Secret Lover Who Stealthily Fell in Love with My Older Sister - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: A Home-Cooked Meal

After receiving the medicine, Qiao Xi re-bandaged Shen Ya’s hand. This time, Shen Ya was less awkward. Qiao Xi even tied a bow with the bandage on the back of Shen Ya’s hand. She knew this would make movement inconvenient, but she was worried Shen Ya wouldn’t take care of herself even while injured, so she effectively forced Shen Ya to abandon any thought of doing housework.

“Teacher Shen, did you have breakfast?”

“No.” Shen Qiuyu showed up right after she woke up, so even if she wanted to cook, she couldn’t now.

“Then shall we go out to eat later?” Qiao Xi suggested: “We’ll go out once the cleaning service arrives. How about that?”

“Okay.” With Shen Qiuyu’s disruption, cooking at home was impossible. She certainly needed to go out to find food, and besides, she couldn’t let Qiao Xi go hungry.

With nothing else to do for the moment, Shen Ya’s attention turned to the gift box Qiao Xi had given her earlier. “What’s inside this?”

Qiao Xi encouraged her from the side: “Teacher Shen, open it and see.”

The solid-colored gift box was adorned with stickers, and the ribbon was beautifully tied. For a moment, Shen Ya felt a little reluctant to open it, but Qiao Xi’s gaze was so eager and expectant that Shen Ya couldn’t resist. She finally pulled open the ribbon.

Shen Ya placed the ribbon on the coffee table. She lifted the lid and first saw a safety charm. Shen Ya picked it up and asked, “What is this?”

“Didn’t I go to the temple with my family on the morning of the first day of the New Year? So, I asked for a safety charm for Teacher Shen too. Teacher Shen might not believe in these things, but it’s for peace of mind if you keep it on you.”

This was a belated feeling of being cherished. Shen Ya was suddenly transported back to that morning. While she was still asleep and Qiao Xi was somewhere else, Qiao Xi was still thinking of her.

The blessing, arriving a week late, finally landed upon Shen Ya. From birth until now, she had never received a blessing. This was the first time she felt and experienced the power a blessing could bring. This power flowed into her heart, giving her the courage to step back into the sunlight.

She held the safety charm in her palm. The small charm contained immense energy, like a ray of warmth Qiao Xi had invested, allowing the warm sun to perpetually linger by her side.

“Thank you, I really like it.”

“As long as Teacher Shen likes it. There’s another thing inside. Hurry and take it out.”

Shen Ya put down the safety charm and picked up the photo frame, which was about the size of two palms. The frame had been placed face-down in the box. As Shen Ya picked it up and turned it over, a pair of indifferent eyes met her gaze.

It was a black and white portrait, and the person in the drawing was her. If she wasn’t mistaken, the scene must be from the dinner Jiang Yunxi had invited her to.

Looking at the drawing, Shen Ya felt as if she was looking in a mirror. No wonder Qiao Xi had stared at her so much then. In Qiao Xi’s eyes, she was that cold and distant, as if she were the only person left in the world.

She never knew Qiao Xi could draw, nor had Jiang Yunxi ever mentioned it. She wasn’t an expert, so she couldn’t offer technical praise, but the drawing was beautiful, not because the person in it was attractive, but because Qiao Xi’s artistry was so expressive.

“I drew this myself. I hope Teacher Shen likes it.”

Qiao Xi’s gifts were always given with deep thought. How could Shen Ya not like it? She wondered how long Qiao Xi had spent on this drawing. Her heart was filled with emotion, but in the end, all she could manage was: “Thank you.”

“Teacher Shen doesn’t need to thank me. This was just the gift I had promised to give earlier.”

Be that as it may, Shen Ya was determined to cherish this profound gesture.

The cleaning service arrived faster than Qiao Xi expected. She didn’t let Shen Ya get up to greet them, but instead handled the instructions herself. Shen Ya took this opportunity to hug Qiao Xi’s gift and went back to the room. When she came back down, she had changed her clothes.

Given what had happened today, Qiao Xi wanted to stay longer, but her teacher messaged her, asking them to return to school early for self-study. Qiao Xi intended to ignore the message, but Shen Ya spotted it and gently ushered her toward the car.

Qiao Xi had no choice but to say goodbye to Shen Ya just before dinner. However, she didn’t forget that Shen Ya had agreed to move, so as soon as she got into the car, she copied and pasted the house information she had prepared in her notes and sent it to Shen Ya.

Shen Ya still had a few days left of her vacation, so she planned to move before she had to go back to work. Fortunately, she hadn’t lived in the apartment long, and some items hadn’t even been unpacked. Now, all she needed to do was pack her clothes and simple office supplies, and she could move immediately.

Qiao Xi became a nagging little adult, constantly reminding her not to do too much work. After asking about her moving time, Qiao Xi took the liberty of booking a moving company for her again, and this company even provided packing and organizing services.

The next day, after Shen Ya woke up, the movers arrived as scheduled. She didn’t have many belongings, so only two people came. This was a moving company that only hired female staff and had excellent reviews, so Shen Ya felt comfortable entrusting her things to them.

After a busy morning, Shen Ya followed the moving company’s truck to Qiao Xi’s house. This residential community was directly opposite the girls’ high school, separated only by a road. She could clearly see the high school’s academic building from outside the complex gate.

It wasn’t the official start of the semester yet, but Qiao Xi, being a third-year high school student, had to return to school early for classes. Qiao Xi had already messaged her early this morning before she woke up. Qiao Xi had wanted to come over during lunch break, but Shen Ya refused.

Only at times like this could Shen Ya see a trace of childishness in Qiao Xi. However, Qiao Xi was also well-behaved. When told not to come over, she listened without making a fuss, though she did make plans for dinner that evening.

Shen Ya did not change the password to Qiao Xi’s home. She only entered her fingerprint and facial recognition information for unlocking the door. The security here was indeed strict, as Qiao Xi had mentioned. Entering and exiting the building required facial recognition or remote assistance from the property management.

There were only three units on this floor, so the apartment was very large. It was originally a four-bedroom, two-living-room layout, but Qiao Xi had combined two rooms, making the master bedroom very spacious. It housed a workspace, a walk-in closet, and more.

Another bedroom held Qiao Xi’s game console, where, according to Qiao Xi, she also did her drawing. The last small room was used for storage. Shen Ya had no choice; only the master bedroom was set up for sleeping.

The movers finished organizing all her belongings, saving her a significant amount of time. After they left, Shen Ya first went to the kitchen. It was exactly as she had imagined: completely bare.

She glanced at the time and decided to head to the supermarket. She didn’t plan to take Qiao Xi out for dinner tonight; instead, she prepared to cook at home. She had casually asked Qiao Xi about her dismissal time in the afternoon, and to her surprise, Qiao Xi sent her entire class schedule.

Although this community wasn’t in the city center, the surrounding amenities were well-established. Having eaten out with Qiao Xi several times, Shen Ya had a good grasp of her preferences, so the items in her shopping cart were mostly things Qiao Xi loved.

While at the supermarket, Shen Ya received a message from Qiao Xi: 【What is Teacher Shen doing?】

It was clearly class time, yet Qiao Xi was secretly playing on her phone. Shen Ya, the teacher, felt a professional obligation, so she typed a few words in the chat box: 【Listen carefully in class. No playing on the phone.】

【Little Rascal: ……】

Shen Ya curved her lips, then turned off her phone and put it in her pocket. It was a rare pleasure to see Qiao Xi thwarted, and she felt pleased inside.

Because it wasn’t the official start of the semester yet, Qiao Xi only had classes until 7 PM before she could go home. Yesterday, she had preemptively informed her sisters that she would be staying at school to self-study with classmates in the future, as it offered a better learning atmosphere.

Her two sisters naturally weren’t suspicious. They only asked her to call ahead when she was coming home so they could drive over and pick her up.

As soon as class was dismissed, Qiao Xi was the first to rush out of the classroom. Before Xia Cong’an and Yu Tiantian could call her back, she was already out of sight.

Xia Cong’an found this strange. She pinched her chin, looking in the direction Qiao Xi had left, and said to Yu Tiantian: “What do you think she’s in such a hurry to do?”

“Who knows.” Yu Tiantian packed her textbooks into her bag. “If you’re curious, message her.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“I am, so I plan to interrogate her thoroughly in class tomorrow.”

After thinking it over, Xia Cong’an felt Yu Tiantian had a point. Qiao Xi was wily; she wouldn’t tell the truth over a network. Only an in-person interrogation would get the facts out of her.

Qiao Xi, who was oblivious to what awaited her tomorrow, was already sprinting out of the school gate. She had never been so eager to get home. Even though the distance between her home and the school gate was less than five minutes, the walk felt incredibly long.

The door was the same door, but she knew what lay beyond it was different. Shen Ya hadn’t deleted her fingerprint, so she was still able to open the door normally.

As soon as she walked into the house, she was greeted by the aroma of food. She opened the shoe cabinet and saw Shen Ya’s black leather shoes on the bottom shelf. She smiled, took out her own slippers from the shelf below, and changed into them.

Qiao Xi walked into the living room, dropped her backpack, and called towards the kitchen: “Teacher Shen, I’m home!”

Shen Ya happened to be walking out of the kitchen holding a plate. She was wearing a cartoon apron printed with little bears, and her long black hair was casually tied up at the back of her head. She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, which made her neck look even longer.

“Go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Qiao Xi went up to the dining table and leaned over to peek: “What delicious food did Teacher Shen make?”

“Just some everyday dishes.”

“Teacher Shen, you’re amazing! You made so many dishes.”

Even though only two people were eating, Shen Ya had prepared a large table full of dishes: golden chicken soup, fragrant spare ribs, Coke chicken wings, blanched shrimp, a steamed grouper, and then she brought out a plate of beef.

Just the smell alone made Qiao Xi’s mouth water. After washing her hands, she took the rice from Shen Ya and returned to the dining room. She sat down opposite Shen Ya and couldn’t wait to pick up her chopsticks. She first took a piece of spare rib. The crispy texture made her eyes happily squint after the first bite. “Delicious, it’s so delicious!”

“Good. I’m glad you like it.”

Watching Qiao Xi’s satisfied expression, and seeing her pay attention to all the dishes, Shen Ya finally felt her work hadn’t been in vain. She reached for the plate of blanched shrimp, picked one up, slowly peeled the shell, and finally pinched the tiny bit of shell left on the tail. After dipping it in sauce, she placed it in Qiao Xi’s bowl.

Looking at the perfectly peeled shrimp, Qiao Xi was so happy she almost cried: “Teacher Shen, you are like an angel! I love Teacher Shen so much! Can I eat with Teacher Shen often? I’ll even pay for my meals!”

There she went again. Qiao Xi was always so unrestrained. Shen Ya wondered where she learned these impulsive remarks. Every time she heard Qiao Xi’s straightforward praise, Shen Ya felt a little flustered, yet she knew Qiao Xi was speaking her genuine feelings at that moment.

“Just come over when you want, but I can’t guarantee I’ll cook dinner every day.”

“That’s okay! Just tell me when you do cook, and I’ll definitely come over. Teacher Shen’s cooking is the most delicious food I have ever tasted.”

“Nonsense,” Shen Ya exposed Qiao Xi’s exaggeration: “Your sister is a better cook than me.”

“No, no, no. My sister only knows how to make a few things. How can she compare to Teacher Shen? In my opinion, Teacher Shen is the God of Cooking! Every dish you make is perfectly suited to my taste!”

Shen Ya rested her chin on her hand, her mood brightened by Qiao Xi’s enthusiasm. Her eyes sparkled with a smile, and she couldn’t help but tease Qiao Xi: “If your sister heard you say that, she would be angry.”

Qiao Xi pretended to cough. She shifted her gaze elsewhere and whispered: “I’m speaking the truth. You shouldn’t be criticized for telling the truth.”

In that moment, Shen Ya really wanted to reach out and pinch Qiao Xi’s adorable face.