Dinner (2)

Shi Yen followed Yuan Xinyi, crossing over to Yuan Shun's side of the estate. She had seen brief glances of his side before, from the construction to taking Shizi to the veterinarian, but she didn't bother to take a good look.

Now that she paid attention, Shi Yen noticed that Yuan Shun went for a very simplistic yet opulent appearance. All the walls were painted black, contrasting his white marble floors. His furniture was grey and white, very thin and contemporary.

Though Shi Yen liked to stand out, she also liked how minimal Yuan Shun went for.

They entered the kitchen, where Yuan Xinyi and Shi Yen took seats by the kitchen island, and Yuan Shun offered them drinks. Without asking what they wanted, Yuan Shun gave Yuan Xinyi a soda and Shi Yen ice-cold lemonade.

Shi Yen's favourite drink was lemonade, but she didn't know it was that obvious.

"What will we be having dinner?" asked Yuan Xinyi.

Yuan Shun faked a grin. "Takeout."

Yuan Xinyi pouted. "That's all you eat. I want something homemade."

"I'm still learning," Yuan Shun said. "Sorry I'm not very good."

Yuan Xinyi smirked. She turned to face Shi Yen. "Do you know how to cook, Yen?"

Shi Yen released a breath. "Yes. I'm not the best, though. But I know quite a few recipes."

"Great!" Yuan Xinyi said. "Then you can help Yuan Shun. Takeout won't do us any good tonight."

Shi Yen looked at Yuan Shun, and their eyes met. "Do you need help?" she asked him.

Yuan Shun gave her a slow nod.

Yuan Xinyi then stood up, walking away to make a phone call.

Yuan Shun offered Shi Yen a black apron, so she didn't get her white-floral dress dirty.

Shi Yen washed her hands after Yuan Shun, and then he gestured her to help herself to his fridge. "Use whatever you need."

Shi Yen opened the fridge, looking inside and looking back at Yuan Shun.

"What?" he said.

"You barely have anything," she teased with a chuckle.

Yuan Shun glared at her, but then he couldn't help but smile, too.

Shi Yen rolled her eyes. "I'll get some ingredients from my kitchen, so I'll be back."

Yuan Shun then began to chop up some onion in the meantime. Though he didn't have many vegetables, onion was something that he had in almost every meal.

Shi Yen then returned shortly after with a basket of ingredients, instructing him on what to do.

After Yuan Xinyi's phone call, she stepped out of the house.

Shi Yen went to wash her rice before putting in the steamer when she nearly bumped into Yuan Shun. He was reaching for something in the upper cabinet, pinning her slightly against the counter's edge.

He lowered a bowl when his gaze dropped to her eyes. Yuan Shun reached for a spoon, tightening the gap between them. A flush crept on Shi Yen's face. She didn't know how to act around him. She hadn't forgotten that they were supposed to be at odds with each other.

Their moment was then interrupted by the re-emergence of Yuan Xinyi with Fang Qi. They stalked over, "I invited Fang Qi over since he was leaving work."

Shi Yen composed herself. "Hey, Fang Qi."

Yuan Shun stepped away from Shi Yen to give her spaces. Afterward, they continued to cook side-by-side over the kitchen counter.

Fang Qi popped open a bottle of alcohol, pouring two glasses for him and Yuan Xinyi. Yuan Shun sneered at them. "Why aren't you two helping?"

Fang Qi nonchalantly downed his drink. "Xin and I are your guests," he said. "Why would we cook?"

Shi Yen scowled, and Yuan Shun smiled at her.

Shi Yen understood that they were now getting along, but some part of her wanted to argue and banter with him. She didn't want to feel anything else for Yuan Shun.

"Your sliced tomatoes are too big," she said.

Yuan Shun furrowed his brows. "No, they're not."

"Yes, they are."

Yuan Shun glared at her. He then muttered some curses as he cut them thinner. Shi Yen grinned.

While the food was cooking, Shi Yen stepped out to check up on Shizi before she returned.

"How is she?" Yuan Shun asked.

Shi Yen gave out a small smile. "She's getting better, and acts as if nothing happened."

"You can bring her inside here…if you want," he offered.

"Thank you," said Shi Yen. "But she just ate and she's sleeping now. But thank you."

"You said that already," he replied with a playful smile.

Shi Yen couldn't do this. She went back to check on the food, noticing it was ready to serve. She then divided what she and Yuan Shun made into plates, placing them on the dining table.

She removed her apron, joining the rest at the table. They dug into their shrimp fried rice, honey lemon chicken, vegetables, and braised pork.

"Mhmmm," Yuan Xinyi said. "I knew homemade food would taste better."

Fang Qi had wolfed down his food when Yuan Xinyi scowled and said, "Can you be more polite?"

Fang Qi glared at her. "I'm starving. What have you done today other than paint your nails?"

"I worked in the morning, thank you!" she said, sticking out her tongue.

Fang Qi rolled his eyes. "Shi Yen," he said while scarfing down his meal. "I knew you'd be a better cook than Shun."

Yuan Shun stared at him blankly.

Shi Yen smiled. "I'm better than him at a lot of things," she said.

"Like what?" Yuan Shun countered.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just know I am."

Yuan Shun narrowed his eyes.

"I might agree," Fang Qi said. "Shi Yen beat me in everything when we were in high school."

"Really like what?" Yuan Xinyi's eyes gleamed.

Fang Qi didn't overthink about it. "Sports and grades mostly." Something then clicked in his mind. "Oh, that reminds me. I forgot I have a picture of us together."

Yuan Xinyi's eyes widened. "Let me see!"

Fang Qi took out his phone. He then scrolled through the album he had saved on his computer and transferred it over to his new device.

Yuan Xinyi looked at the picture, and Yuan Shun looked over her shoulder to see it too.

"You two look so young," Yuan Xinyi said with astonishment.

"Hm," replied Fang Qi. "We were sixteen in that picture."

"That was ten years ago!" commented Yuan Xinyi.

In the picture, Fang Qi hung his arms around Shi Yen, wearing their martial arts uniform. Shi Yen wore her long silky black hair in a ponytail, as Fang Qi had shoulder-length blond hair, tied up. They were both standing side-by-side, smiling.

"You were smiling in that photo," Yuan Shun blurted out to Shi Yen, not realizing he had said it.

"I won a tournament that day, and I felt delighted."

"Indeed," replied Fang Qi. "It brought our school a good rep. I remember how glorious it was to have girls attend those tournaments since we were always at the top."

Shi Yen rolled her eyes and chuckled. She remembered a great deal of how much of a player Fang Qi was. Back then, times were simple, and her father attended the most important matches, so she was always motivated to do her best.

"Oh, but Shun is talented in martial arts," Yuan Xinyi said.

Fang Qi scoffed. "Not as good as Yen."

Yuan Shun narrowed his eyes. "Whose side are you on? And I am confident I can take on someone smaller than me."

Shi Yen smiled wickedly. "Is that a challenge?"

He faced her. "Anytime. Anywhere," he replied.

"All right, then," said Shi Yen. "We can figure out a time later. But I know you're going down."

"We'll see about that, Yen, darling."

"Well, this got interesting," said Fang Qi.

They finished up the rest of the evening until they all parted separate ways for the night.