Chapter 23.3
Chapter 23.3
GHML – Chapter 23.3: A Modest Man, He Jiang (3)
Shang Jing continued his walk out of the kitchen and was met with a flustered Zhuang Qin surveying the area randomly. When the latter saw him, he ran over and offered, “Since He Jiang is not around, why don’t you join us for lunch?”
Shang Jing looked at the greenish patch under Zhuang Qin’s eyes. He was all too familiar with that. “Did you not sleep well?”
Zhuang Qin was stunned. He said, “Last night, I had to spend the night with Cen Feinuo in a room. I… couldn’t sleep at all.”
Shang Jing: “Since you are not used to sharing a room with someone else, why don’t you raise the matter up to the director and request for an additional room?”
“N-N-No!” Zhuang Qin waved his hands. His cheeks were flushed. “Cen Feinuo is a great guy. I just don’t want him to misunderstand things.”
Shang Jing remembered the hot topic on the day he and He Jiang announced their relationship. Out of curiosity, he asked, “Does Cen Feinuo really go to bed at 9.30PM?”
Zhuang Qin: “Mm… Yes. Cen Feinuo is such a good guy. He told me to go ahead and use my phone, and not worry about affecting his sleep. So I… played with my phone till 2AM. Let’s not dwell on this topic, come over for lunch.”
Shang Jing: “Ok, give me a second.”
He ran back to his room and counted the amount of money he had left. Keeping 100 yuan, he slotted the bills into an envelope to return to Cen Feinuo.
He was afraid if he did not return them soon, he would spend them on a whim, especially after seeing the unique makeovers of the other three teams. He was captivated by many of those little ornaments they got.
Zhuang Qin waited for him at the door and praised, “Your room looks so good.”
Just like the nuptial room he had seen in his parent’s old photos. It was really heartwarming.
Shang Jing puffed up with pride. “Right? I love this style.”
Cen Feinuo had not intended to showcase his cooking skills in the variety show, especially since all attention would be on him when he cooked. He wanted to leave more exposure opportunities to Zhuang Qin given the limited screen time allocated to each couple.
But the three text messages from He Jiang destroyed his plans.
3AM: 【I’m off to do some hard labor. I’ll leave Xiao Jing in your care.】
7AM: 【Get an additional serving of breakfast for my wife.】
10AM: 【Shang Jing is alone. Invite him for lunch, I remember you know how to cook?】
The last message was accidentally chanced upon by Zhuang Qin who asked in a surprise, “You know how to cook?”
Cen Feinuo: “Yes, what do you like to eat?”
Zhuang Qin: “I-I can make requests?”
Cen Feinuo: “Yes. If you don’t, He Jiang will start ordering for Shang Jing. I am more inclined towards cooking the favorite dishes of my boyfriend.”
Zhuang Qin blushed. “Hmm… Is Sauerkraut Fish ok?”
Cen Feinuo: “Ok, go have fun with Shang Jing and get him to come over in a while.”
Shang Jing was greeted with the fragrance of Sauerkraut fish the moment he entered the room. He swallowed his saliva and approached Cen Feinuo. “Thank you, here is 2500 yuan. The rest will be returned when He Jiang returns.”
He Jiang had already returned the money he borrowed from Cen Feinuo. This 3000 yuan was the winnings he got from the production team.
Cen Feinuo received the envelope without changing his expression then turned to send He Jiang a text: 【Your wife paid 2500 yuan for the food. I’ve accepted it with much difficulty.】
He Jiang was eating his boxed lunch by the field when he received the text.
Holding a bun in his mouth, he knocked on Shang Jing’s display picture. Amusement filled his eyes.
My prodigal wife.
After lunch, Cen Feinuo shifted the two bedside tables to the balcony for Shang Jing and Zhuang Qin to draw and paint on, keeping them occupied for the rest of the afternoon.
At 10PM, He Jiang sent a text to Shang Jing to inform him he had just alighted from the high speed rail.
In other words, he was prompting Shang Jing to prepare the dumplings for him.
Shang Jing got up from the bed and smoothened the sheets.
Uwu, He Jiang will be sleeping on this bed tonight.
Standing by the stove while waiting for the water to boil, he looked at his apron and quickly took it off, thinking it made him look like a virtuous simp.
Ten minutes later, the dumplings were ready but He Jiang was still not back yet.
He had cooked it too early.
Shang Jing stared at the pot awkwardly and decided to give them to Cen Feinuo and Zhuang Qin to have as supper, conveniently receiving a round of praise.
After which, Shang Jing stalled for a while longer before firing up the stove again to boil water. After adding the dumplings, he explored his phone aimlessly. When he noticed he had opened his chat with He Jiang, he panicked and closed it, clicking on another chat to hide his tracks.
It was the 【Alliance Of The Desperate Coy Wives】group chat.