My Gorgeous Neighbor Is Cooking Every Day - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“…Thank you,” Jiang Yingyue said blankly, getting up.

They went to the bathroom to wash up together. Xia Xingye was in a hurry. After quickly finishing her routine, she told Jiang Yingyue, who was still washing up, “Call me if anything happens. You can use the watch to make calls.”

Jiang Yingyue’s own phone was battered and often uncharged, so using the watch Xia Xingye gave her was more convenient.

She walked to the entrance door, and not hearing Jiang Yingyue’s response, Xia Xingye walked back, craning her neck to look at Jiang Yingyue in the bathroom.

Jiang Yingyue glimpsed something at the door, looked over, saw Xia Xingye watching her, spat out the foam in her mouth, and said vaguely, “Okay.”

Xia Xingye smiled, feeling reassured, and finally took her textbooks and left.

…

She arrived at the classroom early today. Her three roommates came in together. Seeing Xia Xingye, Xu Youyou immediately asked, “Why didn’t you join us for the dinner gathering yesterday?”

“I had to go back early for something.”

Su Nian’an asked worriedly, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Xia Xingye said casually, “No, I just remembered I hadn’t brought in my clothes and was worried it would rain, so I went back.”

“Rain?” Xu Youyou wondered. The weather seemed fine all day yesterday. Why was she suddenly worried about rain?

“Yes,” Xia Xingye smoothly changed the subject. “Did you all finish your homework? I’m going to hand it in.”

The four of them had naturally all finished their homework. Xia Xingye collected the notebooks and placed them on the podium; the teacher would take them when they left.

When she came back after handing in the homework, the three roommates were already talking about other things.

It was a full day of classes. Xia Xingye checked her phone several times, but Jiang Yingyue hadn’t called her once.

Jiang Yingyue had her own things to do, and Xia Xingye didn’t expect Jiang Yingyue to think about her all the time, but she felt inexplicably uneasy, always worried that Jiang Yingyue would suddenly disappear again without telling her.

“What are you thinking about? Don’t you have an appetite?”

Xia Xingye looked up and saw her roommate coming down from the second floor. They came over to greet her but noticed her bowl was still full.

“A little worried about my neighbor,” Xia Xingye sighed.

“Neighbor?” Xu Youyou was surprised. “You made friends with your neighbor so quickly? I remember you didn’t really like visiting other people.”

Before moving out of the dorm, Xia Xingye didn’t have the habit of visiting other dorms. Even if the room next door belonged to a classmate, Xia Xingye just let things be. If the relationship was good, it was good. If it wasn’t, it wasn’t. She would never actively try to build relationships with classmates.

She had only moved out recently, yet she was already so close to her neighbor that she was even worrying about her.

Not only Xu Youyou, but the other two roommates were also very surprised.

“I don’t like visiting people. She came to find me.”

Although she was the one who went to find Jiang Yingyue initially, they didn’t meet then. It was later when Jiang Yingyue blew up the wall that she came over to her side for a “visit,” so it wasn’t wrong to say Jiang Yingyue came to find her.

Su Nian’an asked, “What are you worried about?”

Xia Xingye hesitated, looking at them, unsure whether she should tell them. Should she say she suspected her neighbor was doing something mysterious? If she did, wouldn’t she be mistaken for an accomplice?

“It’s nothing. You guys go back first,” Xia Xingye picked up her bowl, quickly shoveling rice into her mouth. “I’ll go back and rest for a bit later.”

She had moved out of the dorm, but the beds were not in high demand, and no new person had been assigned to their room yet. If she had an afternoon class, Xia Xingye could go back to the dorm to rest for a while.

Su Nian’an said helplessly, “Eat slowly. We’ll head back now.”

Xia Xingye nodded. After finishing her meal, she checked her phone, confirmed Jiang Yingyue hadn’t called her, and returned to the dorm to rest.

…

After class in the afternoon, Xia Xingye skipped dinner out, instead buying two portions of food to take back.

The door wasn’t locked when she returned. Xia Xingye was happy, opened the door, and went in. Jiang Yingyue was indeed in the room.

“Have you had dinner? I brought some back,” Xia Xingye said with a smile, carrying the bag to the hole in the wall. When she saw that Jiang Yingyue’s side had been cleaned up, the smile faded a little. “You’ve cleaned up?”

Xia Xingye was finding it hard to smile. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Jiang Yingyue to clean up, but once Jiang Yingyue’s side was ready, she would have to move back.

The thought of Jiang Yingyue being gone made Xia Xingye feel a little down.

She had finally gotten used to Jiang Yingyue’s presence—she had long forgotten that she had never actually objected to Jiang Yingyue being in her home. Now that Jiang Yingyue was leaving, she tentatively asked, “Are you staying here tonight again?”

“Okay.”

Xia Xingye had prepared many excuses, so she was stunned when Jiang Yingyue agreed immediately: “Huh?”

“Was that just being polite?” Jiang Yingyue asked uncertainly.

“No, it wasn’t politeness,” Xia Xingye said awkwardly. “I just didn’t expect you to agree.”

Xia Xingye glanced at Jiang Yingyue’s side again: “I see you’ve packed up everything.”

“Mmm, mostly.”

“I’ll go with you to buy a bed tomorrow.”

“I’ve already bought one. It’ll be delivered tomorrow,” Jiang Yingyue walked toward Xia Xingye’s side. “Someone will also come to fix the wall tomorrow.”

Xia Xingye was a little surprised. The wall had been broken for so long and hadn’t been dealt with. Since the load-bearing wall wasn’t damaged, Xia Xingye had almost forgotten that the most important thing to do was fix the wall first. The rest could wait.

Since she didn’t have class tomorrow, Xia Xingye prepared a pile of snacks, intending to supervise the work with Jiang Yingyue.

Xia Xingye took out the snacks and placed them on the table, then pulled over two small chairs. One was newly bought. Since she only had one chair before, now Jiang Yingyue could join her for snacks.

Sitting down, Xia Xingye called out, “Come quickly. I’ll find a show for us to watch together.”

But Jiang Yingyue refused: “I have something to go out for.”

Xia Xingye quickly asked, “Work?”

“Not work,” Jiang Yingyue explained. “I have a private matter to attend to. I’ll be back soon.”

Xia Xingye was worried: “Will you be back today?”

“I should be back today.”

Hearing this answer, Xia Xingye’s eyes lit up: “How about I go with you?”

“No need. I can go by myself. It won’t take long. I should be back in the afternoon.”

Xia Xingye pouted: “So I have to supervise alone?”

Jiang Yingyue smiled: “Yes, you’ll supervise alone.”

Xia Xingye felt frustrated. She had prepared a pile of snacks because she wanted to spend time with Jiang Yingyue and watch a show together; supervising was just a bonus.

Now that Jiang Yingyue was leaving, what was the point of supervising alone? But since Jiang Yingyue had said so, she could only instruct: “Then be sure to come back, and bring me something to eat on your way.”

“Okay, if I see something good to eat, I’ll bring it.”

…

The wall repairman arrived. Seeing Xia Xingye sitting on the side, looking like she was setting up an office, he reminded her, “It might get a little loud while I’m fixing the wall.”

“It’s fine,” Xia Xingye waved her hand. When she first moved in, she could sleep with headphones on amid the late-night noise. This was just wall repair, and it was daytime. She didn’t think it would be loud at all.

After the repairman started working, Xia Xingye ate a couple of snacks but found them a bit bland, so she put down the chips and switched to a bag of spicy strips.

The spicy strips weren’t spicy enough. Unconvinced, she searched online for several snacks claiming to be extra spicy and ordered takeout.

When the snacks arrived, she rubbed her hands together, prepared a cup of water, and was about to start eating when the repairman turned around and said, “Miss, it’ll be dusty here while I’m working. You really shouldn’t eat anything.”

Xia Xingye looked at the dust and had no choice but to put the spicy strips away.

Once the wall repair started, the dust was indeed significant. Xia Xingye retreated to the balcony, occasionally sticking her head out to check if the repairman was working diligently.

Outside the apartment balcony was the park, away from the main road, making it usually very quiet.

The repairman hammered and banged for a long time and left in the afternoon after cleaning up. Xia Xingye wanted to clean Jiang Yingyue’s side but couldn’t get through. There was a wall blocking the way now.

If only I had the key to Jiang Yingyue’s place, I could go over and help clean.

She lay on the sofa with a sense of regret, checking the time. Jiang Yingyue had said she would be back in the afternoon, but it was almost five o’clock, and there was still no sign of her.

Xia Xingye called Jiang Yingyue. It took a while to connect, but this was the first time she had successfully called her, not counting the last accidental connection.

“Hello, can you hear me?” After confirming Jiang Yingyue could hear her, Xia Xingye asked a string of questions: “When are you coming back? Is your business done? Do you want me to pick you up?”

Jiang Yingyue said softly, “I’m on my way back. I’ll be there soon. I brought you something to eat. It’s…”

Just as Jiang Yingyue was about to describe it, Xia Xingye interrupted her: “Don’t tell me. Give me a surprise when you get back.”

She was the one who asked for food, but now she wanted a surprise. Jiang Yingyue was a little confused but still kept quiet.

Xia Xingye wanted to ask Jiang Yingyue to give her a spare key so she could go over anytime, but on second thought, asking for a key so soon after meeting was too strange. She might be seen as a weirdo.

Even for friends, it was unreasonable to ask for a key after only knowing someone for a few days. She restrained herself, changing the topic: “How much longer until you get home?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you then. I’ll prepare dinner, so don’t buy too much food on your way back.”

After hanging up, Xia Xingye went to the supermarket to buy groceries, planning to cook a few home-style dishes. Worried that she might not cook complex dishes well, she specifically bought some braised pig’s trotters. On the way home, the aroma wafted into her nose, making her incredibly hungry, but she resisted, knowing she would eat with Jiang Yingyue.

Eating with Jiang Yingyue is so much better than eating alone.

Back home, Xia Xingye fried a few dishes. Just as she set them on the table, she heard a knock at the door.

“It’s not locked!” she called out to the entrance.

Jiang Yingyue pushed the door open, carrying a bag that looked heavy.

Xia Xingye looked at the bag and guessed: “Did you buy soup? I didn’t make any.”

“It’s sweet soup. I heard it can clear heat and cool the body, so I bought some.”

Xia Xingye blinked: “Are you having an internal heat flare-up?”

“Not me. Didn’t we have hot pot yesterday? I heard your voice sounds a little hoarse.”

Xia Xingye was startled. She hadn’t even noticed the change in her voice, and her roommates hadn’t either, yet Jiang Yingyue had.

Seeing that Xia Xingye seemed unconvinced, Jiang Yingyue nodded with certainty: “Yes, your voice is a little hoarse.”

Seeing her so serious, Xia Xingye couldn’t help but burst into laughter.