My Alleged Husband-Chapter 26 Cooking_1

Zhang Zhentian, upon hearing his father speak like that, felt it made a lot of sense. Perhaps it was because he knew his father agreed to his relationship with Xia Jing that he became a bit overly excited. He hurriedly ran down the stairs and saw Aunt Xu still busily preparing their dinner alone, so he quickly went over to help her.

Aunt Xu saw Zhang Zhentian walking toward her and thought he was coming to ask why dinner wasn’t ready yet, but Zhang Zhentian’s actions took her by surprise. She knew that Zhang Zhentian never set foot in the kitchen, so as she watched him help wash the vegetables, she thought to herself, "What’s gotten into the young master? He never comes into the kitchen. Could it be that tonight the moon rose from the west?"

Zhang Zhentian noticed Aunt Xu staring at him blankly and felt a bit uncomfortable, so he asked, "Aunt Xu, what’s the matter? Is there something on my face?"

"No, nothing, young master, dinner will be ready very soon. Why don’t you go out and rest for a while?" Aunt Xu, regaining her composure, responded to Zhang Zhentian.

"It’s fine, Aunt Xu, let me give you a hand," said Zhang Zhentian politely.

"How could that be right? Young master, you should go and rest in the living room for a bit, I can handle this rough work."

"Aunt Xu, I already said it’s fine. You go ahead with your tasks, and I’ll assist you," insisted Zhang Zhentian, showing no sign of leaving the kitchen.

Seeing that Zhang Zhentian insisted, Aunt Xu didn’t know what else to say, so she let him help her in the kitchen.

When dinner was nearly ready, Aunt Xu asked Zhang Zhentian to go upstairs and call Elder Zhang down to eat.

"Young master, the meal is almost done; you don’t need to be busy anymore, hurry up and call the old master to come down to eat!" Aunt Xu said to Zhang Zhentian, "It’s getting late, and the old master must be getting hungry."

After hearing Aunt Xu’s words, Zhang Zhentian went upstairs to call Old Master Zhang to come down for dinner.

Initially, when Zhang Zhentian went to call Old Master Zhang, he seemed quite eager, but after hearing what Zhang Zhentian said, he suddenly lost his appetite.

"Dad, Aunt Xu asked me to call you down for dinner. Did you know? I also helped with cooking tonight’s dinner." Old Master Zhang went blank for a moment upon hearing these words from Zhang Zhentian, who seemed completely oblivious to the elder Zhang’s expression that was darker than a cloudy day. Remembering the last meal Zhang Zhentian had made for him made him lose all desire to eat.

"Zhentian, I suddenly don’t feel hungry anymore; you go ahead and eat," said Old Master Zhang to Zhang Zhentian.

Zhang Zhentian felt a bit puzzled as his father had been quite eager when he first asked him to come down for dinner, so why did he suddenly say he wasn’t hungry anymore?

"Dad, are you feeling unwell somewhere?" Zhang Zhentian asked his father, puzzled.

Old Master Zhang had to admire Zhang Zhentian’s intelligence; faced with his son’s question, he just shook his head and did not answer. But the more Old Master Zhang didn’t respond, the more Zhang Zhentian suspected that his father was hiding something from him and became even more determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Dad, just tell me, what’s the matter? Why do you suddenly say you’re not hungry?" Zhang Zhentian stared intently at Old Master Zhang, who felt quite odd being watched in such a way, almost as if he were a child who had done something wrong, afraid of being scolded by his parents, making Old Master Zhang very uncomfortable.

"Don’t look at me like that. I just suddenly don’t feel like eating, not feeling that hungry," said Old Master Zhang. The more he explained, the more Zhang Zhentian became convinced that he was hiding something.

Zhang Zhentian didn’t believe his father’s words at all and continued to stare at Old Master Zhang, who, having no recourse under Zhang Zhentian’s relentless gaze, hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, I’ll tell you, isn’t that enough?"

"Okay, then tell me quickly," urged Zhang Zhentian impatiently.

"Sigh, I really don’t know what to do with you. Zhentian, have you really forgotten about the last meal you cooked for me?" asked Old Master Zhang.

Zhang Zhentian instantly understood; his father’s sudden lack of appetite was due to the meal he had cooked last time!

Old Master Zhang didn’t wait for Zhang Zhentian to speak; he opened his mouth once more to say, "Even if you’ve forgotten, I haven’t. The meal you cooked for me that day is something I will never forget in this lifetime."

After hearing his father’s evaluation of the meal he had prepared, Zhang Zhentian felt very embarrassed. He hadn’t realized that the reason his dad hadn’t gone down to eat was because he had also taken a hand at cooking.

Zhang Zhentian couldn’t help but say to his dad with a laugh and a cry, "Dad, don’t worry. Although I did have a hand in tonight’s dinner, I just helped Aunt Xu wash the vegetables. I didn’t do any cooking."

When Elder Zhang heard Zhang Zhentian say this, he was still a bit incredulous. Knowing his father might not believe him, Zhentian quickly added, "Dad, I really didn’t cook anything. You can eat with peace of mind. If you really don’t believe me, why not go downstairs and see for yourself?"

Upon hearing Zhang Zhentian’s words, Old Master Zhang decided he might as well go down and have something to eat. If it really wasn’t good, he could just choose not to eat it.

"Alright, let’s go."

When Zhang Zhentian heard his dad agree to go down for dinner, he grabbed Old Master Zhang and rushed him into the living room, nearly causing his father to tumble over.

When Aunt Xu saw Zhang Zhentian holding onto Old Master Zhang’s hand as they arrived in the living room, she felt very gratified. She silently thought to herself, "It seems that the old master and the young master have a pretty good relationship."

After being pulled into the living room by Zhang Zhentian, Old Master Zhang looked at the dishes on the dining table. Seeing that the colors of the food looked normal eased his worry by half, but he remained concerned that while the appearance was normal, the taste might be off.

Aunt Xu was unaware of what was going on with Old Master Zhang and asked, "Elder Zhang, what’s the matter? Do these dishes not suit your taste?"

Seeing that Old Master Zhang didn’t respond, and thinking that the food she had cooked wasn’t to his liking, she quickly said, "Elder Zhang, I’ll remake it immediately."

Aunt Xu was about to take the dishes from the table to the kitchen when Zhang Zhentian, understanding his father’s concern, stopped her.

"Aunt Xu, it’s okay. Please put the dishes down," Zhang Zhentian said to Aunt Xu: "Go ahead with your tasks." Zhentian smiled at her.

Worried, Aunt Xu looked back at Zhang Zhentian every three steps, while Zhentian asked his father to sit down.

Old Master Zhang reluctantly took a seat, and Zhang Zhentian, seeing his father looking this way, felt a bit awkward. Just because of that one meal he had cooked, his dad had developed a shadow over it.

"Dad, I know what you’re worried about. Rest assured, there’s nothing wrong with either the color or the taste of these dishes. If you don’t believe me, I’ll eat and show you." After saying this, Zhang Zhentian picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. Seeing Zhentian eating, Old Master Zhang also tentatively picked up some food with his chopsticks and tasted it. Finding nothing wrong with it, he was finally able to relax.

"Alright, sit down and let’s eat."

As Zhang Zhentian sat down to dine, he said something to Old Master Zhang that made him feel uneasy.

"Dad, I’m thinking of going to Xia Jing tomorrow to tell her that you’ve agreed to us being together. What do you think?"

Old Master Zhang, upon hearing Zhang Zhentian say this, felt a bit guilty towards his son and said indifferently, "Wait a few days. Xia Jing is probably still mad at you!"

Zhang Zhentian thought that made sense as he had had quite a row with Xia Jing during the day. She must still be angry, and visiting her might not even result in being able to see her. Thus, Zhentian decided to wait a few days before seeking out Xia Jing.

"Okay, Dad. I’ll listen to you and find Xia Jing in a few days."

"Mm, hurry up and eat."