Chapter 15: Thick-Skinned

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This time, Su Le did not feel it was appropriate going to Wei Chu’s place empty handed again, so she brought along some fruits and snacks with her before taking a taxi to Wei Chu’s residential area.

Arriving at the residential area, the security guards only asked Su Le a few questions before letting her through since they saw she was carrying so many items with her. Once Su Le had walked a distance away, one of the security guards asked, “Do you think she is CEO Wei’s girlfriend?”

The other senior security guard drank some water before he replied leisurely, “Are you talking about the young and handsome man who never brings women home, that CEO Wei?”

The younger security guard nodded, “Is there any other CEO Wei living in this residential area?”

The older security guard nodded in response, “You join us late so you don’t know.” He, then, lowered his voice, “There is another Boss Wei who lives here. He runs a leather shoes factory, lives here. He’s pass his forties but he frequently brings young women home. I heard he still has his wife who helped him start his business back at his home town. There isn’t many men like the young CEO Wei in this world anymore. Someone who is rich and lives cleanly.”

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Su Le didn’t know that Wei Chu was already well known as a good man in this residential area. Carrying many bags, Su Le reached out to press the doorbell on a finely carved door. A man with a neat hairstyle opened the door and exposed a strange smile when he saw her.

“You must be Miss Su. My surname is Chen, you can call me Chen Xu.” Chen Xu enthusiastically took the bags from Su Le. As they walked into the living room, Chen Xu was so friendly it made Su Le feel a little nervous.

Following him into the living room, Su Le saw three men and a woman already waiting inside. Out of the four people, Su Le recognised three. They were Cao Yu Dong, Liang Guang, and Tang Yao. As for the last person, Su Le did not know who he was.

“Su Le, come, let me introduce him to you. This is Chen Liu Zhong, he is Wei Chu’s childhood friend,” Tang Yao pulled Su Le to sit beside her. “You don’t need to bother with them. We can just chat amongst ourselves.”

Su Le smiled politely, “Senior sister, I didn’t think you’d be here today.”

Wei Chu came out of the kitchen when he heard Su Le’s voice and revealed a slight smile, “Su Le, you’ve arrived?”

The others shook. They had always known that Wei Chu’s cooking was not bad but having to taste his cooking was something that could only happen once in a blue moon. To even have this young master make a bowl of soup was a very difficult task to ask, but never had they thought that they would finally get to taste his cooking thanks to a woman. They were feeling somewhat complicated, and seeing Wei Chu smiling as if spring has arrived, their feelings became even more so.

The relationship between Liang Guang and Wei Chu were personally not very close, but due to his identity as Tang Yao’s husband, he accompanied her to have a meal. When he saw Su Le’s appearance, his mood turned slightly complex.

In the business world, Wei Chu was seen as a young and promising business man so it was difficult for Liang Guang to comprehend that such a man would be willing to go to such a mile for a woman. Inviting friends to his home for a meal was just an excuse to prevent her from feeling awkward.

“Senior Wei,” Su Le smiled at Wei Chu. As she saw he was going into the kitchen again, she smiled at the people present in the room as a greeting.

“It’s rare to taste his cooking,” Tang Yao said as she grabbed the TV remote to change the channel. “Wei Chu’s Sichuan dishes are definitely good, from what I heard a few years ago …”

“I’m out of soy sauce. Can someone help me buy another bottle?” Wei Chu came out of the kitchen again and looked towards Tang Yao, “Tang Yao, go buy it.”

“Wei Chu, you’re bullying a woman,” Tang Yao raised her brows. It was clear that she did not want to move.

Su Le glanced across the living room and understood that everyone present were all young with a high status. “I’ll go and buy it.”

“Miss Su, I’ll go instead. After all, I’m quite familiar with this area.” Chen Xu quickly stood up and spoke to the man leaning against the kitchen’s door, “Remember to reimburse me,” and swiftly, he zoomed out of the house.

“He’s really energetic,” Su Le lifted the corners of her lips and looked at the rest again who all remained calm and collected. Standing up, Su Le walked towards the kitchen to help Wei Chu because staying with those people in the living room would make her feel pressured.

Seeing Su Le entering the kitchen, Wei Chu spoke, “You can take a rest outside. It’ll be ready soon. There’s a smell in here.”

“It’s nothing,” Su Le took an apron from the hook and tied it around her waist. She then took her watch off and put it in her pocket, before helping Wei Chu wash the ingredients. “In the past, I would always help my mother wash the vegetables at home but she’ll always say I’m more of a hindrance than a help.” Su Le washed the leafy vegetables while saying, “I originally planned to go home after I resigned, but my new job is starting next Monday so I’m afraid that I’ll have to wait until the national holidays before I can go back and visit her.”

Wei Chu no longer told Se Le to leave the kitchen as his sight fell on Su Le’s slender fingers instead. The interaction between them were like a married couple as they made a meal whilst entertaining guests together. The chicken soup in the pot released a strong and sweet fragrance, making the kitchen warm and comfortable. All that was missing was the discussion about the share of household chores. “Auntie is definitely a good mother.”

Su Le lifted the leafy vegetables from the water and put them into a basket on the side. Then she turned to face Wei Chu and answered, “Of course.”

The two of them smiled at each other and gave off a feeling of old friends who knew each other for many years.

“Do you like pan-fried peppers?” Wei Chu suddenly asked as he prepared the peppers.

Su Le nodded and watched Wei Chu prepping the peppers while putting the beef into a pressure cooker. Su Le was deeply moved. “Whoever marries Senior Wei in the future surely is very lucky.”

“Does Junior Sister want to be that lucky person?” Wei Chu asked while smiling. The steam released from the high pressure cooker caused Su Le to miss the meaningful gaze from Wei Chu.

“Senior Wei, playing around with your junior sister is disgraceful.” Su Le shrugged and placed the peppers on the cutting board. Sha. Sha. A few cuts and the peppers was shredded. Cutting them again, the peppers quickly became even smaller while Su Le beamed, “Peppers with preserved egg taste very good.”

Hurriedly rushing into the kitchen with a bottle of sauce, Chen Xu stopped at the entrance. He was astonished. His boss proposed and was rejected?

Boss was rejected?!

Su Le saw Chen Xu and smiled, “You came back just in time. Peppers with preserved egg needs some soy sauce.”

Chen Xu silently looked at his boss’ expression, there a sinister smile on his face. His timing was really bad, he really was unlucky!

Wei Chu smiled, “Good timing. Can you peel two onions and cut them into slices while you’re at it.”

Chen Xu tried to escape. “Boss, there isn’t enough cutting knives,” his sight fell onto the knife in Su Le’s hand.

“That’s no problem. Onions are very easy to cut. This knife should be perfectly fine,” Wei Chu handed Chen Xu a small 25cm knife. “This knife is very sharp, so take your time cutting them. There’s no rush.”

When Chen Xu used the small, blunt knife to cut the fist-sized onions, he clearly understood a principle – anything humorous that happens on the boss must not be seen, even if seen, one must act like it never happened. Chen Xu used his elbows to wipe his tears and bitterly thought that these onions really stings!

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In the living room, Cao Yu Dong touched his chin as he spoke, “Today’s weather isn’t bad.”

Chen Liu Zhong glanced at the kitchen and lowered his voice, “Is that really Wei Chu ….”

“You definitely wouldn’t have thought. He who has never been interested in women since university would be like this …” Cao Yu Dong sighed while shaking his head, “This is fate, ah …”

Tang Yao who was eating an apple, said, “Su Le isn’t bad.”

“To be able to get the Tang’s eldest young lady to say ‘not bad’ is really not easy,” Cao Yu Dong replied happily. Deep down, he was thinking that his good friend, Wei Chu, should not miss his chance again.

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Once all the dishes were on the table, it was time to eat. There were seven people sitting around the table, and Su Le was sitting beside Wei Chu. The atmosphere around them was pretty good and Su Le did not feel awkward.

Tang Yao ate some fish in chilli oil while drinking Sprite, “It’s still Sichuan food that’s most satisfying.”

Liang Guang watched at the side and sighed helplessly, “Don’t eat too much, otherwise, your stomach will hurt again.” While Liang Guang spoke, he scooped a ladle of chicken soup into Tang Yao’s bowl.

Su Le watched the two of them and exposed a small smile. The speed of the food leaving the plates did not slow down at all, and even though their table manners were great, the speed was going a little too fast.

“Where did you buy this picked pepper chicken claws? It tastes really authentic,” Su Le asked in surprise after eating one.

“Ah, that dish, I started preparing that in advance. If you like it, you can take some back with you. There’s a bit more left.”

Originally, Tang Yao wanted to say that she had wanted some as well but after hearing Wei Chu say that last sentence, she immediately closed her mouth because she understood that he had only made a ‘bit more’, and it was obvious he didn’t plan to give them any.

Truly, when the apple of one’s eye is present, everyone else is cast to a side.

“How can I do that,” Su Le smiled apologetically. “I don’t have a container prepared.”

Everyone was speechless. Was that really being ‘apologetic’?

But Tang Yao felt Su Le truly had the best virtues of a woman. Things she should take, she will not let go, but as for things she shouldn’t take, she would not take even the slightest bit.

“That’s not a problem. I have containers.” Then Wei Chu moved a plate of stewed duck tongue in front of Su Le, “Try some stewed duck tongue, it’s not bad. I, usually, buy them from a particular store I like.”

“Thank you.”

Cao Yu Dong, who liked eating duck tongues, was in grief.

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Once the meal was finished and the kitchen was tidied up, they all sat in the living room chatting while drinking tea. Their attitude was so carefree that they did not look like they were already part of the workforce.

“Su Le, where you live now is quite a distance from where you work. It may not be convenient for you to travel to and fro,” said Tang Yao, once she knew where Su Le lived and worked. Concerned, Tang Yao carried on, “How about getting a car?”

“There’s no problem. I planned to move out from my friend’s place soon and rent somewhere for now. There’s no rush rush in buying an apartment.” Su Le smiled, “Furthermore, I still haven’t mastered driving yet.”

“If you want to rent, I can help you ask around. I have a friend who works in real estate,” Wei Chu drank some tea. “Not driving is good. It’s not safe driving alone after work.”

Su Le laughed dryly, “That’s right.” She’ll never let the others know that she’s actually a roadside killer when she drives. It’s not her that won’t be safe, it’s the others that won’t be safe…

At this moment, Wei Chu received some teasing looks from his friends. Wei Chu did not react the slightest and stared back at them.

“If you don’t mind, I have an empty place nearby. It’s close to your workplace and the rent would be close to your price range. Also, our workplace is close to each other so I can give you a lift when there’s time.”

“How can I trouble you.”

“It’s nothing. I’m still charging rent after all. If you think it’s troubling me then just treat me to a meal when you’re free,” Wei Chu said in response.

When pursuing a girl, one must be thick-skinned. He had successfully accomplished that.