No one understands rebirth better than me

Chapter 161 We often sleep together
Regardless of whether the temperature drops again, Guanren is not greatly affected.

One reason is that Guan Ren is in really good health now.

On the other hand, it's also because it's warm enough to be busy in the kitchen.

However, what occasionally distracted Guan Ren was that the area outside the kitchen seemed unusually quiet at some point...

There was chatter at first.

As a result, after Guan Ren cleaned the fish, there seemed to be no movement outside for a long time.

"Three women together, and they actually have nothing to say? Interesting..."

Ok…

Could it be that the atmosphere is a bit awkward because of Luo Xiaobei's long-awaited return?

Of course, Mother doesn't need to worry. The main concern is Sister Gu... Could it be that she and Luo Xiaobei are sitting awkwardly in the living room right now?

Guan Ren muttered to himself, unaware that the scene in the living room was far from what he had imagined.

……

"Sister Qiaoyun, is this good or bad?"

"Bad".

"Hehe, no wonder... Aunt Guan, what about this one?"

"This one who's in cahoots with her, huh, he's no better than her."

At this moment, three women, one adult and two children, were intently watching the TV in the living room. The reason they only occasionally chatted was because they were captivated by the plot of the TV series.

Although Guan Ren himself doesn't understand it, "War and Beauty," the originator of palace intrigue dramas, is indeed quite something.

At least there are some compelling highlights that will keep you watching.

Otherwise, Luo Xiaobei, who has never been interested in palace dramas, and Gu Youli, who doesn't watch TV much, wouldn't have been unknowingly drawn into the plot.

She even sorted out the complicated feelings that Luo Xiaobei and Gu Youli had experienced earlier that day.

"Young Pear, hurry!"

Luo Xiaobei stared at the screen, waving her little hand to Gu Youli on the other side:

"Remote control!"

Gu Youli didn't hesitate, keeping her eyes glued to the screen, then passed the message from her right hand to her left and then to Luo Xiaobei:

"Give!"

"OK!"

Luo Xiaobei took the remote control, and because there was about to be an advertisement, she, who was familiar with TV channels, immediately switched to another channel that was also showing "War and Beauty" the moment the advertisement started.

This is a little tip for achieving a relatively seamless viewing experience when watching TV shows in the early days.

Click…

At the same time, Guan Qiaoyun didn't forget to grab a handful of sunflower seeds for Luo Xiaobei while she was cracking sunflower seeds.

Luo Xiaobei kept staring at the TV, then turned her left hand to her right, and then gave half of her right hand to Gu Youli.

Gu Youli was just as focused on watching the show as she was when she was studying. She naturally took the melon seeds from Luo Xiaobei and started eating them.

Therefore, the situation in the living room at this moment was actually the opposite of what Guan Ren had imagined; it was a case of "silence speaks louder than words," with no awkward atmosphere at all, but rather a very harmonious one.

……

As the aroma began to fill the air, dinnertime arrived. The television was turned off, and Luo Xiaobei and Gu Youli, still savoring the meal, stood up and exchanged a glance, which brought back the somewhat indescribable atmosphere from before.

----------

"Eat, eat!"

Soon, everyone was seated, the bowls and chopsticks were set out, and the cook, Guan Ren, made his official entrance.

Steamed sea bass, braised pork ribs with baby potatoes, stir-fried cabbage with glass noodles, stir-fried bok choy with shiitake mushrooms, twice-cooked pork, dried shrimp and winter melon soup…

"Sister Gu, move aside, don't get burned."

"Bei, move the plate."

Luo Xiaobei was astonished as Guan Ren brought one delicious dish after another to the table.

When did my childhood friend develop such amazing cooking skills?

She almost gasped out loud, especially at the steamed sea bass, which was steamed so beautifully and looked so fresh—something Luo Xiaobei used to only eat at restaurants.

But in reality, she didn't know that this dish was actually the simplest one on the table.

Steaming a whole fish like this is a common home cooking method in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

It's just not a common dish in the southwest region.

At least in a small county town in Southwest China in 2011, it was unusual for families to prepare dishes like slicing scallions and making steamed fish soy sauce.

When we buy fish, we usually cut them into chunks and braise them, or slice them and make soup.

It's usually only served in restaurants or at banquets that the whole thing is steamed like this.

Therefore, Luo Xiaobei was naturally amazed by this fish.

"Eat, eat, eat! It's the middle of winter, don't wait until it gets cold."

Guan Ren greeted her, but noticed that Guan Qiaoyun seemed distracted, looking at her phone.

"Sister Qiao Yun?"

"Yeah, it's nothing."

Guan Qiaoyun frowned slightly, her expression stern as she stood up, holding the phone.
"Something came up at the company, and I have to head over there soon."

"what…"

Guan Ren really hoped that Guan Qiaoyun could eat on time, but fortunately, under his supervision this semester, Guan Qiaoyun had done very well, and he could accept making an exception for this special situation.

"Hello? Sister Wang, what's up with the warehouse..."

Guan Qiaoyun was on the phone when she went to the bedroom to change her clothes, as she was about to go to the company.

With the remaining three people, Guan Ren quickly urged Gu Youli:

"Sister Gu, this is the fish you personally selected, please have a taste."

"Um…"

Although she had specifically ordered this fish for certain reasons, Gu Youli still felt a sense of comfort when he actually cooked it.

Upon hearing this, Luo Xiaobei, who was about to take a bite, stopped mid-air with her chopsticks.

"?" Guan Ren looked at Luo Xiaobei, who was stiff in movement, with a puzzled expression.

"You should eat too, don't be so polite."

"Oh."

Luo Xiaobei responded with an "Oh".

Then he took a small bite and said that the taste wasn't very good.

"It tastes a bit fishy."

She gave a blank assessment while secretly swallowing.

"No way?"

Guan Ren was shocked. This dish was a complete disaster, so he tried it himself and looked at Luo Xiaobei:
"It doesn't smell fishy."

"You're like a pig's tongue, of course you can't taste it."

Luo Xiaobei spoke with conviction.

"I also think it doesn't taste fishy at all, it's delicious."

Gu Youli had also tried it and offered her objective opinion.

"You have a cat's tongue... you can't taste it either..."

Luo Xiaobei continued to speak eloquently, but also muttered to herself.

Guan Ren expressed his doubts:
"Aren't cats' tongues supposed to be very sensitive? How come they can't taste the fishy flavor?"

"Oh dear, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

A cat that steals fish is inherently prone to stealing fish, so of course her cat tongue can't taste the fish...

With that thought in mind, Luo Xiaobei didn't eat any more fish until the very end.

However, she was quite surprised that Guan Ren actually made the dessert he served, stewed pear with rock sugar, and she drank several bowls of it.

"Another bowl, please!"

"..."

Guan Ren was speechless when he saw that she hadn't eaten much rice, but was drinking this stuff bowl after bowl. He thought of Biao Ji's soup shop in the TV series "Ma Dashuai" and felt that this guy had come to his house to force her to get pregnant...

But then again.

Looking at the sticky residue on her lips, combined with her innocent eyes, there was an indescribable contrast that made Guan Ren have some rather suggestive thoughts for a moment. Finally, feeling guilty, he wiped her mouth with a tissue and then wouldn't allow Luo Xiaobei to drink anymore. Instead, he served Gu Youli a bowl.

However, Gu Youli didn't drink much, only taking a few perfunctory sips. Her mind was filled with the image of Guan Ren wiping Luo Xiaobei's mouth, and she didn't pay attention to the taste of the rock sugar pear soup.

If I had to say something…

Well…

It's probably a little sour...

----------

After finishing his meal, Guan Ren washed the dishes alone in the kitchen.
With so many bowls, Luo Xiaobei and Gu Youli initially offered to wash them for him.

After trying it out a couple of times, Guan Ren discovered that Luo Xiaobei's method of washing dishes was simply to apply a large amount of dish soap and rinse it off quickly.

She was quite surprised when she was told this, saying that she washes Su Ping's clothes in the same way at home.

Guan Ren thought to himself that it was no wonder Su Ping had complained to him last time that she sometimes disliked her daughter helping to wash the dishes and preferred to wash them herself.

Gu Youli is the other extreme.

She treats each plate like it's an exam.

Although she washed them very clean, the time it took her to wash one dish was enough for Guan Ren to wash three.

So in the end, Guan Ren decided to wash it himself instead.

"Guan Ren—~"

"what?"

Luo Xiaobei's voice came from the living room.

"I'm feeling sleepy after eating, going to take a nap now~"

"Go."

After Guan Ren finished speaking, he realized that he had run out of dish soap. The nearest general store was on Liuxing Road, so he had to go out and buy some.

Luo Xiaobei pushed open Guan Ren's bedroom door as soon as Guan Ren left.

"?!"

This action startled Gu Youli, who had been curious about her bad classmate's bedroom for a long time. So much so that when Luo Xiaobei was about to step inside, her heart pounded, and she instinctively reached out and grabbed Luo Xiaobei's clothes.

"Xiao Bei!"

"?"

"What... are you doing in Guan Ren's bedroom?"

"Taking a nap."

"!"

Gu Youli's mind flashed back to the image of Guan Ren wiping Luo Xiaobei's mouth, and she frowned, saying:
"You're going to...sleep in his bed tonight?"

"It's not that I'm going to sleep tonight."

Luo Xiaobei smiled, looked into Gu Youli's eyes, and said calmly:

"We are childhood sweethearts and have often slept together since we were little."

After Luo Xiaobei finished speaking, she yawned and went inside.

I closed the door behind me.

Click…

The force was neither too light nor too heavy, seemingly casual, yet it closed the bedroom door perfectly.

"..."

Gu Youli stood there blankly outside her deskmate's bedroom door for a moment.

Some images and scenes from today flashed through Gu Youli's mind like a revolving lantern.

A moment later, she raised a hand and slowly pressed it against her chest, feeling something subtly pressing against that thin, soft surface…

(End of this chapter)