Chapter 101: Garlic Butter Toast
When you relax, you tend to get careless. Mi Hongdou, amused by Ji Junxin’s dramatic outburst, didn’t realize that Ji Junxin’s pent-up frustration had just reached its boiling point.
Not coming home for dinner was one thing, but coming back so late! And not even calling! And then, not even explaining, just laughing! What was so funny!
Ji Junxin was feeling incredibly sensitive today. Mi Hongdou not apologizing and even laughing at her was the last straw.
Ji Junxin grabbed her phone, stood up, glared at Mi Hongdou, and stormed off to the bedroom.
Despite the glare, Mi Hongdou’s earlier anxiety and insecurity were gone. She realized that Ji Junxin wasn’t giving her the cold shoulder, she was just throwing a tantrum. Although she still didn’t understand the reason for Ji Junxin’s mood swings, as long as it wasn’t cold indifference, Mi Hongdou wasn’t afraid.
Love was a strange thing. When you loved someone, your emotions were easily influenced by them. A knowing glance could bring joy, a touch could make your heart race, a cold expression could cause panic, a dismissive gesture could instill fear. Love could change you, or rather, reveal a different side of you.
Mi Hongdou’s emotions had been on a rollercoaster all day, from happiness to confusion, to anxiety and fear, and now, to a renewed sense of determination. Having her emotions manipulated like this wasn’t pleasant. But the other person was Ji Junxin, and she couldn’t be angry. All the turmoil seemed worthwhile, as long as it didn’t end badly.
Ji Junxin went into the bedroom, and after a moment of hesitation, Mi Hongdou followed.
She almost bumped into Ji Junxin, who was coming out.
Ji Junxin hadn’t expected Mi Hongdou to follow so quickly and instinctively took a step back, startled. Then, with a serious expression, she walked past Mi Hongdou towards the bathroom.
Mi Hongdou followed closely.
Even without turning around, Ji Junxin could hear her footsteps.
Fine, follow me, I’m still angry.
Ji Junxin entered the bathroom, pulled back the curtain, then, as she was about to close the door, Mi Hongdou pulled it open again.
The bathroom door was made of glass, and without the curtain, everything inside was visible. Ji Junxin was about to use the restroom, how could she with Mi Hongdou holding the curtain open?
Even though she was angry and didn’t want to talk to Mi Hongdou, she had to say something. “What are you doing?”
Mi Hongdou, seemingly oblivious to her annoyance, smiled and replied seriously, “I didn’t accompany you to the restroom on set today, I’m making up for it now.”
“What?” Ji Junxin thought she had misheard.
“When we started filming the estate scenes, you said the makeshift restrooms were scary and asked me to accompany you every time.” Mi Hongdou’s smile didn’t waver as she looked at the seemingly stunned Ji Junxin. “I couldn’t go with you today, so I’m making up for it now.”
Oh… so she hadn’t misheard.
What a strange way to apologize. Ji Junxin looked at Mi Hongdou meaningfully, then, with a “hmph,” she slammed the glass door shut, almost hitting Mi Hongdou’s nose.
Mi Hongdou was stunned. Ji Junxin’s little tantrum was so sudden. Although not accompanying her to the restroom was the least likely reason for her anger, Mi Hongdou had wanted to test it out. But before she could say anything more, Ji Junxin closed the door. How could they have a conversation like this!
Why is she so hard to appease… Mi Hongdou held the curtain, looking at Ji Junxin inside, and sighed.
Seeing Mi Hongdou’s dejected expression, Ji Junxin smiled slightly. Under Mi Hongdou’s gaze, she slowly walked towards the toilet and then lifted the hem of her shirt.
A clatter from behind the glass door. Ji Junxin looked up. As expected, the curtain was swaying, and Mi Hongdou, who had been staring, was gone.
Tsk…
Accompanying me to the restroom, she said it so seriously, but as soon as I actually tried to use it, she ran away.
Ji Junxin watched as the curtain slowly stopped swaying, her earlier mischievous impulse subsiding.
Heh, she was teasing me, and now she’s regretting it? Ji Junxin thought, a self-mocking smile appearing on her lips.
Indeed… she did regret it.
But unlike her, who was easily aroused, Mi Hongdou didn’t seem to have any such intentions. Ji Junxin’s smile widened, masking her growing bitterness.
In the kitchen, the flustered Mi Hongdou gulped down two large glasses of warm water, then decided she needed a cold one.
Ji Junxin’s tantrums were truly potent! She didn’t even need words to chase people away…
Mi Hongdou thought about Ji Junxin’s earlier action, about to… undress in front of her… Her feelings were complicated.
Even friends shouldn’t do that!
A glass of cold water calmed her down. Thinking about it now, even if she hadn’t left, Ji Junxin wouldn’t have actually… She had lost again…
But even after realizing this, Mi Hongdou, leaning against the kitchen counter, her gaze drifting towards the open study area connecting the bathroom and the bedroom, saw Ji Junxin coming out of the bathroom after three glasses of water. Remembering the earlier scene, she felt a little apprehensive. There was still plenty of time tonight, she would wait…
Then she saw Ji Junxin coming out of the bedroom, holding clean pajamas.
She was going to take a shower. Mi Hongdou, now wiser, didn’t approach.
Ji Junxin beckoned Mi Hongdou, a mischievous smile on her face. “Hey, weren’t you going to accompany me? Coming?”
No way! Just that gesture made Mi Hongdou’s nose bleed! Why did she tease her earlier! She was reaping what she sowed, but she hadn’t realized Ji Junxin’s teasing power was so strong!
Mi Hongdou shook her head repeatedly. Ji Junxin watched for a moment, then went into the bathroom with her pajamas.
As the water ran, and she undressed, the warm water flowing over her skin, Ji Junxin sighed. She seemed to have found Mi Hongdou’s weakness. She was so easily embarrassed. Although she had inadvertently acquired a new skill, she wasn’t happy. Who would want to tease someone who only saw them as a friend! It only hurt herself in the end!
It was a cold February night, and Ji Junxin’s heart felt even colder. She showered for a long time, the hot water gradually warming her up. Slightly.
After a hot shower on a cold night, the next logical step was to get into bed and snuggle with the warm hot water bottles. Ji Junxin had also thought so, but this thought vanished the moment she opened the bathroom door.
Such a wonderful aroma! The smell of milk!
Ji Junxin stood at the bathroom door, torn between returning to the bedroom and going to the living room.
Mi Hongdou, you’re good!
In the end, she couldn’t resist the aroma and went to the living room.
The closer she got, the stronger the milky scent. Ji Junxin had intended to linger, but the aroma drew her in, and she quickened her pace. The suite wasn’t large, and she quickly reached the living room.
On the induction cooktop in the open kitchen, a pot was steaming. On the counter, where the microwave used to be, was a similar-looking appliance, and Mi Hongdou was fiddling with it, her back turned. The original microwave was now on the coffee table, perhaps broken.
Now that she was close to the food, Ji Junxin felt a little embarrassed. Coming to look for food right after their little spat… She stopped by the sofa.
The milky aroma filled the air. Seeing that Mi Hongdou was still busy with the appliance, Ji Junxin stood on tiptoe, trying to see what was in the pot. But it was too far, and her legs weren’t long enough, she could only vaguely see something white inside.
Warming milk late at night? Ji Junxin, who had only had two small fried yellow croakers for dinner, felt her stomach rumble.
Well… milk was fine…
Having just had a little fight and feeling embarrassed to ask for food, Ji Junxin silently stared at Mi Hongdou’s back.
But Mi Hongdou’s attention was completely on the microwave-like appliance, oblivious to the almost giraffe-like figure behind her.
“Achoo…” Ji Junxin, in her thin nightgown and without a jacket, after waiting for a while, sneezed.
Mi Hongdou finally turned around. The appliance, which had been partially hidden, was now fully visible. Ji Junxin thought it was just a new microwave. But it was glowing red, clearly containing food. So, besides milk, there was something else to eat? Ji Junxin’s eyes lit up.
The next step, Mi Hongdou would invite her to have dinner, or a late-night snack, right? And after eating, she wouldn’t be able to stay angry, and they could make up, Ji Junxin thought happily.
“Why are you out here without a jacket again!” Mi Hongdou said, not at all as Ji Junxin had expected, and quickly ran to the bedroom. Before Ji Junxin could react, she returned with the jacket Ji Junxin usually wore over her nightgown.
Wrapped in the thick jacket, Ji Junxin quickly warmed up.
Mi Hongdou, while nagging about Ji Junxin always forgetting to wear a jacket, poured her a glass of warm water.
Hmph! So only water, no food! Ji Junxin took the water, drank a little, and lingered.
“Feeling warmer now? I aired the jacket with the blanket this morning, it’s nice and warm. The bed is also warm, you probably won’t even need the hot water bottles tonight,” Mi Hongdou said with a smile, seemingly oblivious to Ji Junxin’s inner struggle.
Hmph! Was she trying to get rid of her! Just because she had a little tantrum and went to the buffet, there was no dinner for her now? How mean!
Ji Junxin clutched the glass and turned away, unhappy.
So… Ji Junxin had lost interest in her cooking? … Mi Hongdou, seeing Ji Junxin about to leave, thought about her choosing the buffet over her homemade dinner. If she no longer enjoyed her food, then their friendship… was it going downhill?
Mi Hongdou’s expression turned gloomy, but Ji Junxin, already turning to leave, didn’t see it.
The atmosphere in the room plummeted.
Just then, a clear “ding” rang out.
Mi Hongdou knew it was the oven. But if food no longer appealed to Ji Junxin, what was the point? Ji Junxin wasn’t interested, and she had no appetite either, it would just be a waste.
Even so, she opened the oven.
A rich aroma of garlic butter filled the air, overpowering the milky scent.
Mi Hongdou looked at the toast on the tray, golden brown, perfect.
It was a pity that no one would eat it. She felt a pang of sadness, seeing her lovingly prepared food ignored.
“Isn’t that a new microwave? It’s an oven?” Ji Junxin’s voice came from behind her.
Mi Hongdou, startled, almost touched the hot tray.
Ji Junxin was standing very close behind her. Mi Hongdou turned around, practically face to face with Ji Junxin, and startled again, almost stuck her hand in the oven.
“Huh? Oh… it’s an oven.” Ji Junxin’s sudden reappearance and closeness flustered Mi Hongdou.
Heh! I was trying to start a conversation! How am I supposed to continue with that response! Ji Junxin, drawn back by the aroma of garlic butter, thought she might as well go back to bed.
Ji Junxin puffed up her cheeks and turned to leave.
Then, Mi Hongdou’s soft voice came from behind her: “The toast is ready, want to have some?”
Just “some”? I haven’t had any dinner!
“Okay!” Ji Junxin turned around, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
Mi Hongdou, who had offered just as a last-ditch effort, was surprised that Ji Junxin agreed. Was she suddenly interested in garlic butter toast?
But it was a good thing that Ji Junxin was interested in her food again. Mi Hongdou’s movements became lighter as she prepared the soup and toast.
Dinner? Late-night snack? It was garlic butter toast with cream of mushroom soup.
The golden-brown toast, the rich aroma of butter and garlic, it was incredibly tempting.
Ji Junxin didn’t like chunks of garlic, but minced garlic or garlic juice was fine. Otherwise, she would miss out on this deliciousness.
The two small fried yellow croakers she had earlier were long gone. Back with Mi Hongdou, her appetite seemed to have returned, and she was glad she came back.
Homemade food always had the best ingredients. The toast was generously buttered on both sides, the garlic finely minced, only the fragrance, not the pungent taste. One bite, and the crispy, savory toast, the aroma of butter and garlic filling her mouth, it was incredibly delicious, instantly surpassing any store-bought snacks.
The only flaw was that it was too small, a few bites and it was gone. Ji Junxin ate two slices before putting down her fork and taking a sip of the soup.
The cream of mushroom soup, which Ji Junxin had initially mistaken for warm milk, was rich and creamy, without the artificial taste of powdered milk. The thick mushroom slices, sautéed with onions, now simmered in the creamy soup, were fragrant and chewy, the mushroom aroma complementing the milk.
A few sips of the warm soup, and she felt warm all over, the earlier coldness melting away. At least now, Ji Junxin was thinking about why the baking tray was so small, only holding six slices of toast, not about why Mi Hongdou had teased her and then laughed it off earlier.
“Did the hotel provide this oven?” Ji Junxin took another slice of toast, eating more slowly this time, savoring each bite.
“No, I asked Bai Tang to buy it. So we can bake other things too,” Mi Hongdou said, taking a slice and biting into it. The garlic flavor wasn’t too strong, Ji Junxin should like it.
So she bought it today… to appease me? Ji Junxin couldn’t help but think, but she didn’t dare to ask.
Since Ji Junxin had started the conversation, Mi Hongdou also carefully asked, “When I came back, you were in the living room, were you waiting for me?”
Ji Junxin looked at Mi Hongdou, then, instead of answering, asked, “Where did you go?”
Mi Hongdou was embarrassed to admit that she had followed Ji Junxin to the buffet restaurant and then chickened out. She just pointed at the food and said she had been out buying these things. As for what happened before that, she wouldn’t mention it.
Ji Junxin, having received an answer, felt much better. So she hadn’t gone out with someone else!
“Oh,” she said and continued with her soup.
Was that “oh” an acknowledgment, or an “oh, I was waiting for you”? Such a brief response!
“Were you waiting for me?” Mi Hongdou couldn’t help but ask again.
I already answered! Ji Junxin looked up, snorted, and changed her answer. “No.”
Mi Hongdou tried to hide her disappointment. “Then were you angry today?”
“No.” Having reconciled, Ji Junxin naturally denied it, or the next question would be “why?”
Liar! Mi Hongdou pouted and didn’t ask any more questions.
Ji Junxin won this round of probing.
But the victor wasn’t happy. Because… there were only two slices of toast left, and by the principle of fair distribution, they were both Mi Hongdou’s… Ji Junxin silently drank her soup. Although it was delicious, the toast was even better!
“Let’s have this for breakfast tomorrow too,” Ji Junxin said, cleverly securing tomorrow’s breakfast. At least she had something to look forward to, so she wouldn’t lose sleep again.
“The soup is fine, but not the toast, it has garlic, we can only eat it at night,” Mi Hongdou said, picking up a slice. Seeing Ji Junxin’s disappointed expression, she asked, “What’s wrong?” Was she still angry?
“Nothing…” Ji Junxin tried to ignore the last slice of toast and focused on her soup.
They seemed to be getting along better now, but Mi Hongdou still felt a lingering tension beneath the surface calm.
There was a question she had been wanting to ask all day, but she was afraid it would shatter this fragile peace.
Looking at Ji Junxin, who was quietly drinking her soup, Mi Hongdou hesitated, then finally asked, “If one day, I lost my memory and couldn’t cook anymore, could we still be friends?”
Before she could even finish, Ji Junxin froze, her spoon clattering into the bowl…
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