at once, he worked in perfect order without the slightest hint of chaos.

“Oi, need any help?” A head poked through the kitchen doorway.

“No. We’re almost done anyway.” Ye Shuang glanced at Anshi Yi, who had come over to him. “There’s not much left for you to do.”

“What do you mean? I can still help you eat.”

“Why, thank you,” Ye Shuang replied helplessly.

Anshi Yi had already reached out with her claws, pinched up a piece of steak, and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing away.

“Careful, it’s hot. It just came out of the pan,” Ye Shuang warned.

“Mmph? Then open your mouth and I’ll put it in for you…”

“…”

At that moment, An Shiyu’s voice came from outside the kitchen. “Bring me a piece too.”

“Oh.”

Anshi Yi immediately ran off with the plate of steaks. Apparently, she had learned quite a lot about automatic looting while abroad. It would not have been surprising if she had even opened several discount shops alongside the mysterious Kuisangti brothers.

Ye Shuang paid no attention and continued preparing dinner. Yu You and the others would still need a little time to get home, and even Yezi had not finished school yet.

Yezi was very sensible. Knowing that her father did not have time to pick her up, she had chosen to take the bus home. Later, however, Ye Shuang had directly assigned a driver from the group to pick up both his daughter and Duoduo after school. After all, they were only in second grade, and to put it simply, Ye Shuang was not entirely at ease leaving them on their own.

Especially after what had happened with Jin Sha. Even though the Ye Shuang of this timeline had no direct conflict with Jin Sha, and the person who had been killed was named Shanxia, it never hurt to be a little more careful.

Just then, the sound of the front door unlocking rang out.

“Daddy, I’m home—”

“Sorry to intrude—”

“Oh, Little Yu, you’re here?”

“Oi, dark-skinned brat, get over here.”

“Dark-skinned? I’m just tanned, okay? Besides, I’m not even that dark!”

Several voices chatting floated in from outside the kitchen. Ye Shuang wiped his hands and walked out, where he saw Yezi and Duoduo returning home.

After several months of spending time together, Duoduo had developed the habit of coming straight over to Ye Shuang’s house the moment she got back. She did not even bother returning home to put down her schoolbag first. She was starting to look like the second coming of Keke.

“Big Brother Ye Shuang!” Duoduo called out.

“You’re back?” Ye Shuang smiled.

At that moment, Yezi came over, wanting a hug. “Daddy—”

“My apron’s dirty,” Ye Shuang said.

“Hehe, then I’ll hug you from behind.”

Yezi immediately went around behind him and hugged him. Her tiny body pressed against his back, making Ye Shuang unable to hold back a laugh. He reached behind him and rubbed her head.

“Where’s Mommy?”

“She hasn’t come back yet. Your mother and the others have a performance with their club today, so they’ll be a little late,” Ye Shuang explained.

“Little Yu, don’t you go to school?” Yezi asked An Shiyu.

“Can’t afford it, so I had to drop out and start working,” An Shiyu sighed. “But things are better now. Your dad’s keeping me.”

Yezi: OvO……

“Don’t say weird things in front of the child.” Ye Shuang tapped An Shiyu on the head, annoyed.

“Oh, right, right. We call it getting paid, don’t we?” Anshi Yi added.

Ye Shuang: “……”

Why did it feel like they were only making things sound worse?

“Do you want some steak?”

“Daddy made this? Why are Little Yu and the others stealing it?” Yezi asked curiously.

“How am I stealing it when I’m eating it openly?” An Shiyu made a pair of dot eyes. “Right, Big Uncle?”

“I… suppose?” Ye Shuang was already quite used to this sort of thing. It seemed Yezi simply had not spent enough time around the two sisters. After starting school, she had hardly visited the group at all.

Not long after Ye Shuang returned to the kitchen, Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke came home as well.

“Big Brother.”

“Ye Shuang.”

“You’re back?” Ye Shuang glanced at Bai Yuyou and Keke standing in the kitchen doorway. Perhaps another semester had passed, but both girls looked considerably more mature. This change was especially obvious in Bai Yuyou. Although Yu You still rarely smiled, both her ability to express herself and her capacity for thought were now far beyond those of an ordinary person.

As for Keke, perhaps she had put on a little weight.

“Ye Shuang, your beard’s grown out,” Bai Yuyou said, standing beside him as she reached out and touched his beard.

“Hm?” Ye Shuang instinctively felt his chin and found that it was indeed a little prickly.

“I’ll shave it for you.” Bai Yuyou patted her pocket, then expressionlessly pulled out a razor.

Where on earth had she gotten that thing from?!

……

At dinnertime, Ye Shuang carried the soup out of the kitchen.

“Chicken soup’s here.”

“Stuffed green peppers, braised beef, pan-fried steak, chicken soup, steamed fish, fried chicken…” Anshi Yi counted the dishes. “Sure enough, a man who knows how to cook never lacks women, right?”

“Absolutely,” An Shiyu added. “Your cooking is almost disgustingly good.”

“Save your breath for eating,” Ye Shuang said.

“Oh.” X2

“Big Brother, isn’t Chen Qin due soon?” Tang Keke asked curiously. It had been a long time since she had seen Chen Qin. Before Chen Qin became pregnant, she had occasionally come over to stay with them.

“Yeah, in another month or two. She’s been taking it easy and resting,” Ye Shuang said. “You’ll be able to see the baby very soon.”

“Once the baby’s born, Chen Qin is planning to move in here.”

“Move in…” At those words, Tang Keke subconsciously glanced toward Bai Yuyou.

“Okay.” Bai Yuyou simply nodded, her tone perfectly calm. “I haven’t seen Sister Chen Qin in a long time either. And I can help take care of the baby.”

“However, your Sister Chen Qin’s parents probably won’t be very willing. They’ll want the child to stay with them so they can look after it.”

“Oh.”

“Do Chen Qin’s parents only have one granddaughter?”

“Yes, just Qiaoqiao. But soon they’ll have another grandchild.”

“I haven’t seen Qiaoqiao in a long time either.”

“……”

Ye Shuang fell silent for a moment. In truth, it had also been a long time since he had seen that adorable little girl himself. He then forced a smile and put some vegetables into Tang Keke’s bowl.

“Here, Keke, eat some vegetables.”

With that, Ye Shuang served Tang Keke some more vegetables.

“Don’t just eat meat. You’ve put on quite a bit of weight recently.”

“Eh?”

After setting down his chopsticks, Ye Shuang began thinking about Chen Hai. He wondered what that man was doing now, and hoped he had not gone to a bar to drink himself silly.