Chef Hua
Chapter 267: Episode 158: Pounce and Counterpounce

Chapter 267: Episode 158: Pounce and Counterpounce

"You..."

At that instant, Meng Yuhuai suddenly felt a headache coming on and couldn’t help but reach up to rub his forehead.

This girl... no, she was his wife now. His wife had always been bold with her words, but in the past, at most, they had simply made him feel abruptly embarrassed. However, tonight, on their wedding night, the very first question she asked was such a mood killer!

The food, the chef, not reliable... Could it be that she’d spent the entire day holed up in this room just pondering over these matters?

Hua Xiaomai was unaware of how he was grinding his teeth internally. Seeing him silent, she tugged at his sleeve and elongated her tone, "You say something—"

She wasn’t someone prone to acting coy. Only in front of Second Mother Hua would she occasionally show a timid and coy side, and that was mostly to be wilful to achieve her goals. Now, hearing her sweet and soft voice, Meng Yuhuai couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his chest. He brushed his fingertips against her slightly pouting lips and managed a smile with some patience.

"I originally planned to hire the head chef from Chunfeng Restaurant," he explained. "Uncle Ke had said the same, but upon further reflection, it didn’t seem right. Only Chef Wei from Chunfeng Restaurant has skills that can be presented to guests, and considering the discord between you and him, and how I also don’t respect him as a person, why should I let him make money off us? Later, Uncle Qiao from the paper shop said that Chef Zhao, who cooks for his shop, has decent culinary skills, so I hired him."

"It was him!" Hua Xiaomai immediately curled her lips in disdain with a hint of reproach, "Aren’t you fully aware of his scrubbing skills? Last time I cooked the reunion dinner for Qiao’s, I was hassled by Old Master Qiao, and you were there to see it all. His hands, his fingernails filled with dirt—I felt sick just looking at him, let alone eating anything he made."

"Xiaomai," Meng Yuhuai cleared his throat and softly called out.

Yet as if completely oblivious, Hua Xiaomai went on non-stop, "And his cutting board, always reeking of onion and garlic..."

"Xiaomai." Meng Yuhuai raised his voice a bit, the smile vanishing from his lips.

"With such good ingredients, how could you actually let him ruin them, you..."

"Hua Xiaomai!" Meng Yuhuai, unable to bear it any longer, finally erupted, "Are you sure you want to discuss the chef’s issue with me at this moment?" He emphasized the word "this moment" with a heavier tone.

Though usually a man of few words and quite gentle, he now wore an expression as if he were about to burst into anger. Hua Xiaomai got so startled she immediately clamped her mouth shut, fell into silence quickly, and just stared at him with her large, innocent eyes.

Meng Yuhuai’s anger subsided a bit, and perhaps realizing the slight scent of alcohol on him, he decided, "I’m going to wash up. You stay here quietly, no talking, and wait for me to come back."

Having said that, he stood up and quickly strode out of the room and headed straight for the bathing room.

A man’s bath is usually perfunctory, but now he was mindful of the person inside the room, so after quickly rinsing himself, he hurried back. When he re-entered the room, his clothes were not dressed neatly, his chest exposed, revealing hard, stone-like muscles.

Hua Xiaomai bit her lip tightly and her eyes suddenly widened.

He didn’t dry himself... his garments were all soaked, clinging tightly to his arms and back, accentuating his lean waist and long limbs.

Such a fine figure... Hua Xiaomai inwardly praised and felt a thrill of finding treasure. Her eyes shifted slightly and fell upon the new and old scars on his shoulders and ribs.

As an Escort Master, even though he always kept the mentality of preferring peace over wealth, there were still unavoidable times when he had to engage in combat. Meng Yuhuai was no exception. During a prior encounter with river pirates, this man had been injured while they were robbing the convoy. Although he had casually dismissed it saying, "It’s just a minor cut," upon closer inspection now, it probably wasn’t as trivial as he had made it sound.

Meng Yuhuai took a dry towel and carelessly wiped his head, his movements showing impatience. Suddenly feeling the room was too quiet, he looked over to Hua Xiaomai, only to see the girl with her hands crossed on her knees, her lips tightly sealed, and her eyes following his every movement.

When he looked at her, Hua Xiaomai unconsciously shrank her shoulders, as if she wanted to hide further into the bed. Meng Yuhuai’s brows furrowed slightly, he tossed the towel aside, strode over, sat down by the bed, and reached out for her, "What’s wrong now?"