Chapter 777: An Attractive Quality In A Man (part one)

The autumn breeze came, and the slight chill in the air snapped Belinda out of her trance. She suddenly realized that ordinary people lived a simple but happy life. She could tell from the smiles on the faces of the people around her that watching a movie together was enough to cheer them up. Actually, the simplicity brought a different kind of happiness.

Belinda and Duke went to the cinema in their own cars, so they had to drive back separately. Duke followed Belinda's car at a close distance. He usually drove fast, but this time, he slowed down to keep with her pace and drove at a speed that he normally looked down on.

Belinda parked the car in the garage and rushed towards the house without waiting for Duke. She was starving because she hadn't had supper yet. She made a beeline for the kitchen, intending to prepare some food for herself. But she was dumbfounded when she arrived at the kitchen. The appliances were so complicated that she had no idea where to start.

"What are you doing?" Duke asked in confusion. He became curious when he saw Belinda get off her car and run inside without waiting for him, so he followed her into the kitchen.

"I want to cook something for myself." Belinda answered without turning around. She opened the refrigerator to look for food. There was a lot of food inside, but unfortunately, she didn't know how to cook any of them.

You haven't had supper yet?" Duke asked with a frown. Belinda never ate a midnight snack. She couldn't have had dinner yet. Otherwise, she wouldn't want to cook something for herself. Belinda hummed vaguely in response, letting her eyes settle upon the things in the refrigerator as she wondered how to cook them.

"Why didn't you tell me at the beginning? Do you know how to cook?" Duke rolled up his sleeves and entered the kitchen.

"No, I don't. But I don't think it would be too hard," Belinda grumbled, pursing her lips. She turned to Duke and looked at him with a pair of innocent eyes.

"Just go upstairs and take a hot bath. I'll make you some noodles," Duke said. He took some eggs, ham, and tomatoes from the refrigerator and walked towards the kitchen counter. He started skillfully slicing the tomatoes.

"Duke, are you telling me you can cook?" Belinda's jaw went slack as her eyes widened at his movements. It never occurred to her that Duke could cook. After all, he was born with a silver spoon. Why did he learn to cook? Even women seldom cooked nowadays.

"It's easy to cook noodles." He washed the pot, turned on the gas cooker, added oil... He did everything so smoothly that it became evident that it wasn't his first time to cook. Belinda rubbed her eyes with her hand, not believing what she was seeing.

"It's not easy at all," Belinda murmured. People said that a man buried in work was attractive. But for her, a man focused on cooking was even more attractive. Knowing how to cook was an attractive quality in a man.

"Hand me the noodles." Duke fried an egg and put it on a plate. Then he added water to another pot and covered it with the lid. Fried eggs tasted better than boiled eggs.

"Wait, let me look for the noodles." Belinda began to search for noodles in the fridge. She had eaten noodles many times before, but she had never seen the packaging. As a result, it was quite difficult for her to locate the noodles among so many foods in the fridge.

"Never mind." Duke shook his head in resignation and walked up to her. Belinda was an able woman in business, but when it came to cooking, she was completely helpless.

"Sorry." Belinda made a face and stuck out her tongue at Duke. She had never cooked before, so she was at a loss with what to do in the face of all the ingredients in the kitchen.

"How did you even survive all these years?" Duke asked as he took the noodles from the top layer of the fridge. He gave her a teasing smile before he went back to the gas stove.

"Well, I was very naughty when I was a child. Then I buried myself in my studies. While studying abroad, I was too busy studying business management. When I came back, I became too busy with work. I never had the time to learn how to cook." This was one of the disadvantages of being an heir to a family business. Belinda had no interest in business management at all, but she had no choice but to force herself to do as her parents wished.

"These are all excuses." Duke put the noodles into the boiling water and added ham and tomatoes. He covered the pot and wiped his hands with a kitchen towel.

"Come on! I'm telling the truth! Despite how busy you were, you still learned how to cook. I admire you so much." Belinda held up her thumb in approval. Knowing how to cook was a huge plus for an exceptional man like Duke.

Well, that's because I had to take care of Leena." Duke put some seasoning into the pot before turning the heat down and covering the pot again. The noodles would be ready in two or three minutes.

"You really dote on Leena." Staring at the noodles in the pot, Belinda couldn't help but swallow when the delicious aroma filled her nostrils.

"Are you jealous of her?" Duke asked with a teasing smile. He wasn't the only person who doted on Leena. All his friends treated her like their own sister.

"Is there a reason for me to be jealous? Besides, I'm not a demure person." Belinda used to act reserved and not say much in front of Duke. But recently, she started to relax and was more willing to show her real personality.

"Really? I never noticed it." Duke turned off the stove and took some noodles with the chopsticks to taste it. It was a little bland to him, but it would be perfect for Belinda as she was still recovering. He didn't need to add more salt.

"Are you done?" Ignoring Duke's teasing, Belinda looked at the noodles with a hopeful expression and licked her lips in anticipation.

"Yes. You can go to the dining room now. I'll bring it to you soon." Duke transferred the noodles from the pot into a bowl. In the process, the hot soup splashed on the back of his hands. He frowned, wiping his hands afterwards without saying anything.

Belinda didn't notice any of it. She went out of the kitchen in a good mood. She was so lucky! It was rare to find a man who was good at not only making money, but also cooking. Duke was such a person, and they would get married soon. Belinda was a lucky woman to have met him.

"Aren't you going to eat?" To Belinda's surprise, Duke put all the noodles into one bowl and placed it in front of her. Seeing a large bowl of noodles, her eyes widened in disbelief. Did he expect her to finish everything?

"I'm not hungry. Just eat the noodles. Tell me how they taste." Duke sat next to Belinda, gazing at her with a hopeful expression on his face. Leena thought highly of his cooking skills, but he was looking forward to Belinda's opinion. At this moment, he wasn't a confident CEO, but a man awaiting the verdict of his beloved wife with trepidation.

"Okay, let me check. Ouch! It's too hot!" Because Belinda was starving, she put the noodles into her mouth in a hurry and burned her tongue in the process. She stuck out her tongue to cool it down. After a few moments, she said, "It tastes good. Duke, you're a great cook!"

"Do you love me more now?" Duke asked as he poured a glass of cool water for her. He treated her with the utmost care, but Belinda was too careless to notice his actions.

"What do you think?" Belinda replied with a question. She was too shy to admit that it made her love Duke more.

"I think you love me more. People always say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I think this applies to women too." He rested his chin on one of his hands as he sat beside Belinda, letting his eyes settle upon her. His heart danced with happiness as Belinda buried herself in the noodles. He made a decision as he watched her. As long as she liked it, he would keep cooking for her for the rest of his life.

"Well, then you have to work harder. I'm very picky with food. Duke, have some noodles. I can't finish everything." Belinda took some noodles with her chopsticks and raised them to his mouth. She did it naturally, not noticing that sharing food with someone was an intimate act. Duke went blank for a short while. Then he immediately opened his mouth and ate the noodles, fixing his eyes on her face.

It was then that Belinda realized what she had done. Her face flushed with embarrassment, but she pretended to be calm and took more noodles and fed them to Duke again. But her scarlet face and trembling hand betrayed her true feelings. Although Duke noticed it, he didn't point it out to avoid embarrassing Belinda.