Their coffee table was obviously just a normal one, but with all the mouth-watering dishes laid on it, its status was temporarily elevated.
Looking at the exquisite dishes, Zhang Manhua complimented, “They look so pretty; I can’t bear to eat them.”
Zhang Manhua and Pei Ge were truly mother and daughter as they had the same reaction upon seeing for the first time such extravagant dishes.
Pei Ge looked at the dishes on the coffee table and was in a daze.
“These… these…” She blinked and looked at Ji Ziming suspiciously. “Aren’t these dishes from Nadaman Japanese Restaurant?”
“Mhm,” he lightly acknowledged.
“You – You brought all these dishes out?!” She was shocked.
“Mhm,” he lightly acknowledged again.
Pei Ge’s shock and Ji Ziming’s indifference formed a contrasting yet harmonious picture, which Zhang Manhua found to be quite endearing.
“…” Pei Ge was left speechless by his response and sat there in a daze for a while.
“You – You came over to deliver these?”
Initially, Pei Ge was still holding a grudge against Ji Ziming over tonight’s matter, but the anger she felt for him disappeared in this instant at the sight of these dishes.
“… You are still hungry, right?” he asked after a brief pause.
Zhang Manhua smiled at the way the two interacted with each other. There is definitely something going on between my daughter and this handsome, young fellow.
“Who says I’m still hungry?!” Although his action overwhelmed her, she still refuted his claim indignantly.
Unfortunately, this was when her stomach chose to growl.
“Er…” Her cheeks warmed in embarrassment.
Seeing Pei Ge’s eyes widen and her cheeks flush with embarrassment, the corners of Ji Ziming’s mouth curled into a light smile.
“Alright, alright, Ge Ge, hurry up and eat. There’s so much food to eat,” Zhang Manhua smilingly said as she looked at the two’s reaction.
At her mother’s words, Pei Ge awkwardly walked toward the coffee table.
She was about to sit next to Zhang Manhua but was pushed to sit beside him by her mother, instead.
She glanced at the indifferent Ji Ziming, licked her lips, and bemoaned inwardly, I’m really not hungry! There’s just too much air in my stomach from getting fed up with this man!
“Xiao Ji, what is this meat? It looks like beef, but its texture is different.” Zhang Manhua pointed at the meat that had a marble-like texture and asked curiously.
As a housewife, she had dealt with various types of meat, but she had never seen such special texture on meat before.
“Auntie, this is beef, but it is the A5 standard of Kobe beef. It tastes different from the usual beef.” While he was explaining this to Zhang Manhua, his eyes were actually on Pei Ge.
This was when Pei Ge realized that this table of takeout dishes was not her and Chen Zhengchu’s leftovers but Ji Ziming’s!
“These are what you have ordered?!” she asked, feeling exasperated.
“Mhm.” His forehead moved.
“… I really hand it to you.” She shook her head and revealed the helplessness she felt inside. She had never seen a man as petty as Ji Ziming before!
He had chased her all the way to her house just to show that the food he had ordered was better than Chen Zhengchu’s.
“Aiya! Xiao Ji, this Kobe beef is really delicious!” Zhang Manhua tried a piece of the beef while the two were talking.
“This is just like how those food shows described meat as – fragrant but not greasy and easily melts in the mouth…” Zhang Manhua was feeling extremely emotional as she was saying this. “I thought before that those cooking shows are making things up, but now I think that they are actually telling the truth!”
“As long as Auntie likes it.” Ji Ziming saw Zhang Manhua’s enthusiasm and could not help but glance at Pei Ge.
Pei Ge caught his glance and wordlessly twitched her mouth as she pouted internally. What is there to be smug about?! You didn’t even cook it yourself!
“Ge Ge, why aren’t you eating? Hurry up and eat.” Zhang Manhua tore another chunk of meat.
Pei Ge saw how happy her mother was as she ate and, as a foodie, could not help but start to crave the meat.
The Kobe beef that Chen Zhengchu had treated her to was already delicious enough. How could this A5 whatever standard taste any better?
With this thought in mind, Pei Ge stopped being stubborn and lifted her chopsticks to pick up a chunk of the red beef.
The moment the meat entered her mouth, she tasted its richness.
The beef was extremely tender, the meat fiber was fine, and the taste was exquisite.
It was really as her mother had described – fragrant but not greasy and easily melted in the mouth.
It did not taste like the average beef, and its softness could make one feel reluctant to swallow it.
Ji Ziming looked at the enjoyment evident on Pei Ge’s face and smilingly asked, “How is it? Does it taste nice?”
“Ke, ke, ke!” She coughed a fit at his question and looked at the man who was sitting beside her and not eating anything.
“It’s alright; it’s pretty good.” Although she wanted to say that it did not taste nice, as a foodie, her conscience could not bear to lie about the meat’s taste!
“I see. Then…” His voice trailed off before continuing, “Which do you find tastier, the ones at the restaurant or these ones?”
“…” Damn! She knew that this petty man would ask that!
Pei Ge could not resist rolling her eyes as she pouted inwardly. Why doesn’t this annoying person just ask me bluntly whether the Kobe beef Chen Zhengchu ordered or the one he ordered tastes better? How petty! Hmph!
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you two eating? What are you two talking about?” Looking up from her food, Zhang Manhua noticed that something was off between the two and smiled indulgently.
The longer she looked at this handsome, young man who had brought them food, the fonder she felt toward him.
Aiya, my niece is not married yet! Look; this handsome young chap already brought food to our house! Tomorrow, I must explain this properly to the neighbors!
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