Chapter 27: Two People

When they arrived at the café, Minya was already there. After exchanging New Year’s greetings, Li Shenxing handed over the specialties he brought back from Jeju Island, specifying which were for his aunt and which were gifts for her and Park Jihoon. Park Jihoon was Minya’s twelve-year-old son, a filial, sensible, and intelligent child.

After putting the four cats into their carriers and saying goodbye to Minya, they drove away from the café.

Back home, he first let the cats out, preparing food and water for them. He wondered if they had been happy over the past two days, considering they had so many playmates.

It was already around five o'clock, time to prepare dinner.

Li Shenxing asked Hyeori, who was playing with the cats in the living room, "What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything, just keep it simple," Hyeori replied without looking up, continuing to play with the cats.

The most annoying thing for a chef is when the customer says "anything."

Anything is the worst!凸^－^凸

After standing in front of the fridge for five minutes, chin in hand, he finally made a decision.

He would make a lazy man's rice, beef rolls, and a vegetable soup.

First, he prepared the ingredients: washed the rice and let it soak in water, sliced the beef into large, thin pieces, and marinated them in a bowl with wine, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, chili powder, and ginger.

He started with the lazy man's rice. The ingredients were peas, corn kernels, and diced cured meat. He heated oil in a pan, added the ingredients, and stir-fried them, adding salt, sugar, chicken essence, and wine. After stir-frying the ingredients, he mixed them with the soaked rice and put them in the rice cooker to cook.

Next, he sliced the onion and shiitake mushrooms into thin strips and separated the enoki mushrooms into small bunches. He laid out the beef slices, placed the onion strips, mushroom strips, and enoki mushrooms on them, rolled them up, and wrapped each roll in aluminum foil. He placed them on a baking tray and put them in the oven for 5 minutes. The aluminum foil was to prevent the beef's juices and aroma from escaping.

For the vegetable soup, he heated water in a pot, cut the tomatoes into cubes, shredded the cabbage, and chopped the green onions. After the water boiled, he added oil, tomatoes, and shredded cabbage. After boiling, he turned the heat to medium and simmered for 5 minutes. He then cracked an egg into the pot, stirred it, and added the green onions.

【Ding~!】

Hearing the sound, Li Shenxing put on gloves, took out the baking tray, and carefully opened the aluminum foil. The inviting aroma filled the air. He picked up the beef rolls and placed them on a plate of lettuce leaves, drizzling the meat juice over them. [This beef roll is really delicious. If you're interested, you should try it.]

One rice dish, one dish, and one soup—simple yet not so simple.

After setting the table with the dishes and utensils, he went to call Hyeori for dinner and found that she had already fallen asleep.

He squatted in front of the sofa, pinched her little upturned nose, and said softly, "Kitty, it's time to eat."

"Mmm~ Why did I fall asleep?" she mumbled, stretching lazily, but not getting up.

Li Shenxing pulled her up, still drowsy, and said, "Let me take you to wash your face, then we'll eat."

After washing her face, Hyeori, now awake, came to the table and exclaimed, "Wow~ Only one dish and one soup! Really so ‘anything’! Oppa."

Li Shenxing didn’t respond, just scooped a bowl of soup and handed it to her.

"Mmm!" Hyeori raised her eyebrows, "It tastes good, a bit sour and refreshing, very appetizing." It seemed the soup suited her taste.

Seeing her finish the soup, Li Shenxing opened the rice cooker, and a fragrant aroma spread.

"Wow~ It smells so good, what is it?" Hyeori immediately stood up and leaned over to look into the rice cooker.

"This is lazy man's rice. As the name suggests, it's cooked with rice and vegetables together. Try it and see if you like it." Li Shenxing served it into a bowl for her.

She scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and put it in her mouth, "Mmm! It's delicious, the taste is great. It feels a bit like bibimbap, with a slight crust, but it's not the same. Each has its own characteristics, but the simplicity is its strength; anyone can learn to make it."

Seeing her attack the lazy man's rice and ignore the beef rolls, Li Shenxing picked up a beef roll wrapped in lettuce and offered it to her, "Try it, you'll regret it if you don’t!"

She opened her mouth, stuffed the beef roll in, and bit down. The meat juice instantly filled her mouth. The beef was tender and juicy, and the vegetables had fully absorbed the meat juice, combining perfectly with the crisp, refreshing lettuce. She couldn't stop eating.

"Oppa, this is much better than grilled meat," Hyeori praised, her mouth full of beef rolls. She seemed to think the praise wasn't enough and added two thumbs up.

"Getting your praise is an honor," Li Shenxing said with a serious expression.

She rolled her eyes, "Hurry up and eat, don't be silly."

"As you wish, my queen," Li Shenxing said, returning to his cheerful self.

He always had a positive attitude, and nothing seemed to bother him. Being with him always made her happy because his joy was contagious.

After a simple yet rich dinner, they went for a walk to digest their food, then returned to the sofa to watch TV until around ten o'clock, when they took a shower and went to bed. They had to get up early the next day to visit his in-laws, so they needed to rest well. His in-laws' house was quite large, and they didn't want to be impolite.

In bed, Li Shenxing and Hyeori snuggled together, tightly hugging each other as they fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, the sun shone into the room, and Li Shenxing woke up, facing the sunlight. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, marveling at the beautiful day ahead.

Looking at the person beside him, Li Shenxing felt that waking up every morning to see her sleeping next to him was the happiness he wanted~!

.......................................................................................................................................

"It's all your fault, leaving so late. We're going to be scolded by my dad," Hyeori complained, turning to Li Shenxing in the car.

Li Shenxing looked at her red face with a smile but didn’t argue, deciding to be good since he had the upper hand.

They parked at the door, took out the prepared gifts from the trunk, and walked to the door together.

"Ring~ Ring~" After a few doorbell rings, they heard footsteps.

"Click!" The door opened, and it was Hyeori's second sister. "Oh! It's Hyeori and Shenxing~ Come in, come in." She turned to call inside, "Mom, Abujima and Shenxing are back!"

"Second sister, New Year’s greetings," Li Shenxing said.

"New Year’s greetings, Shenxing, come in quickly." She closed the door and pulled Li Shenxing inside.

"Second sister is so biased, always ignoring me," Hyeori said, pouting.

"Hey, it's Shenxing's first New Year’s visit as a new son-in-law. I’m just taking care of your husband. Are you unhappy about it?" the second sister said to Hyeori, not in a good mood.

"Hey, it's the New Year, can't you two stop bickering for a moment~" the mother-in-law said, putting an end to the argument.

"Mom, second sister is bullying me," Hyeori complained to her mother-in-law.

Li Shenxing smiled and bowed to his mother-in-law, "Mom, New Year’s greetings."

"Hey, what a good boy, it's cold outside, come inside quickly." The mother-in-law warmly took Li Shenxing's hand and led him inside, not even glancing at Hyeori.

"Mom~~" Hyeori called out, dissatisfied.

"Enough, stop complaining and come inside!" the second sister pushed Hyeori into the house.