The Self-cultivation of Omega Running with the Ball

This dinner was indeed very special. Wen Qiu specially picked the private restaurant where he worked and asked for the best private room. After inviting Pei Du to sit down, he went to the kitchen himself, put on an apron and sleeves, and started cooking.

He also cooked at Pei Du's house, but he was always a little restrained. Pei Du's house had an open kitchen, and even though he didn't mind, Wen Qiu didn't dare to cook dishes that produced too much smoke, for fear of dirtying his home that was like a work of art.

There was nothing to worry about here. Wen Qiu asked an old colleague to help him kill a live fish and make the restaurant's signature pickled fish. Then he fried golden shrimp balls in a pan. He picked up a large iron pan and quickly stir-fried a dish of stir-fried pork liver and a dish of green seasonal vegetables. Finally, he added a delicious old hen mushroom soup, took out the red sugar date cake and steamed dumplings from the steamer, and a table of home-cooked dishes was ready.

When the chefs saw him busying around, they thought of the waiters' gossip about him bringing in a tall, rich and handsome guy, and they started to make fun of him, saying that even if the governor came, he couldn't compare to the full banquet treatment that Xiao Wen gave to her boyfriend.

Wen Qiu did not explain, busy as a top, but very satisfied in his heart. What is more joyful than cooking is to cook for the people who are waiting for you.

The dishes were almost ready, so he didn't ask the waiter to serve them. He carried the dishes himself and walked into the private room.

Pickled fish is the restaurant's signature dish, served in a heavy, noble bowl. The fish is tender white, the peppers are bright red, the green onions are emerald green, and the hot oil that has just been poured on is still sizzling.

He is much better at cooking than writing scripts. Pei Du is so good at praising people, so what kind of compliments should he give?

Using his knees to push the door open with difficulty, Wen Qiu entered the room little by little, and said with great joy: "Try my specialty——"

He suddenly shut up because he found Pei Du wearing headphones and talking on the phone. He made a "hush" gesture to himself with one hand, and with the other hand held the small bowl from the restaurant, casually swishing the hot water inside.

"I won't come today. I have an important dinner... What do you think is more important than you?" The person opposite him was obviously one of his bad friends. Pei Du looked very relaxed. "The answer is 'everything in the world'... Okay, stop arguing. I know you spent a lot of money. Come over later..."

The man in the expensive windbreaker sat on a heavy wooden chair, and the seven-digit watch was placed on a bright red tablecloth with a hole burned by a cigarette butt. The furniture was cheap and magnificent imitation European style, and there was a weird portrait of the Virgin Mary on the wall, which was actually to cover the mold on the back that could not be wiped off... All of this was illuminated by the dusty European chandelier above.

While waiting for Pei Du to finish his call, Wen Qiu stood there quietly, watching. He was familiar with the people and the restaurant, but now he discovered many details that he had never noticed before. His mind quickly cooled down - not just cooled down, but fell into a kind of desolation.

As if awakened from a dream by a bolt of lightning, Wen Qiu had no idea what he was doing. It was like a dream from the beginning. He dressed himself up carefully, watched a movie with Pei Du, talked about the script in a cafe, and then prepared a meal for him. He even wanted to say goodbye, "I am very happy today, thank you for coming to accompany me, you don't have to transfer money to me, today is my treat."

It was as if he was trying his best to please Pei Du... not for money, but simply to seek love.

Wen Qiu was so shocked by this realization that he trembled all over. He put the bowl on the table, turned around and fled out of the room.

When he calmed down a little and walked into the room carrying the last dish, Pei Du had just finished a phone call and poured the hot water used to rinse the small bowl into an unused teacup.

Wen Qiu subconsciously wiped the oil stains on his hands, saw Pei Du's surprise and heard his many compliments. Those were what he wanted, but he only managed a forced smile.

Pei Du soon discovered that he was not in the right state, and thought that he was angry about the phone call, so he explained: "Don't mind it, it's a call from a friend. They call me every now and then and ask me to do some meaningless things."

He added: "Although I have many friends, no one has ever treated me so attentively. I can't bear to eat such delicious food. Thank you for giving me such a good gift."

Wen Qiu responded absentmindedly and had no appetite for dinner.

"Tired?" Pei Du asked with concern after the meal, "You don't seem to have a very good appetite."

"Well, a little bit..." Wen Qiu said as the noisy and drunken sounds from the next room came through the thin wall. He saw Pei Du frowned imperceptibly - money divides distance and boundaries. In the past, such vulgar and noisy sounds would not appear in Young Master Pei's world.

Wen Qiu suddenly stood up: "I'll go call the waiter to ask the people next door to be quiet."

Pei Du watched him walk out, gently put down his chopsticks, and then looked at his watch. He didn't eat a single bite of food when Wen Qiu was not around.

After dinner, they both drank a little and couldn't drive. Pei Du called Assistant Jiang, "After all, it's been a hard day. I'll ask the assistant to take you home and have a good rest."

"it is good."

"I really enjoyed the meal today," Pei Du suddenly leaned close and kissed him on the hair, "Thank you."

Wen Qiu subconsciously wanted to avoid him, not to avoid his close contact, but because he knew that he still had the smell of kitchen fumes on him. However, he held back and did not move, and felt their shoulders touching each other, and a warm breath falling on the ends of his hair.

Wen Qiu's heart began to beat loudly, like a rolling stone that could never land in the right place.

Assistant Jiang quickly took a taxi over, and Pei Du threw the car keys to her, "Send Xiao Wen home, be careful on the road."

"What are you going to do?" Assistant Jiang asked.

"Robin is already waiting for me there." Pei Du glanced towards the street, and a red sports car over there immediately honked its horn impatiently, obviously getting impatient.

"Got it." Assistant Jiang opened the car door for Wen Qiu in a businesslike manner, "Please go in." Wen Qiu got into the car and saw Pei Du slightly bowed and said goodbye to him through the car window. His handsome face reflected the neon lights of the city at night, as elusive as a dream.

"Goodbye, thank you for staying with me." Wen Qiu waved at him.

Pei Du seemed to want to respond, but Assistant Jiang stepped on the accelerator and the car sped away.

I was driving fast while the leader was speaking, and Wen Qiu gave her a thumbs up in her heart.

"Where do you live?" Jiang Jinglan turned on the car navigation.

"Just drop me off at the Chengbei Road bus stop, thank you."

Jiang Jinglan didn't say anything. He entered the address into the navigation system and then asked, "Are you treating us today?"

She probably saw the restaurant and knew it was not the place Pei Du would choose... Wen Qiu pursed her lips and said, "This is where I work, so I am allowed to use the kitchen. I cooked the dishes today."

"Oh," Jiang Jinglan responded indifferently, "Then you know that Mr. Pei is allergic to shellfish, right? In addition, he doesn't eat animal organs, and generally doesn't choose overly greasy and spicy food. He hates green peppers and celery..."

Wen Qiu was embarrassed for a moment. Apart from the allergy, he knew nothing else. Thinking back on this dinner, he had stepped on many minefields of Pei Du. However, he had not shown any dissatisfaction just now. He ate the food as if he was the happiest person in the world.

"Thank you for telling me. I will pay attention to it next time." Wen Qiu sat in the back seat with his bag in his arms, still wearing Pei Du's coat. "Pei Du never mentioned this to me before."

Jiang Jinglan glanced at the overly innocent and beautiful child in the rearview mirror and said, "He didn't mention it to you because he didn't see you as a chef. He didn't date you for the delicious food."

Positioning?... Wen Qiu suddenly realized the reason for his entanglement, it was precisely this "positioning". Pei Du was so good and ambiguous to him, but he did not give him any real "status". There was no reliable contract between the two of them, and everything he enjoyed could be cut off by the other party at any time.

By then, I would have to return to my old life - endless hard work, running around for a little money, not even enough to send Xiao Zhiliao to school, and living in fear of accidents that could happen at any time...

That's why I feel so elated and uneasy, and I can't help but try to please others, wanting to gain more attention and love, and wanting to get more certainty.

Wen Qiu thought about it again and again, but couldn't help asking: "Then what do you think Pei Du defines me as?"

Jiang Jinglan did not answer directly, but asked: "You haven't slept with each other yet, right?"

Unexpectedly, she asked so directly. Wen Qiu said "hmm" awkwardly.

"Although his ultimate goal may be to have sex with you, he also enjoys the process." Jiang Jinglan mercilessly complained about her boss, "He seems to enjoy your company, so he will continue to pay for your services."

It's like having a pet, a high-end pet that can cook and revise papers, sensible and worry-free, and can be summoned and dismissed at will. If you think in this way, one thousand yuan an hour is not expensive, after all, those rich people have to buy hundreds of thousands of show-class dogs to keep as pets.

"You only need to consider how to meet Mr. Pei's needs and how to achieve your own goals. Don't think about anything else." Jiang Jinglan sighed, "This is a form of self-protection. Do you understand?"

"Well," Wen Qiu looked down at the 6000 yuan transfer he had just received on his phone, "Thanks for the reminder."

As if he had been enlightened, he woke up completely. His goal was to make money, as much money as possible, to save money for Xiao Zhiliao to go to school. In order to achieve this goal, he had to work hard to please Pei Du and make this business prosperous for a long time.

He also figured out why Pei Du stopped himself from talking in the cafe, because all he wanted was a kind of ease and joy close to love, but he didn't want the responsibility and pain of love.

"Love" was something illusory and not something I should fantasize about. Even if they were really together, could they have a future? He had nothing, was divorced, worked as a club hostess, and had a child whose biological father was unknown. He was ashamed to tell others about it, let alone marry into a wealthy family like the Pei family.

After thinking it through, Wen Qiu felt relieved. Although reality was not as wonderful as dreams, it was more practical; although it was not so comfortable, he could control the direction. He was glad that he woke up before he fell too deep, otherwise he didn't know how badly he would fall.

When he arrived at the bus stop, he got off the bus and waited alone for the last bus to arrive. In such a dark and quiet night, waiting suddenly became the most uncertain thing.

The cold wind of the autumn night made everything tremble, and Wen Qiuqing couldn't help but wrap his coat tightly. He went into a roadside convenience store and bought two bottles of cheap soju. When he took out his cell phone, he suddenly felt a box of hard objects in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was Pei Du's cigarettes.

So he looked up at the clerk who was staring at him blankly, "Give me another lighter, thank you."

Carrying the wine to the bus stop, he took out a cigarette, lowered his head and used his hand to block the wind to skillfully light it, leaning against the station sign and smoking out of boredom. Bitter, strong, and slightly choking, these were all the smells he had smelled from Pei Du.

It was not until the car lights dimly lit up in the distance that he put out the cigarette in the trash can, tilted his head back and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, then patted his clothes to dispel the smell that he should not linger on.

(End of this chapter)