Chapter 18 — Eat It Long Enough and You Get Used to It

He stir-fried the vegetables in the stock until fragrant, added the seasonings, then poured in water, and in a moment the soup was ready. Wei Zhao, for his part, had not been idle: he boiled a pot of water, dropped in the ramen, and once the noodles had loosened, fished them out and divided them between two bowls. Then he ladled the soup over them, and two bowls of steaming plain noodles were done.

Strictly speaking, Wei Zhao's noodles were not made by the book, yet they had a flavor all their own. The old man at home loved nothing better than a bowl of noodles cooked by Wei Zhao.

There were still noodles left in the pot. Wei Zhao reckoned one bowl would be enough for Shen Yushu, and the rest would do nicely for a second bowl for himself.

"Is it ready yet?" Shen Yushu, breathing in the fragrance, swallowed again and again, and at last could bear it no longer. She pulled on her little slippers and came flip-flopping into the kitchen, calling out to Wei Zhao.

"It's ready. I was just about to call you." Wei Zhao untied his apron and hung it on the hook.

"Hey, you used Yaoyao's apron — whatever you do, don't let her find out!" Shen Yushu glanced at the apron on the wall, then said, "Since you cooked for me, I won't tell her."

"Huh?" Wei Zhao was rather puzzled. Since when had Shen Yushu grown so kindhearted? But on second thought, he decided her heart was thoroughly wicked — the gloating look on the girl's face yesterday, when Gu Mengyao drank from his water, said as much. No doubt she had no good intentions this time either. Still, what she thought was none of his concern; so long as Gu Mengyao did not seize the chance to make trouble for him, he could quietly go on being her study companion.

As for Wei Zhao sitting across from her while she ate, Shen Yushu knitted her brows. A grown man sitting opposite her while she ate made her somewhat uncomfortable.

But then, the fragrant noodles were all his doing, and it seemed a bit unreasonable to drive him off. So she put up with it — better to fill her belly first.

Shen Yushu had never eaten noodles so delicious. Mornings usually meant instant noodles or a little milk before school; this was the first time she had eaten noodles made entirely by hand.

Yet, afraid of making Wei Zhao proud, she kept her admiration to herself and said nothing aloud, burying her head and demolishing the noodles in her bowl, paying the man across from her no mind.

That Shen Yushu ignored him pleased Wei Zhao all the more; his one fear was that the girl would find some new fault to pick with him. He wolfed down the noodles in his bowl and carried it off for a second helping. But at the pot he thought of Shen Yushu again and asked, "Are you having any more?"

"No," Shen Yushu shook her head. "Go pour me a glass of water."

"Isn't there a drink behind you?" Wei Zhao pointed at the refrigerator behind her and helped himself to another bowl of noodles.

"Juice in the morning isn't good for you; plain water is what's healthy... Why do you have to be so long-winded? Are you going or not?" Shen Yushu glared at him impatiently.

"All right..." Wei Zhao set the filled bowl on the table and turned to go to the living room to pour her water. There was no help for it — he had handed her a hold over him.

"Where's your cup?" Halfway there, Wei Zhao remembered he had never seen Shen Yushu's cup. What was he supposed to pour water into?

"Oh, it's in the cupboard under the water dispenser. The pink one is mine," Shen Yushu said.

Wei Zhao nodded and walked over to the water dispenser.

"Ah — I'm so sleepy. Hateful alarm clock." Gu Mengyao came down the stairs yawning, still half in a daze. She had not slept soundly all night: the first half of it she had spent brooding over the loss of her first kiss and weeping about it to Shen Yushu, and only when she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open had she finally dozed off. Now that she was awake, yesterday's business did not seem so tragic after all.

Only, it felt to Gu Mengyao as though she had barely slept at all before the alarm clock woke her. She had not wanted to get up, but remembering that there was school today, she had no choice.

Finding Shen Yushu not beside her, Gu Mengyao was puzzled. She had been talking to her the whole time, and she too had seemed to fall asleep very late — so why was she up so early?

Downstairs, a smell of food suddenly reached her. Gu Mengyao had eaten little the night before, and what she had eaten she had thrown up, so her stomach was empty now; at the smell, her mouth watered at once. "Xiaoshu, what good thing are you sneaking? It smells wonderful — and you didn't call me!"

Gu Mengyao trotted into the dining room and found Shen Yushu demolishing a bowl of noodles, while across from her sat another bowl, full and steaming. Her heart leaped with joy. "Ha, I knew you wouldn't forget me, Xiaoshu! You saved me a portion too — thanks!"

Shen Yushu was drinking the noodle broth; she had found it savory too and could not bear to leave it. As she drank, she heard Gu Mengyao's words and was about to speak, only to see that Gu Mengyao had already picked up her chopsticks and begun eating. "Uh..."

Shen Yushu sighed, wanting to speak but holding back. In her heart she said: this is not my fault — who told you to be so quick-handed? I hadn't even opened my mouth and you were already eating!

"So fragrant, so delicious," Gu Mengyao was truly hungry. One bite of the wonderful noodles and she could not put down her chopsticks, praising them between mouthfuls: "Xiaoshu, where did you buy these?"

"I didn't buy them... Brother Arrow made them." Shen Yushu shrugged, looking at Gu Mengyao with pity in her eyes; she really could not bear to wound Gu Mengyao's fragile little heart again.

"What!" Gu Mengyao was startled. "He made them? I'm not eating anything he made..." And she set down her chopsticks.

Shen Yushu thought: you've already eaten, so what's the use of saying you won't now? Still, you already ate Wei Zhao's saliva once yesterday, so it hardly matters today — eat it long enough and you get used to it... Heh heh, Shen Yushu thought wickedly.

"Hmph, who am I to hold a grudge against food? I'll eat it." No sooner had Gu Mengyao put down her chopsticks than her mouth began to water again; looking at the fragrant noodles before her, she simply could not refuse them, and picked the chopsticks back up. "Eating his food doesn't mean I forgive him. I just didn't eat last night and I'm hungry, that's all. Really, these noodles are only so-so, aren't they, Xiaoshu?"

"Oh... I suppose so..." Shen Yushu would dearly have loved to see how Gu Mengyao reacted on learning she had eaten Wei Zhao's saliva again, but she felt the girl was pitiful enough already; better to say nothing.

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