Chapter 1265: I Don’t Want to Grow Up Anymore

Chapter 1265: Chapter 1265: I Don’t Want to Grow Up Anymore

They were eating quite well without knowing it.

"But after the selection, one of the judges, named Sharuk, did ask me what was in it," Ye Fei shrugged, "I just told the truth. His face really... wasn’t looking too good."

"So, in this regard, it did shock him, right?" Ye Fei laughed.

She didn’t intentionally add something knowing he wouldn’t eat it, it was purely to enhance the texture.

Everyone took a few more sips of soup, followed by a sip of sake.

The taste was just perfect together.

Too bad the little guy couldn’t drink it.

Watching the adults drink with such satisfaction, Li Xiaoyun even squinted his eyes in enjoyment.

The little guy was anxiously watching on the side.

He raised his little face and eagerly asked Zhao Gushen, "Dad, can I try it? Just a taste, a small sip."

The little guy extended his chubby hand, holding up his index finger to indicate "1".

Zhao Gushen looked at Ye Fei and asked, "Let him have a sip?"

With just this gesture, Li Xiaoyun instantly understood who actually made the decisions in this household.

Ye Fei tasted the sake, noting its mild flavor without any spiciness or harshness, and its low alcohol content.

She said, "Then he can only have a small sip."

Ye Fei emphasized again, "Just this once, there won’t be a next time."

The little guy nodded eagerly; "Just a small sip."

Seeing Ye Fei nod, Zhao Gushen handed his cup to Xiao Mo, "Go ahead, try it."

With the glass cup, it was easy to see how much was consumed.

The little guy didn’t dare to be sly, obediently taking a tiny sip.

Then, with a mature demeanor, he let out a long sigh, "It’s really good!"

The little guy obediently returned the cup to Zhao Gushen, saying, "I really want to grow up quickly so I can protect Xiao Fei and also drink alcohol."

The helplessness he felt this morning in Ye Fei’s arms was etched deeply in his heart.

However, Ye Fei didn’t want him to grow up so quickly.

Not physically, but mentally.

Every child who grows up too soon has a reason that forces them to mature early.

And these reasons are usually not pleasant.

Letting Xiao Mo grow up too early and mature prematurely would mean failure on their part as parents.

Ye Fei didn’t say it directly but rather said sadly, "But if you grow up, it means we will get old. For every year you grow, we age as well. By the time you grow up and can protect me..."

Ye Fei pretended to calculate, "For example, when you’re 20 years old. You’re five years old now, by the time you’re 20, I’ll be 42. Dad will be worse off, he’ll be almost 50. After a few more years, he’ll have to retire."

"Then slowly, we’ll get so old that we can’t walk, our teeth will gradually fall out more and more." Ye Fei said, "People shrink in height when they get old, can’t stand straight anymore."

"With a head full of white hair, needing a cane to walk, staggering with shaky legs. Eyesight not good, too weak to cook for you." Ye Fei tilted her head while visualizing the future.

She already had the image in her mind.

"By then, we’d really need you to take care of us," Ye Fei said.

Unexpectedly, the little guy’s eyes turned red.

"I... I don’t want to grow up!" The little guy clutched Ye Fei’s arm, "I don’t want to grow up, I don’t want you to get old, I still want to eat the food you make for me."

The little guy was torn between protecting Ye Fei and eating the food she made.

It was too difficult to choose.

He wanted to have the ability to protect Ye Fei but didn’t want his parents to age.

Ye Fei gently stroked the back of the little guy’s head, saying, "So, you don’t need to be in such a hurry to grow up. Actually, I wish time would pass a little slower, slower still. To have more time to spend with you."

"You don’t have to rush your growth, just grow at a normal pace. If you grow slowly, we will also age slowly, everyone will have more time."

"Besides, I have dad to protect us now." Ye Fei said softly, "He protects the both of us. Look, he’s not old yet, he can protect the two of us alone. So, there’s no need for you to hurry."

The little guy turned to look at Zhao Gushen.

He couldn’t imagine Zhao Gushen getting old.

In his mind, Zhao Gushen seemed like someone who would never age, always remaining the same.

Of course, the same went for Ye Fei.

Ye Fei ruffled the little guy’s head and gave him a skewer of grilled cherry tomatoes, "Haven’t you always wanted to try skewers? Eat this first, then the meat, the taste will be different."

The little guy immediately put aside his sadness and took the cherry tomatoes Ye Fei handed him.

Each skewer had three of them.

This time, the little guy learned his lesson, holding onto the bamboo skewer and testing the temperature of the cherry tomato with his lips first.

Since fruits and vegetables dissipate heat more slowly, the little guy, feeling the heat, carefully blew on it for a long time, testing intermittently.

Finally, feeling the temperature was acceptable, he bit into one.

Even so, he still got a little scalded by the tomato’s core.

Breathing heavily to relieve the heat.

The tomatoes were sprinkled with a bit of chopped perilla.

The grilled tomatoes, with slightly wrinkled but still bright red skins, were dotted with dark bits of chopped perilla.

Especially enticing.

The cherry tomatoes were sweet and sour; after grilling, the sourness outweighed the sweetness, enhanced by the fragrance of perilla.

Very appetizing.

After finishing this skewer, the little guy’s appetite was stimulated.

With the soup already settled in his stomach, it was ready to be filled with more good food.

He immediately grabbed another skewer of chicken liver.

Zhao Dingli also took one.

Both Zhao Dingli and Zhao Gushen had a slight tendency of being picky eaters.

But because of their profession, they would also appraise new recipes from chefs, having to try a bit of everything.

This was work, leaving no room for them to be picky or otherwise.

They had to treat it as part of the job.

But honestly, Zhao Dingli wasn’t a fan of chicken liver.

He found chicken liver to have a certain gamey taste that he didn’t like.

But tonight, Zhao Dingli was really curious about Ye Fei’s culinary skills.

Curious if she could make chicken liver, which he disliked, taste good.

Zhao Dingli picked it up, first bringing it to his nose for a sniff. Apart from the aroma of the charcoal fire, he didn’t smell any gamey chicken liver scent.

Perhaps the charcoal aroma masked the gamey taste of the chicken liver?

"You grilled it over charcoal?" Li Xiaoyun asked Ye Fei in surprise.

Ye Fei never minded the trouble when it came to cooking.

She nodded, "I bought a round home-use charcoal grill, turned the exhaust hood up to the maximum, and vented all the smoke out."

Li Xiaoyun knew that Zhao Dingli didn’t like chicken liver, and now seeing him take the initiative, she didn’t even bother eating herself, first observing Zhao Dingli’s reaction.

Zhao Dingli looked at the chicken liver; it seemed much more tender than any he had seen before.

He lightly shook the bamboo skewer, and the chicken liver looked so tender it had a sort of wobbly, soft flexibility.