268 Supper
Zhao Zhan’s mind was filled with many thoughts.
He propped his arms on one side of the bed and calmed his breathing before saying, “You must be hungry since you haven’t eaten all day. I’ll go get some food and bring it over. It’s cold outside. You should lie down in the blanket to keep warm.”
Zhao Zhan said as he got out of bed, put on his outer robe, and adjusted the fire to make it burn more vigorously before leaving the room.
“You’re awake?”
Madam Qin had stayed in the kitchen to look after the boiling soup. When she saw Zhao Zhan enter, she got up and was about to get him a bowl. “I’m worried that something might happen if no one was looking after the soup.”
“What do you want to eat? I’ll do it. ”
“Have you and Doctor Sun eaten yet?”
“Don’t worry about us. What about you?”
“Madam Qin, you should go back to your room to rest. You look tired, you probably haven’t had a good rest these past two days. I’ll take care of things here.
As Zhao Zhan spoke, he went to look at the dough he had left there. He pressed it and felt that it was soft enough, so he took it out and kneaded it again. “I’ll just make a simple bowl of noodles. I’ll clean it up later.”
Madam Qin saw that she did not need to interfere, so she nodded and returned to her room.
Zhao Zhan’s movements were swift, and the dough in his hands moved to his command.
He quickly pulled out a few portions of noodles and put them in the soup stock. Then, he fried two eggs in the pan. After doing all this, the noodles were done. He washed a few vegetables and threw them into the pot as well.
In addition to the soup noodles, Zhao Zhan also scooped up a bowl of noodles and rinsed them with cold water. Then, he took out a pot of oil and made a bowl of fried noodles.
While he was doing all this, he sprinkled a handful of chili seasoning and quickly turned it over twice. After everything was done, Zhao Zhan quickly tidied up the kitchen and brought a bowl of noodles to Doctor Sun.
“Doctor Sun?”
Doctor Sun’s door was opened. Zhao Zhan stood at the door and called out.
“Zhao Zhan, is that you?”
Doctor Sun sniffled and hurriedly stood up. His eyes lit up when he saw the bowl of soup noodles in Zhao Zhan’s hands. “Is this for me? ”
“Of course, it’s for you.”
Zhao Zhan knew that Doctor Sun always slept late, so he would often prepare some snacks in the kitchen before going to bed to fill his stomach.
The things that he had prepared would always be finished the next morning.
He was worried that Doctor Sun did not go to the kitchen today, so he quickly prepared something and brought it over.
“Do you have chili?” Doctor Sun took the bowl of soup and looked at the thick white soup base. “I’ve learnt to crave for chili and vinegar ever since I’ve stayed here.”
“Yes.” Zhao Zhan showed him the other small bowl in his hand. “I put it according to your usual preference. I’ll help you pour it in.”
Doctor Sun was very satisfied with the preparations.
“You should rest early. Leave the bowls and chopsticks in the room and I’ll come to collect them tomorrow.”
“I know, I know. As usual.”
These days, Doctor Sun has become more and more like a mischievous child. Seeing that he couldn’t wait to eat, Zhao Zhan smiled and returned to the kitchen. He took the supper he had prepared and went back to his bedroom.
Yue Jiaojiao, who was lying on the bed, heard the sound of the door and smelled the food before she could see the person who had arrived.
Yue Jiaojiao’s stomach was growling. She lifted the blanket and walked over to the table. She looked at Zhao Zhan, who was carrying a tray into the room, and exclaimed, “It smells so good!”
Zhao Zhan placed the tray down and looked down at the clothes on the woman’s body. He turned around to get a robe and draped it over her back. He then covered her legs with the extremely soft animal skin in his hands and squatted down to carefully wrap the animal skin around her so that she was all bundled up.
“It’s cold in the room.”
Yue Jiaojiao had already picked up her bowl of noodles and was drinking a mouthful of soup.
“The fire was big enough to keep me warm.”
She held the pair of chopsticks as her eyes were still fixed on the other food.
Zhao Zhan also had a bowl of soup noodles in front of him, but he had been paying attention to the other woman’s movements.
“Zhao Zhan, this is a lot of food.”
Yue Jiaojiao hadn’t finished eating the noodles in her bowl, but she really wanted to try the taste of fried noodles. Her eyes darted around, and she held the chopsticks in her hand, eager to give it a go.
Zhao Zhan chuckled and pushed the fried noodles forward. “It’s all yours. It’s okay if you can’t finish it. I’ll finish the rest.”
With his reassurance, Yue Jiaojiao felt at ease and picked up a few strands with her chopsticks.
She didn’t have a big appetite. Zhao Zhan had found a blacksmith to forge a thick iron plate. In addition to the main course, he also made grilled tofu and meat slices for her.
By the time he took out the last two items, Yue Jiaojiao was already moving on to the next dish.
Yue Jiaojiao wanted to eat everything!
She had the will but not the stomach capacity. In the end, she didn’t finish the noodles left in her bowl.
Yue Jiaojiao clutched her stomach as she looked at the mess of food on the table, feeling a rare sense of guilt. She quickly glanced at Zhao Zhan and then retracted her gaze. “Zhao Zhan, I’m just taking a break. I still want to eat later.”
Zhao Zhan had been cooperating with her eating speed just now. Now that he saw that she was really full, he took the soup and fried noodles in front of him and finished everything else on the table in two or three bites.
“You can eat as many things as you want. I’ll help you with the rest.” Zhao Zhan got up and put the plates on the table on the tray. “Do you want to walk around the room? You might get a stomach ache at night.”
“Alright.”
Yue Jiaojiao got up and walked around the room to digest her food. Zhao Zhan put the things in the kitchen and cleaned them up. He took a look at the boiling milk and poured out two bowls before returning to the room.
“Where are you?”
“I’m in the study.”
The woman stood up straight, lowered her eyes, and drew on the paper with a brush.
Zhao Zhan quietly walked over and put the milk aside. When he saw the outline of the portrait on the paper, he curiously asked, “Who is this?”
Yue Jiaojiao’s movements were extremely steady. When she heard Zhao Zhan’s voice, a smile appeared on her face. “Can’t you tell?”
Zhao Zhan lowered his eyes and stared at the piece. His lips moved, but he didn’t say what he was thinking.
Yue Jiaojiao cast a sidelong glance at him before looking away. The corners of her lips straightened as she tried her best to hold back her smile.
“It makes sense that you can’t recognize who it is. After all, the person in the painting is an old acquaintance of mine from when I was young.
“Perhaps it is easy for one’s mind to drift and reminisce at night. I just couldn’t help it, so I thought of drawing his portrait as a memento.”
Even though she said that Yue Jiaojiao was still being coy.
“Don’t be an id*ot.”
Zhao Zhan’s heart ached as if there was a cat scratching it. He tried his best to hold it in for a moment before he pressed his hand on the paper. “Jiaojiao, I don’t want you to continue drawing.”