I am a Chef in the Modern Era

Chapter 107: Dried Shrimp Porridge

Translated by Yan of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

With Jiang Cheng’s reminder, Shen Fu suddenly remembered that Alan had gone back, and it seemed that there were a few things he could start to put into motion.

The day Lin ShuYi went back to S City, Shen Fu took the time to call Uncle Alan internationally. They talked for about an hour, and when they hung up in the end, Shen Fu was beaming.

Secretary Anna walked into the office with some documents, and she just happened to see Shen Fu’s mouth curved up so much that it was almost reaching the heavens.

“What made you so happy?”

Shen Fu laughed as he took the documents from Anna. “Of course it’s something that’s very worth being happy about.”

Anna had an indescribable sort of premonition that this had something to do with Lin ShuYi.

Next, the person who came late and left early changed from Brother Shen into Shen Fu. The Shen family often didn’t see a trace of Shen Fu either, and more importantly, even Lin ShuYi often couldn’t catch Shen Fu over the phone anymore.

Always busy during work, and even when it was after working hours, Lin ShuYi always found Shen Fu hanging up on him using work as an excuse whenever he called.

Lin ShuYi started to grow a little suspicious.

Just what in the world was Shen Fu so busy with every day?

As a result, he called Brother Shen, and Brother Shen said that Shen Fu had already taken leave from work for a week. He hadn’t been in for several days now.

“When I called him, I didn’t ask about the particulars, so I thought he already went back to S City. So it turns out he hadn’t?”

Brother Shen sounded a little surprised. He spoke again, “How about I help you out and call Chen Fang and ask whether he’s seen Shen Fu recently? If he didn’t go back to S City when he took vacation, where else would he go?”

Lin ShuYi sighed heavily and said, “No need, I’ll call him myself and ask.”

After hanging up, Brother Shen thought a bit before he gave another call. A long moment later, it picked up, and the voice on the other end was both hoarse and annoyed. “Do you know what time it is over here?!!”

Brother Shen twirled the marker in his hand and grinned. “Of course. It’s one AM in the morning.”

The voice on the other end grew even more irritated. “If you know, why are you still calling me at this hour?!! Do you know how tired I was today, I just fell asleep!! If something’s up, can’t you call back in a few hours at least?”

Brother Shen’s eyebrow lifted, and he stopped. “Oh, there’s nothing much. It’s just that my sister-in-law called me just then.”

There was a stunned pause on the other end, and immediately all the sleepiness was gone. The person asked, “What did he ask? What did you tell him? What was his mood?”

Brother Shen snickered evilly. “It seems like I didn’t call at a good time. I think it would be better if I call you again in a few hours.”

There was an anguished wail on the other line. “Aiyo, you’re my flesh and blood brother, can you not keep me in suspense? What exactly did he say?”

Brother Shen smiled. “Nothing much, he just asked what you’re busy with, and how come it hasn’t been easy to reach you over the phone recently.”

“What did you answer?”

“I didn’t really say anything, ah. I said that you had already taken vacation for a week, and you hadn’t come back to the Shen home recently or been in contact with us. None of us know where in the world you went off to.”

Shen Fu was basically about to spit up blood and die. He shouted, “Bro, I told you to keep him in the dark, not to tell it as it is! I’m getting ready to give him a surprise, but now after what you did, it’ll just become fear, alright?”

Brother Shen acted as if he didn’t know what he had done wrong. “I was keeping him in the dark ah. I didn’t say that you’re in Los Angeles preparing your wedding ceremony, nor did I say that you told us to keep him in the dark, or that you’re preparing a pleasant surprise for him. He thinks you disappeared, but in the end, not only will you come back, you’ll also marry him. If that isn’t a pleasant surprise, then what is?”

Shen Fu: …

“Bro, have I offended you sometime recently. I’m apologizing, will that do? Stop messing with me, if things continue like this I’ll probably be toyed around to death by you.”

Brother Shen chuckled darkly. “How could that happen? Aren’t you pretty powerful? You’re chatting pretty happily with Jiang Cheng.”

Shen Fu finally understood why Brother Shen was acting in such an underhanded way. He quickly revealed everything that he talked about with Jiang Cheng before, and finally he said, “I really didn’t say anything else. If something happened between the two of you, don’t blame it on me ah.”

Only then did Brother Shen give a snort. “All right, look at how nervous you are. I’ll help you justify it. Just relax and prepare for your wedding.”

“Bro, you really can’t play around anymore, you know how tired I’ve been recently. I miss him to death, and I’m holding back to give him a surprise so I can’t even call him and listen to his voice…”

“Beep beep beep…” Brother Shen didn’t want to listen to that kind of sappy and affectionate talk at all.

Shen Fu: …

In the end, he was no longer sleepy. He input Lin ShuYi’s phone number, and he pondered for a moment before he still ended up calling it. Even if he didn’t say anything, it would still be good if he could just listen to his voice for a bit. Shen Fu really was missing Lin ShuYi unbearably.

“Hello.” Lin ShuYi’s voice was light and clear, and it was like the sound of nature to Shen Fu’s ears. “If you aren’t going to say anything, I’m going to hang up.”

There were no fluctuations in the sentence, but Shen Fu could clearly tell that his voice was filled with anger. He knew that Lin ShuYi was definitely mad, and thinking of it that way, he laughed instead.

“You called my brother? Don’t listen to his nonsense, I’m on a business trip outside. I’ll be back on Sunday. Is there anything you want? I’ll buy it for you when I go back.”

The reason he kept Lin ShuYi in the dark was because he wanted to give him a nice surprise, so Shen Fu felt that it was still better to tell him only once everything was prepared. That way, it could be considered more of a pleasant surprise.

Lin ShuYi didn’t speak.

Shen Fu grew a little puzzled. Not asking questions nor interrogating him. This attitude wasn’t quite right, was it?

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

After a long pause, Lin ShuYi spoke. “Shen Fu, I’ve missed you.”

Shen Fu was startled. He had thought of every question that Lin ShuYi could possibly ask him, everything except for this one. He suddenly experienced what it must feel like to have his thoughts explode like a flood, making him unable to resist wishing that he could rush to Lin ShuYi’s side right this instant. The surprise and excuses, none of them mattered anymore. He missed Lin ShuYi, missed him unbearably.

At the last critical moment, he finally did still end up enduring it. He worked so hard for so long just so that he could give Lin ShuYi a surprise: a wedding that he would remember for a lifetime. The efforts put into this surprise really couldn’t go down the drain.

He said huskily, “I miss you a lot too, I’ll be back soon.”

Nobody spoke on the other end. A long pause later, the call ended with a click.

Shen Fu: …

The second before had been dripping with warmth. What happened?

On the other side, Lin ShuYi was about to die from anger. He had even already said that line, yet Shen Fu was still keeping him in the dark. Just what exactly was Shen Fu hiding from him? Now he had to know. He whole-heartedly trusted Shen Fu deeply, so he never once imagined that Shen Fu was keeping him in the dark because of something unsightly. He could tell from Shen Fu’s voice, which was the sort that was oozing with tenderness because of how much he missed him. Because of that, Lin ShuYi grew even more curious. Just what exactly was Shen Fu doing behind his back? What sucked was that he had even tried using the honey trap, but Shen Fu didn’t fall for it!!!

Lin ShuYi threw his phone on the bed angrily, indicating that he wouldn’t pick up a single one of Shen Fu’s calls in the future.

This time, the panicked person suddenly switched places.

No matter how many times Shen Fu called, he couldn’t get through to Lin ShuYi. He was so worried and mad that he started to get blisters on his lips.

Once things finally drew to a close, Shen Fu burned with anxiety as he got on the plane to go back home.

It was three AM in the morning when he got to the airport. He didn’t stop for a single moment before he drove his car back to S City.

It was past five in the morning when he got to S City. The sky was already starting to grow bright, and Shen Fu hadn’t slept for two nights now. His body felt very exhausted, but his heart was extremely excited. Whenever he remembered that he was about to see Lin ShuYi, he felt a little bit as if he couldn’t control the smile on his mouth.

The people on ChaoYang Street were used to getting up early. Around six, there were already quite a few old grandpas and grannies who had gotten up and were walking around. However, the street was still very quiet, and the sound of Shen Fu’s car rumbling past still seemed extremely out of place in the peaceful setting, drawing quite a few people’s attention.

He stopped the car in front of the little villa. Shen Fu fished out his keys before he got out of the car and opened the door.

It was extremely quiet inside the house, so the sound of Shen Fu opening the door seemed particularly conspicuous. Shen Fu had just entered the house when Auntie Chen came out from her room. When she saw that it was Shen Fu, her vigilant expression abruptly became astonishment. “Xiao Shen, why did you come back at this hour?”

Shen Fu glanced upstairs. Auntie Chen said knowingly, “Xiao Lin hasn’t woken up yet. The two children are also still asleep. You should go up and take a look.”

Shen Fu nodded. “Auntie Chen, can you help make some breakfast for me? I was in a hurry to get back, so I haven’t eaten yet.”

Auntie Chen smiled. “Sure, I’ll get started right away.”

Only then did Shen Fu go upstairs.

Their room was across from the two kids’ rooms. There was a videophone installed in their rooms, and they could usually hear if there was any movement from Tao Tao’s room even if the door was closed. Right now, both of the doors to their rooms were still closed, so presumably they were still asleep.

Shen Fu softly and quietly opened the door to his and Lin ShuYi’s room.

The curtains were drawn tightly closed, and it was dark in the room. Shen Fu’s lips curled up, and walked straight to the side of the bed. The person on the bed still didn’t move at all, and Shen Fu laughed as he suddenly threw himself onto the bed.

“You’re back?!!”

Two seconds later, Shen Fu shot out his hand and flicked on the lamp. The bed was still nice and warm, but there was nobody in the bed at all. He was hugging empty blankets, and who knew where Lin ShuYi went.

Shen Fu sat up. He had just looked back when he discovered Lin ShuYi standing in the doorway to the bathroom, arms crossed, as he looked coldly at him.

Shen Fu didn’t say anything, his eyes fixed.

The collar of the cotton pajamas was very wide, and it was slanting loosely against his shoulders, revealing a delicate collarbone. More importantly, those pajamas seemed to be Shen Fu’s, so it was a little bit big on Lin ShuYi. He simply hadn’t worn pajama pants at all, revealing two stick-straight legs.

Shen Fu’s eyes narrowed as he scooted closer, before he suddenly pressed Lin ShuYi against the bathroom door.

Lin ShuYi jumped, but he didn’t show it. He had just figured out that Shen Fu was back as well when he heard Shen Fu open the door softly. Lin ShuYi had decided to simply turn and go into the bathroom. He was still thinking about what Shen Fu was hiding from him and had been doing outside during the past few days, but the moment he saw Shen Fu, his first instinct was to go up and hug him. He was dejected by this thought of his, so Lin ShuYi decided that he might as well not speak. As such, he had stared expressionlessly at Shen Fu, but he hadn’t expected Shen Fu to pounce on him like a dog.

Shen Fu looked a little haggard, his eyes a bit bloodshot. It was clear from the first glance that this was because he hadn’t slept in a long time. His eyelashes were still very long, so long that with each tremor they tickled Lin ShuYi’s heart. Without waiting for Lin ShuYi to finish carefully assessing the person in front of him, Shen Fu kissed him forcefully.

Lips rubbed against each other, and Lin ShuYi felt the air in his lungs lessen and lessen. He felt a bit dizzy, and in the end, he couldn’t resist following his inner heart’s desires. He reached out and hugged the person in front of him.

He didn’t want to act difficult with Shen Fu like a child would. It didn’t matter what Shen Fu was doing that he was hiding from him. He still had to admit that he really did miss him.

Their breathing slowly grew rougher. Shen Fu’s hands were quite large, and they were so hot that it felt as if they were going to burn with fire. They slid inch by inch into Lin ShuYi’s cotton pajamas.

Lin ShuYi’s irritation from the beginning had long since been tossed aside somewhere. Finally, as the two of them kissed, they ended up rolling onto the bed.

It was early yet, so there was still time to do some exercise.

…

Auntie Chen boiled an earthenware pot of fresh porridge. She put the dried shrimps that Shen Fu adored inside, and the fragrant aroma scattered everywhere. Shen Fu had always liked this dish a lot, and she also conveniently heated a few pickled cabbage veggie buns for him. After mixing in a few fresh and tasty pickled vegetables, she waited for Shen Fu to come down and eat.

But she ended up waiting for quite a long while without Shen Fu coming down.

Auntie Chen was getting ready to go upstairs to find him, puzzled, but when she got halfway there, she remembered… never mind, it was better not to go. She should just keep it warm until he had time to come down and eat later.