Chapter 87: Cooking for You
Li Qi couldn’t understand why the Song parents had such a massive reaction to her divorce from Li Ru. If their own daughter was unhappy, shouldn’t they do everything in their power to help her resolve it?
Why would they choose to act in a way that only worsened their daughterās suffering?
Unable to wrap his head around it, Li Qi sighed deeply. He turned his head to scan their surroundings and caught sight of a smear of blood on the wall near the gate.
He leaned in closer. The blood was still fresh. Had a bird flown into it?
But looking at the height, it didn’t seem likely…
“Xiao Qi, let’s go.”
Murong Qingās voice came from behind. Li Qi didn’t have time to dwell on it and could only tuck the suspicion away in the back of his mind.
After escorting the two of them back to their residence, Li Qi drove off to find Chen Jiamu. Hearing that Li Qi was coming to see him, Chen Jiamu immediately sent him a new location.
Zhenzhu Yuan…
Seeing the name, Li Qi’s brow furrowed. What kind of place was this?
It wasn’t until he arrived at the destination that Li Qi realized it was a residential estate.
When had Chen Jiamu bought a house? Why didn’t he know about it?
Following the coordinates provided, Li Qi parked his car in front of a small white villa.
Rolling down the window, he saw Chen Jiamu standing by the entrance with his hands behind his back, looking at him with a face full of smiles.
After getting out of the car, Li Qi walked up to him, glancing around at the surroundings. He asked curiously, “Your house?”
“Yup!”
“When did you buy this? How come I didn’t know?”
“My grandfather gave it to me when I was fifteen. I just never lived here. Since I didn’t feel like staying in a hotel, I had someone tidy it up.”
“And now, Mr. Li, please come in. Welcome to my little den!”
Chen Jiamu straightened his back, tucking one hand behind him and extending the other in a formal “after you” gesture.
“Very well, Mr. Chen.”
Li Qi was amused by his little antics, his lips curving upward as he played along and walked inside.
As they walked one after the other, Chen Jiamu trailed behind Li Qi, a hint of bitterness in his heart.
Li Qi, oh Li Qi, are you really so unwilling to share even a bit of your negative energy with me?
From the moment he walked in, Li Qi hadn’t breathed a word about the Song family. Even when he was the one being wronged, he wouldn’t speak up.
He just carried it all by himself.
Li Qi reached the door and looked at the closed entrance, instinctively turning back to Chen Jiamu with a questioning look: May I open it?
“Go ahead, open it.”
Upon hearing Chen Jiamuās reply, Li Qi reached out and turned the handle. The house was massive. No wonder it was called Zhenzhu Yuanāthe decor and furniture were all a uniform white.
If it wasn’t pure white, it was cream.
“I didn’t choose this; the house came furnished like this.”
Seeing the surprise in Li Qiās eyes, Chen Jiamu hurried to defend himself.
“What are you panicking for? Iām not going to call you a white-freak.”
Li Qi found him hilarious. Taking off his coat, he sat on the sofa and reached out to grab Chen Jiamuās hand, only to hear the other man let out a muffled groan.
Li Qiās brow knitted. He pushed back the sleeve covering the back of Chen Jiamuās hand and saw the fair skin wrapped in layers of white gauze.
“What happened to your hand?”
Li Qi asked nervously. Chen Jiamu merely shook his head and said nonchalantly, “My legs went soft in the hotel shower and I slipped.”
“Who told you to try and drain me dry… honestly…”
By the time Chen Jiamu finished, his ears were crimson and his palms felt clammy.
The tension in Li Qiās heart slowly ebbed away. Looking at the blushing face, a wave of tenderness washed over him.
“I won’t be so lack of restraint next time. I’m sorry.”
Li Qi lifted the back of the other man’s hand and pressed a gentle kiss against it.
Such a tender display left Chen Jiamu momentarily speechless. His eyes darted around for a while before he finally extended his uninjured hand and placed it on top of Li Qiās head.
As if soothing a puppy, he gave Li Qiās hair a little rub. “Then I forgive you.”
Li Qi didn’t mind having his hair messed up. Instead, he glanced at the sky outside. It was dark and heavy now; it looked like another heavy downpour was coming…
“Itās about to pour. Itāll be a hassle to go out to eat. Do you have ingredients here?” Li Qi wrapped his arms around Chen Jiamuās waist, tilting his head up to look at him seriously.
“I do.”
“The Ayi just bought some random stuff; Iām not sure whatās there.”
When Chen Jiamu had the Ayi clean up, he had her pick up some groceries, thinking that if he got hungry, he could whip something up.
“Letās not eat out today. Iāll cook for you.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever had my cooking.”
Li Qi buried his face in Chen Jiamuās stomach, nuzzling side to side. Chen Jiamu kept his hand on Li Qiās head, gently stroking it. Hearing that he could cook, he cupped the man’s face in his palms with surprise. “You actually know how to cook?”
“I do. I made a point to learn when I was abroad.”
Li Qiās culinary skills were born out of the fact that the food abroad was terribleāand not just a little bit terrible. To keep himself from starving, he had taught himself the way of the kitchen.
“Alright then, Iāll have to see just how good Chef Liās skills really are.”
No sooner said than done. Li Qi expertly rolled up his sleeves and walked straight toward the kitchen.
Seeing that all the pots, pans, seasonings, and tools were available, he headed confidently to the refrigerator.
He scanned the ingredients, mentally pairing them into a menu, and began to work.
Chen Jiamu leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching Li Qi move back and forth in an apron. He suddenly felt an indescribable sensationāa fullness in his chest, a sweetness in his heart.
He thought that must be what happiness felt like.
This little den was a secret base that belonged solely to him and Li Qi.
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