“You want some too?” Lu Chong teased his big cat with interest.

“Meow.” The big cat slapped his hand away, tilted her head and looked at Luo Wencheng expectantly.

“No way.” Luo Wencheng picked her up with a smile, “You’ve already eaten a bowl just now, and you’ll be over the limit if you eat more. Look at the meat on your body.”

He scratched the chubby cat’s chin and was slapped with a paw.

“Sir, try it. I can improve it if you think it doesn’t taste good.”

Watching Luo Wencheng look at him with shining eyes, Lu Chong actually felt a bit stressed. The young man in front of him didn’t know that his eyes looked the same as the eyes of a certain cat. After a pause, Lu Chong picked up his chopsticks.

Luo Wencheng said hurriedly: “Drink the soup first, you have to drink the soup first to eat noodles.”

Lu Chong smiled, picked up a spoon and took a sip of the noodle soup.

Then, it turned out to be unexpectedly delicious. The stomach that had been hungry and tortured for many days was instantly comforted, almost making a sound of satisfaction.

Lu Chong raised his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him: “Was it your first time making noodles?”

“It doesn’t count but, in fact, I practised all afternoon.” Luo Wencheng sat down holding the big cat who couldn’t eat noodles and was depressed. “Uncle Ding said that you like to eat noodles, sir. I live here and am taken care of by you, sir, and I can’t do anything for you. If you like it, sir, I will do it for you every day in the future.”

Lu Chong’s eyelashes over his dark, deep eyes trembled slightly. He had heard a lot of flattering words, but none of them were more beautiful than the young man’s words.

He picked up his chopsticks and slowly ate the noodles, his taste buds overwhelmed by the richness and beauty of the meal. He forgot how long it had been since he had eaten a proper meal like this.

Luo Wencheng looked at him with a smile for a while. This was Lu Chong’s study, so he didn’t dare to look around. He lowered his head and played with Ribs. When Lu Chong’s chopsticks stopped moving, he glanced up and saw that the big bowl was nearly empty. He immediately showed a happy and relaxed smile as if he’d achieved great success: “Sir, do you want more?”

“Do you think I am a speed eating king?” Lu Chong said, “It’s delicious, but don’t cook it again. You are a guest, not a cook.”

“I’m not a cook, I just want to do my best for you, sir, and I enjoy cooking very much. I only learned to make noodles now. In the future, I want to learn to cook other dishes and make pastries with Uncle Zhou. This is a free learning opportunity. A chef like Uncle Zhou doesn’t take apprentices easily.” Luo Wencheng blinked, as if proud that he had taken a big advantage.

What else could Lu Chong say? Deprive him of the opportunity to learn from the chef?

Luo Wencheng suddenly remembered something and said, “By the way, the Luo family sent an invitation, saying they are going to hold a reception banquet for you, sir. Are you going to be there?”

“They mentioned it to me. Did they send you an invitation too?”

“En.”

“Then you will go with me.”

Luo Wencheng bit his lower lip.

Lu Chong: “Don’t want to go?”

“No, I… I haven’t attended this kind of banquet for a long time. I’m afraid to lose face for you, sir.”

“You have to go out. The formalities at school have been completed, and you can go to study next Monday. Consider this time as a chance to adapt in advance.”

It was also to officially tell everyone concerned that Luo Wencheng was the one Lu Chong was protecting now, so that he wasn’t bullied by some oblivious people when he arrived at school.

Luo Wencheng understood what he meant, nodded gratefully, and said solemnly: “I will work hard not to embarrass you, sir.”

He took the bowl and chopsticks: “Then, sir, I won’t bother you, I’ll go first.”

Lu Chong watched him go out, shook his head slightly and smiled. What was that? Was he going to go to a battlefield or to a banquet?

By the time Luo Wencheng opened the door and came out, Uncle Ding had been walking around outside for a long time. He saw the door open and rushed over to take a look. Seeing that only some soup was left in the huge bowl, he asked in disbelief: “This… was it all eaten by Master?”

Luo Wencheng nodded, with an unstoppable smile in his eyes.

“Master didn’t say anything?”

“No, he just ate it, Uncle Ding, your method really works.”

“What method, it’s all Xiao Luo’s credit.” Uncle Ding looked at Luo Wencheng meaningfully, feeling that he might need to reassess the importance of this young man to his master.

Luo Wencheng pursed his lips and said with a smile: “This meal now was too early, Mr. Lu will definitely be hungry again at night. Uncle Ding, what do you think we should do for supper?”

The two of them went downstairs while discussing quietly, and suddenly Luo Wencheng said, “By the way, Uncle Ding, I will go to the banquet with Mr. Lu tomorrow. But you also know where I have been for the past three years… I might have forgotten some etiquette things. Do you know if there is any book about it? I’ll try to catch up tonight.”

Saying this, he looked embarrassed, his ears a little red: “Also… I don’t have clothes suitable for this occasion.”

After Uncle Ding heard this, his feelings for Luo Wencheng changed a little bit more.

Not avoiding the experience of having been in prison, not being ashamed to reveal his flaws. An ordinary person might be secretive and ashamed to mention it, but this young man dared to say it and ask for help.

In fact, even if Luo Wencheng didn’t say anything, Uncle Ding would definitely arrange it for him properly; but being asked for help like this felt completely different.

A faint sense of pity and responsibility surfaced in Uncle Ding’s heart and he said with a smile, “You don’t have to worry about this, I’ll make the arrangements.”

So he made a phone call, and half an hour later, the tailor and the etiquette teacher arrived.

Luo Wencheng looked surprised – really surprised. Wasn’t this too much of a hustle and bustle?

He stretched out his arm for the tailor to measure. In fact, he had already been measured on the first day, because he needed new clothes to be prepared for him, but at that time it was only a rough measurement, and to make a custom-made formal outfit, more accurate measurements were needed.

As for whether it was too late or too troublesome, Uncle Ding waved his hand very calmly: “It’s not a problem to rush to make it overnight.”

Luo Wencheng thought silently, as expected of someone by Lu Jiuye’s side. Even the team that the Luo family kept wouldn’t dare to say that they could make particularly good formal clothes overnight.

After the measurements were taken it was time to study with the etiquette teacher. The teacher was a particularly famous etiquette teacher in Haining, a middle-aged woman surnamed Chen. Many celebrities and entertainment stars in Haining had been taught by her. She was an expert in the industry and was very strict.

When she saw that she was teaching a young man today, there was a flash of surprise in her eyes, and then her face became serious as she spoke to Luo Wencheng about all the various rules and prohibitions at the banquet.

From the posture of pulling a chair to the technique of pouring wine, from the basic words of greetings to the emergency response methods, everything was covered.

Luo Wencheng… was ashamed when he listened to it. He didn’t know so much when he was Luo Ershao.

He hurriedly ate dinner and continued to study, made supper for Lu Chong and continued to study again. As soon as he started to learn, he found that there was a lot to learn. It was not until Uncle Ding came to urge him to go to sleep late at night that he realised that time passed so quickly.

After sending Ms. Chen to rest, Luo Wencheng let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the sofa tired, rubbing his sore neck and lower back. Ms. Chen was very demanding. When learning other things, he always had to maintain the best standing and sitting posture. His whole body was stiff.

He decided to warm himself a glass of milk, and while waiting for the milk to heat up, he dozed off. This was what Lu Chong saw when he came downstairs.

In the kitchen, under the warm yellow ceiling light, a young man in a white shirt was standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. He was thin and handsome, very good-looking, but his head was hanging low. The microwave oven in front of him already stopped but he didn’t notice it.

With his head down, the blue shadows under his eyes seemed particularly obvious. Thinking of how seriously he was studying etiquette just now, according to Uncle Ding’s words, Lu Chong was a bit stunned. So he said he would work hard, and he was working hard.

Previous / ToC / Next