Chapter 10: The Tenth Day of Acquaintance. Wu Yunxi wanted to refuse...

Wu Yunxi wanted to refuse, but she couldn't persuade Mama Quan. She could only watch them leave. She went into the kitchen, took out the ingredients she needed, and closed the refrigerator again. After making a simple spicy hot pot, Wu Yunxi cooked herself a bowl of noodles.

When you're hungry, you feel like you can eat anything. But as you actually sat down and prepared to eat, you realized it might be a bit too much.

Quan Jiyong came in at that moment, noticing Wu Yunxi's distressed look.

"What's wrong?"

Someone suddenly spoke in the previously empty restaurant, startling Wu Yunxi. Turning around, she saw Quan Jiyong and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oppa, it's really not good to scare people," she complained subconsciously. Wu Yunxi turned around, letting Quan Jiyong see the table. "It seems like we made a bit too much. When I was hungry, I thought I could finish it all, but now it seems like it will be wasted, so I'm a little worried."

"It looks delicious. Do you mind if I join you?"

Quan Jiyong had driven over on a whim, just as Wu Yunxi had messaged him about being hungry.

Luckily, it was nighttime and traffic wasn't heavy, so the drive took about ten minutes less than usual. After parking, he saw a message from his mom, saying Wu Yunxi was alone at the restaurant.

Quan Ji-yong headed toward the restaurant, and upon entering, he saw Wu Yunxi looking distressed, so he asked. He ended up giving

Wu Yunxi a fright. "Can you handle spicy food?"

Wu Yunxi's eyes lit up, thinking it was a great idea. But then she saw the spicy hot pot on the table. She'd tasted it in the kitchen right after it was made, and it was indeed quite spicy.

"Yes, I can, don't worry,"

Quan Ji-yong replied in the affirmative, putting Wu Yunxi's mind at ease.

"Then I'll get another set of bowls and chopsticks," Wu Yunxi said, standing up and heading to the kitchen.

Quan Ji-yong followed, pulling out his usual bowls and chopsticks, saying they'd be fine.

Wu Yunxi nodded, and the two of them headed out together again.

The ramen was unseasoned. Wu Yunxi had originally intended to season it with the leftover seasoning from the spicy hot pot, but she had just poured it in, not yet mixed it.

As she picked up her chopsticks to mix the noodles, and then the two of them shared,

Quan Jiyong saw Wu Yunxi clumsily stirring the noodles, trying to get the flavor into every strand. Her movements looked awkward, so he offered to do it.

"Leave it to me."

After a pause, Quan Jiyong took the noodles from her hand. Watching him expertly mix the noodles, Wu Yunxi realized how clumsy she had been.

At least the comparison between the two of them was quite obvious.

"Oppa, you look so skilled, but I've never been good at

mixing noodles." After giving Wu Yunxi half of the noodles, Quan Jiyong smiled and said, "I'm only good at this kind of simple stuff. Even though I've lived away from home for quite a while, I don't really know how to cook a lot of dishes."

Quan Jiyong was being honest. He could only make simple, convenient dishes. He struggled with complicated steps. Of course, since he usually lived alone, he wasn't very good at making complex dishes.

That's because I spent more time at home during the pandemic in the past few years, and I slowly learned to cook on my own. Otherwise, before joining the army, I'd have been so busy that I wouldn't have had the time to learn.

"Is that so? Thanks, Oppa~" Wu Yunxi took the bowl from Quan Jiyong and placed it in front of her, urging Quan Jiyong to try her cooking. "I rarely cook for myself either. I used to travel and take photos, but because of the pandemic, I haven't been home for several years, so I've been spending more time in China recently. This is something a Chinese friend taught me to make, and this is the first time I've made it on my own. Oppa, give it a try."

Wu Yunxi briefly spoke about her own experiences. The two of them were quite similar. Of course, during Quan Jiyong's busiest years, Wu Yunxi spent a lot of time studying. Although she didn't think about it now, the two of them got along very naturally, despite the ten-year age difference.

Quan Jiyong picked up a piece of lotus root and took a bite. The numbing and spicy taste spread in his mouth. Although it was a bit spicy, it seemed to be really delicious on such a night.

"It tastes really good! You can't tell you're a newbie!" Quan Ji-yong gave Wu Yunxi a thumbs-up.

After dinner, Wu Yunxi cleared the dishes and returned to the kitchen. Quan Ji-yong followed behind, carrying the remaining dishes. Seeing Wu Yunxi turn on the water, he quickly walked over.

"Leave the dishes to me. You made the food, so leave the cleanup to me. I'll still do it."

Quan Ji-yong also washed the dishes when he was home, so this wasn't just about helping out, but about mutual giving. He'd also volunteer to do the chores when his dad was resting.

"Is that okay?" Wu Yunxi said this, but she didn't actually do anything. In their family, whoever had the time did the work; there was no such thing as girls doing all the housework. So, when Quan Ji-yong said this, she was completely fine with it.

"That's great," Quan Ji-yong gently pushed Wu Yunxi to the side, naturally took the tools from her hands, and turned on the water to wash the dishes.

Wu Yunxi stood by and watched Quan Zhilong wash the dishes. She felt as if he was either a big star or just an ordinary person, and she felt closer to him.

"Oppa, try my other dishes next time, if you have time."

They naturally made an appointment to have dinner together next time. Quan Zhilong did not object, saying that he would definitely come to eat such delicious food.

After washing the dishes and putting them in the sterilizer, he washed his hands again and took out a few paper towels to dry his hands. Then they walked outside, turned off the kitchen light, and left the restaurant and closed the door.

"Oppa, put on some hand cream."

Noticing that Quan Zhilong's hands were a little dry, Wu Yunxi took out the hand cream from her pocket and handed it to him. The hand cream was a little warm because it was in her pocket. Quan Zhilong took it,

squeezed a little for himself, tightened the cap again, and handed it back to Wu Yunxi.

"Yes, thank you."

As the two walked side by side, Wu Yunxi glanced up and noticed the stars in the sky. These days, it's almost impossible to see stars in the city. The air in the villa is really good, and there aren't many buildings around, so being able to see the stars is a real surprise.

"Want to sit down and watch?"

Noticing Wu Yunxi's slowed pace and seeing his attention focused on the sky, he smiled and reminded him to be careful before suggesting they sit down and watch.

It was quite cool sitting outside at this time of summer. A slight breeze blew away the heat from the meal, but with the many plants around, mosquitoes were unavoidable.

Wu Yunxi wasn't particularly attracted to mosquitoes and didn't find them bothering him. Quan Zhilong wasn't particularly attracted to mosquitoes, but compared to Wu Yunxi, he was bitten hard after spending over half an hour with someone watching the stars outside.

Sitting on the swing, swaying, Quan Ji-yong would even join in the swinging. They chatted ramblingly until Wu Yunxi yawned. Quan Ji-yong glanced at the time and suggested going back to rest and taking their time tomorrow.

"Yeah, let's go home then."

Wu Yunxi also checked the time. It was almost eleven o'clock in the evening. After having a midnight snack and staying out for a while, it was indeed a bit late. Wu Yunxi had also gone to work this morning, so she hadn't said she felt tired, but after hearing that, she felt a bit sleepy.

"I'll take you home, and then I'll go back to the room to rest."

The guest rooms for public use were not in the same building as the family's house, so it took quite a distance to get there. Quan Ji-yong walked them to the door of the room and was about to leave when Wu Yunxi called him.

"Oppa, wait for me a moment."

He opened the door and walked in. A few minutes later, Wu Yunxi came out with something in her hand and handed it to Quan Ji-yong. It was something she always kept in her suitcase, especially good for mosquito bites. This was also recommended for purchase. Although it is basically not used normally, Wu Yunxi will still be bitten by the poisonous mosquitoes in the mountains, especially those mosquito bites that will itch more.

Just now, when walking on the road, Wu Yunxi noticed a few small bumps on Quan Zhilong's arm, and then she remembered that she had such a thing.

"This is used after mosquito bites. The effect is very good and the mosquito bites will disappear quickly. I just noticed that Oppa was bitten by a mosquito. If he hadn't stayed outside with me for a while, he would not have been bitten. Consider it an apology."

When she said the apology, she was actually worried about Quan Zhilong.

Wu Yunxi had her own little thoughts. When she was in contact with Quan Zhilong, she was actually judging some things subconsciously.

"Then I'll take it. But don't worry too much. I won't get bitten that often. I'm not that popular with mosquitoes."

"At least it's better than me, Oppa. I'm not popular with mosquitoes at all. I'm not like Oppa, a big star, who would be liked by mosquitoes." "

You're being ridiculous?"

Kwon Ji-yong knew the sarcasm was obvious. Besides, how could being popular with mosquitoes be a good thing?

"Hehe, Oppa, good night. See you tomorrow?" Wu Yunxi chuckled, completely unfazed by Kwon Ji-yong's sudden change of expression.

What else could Kwon Ji-yong do? He could only accept it. "Okay, okay, good night. See you tomorrow."

Since he was back tonight, Kwon Ji-yong had no plans to go back tomorrow. Not only had he been out of work for the past few days, but he also had some unresolved issues with the company. The group was completely idle.

Of course, with only three members left in the group, Kwon Ji-yong still felt a bit bitter. He was the one who least wanted the group to debut in the first place, yet he had been managing the members since they were trainees, and now this was the outcome. Even after so many years, he still feels sad. He is the one who invested the most in the group, and obviously...

these things will not be brought up. He just hopes that all three of them are fine. Now occasionally, Quan Zhilong will write songs, but he has not released them. When he found out that his stage name was registered by the company, he was very disappointed. He has to argue with the company over these things. Occasionally, he will take on some work, and even if he does not make a comeback, the company will use it to create scandals in order to increase the popularity of others.

These behaviors have also made Quan Zhilong spend more time resting at home in the past two years.

"Oppa, have a good rest."

Seeing that Quan Zhilong did not know what he was thinking about, Wu Yunxi reminded him again with concern.

After watching the person walk away, he closed the door. He said he was going to sleep, but he browsed his phone on the bed for a while before slowly falling asleep.