Chapter 24 Try My Cooking

"Alice."

Alice got nervous when she heard the voice. She thought, "Could I pretend to hear nothing? Her mind was in such a panic that she didn't even notice him calling her first name rarely.

But John quickly got out of the car and blocked her way. He reached out to her, "So many groceries? Let me give you a ride." Alice stiffened, awkwardly shook her head, and said softly, "Thank you. But it's very close to my place."

She suddenly felt like she was back three years ago . She had always had a good personality and many friends. When she had just broken up, everyone wanted to come and comfort her. But she isolated herself. Others were free to gossip, but she never wanted to hear it.

Her unusual stubbornness seemed to have become her shelter, but John stood firmly opposite her, persistently reaching out to her. They held this stalemate for a long time.

Alice suddenly felt tired: why bother to be at odds with him, why refuse the kindness of others? She handed the bags to John and said, "It's so nice of you."

John looked with interest at the bag full of food, "Do you cook for yourself?"

Alice lazily smiled, realizing that she didn't even have the strength to speak.

This was the second time she had been in his car, and Alice was in a terrible mood, naturally unwilling to speak. In the past, she would have felt very uncomfortable.

After all, it was always better to find a difficult and awkward topic than to sit in silence. She stared straight out the window, lost in thought--good to buy a car… why did it take so long to get to her place… why didn't the car have that leather smell that she hated… why… meet him again?

Alice was startled by her own thoughts and couldn't help but glance at him, as if he sensed it, he turned to look at her. Alice remembered the first time she saw him. He was cold and stern, and he rarely smiled. However, it seemed that her memory was slowly changing, because every time he looked at her, it was with such warmth.

Seeing her cautious look, John couldn't help but smile, "Not going to work today? You bought so many groceries, cook by yourself?"

Alice felt a little embarrassed, saying nothing.

As the car arrived downstairs, John got out of the car and helped her with her groceries. Alice waved her hands in haste, "Thanks a lot, I can handle it myself."

As she struggled, there was a loud noise, and the overloaded bags burst open-things scattered all over the floor, soap, and toothbrushes rolling everywhere. Alice felt a complex mix of inexplicable awkwardness, sadness, and even excitement.

She wanted to vent her resentment and hopelessness. Her stress ball was still in the office. She didn't care about anything anymore-what was in her hands, who was around her, where she was standing-she fiercely threw down the shopping bags in her hands and sat on the ground, crying loudly.

John stood by, feeling complex sympathy. Finally, he saw her vulnerability, the emotions she carefully concealed-this was what he had been longing for-just didn't expect it to happen in such a way that left him at a loss: passersby looked on, a handsome man stood next to the woman, and she just hugged her knees and cried in pain.

He squatted down, gently patting her shoulder, "Let's go home, okay?" as he handed her some tissue. He saw tears drop down her face. After a while, she seemed to regain some composure and started to pick up the groceries on the ground. John held her cold hands, which were moist with tears.

"You go up first, let me handle this," he said gently, his tone firm, with a comforting warmth.

Alice listened blankly to his words and stood up, walking towards her apartment. John looked up at her back, still slightly trembling with suppressed sobs. He couldn't help but sigh.

When John entered the room, the door was wide open- he held a bag in one hand and a pile of groceries in the other. Alice's posture seemed unchanged-it seemed that her knees were the only thing in the world to rely on.

She sat on the sofa with her back to him, perhaps due to slightly improved emotions, she was no longer sobbing. John sat down in front of her, hesitated for a moment, and reached out to hold her shoulders. For a moment, he looked at her slightly red nose tip, as if at a loss for words.

Alice turned her face slightly and wiped the tears, which made John smile: "Are you better now? crying? Hungry? Would you like to try my cooking?"

Around six o'clock in the afternoon, it was completely dark, a time when lights were on everywhere. Alice was busy thinking about standing up, her voice still choked: "How could that be?"

John smiled, and gently touched her long hair-this kind of intimacy made Alice start to sober up, unable to help but look up at him he said, "Go look in the mirror."

Alice took a step back in panic, saying: "Haven't you had dinner yet? Shall I call for takeout?"

"You bought groceries, didn't you?" John pointed to the messy floor, and gently said, "I'm not kidding, I really invite you to try my cooking."