Chapter 173: Chapter 163: Let’s Sleep Together. Checking the Ingredients.

"Jiang Liu, this corn is so fresh and sweet. The savory flavor is delicious, and they don’t clash at all. It’s so much better than just steaming it."

It felt like her boyfriend could casually whip up a dish that rivaled the best food she’d ever had.

"I’m glad you like it."

’Jiang Liu felt a little bit proud. He loved it when others appreciated his cooking.’

"Mmm! So yummy!" Tongtong’s eyes lit up. "More, Daddy! Hurry!"

Jiang Liu continued to feed his two foodies, one big and one small.

He had originally planned on making the new menu item.

But he didn’t have a pressure cooker at home, which would make the process too slow.

So he scrapped the idea.

He could just make it tomorrow. Besides, Jiang Liu had complete confidence in the Divine Book’s recipes now.

The three of them took turns feeding each other.

Jun Qingmeng even saved a small cup of corn kernels for her best friend.

Jiang Liu came out of the house with a key. "Qingmeng, this is a key to the house. You should have one so you don’t have to knock next time you come over."

Jun Qingmeng’s heart hammered in her chest. She clasped Jiang Liu’s hand with both of hers and asked joyfully, "Does this mean I’ll be the lady of the house from now on?"

Her hands were soft, and Jiang Liu didn’t pull away. He just nodded. "If that’s what you want, then yes. Anytime."

"Then can I sleep in the same bed with you two tonight?"

’She wanted to cuddle with Jiang Liu, and ideally, hold the sweet-smelling Tongtong too.’

Tongtong got excited. "Mommy! Daddy! You should sleep together! Your little cutie is begging you! I want you to hold me in the middle."

’Who taught his daughter to talk like this? Always ’begging’ for things.’

Jiang Liu immediately pinched Tongtong’s lips together.

"Mmph, mmph!" Tongtong sounded like Donald Duck with his beak tied shut.

"Maybe sometime in the future."

Jun Qingmeng pressed him. "When in the future? How long?"

"It’s hard to say. These things have to be taken slowly. You can’t rush them. If you rush, it changes the flavor of things."

"Okay..."

Jun Qingmeng’s mood soured again.

’She probably loved Jiang Liu too much. She was so afraid of losing him that she wanted to possess more of their relationship, faster.’

"Then... how about I give you a little kiss?"

Jun Qingmeng’s beautiful eyes sparkled with anticipation once more.

"Uh..." Jiang Liu was so taken aback by her blunt, sudden question that he didn’t know how to respond.

’There was no buildup to it at all. It just felt... strange.’

Seeing Jiang Liu’s silence, Jun Qingmeng turned her head away, hurt. "If you don’t want to, then forget it! We can talk about it some other time."

Jiang Liu took her hand and said comfortingly, "Don’t be in such a hurry. I’m yours. But like I said, it’s better to let these things develop slowly."

He didn’t like rushing into relationships. Maybe in the past, he would have been fine with it.

But after everything he’d been through, Jiang Liu had a much more relaxed perspective on things.

Whether out of a sense of responsibility or for deeper, long-term reasons, he felt they should walk this path together step-by-step, experiencing it all as they go.

"Okay! We’ll take it slow. I’ll make you like me more and more every day!"

Jun Qingmeng’s mood brightened considerably after hearing Jiang Liu say he was hers.

She turned and hugged Tongtong, saying, "Can we give each other little kisses?"

"Of course! Tongtong belongs to Mommy Qingmeng."

The two of them snuggled together, affectionately nuzzling each other’s cheeks.

Jiang Liu clicked his tongue, bored, and watched *Boonie Bears*.

After a while, the two of them finally finished their snuggling session.

9:30 PM.

Jun Qingmeng reluctantly got to her feet.

"Jiang Liu, I’m heading back to get some sleep. You and Tongtong should get to bed early."

"Yeah, okay. You get some rest too. And don’t stay up playing on your phone."

"Mommy, see you in my dreams."

"Goodnight, Tongtong."

Jun Qingmeng opened the door and left. As she walked into the empty hallway, she couldn’t help but feel hurt all over again.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that Jiang Liu was keeping her at a distance.

Even though they were boyfriend and girlfriend, it didn’t feel like his heart had been truly captured by her.

Glancing back at the closed door, Jun Qingmeng bit her lip.

...

Jiang Liu lay on the sofa with Tongtong in his arms, the two of them enjoying some quality time.

In truth, when it came to Jun Qingmeng, he just didn’t want to let her down.

Stroking his daughter’s head, Jiang Liu said, "Tongtong, remember, when you’re at kindergarten, you still have to call her Teacher Qingmeng, understand?"

"Hee hee, okay!"

Tongtong giggled happily.

When the cartoon was over, Jiang Liu carried Tongtong off for her bath.

"Daddy, does Tongtong smell nice?"

"You’ve got that sour milk baby smell."

"Hey! Daddy, you’re not being nice! How about I give you a taste of my little foot?"

SMACK!

"Waaah, Daddy, you’re a meanie!"

After their bath, the father-daughter duo lay down together under the covers.

Tongtong’s pajamas were in the wash, so she was wearing one of Jiang Liu’s tank tops as she lay in his arms.

Jiang Liu took out his phone and glanced at the screen.

No new messages.

Tongtong stroked Jiang Liu’s face and asked in her small, childish voice, "Daddy, will you ever not want me anymore?"

"Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Because Tongtong is dumb. Other kids can already count, but Tongtong can’t. She only knows how to love Daddy. Will you get tired of me?"

Jiang Liu smiled and reached out, ruffling Tongtong’s hair into a messy mop.

"Never. Even if you turned into an ugly duckling, Daddy would still love you just the same."

"I love you, Daddy!"

Tongtong clutched tightly to Jiang Liu’s shirt.

She was fast asleep in less than a minute.

She felt so safe and sound.

Jiang Liu repeated his usual trick, slipping out of his shirt and leaving it for Tongtong to cuddle.

He then went back to the kitchen to prepare the fillings.

Not long after, a message came from Jun Qingmeng: "I just showered. You? I’m feeling a little down."

Jiang Liu wiped his hands and replied, "What’s wrong?"

Jun Qingmeng: "It’s nothing, I’m just in a bad mood. We haven’t seen each other for thirty-two minutes, and I’m having a hard time."

Jun Qingmeng: "Is Tongtong asleep?"

Jiang Liu replied, exasperated, "Once you fall asleep, you won’t be thinking about it. We’ll see each other tomorrow, won’t we? Go to sleep."

"She’s asleep."

Jun Qingmeng: "Okay!"

"Let me ask you something. If one day, I’m not as attractive to you anymore, would you break up with me?"

Even though Jiang Liu had agreed to be her boyfriend, Jun Qingmeng felt more insecure than ever.

She was too in love with Jiang Liu.

A few minutes earlier, she had told Guo Jia about how she’d been acting.

Guo Jia had mocked her. "Isn’t that just how a love-struck fool acts? Why else do you think they call you that?"

Jiang Liu thought about her question seriously for a full minute.

He was the kind of person who was laid-back, but not completely indifferent.

His philosophy on relationships was simple: take it slow and live a good life together.

As long as his family was happy, that’s all that mattered.

Jiang Liu replied, "I’ve thought about it. As long as our personalities are compatible, we don’t fight, neither of us cheats, and we treat each other well, I definitely won’t break up with you."

After sending the message, Jiang Liu felt like something was missing, so he added a hug emoji.

Jun Qingmeng’s eyes welled up with tears. She was so happy. "Okay! I’ll listen to you. To be honest, I’m a total romantic who gets carried away, really. But my personality is very gentle, too. Sometimes I can be a little willful, and sometimes I want to be a bit domineering with you... I just really, really love you. Let’s have a great relationship. I’ll spoil you, just as long as you don’t break up with me."

Jiang Liu replied, "Don’t worry. Go to sleep now, dear."

After sending the word "dear," Jiang Liu had the urge to unsend it, but he stopped himself.

Jun Qingmeng: "Okay! I’ll go right to sleep. You too. Love you forever!"

He put his phone down. A short while later, the fillings were prepared and placed in the refrigerator to chill.

Jiang Liu then took out the ingredients for the next day’s Yak, Potato, and Mushroom Soup.

9,865 yuan was instantly deducted from his bank account.

Perfectly prepared cuts of beef and various other ingredients materialized out of thin air on the kitchen table.

If anyone had witnessed it, they would have been scared to death.

These were wild yaks from the snowy plateaus that drank mineral water, grazed on wild medicinal herbs, and breathed nothing but the freshest air.

The meat was a deep, rosy red, incredibly tender, and marbled with fine white lines of fat.

It had no gamey or sour smell.

Jiang Liu estimated that if this top-quality, incredibly tender wild yak meat were sold on the open market, it would go for far more than three hundred yuan a pound.

The yak bone marrow was already processed, appearing as slightly yellowish, white cylinders.

It had a rich, fatty aroma.

He inspected the other ingredients.

All of them were of exceptional quality.

The spice packet was contained in a small mesh bag, filled with a pre-portioned blend of aromatics.

It contained Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, cassia bark, sand ginger, fresh chunks of scallion and ginger, and a whole host of other things.

There were many spices Jiang Liu couldn’t name, but they all looked to be of the same high quality. The bay leaves from the Divine Book, for example, were thick, large, and their fragrance was intoxicating.

After studying them for a moment, Jiang Liu wrapped everything tightly in plastic bags and put them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh.

Once he was finished, he returned to his room, wrapped his arms around Tongtong, and went to sleep.

「Meanwhile.」

Yangzhai Street was already bustling with activity.

A light rain was still falling from the sky, but a cluster of tents had already appeared in front of "Second-Best Food Under the Heavens," along with young people in raincoats and holding umbrellas.

There were more than thirty people in all.

They were the kings of the rat race, terrified they might miss out on the new menu item.

Jiao Shenghua, wearing only a tank top and completely unfazed by the light rain, asked, "What time is it?"

"Eleven o’clock. That means we have, uh... eight hours until Boss Jiang opens."

Nearby, Huang Yunfeng, Lü Yuan, and a few of their coworkers had all rushed over.

Wang Han had heard Jiang Liu was releasing a new item and, overcome with curiosity, had immediately dispatched them.

He’d even given them an order: don’t come back unless you get some.

They thought it would be an easy job, but who would have guessed that even arriving this early, they were still more than thirty people back in line.

The old man, Yu Qingzheng, had also come to join the excitement, bundled up in a thick coat.

"I’m really looking forward to Little Boss Jiang’s Yak, Potato, and Mushroom Soup. It’s a good thing I got here early. I estimate the first seventy people in line will get to try the new dish. It’ll be tough for anyone after that."