Chapter 9.1

In anger, Cheng Yao put down the clueless information in her hand. Once she put down her work, she felt empty and uncomfortable in her stomach. As soon as she got home today, she buried her head into work and started researching. She hadn’t bothered to eat yet.

Now Cheng Yao simply decided to treat herself well. She went to the kitchen and started washing and cutting the vegetables quickly.

It’s not that Cheng Yao liked to brag, her legal skills may not be the best, but she was confident enough to claim the second place in cooking skills, and no one could dare be the first.

After a while, Cheng Yao made three dishes and one soup; braised pork, topped with shrimp and tofu, boiled kale, and a tomato egg drop soup. She tasted them and their taste turned out to be better than she expected.

Just when Cheng Yao was ready to start her meal, Qian Heng’s door opened.

The boss, who claimed to have fallen asleep, appeared in front of Cheng Yao, wearing pajamas with his handsome face and a little messy hair.

As soon as Cheng Yao looked up, her eyes met the other party’s eyes, which were shrouded in darkness.

Cheng Yao immediately appealed for her innocence, “I didn’t make any noise while I was cooking! I really didn’t bother you!”

Qian Heng unexpectedly did not pick any faults. He walked to the side of the dining table, making an ‘en’ sound. Glancing at the various dishes, he snorted, “Don’t think that you can flatter me by making a table of dishes, so that I’ll answer those naive questions for you.”

Cheng Yao was a little confused, “I made all these for myself.”

Qian Heng smiled confidently and said “Then why did you make food for two people? Three dishes and one soup, this is obviously for two people.”

As Cheng Yao stuffed the vegetables in her mouth, she explained sincerely, “I have a huge appetite. I can eat all of these by myself.”

Qian Heng didn’t say anything. He just stood there with his hands folded around his chest, looking at Cheng Yao for a while with a look of “I’d like to see how stubborn you are going to be”.

Cheng Yao felt that when people were misunderstood, any language was superfluous, and even a thousand words were not as convincing as actual actions.

So she ate all the dishes in front of Qian Heng.

Qian Heng: “…..”

“Look, I can really eat it all by myself!”

Cheng Yao wiped the corners of her mouth and looked up. Only then did she realize that her boss, after witnessing the whole process of her swiftly finishing a table full of dishes, seemed to have a very ugly face?

Qian Heng’s face was very dark, “Cheng Yao, I haven’t eaten dinner yet.”

So Cheng Yao realized afterwards that her great hypocritical boss originally wanted to eat what she had made!

Qian Heng, ah Qian Heng, you have always been so domineering, you never thought that what comes around goes around, right?

Cheng Yao’s heart was full of satisfaction at seeing the tables turn. She deliberately asked: “Huh? Weren’t you already going to bed?”

“You did it on purpose.”

“Hmm?”

“You hate me for refusing to answer your naive questions, so in order to retaliate, you finished a meal enough for two people all by yourself.”

Cheng Yao really laughed hearing this, “Boss, I will ask you a question. Did I make this food or did you make it?

“….”

“Whoever cooks the food has the final say in who gets to eat it.”

Qian Heng said with a blank face, “Cheng Yao, you are so courageous. Who gave you this courage, is it Liang Jingru?”1

“That’s the boss’ training. To be a good lawyer, you should defend yourself for your own rights and fight for it to the last minute! “

“Alright, I’ll give you 2,000 RMB for cooking the same meal for me.”

“Now that I’ve grown up, I have a good understanding. I’m now mature and have my own principles. I shouldn’t give way to money.”

Qian Heng looked at Cheng Yao’s haughty appearance. The girl with black hair, red lips, and bright round eyes, looked sly like a little fox with smooth fur.

Qian Heng turned his gaze away, and he pursed his lips, “This is the last offer, if you’ll cook, I will answer your questions.”

“The time for answering questions cannot be limited!”

“Cheng Yao, don’t think you can reach for a yard while getting an inch.”2

Cheng Yao pretended to yawn, ” Actually, it has been a very tiring day, and cooking is not good for your health, since there’s a lot of oil and smoke …”

“Okay, I promise you.”

Although Qian Heng was gnashing his teeth in anger, Cheng Yao’s dishes really looked very appetizing. Tempted by this, he thought for a while and agreed to this unequal treaty.

“In half an hour, I want to see the finished food.” Qian Heng sat down at the dinner table arrogantly, “But Cheng Yao, if the food only looks good and is not at all palatable, then you are done for.”

Qian Heng stretched out a finger and tapped on the table, warning her in his standard domineering boss like tone, “When one party deliberately gives the other party false information, or deliberately conceals the truth, so as to induce the other party to make a wrong decision, it can be regarded as a fraud. If you enter into a contract by such means, the contract can be revoked.”

“So, if the food you cook turns out unpalatable, it will be considered as fraud, and the verbal agreement between us will also be revoked. Don’t even think I will answer your questions.”

“……”

Even though Qian Heng was sitting at the dinner table wearing loose pajamas, his tone was as if he was sitting in an expensive boss chair and giving orders, wearing a Zegna custom suit.

Cheng Yao was confident in her craft. She didn’t waste any time and went back to the kitchen to quickly prepare the ingredients. She took out the fish fillets that she had bought to prepare for tomorrow’s fish porridge, as well as some chicken wings. Not sure what Qian Heng would like to eat, she walked out of the kitchen to ask for his opinion.

As soon as she opened the kitchen door, Cheng Yao saw that her noble boss was rubbing his eyes sleepily, and yawned without any care. His normally indifferent eyes which were a little wet because of this yawn along with the warm lighting, gave his whole persona a soft halo. From Cheng Yao’s point of view, Qian Heng’s handsome eyebrows actually held a gentle illusion.

However…

“Du Du Du Du Du”

The rice cooker issued a sound prompting the completion of cooking. Qian Heng subconsciously followed the sound and raised his head to see Cheng Yao standing by the door.

Almost instantly, the boss became alert and he put on a completely different face. He straightened his back, and returned to his usual noble and glamorous self. But unfortunately the aftereffects of the yawn still remained on his face and the corners of his cold eyes held some suspicious traces of tears…

Suddenly, Cheng Yao thought of a saying; even celebrities praised and worshipped as ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ by tens of thousands of people, will need to defecate and fart privately once they step down from the pedestal…. No matter how poisonous the boss is, there are times when he is not so toxic after work…

Thinking this way, Cheng Yao’s thoughts suddenly became wild and she thought of eating a puffer fish. ‘Ah, come to think of it, a puffer fish is really delicious. Although it is poisonous, it is really delicious after removing its poisonous part…’

“Where’s the food?”

Unfortunately her poisonous boss shattered her fantasy in a second.

“If you have time to stand here in a daze, why don’t you go back and cook?”

“…..”

Cheng Yao thought, Alright, there is no need to ask him. Let’s just give him two chicken wings and finish this. Fish fillet is more expensive and it is not worth it to give that to her poisonous boss.

Footnotes

This is a famous internet slang used to express someone who gets an unknown power to do something incredible or something that they would not normally be able to do. Liang Jingru is a famous singer, one of her popular song is ‘Courage’

得寸进尺: give him an inch and he’ll take a yard (or a mile) means to be insatiable