Reborn in the 80s: Divorced and Spoiled by the Military Man - Chapter 149

Chapter 149: She Isn’t Xinxin

Although she would be cooking in the Project Department’s main canteen from now on, Xie Yunshu decided to keep renting the courtyard. She had a lot of things stored there-not only the furniture she had brought back from Lu Zhixing’s place, but also some items she had bought herself.

The little courtyard was in a good location, too. Once things at the canteen settled down, Xie Yunshu planned to persuade Li Fenlan to move out and live there. That dark, damp communal apartment block really was uncomfortable, and it was inconvenient for the three of them to be squeezed into a single room.

If she was a little luckier, she would save up some money and discuss with the landlord whether she could buy the courtyard outright.

At lunch today, there were even more people than before. Besides the familiar faces, there were also quite a few strangers. It seemed the new Construction Site had gradually started taking on workers, and the technical staff from the Southern Project Department had all arrived in Haicheng as well.

Ji Siyuan did not actually hold any position in the Project Department. In his own words, he was just there to freeload. But since he was the big boss’s younger brother, naturally no one dared say anything.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t used to the food in the canteen? What changed these past couple of days?” Ji Si’an almost never ate at the canteen. Before coming to Haicheng, he had already bought a two-story apartment and hired both a chef and a housekeeper.

Wealthy bosses from the south were more than happy to enjoy life, so at noon he always had his driver take him home. He would rest at home for a while before returning to the Project Department. Ji Siyuan, of course, lived with his older brother. As the youngest in the family, and because of a few other matters, he had grown up thoroughly spoiled.

Even though Ji Si’an deliberately wanted to train this younger brother of his, he still tried to satisfy him in daily life. Knowing how picky and sharp-tongued Ji Siyuan was about food, he had even hired a chef from the south.

Ji Siyuan stood with both hands in his pockets, his upturned eyes carrying a hint of smugness. Even the two crimson moles on his face seemed to darken a shade. “Brother, she specially made potato stewed chicken for me. No matter what, I have to give the girl some face, right?”

Ji Si’an knew he sat at the same table as Xie Yunshu. Hearing this, his brows drew together slightly. “You mean Xie Yunshu? Her relationship with Captain Shen isn’t simple. Don’t go rushing in to join the fun.”

Captain Shen’s intentions were not hidden at all. Anyone with the slightest bit of sense could see it.

Ji Siyuan did not take his words to heart at all. “Xie Yunshu is the same age as me. You think she’d be interested in an old man?”

Captain Shen had to be twenty-seven this year, right? He was five or six years older than Xie Yunshu. The two of them did not look like a good match at all. People the same age should be hanging out with people the same age!

Ji Si’an could not resist kicking his younger brother. “How many days have you even known Xie Yunshu?”

He truly did not understand how this younger brother of his had somehow taken an interest in a cook. There were plenty of beautiful, charming girls in the south, yet Ji Siyuan had never shown any of them a pleasant expression.

Ji Siyuan rubbed his backside, but his expression froze for a moment. Then he slowly said, “Brother, don’t you think she looks a lot like Xinxin?”

The moment that name was spoken, Ji Si’an’s face darkened as well. He pinched the space between his brows, his heart aching. “Siyuan, she isn’t Xinxin…”

Xinxin was already gone. Though they were unwilling to believe that fact no matter what, they had no choice but to accept it. Back then, in that remote mountain village, the two brothers had nearly wanted to send everyone to hell-but there was no way to turn back time.

Ji Siyuan also knew Xie Yunshu was not Xinxin. Xinxin had been timid ever since she was little. She was frail and gentle by nature. After something like that had happened, just thinking about what she had gone through made his heart hurt so badly he could barely breathe.

The first time he saw Xie Yunshu, he had been dazed for an instant. But he quickly came back to himself. She was not Xinxin, because she was brave and bold. When she spoke, she always looked people straight in the eye, like a white poplar growing tall and straight, full of vitality.

She was the complete opposite of Xinxin, yet Ji Siyuan still couldn’t help moving a little closer to her.

“All right, hurry up and go eat.” Ji Si’an had originally planned to head back, but his steps paused as well. “I’ll go to the canteen with you. I won’t be going back at noon today.”

He was genuinely afraid this reckless younger brother of his would make some mistake. Even if Xie Yunshu did look a little like Xinxin, she was not Xinxin in the end. If Siyuan was willing to get along with her as a friend, that would be one thing. But if he tried to pull that whole stealing-someone-away routine with Captain Shen…

Ji Si’an could guarantee it: even ten Ji Siyuans put together would be no match for Shen Subai.

By this time, most of the Project Department’s people had already arrived. Xie Yunshu had hired a few more helpers, and things instantly became much easier. This time, she wasn’t taking payments herself. Instead, she handed that job to Li Fenlan while she stood nearby watching Auntie Zhao and another auntie serve the food.

The work itself wasn’t complicated, so they picked it up quickly. The prices for the dishes were all standardized too. Once the food was served and the person had taken either steamed buns or rice, Li Fenlan only needed one glance to know how much to charge.

Ji Siyuan had a picky mouth and an even sharper nose. The moment he stepped through the canteen doors, he could tell something was wrong with the smell.

When Xie Yunshu saw the Ji brothers come in, she quickly greeted them, then looked behind them. “Captain Shen hasn’t come yet?”

Captain Shen had truly frightened her yesterday, so for today’s meal, she had changed the menu at the last minute. Even the plain porridge had become millet pumpkin porridge, the best kind for nourishing the stomach. While everyone came in to eat, she had been a little distracted, thinking that if Captain Shen still refused to eat properly, even the strongest body wouldn’t be able to take it.

He was such a good person and had helped her so much. Even as an ordinary friend, she ought to care about him.

Ji Siyuan spotted the dishes on the table at a glance, and his face turned green. “Xie Yunshu, you went back on your word! Aren’t you afraid of getting struck by lightning?”

Xie Yunshu had still been worrying about Shen Subai, but Ji Siyuan’s words dragged her back to the present. She was instantly speechless. “Did I bury you alive or something? You’re even bringing out ‘struck by lightning’… Ji Siyuan, if you’d studied properly, you wouldn’t be misusing words like this.”

Ji Siyuan’s eyes nearly turned red. “And you still dare say that? Yesterday you clearly promised me you’d make potato stewed chicken today!”

Otherwise, he never would have left so readily yesterday and handed Xie Yunshu over to that old fox Shen Subai!

Only then did Xie Yunshu remember what she had said yesterday. But to her, it really wasn’t a big deal. It was just potato stewed chicken. It wasn’t as if Young Master Ji had never eaten it before. At worst, she could make it tomorrow.

So she coaxed him absentmindedly, “All right, all right, I forgot. I’ll make it tomorrow, okay?”

Captain Shen had nearly fainted from low blood sugar because of work. Meanwhile, Ji Siyuan bounced around every day, either sleeping or drawing in class. What was wrong with eating chicken one day later? And he was cursing her to be struck by lightning over such a tiny thing. He really was a child who had never grown past three years old.

Ji Siyuan had come to eat in high spirits and was now so angry he could practically die. His young-master temper was just about to flare up when a cool voice sounded behind him.

“You really changed the menu for me.”

Shen Subai stood behind him, his eyes seemingly filled with deep weariness. Yet as he spoke, his gaze seemed to brush over Ji Siyuan, intentionally or not. No matter how one looked at the faint smile on his lips, it carried a few piercing hints of provocation. “Yunshu, isn’t this too much trouble for you?”