Chapter 97: Cooking

Lu Qian’an froze for a moment. He seemed never to have noticed it before. Perhaps, as Qin Miaoyu had said, his grandmother worried he would be caught in the middle, so whenever he was present she never made things too unpleasant for his grandfather. So much so that at times he had even felt the conflict between the two elders was not all that severe.

After leaving the bar, Lu Qian’an drove straight to the hospital.

By chance, he saw Old Master Lu being supported by the driver as he walked into the hospital.

Remembering what Qin Miaoyu had said, Lu Qian’an followed at a distance, neither too near nor too far behind.

With Xiao Wang’s help, Old Master Lu never noticed Lu Qian’an trailing him.

When they reached the ward, he knocked on the door.

The aunt caring for Cao Xiuhua saw it was Old Master Lu, and not a trace of a smile showed on her face. She only asked, “Old Master, what brings you here?”

Old Master Lu said, “I came to see her.”

“Old Master, you should go back then. The madam does not want to see you.”

Old Master Lu’s face hardened. “Nonsense. Didn’t you let me in before? I only came to see whether her leg was any better.”

The aunt who had opened the door remained firm. “Old Master, that was only out of regard for the young master. The madam didn’t want to make things hard for him. If you truly hope the madam recovers soon, then come less often. Once the madam feels at ease, her injury will heal much faster!”

At that moment, a voice drifted from the ward door, which had not been fully shut.

“A Tian, since the person has gone, come in at once. I want some fruit.”

The aunt turned and answered, “All right, Madam. I’ll be right there.”

Old Master Lu had Xiao Wang help him step back. His face was pale and bleak. “Then hurry and take care of her. I’m leaving.”

Then the ward door was shut without the slightest mercy.

Old Master Lu stood outside the ward for quite a while before letting Xiao Wang help him away.

At the end of the corridor, he happened to run into Lu Qian’an.

Old Master Lu said, “Qian’an, go see your grandmother quickly. I’ve just seen her, so I’m leaving first.”

Lu Qian’an nodded and said nothing more, heading toward the ward.

He had heard every word of the exchange between Old Master Lu and the aunt from not far away.

Only then did he understand that his grandmother truly did not want to see his grandfather even a little.

When he went to knock, the aunt thought it was Old Master Lu again. Her face was still grim when she opened the door, but the moment she saw Lu Qian’an, she broke into a smile.

“Oh, the young master is here! Come in, come in. The madam has been waiting for you to visit her!”

Lu Qian’an chatted with his grandmother about other matters for a while before finally bringing up Old Master Lu.

“Grandma, do you not want to see Grandfather?”

The smile on Cao Xiuhua’s face froze for a moment, then she said, “Why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“I felt that way the last time I came, only I didn’t ask you then.”

Cao Xiuhua said, “If it can be avoided, then of course it’s better not to see him.”

In the past, Cao Xiuhua would not have spoken to Lu Qian’an about such things.

Only lately had Old Master Lu been coming too frequently, and Lu Qian’an had also discovered the matter himself.

She knew that once Qian’an had formed such suspicions, even if she did not tell him the truth, he would still find a way to get the answer.

Just as it happened, she truly did not wish to see Old Master Lu, so she might as well tell the truth.

Lu Qian’an nodded solemnly. “All right, Grandma. I understand. There’s a fishing event over at Spirit Peak Mountain; Grandfather will definitely be interested. I’ll sign him up. Then he won’t come here to bother you anymore.”

Cao Xiuhua smiled and nodded. “Good.”

Then she remembered Qin Miaoyu.

“Did Miaoyu not come with you?”

Lu Qian’an explained, “You know she’s busy with work too. If I hadn’t skipped work, I wouldn’t have been able to come see you either.”

Only then did Cao Xiuhua remember that today was not a day off.

“You young people really are too busy with work. Then don’t stay with me too long. Go home early, make something Miaoyu likes to eat, and spend some time nurturing your feelings. If you want your relationship to last, you can’t always be busy with work.”

Lu Qian’an answered, “I know. I’ll tell Miaoyu later not to eat out.”

Cao Xiuhua patted his hand. “That’s more like it. Don’t you young people always say that if you want to win someone’s heart, you first have to win her stomach?”

“Grandma, you’re so trendy these days!”

The grandmother and grandson talked for a while longer. In the end, Cao Xiuhua repeatedly reminded Lu Qian’an to cook for Qin Miaoyu. Hearing him promise it in person, she then urged him to hurry home and get ready.

After leaving the hospital and getting into his car, Lu Qian’an sat lost in thought for a while before calling Qin Miaoyu.

By then, Qin Miaoyu had only been home for a short while.

Gu Jing had drunk too much, so she had made hangover soup for her to drink.

Just after coming out of Gu Jing’s room, she received Lu Qian’an’s call.

“Grandma wants you to make a meal for me?” Qin Miaoyu did not understand why she had suddenly been given such a task.

“Yes. Grandma said our work is too busy, and that we should make time to spend with each other more, so she urged me to come home and cook for you. She even said she’d video call to check whether we were really eating.”

Qin Miaoyu unconsciously slid the tip of her toe along the floor. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you get through to Grandma, but Gu Jing is drunk right now, and I still have to look after her. I really can’t get away.”

Lu Qian’an chuckled on the other end. “Easy. I’ll come to your place and cook there. I can make some for Gu Jing too.”

Qin Miaoyu was still a little hesitant.

“Qin Miaoyu, this was all signed and sealed. You’re not thinking of going back on your word, are you?”

“No!” Qin Miaoyu denied it at once. “Then come over. But I don’t really have any ingredients here. If you’re going to cook, you’ll have to buy some on the way.”

“Fine. I’ll drive over now and stop to buy groceries on the way.”

After the call ended, Qin Miaoyu sent Lu Qian’an the address, then sat back down on the sofa.

Thinking about it now, she actually could have simply told him to explain to his grandmother that she had something to do. There had been no need to agree to let him come cook.

But she had already said yes, and it would not be right to back out now.

Besides, Lu Qian’an’s cooking really was quite good, and they still had no idea what to eat tonight.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt it would be nice to have Lu Qian’an come cook a meal.

Not long after, the doorbell rang. Qin Miaoyu looked up and, sure enough, it was Lu Qian’an.

When she opened the door, she saw that he was carrying quite a lot of groceries.

She took the bags while saying, “Why did you buy so much? It’s only one meal, and there are only three of us. This is enough for three or four meals!”

Lu Qian’an smiled. “If I buy extra, you can make use of the leftovers later too. If you really don’t want to cook or don’t know how, just call me over. Grandma may still give me tasks like this in the future, so buying ahead of time makes things easier.”

Qin Miaoyu gave no comment and led him into the kitchen.

Since moving in, Qin Miaoyu had barely used the kitchen, so everything in it was very clean.

Aside from some fruit and drinks in the refrigerator, there was nothing else inside.