Chapter 73: Their cousin was really different now

Bai Jianning suddenly stiffened and looked up in alarm to see her second brother entering the kitchen.

As if facing a great enemy, her fur bristled, and she shook her head rapidly at her oblivious cousin. "Third Brother, don’t! Let him eat snacks, Second Brother is a glutton—"

A hand covered her little face from above, pulling her head up by the nose.

Lin Feng: ⊙?.?☉!!!

That... That was a rather crude movement.

"Second Brother!" Bai Jianning exploded, flailing her arms at Bai Jiancheng, who had suddenly appeared uninvited.

"The one who cooked already invited me to eat, and you dare say no?"

"I also helped, so I can say no."

"You?" Bai Jiancheng looked at his useless little sister, who didn’t even know how to hold a knife. "Just you? What can you even do?"

Bai Jianning’s eyes flickered guiltily, but she still straightened her back and pushed her chest out. "I washed the lettuce, and I also helped carry the plates."

"...Useless."

"Second Brother!"

"What’s this commotion all about?" another voice sounded from outside the kitchen.

Lin Feng, who had been watching the two siblings bicker in wonder, his head turning this way and that, also looked toward the kitchen entrance along with them.

Lin Feng finally confirmed it.

The Bai siblings definitely all had a habit of waking up late at night to eat midnight snacks. Once was a coincidence, twice was suspicious, but three times was a certainty.

Actually, what Lin Feng didn’t know was that most of the younger generation nowadays were pretty much night owls who lurked online until the middle of the night.

Lin Feng himself had the habit of going to bed early, unless he was with his beloved husband and exercising late into the night. Usually, however, he slept early and woke up early, and he often took afternoon naps when he had nothing else to do, owing to his habits as an old matriarch.

Bai Jian’an had already seen the food inside the kitchen. Initially, he had only planned to grab a few snacks, but his stomach rumbled at the sight. He had been studying documents and had gotten too immersed in his work, forgetting the time. By the time he finally noticed, he had already digested all the food in his stomach.

The bespectacled eldest brother stared intently at the food, standing still in place, until Lin Feng couldn’t help inviting him as well. "You can join us if you’re hungry."

The eldest brother finally smiled faintly and nodded. "Then I won’t decline."

Bai Jianning wailed, but under the combined pressure, she could only sit down and voraciously eat what was on her plate.

As bona fide meat lovers, the brothers naturally went straight for the meat.

Bai Jian’an and Bai Jiancheng each took a wheat wrap, stuffed it with plenty of beef filling, cucumbers, and lettuce, and then took a bite.

The tantalizing aroma had already gnawed at their hunger, and now, the delicious umami of the beef spread through their mouths, salty and savory, with a roasted flavor from the cumin, complemented by the crisp crunch of the vegetables. It was also a little spicy, which whetted their appetites.

They finished their wraps in a few seconds before reaching for another.

Soon, the whole stack of whole-grain wheat wraps was demolished, and the plates and bowls of beef filling, cucumbers, and lettuce were emptied.

Then they focused on the garlic butter noodles with mushrooms and bacon toppings. In their eyes, there was meat here, too, not to mention that the cured meat flavor mingling with the buttery aroma had already made their mouths water.

Soon, their plates were empty, yet they still hadn’t eaten their fill.

Lin Feng’s movements had always been gentle and slow, and this included his eating habits. He had barely finished one wheat wrap with beef and vegetable fillings when he saw the two brothers devour everything like a swarm of locusts descending upon a golden, ripe field, leaving nothing behind.

For some reason, Lin Feng felt that if he didn’t hurry up, he would soon find himself being stared at by a pair of wolves. Thus, he bowed his head and focused on eating, trying his best to chew faster.

However, Lin Feng was inherently a graceful madam who had been taught how to eat and move beautifully, so what seemed fast to him looked slow and gentle to others.

Bai Jian’an, Bai Jiancheng, and Bai Jianning ate everything down to the last drop of soup, then watched their cousin elegantly eat the noodles with chopsticks, chewing softly.

The beauty’s eyes flickered under the intensity of their stares, but he still maintained a graceful air.

Finally, he wiped his mouth with a napkin, pushed away the half-bowl of soup he couldn’t finish, and raised his head in surrender.

"I’m done." Lin Feng didn’t even know why he was announcing this. He just felt that he had to.

As if waiting for him to speak, Bai Jiancheng immediately chimed in. "We can’t waste food. I’ll have this."

Without giving Lin Feng any chance to say anything, the young man picked up the bowl and devoured the remaining crab meat and shrimp soup.

Lin Feng opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it when he saw that the soup was already gone.

Feeling helpless, he was glad that he had a habit of using a separate smaller bowl to drink soup, so he hadn’t actually touched this half-bowl.

Bai Jian’an shot a scolding look at his second brother before finally standing up and giving instructions to his two siblings. "Third Brother did the cooking, so you two take care of the cleanup."

"Of course."

"Naturally."

That was when Lin Feng realized why they had been waiting for him. It turned out that this was the reason.

Lin Feng knew it was simply a habit of theirs, born of their good upbringing, but he still appreciated it.

His smile became more genuine, his eyes curving upward as he looked at his cousins. "Then I’ll thank my cousins for their help."

Everyone else paused before continuing what they were doing.

Their cousin was really different now, far too different.

But they themselves didn’t realize that the atmosphere had become much more relaxed around the Third Brother, whom they previously had secretly harbored grievances against.