Chapter 9 — Cooking for you for the rest of your life

I looked at the lump of coal in the pan, then at the pile of broken eggs in the basin.
“…Original plan.”
“I've seen the instructions.” She feels sorry for herself. "It said when the oil was hot, you should add eggs, so I put them in. But as soon as I put them in, they made a squeaking sound. I was afraid so I stirred a few more times, then they fell apart. As for the vegetables—I forgot to add water."
I can't help it. Laugh. Not a sarcastic laugh. It's laughter rising from my chest, completely unstoppable. She glared at me.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Why do you suddenly want to cook?”
“You cook for me every day, I want to… cook for you once too.”
Her voice became softer and quieter, and by the end it was almost inaudible. I walked over and stood next to her. Take the shovel in her hand.
“The pan is broken.” I said. “Buy a new one tomorrow.”
“I pay.”
"No need."
I turned off the stove, took off the apron that was hanging off her body, and tied it neatly.
“Want to learn how to cook?”
She raised her head to look at me. Eyes light up.
“You teach me?”
“You've been learning how to enjoy food with me for five months, you can upgrade.”
“What to start with?”
“Cook instant noodles.”
“Who are you looking down on?”
“Judging by your performance tonight—” I looked at the burning pan. “Cooking instant noodles might be a bit difficult.”
She raised her hand and punched me. Don't use much force. Falling on my chest was like a cat's paw slapping. That night, I made two dishes again. She stood next to me and watched, sometimes I asked her to give me the spices.
“This is light soy sauce.”
"I know."
“You were holding vinegar just now.”
“…”
Finished eating. Finished washing the dishes. She curled up in the pillow on my bed, scrolling through her phone.
“Ky Hoan.”
"YES."
“Fortunately, on the first day of work, I sat across from him.”
I pulled a book from the shelf and sat down next to her.
"YES."
“Otherwise I would probably have to eat salad for the rest of my life.”
“Obviously you have money to eat something else.”
“But I just want to eat what you cook.”
I opened the book. She leaned her head on my shoulder again. Adequate weight. The temperature is just right. 【Chapter 10】 December. Two o'clock in the afternoon one work day. I was debugging at work, when I suddenly felt like the atmosphere on the floor was wrong. There is movement at the front desk. I raised my head to look. A few colleagues were craning their necks to look towards the door, whispering.
"What's up?" I asked my colleague next to me.
“There's an aunt downstairs, saying she wants to find someone.”
“Looking for someone?”
“I don't know, the receptionist is talking.”
I didn't pay attention anymore and continued editing the code. Five minutes later, Kieu Mong's phone rang. She answered the phone and her face immediately changed.
"Mom? Why are you—where are you?"
The voice wasn't loud, but the word "mother" made me instinctively look over. She stood up, looking slightly panicked: "Mom, don't come up here, I'll come down—you heard me say—" It seemed like the person on the other end of the phone didn't listen to the advice at all. Thirty seconds later, the elevator door opened. A woman stepped out. Over forty years old, his figure is very well maintained, wearing a dark red cashmere coat, his aura is so strong that it can weigh down the entire floor. Around my neck was a thin necklace. I didn't recognize the pendant, but looking at it I knew it was very expensive. Behind her was a young girl who looked like an assistant, carrying two paper bags in her hands. The whole floor was silent. The woman scanned the work area, finally locking her eyes on Kieu Mong.tly looked at Kieu Mong's body.
“Kieu Mong.”
“Mom—”
Kieu Mong almost rushed forward. Using her body to block her mother's eyes from looking towards the work area.
“I said I was at the company, why did you come here directly?”
“If mom doesn't come, how long are you going to hide it?”
“I didn't hide anything from mom—”
“Eight months.” Her mother's voice was not loud, but its piercing power was amazing. "My unlimited black card has not had any spending for eight months. Do you think I don't know?"
The whole floor became even more silent. Unlimited black card. Eight months without spending money. My hand stopped on the keyboard. Kieu Mong's voice lowered a lot: "Mom, this is my company, can you—"
"Tell me where your money went? What about rice? Don't you eat rice?"
“I eat, I eat every day—”
"Your assistant said you haven't ordered food in the past eight months, nor have you gone to a restaurant. Do you eat air?"
Kieu Mong took a deep breath.
“Every day someone cooks for me.”
Her mother was stunned.
"Who?"
Silent. There was a long silence, making others suffocate. The eyes of everyone in the group simultaneously looked in the same direction— Looking at me. I felt the weight of dozens of eyes falling on me at the same time. Kieu Mong did not turn around. But her back was stiff. Her mother followed the eyes of the entire office. See me. A programmer wearing a checkered shirt, his hair about to be cut, is sitting blankly at his work place. On the screen in front of me there is still half of the faulty code. We looked at each other for three seconds. Her eyes assessed me from top to bottom—shirt, jeans, sneakers, work space less than two square meters. Then she turned to Kieu Mong.
“Is that him?”
Kieu Mong said nothing. But nodded slightly.