Married The Crybaby Childhood Crush First, Then Fell in Love - Chapter 49.1

Since Yan Qiu fell ill, Lin Wanqing has occasionally cooked meals herself and delivered them to the hospital room.

The food at the private hospital is generally excellent, but Yan Qiu’s appetite has been consistently poor.

“If it weren’t for Miss Lin, the Boss would have starved into a bag of bones from malnutrition a long time ago.”

Yu Fei, with her immense responsibility, patted Lin Wanqing’s shoulder, “Washing your hands to make soup for the Boss—the Boss must be deeply touched.”

The hospital suite has a simple kitchen. Lin Wanqing slow-cooked chicken soup in a clay pot. She used a tender, free-range chicken, plucked and gutted, and the continuous stewing turned the soup clear.

She skimmed off the layer of yellow oil floating on top. Then, she boiled fine noodles—which cook instantly—and chilled them with ice water to make them springy and elastic.

Yu Fei watched, clicking her tongue in amazement. “Miss Lin is a wonderful cook. I thought someone like Miss Lin…”

Lin Wanqing stirred the noodles in the ice water, which added a chewy texture to the already crisp and tender strands.

She scooped the noodles into the boiling, rich chicken soup and added a pair of chicken wings and half a drumstick.

Lin Wanqing smiled slightly. “Life wasn’t easy back home. I worked part-time jobs in high school.”

Yu Fei’s heart was sharply pricked. “The Lin family has already suffered their retribution. Your parents will have many years to reflect in prison.”

Lin Wanqing gave a small, light smile. She didn’t care whether her parents regretted their harshness toward her.

She placed the chicken noodle soup on a tray. “Careful, it’s hot. President Yan should be awake by now.”

“Please take it to her quickly. I’ll make you a few small chicken soup wontons.”

Yu Fei, carrying the tray, knocked on the hospital room door. The first thing she saw was Yan Qiu checking her emails.

“Just leave it here. My stomach feels uncomfortable, I don’t want to eat.”

Yan Qiu frowned while working, her face faintly pale, lacking color. She had applied a layer of nude lipstick, but it still couldn’t conceal her general frailty and weak vitality.

The inviting aroma of chicken soup was hard to ignore in the small room. Fine, jade-like white noodles floated in the golden broth, along with perfectly stewed chicken wings that could be gently pulled right off the bone.

A sprinkle of emerald green scallions and shredded egg crepe garnished the top—perfect for someone with a sensitive stomach.

Yu Fei suppressed a smile and, with an affected gesture, sighed. “I told Miss Lin repeatedly that the Boss isn’t feeling well and has no appetite. But she wouldn’t listen and insisted on making chicken noodle soup, wasting an entire morning! Really, she just doesn’t listen~”

Yan Qiu’s initial look of resistance immediately faltered. “Lin Wanqing made it herself?”

Yu Fei stomped her foot in mock anger. “Indeed! Miss Lin isn’t someone who cooks often. She burned her finger badly. So clumsy! It made me truly worried~”

Yan Qiu glanced at her secretary. “…Bring it over.”

The secretary smilingly placed the tray on the table over the Boss’s lap. “I have something to attend to. Please enjoy your meal.”

Yan Qiu stirred the noodles and slurped a bite. “Did something go wrong with the project?”

“No, not at all. Miss Lin made me chicken soup wontons. If I don’t eat them now, they’ll turn soggy.”

Yan Qiu said, “One bowl of noodles won’t be enough. Go and get me a few wontons, too.”

In the kitchen, Lin Wanqing quickly finished wrapping a large bowl of small, ‘bubbly’ wontons. She was mindful of Yan Qiu’s sensitive stomach and inability to digest meat well, so each wonton only had a hint of meat flavor; the main focus was the freshness of the soup.

Lin Wanqing anxiously instructed, “Tell President Yan to eat only a little. People with weak stomachs must avoid overeating.”

She muttered to herself, “Didn’t the nurse say Yan Qiu hasn’t had an appetite lately?”

Yu Fei: “…Perhaps the medical record is wrong.”

This family would fall apart without me.

A few days ago, Yan Qiu returned from S City to the local private hospital. The sudden shift from the warm seaside resort to the cold inland climate caused her leg condition to flare up again.

In the afternoon, Lin Wanqing had someone buy some glutinous rice flour and personally made a few shepherd’s purse and pork dumplings (tangyuan).

Yan Qiu sat by the window, watching the scenery outside change from crashing waves to heavy, wet snow weighing down the branches.

Ripe persimmons hung on the branches. A magpie poked its head out, using its sharp beak to peck at the soft, dripping sweet flesh of the fruit.

A bowl of hot dumplings was placed on the bedside table.

Yan Qiu held out an exquisite wooden box. “I heard a Tiramisu shop specifically catering to children opened downtown. I thought a child your age would like sweets, so I had someone queue for over three hours to buy a slice.”

Yan Qiu held the plump, white shepherd’s purse dumplings in her hands, while Lin Wanqing held the wooden box of sweet Tiramisu.

“All the desserts I usually send you are ones I’ve queued for personally. I only had my subordinates run the errand this time because I’ve been confined to this sickbed. I hope the little rabbit can be understanding.”

No matter if it took one, two, or even three hours to queue—as long as it pleased her Miss Rabbit, Yan Qiu was willing to do it.

The girl’s face flushed at her words. “I’m not a child…”

Yan Qiu’s eyes were knowing, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “You’re certainly not a child anymore, but…”

Her gaze drifted down to Lin Wanqing’s chest… “But you’re not much different from a child.”

Lin Wanqing was furious and embarrassed. “I’m thin, so naturally I can’t be voluptuous!”

The Miss Rabbit was so teased she was almost in tears. “In bed, you clearly said I was soft and bouncy, just right, like, like, like pudding.”

Yan Qiu covered her mouth, laughing heartily, her shoulders shaking as she looked at her with a smile.

The dumpling in her spoon trembled softly with her movements, bobbing up and down.

The Miss Rabbit’s face was completely red with embarrassment, and she quietly ate her dessert.

When she was little, her mother never gave her money. When school fees were due, her mother always cursed her for being a shameless, money-losing disaster. Every time she walked past the dessert shop outside the school, she could only watch other children feast.

Their mothers might have been stingy with a ten-dollar cake, but faced with their children’s bright eyes, they could never bring themselves to refuse.

Now, she realized those cakes were made with cheap cream and weren’t anything special.

When Lin Wanqing finally had money, she retaliated by buying every new item, but the childhood longing was gone.

Lin Wanqing had craved that taste of sweetness since elementary school, but at the dinner table, she never dared to take an extra piece of sweet-and-sour pork, lest her mother find out and call her a starved ghost.

A dense, bitter feeling welled up in her heart. Thinking back on the past felt like falling into a bottomless abyss she could never climb out of.

“Sweetheart, don’t you like it?” Yan Qiu gently stroked the back of her hand with a look of pity. “I thought all you children liked this. We can leave it, I’ll eat it.”

Yan Qiu watched Lin Wanqing’s tears flow more and more violently, dripping onto the back of her hand.

The hot tears made Yan Qiu’s hand flinch.

“Sweetheart, don’t cry, please don’t cry. It makes my heart anxious to see you cry.” Yan Qiu clumsily wiped the tears from Lin Wanqing’s face.

“I really like it.” Lin Wanqing hugged the Tiramisu box tight, not letting Yan Qiu take it. “I love it the most.”

Lin Wanqing shoved large mouthfuls of Tiramisu into her mouth. The sweet and slightly bitter taste was completely addictive.

Yan Qiu was giving her everything she had never been able to obtain in her childhood.

Yan Qiu bit into a dumpling. The unique fragrance of shepherd’s purse mixed with the glutinous rice and pork filled her mouth. It was sticky, soft, warm, and soothing to her delicate stomach.

Lin Wanqing opened her laptop to work and casually said, “I recently took a big order. I sent the perfume design draft to the client, but the client hasn’t replied.”

Yan Qiu opened her laptop next to her without any attempt to hide it and clicked on the email Lin Wanqing had sent.

“The perfume is quite good. We’ll go with this one.”

Lin Wanqing looked up in surprise. “Sister Qiuqiu has seen it?”

Yan Qiu mused for a moment. “I haven’t seen it. Sweetheart’s taste is trustworthy.”

You’re too blinded by love.

Before leaving, Lin Wanqing kissed Yan Qiu’s cheek with a smack. “I’m going to the studio to work. I’ll stay at home tonight. Sister Qiuqiu, you must take your medicine well today.”

Yan Qiu was dazed by the kiss. She raised her hand, grabbed the little rabbit’s collar, and pulled her down to bite her lip.

“Once I’m discharged, I’ll make sure to have some fun with you.”

Yan Qiu smelled faintly of traditional Chinese medicine—a pleasant scent. Her deep eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses looked at her with a smile.

Lin Wanqing’s face grew redder. “Please, don’t ‘have fun.’ With your leg, I’d have to carry you around.”

“That’s fine, too. I don’t mind being carried by Sweetheart.”

Lin Wanqing gave a soft hmpf, solemnly holding the half-eaten Tiramisu with both hands. “Tomorrow, I’ll make Sister Qiuqiu some corn shrimp dumplings. It’s the season for persimmons now. I’ve hung a few persimmon cakes at home; they should be ready to eat soon.”

Yan Qiu smiled faintly. “I like shrimp.”

Lin Wanqing closed the door and gave a sly smile. “Shrimp are heaty; Sister Qiuqiu’s leg isn’t well, so you can’t eat them. No corn shrimp dumplings tomorrow.”

Yan Qiu: ?

Yu Fei: “Is the Boss in a bad mood? The project is progressing smoothly.”

“Go ask the doctor if someone with a leg problem can eat shrimp.”

Yan Qiu picked up the laptop from the chair and skillfully opened it, entering the boot-up password.

Yu Fei went to find the doctor. “You can eat it. Western medicine doesn’t believe in that.”

“Ah, Boss, you picked up the wrong one! That’s Miss Lin’s laptop!”

The secretary was shocked, seeing the Boss use Lin Wanqing’s computer more smoothly than her own.

Yan Qiu shot her a sharp look.

Yu Fei immediately covered her mouth. “Oh, my tongue! What am I saying? The Boss bought this laptop for Miss Lin, so it’s only reasonable to take a look~”

Yan Qiu: “…”

Yan Qiu quickly glanced through the email and file folders. She found more than a dozen discarded drafts for the perfume bottle design. Each one was exquisite, but all were rejected for various reasons.

Her Miss Rabbit takes her work very seriously.