Chapter 33 - Compromise (1/2)

Adrian would never expect that, on the second day, he would receive a call from the internal communicator.

“Commander, someone is calling and they said they have something to talk to you about…”

At first, Adrian did not realize who it was who called, so he thought the reason why the receptionist sounded so hesitant was because some other bigshot had called and was seeking him out, so the reception desk could not decide what to do.

“Who is it? Didn’t I say I was busy this month, and to respond to all of them by saying I’m not around?” Adrian casually said, “Transfer it to the adjutant.”

“Uh, but he said he was…was…um…”

Hearing the receptionist stutter to such an extent, Adrian finally realized that something was wrong. Then, he finally reacted, “Is it Zhong Yan?”

“Yes, yes, it’s him.” When the receptionist heard that Adrian did not get angry, it almost felt to her like she had received the emperor’s pardon. “So, should we transfer it to the adjutant, or?”

“Why should you transfer his call to the adjutant? Transfer him to me. Did he say anything?”

“He said it’s urgent, but he didn’t tell me the details. I’ll transfer him to you now.”

After the notification bell, the voice on the call was replaced with Zhong Yan’s.

“What is it?” Adrian asked. “Did something happen at the capital?”

“Zhong Yan said, “No…I just wanted to ask, where did you leave the knives in the kitchen? I clearly saw them just a few days ago.”

As if he was facing a great enemy, Adrian asked vigilantly, “What are you looking for the knives for?”

Zhong Yan had been down in the dumps lately and looked out of sorts. Even though he wasn’t the liveliest person in general, he simply appeared sullen these days. Adrian had constantly been worried about things like him jumping into a pond happening again, so just in case, he had been bringing the knives and kitchen tools to work with him in his car for the past two days.

“What else would I need a knife for? To cut vegetables.” Zhong Yan said, “I went through all the cabinets in the kitchen but I can’t find them. Where did you keep them? I’m in a hurry to use them.”

Why would he be so urgent about cutting vegetables? Adrian was very suspicious that Zhong Yan had finally broken down and was prepared to end himself with a knife. He quickly stood up and turned off the virtual screen in his office before walking out and said, “The knives were getting rusty so I chucked them. I’ll buy a new set on the way home.”

“Oh, that’s alright then. I can just buy them now on the virtual community. I think I saw quite a few stores nearby that support drones. It’ll still be a while before work is over for you.”

“No!” Adrian replied. “Don’t buy and leave random stuff in my house. I’m coming back right now. I’ll buy it.”

“What? You’re coming back now?” Zhong Yan’s voice sounded a little panicked. “How come you’re so early today?”

Hearing that, Adrian was even more convinced about his own conjecture. He decided that Zhong Yan must have been prepared to do terrible things to himself with those knives. While rejoicing about having kept away the knives, he responded firmly, “Yes, and I will be home very soon, so just stay there and don’t move.”

Adrian quickly drove himself home and rushed directly through the door without even parking his car properly.

Then, he was shocked by the scene before him.

All he saw was that the previously beautifully furnished open kitchen was now heating up with activity. There were now two pots on the induction stovetops that had never been turned on before, and some unknown food was cooking in the pressure cooker. Steam was constantly blowing out of the ventilation hole.

Zhong Yan was holding a pan with a variety of colorful vegetables sizzling inside, and some spare ingredients had been neatly prepared next to the console, ready for use, with the seasonings and condiments at Zhong Yan’s right.

The delicious smell of food was floating in the air, and for the first time, life could be felt in the usually empty house.

“You’re back? That was quick.” Zhong Yan was bustling around. It could be seen that he was cooking two things at once and had already tried his best to speed up. “Wait just a little while longer, I’ll be done soon. Where’s the knife?”

Adrian was speechless for a moment.

As he tossed up the food in the frying pan, he peered over to him—both his hands were empty.

“You didn’t get the knife?” he asked uncertainly.

“…I bought them,” said Adrian. “I left them in the car. I’ll go grab them now.”

He took the set of tools he had taken out from the house back in again. Zhong Yan accepted them and washed them, but suddenly paused. He brought the knives closer and observed them, then looked at the whole set of tools.

“This kitchen knife…looks a lot like the one before,” he stated in confusion.

Adrian: “…”

He did not want to admit that he was worried Zhong Yan would commit suicide with a knife, so he had been going to headquarters with a bunch of kitchen knives for two days. He could only grit his teeth and say, “That’s just the style I like.”

Zhong Yan looked puzzlingly at the set of mass-produced kitchen tools and tried to figure out what Adrian liked about them.

“What’s in here?” Adrian approached the kitchen and looked at the pressure cooker.

Zhong Yan let the tools go and responded, “It’s a vegetable broth, I had to tear the vegetables by hand so they may not look too good, but they won’t be fresh anymore if I don’t use them, that’s why I was in such a hurry earlier. You should go sit down, we can start our meal after I’m done with this—”