Qiao Yin waited until three o'clock in the afternoon.
After enjoying her weekend nap, she had gotten out of bed around 2pm. Seeing that Xiao Yang's side was still quiet, she put on slippers and ran into the kitchen to start on the snacks. She set out two small pots, put a pack of agar sticks in one, and left that to soak for a bit. Then she put some sago in another and put that on the stove to simmer. Once the sago was boiled and translucent, she drained them and then added in coconut milk.
The agar soaked quickly and she quickly added some sugar and put the pot on the store with low heat and stood there stirring until the agar melted, while she got out the plastic molds and oiled them with vegetable oil with her free hand. Once the agar was melted, she added the agar water into the sago coconut milk mix and stirred. Then she poured the mix into the molds and put them in the refrigerator as she hummed.
Then she took out the big watermelon from the refrigerator and just as she picked up the knife to cut it, she heard the doorbell ring.
And so Xiao Yang was greeted at the door by a Qiao Yin carrying a big bright shiny knife. Qiao Yin, on the other hand, seemed completely unaware of the terrible image she presented. She casually took out slippers from the shoe cabinet and put them on the floor in front of him, her big eyes smiling as she said, "Come in."
Honestly speaking, her appearance at the moment made one feel unsafe, not to even mention, entering her apartment.
"Are you preparing to chop up bodies?" Xiao Yang asked as he entered and put the glass bowl in his hand on the shoe cabinet, watching her every move as he changed his shoes, just in case she suddenly swung the knife his way.
"It's to cut the watermelon." Qiao Yin responded, not at all bothered. Her eyes immediately fixing on the glass bowl, "What is this?"
The transparent glass bowl was filled with something that looked like jelly with a bright red color and a thin layer of sugar water on the surface. It looked like a dessert, and it looked so good that she couldn't look away. Xiao Yang glanced at her and put his removed shoes in the shoe cabinet as he said, "XiGua Lao."
**(Note: Xi Gua Lao is translated as watermelon cheese.. when I searched it up, but it's kinda like jello made out of watermelon...)**
"I've never had it before!" Qiao Yin said, suddenly raising her head and looking at him with bright eyes, as the knife in her hand slightly shook, "You made it for me?"
Xiao Yang closed the door behind him and hesitated a bit, before the corners his eyes raised slightly, he felt the question unnecessary but without a change in expression, he responded, "If not, then was it made for the tortoise?"
"It's already in the pot. Even if it wants to eat, it won't be able to.” Qiao Yin said with a smile, quickly going on tiptoes to kiss him. She then took the bowl and walked towards the kitchen. “Go to the living room and help me turn on the TV, I will come in right after I cut the watermelon."
"Mmm." Xiao Yang responded and slightly raised his eyes to watch her turn briskly into the kitchen. It wasn't the first time he was attacked by her, so as long as it wasn't the knife she was attacking him with, he could still act calmly.
Qiao Yin’s TV remote was not difficult to find, but the disc player was indeed a bit old. Xiao Yang squatted in front of the TV cabinet and studied it for more than ten seconds before figuring out how to turn it on. He also figured out how to switch modes on the remote, but the news just happened to be broadcasting, and it was about the case he had just completed so he stood in front of the TV and watched that while he waited for Qiao Yin.
Qiao Yin heard the news report from the kitchen and when she came out to find that Xiao Yang was still watching it, she murmured: "I really don't know what this kind of person thinks about all day... Killing five people is enough cause to be frantic but he actually buried the body under his bed."
"Tong Wei's status in the family was not high before the divorce. He suffered from pressure from his wife for a long time, and his mental state had already begun to become distorted. Later, he became impotent and lost his final dignity in front of his wife. Becoming crazy also makes sense." Xiao Yang explained with little change in expression as fragments of abuse on the corpses appeared in his mind. The conclusion was that Tong Wei had viewed those victims as his ex-wife who abused him.
"Is he still... impotent?" Qiao Yin asked, setting the watermelon on the coffee table, she was a little surprised when she heard that just now. The theories that she had seen in the American dramas quickly flashed in her head, "It won't be the same as on "Criminal Minds"....getting sexual gratification through murder, right?"
"I didn't test it, so I don't know." His answer was as usual, emotionless. He squatted in front of the TV cabinet again and looked at the disk shelf. "Which disc?"
Qiao Yin ran over and quickly fished out "The Godfather" out from its case and put it into the disc player with familiar ease, "Then did he give the deceased's things to his wife, like that kind of perverted killer?"
Xiao Yang shook his head and indifferently said, "He gave them to his two girlfriends."
Qiao Yin subconsciously felt goosebumps, "It seems that what was stated in the American TV show still has a scientific basis..."
Fortunately, once the movie began, Qiao Yin's attention shifted. She gave half of the watermelon to Xiao Yang and handed him a large spoon. Then she sat cross-legged next to him, holding the bowl of XiGua Lao in her hand as she dug her small spoon.
Xiao Yang wasn't very focused on the movie. "The Godfather" was a very classic old movie, so he had heard about it many times, but he had never gotten a chance to watch it. This kind of male-oriented gangster/crime movie focuses on a plot that would easily arouse the interest of men like him, but it did not suit the taste of most women. He had watched movies with women in the past, and they chose nothing other than romantic dramas or scary films. Therefore, before coming Xiao Yang had thought that based on Qiao Yin's character, she would choose a horror film out of those two possibilities. But he had not expected that she would choose "The Godfather" considering his preference.
He realized that he did not understand her very well.
In contrast, Qiao Yin watched very attentively. She was the sort to pay attention to the details in a movie, and she often abruptly popped up with a guess about the development of the plot. Although she was talking to Xiao Yang, her gaze was glued on the TV screen, not moving one bit.
After eating the last bit of XiGua Lao that was in her bowl, Qiao Yin habitually took her spoon to dig but came up empty, so she looked down at the bowl, and then looked at the half of the watermelon in Xiao Yang's hand, eagerly.
Xiao Yang wanted to ignore her gaze, but he could not fully focus on the movie and felt her burning gaze. After a moment of silence, he said, "Eat if you want, don't keep staring."
Qiao Yin smiled and stretched out her small spoon.
The two of them started eating together, and it didn't take long for the watermelon to almost be done, "Do you want to eat coconut sago pudding?" Qiao Yin asked, her mouth could not be kept free. Xiao Yang casually nodded and she took the watermelon shell to throw it away while Xiao Yang watched her happily running into the kitchen.
She quickly served the sago pudding on the plates and then got out the juice press and pressed three mangoes and poured the juice into the plates. The three-hour movie was not even halfway through and when she returned to the sofa, Sonny Corleone in the movie was currently pressing against his wife on the door, making crazy love. Xiao Yang probably also felt that the timing of Qiao Yin's return was a bit delicate, so he just watched the movie intently, not even glancing her way.
Without a change of expression, Qiao Yin handed Xiao Yang his plate of coconut sago pudding, and then sat back on the sofa cross-legged with her own plate. She took a spoonful of the sago pudding and could not help squinting her eyes in enjoyment, the pudding was smooth and soft, it was so delicious with sweet and sour mango juice.
“I recall a line from a book describing Vito Corleone in "The Godfather’s Family." She thought about it for a while, and then said the quote word for word, without a single missing word."'He is also very rigid about sex, although he knows that his mother and most women like men to be coarse and a bit vulgar'."
Xiao Yang was surprised by the words that came out of her mouth. He simply glanced at her from the corner of his eye and expressed reasonable doubts about her reading. "Were you only impressed by the description in this sentence when you read the entire book?"
"Of course not." She said, moving her legs to adjust her sitting position, her cool arm inadvertently rubbed against his without her realizing. She simply placed another spoonful of pudding in her mouth and continued, "I remember a lot of dirty jokes. …Mainly one about Luca’s little brother, he often itches there because of an illness… Luca told him many times, 'Can you stop itching your eggs?'” Thinking of these plots, Qiao Yin's shoulders shook in laughter with the spoon still in her mouth, "I think the most funny part of the whole book were these dirty jokes. Every time I think of them, I laugh for a long time."
"Yeah." Xiao Yang looked at the LCD screen in front of him. He was not surprised by her reaction and summed it up so slowly: "It is obvious that you are used to these kinds of dirty works."
Qiao Yin couldn't stop her laughter as she lowered her head, pressing her forehead against his shoulder, and continued laughing quietly.
Xiao Yang ignored her and watched the movie without getting distracted. Originally, he thought she would not think of dinner so quickly since they had been eating while watching. So Xiao Yang did not expect that as soon as the movie was over, Qiao Yin would have pulled his sleeve and looked up at him expectantly with her big eyes: "What shall we eat tonight?"
Fortunately, he had already thought of it. He took her empty pudding plate and stacked it on top of his and placed them on top of the coffee table as he responded, "Fried oyster, steamed beef, steamed fish with black bean sauce."
As soon she heard that, her face immediately lit up, but she still had some sense of reason left and felt a bit of familiarity, "This menu is a bit familiar..."
"Didn't you say that you couldn't eat it last time?" He reminded with an expressionless expression.
It was only then that she recalled the photos he had sent her on the day of the class reunion. Qiao Yin squinted her eyes in thought and suddenly realized, "Oh, that day..." Seeing him getting up to take the dishes to the kitchen, she followed as she recalled the ingredients of these dishes. All the ingredients needed to be fresh, she was ready to go out at any time for good food, "Is it too late to go shopping now?"
Xiao Yang continued walking towards the kitchen without looking back as he responded, "I have already bought them."
"You bought them?" Qiao Yin asked, a bit surprised as she followed behind him.
"If not, then where do you think I got the ingredients to make the XiGua Lao..." He responded, placing the plates in the sink. He then turned around and left the kitchen with her, walking directly towards the hallway, "Come help me out."
How could Qiao Yin be unwilling when there is delicious food awaiting her? Therefore, she went along with a smile. But she could not have expected that after putting on her shoes and exiting her apartment with Xiao Yang, they would run into an old man who just happened to have just reached the top of the stairs. The old man was also holding a seventeen to eighteen-year-old girl by the arm. He was still whispering in a low voice one second before he saw Qiao Yin and Xiao Yang, and then he suddenly fell silent.
The smile on Qiao Yin's face also froze.
The entire atmosphere froze over in an instant, Xiao Yang stood there not moving as his eyes drifted between Qiao Yin and the two people.
When the old man's gaze met Qiao Yin's eyes, his expression was a little bit shocked. His gaze drifted between her and Xiao Yang, he was at a loss for a while. On the contrary, it was the little girl who he had been dragging who spoke up first. She had originally been unhappy but when she saw this scene, she reacted quickly. She jerked her mouth and looked at Qiao Yin with a mocking smile: "Oh, sis. How come you're not together with brother in law Zheng?"
(End of Chapter 16 raw )
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YukkiMuch: Anddd we have the first formal meeting with Qiao Yin's father and half sister~~ What an amazing way to end the date...
~Thank You for Reading, Please Comment Below~
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