IRDFPFCIW Chapter 59

“Tang Tang, what are we having to eat today?” Chen Jiesen followed closely behind Jiang Tang like a loyal assistant.

Jiang Tang was unpacking a package sent from the barren planet by Uncle Lu. Lu Rongming and Chen Yisheng did not come to the Imperial Capital Star but stayed on the barren planet. Now they would go for a stroll every day, go fishing, and had been sending Jiang Tang all kinds of fresh natural foods.

Today, Uncle Chen and the others must have gone fishing. Jiang Tang smiled at the sight of several plump grass carp in the package. “Let’s eat fish. How about sweet and sour fish?”

Wen Renyuan was supposed to come over for dinner later. Jiang Tang decided not to tell Chen Jiesen yet. He secretly glanced at Chen Jiesen’s flushed face and smiled secretly. When the time comes, his idol would “transform into a living person”. He wondered whether he would be shocked or surprised.

Chen Jiesen cheered. He hadn’t had a meal cooked by Jiang Tang in a long time. Today, he could finally improve his life. He felt so happy.

He followed Jiang Tang into the kitchen, saying that he was there to help, but his mouth kept running non-stop.

Chen Jiesen liked watching Jiang Tang’s live streams, and now that he knew they shared the same idol, he was even more excited. It was hard to stay calm after just “reconnecting” with family!

As Jiang Tang skillfully prepared the fish, scaling it, removing the gills, cutting down to the bones, and slicing out clean fish meat with a flat knife, Chen Jiesen had already managed to steer the conversation toward his idol, Marshal Wen Renyuan.

Listening to Chen Jiesen’s endless praise about Wen Renyuan from head to toe, Jiang Tang added cold water to the pot, then put the fish in to boil with cooking wine and a bit of minced ginger, skimming off the foam. He then scooped out two ladles of fish soup to use later for the sweet and sour sauce.

When the fish was about 90% cooked, he fished it out to plate. Jiang Tang began to prepare the sweet and sour sauce.

He poured the fish soup into the pot and heard Chen Jiesen’s praises reach the point of, “he’s so clean and self-disciplined and has such a clean private life”.

Jiang Tang: …

“My idol is really the most perfect person I’ve ever seen,” Chen Jiesen finally concluded dramatically.

Jiang Tang laughed and said, “You’re exaggerating too much. He’s also a person. How can he have no flaws? No one is that perfect.”

“Ah, I just remembered. My idol has bad taste…” Chen Jiesen suddenly thought of something and slapped his hand on the table. “He actually likes that Jiang Bai from the Jiang family! I don’t know why, but every time I see that Jiang Bai’s annoying face, it irritates me. I can’t understand what my idol sees in him…”

“He likes Jiang Bai?” Chen Jiesen’s words hit Jiang Tang like a bombshell. His hand, which was pouring white vinegar into the pot, shook violently and nearly spilled half the bottle.

But Jiang Tang couldn’t care less about saving the sweet and sour sauce. His hand trembled uncontrollably around the vinegar bottle. Luckily, he managed to stabilize it with his other hand, avoiding a bigger mess.

He asked anxiously, “Is that true? Wen Renyuan likes Jiang Bai?”

Chen Jiesen only noticed that Jiang Tang’s expression had suddenly turned a bit grim and thought he might be feeling unwell.

Hearing Jiang Tang’s constant questioning, he scratched the back of his head and said in confusion, “Yes, the Marshal has a marriage contract with Jiang Bai from the Jiang family and is about to get engaged. I don’t know what he sees in Jiang Bai.”

With Chen Jiesen’s confirmation, Jiang Tang’s face went completely cold. He didn’t care about the extra vinegar he had poured just now. Instead, he added a spoonful of white sugar, followed by dark soy sauce and cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

As he stirred the sauce, Jiang Tang was so angry that he sneered in his heart. Someone was already engaged to Jiang Bai, the black-hearted lotus[mfn]someone who is cunning and manipulative while appearing innocent on the surface[/mfn] who had caused the original owner to lose his life. But Wen Renyuan left his fiancé alone and was running to his house every day for free meals?

It would be fine if he just wanted to eat, but he was also making all those ambiguous gestures that could easily be misunderstood.

Jiang Tang gritted his teeth.

That seemingly decent person actually fell in love with that black lotus with tea aroma[mfn]Tea aroma from green tea bitch; 绿茶婊 (Lǜ Chá Biǎo) is slang those who pretend to be sweet and innocent but are dishonest[/mfn]. His eyes must be blind.

They had spent a considerable amount of time together. Why was he keeping this from him? That person didn’t consider him a friend at all!

Seeing Jiang Tang silent, Chen Jiesen suddenly remembered Jiang Tang’s life experience.

Oh no, Chen Jiesen regretted it so much. How could he forget that Jiang Tang had a connection to Jiang Bai and the Jiang family? Putting himself in Jiang Tang’s shoes, if his treacherous brother was about to be with the idol he liked, he would definitely have a lot of dirty words to curse.

While Chen Jiesen was racking his brain for words, Jiang Tang on the side had already finished thickening the sauce and finally poured it evenly over the fish.

Then with a cold expression, he chopped a pile of minced ginger and sprinkled it over the fish.

“It smells so good. Is this sweet and sour fish?”

“… No,” Jiang Tang placed the fish on the side counter expressionlessly. “It’s West Lake Vinegar Fish.”

“…Ah?”

“This dish is called West Lake Vinegar Fish.”

Chen Jiesen saw that Jiang Tang had set three sets of cutlery and asked in confusion, “Aren’t we just eating for the two of us? Is Xiao Fei back?”

“It’s not Xiao Fei,” Jiang Tang gritted his teeth and snorted. “It’s someone who shouldn’t be here at all.”

Chen Jiesen was even more confused, but just then the doorbell rang. He took the bowl and walked to the door. “I’ll open the door.”

As soon as he opened the door, standing outside was none other than the very idol he had been praising about half an hour ago.

Chen Jiesen’s eyes widened, his mouth forming an O shape as the bowl slipped from his hand and fell straight to the floor.

Wen Renyuan reacted quickly and caught the bowl just in time to prevent it from shattering.

He looked at the stunned Chen Jiesen, who seemed struck by lightning and had a dazed look, and furrowed his brow.

“You…” What are you doing here?

But as soon as the word “you” fell, the door slammed shut in front of him.

Wen Renyuan: …

Wen Renyuan: ???

Behind the door, Chen Jiesen came to his senses and shouted Jiang Tang’s name, “Tang Tang! Tang Tang! I think I’m hallucinating! Why do I see the Marshal standing at your door?”

Jiang Tang was speechless. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes and said unhappily, “You’re not dreaming or hallucinating. That’s your idol, and you just locked him out of the door.”

Chen Jiesen let out a wail and hurriedly opened the door. He stared at Wen Renyuan, who was dressed formally in a sharp suit, holding a small bouquet of flowers as if he were going on a date. However, he also held the mismatched bowl in his other hand.

“Hello, Marshal!”

Chen Jiesen quickly took the bowl from Wen Renyuan’s hands and stepped aside. He wanted to welcome him properly on behalf of Jiang Tang, but Wen Renyuan politely nodded at him before smoothly switching shoes at the entrance, handing them to George and then walking in with the flowers.

Chen Jiesen: ???

Why did it feel like something was off?

This strange atmosphere persisted until the three of them sat down in the dining room. Chen Jiesen watched as Wen Renyuan went into the kitchen to help Jiang Tang set the table and serve rice, and then sat directly across from Jiang Tang, leaving Chen Jiesen to sit a bit farther away.

…Why did it feel like a husband and wife enjoying a romantic dinner after work!

Then he was just an annoying guest disturbing their sweet world like a light bulb?

Chen Jiesen shook his head and quickly dispelled this terrible thought from his mind.

Wen Renyuan naturally walked into the kitchen to help Jiang Tang serve rice, but when he served the third bowl, he hesitated slightly, showing some reluctance.

Jiang Tang observed coldly. Since Wen Renyuan entered, he hadn’t acknowledged him at all.

Seeing Wen Renyuan so accustomed to serving rice and handling utensils, Jiang Tang felt a surge of anger. He laughed in anger and placed the West Lake Vinegar Fish directly in front of Wen Renyuan.

“West Lake Vinegar Fish.”

Jiang Tang pointed to the other dishes on the table and introduced them, “Old vinegar peanuts, vinegar stir-fried cabbage, aged vinegar with wood ear mushrooms, spicy and sour shredded potatoes. Give them a try.”

Chen Jiesen: … Did he hear it right?

Wen Renyuan’s smile faltered slightly. It didn’t sound good. He not only loved spicy food but also had a particular aversion to sour food… Today’s dishes…

Jiang Tang smiled. “Marshal, why don’t you try it and see if you like it? I made it just for you.”

He emphasized the word “just for you” with extra weight.

Wen Renyuan was momentarily mesmerized by Jiang Tang’s emphasis on “just for you”. He picked up a piece of West Lake Vinegar Fish. The fish meat was bright red and wrapped in a reddish-brown sauce.

As he placed the fish in his mouth, he was a bit surprised. Although the sauce was slightly sour, the fish was tender. It was sweet and sour and the taste was very mellow.

Wen Renyuan then sampled each dish, and smiled slightly at Jiang Tang’s “expectant” eyes. “It’s very delicious. Thank you Tang Tang, for preparing this feast for me today.”

This was a whole table of dishes specially made by Tang Tang for him! Wasn’t it just a bit sour? Even if it were bitter or poisonous, he could eat it without changing his expression.

No, it wasn’t sour at all. It was sweeter than candy.

“Feel free to eat more if it’s delicious.” Jiang Tang didn’t expect this man to be not only stubborn but also thick-skinned. He coldly snorted in his heart. If he had known, he should have added more vinegar to the dishes. Let’s see if that would make him feel sour to death!

Chen Jiesen on the side was already dumbfounded. Normally, he would pounce on any food he saw, but now he hesitated to even take a bite of rice. He was shocked to see Jiang Tang and Wen Renyuan smile at each other.

Tang Tang said these dishes were specially made for the Marshal?

Just now, the Marshal called Jiang Tang “Tang Tang”?

Although he also called him Tang Tang, the way the Marshal said it felt completely different!

… Wait, he was getting dizzy trying to process this.

No, the most important thing was, when did the two of them become so familiar with each other?!