From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 76 - 71: The Same
Because he was dead set on proving himself in front of that old friend of Gu Xi’s, Wei Heng pulled out all the stops for lunch, whipping up a full eighteen dishes.
The spread included both meat and vegetable dishes, each one a feast of color, aroma, and flavor.
This not only had Lu Shiliu, a country bumpkin who had never eaten pure food before, drooling with anticipation and eating until his mouth was slick with grease, but it even earned Wei Heng a second glance from Lu Chenyuan.
Wei Heng primly straightened his back.
Gu Xi: "..." ’So, what on earth is with this weird competitive streak?’
Wei Heng had clearly prepared for this in meticulous detail.
After lunch, not only did he single-handedly take care of everything in the kitchen, but he also deftly brought out several large bowls of various fruits he had already washed.
These days, fruit was a rare commodity.
The fruits Wei Heng brought out had all been grown by Gu Xi’s own hand. Their colors were pure, without a single trace of black. At the sight, the country bumpkin Lu Shiliu’s eyes went wide, and he practically started drooling with envy, wishing he could go latch onto Gu Xi’s coattails that very instant.
In the courtyard, Shen Yue and the others could only stare as a certain someone shouted, "Miss Gu, from now on, I’m your man in life and your ghost in death! Just point, and I’ll strike..."
Qi Xiang snorted. "Gu Xi isn’t short on lackeys." ’Heh, why make such a high-and-mighty speech? As if we can’t see right through your little scheme?’
’He just wants to keep coming here to freeload!’
Lu Shiliu offered no explanation, merely gazing at Gu Xi with pleading eyes. ’You held me with your own hands back then, and you even saved my life...’
Gu Xi: "..."
Completely oblivious to what the young man was thinking, Gu Xiaoxi looked up to see Wei Heng carrying a large pile of strange-looking things out of the kitchen. She raised an eyebrow. "...?"
Wei Heng set everything he had carried out next to the sink. His eyes flickered toward Lu Chenyuan for a moment before he turned to Gu Xi with a smile and said, "Let’s have a BBQ tonight."
"?" Gu Xi felt like she’d heard the term "BBQ" before, but she couldn’t quite place it at the moment.
As he washed the equipment, Wei Heng explained with a smile, "I was browsing the food section on a forum and saw some pre-apocalypse videos. People back then loved to get together with friends and family to go grill food outdoors..."
"Not a bad idea," said Shen Yue, who was standing nearby, casually grabbing an orange. He nodded as he peeled it. "Let’s give it a try this afternoon."
Moving it up from evening to afternoon, he was clearly impatient to get started.
Even Miss Qi, who had never so much as dirtied her hands with menial tasks, brightened up at the suggestion and came over. "I think I can handle that."
"Don’t we have to put everything on skewers first?" Qin Yi quietly reminded them, having apparently seen BBQ videos before as well.
Wei Heng smiled, then turned and brought several large baskets out from the kitchen. They contained not only meat he had already marinated and vegetables he had already washed, but also many different containers of seasonings. His preparations were incredibly thorough.
He glanced up at Lu Chenyuan with a look of prim satisfaction, then, right in front of him, whipped out a kitchen knife from behind his waist. With a few fluid motions, potatoes and cucumbers were sliced and chicken wings were scored, his movements remarkably swift and elegant.
You could tell with a single glance that he was a seasoned pro in the kitchen.
Shen Yue and the others standing nearby were instantly struck silent. "..." ’Such a show-off. We’re just having a barbecue, is all this really necessary?’
But everyone had noticed Wei Heng’s odd behavior over the past few days and had a pretty good idea of what was on his mind. After a moment’s hesitation, they still stepped forward to help.
—’After all, as Gu Xi’s new friends, they couldn’t just let her old friend show them all up, could they?’
Gu Xi: "..."
She wanted to go help, but she could see Lu Chenyuan standing off to the side, looking as if he had something to say...
After a moment’s thought, Gu Xi led him over to a nearby wall of roses.
The afternoon sun was pleasant, so Gu Xi simply took out two lounge chairs and placed them under the rose trellis.
A gentle breeze drifted by, carrying the sweet scent of the flowers.
The girl he adored was lying among the roses, her eyes closed in contentment.
Lu Chenyuan leaned against the nearby trellis, his head tilted as he watched her. A gentle, nostalgic expression graced his somewhat pale face.
He could tell that Gu Xi was very happy with her life now. ’So, that matter... should I tell her about it or not?’
"What is it you want to say?" Just then, Gu Xi opened her eyes and looked over at him.
Lu Chenyuan chuckled softly. ’That’s the Gu Xiaoxi I know... still as sharp as ever.’
Thirty years had passed, yet it was as if time had intentionally forgotten her. She still looked just as she had as a young girl in his memories, seemingly unchanged.
Lu Chenyuan sat down in the lounge chair beside Gu Xi. Copying her, he leaned back under the rose trellis, tilting his head back to gaze at the sky with slightly narrowed eyes.
