Chapter 277: HOW TO COOK FROM THE HEART.

Guiying wondered what Fu Pei wanted to say as he headed down the stairs.

—————

Back at Liu Corporation, Zhang Wei tapped the office door gently.

"Boss, you called. I’m coming in."

Liuxian sat forlorn when Zhang Wei stepped inside.

His lips twitched slightly. He had not seen his boss this dejected in a long time.

"Zhang Wei, do you have any gift ideas for apologies to give your partner?"

-_-

Zhang Wei’s lips twitched. His boss loved to remind him that he was single.

"I’m going on a business trip tomorrow. I can’t leave things the way they are between me and Guiying. I’m not sure I’d survive it."

Zhang Wei sighed, raising his phone and pointing at it.

"Sir. You have friends who are married, longer than you have been. This is the time you need their experience. If you call some of them I’m sure you’ll get some answers."

Liuxian’s fingers drummed against the desk.

Married friends, huh....

Jae wasn’t the type to give real advice. He’d just make a joke out of it.

Tian Huan had never been married a day in his life.

He picked up his own phone, scrolled to his sister’s contact, and dialed.

Tiantian picked up after two rings, a kid screaming in the background.

"Big bro? What’s up? You don’t usually call."

Liuxian leaned back in his chair. "I need help."

A pause.

"Oh my god." Something shuffled on her end, a door closing, the noise cutting off.

"You never call for help. What happened? Did you actually mess up with Guiying?"

Liuxian’s jaw tightened.

"How do you already know that?"

"I didn’t. I guessed." Tiantian’s voice sharpened with interest. "But you just confirmed it, so. What did you do?"

Zhang Wei, still standing near the desk, suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.

"That’s not important right now." Liuxian rubbed at his temple. "I need a gift. Something that says sorry without saying it outright."

"Haoran and I don’t really do gifts when we fight, not often." Tiantian’s voice became quieter, more thoughtful. "The last big one we had, right after Xiao Bao was born, I was exhausted. He said something stupid about the house being a mess. I threw a pillow at his head and didn’t talk to him for two days."

"What fixed it?"

"He didn’t buy me anything big. He cooked for me. My favorite dish, the one our mother used to make when we were kids. He’d never actually attempted it before because he was scared of messing it up."

A pause.

"He burned the first batch. I heard him swearing in the kitchen from upstairs. But he tried again. It wasn’t perfect but I didn’t care. He apologized and showed me he cared by making my favorite dish."

Tiantian thought of Haoran and her lips curved up.

"In a fight, before you make any gesture, you must first apologize. It’s the most important thing. You can then attach a gift or gesture to it. That’s what makes it feel special."

Liuxian said nothing for a moment.

He’d never cooked for Guiying. Not once, in all this time. Old Li handled every meal, always had.

"Guiying’s not big on gifts either." Liuxian sat up straighter. "He’d probably see through a present in about two seconds."

"Then give him something from the heart. You know him best." Tiantian’s voice warmed. "Doesn’t have to be fancy. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Just has to be from the heart."

"Thank you." Liuxian exhaled, some of the tension in his shoulders easing for the first time all day. "I mean it."

"Fix it soon, whatever you do." Tiantian’s voice turned serious. "Don’t let something like this sit for weeks."

Liuxian nodded. "I won’t. Thank you."

"No worries, just glad I could help my big brother."

Zhang Wei smiled. The boss was lucky to have such nice siblings. He was an only child. He would never know the feeling.

The call ended.

Liuxian sat still for a moment, staring at the blank screen, then looked up at Zhang Wei.

"Clear my afternoon."

Zhang Wei nodded, typing on his phone.

"On it, sir."

Liuxian scrolled through his contacts. He needed a recipe that was easy to cook. He had never cooked a day in his life, not even in the military.

So he needed a recipe he couldn’t mess up.

And his mother was his best bet.

He found his mother’s contact and dialed without hesitation.

Fu Wanqing picked up on the third ring, already suspicious.

"You never call me. What do you want now?"

"I need a recipe." Liuxian didn’t bother with pleasantries. "Something simple enough for someone who’s never cooked in his life. I want to make something for Guiying tonight."

A pause, then a delighted gasp on the other end.

"You’re cooking? For him?" Fu Wanqing’s voice climbed an octave. "This is the most romantic thing I’ve seen you do. What happened? Did you two fight?"

"Mom."

"Fine, fine." She laughed, clearly enjoying herself far more than the situation warranted.

"Try steamed fish with ginger and scallion. Simple sauce, forgiving cook time. But you’ll need it fresh, whole, not filleted. None of that pre-cut supermarket nonsense."

Liuxian’s stomach turned slightly at the implication. "Whole, meaning—"

"Meaning alive, until you get it home." Fu Wanqing’s tone stayed breezy, entirely unsympathetic to his dawning horror.

"There’s a wet market two streets off Fuxing Road. Ask for Old Zhao’s stall. He’ll pick you a good one. You’ll have to clean it yourself, scale it, gut it, the whole process. That’s the point."

"I’ve never touched a live fish in my life."

"There’s a first time for everything." She laughed again. "You want this to mean something, don’t you? Go get your hands dirty. Don’t have Zhang Wei do it for you."

Zhang Wei, listening from across the desk, mouthed a silent thank you toward the ceiling.

"Fine." Liuxian rubbed at his temple, already regretting the question. "Send me the recipe and the address."

"Already sending it." A pause, then softer.

"I’m proud of you for trying, you know. Whatever happened between you two, this is a good start."

"Thank you, Mom."

The call ended, and Liuxian’s phone buzzed seconds later with the recipe and the market’s address attached.

He stood, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair.