Stephanie Ruan stepped into the dining hall just in time to see Javier Zhong taking his first sip of the soup.
Pulling out the chair that is right next to his, she spoke to him, "I've specially made this soup for you. Tell me, how does it taste?"
Looking at her eyes filled with nothing but anticipation, Javier Zhong responded casually while still digging in, "Mmm, it's okay."
Hearing his words, she could not help but exclaim, "Okay??!!... Just okay??"
Unhappy with his poor feedback, she took away the unfinished bowl from Javier Zhong with both hands.
"..."
He better be joking about this!!
It is literally the worst comment that she has ever gotten for her cooking!
Everyone who had the privilege of trying her cooking would always sing praises about it. They would even urge her to start a restaurant of her own!
But this guy... he is really too much!!
To be honest, she might not even be that satisfied with a 'good' from him... but he actually dared to rate it only with an 'okay'?!
"??!..."
Well... fine... he is entitled to his own opinion, but this also meant that she has the right to take away her food when she sees that the person is not enjoying it!
Stunned by her sudden action, Javier Zhong questioned her snappily, "What are you doing?"
Stephanie Ruan retorted almost immediately, "I don't feed people who are unappreciative of my cooking. Since you just find it okay, you can prepare your own instant noodles for tonight."
And she quickly added on with a smile, "As for this... I'll finish it on my own."
People often say that women are vindictive creatures... I guess it is quite true??...
Seeing that she is about to drink his soup, Javier Zhong hurriedly took it back after some struggle.
"I like it." He said awkwardly.
After which, he is only fully focused on finishing it up, secretly afraid that she might snatch it away again.
Although he spoke quite softly, his words still managed to reach her ears.
She chuckled discreetly and thought to herself, "Such a fast learner! He obviously likes it... then why must he be so stingy with his words??..."
Meanwhile, Javier Zhong has already savoured every last drop of the soup.
To be honest, this is the best soup he has ever drunk, just that he is not good at expressing his feelings to her.
The flavour... and its' consistency...
It is nothing short of perfection!
In fact, Javier Zhong is known to be very fussy about the food that he eats. Many of the Michelin-starred chefs that he has hired back home could not even meet his high standards!
Which explains why he is truly surprised that Stephanie Ruan is able to cook the food to his liking.
What's more impressive is that with just one try, she already managed to hit the bull's eye!
"Do you have more of it?" Javier Zhong asked her with his hopeful eyes.
Unfortunately, she has only made enough for one portion. Stephanie Ruan shook her head, "I've only made one small portion for you. It's already so late at night, you shouldn't be eating too much."
While taking the empty bowl away from him, she saw his slightly disappointed look.
She then added, "If you really like it that much, I'll make it for you again on another day, how about that?"
Within the next second, Javier Zhong's eyes immediately lit up! Although he did not say anything, one could tell that he is definitely very pleased with this arrangement.
Shaking her head helplessly, Stephanie Ruan did not know what was going on with him sometimes...
Does this man have a split personality??
You see, there are times when he could be very sharp and cunning, and there are also times like this when he could behave like a young child who needed to be coaxed.
...
"It's late, just stay here for tonight." Javier Zhong spoke to her as they walked toward his bedroom.
Since she had left her handbag in his room earlier, she now has no choice but to go back with him to take it back.
Upon hearing his words, Stephanie Ruan checked the timing on her watch and considered for a moment before asking, "Do you have a guest room here?"
"I'll bring you there."
"..."
After taking a set of shirts and pants from his dressing room, he proceeded to pass them to her, "These are brand new. Wear them first for tonight. I'll get Isaac to bring you some new clothes tomorrow morning."
"Mmm, thank you!" She nodded lightly and followed after him to the guest room which is also on the same level.
As soon as she entered the room, Stephanie Ruan turned around to face him, "Then... I'll rest first? Goodnight?"
"Goodnight." He replied to her before returning to his bedroom.
"..."
Despite the guest rooms in the villa being unoccupied throughout the year, the servants would still diligently clean up the rooms on a daily basis.
As such, Stephanie Ruan is being welcomed into a very clean and tidy space.
The room is relatively large, considering that it is merely a guest room. To be more specific, it is an ensuite bedroom with an attached toilet.
On top of that, there is also a study table as well as a small dressing room.
Not bad at all!!...
Stephanie Ruan took a quick shower and changed into the set of clothing that Javier Zhong had passed to her earlier.
Even though it is obviously too big for her, she has no choice but to make do with it for the time being...
After lying down on the bed for close to an hour, she still found herself wide awake!
And she could not sleep no matter how hard she tried to!
Well, it might be due to the sudden change in environment and she is not used to it...
Or maybe the room is missing her scented candles which could help her to fall asleep much more easily.
Either way, Stephanie Ruan could not stop herself from fidgeting. She then decided to get up and take a walk around the house instead.
Hopefully, this would tire her out and she could eventually have a restful night!
"..."
She left her room and stepped into the long corridor. As she looked to the right, she noticed a room with its door left ajar.
Curious, she walked over and pushed the door open, only to see that it is a huge study room with a mini library!
The shelves are custom-built up to the high ceiling and the books are occupying every single available space.
Wow! Is he an avid reader as well??
"??..."
But right now, reading a book is the last thing on her mind as she knows that she could get overly engrossed in it and this would not help at all in getting her to bed!
As such, she strolled towards the other side of the room and finally reached his desk area.
Such a well-organised table! Documents are piled neatly to the side, and there is even a dedicated compartment to keep every single item.
Truly impressive!!...
But just before she moved on to the other parts of the room, a newspaper clipping beneath the documents had caught her eye.
Although she could only see a part of it, Stephanie Ruan found it very familiar and decided to take it out to have a better look.
[The prestigious Ruan Family was found dead in a tragic car accident on New Year's Eve.]
"!!!..."
Stephanie Ruan immediately froze as she held on to the newspaper clipping...
Hold on!!...
Why would Javier Zhong cut out this particular article??
Don't tell me...