10: Chapter 10 Telepathy

Although this salary-chasing trip didn't go as well as expected, everyone saw Chen Sheng, the organizer, call for the end, so those who had intended to use this opportunity to get together, have a drink, and vent their frustrations didn't feel comfortable speaking up.

"Enough said! I didn't expect to be dragged out for so long, I should head back too."

"Let's go together, it's on the way."

"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

After bidding farewell to everyone, Chen Sheng returned to his car, started the engine, and headed home.

On the way, passing by a gift shop, Chen Sheng parked the car and went inside, asking the owner to find a nice-looking gift box to wrap the bracelet.

Then, he went to the wet market to buy a fish and some side dishes; he planned to make the sweet and sour fish that An Xiaonuan loved for dinner tonight.

Tonight, after An Xiaonuan had a satisfying meal, he would present the carefully wrapped gift box; it would surely move her to tears.

Tsk tsk! When it came to a sense of ritual, he had it perfectly handled.

Back home, Chen Sheng entered the kitchen just in time for An Xiaonuan to get off work.

For tonight's sweet and sour fish, he chose carp.

Nowadays, almost all the carp on the market are fed with pond feed, which gives them a muddy, fishy taste, so they need to be marinated before cooking.

Chen Sheng took a small bowl, filled it more than halfway with water, and soaked aromatics like green onions and ginger in it, letting it sit for ten minutes for the flavors to infuse.

While waiting for the aromatics, he took out the fish, washed it again, and used a knife to make diagonal cross-cuts on the fish's back.

There wasn't much to the scoring; those with good knife skills could cut more, and those with poor skills could cut fewer. It was a home-cooked meal, after all, though Chen Sheng considered his own knife skills to be quite good.

No way around it! Men of Shu Province have been shedding bitter tears since childhood.

After scoring the fish, he placed it in a large basin he had prepared in advance, poured the aromatic-infused water over it, added a splash of cooking wine, and let it marinate for another ten minutes.

Chen Sheng didn't know how others removed the fishy smell, but this was how the adults in his family had taught him since he was a child.

Once the fish was marinated, he washed it again and, while it was still wet, coated it with starch to set its shape.

Next was frying the fish.

Because they used pure rapeseed oil brought from his hometown, Chen Sheng first heated the oil to remove the raw, astringent taste, then turned off the heat to let it cool, before turning it back on. When the oil reached about 70% heat, Chen Sheng held the fish by the head to set the tail, then fried the head, and finally placed the whole fish into the oil until it was cooked through.

Once the fish was fried, he removed it, drained the excess oil from the pan, leaving only a spoonful of base oil. Then, he added rock sugar to melt, followed by ketchup and other seasonings. After mixing well, he poured it evenly over the fish.

And just like that, a delicious, sweet and sour fish was ready.

Just then, the sound of the door opening rang out, followed by the 'thump, thump, thump' of footsteps. An Xiaonuan's energetic voice appeared at the kitchen doorway once again: "Hubby, what delicious thing are you making? I smelled the aroma as soon as I walked in."

"I made sweet and sour fish, it's fresh out of the pan. If you want to taste it, grab some chopsticks yourself," Chen Sheng replied while washing the pot.

However, for An Xiaonuan at this moment, chopsticks? What kind of thing was that? Could it be more convenient than using her hands?

Even though the fish was fresh out of the pan and hot, causing An Xiaonuan to hiss, it couldn't stop her from using her hand to pinch a piece of fish meat along the scored cuts and putting it into her mouth.

"Mmm! Delicious!" With one bite of fish in her stomach, An Xiaonuan's eyes brightened even more. Ignoring the sauce on the corner of her mouth, she directly hugged Chen Sheng and kissed him: "Hubby, thanks for your hard work!"

"Go away! Don't you find that messy!" Chen Sheng put the pot back on the stove and turned on the heat to continue heating the pan.

"Alright, keep it up, Hubby. I'll go set the table." An Xiaonuan wasn't annoyed; with the 'thump, thump, thump' of her footsteps, she quickly left the kitchen.

Soon the meal was on the table. Chen Sheng's culinary skills were as on-point as ever, and this meal, without a doubt, left An Xiaonuan completely satisfied.

Seeing An Xiaonuan put down her chopsticks and gently stroke her slightly bulging belly, Chen Sheng calmly presented the gift box to her: "Wife, this is for you."

"Ah! A gift?" An Xiaonuan grabbed the gift box in surprise. She didn't open it immediately but held it against her chest, blinking her big eyes curiously: "Hubby, what did you get me? It's not a holiday or anything..."

Chen Sheng resisted the urge to curl his lip.

Women were just pretentious. She was clearly happy and clearly wanted to open it immediately, yet she had to pretend to be reserved, as if the procedure wouldn't be complete without the three polite refusals.

"Just open it and you'll know."

"Then I'm opening it!" Having received permission again, An Xiaonuan couldn't wait to untie the bow on the gift box. When she opened it, the expected high-decibel shriek instantly assailed him: "Ah~ A clover bracelet."

"This is too beautiful!" An Xiaonuan put the bracelet on her wrist and held it up to the light, turning it continuously. She felt that with every turn, the bracelet had a different shimmer; she couldn't get enough of it.

"Hubby, why did you buy me a clover bracelet? I remember when I went shopping with my best friend, this bracelet cost over ten thousand! This is too expensive!"

She said she didn't want it, but the raised hand hadn't been lowered for a single second.

"It's not expensive. As long as you like it, Wife, no price is too high."

"Didn't I win 200,000 yesterday? After taxes, there was 160,000 left. I transferred 150,000 to you, and used the rest to buy this bracelet."

Chen Sheng: "Sorry! My EQ has always been on point."

Men of Shu Province: EQ my ass, this is what you call the survival instinct engraved in the bones of men from Shu Province.

An Xiaonuan, barefoot, walked around to Chen Sheng's side and sat directly on his lap, then...

Chen Sheng: "What should I do if there's a female hooligan here?"

Three minutes later, with his face covered in saliva, Chen Sheng helplessly pushed away An Xiaonuan, who still wanted to continue: "Can you wipe your mouth when you kiss! Ugh! My face is full of oil..."

"Are you disgusted by me?" An Xiaonuan glared at Chen Sheng, but before he could retort, she waved her hand and said generously: "But this lady is happy today, so I won't lower myself to your level."

While speaking, An Xiaonuan stood up again. After a series of 'thump, thump, thump' sounds, she took out another gift box from the handbag placed by the door and put it in front of Chen Sheng: "Hubby, actually, I also prepared a surprise for you!"

"Ah~" Chen Sheng said in surprise: "You prepared a gift for me too. Hey! Isn't this what they call telepathy?"

An Xiaonuan nodded vigorously.

"What kind of surprise did you prepare for me?" Chen Sheng picked up the box and shook it. It wasn't heavy, but there was no sound from inside. There were too few useful clues; he really couldn't guess what was inside.

"Just open it and you'll know." An Xiaonuan wouldn't reveal it in advance, urging him: "Hubby, hurry up and open it to see."

"Alright!" Chen Sheng carefully untied the ribbon on the gift box, then grabbed the top and bottom of the box with his left and right hands respectively. With a gentle pull, the box opened.

"This..."

Chen Sheng looked at the gift box... no, to be more precise, at the gift inside the box, and froze on the spot.

He couldn't believe it was real.