Chapter 25 – The Melting Ice Cream

Suddenly opening her eyes, Lin Xiaowen’s gaze, clear as spring water, settled on the faint smile at Cheng Yishu’s lips. Lin Xiaowen was taken aback, caught by a fleeting illusion—as if his cool breath was slowly drawing nearer to her.

Or perhaps Cheng Yishu hadn’t moved at all; it was only the two hearts beating stronger and stronger that were moving.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

The sharp knocking shattered the rare tranquility. Lin Xiaowen withdrew her gaze and abruptly sat upright.

Cheng Yishu raised a fist to his lips and coughed lightly; the lobe of his ear, adorned with a stud, was tinged with a rosy blush.

As Lin Xiaowen rose, the knocking resumed, providing her with the perfect excuse to break the spell of the strange atmosphere and reclaim her voice.

“Who is it? It’s so late!”

Lin Xiaowen hardly ever had friends visit her home. Xu Ningning was one of the few, but tonight she shouldn’t be coming to interrupt Lin Xiaowen’s good fortune.

“Hello, are you Mrs. Cheng? Here’s the express delivery your husband ordered!”

“Mrs… Cheng?”

Her tone involuntarily rose. Lin Xiaowen stared in disbelief at the delivery man.

She scrutinized his uniform, clearly emblazoned with the words “City Express—Immediate Delivery.”

“Yes, Mr. Cheng placed the order. Please sign for it.”

Lin Xiaowen opened her mouth, about to ask more, when Cheng Yishu’s voice drifted in from the living room.

“Yes, I just ordered it. It really arrived in time… bring it in!”

Under the delivery man’s cheerful gaze, Lin Xiaowen forced herself to smile back, hoping it was just as adorable.

She signed, carefully cradled the package.

“Wish you a pleasant evening, goodbye!”

The young man politely closed the door behind him. Lin Xiaowen looked down at the box in her arms, her gaze complicated as she watched Cheng Yishu approach.

“I have to say, city delivery is pretty convenient—less than half an hour and it’s here!”

“What did you buy this time?” Lin Xiaowen called out, annoyed.

“A microwave oven!” Cheng Yishu took the box and headed for the kitchen, explaining as he walked, “Tonight’s main course is roast duck. It needs to be warmed up in a microwave, but I saw your kitchen didn’t have one, so I ordered one through city express… Come, let’s see if it works!”

“Cheng Yishu, you actually bought a microwave just to eat roast duck. If we were eating roast suckling pig, would you buy an oven for that too?” Lin Xiaowen exclaimed, watching him.

To her surprise, Cheng Yishu didn’t mind at all. He pondered seriously, glanced around, and frowned.

“An oven wouldn’t fit in this kitchen. But if you’d like to move to a bigger house, I wouldn’t mind buying one—for you, just to roast suckling pig.”

“Crazy!” Lin Xiaowen rolled her eyes, too lazy to argue further. “How much longer before we can eat?”

“Soon! Can you bring over the roast duck for me? Does this power outlet work?” He pointed to the wall socket, which looked rather unsafe.

“It works, but you have to be careful—it sometimes leaks electricity!” Lin Xiaowen warned solemnly.

“Really?” Cheng Yishu paused, hand hovering over the plug, and looked at her with concern.

“Ha… just kidding!” Lin Xiaowen stuck out her tongue triumphantly, turned away to fetch the duck.

“Mischievous…” Watching Lin Xiaowen deliberately sway her steps, Cheng Yishu pressed his lips together in a silent smile.

Dinner was sumptuous: tomato stir-fried noodles, canned ham platter, fruit cocktail plate, and the main course—a steaming but thoroughly mangled roast duck.

“No pancakes, none of those side dishes—let’s just make do for now! Someday, I’ll take you to Beijing for the real thing, thinly sliced roast duck with all the colors, aromas, and flavors. It’s absolutely delicious!”

When Chen Kai took him to Quanjude, Beijing’s signature dish had just been served. For some reason, Cheng Yishu’s first thought was to bring some back for Lin Xiaowen and Ranran.

So before returning to Shanghai, he had someone buy plenty of it, even went out of his way to purchase a large suitcase.

He couldn’t forget the look the security officer gave him at the airport, nor the time he returned from Korea—a Korean shopper ahead of him in line got the same look.

“Thanks!”

It had been years since Lin Xiaowen felt so cared for. She looked at him, her smile gentle, her eyes sparkling with tiny stars.

“I… I thought Ranran would like it. She said she loves the duck wraps at KFC last time…”

A little awkward, Cheng Yishu lowered his head, picked up a slice of ham, and popped it into his mouth. Then he raised his eyes, hopeful.

“Try the noodles, tell me how they are. I learned from a chef just for this… but even if it’s not good, you can’t say so!”

“Why not?”

This was the first time Lin Xiaowen heard someone so domineering, forbidding others from giving their opinion.

“It’s a rare occasion for me to cook. If it’s edible, that’s good enough—no need for high standards.”

Other than that year for Tan Jing’s birthday, when he cooked her a bowl of noodles, he had hardly ever really set foot in a kitchen.

Thinking of Tan Jing, Cheng Yishu’s gaze darkened.

Lin Xiaowen noticed, guessing that perhaps this superstar couldn’t stand criticism and that was why he looked so gloomy. She decided to be accommodating.

“All right, to eat noodles personally cooked by the national idol is a blessing in itself—how could I possibly complain? Let’s eat!”

Cheng Yishu let go of the shadow in his heart, and looked up just in time to see Lin Xiaowen picking up several strands of noodles and stuffing them all into her mouth.

Cheng Yishu watched her face intently, even a little nervous.

“How is it?”

Seeing Lin Xiaowen silent, Cheng Yishu asked anxiously.

Finally, when Lin Xiaowen had swallowed all the noodles, he pressed her seriously.

“Well, how is it?”

Lin Xiaowen deliberately kept a straight face, watching him. Seeing his expression turn from serious to nearly defeated, she suddenly broke into a smile and gave him a thumbs-up.

“Very good!”

“Really?” Cheng Yishu asked in disbelief.

“Of course it’s true. Try it yourself if you don’t believe me!” Lin Xiaowen suggested earnestly.

Cheng Yishu eagerly picked up some noodles and tasted them… His eyes instantly brightened.

“Mm… mm!”

Perhaps even he hadn’t expected his culinary skills to be so surprisingly decent.

Though the stir-fried noodles didn’t look very appetizing, the taste was actually quite good!

“See, I didn’t lie! It’s really delicious—good enough to rival a chef…”

Lin Xiaowen smiled, her eyes crescent-shaped, and picked up her chopsticks to dive in.

Praise and compliments were nothing new to Cheng Yishu—he was numb to them, especially whenever he opened the web or social media, where he was showered with adulation.

But the praise from this young woman in front of him felt entirely different: his mood was like drinking an ice-cold cola on a scorching day—sweet and refreshing.

It was like slowly melting ice cream, gently sweet, sinking deep into his heart.