Make Her Heart Flutter - Chapter 38

A faint, unconscious smile had graced Jiang Qi’s lips, but as she descended the stairs, she spotted Yan Xu and Shang Chumu walking side by side, chatting and laughing.

The disappointment on her face was almost impossible to conceal, though it vanished in an instant, replaced by her usual aloof expression.

Yan Xu smiled gently. “What’s with that expression? Are you disappointed to see us?”

Tang Qiluo studied Jiang Qi’s face carefully before leaning an elbow on Yan Xu’s shoulder. “Yanyan, you must be mistaken. Xiao Qi always looks like this.”

Yan Xu chuckled softly and headed toward the kitchen to prepare some congee. “Is that so?”

Tang Qiluo had been leaning half her weight on Yan Xu, and as the latter moved away, she nearly lost her balance and stumbled.

“How ruthless,” Shang Chumu muttered under his breath.

“Qiluo, help me chop some firewood,” Yan Xu’s voice called from inside.

“On it!”

By the time Chi Shuang and Jiang Ran returned, it was almost nine o’clock. The motorcycle was laden with goods, so Chi Shuang had ridden slowly.

“Whew! If there were any more stuff, I might not have been able to handle it,” Chi Shuang sighed, propping the motorcycle on its stand. With one hand, she lifted the 30 kilograms of glutinous rice they had bought for making zongzi, while her other hand carried 2.5 kilograms of bamboo leaves and 5 kilograms of meat.

Jiang Qi hurried over to take the items from her. But Chi Shuang shifted away, nodding toward the motorcycle’s storage compartment. “I bought… I bought you all some fried dough sticks. Go get them.”

Though the morning’s incident had long passed, the memory still brought a flush of warmth to Chi Shuang’s cheeks. Fortunately, even on the hottest days, the morning breeze offered some relief.

Jiang Qi clicked her tongue and took the bag of glutinous rice from Chi Shuang, hefting it in her hand. “So heavy. Carrying it with one hand like that, your arm will ache tomorrow.”

Chi Shuang retorted dismissively, “Hah, you’re carrying it with one hand too. Are you saying I can’t do what you can?”

“Is it the same?” Jiang Qi asked helplessly.

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Fine, fine, fine! Chi the Retorter.” Jiang Qi teased lightly before carrying everything into the kitchen.

It really was heavy.

Once she relaxed, Chi Shuang rubbed her arm, realizing it did feel a bit sore.

Jiang Ran gathered the remaining odds and ends from the motorcycle, her gaze shifting curiously between Chi Shuang and Jiang Qi. How did Sister Chi and Sister Jiang get so close again without me noticing?

Lost in thought, she lowered her head unconsciously. When she looked up again, she saw Jiang Qi gently plucking a leaf from Chi Shuang’s hair, likely picked up during the ride through the kitchen’s glass door.

But what stood out most was the tenderness in Jiang Qi’s eyes!!

Ship it! Ship it right now!

Jiang Ran hugged the items in her arms, resting her chin on top of them to free one hand. She grabbed Shang Chumu, who was passing by. “Look in the kitchen!”

Shang Chumu, still groggy from sleep, glanced over blearily. “What? Are we having congee today?”

“Huh?”

When Jiang Ran looked up again, the two who had been all lovey-dovey moments ago were now lining up to serve themselves congee.

Oh well!

For making zongzi, the glutinous rice and bamboo leaves needed to be soaked in advance. The meat for savory zongzi had to be marinated ahead of time, and the salted duck eggs required their yolks to be separated.

For sweet zongzi, the red dates needed to be pitted, and the red beans, which had been soaked the day before, only needed to be cooked until soft and sandy. The rest of the ingredients were ready to use.

After breakfast, everyone divided the tasks clearly: Shang Chumu was in charge of pitting the red dates and cooking the red bean paste, while Jiang Ran took on separating the salted duck egg yolks.

Yan Xu and Tang Qiluo were responsible for washing and soaking the glutinous rice in batches.

Chi Shuang was in charge of cutting and marinating the meat, while Jiang Qi prepared today’s lunch.

Although Chi Shuang knew how to make zongzi, most holidays they would simply buy them, partly for convenience, and partly because their schedules were too packed to spare the time.

The reason they went to such lengths on the show was that, even though there was no script or mandatory tasks, if they didn’t eat, sleep, or use the restroom, there wouldn’t be much to watch. Even if viewers tuned in for their looks, they’d eventually get tired of it.

After lunch, everyone joined in the zongzi-making session. Among the six, only Chi Shuang knew how to wrap them.

Chi Shuang sat on a small stool, picked up two bamboo leaves, and said, “First, take the bamboo leaves like this…” She demonstrated, holding one side and folding it inward to form a cone shape.

Everyone gathered around, mimicking Chi Shuang’s movements as they folded their own bamboo leaves.

Yan Xu learned quickly, forming a perfect cone, while the others managed passably. But Jiang Ran…

“Ranran, the bottom of yours isn’t folded tightly enough. When you add the rice, it’ll spill out as you fill it.”

“Oh, sorry!”

As Teacher Chi’s mini-class continued, Tang Qiluo and Jiang Ran were sent out to chop firewood because their zongzi were too misshapen and crooked.

Among the group, only Chi Shuang was somewhat skilled; the rest were inexperienced and clumsy, but they eventually managed to wrap complete zongzi.

If the employees of the Jiang Corporation were to see this, they’d be utterly shocked, their aloof and arrogant CEO was actually wrapping zongzi, and doing so willingly, looking utterly docile.

By evening, the group had finally finished wrapping nearly two hundred zongzi.

They had soaked thirty pounds of glutinous rice, with a little left over, but since there were no more bamboo leaves, they couldn’t wrap any more. There was also some leftover filling.

“Let’s use this tomorrow morning to make glutinous rice cakes and red bean paste mochi.”

Today had been a splurge, so they’d have to be frugal in the coming days. With their limited living expenses for six people, even cutting back on food wouldn’t stretch it to last three months.

Fortunately, they had plenty of meat left from today’s shopping. Divided into small portions and frozen, it would last a while.

But since it was a holiday, and they were already making zongzi, they decided to wrap a few extra to share with the neighbors and the production crew, so everyone could enjoy some.

By the time the zongzi were cooked, it was almost 5 p.m. But since summer days were long, it was still bright outside.

Shang Chumu and Tang Qiluo were tasked with delivering some to the neighbors, while Jiang Qi brought a portion to the production crew.

With so many staff members on set, Jiang Qi carried over a whole basin of zongzi.

The director spotted her and quickly called her over. “What’s going on? What did you like on Weibo this morning?”

“Huh?”

Jiang Qi was completely confused. “I didn’t like anything. I just posted one update.”

Knowing Jiang Qi wouldn’t lie, the director showed her his phone. “Look, this.”

Jiang Qi took a closer look, it was that BE video she remembered vividly.

Seeing her expression, the director concluded, “It was an accidental tap, wasn’t it? Xiao Qi, if you like browsing Weibo, you should set up a side account. Look at this slip, it’s already trending.”

Compared to her cold, aloof, and prickly demeanor when she first joined the show, Jiang Qi had changed so much recently that he felt comfortable calling her “Xiao Qi.”

Sure enough, her expression remained unchanged as she handed the basin of zongzi to the director. “Got it. Share these among yourselves.”

The director looked at the steaming plate of zongzi, his eyes welling up with emotion.

After all these years in variety shows, this was the first time he had encountered such a guest. He was nearly moved to tears.