The Lady I Flirted With Is Here - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Cooking

A gentle kiss landed on the side of her neck, sending a fine, numbing tingle crawling across every inch of her skin. Hearing that response, Fang Daiyu’s heart softened instantly. The waiting had been worth it; the longing had been worth it; even the back-to-back travel to return to Xianxian was worth it. When passion reaches its peak, it naturally overflows; she only wanted to hold her tighter, to merge her into her own body. Lin Xian’s legs went weak, and she hurriedly pushed Fang Daiyu away.

Both were flushed. After tidying themselves up, Lin Xian took Fang Daiyu out for lunch. “Why don’t you stay here tonight?” Lin Xian asked tentatively while biting her chopstick. Having missed this person for so long, she couldn’t bear to let her go back. Fang Daiyu lowered her gaze, her long, slender lashes drooping—she looked particularly exquisite from the side. She nodded slightly and smiled: “How about I cook for you this afternoon?”

While wandering through the supermarket with Fang Daiyu buying spices, Lin Xian still hadn’t quite processed the fact that she was going to eat a meal cooked by her girlfriend on only their second meeting. No, wait—she was also checking “going to the supermarket together” off the couple’s bucket list. She felt so happy. Fang Daiyu pushed the cart ahead, concentrating on the shelves, a smile playing on her lips every now and then. Suddenly coming back to her senses, Lin Xian heard Daiyu sigh softly: “Silly.”

“What did you say?” Lin Xian’s eyes were filled with excitement and joy, brighter even than the supermarket lights. Fang Daiyu’s heart fluttered; she instinctively ruffled the girl’s small head. “Xianxian, do you eat fish? I’m quite good at making it.”

At the mention of fish, Lin Xian’s brow furrowed, but because it was her girlfriend speaking, her expression softened again: “I’ll love anything you make! Actually, I didn’t used to like fish much. I’m bad at picking out bones, and they always get stuck in my throat.”

“Have you tried Basa fish?”

Lin Xian shook her head.

“Tomato Basa fish soup is very fragrant. Since ‘my kid’ can’t pick out bones, she can only eat fish without them.” These words made Lin Xian blush. The phrase “my kid” drummed against her ears, feeling warm and intimate.

Fang Daiyu wrote a list for Lin Xian. Counting them up, there were six or seven dishes. “These are all my specialties.”

“Isn’t that too much?”

“If we can’t finish, just having a taste is fine.” Fang Daiyu wasn’t just doing this for Lin Xian; seeing Lin Xian hopping around like a little rabbit made her mind fill with more and more recipes. If time allowed, she’d have made a full imperial feast.

As the saying goes: “To catch a person’s heart, catch their stomach first.” Fang Daiyu understood this well. If not for her own love of good food, why would she have bothered to learn to cook? Now, meeting Lin Xian, her skills finally found their true purpose.

“I have an idea!” Lin Xian also loved messing around in the kitchen. She forgot to tell Daiyu that her own cooking was actually excellent.

Fang Daiyu waited for her to continue: “?”

“I’m actually a pretty good cook too.” When Lin Xian said this, Fang Daiyu’s eyes lit up, revealing a genuine, pearly-white smile. For a moment, Lin Xian stared, feeling a bit shy.

“So, with seven or eight dishes… Daiyu, do you mind if my friends taste your cooking too?”

…

The place was very lively. Lin Xian had booked a one-bedroom vacation rental with a kitchen for the gathering. As soon as He Yao entered, she started shouting. She had been spamming the group chat ever since hearing she’d meet Lin Xian’s girlfriend; learning that Fang Daiyu was cooking sent her over the edge: “You moved fast, sister! Someone traveled thousands of miles just to cook for you? I was wrong, truly wrong. There really are such ‘fresh and refined’ lesbians in this world.”

He Yao was one person on WeChat and another in reality. She used her whiny, Hainan-Cantonese accent: “Aiya, I was in such a rush on the way, hurry, hurry, give me some water.” She squeezed her thin frame past Lin Xian’s arm, peeked at the silhouette in the kitchen, and lowered her voice: “Your girlfriend?”

Lin Xian nodded. “She’s cooking. There’s a fruit platter she cut on the table, go have some.”

He Yao’s eyes widened. Two large plates of fruit, washed and sliced, sat on the coffee table. She jumped to the sofa, a piece of watermelon in her left hand and cantaloupe in her right, a grape skin hanging from her lip as she mumbled: “Hey, zere’s zo much, can we finish? You two really are a pair of dummies.” She complained about Lin Xian not knowing how to save money, then comfortably lay back on the sofa, checking her makeup in a pocket mirror: “Makeup looks good today.”

Lin Xian ignored her and went into the kitchen. Fang Daiyu had already prepped the ingredients and was ready to start the stove. Her movements were fluid and clean. Lin Xian watched, mesmerized, and secretly took a few photos until Daiyu caught her.

Hands busy, Daiyu only whispered: “Xianxian, come here for a second.”

Unsuspecting, Lin Xian leaned in, only to be bitten lightly on the chin. Her face turned bright red. “You…” She couldn’t find her voice for a long time. Fang Daiyu turned and lit the stove, her low voice drifting into Lin Xian’s ear: “Since you kept my photo, you have to pay some interest.”

Lin Xian stood there like a fool, her chin tingling. The sensation lingered.

A light chuckle came: “Go out and rest while you wait for dinner. Be good!”

…

When Jiang Binliu arrived, he was carrying a large bag of snacks, looking polite but stiff. “I came on short notice and didn’t bring much.” His stoic face was hidden behind his glasses. Lin Xian laughed: “Binliu, I’m introducing my girlfriend to you guys, it’s not like…”

Jiang Binliu’s smile was honest. Lin Xian knew his personality and simply sighed: “Forget it.” She took the snacks gratefully. “Don’t do this next time!” He nodded.

By the time Yaya and Nannan arrived with drinks, Lin Xian set them heavily on the table and turned to He Yao: “Wait, so He Yao, where’s your gift?”

He Yao was eating fruit while video-calling her girlfriend. she shoved the phone in Lin Xian’s face: “Come, come, say hi to Xianxian!” Lin Xian suppressed her urge to tease and smiled: “Hey, Tang Ni. Is the weather in Chengdu nice?”

He Yao’s girlfriend, Tang Ni, was a quintessential gentle, artistic girl. Only when Lin Xian called to invite them did she realize Tang Ni had gone back to her hometown. Tang Ni was fair-skinned, petite, and had the aura of a noble lady from a medieval manor.

The lesbian circle at NTU felt like everyone was blind—how did such a rose end up with He Yao? Most frustratingly, from freshman to senior year, they still hadn’t broken up.

Tang Ni’s voice was soft as she greeted everyone with a smile. He Yao pointed the camera toward the kitchen: “Look, Lin Xian’s girlfriend, oho!” Lin Xian heard Tang Ni’s laughter just as there was another knock. It was Jingjing and the girl from the Northeast. They brought flowers. Lin Xian saw He Yao hang up and finally caught her chance.

She tapped the table: “Hey, He Yao, where’s your gift?”

He Yao looked around, noticed Wen Chao wasn’t there, and remembered: “Didn’t you add Wen Chao to the group?”

Lin Xian fell silent. Her other friends looked at her hesitantly. The Northeast girl broke the awkwardness: “Xianxian didn’t invite me to her birthday last time, hmph! Did you forget someone again?” In truth, Lin Xian’s relationship with her dorm was average; she’d told the Northeast girl beforehand she wouldn’t invite her to her birthday to avoid making the other two roommates feel awkward.

Wen Chao? Lin Xian couldn’t say she left her out on purpose, and she had thought about it, but a strange sixth sense told her that if Wen Chao met Fang Daiyu, something terrible would happen.

“But if I call her now, she might have already eaten?” Lin Xian started making excuses.

He Yao left her no room to retreat: “Xianxian, whether you call her is your business; whether she comes is hers. You’ve been friends for four years, don’t let that Mid-Autumn thing make things awkward.” Occasionally, He Yao was serious, sounding like an elder.

Lin Xian walked to the window and made the call. Wen Chao had just woken up. Her voice was husky: “Xianxian?” She sounded surprised.

Lin Xian was too embarrassed to say everyone was already there, so she just said: “My girlfriend is treating everyone to dinner. Want to come?”

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end. Then, firmly: “Send me the address.”

…

When Fang Daiyu asked Lin Xian to help bring out the dishes, Wen Chao arrived.

She had sleepy eyes, and her blue hair shone brilliantly under the lights. She wore a trench coat, which she took off and handed to Lin Xian: “It’s so hot!” She ruffled Lin Xian’s hair, then looked at Fang Daiyu, tilting her chin with a smile: “The girlfriend? Won’t you introduce us?”

She acted so comfortably, as if this were her territory.

Fang Daiyu placed a plate steadily on the table. Her eyes fixed on the coat in Lin Xian’s hand, then moved to Lin Xian’s ruffled hair. She smiled, walked straight to Lin Xian, and threw an arm around her shoulder, stepping firmly between the two.

Gently, she smoothed out Lin Xian’s hair, leaning close to her ear in an intimate gesture: “Baby, is this your friend? Why haven’t you mentioned her?” A single sentence made Lin Xian’s ears turn red and Wen Chao’s gaze turn stiff.

Fang Daiyu naturally took the coat from Lin Xian’s hand, hung it on the rack, and proactively extended her hand: “Fang Daiyu.”

Wen Chao shook it reluctantly: “Xianxian’s best bud, Wen Chao!” She wanted to emphasize her closeness to Lin Xian, but Fang Daiyu’s smile only deepened, seemingly unbothered.

“Oh~ Best buds.” Lightly withdrawing her hand, Fang Daiyu called to Lin Xian: “Come, baby, help me with the dishes.”

Seeing this, He Yao couldn’t help but whistle: “Oho!”

Once Wen Chao sat down, He Yao whispered to her: “She’s got some fire in her, huh?”

Wen Chao turned her head, confused.

He Yao teased: “Lin Xian’s pretty ‘sister.’ She’s got spirit. I like her!”

“Heh!” Wen Chao turned away dismissively, but He Yao found it amusing: “Still won’t admit it! Do you have even a third of her beauty?”

…

The dining table was too high and only had four seats, so they cleared the fruit and ate on the coffee table. They sat on the rug around it using throw pillows. Naturally, everyone left a spot on the sofa for Fang Daiyu and Lin Xian to squeeze together. From time to time, Daiyu put food into Lin Xian’s bowl.

Lin Xian stopped her chopsticks, a bit overwhelmed. Wen Chao gave a mocking smile and was about to speak when Lin Xian whispered: “It’s too much, I can’t finish.”

Fang Daiyu took the bowl, Lin Xian shared half the food with her, and only then did they start eating slowly. Lin Xian gave a thumbs up: “Sister, you’re the best!”

Yaya’s eyes widened: “Oho, Xianxian, you aren’t a germaphobe anymore?” This shout drew everyone’s attention.

Wen Chao’s hands balled into fists. Lin Xian smiled embarrassedly: “A little bit, but I’m slowly changing.” When her friends praised her, Lin Xian gave the credit to Fang Daiyu: “Sister helped me.”

As for how she helped, everyone shared a knowing smile, heaven knows what they were thinking.

After everyone was full, the pace slowed down. Fang Daiyu rarely spoke during the meal, but she was very respectful to everyone. They chatted about everything—being Chinese majors, they naturally moved from talking about professors to their favorite literary schools, and eventually to gossip.

He Yao started ranting: “I hate that Xu Zhimo the most. Fickle-minded, flirting with this one and that one, full of flowery schemes—just like Wen Chao.”

Wen Chao didn’t understand these literature students and just said: “Don’t bring me into this!”

Jingjing added: “Xu Zhimo is okay, but Guo Moruo was a total scumbag!” Hearing the name Guo Moruo, Lin Xian stood up and slammed the table: ” I hate him the most! Scumbag! Scumbag!” Fang Daiyu quickly pulled Lin Xian back down. He Yao started laughing at her.

“Lin Xian loves Guo Moruo’s poetry but hates his private life. Poor thing!”

Yaya tried to smooth things over: “Which genius isn’t a bit of a romantic? People in art and literature inevitably get mixed up in affairs.”

Hearing this, Fang Daiyu looked at everyone and chimed in: “You’re all literature majors—is that how you are too?” Her clear eyes seemed to see right through them. He Yao regretted her big mouth for bringing the topic up. Everyone started denying it, their eyes turning to Lin Xian.