Chapter 555: Indecisiveness
Sang Zhe’s thoughts were simple.
First of all, objectively speaking, this dish really was to his liking.
Secondly, after all, Yan Rouwan was an old acquaintance of his. He knew from the very beginning that Yan Rouwan was thin-skinned and generally wouldn’t ask him to do anything that would embarrass her.
Compared to allowing others to win and then get juiced out, letting Yan Rouwan win at least left some room for maneuvering.
With Yan Rouwan’s thin skin, it might just end up being a simple meal and a chat, and that would be it.
As for the others, their understanding of the matter was even simpler.
…Sang Zhe finally chose Yan Rouwan.
He was really planning to choose Yan Rouwan!
From the first character to be forcibly courted in this book to now almost having cleaned out his harem, this original protagonist was finally going to end up with Sang Zhe?
Honestly, even Si Jingzhu, who often poked fun at her, sometimes thought of how Yan Rouwan was at home, all alone, quietly admiring Sang Zhe without any response, and felt a little pity.
So when Sang Zhe announced Yan Rouwan as the winner, no one had any objections; the whole family applauded and cheered.
“Yay! Finally, it’s Yan Senior Sister’s turn!”
“Ah, it’s a good deal for Yan Senior Sister. She should take it easy on Sang Zhe.”
“Yan Senior Sister, remember to be gentle tonight; I’m afraid Sang Zhe might be in pain…”
As for Yan Rouwan herself,
she fell into momentary confusion.
…Huh?
Did, did she really?
Did she really win?
She had completely taken a “let’s just give it a try” attitude; she never thought she would actually win.
What to do… her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she awkwardly lowered her head, biting her lip in confusion.
This prize.
Surely, she couldn’t really enjoy it, right?
No, no, no—how could that be!
She must have been played!
Sang Zhe had the chance to choose anyone from his harem; it made no sense for him to choose her, a completely unrelated person.
Why would Sang Zhe choose her?
It couldn’t be just because her cooking was exceptional, could it? Yan Rouwan still had that little bit of self-awareness.
So, after ruling out all possibilities, the blushing Yan Rouwan could only think of one reason.
Sang Zhe…
Has he finally decided to make a move on me?
“Great! Now, please welcome our champion of this competition, Yan~ Rouwan!”
Long Huan, holding a cucumber, enthusiastically grabbed Yan Rouwan’s hand, lifting it high up, and amid the crowd’s cheers, loudly declared, “Let our champion personally receive her reward!”
Saying that, she pulled Yan Rouwan over to Sang Zhe’s side, disregarding Yan Rouwan’s panicked gaze, and placed their hands together.
The moment Yan Rouwan’s hand touched Sang Zhe’s, she trembled like a startled rabbit.
“Oh my,” Long Huan teased with a grin, “Our champion looks quite shy!”
“It’s okay; everyone has their first time. We were all shy the first time too.”
“Just spend more time with Sang Zhe, and you’ll get used to it!”
Sang Zhe: “…Why do I feel like I’m some kind of escort?”
However, Yan Rouwan’s shyness was within his expectations, so he only cleared his throat and softly said, “Yan Senior Sister, there’s no need to be nervous. Winning this competition merely means you can use me freely. It doesn’t mean we have to do anything inappropriate.”
“If you feel embarrassed, it’s fine for us to just have tea and chat.”
“Y-Yeah,” Yan Rouwan managed a forced smile.
But beneath that smile, her beautiful eyes flashed with intense disappointment.
…What are you thinking, Yan Rouwan!
This is such a good opportunity; don’t shrink back now!
What a waste to only use this time for tea and chat!
You absolutely have to make some progress; you can’t let it stagnate like this!
“Um…”
She seemed to muster her courage, her pretty face turning even redder, stuttering for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence under everyone’s watchful eyes:
“It’s s-so rare to have this chance.”
“Since you have to follow all my requests, then, um—”
Those words were stuck in her throat.
Forget Sang Zhe; everyone in the Sang family was staring at her with hopeful eyes.
Even Little Ying You and Little Lonely, along with Jiao Jiao and Hei Xia, were watching with eyes full of frustration.
“—Then let’s first,”
“…have a meal and chat,” she finally managed to say the words.
Immediately, the surrounding air was filled with regret and sighs; Jiao Jiao and Hei Xia even angrily meowed, as if they wanted to drag Yan Rouwan away by her clothing.
But Yan Rouwan simply hung her head low, gripping her clothing tightly, and remained silent.
In this scene, even Zhang Xiaoying couldn’t help but glance at Sang Zhe for help.
Sang Zhe also paused for a moment before breaking into a smile: “Alright.”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be Yan Senior Sister’s private property.”
“Whether it’s eating or chatting, I’ll make an effort to accompany you, Yan Senior Sister.”
Sang Zhe was never the type to force anyone.
No matter what heart knots Yan Rouwan had yet to untangle, or whether she simply lacked the courage to speak up.
As long as she made a move, there must be a reason behind it.
Sang Zhe was willing to patiently wait for her to open up.
Besides, after living with Yan Rouwan for so long, he had already grown accustomed to her presence at home.
Although their distance wasn’t close enough to be ambiguous, it was also not as distant as regular friends.
That natural feeling of being more than friends but not quite lovers didn’t bother Sang Zhe at all.
Maybe this was the relationship Yan Senior Sister wanted to maintain right now, he thought.
As for the rest of the matters,
he’d hear her out when they went on their date tomorrow.
——
——
While everyone sighed over Yan Rouwan’s indecisiveness,
In a corner that everyone had overlooked, Xu Hongyi quietly gazed at the three dishes on the table.
Compared to the lively atmosphere around her, she seemed like an out-of-place ghost. Just her presence in this scene felt extremely dissonant.
…The dish she made was still half uneaten until the end.
Every time Sang Zhe picked up his chopsticks, it felt like something was pulling at her chest, and she longed for those chopsticks to land on her dish.
…Yet almost every time, her expectations fell short.
That slightly stinging numbness made Xu Hongyi instinctively place her hand on her chest.
She finally realized that she seemed to have made another mistake.
It turned out that just making a tasty dish wouldn’t make him remember her.
The important part was never the flavor.
Even if she did present a dish that could outshine Master Yu Xia’s exquisite cuisine, it wouldn’t mean much to him.
From the very beginning,
she was never on the list of potential winners.
Beside Sang Zhe, Yan Rouwan was blushing a light pink.
Xu Hongyi quietly looked at them for a moment.
Then, she turned around and quietly slipped away like a shadow.
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