Chapter 7: The Situation Comedy That Can't Get a Word In Edgewise

  "Red Ruby" is a made-to-order Thai dessert. First, the water chestnut must be cut into small pieces and soaked in red food coloring. Since they are out of season, only canned ones can be bought. After draining the water from the red water chestnuts, they are wrapped in rose syrup and then coated with tapioca flour. The excess flour is tapped off before being cooked in boiling water. Finally, it's scooped up and served with coconut milk drizzled over shaved ice and sago pudding. For a dessert, "Red Ruby" has quite a complicated process, and if the amount used isn't controlled well, the texture of the water chestnut will be greatly affected.

  It wasn't until I finally realized what was wrong that I was pouring condensed milk on shaved ice.

  But why am I making this "Ruby" in this kitchen at this time?

  I recall that at the time, I was rigidly staring at the beautiful young man who came out of the painting and walked towards us step by step. His handsome face maintained a captivating smile that made it impossible to look away. Then, before I knew it, the originally noisy hall had turned into an eerie silence. I thought to myself, "It's all over," and even my hearing was not spared from the devastating power of that smile, directly falling into a state of temporary deafness.

  But I clearly heard him say, "A Yao, I want to eat the 'Ruby' made by your own hands," when he lowered his head and curved his eyes at me.

  My mind went blank for two seconds, and I calmly said: "Actually, you don't need to emphasize the words 'with my own hands', as of now, only I can make 'Ruby' here."

  His eyes curved even more, and he said "thank you A Yao" before directly sitting across from me, with his back to those who were staring at him intently.

  As I watched my girlfriends slowly coming back to their senses, I seemed to have said "you guys chat slowly" and then floated into the kitchen to make "Ruby Red".

  Then I was mechanically completing the dessert based on my instincts, and it wasn't until the buzzing in my head stopped that I finally realized a problem. Didn't I originally plan to introduce the extremely handsome young man Cheng Qiao to my best friend Dang? Shouldn't my role at this gathering be as important as a catalyst in a chemistry experiment? But why did he want me to come and make desserts for him? Now, outside there's only him and the little birds who are infatuated with his good looks, what will happen next?

  A flash of light in my mind, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine. Could it be... could he be thinking...

  "Alright, I let out a dejected sigh, because I didn't know what was going to happen either. But Cheng Qiao, this delicate and beautiful young man, couldn't possibly do something that would shock people so much in public, not to mention that my best friend's moral integrity is way stronger than mine, he's not that kind of person, of course, I think this way purely because he's someone I have a crush on, or is it just judging by appearance?"

  Resigned to drizzle coconut milk and lotus seed on top, looking at this dish under the lamp shining bright red light "ruby", I smiled contentedly, didn't expect that in a state of wandering in space can still be so successful, just don't know how the taste is, cough, should not have put the medicine used to poison flies earlier.

  When passing by the counter, Auntie, who had been lowering her head, suddenly chuckled and said: "Yaoyao, it seems your dad and mom don't have to worry about you, an illustrator, not being able to find a 3D boyfriend."

  I turned around in confusion: "Huh?"

  "It's okay, you can go now, look at Xiaoyu and the others chatting happily with the people you brought."

  I sensitively grasped the two words "Xiao Yu" and immediately nodded in understanding. Auntie must have thought I was helping Xiao Yu introduce her boyfriend, so she felt that the military academy student she mentioned earlier was no longer useful. After all, this was her first time playing matchmaker, and now she must feel particularly frustrated. Once I understood, I smiled reassuringly at her and said, "Auntie, don't be disappointed, Xiao Yu would rather die than get involved with... uh, wouldn't get involved with a pretty boy like that." Looking at her expression, which was either shocked or delighted, I felt that my reassurance had been very effective.

  Just a few steps away from the girls, I found them suddenly shifting their gaze to me one by one, and their footsteps came to an abrupt halt. The look in their eyes was so profound that I had never seen it before, yet I couldn't decipher its meaning at all. Suppressing the urge to grab their collars and demand an explanation, I walked up and placed "Ruby" in front of Cheng Qiao. He immediately looked up at me with a shy smile: "A Yao, you're so great!"

  I covered my slightly feverish nose in embarrassment, and this young man's smile was so beautiful it didn't seem real. Before I could say anything, Xiao Yu pushed Haiying and said in a somewhat coquettish tone: "Haiying~ Ah Yao is really great~ I hate it~ Why isn't he a lace edge?"

  Haiying was silent for a moment, and then pushed Ashen: "I also think that AYao is really great, it's the all-around representative of women in the new era who combines beauty, intelligence, character, talent, and practical ability."

  A shallow look at me with a dazed expression for half a day, then said to Cheng Qiao: "The success of the revolution seems to be far away now, and the process will surely have a fierce competition. Young man, take care of yourself."

  "Opponent, I should be able to rank in the top three, I won't give up." Qiao Cheng tilted her head, "And most importantly, with your support, I believe nothing will be a problem again."

  Xiao Yu patted his shoulder, and to his surprise, spoke with a rare tone of sincerity: "Sir, you're going after that woman, right? Your thoughts are actually quite bold, but you look a bit weak... Hmm, maybe you really are weak. This face of yours is just too restrictive. Although she usually likes to take the initiative, I think she won't be able to make a move against this face... which in my opinion is even more beautiful than hers."

  Qiao opened his eyes and looked at her, saying with difficulty: "But now I've already grown up, what can I do?"

  She said lightly: "This is simple, first disfigure and then re-beautify."

  Qiao lowered her head and didn't say anything anymore.

  "Ah Qian, don't scare him. What if he's not dead yet but his body is already gone? That would be a complete loss..."

  Before she could finish speaking, Cheng Qiao suddenly lifted her head and interrupted, her voice still gentle but leaving no room for doubt: "I'm willing."

  After a moment of silence, Xiao Yu said somewhat dazedly: "What do you want?"

  Haiying immediately hit her with her hand, looking at Cheng Qiao with a headache: "Stop it, Aiqin was just joking, you can't ruin this face that even if we go to Korea for plastic surgery, we can't get this effect. We... really can't afford it."

  Qiao Jing's face was firm: "I'm serious, for her, I'd be willing to do anything!"

  Haiying covered her forehead with her hand, and signaled to A Qian with her eyes.

  After a while, Ah Qian raised an eyebrow: "Where did you see that I was joking?" As soon as she saw the green veins on Ha Ying's forehead, she paused and said, "However, as the saying goes, with perseverance, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle. Look at us, we're all moved by you. If you put in more effort, it's either devotion or dedication. That woman's brain will definitely open up."

  Xiao Yu nodded and added: "Right, if she doesn't understand, we'll help you take a hammer and crack her skull open."

  Cheng Qiao smiled again with pursed lips.

  I was stunned throughout, and all the things in my brain that could be used for thinking were blown away by this scene where I couldn't get a word in edgewise, leaving not even a shred behind. I completely didn't understand why this small world turned upside down in just over ten or twenty minutes. The BFF gang was just following me and calling me "A Yao" saying those disgusting words, so I thought they were just having a seizure, but why did their inexplicable conversation with Cheng Qiao afterwards suddenly give me the feeling of being in a chaotic graveyard? And how could the magnetic field between them be so harmonious and eerie all at once?!

  Just as I was thinking about how to express my various shocks, Cheng Qiao suddenly showed me a mouthful of neat white teeth: "A Yao, this 'red gem' is really delicious."

  I hadn't sorted out my thoughts and could only nod randomly.

  "But you didn't put in the pandan leaves."

  I stared at him in surprise: "How did you know?" Because I couldn't get fresh pandan leaves, I had to add vanilla extract to the rose syrup. Normally people don't know what ingredients are needed to make "Ruby", but Cheng Qiao was able to guess it directly by eating? Is he a legendary foodie with a golden tongue?

  Xiao Yu clapped her hands and pointed to the dish of "red gemstone": "Xiao Qiao, you're so amazing! We didn't even know that red thing was taro when we ate it before."

  I was shocked again: "Little Qiao? The Little Qiao who made Old Cao want to lock her up in the Copper Sparrow Pavilion but ended up losing at Red Cliff instead?"

  Xiaoyu glared at me: "He said everyone in his school calls him Xiao Qiao, so we can call him that too, it's very affectionate!"

  "Oh, I see. A unisex name like that really suits him." I turned to him, "It's better to be called by many than just one, so from now on, I'll call you Xiao Qiao too."

  "Of course. Because I myself have made 'red rubies', if pandan leaves are added, this taro will have that unique refreshing and sweet flavor."

  I was surprised that he could still find the original topic after being interrupted by me, but immediately sparked his interest. I leaned my head over: "You also like to make desserts? Where do you live?"

  "It's just around here."

  "It's actually nearby," I wondered: "Then why don't you make it yourself and eat it, but instead run to a dessert shop?"

  He was taken aback for a moment, then turned his head and said, "Doing it myself is too much trouble."

  I said without thinking: "How can doing what you like be a bother? Your way of thinking is not good, sleeping with someone is also a bother, are you going to just chat with your wife under the quilt in the future?"

  He stared at me in disbelief, and all the girls took a cold breath together.

  I was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted: "No, I just corrected his way of liking, not implying that Xiao Qiao is not a man..."

  "You actually dare to mock Xiao Qiao for not being a man?!"

  I weakly said: "I don't..."

  "Sometimes the jokes we make are actually our true thoughts from the subconscious!"

  "No, my subconscious also tells me it doesn't... wait, what did you mean by that cold air you drew in just now?"

  They exchanged a glance for a few seconds, and Haiying looked at me with a hint of concern in her eyes: "Yao Yao, is it that we didn't care enough about you, and we had no idea that you thought sleeping with people was... such a troublesome thing."

  I paused for a moment, covering my forehead and said: "That's it, actually we haven't met tonight, let's just disperse."

  Chang Qiao suddenly spoke up softly: "So your tastes... are this heavy."