IRDFPFCIW Chapter 57

When Jiang Tang woke up again, he found himself lying in a familiar room. He stared at the ceiling for half a minute before realizing that he was in his bedroom in the Imperial Capital Star apartment.

The current scene resembled the moment he first transmigrated. He also woke up in an unfamiliar bed.

But back then, he was alone in a completely strange environment, surrounded only by the mess left by the original owner and a group of hypocritical “family members”.

Now, he had new family in this world and also… someone he liked.

Thinking of Wen Renyuan, Jiang Tang’s expression changed and he immediately tried to get out of bed. He remembered being held tightly by Wen Renyuan before losing consciousness. What happened to him? Was he injured?

Jiang Tang hurried to get up, but he didn’t expect that he was still weak from waking up. He fell directly to the floor.

“Be careful!”

Jiang Tang’s arm was caught, and a familiar voice rang out. Joy surged in his heart as he looked up at the person who came.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you okay?”

They both spoke at the same time.

Wen Renyuan looked at Jiang Tang’s worried face, which was genuine, and his heart turned warm. He lowered his voice and said, “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Only then did Jiang Tang relax. “As long as you’re okay, that’s good.”

Seeing his relieved expression made Wen Renyuan’s heart flutter. He quickly coaxed him, “What about you? Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable? Why don’t you lie down for a bit longer?”

Wen Renyuan helped Jiang Tang lie back down again.

He propped a pillow behind Jiang Tang’s back, allowing him to sit more comfortably. He also tucked a few messy strands of hair behind Jiang Tang’s ear.

Jiang Tang let him do what he wanted, looking obedient like a delicate doll. He did not refuse and simply looked at Wen Renyuan with his big eyes.

That look made Wen Renyuan feel so comfortable in his heart, almost floating.

“Ahem… are you hungry? There’s porridge in the kitchen…”

Jiang Tang’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Wen Renyuan. A thought flashing through his mind: “Porridge? Where did you get porridge? Did you make it?”

To his surprise, Wen Renyuan seemed even more embarrassed at that question.

Wen Renyuan rubbed his nose and nodded. A barely noticeable blush crept up to his ears. Fortunately, there was a strand of hair to block it, otherwise he would have wished to find a crack to hide in.

“I watched your live stream before, ahem, the live stream replay. I can’t really cook, so I just boiled a bit of plain porridge. Do you want to try?”

After speaking, Wen Renyuan stared at Jiang Tang. His eyes were full of expectation that made it hard for Jiang Tang to refuse.

Jiang Tang replied, “…Okay.”

At such a grown-up age, with that expression, how come he looks like a big dog asking its owner for a reward?

That kind of look was already hard to resist, and now that Jiang Tang had just realized his feelings for Wen Renyuan, when he saw the bowl of plain porridge… well, rice soup that Wen Renyuan carefully brought over, he felt nothing but warmth and sweetness inside.

In the bowl was clear rice soup with grains settled at the bottom, each clearly visible.

This porridge… was it a bit too watery?

“Wow, it looks pretty good!” Jiang Tang leaned in to smell it. “It smells very fragrant.”

Wen Renyuan immediately showed a hint of pride. “Really? It’s actually very simple. I feel like I might have some talent in cooking.”

Jiang Tang: …

Just as he was thinking about how to respond to this overly confident man, George’s mechanical voice suddenly came from outside the door. “Marshal, how should we deal with the five pots of ruined porridge in the kitchen?”

Jiang Tang: …

Wen Renyuan: …

Wen Renyuan replied, “…Ahem! Just take care of it yourself!”

Jiang Tang finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Master, you’re finally awake!”

Upon seeing Jiang Tang, George sounded a bit excited in his electronic voice. Jiang Tang reached out to pat its head, and the little robot happily went to the kitchen to deal with the “kitchen waste”.

“Is it that funny?”

Wen Renyuan looked at Jiang Tang who was laughing uncontrollably. Worried that he would fall off the bed, he reached out to support him, his eyes filled with a doting look.

“Hahaha, I can’t stop laughing.”

After laughing loudly, Jiang Tang didn’t forget to protect the pride of this man who was eager to show off. “Actually, the last bowl was pretty good. Can you help me bring it over? I want to taste it.”

Wen Renyuan’s previously feigned anger immediately turned bright at this comment. He picked up the bowl and held a spoon with one hand. “It’s a bit hot, let me feed you.”

As a result, he spoon-fed Jiang Tang the rice soup. It wouldn’t fill him up, but it certainly made Jiang Tang’s face turn red.

Wen Renyuan set the bowl aside and handed Jiang Tang a napkin to wipe his mouth.

The boy’s soft lips were dampened by the rice soup, looking even more delicate and tempting. Wen Renyuan’s eyes darkened slightly and he swallowed hard.

“Next time, I’ll make you some more, okay?”

Jiang Tang felt not just his cheeks, but even his ears heat up. He lowered his eyes and nodded, but he missed the deeper meaning in Wen Renyuan’s eyes.

Now there was just the two of them in the room. Jiang Tang felt a bit uneasy in the silence, so he started a conversation with Wen Renyuan.

Remembering that he had fainted after jumping from the car, he asked Wen Renyuan about what happened afterward. He learned that he had only been scared and hadn’t suffered any other injuries.

No wonder. After a deep sleep, he felt only a bit mentally drained with no other discomfort.

After experiencing such a thrilling jump out of the car and plunge into the water, he was safe and sound because Wen Renyuan held him tightly at that time, effectively becoming his “human air cushion”.

Thinking of this, Jiang Tang scrutinized Wen Renyuan. “What about you? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Wen Renyuan shook his head. “Don’t worry. That height is nothing, I’m fine.”

Yes, it was also possible that Wen Renyuan was usually so approachable that Jiang Tang always unconsciously overlooked the fact that he was still the War God Marshal, the reliable “Guardian of the Empire.”

But then he remembered something else, and his heart lifted again before it could settle down. “How did the car get tampered with? Was it someone close to you? Have you figured out who it is? What if later…”

Jiang Tang quickly questioned, and Wen Renyuan reached out to gently pat Jiang Tang’s head. “Yeah, it was aimed at me. We’re close to identifying the culprit.”

Seeing Jiang Tang visibly relax, Wen Renyuan raised an eyebrow, leaned in slightly, and said in a teasing tone, “You’re quite concerned about me, huh?”

Jiang Tang resisted the urge to turn away. He looked into Wen Renyuan’s eyes. “Of course, we’re friends.”

Friends… Wen Renyuan rolled the word around in his mouth. Watching Jiang Tang’s slender figure in the kitchen not far away, the depth in his eyes darkened. He said the words again and swallowed.

Friends? He wanted to be more than just friends.

Jiang Tang decided to make a sweet soup to soothe his little heart that was frightened from the previous day’s incident.

He carefully opened a small jar, and a sweet aroma wafted out. Jiang Tang happily introduced to the barrage, “This is the fermented rice I made a few days ago. Today we’re making sweet fermented glutinous rice dumplings.”

Jiang Tang’s fermented rice was made from steamed glutinous rice, ready to eat. Jiang Tang scooped a small bowl of fermented rice onto the table for the live stream audience to try.

This homemade fermented rice had a low alcohol content, smooth and sweet, with rich nutrients.

Jiang Tang then mixed glutinous rice flour with warm water to form a dough of suitable hardness, then rolled it into small and round balls.

The method for making sweet fermented glutinous rice dumplings was simple. Drop the glutinous balls into boiling water, wait until they float, then drain half the water, add brown sugar, soaked goji berries, and pour in the sweet fermented glutinous rice, cooking until it boils again.

Before serving, a sprinkle of dried osmanthus could be added, completing the sweet fermented glutinous rice dumplings.

The small rice balls[mfn]dumplings[/mfn] were chewy, the soup was sweet, with a light aroma of rice wine. It was delicious after drinking it.

After the live stream audience finished tasting and showering him with usual rainbow farts[mfn]praises or compliments[/mfn], Jiang Tang ended the stream. He wasn’t used to being alone with Wen Renyuan under so many watchful eyes.

“Finished streaming?” Wen Renyuan came to the kitchen.

Jiang Tang tucked his hands behind his back, trying to untie his apron. “Well, just a moment, it will be ready soon.”

“I’ll help.” Wen Renyuan stepped forward, stood behind Jiang Tang, and lowered his head.

He naturally unfastened the ties around Jiang Tang’s waist and helped him take off the apron.

“Oh, thank you… thank you…” Jiang Tang felt his face heat up. He scooped a spoonful of rice dumplings and turned to offer it to Wen Renyuan. “Sweet rice dumplings in fermented wine. Want to try?”

Wen Renyuan was surprised by Jiang Tang’s bold gesture. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t immediately eat the rice dumplings.

He looked gently at Jiang Tang until he saw his face redden more and more, likely to explode the next moment, before he leaned down slightly and slowly ate the small dumplings from the spoon, all the while keeping his eyes on Jiang Tang’s face.

“Delicious, very sweet.”

Jiang Tang: … What’s wrong with this guy?! Can’t he just eat properly?

“You… you just eat properly! Don’t do that!”

Jiang Tang pulled his hand back as if burned. “To be honest, you were really a bit greasy just now. My life is greasy, not the sky[mfn]我命之油不不神, “my life is greasy, but I am not greasy”. It is a popular online term that originated from the chat records between Sun Yining and Wang Sicong. The term is from “my life is determined by me, but not by heaven”. Greasy or oily pertains to narcissistic or overconfident behavior like flirting (just like what Wen Renyuan did)[/mfn].”

Wen Renyuan: …???

In the end, they sat across from each other in the dining room and finished all the sweet rice dumplings in fermented wine. The warm dumplings were incredibly comforting, soothing the fright Jiang Tang had felt the previous day.

Moreover… Jiang Tang stole a glance at Wen Renyuan, who had been eating dumplings with a spoon after being scolded by him…

Why did he feel that they were sweeter than this bowl of sweet fermented glutinous rice dumplings?