Chapter 5 Part2 (1/2)
Thank you to fan63 for writing a review in NU. This chapter dedicated to fan63 and those unnamed others who rated the novel on NU.
He smiled at her. As if to tell her that everything was going to be okay, and that she shouldn’t think too much.
” Do you like to eat stewed beef ?”
She surmised that he must have called either the coach or a staff member for the team, but she had guessed wrong.
A van stopped in front of the bus station.
The driver was a gentleman, his eyes calm,thick eyebrows with a hooked nose. He looked quite serious.
” Come here and say h.e.l.lo.”
Li Yongxuan hesitated a moment, then slowly moved forward.
The driver looked calmly at her.
” This is my personal steward, driver, a.s.sistant, you can call him Old Mai.” Mai Wei Zhe casually introduced him to her then said, ” Hurry up ! I’m starving to death.”
He sat with her in the back seat of the car. She secretly asked him, ” Is this your grandfather?”
Mai Wei Zhe looked at her in surprise. She had figured this out the first time ? It was cLear that she had thoroughly studied the personal files of Mai Wei Zhe and all his other team members.
She knew that Mai Wei Zhe had been brought up by his grandfather since childhood. But she was surprised that even his grandfather had such a healthy spirit.
They sat quietly in the car till it reached it’s destination. At this point, Old Mai turned towards Mai Wei Zhe and said , ” You haven’t told me the lady’s name yet,”
” Ah! Didn’t I mention it just now ? Her name is Li Yongxuan. She is going to stay with us from today”, Mai Wei Zhe announced.
Li Yongxuan was dumbfounded, when was this decided ?
Old Mai just nodded solemnly nodded, took her luggage and walked towards the house .
It was a very ordinary looking two storied brick house. But as she walked into the entrance, she couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
The fragrance of food filled the room.
In the living room, apart from a large LCD TV and a sofa in the corner, the were treadmills, fitness bikes, weight training equipment; then there was an open kitchen and on the other side was the dining room.
Although not very large, it was well arranged. The furniture was wooden, the walls and bookshelves had framed photos…it was a house that was lived in.
She stood in a daze when Mai Wei Zhe came and pushed her from the back, ” Let’s have dinner.”
” First, wash you hands!” The old man commanded from the kitchen as he heated up the food.
They washed their hands and sat at the table. The fare was quite simple, a clear beef soup, two kinds of vegetables, and chicken b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
However, Old Mai was a very good cook. Even a boring food like chicken breast had been roasted with spices so that there was a fragrant aroma and even Li Yongxuan wanted to try it.
She stared as Mai Wei Zhe ladled some soup directly from the pot and put it in her bowl. She drank a mouthful.
She had been hungry for the whole day, both her body and soul were exhausted; this bowl of hot soup seemed to soothe her nerves.
The clear beef soup was very tasty, the seasoning done just right. She was used to having lunch at restaurants. No one had ever even made a cup of coffee for her, or sent her a meal. She couldn’t remember the last time when she had such a delicious homely meal.
Suddenly, she burst out in tears, her tears dropping into the bowl.
The old man froze in fright. Mai Wei Zhe turned around to see her crying and immediately came over to her side. Very calmly, in a low voice, he asked, ” What’s the matter ?Did you burn your mouth ? I forgot to mention to you that the soup was hot…”
”No no..I just feel this soup is so delicious…”
After listening to her, both the old man and the young man were obviously relieved .
Mai Wei Zhe couldn’t help but make a teasing comment, ” The soup is delicious, and that makes you cry ? You’d think this food was so heavenly ?”
She didn’t answer, but concentrated on devouring the food.
The beef was delicious as well, it was stewed perfectly so that is was tender and soft, the ginger seasoning was just right. After having two or three bowls of the soup, her stomach was full.
She looked up , and just took a spoonful of brown rice.
Every dish that she tasted, even the chicken b.r.e.a.s.t.s that were in front of Mai Wei Zhe, were amazing.
The three people on the table ate their meals quietly.
Mai Wei Zhe would occasionally make fun of her, but the teasing did not deter her from eating her fill.
LI Yongxuan tasted all the dishes on the table
After eating, her face looked much better. Her eyes no longer had that empty haunted look it had before.
She stared at Old Mai opposite her ,” This is so good. Thank you.”
Old Mai nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Mai Wei Zhe heard this and did not like this biased treatment,he immediately protested, ” I also helped serve you the dishes, why aren’t you thanking me ?”
” But you didn’t cook”, she winked at him.
Mai Wei Zhe touched his nose, and sulked. On one side he helped pick up the dishes from the table, on the other hand, he kept muttering something under his breath. He seemed very unwilling, but there was a smile in his eyes.
” I will help with cleaning the dishes”, she offered.
It was the least she could do in return for the wonderful meal she had.
” No”, said the old man. He signaled that she should go upstairs, ” Xiao Mai will take you to your room upstairs. Get some rest.”
” Um…”
”Go”, he categorically stated, with no room for dissent.
She obediently followed Mai Wei Zhe upstairs. He looked very glad, ”Fortunately you are here. So I can escape the torture of was.h.i.+ng dishes.”
” If it’s too inconvenient, I can go to a hotel”. Although she didn’t know where there was a hotel, she could not help but offer as she walked upstairs.
In response, Mai Wei Zhe only waved his hand, he didn’t even bother turning back.
” Don’t worry, my family often offers temporary shelter to my team mates. Anrun lived here for more than two months after the hostel he used to stay in asked him to move.”
Upstairs, there were three bedrooms, each with an attached bathroom. They all looked practical and comfortable.
He pointed out one to her, ” You stay in that room. If you need something let me know. I have to go now.”
” You have to go …go wash the dishes ?” A pair of huge eyes looked at him. In her heart, she was secretly hoping he could give her some company for a little while, talk a little…
” I’m going to run. I haven’t completed the training schedule for today.”
She stared at him as he went downstairs, then stepped into the room.
It had a small single bed, a bookcase and a wardrobe, all made of wood. The curtains were light green , a low voltage light was on, the small room looked really warm.
She sat down on the bed covered with a green bedspread, and for a moment, wondered …why did Mai come after her ?
The next day,when Li Yongxuan woke up, she felt completely refreshed.
She casually looked at the bedside clock, it was ten thirty.
Ten thirty ! She immediately sat up. She slept till ten thirty ? In the past five years she had never woken up later than seven, what was going on with her today ! But then she remembered where she was.
From downstairs, she could hear the sound of the treadmill. There was a delicious fragrance of food, and her stomach rumbled as she smelled it. She could smell coffee, m.u.f.fins, fried eggs..
After was.h.i.+ng up, she came downstairs with some trepidation. As she had expected, the table was laden with a hearty breakfast, all hot and fresh. Seeing this, her belly rumbled again shamelessly.
” Have your breakfast”, Old Mai gestured, holding a spatula, gestured towards the freshly made French toast.
”Uh..so much..is someone else joining us ?”
The old man shook his head and replied with a solemn expression, ” Because I didn’t know what you would like to eat- Mai only told me you have coffee and donuts for breakfast – I made a western style breakfast for you to chose.”
Li Yongxuan was completely dumbfounded.
This table was filled with so much food, she wouldn’t be able to finish it in a week !
” Why does someone get to eat so much..yeah yeah”, the sound of someone singing came in from the living room behind.
The singing was off key and the self made lyrics were obviously awful.
” Why do I only get whole wheat toast and omelette..why why ?”
Li Yongxuan could not help but burst out laughing.
In the last few days, no, perhaps since a very long time, this was the first time that she had laughed genuinely from the heart.
When she laughed, her usual calm and dignified expression changed completely. It warmed people up, as if they had walked out from the freezing ice rink to the suns.h.i.+ne outside.
Old Mai handed her a cup of coffee, and she obediently sat down at the table.
She faced the table full of food; this was going to be a problem. But this was a good problem to have.
” Don’t you want to eat together?” she called out joyfully.