On the way to the supermarket, Huo Ran was thinking very seriously about what to cook for dinner.
In his past cooking experience, the most complicated dish was scrambled eggs with tomatoes, followed by boiled eggs and instant noodles.
Today was the first time that Huo Ran showed off his cooking skills in front of Tao Zhiyue. Although Huo Ran was well aware of his own level, he was not willing to limit himself to just scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
As for the beginner dishes recommended by the search engine, such as cola chicken wings and rice cooker braised pork ribs, Huo Ran ruled them out without even a second thought.
Even if his cooking skills are not good, he must show the courage to move forward on this unknown road.
Huo Ran confidently browsed through a large number of complicated dish names.
Referring to Tao Zhiyue's high evaluation of cold noodles yesterday, Huo Ran decided to choose a sour meat dish and pair it with a refreshing stir-fried seasonal vegetable.
In the increasingly hot summer, you need to eat sour food to stimulate your appetite.
[hr: I chose two dishes, beef in sour soup and stir-fried water spinach with fermented bean curd. Do you like them?]
It's just after six o'clock now, Tao Zhiyue should be off work.
After waiting for a few minutes, the other party replied.
[Tao: Yes, the water spinach in this season is delicious.]
[Tao: But... can you make the leap from scrambled eggs with tomatoes to here?]
Huo Ran continued to type these six words blindly and confidently.
[hr: I think I can! ]
[Tao: Dandan is in a daze.jpg]
[Tao: Then I will go to the supermarket directly and arrive home around 7:30.]
[hr: OK.]
[hr: See you at home!]
When sending this message, Huo Ran felt a little regretful for a moment.
It would be nice if I could really meet you at home.
He sighed a little disappointedly and walked into the supermarket alone.
The last time Huo Ran went to the supermarket to buy groceries was probably when Huo Sihan proudly expressed his desire to show off his cooking skills.
In short, it was a long, long time ago.
The supermarket was bustling with people. Huo Ran was looking through the recipe copied to the memo on his phone and buying ingredients according to the recipe.
Beef rolls, enoki mushrooms, chili peppers, Hangzhou peppers, water spinach...
He picked up the shopping basket and selected these easy-to-find vegetables, and also picked up a few cans of ice-cold drinks.
Next, Huo Ran prepared to go to the seasoning area to find the yellow lantern chili sauce needed for the sour soup beef, and the bottled fermented bean curd needed for stir-fried water spinach.
He explored through rows of unfamiliar shelves and it took him a long time to find it.
But at this moment, a thin boy wearing a hooded sweatshirt was standing in front of a shelf full of condiments and pickles, blocking his view.
Huo Ran had been particularly careful about the degree of contact with people of the same sex recently, so he simply stood aside and waited for him to take all the items before going up to choose.
The other party seemed to be distracted. Seeing that he was dithering, Huo Ran realized that it was useless to be anxious. He couldn't help but let his eyes go blank and began to imagine this special dinner today.
Until he was suddenly awakened by a timid voice.
"What do you want to buy? Do you want me to get it for you?"
The thin boy turned his head at some point and looked at him nervously.
He has very fair skin and is not tall. Standing in front of Huo Ran, he looks frail.
"..." Huo Ran was stunned for a moment, then said implicitly, "No, I can do it myself. I'm just waiting for you to finish."
Upon hearing this, the other party immediately apologized to him embarrassedly like a frightened rabbit.
"I'm sorry, I was in a daze just now and didn't notice anyone coming over. I didn't expect to block you..."
Huo Ran looked at him mumbling, wanting to say something but stopping himself, and finally couldn't help himself.
"So... are you done picking?"
The thin boy looked over in surprise, blinked his big eyes, then blushed, picked up a can from the shelf in a panic, and walked away quickly.
His back quickly disappeared in the crowd.
Huo Ran withdrew his gaze, confused for a moment, and did not take this little episode to heart.
Finally walked away.
He raised his hand to check the time. It was almost seven o'clock. He suddenly became anxious and wanted to go home quickly to call Tao Zhiyue.
He clearly got off work earlier than Tao Zhiyue today, so he couldn't get home later than Tao Zhiyue.
The strange desire to win surged up in Huo Ran's heart again.
He quickly paid the bill, left the supermarket and got into the car, racing against time along the way.
When he was almost home, Huo Ran suddenly remembered something.
He opened the pp and found a person he hadn't contacted recently in his friend list.
Lu Yan, the childhood friend who said shocking things when he was complaining, caused him to lose his natural trust in all his relatives and friends around him for a period of time.
After thinking for a moment, Huo Ran didn't waste any time and decisively hit a straight ball.
[hr: I’m in love.]
[hr:/grin]
[hr: Let’s have a meal together next time we have a chance.]
Facing his childhood friend, whom he was very familiar with, Huo Ran did not want to be overly tactful, as he was afraid of causing even more outrageous misunderstandings.
It would be better to talk it out loud. If Lu Yan can't accept it, let him digest it himself. He will have to accept it eventually anyway.
After all, for Huo Ran, he did not do anything wrong and there was nothing to change in this one-sided relationship that he had hidden for such a long time.
Lu Yan on the other end of the dialog box typed for a long time before sending a brief reply.
[Lu Yan: OK.]
[Lu Yan: Girlfriend?]
[hr: boyfriend.]
[Lu Yan: ... quite unexpected.]
[Lu Yan: How did you get to know them? They couldn’t be the ones who told me before.]
[hr: No!!]
[hr: It’s a netizen.]
[hr: We met later.]
[Lu Yan: Are you still having an online romance?]
[Lu Yan: I have a new respect for you.]
Huo Ran pondered over his words and felt that Lu Yan was quite receptive, and a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.
He was finally cleared of all charges.
[hr: I got in the car, carrying vegetables.]
[hr: It’s surprisingly heavy.]
[Lu Yan: Buy your own groceries and cook your own meals?]
[Lu Yan: You seem to have changed a lot.]
[hr: Yes^-^]
[hr: Withdrawn, let’s chat next time.]
Huo Ran carried a heavy plastic bag and walked into a quiet villa area. He lowered his head, entered the password at the door, and pushed the door open with force.
At the same time, in a residential building far away, Tao Zhiyue locked the door and turned on the light in the living room.
The room, soaked in darkness, was suddenly filled with warm light.
The adorable Cupid on the wall seemed to be waiting for him to come back.
Tao Zhiyue looked at it, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he responded in a low voice: "Good evening."
The clock hands passed exactly half past seven.
He changed into slippers, carried the vegetables into the kitchen, and the cell phone in his pocket vibrated on time.
[hr: I’m coming!]
[hr: Have you arrived home yet?]
[Tao: Just walked in.]
[Tao: Let’s get started.]
As soon as he sent the message, Huo Ran made a video call.
Tao Zhiyue was stunned for a moment, then immediately walked to the bathroom and took a quick glance at the mirror.
He simply smoothed his hair a few times and adjusted his expression before connecting the video.
The picture that appeared showed the upper half of Huo Ran's face magnified.
Tao Zhiyue's heart stopped and he blurted out, "Why are you getting so close?"
Huo Ran immediately pulled the phone away and gave him a silly smile: "I saw that you didn't answer the phone, so I thought there was some problem."
Tao Zhiyue's eyes wandered: "... I just walked away and didn't notice it."
"Have you washed your hands?" Huo Ran didn't think much about it and waved at him, "Good evening!"
This was his first video call with Huo Ran, and Huo Ran in the camera looked exactly like a real person.
Tao Zhiyue couldn't help but sigh: "You are very photogenic."
"You look photogenic too! Even more so than in real life..."
Huo Ran belatedly swallowed back the life-threatening question he had set himself, and forced himself to change the subject: "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something first?"
"I had a full lunch, so I'm not hungry." Tao Zhiyue took over the conversation, "Shall we start now? These two dishes are quite simple to make."
"Okay! I'm ready!"
As he spoke, Huo Ran moved his phone to show him one of his aprons, which had a brown bear printed on it.
"It seems to have been given as a gift when I bought the pot, or maybe my sister took it secretly. Isn't it funny?"
Tao Zhiyue imagined himself, who was about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a bear apron, and held back his laughter: "No, it suits you very well."
"Really? Then I won't buy it again."
"Don't change it, just wear this."
The first step in making sour soup beef is to cut the ginger, garlic and chili peppers.
The cell phone was placed aside, and the two people were chatting idly amid the sound of the kitchen knife hitting the chopping board.
"I went to see Master Jin today... He was so far away. He was really strange. He didn't come to work even though he had nothing to do. He just sat there stupidly and didn't know what he was doing. He even said confidently that he was waiting for me."
"What did he say?"
"Well, let me summarize it... I don't think he actually likes me. Their circle loves to find new things. He may have targeted me for excitement before, but later he found that he couldn't make me gay, so he gave up. Then he found out that I was in a relationship with a same-sex person, and he immediately became rebellious."
"Just as childish as the previous Cha Xing. He has no sincerity at all and has other motives."
"What Tea Star?"
"Ah, the one I asked you for help the first time, saying that the necklace was left at my house. He is a celebrity, although I have never heard of him before."
"Is his name... Xia Something Xing?"
"Yes, you actually knew that! I'm done! What do I do next?"
The second step is to wash and crush the enoki mushrooms, blanch them in hot water, and then blanch the beef rolls in the same way.
The adjective "tea star" is very special. Tao Zhiyue remembered that when he was lying on the bed and browsing the forum that day, he saw a Weibo post about a celebrity being criticized.
It turned out that at that time, he inadvertently passed by the Huo Ran described by others.
"Cut off the roots of the enoki mushrooms, then use your hands to crush them, then blanch them in hot water. Don't throw away the used hot water first."
"Okay."
The water in the pot gradually began to boil.
"By the way, I also asked him if he would be angry if he was called Young Master Jin. His expression was very happy at the time, as if he had swallowed an egg raw, and he said that he probably wouldn't."
“… You actually asked.”
"You want to know, so I asked. Anyway, I stressed it to him later, if he bothers me again, I won't let him go."
"I need my dad to persuade his dad next time and give him some proper emotional education. Don't mess around just because you're bored. You also need to improve your aesthetic taste. Why does he like Jin Cancan so much? It must be painful to work in their company."
"But I think this is not just his problem. Many of them have this style. They rely on their wealth to do whatever they want. They often hang out together, influence each other, become more perverted, and eventually lose touch with the normal world."
Tao Zhiyue listened to his complaints with a smile, his hands busy, taking out the blanched enoki mushrooms and draining the water.
"You have good taste and good style. Have you fished out the enoki mushrooms? Then you can use this pot of water to blanch the beef rolls."
"I fished it out, and I bought three pounds of beef rolls!"
"That's a lot, can you finish it?"
"You can continue to eat it tomorrow. It will definitely taste good if you teach me how to make it!"
The third step is to put the chopped ingredients into the pan and stir-fry until fragrant, add the yellow lantern chili sauce, then pour in clean water and bring to a boil, then add seasoning.
"The portions of the dishes vary, and our tastes are different, so I can't tell you how many spoons to put in. You can do it yourself. If you're not sure, just taste it at any time."
"Okay, I can do it!" Huo Ran said confidently, "This dish is really simple."
“Don’t set a flag for yourself…”
"I know this joke! No way!"
"Also, I also informed my childhood friend that I have a boyfriend now, and he seemed to accept it calmly. When he finally gets over it, I'll introduce you to each other, if you're willing."
"Now I feel free and will never be bothered by others again!"
"Can I ask you a question?" Tao Zhiyue pondered carefully, "Do you think he really likes you?"
"I don't know. I've had a good relationship with him over the years. The other day I complained to him about being harassed by someone, and he suddenly asked me if I would consider him. I was shocked."
"I treated him as a good brother and never thought about it in that way. If I had to say, it seemed that among the group of friends we often played together at that time, he always stood on my side and followed me when there was something... Damn, I always thought it was because we had a close relationship."
"No, I can't recall it anymore. My hands were shaking when I poured the salt just now." Huo Ran was still frightened. "I've added all the seasonings. What should I do next?"
Step 4: Pour in the blanched beef, bring to a boil over high heat, spread the prepared enoki mushrooms on the bottom of the bowl, remove from the pan, sprinkle with chopped green and red peppers, and finally drizzle with hot oil.
"You don't need to cook it for too long, just boil it, and remember to taste it before serving."
Tao Zhiyue looked at the almost finished sour soup beef in the pot and showed a relieved expression.
A small star who approaches a wealthy man with other purposes, a rich second generation who is empty and boastful in pursuit of novelty, an assistant who takes the initiative to avoid suspicion and is transferred away after being rejected, and a childhood friend who has been secretly in love with a silly straight guy for many years.
Everyone has his or her own logic, which is vivid and real, and they are not tools that like Huo Ran just for the sake of liking him or her.
They were not in a pre-planned plot, just like him now.
He couldn't help but sigh in a low voice: "The world has changed."
Huo Ran was just picking up a bowl and didn't hear clearly: "What changed?"
"Nothing." Tao Zhiyue's tone was very gentle, "It's a good thing anyway."
In this seemingly unsolvable and strange process, he believed that he had chosen a path that would lead him out of the maze.
"I won't ask you about these people anymore."
"It's in the past."
Huo Ran on the other end responded, not quite understanding, "Yes, it's all over."
The light brown fat beef was submerged in the golden soup. As it was stewed over a high fire, small bubbles appeared and the special aroma of bell peppers emanated.
Tao Zhiyue scooped up a spoonful, blew gently, and tasted it carefully.
The combination of sour and spicy instantly ignites the taste buds.
The flavor is just right and it’s ready to be served.
Huo Ran also followed his movements and took a sip of the soup, but immediately frowned: "Why is mine so sour?!"
Tao Zhiyue couldn't help laughing: "Did you put too much vinegar?"