A series of rumbling stomach noises intermittently occurred amid the sounds of slurping noodles.
Song Zhiyi stopped slurping her noodles and instinctively thought it was her stomach growling, as it had happened before in front of Jiang Chengzhou.
But she quickly realized that it wasn't her stomach this time; it was... Jiang Chengzhou.
"Didn't you have dinner?" Song Zhiyi asked, her mouth still holding a noodle, her fox-like eyes slightly widened, giving her a somewhat dazed look.
"I came straight from the airport, so of course, I haven't eaten," the man replied.
Song Zhiyi was surprised to hear he really hadn't eaten. After a moment's pause, she suggested, "Then how about I make you some instant noodles? You can choose from six flavors."
Jiang Chengzhou noticed the box of instant noodles in the corner, along with a small pot and other kitchen supplies. He hadn't expected Song Zhiyi to have settled in so much.
Though the place was tiny, even a little bit of stuff made it feel homely. When he opened the door, he felt a flutter in his heart.
"I'll have the same as you," Jiang Chengzhou said.
After pouring hot water from the dispenser into the noodles and covering them, Song Zhiyi pushed the bowl towards Jiang Chengzhou.
The room had only two chairs, so they each took one and sat facing each other.
"Will this small bowl be enough for you?" Song Zhiyi asked. "I also bought hot dry noodles. I can cook another serving if you want to try it."
Jiang Chengzhou nodded. For him, this small bowl of instant noodles was definitely not enough, especially considering how hungry he was. Although he rarely ate instant noodles—actually, he had only eaten them once or twice in his life and then stopped—seeing how much Song Zhiyi enjoyed them made him reconsider.
After waiting a few minutes, the noodles were probably ready. He opened the lid, stirred them a few times with a fork. They didn't smell too bad... or was it just because he was so hungry?
Chapter 57
The girl was already busy cooking noodles in the pot; they were boiling away.
The only bowl in the room was a stainless steel one that Song Zhiyi had brought from her dorm. It was already washed and ready to be used to scoop the noodles out of the pot.
In a place that couldn't even be called a kitchen—just a sink area—watching the girl busy with her back to him, with steam rising from the pot, and the mixed aroma of the instant noodles and the noodles in the pot, made the scene feel surprisingly warm for such a small space.
Jiang Chengzhou finished his bowl of instant noodles quickly, feeling the warmth from this cozy environment filling his hungry stomach.
Meanwhile, Song Zhiyi had already scooped the noodles out of the pot, added the sauce packets and some other powder she didn't know about, and started mixing.
"This hot dry noodle should be eaten hot; otherwise, it will become mushy."
After a thorough mixing, she placed the bowl of noodles on the table.
But now, there was a new issue... there was only one set of utensils, so only one bowl and a pair of chopsticks.
"You eat first," Song Zhiyi said, pushing the hot dry noodles towards Jiang Chengzhou. She figured that since he was hungrier, he should eat first. She didn't want him to be left hungry on his first visit here.
She had only a few bites of the instant noodles left, so she continued to slurp them up.
But soon, she noticed that Jiang Chengzhou hadn't moved his chopsticks. In fact, the chopsticks were in his hand, and he had stirred the noodles a few times but hadn't eaten. Instead, he was looking at her and... offered her a bite of the noodles, as if he wanted to feed her.
Song Zhiyi:?
This was quite unexpected.
They had eaten together before, but she didn't recall any time when he had fed her like this.
The noodles were right in front of her, and she could eat them with a slight opening of her mouth. The aroma of the hot dry noodles was already tantalizing her.
She hesitated slightly but then opened her mouth, and Jiang Chengzhou, being very cooperative, brought the noodles to her mouth.
One bite of the noodles.
The action was so smooth, almost like a natural flow, with no clumsiness despite it being their first feeding moment.
In the end, they finished the bowl of noodles, each taking turns to eat.
"The taste isn't bad," Jiang Chengzhou said as he finished the last bite and set down the bowl.
Song Zhiyi was wiping her mouth and handed him a napkin. She then tossed her bowl into the sink, filled it with water to soak, making it easier to clean later as the sauce was quite sticky.
Although the sink was already filled with water, she hadn't turned it off as she was lost in thought about what to do next.
As the water flowed and started to overflow, Jiang Chengzhou came up behind her, covered her with warmth, and turned off the tap.
The sound of running water stopped immediately, leaving only the water in the sink gently swaying before settling down. Here's the translation of the text:
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In the next moment, a warmth suddenly enveloped her from behind. Jiang Chengzhou half-embraced her and pressed the switch to turn off the water.
The sound of running water stopped instantly, leaving only the water that hadn't overflowed, swaying slightly before calming down.
"How's the internship? Is it tough?"
The man placed his hands on either side of her, supporting himself on the edges of the sink, effectively encircling her.
"It's okay, busier than I expected, but that's probably how it is with most jobs. I can handle it," Song Zhiyi replied.
Jiang Chengzhou released her and then picked up the two bowls of instant noodles left on the table, along with the leftover broth. He poured the broth into the sink, filtering out the residue, then discarded the residue into the trash can. He grabbed a couple of paper towels and started washing the soaking bowl.
The sauce came off easily with just a quick rub, though the apartment was so rudimentary that there was no dish soap available. Washing with just water managed to restore the stainless steel bowl and chopsticks to their original shine.
Song Zhiyi watched as Jiang Chengzhou handled the cleaning.
She remembered that the last time she went to his house, in the villa, Jiang Chengzhou had cooked dinner himself. After the meal, he left the leftovers on the table and didn't clean up.
This time, in her apartment, he cleaned up the mess from the instant noodles.
Even without gloves, Song Zhiyi felt a bit guilty seeing his beautiful hands directly touching the bowls.
"There's hand soap in the bathroom. I'll get it," she said.
Although there was no dish soap, hand soap was available. After washing with it, the task should be manageable since instant noodles aren't particularly greasy. Even washing with plain water would suffice.
