The Downtrodden Villain In A Redemption Romance Novel Chapter 42

Chapter 42 Dinner

Xu Wen almost jumped upstairs, and the old stairs made a thumping sound when he stepped on them.

He pushed open the ajar door, and the warm aroma of food mixed with the smell of home came to his face and enveloped him instantly.

The light in the small room is bright, and the pothos on the windowsill looks lovely green under the light.Lu Qingrang was standing in front of the small stove with his back to him, and turned around when he heard the noise.

He was wearing a blue plaid apron that he bought at a bargain price at the market, and he was holding a spatula in his hand. The soft black hair on his forehead was slightly wet with moisture and stuck to his fair forehead.

“Come back?” His voice was as calm as ever.

But those eyes that always seemed calm lit up slightly the moment they saw Xu Wen.

“Back! I’m starving to death!”

“Wow! Chef Lu, this is pretty good! Just by smelling it, you can tell it’s not ordinary!”

Xu Wen shouted, threw off his shoes, couldn’t wait to get to the small table, and sniffed exaggeratedly.

There were simple home-cooked dishes on the table, a plate of steaming tomatoes and scrambled eggs, next to the fragrant green pepper shredded pork.

Lu Qingrang was a little embarrassed by his exaggerated performance, lowered his eyelashes slightly, and whispered: “Go and wash your hands quickly.”

Xu Wen chuckled and rushed to the bathroom. The sound of running water was heard, mixed with his tone-deaf humming.

When he came out shaking the water drops, Lu Qingrang was already waiting beside the folding table.

The two sat facing each other, the small folding table just enough to accommodate them, and their knees inadvertently touched together under the table.

“Try it quickly.” Lu Qingrang looked at him with a hint of expectation and nervousness in his eyes.

Xu Wen understood immediately and took the lead in picking up a large piece of shredded green pepper and pork with chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. After chewing twice, his eyes suddenly opened wide and he gave Lu Qingrang a thumbs up and praised inarticulately:

“Oh! It’s delicious! Really! The shredded meat is tender and delicious, and the heat is perfect! Brother Lu!”

As he spoke, he scooped another large spoonful of tomato scrambled eggs and mixed it into the rice. The soup soaked the rice. He took a big mouthful and bulged his cheeks. He sighed with satisfaction: “Well… this is the taste! It goes so well with rice! I feel like I can eat three bowls!”

Seeing Xu Wen enjoying himself, Lu Qing allowed the shallow and restrained smile on his lips to finally deepen.

He also picked up the chopsticks and started eating quietly, his movements still gentle, but his speed was obviously a little faster than usual.

“Are you tired today?” Lu Qingrang asked, his eyes falling on the corners of Xu Wen’s eyes that still showed traces of fatigue.

“I’m not tired! Seeing this meal makes me forget all about being tired!”

Xu Wen swallowed the food in his mouth, chuckled, and began to dance and gesture, “I’m telling you, that job is time-consuming and makes your butt hurt from sitting. But the boss is a nice guy, and the money is easy to make!”

He talked about interesting things during the day with great interest: “There is a wedding company next door to our office. I don’t know what we were rehearsing in the afternoon. “You Will Marry Me Today” was repeated ten times! I even hummed when I heard it.”

As he talked, he tapped the bowl with his chopsticks and beat time, and he started to enjoy himself.

Lu Qingrang listened quietly, imagining Xu Wen working in the noise, with a smile in his eyes.

He smoothly moved the remaining shredded meat on the plate towards Xu Wen.

“When I was buying steamed buns at noon, there was an aunt who was very nagging,”

Xu Wen continued, “If you say I look like her nephew, she pulls me around and asks me questions, asking me if I have a partner…”

He suddenly paused here and laughed, “This aunt in Lincheng is so enthusiastic!”

Lu Qingrang paused slightly with the hand holding the chopsticks: “Then what did you say?”

“I’m just making it up,”

Xu Wen stuffed his mouth with rice and said confidently: “…I definitely don’t have a partner! I only want to make money!”

Lu Qingrang didn’t say anything else, lowered his head and continued eating.

Seeing Xu Wen’s eyebrows dancing with joy, his heart softened, mixed with gratitude, pity and satisfaction.

This impulse came naturally. When he came back to his senses, his hand had subconsciously reached out and rubbed Xu Wen’s somewhat fluffy hair very gently, with a tone of indulgence that he was not even aware of:

“Okay, you eat more.”

The moment the warm palm touched his hair, Xu Wen’s whole body froze suddenly, and the words in his mouth stopped abruptly.

A feeling like electric shock suddenly rushed through his body from the top of his head, making his ears turn red.

He lowered his head almost in panic and took two bites of rice to cover up, feeling his cheeks getting hot.

Lu Qingrang’s hand was still in the air. He looked at Xu Wen almost burying his head in the bowl, and then looked at his hand that was still hanging. A trace of confusion quietly came to his mind.

The action just now was done so smoothly, as if it was natural.

But why…the heartbeat seems to have missed a beat?

Why is it that when seeing Xu Wen’s fierce reaction, besides being a little uneasy about being disturbed, there is also a faint feeling of joy in his heart?

Shouldn’t this just be concern for family or brothers?

Why do I feel…

There seems to be something different?

There was a subtle stasis in the atmosphere.

Xu Wen coughed dryly, quickly took out his phone, and abruptly changed the topic:

“Then…what, Brother Lu, I will transfer the money I earned today to you! Tomorrow you go to the market, watch and buy, and eat something good!”

With that said, he lowered his head and started to operate WeChat transfer, not daring to look into Lu Qingrang’s eyes.

Listening to the notification sound that the WeChat transfer was successful, Xu Wen still felt awkward in his heart and couldn’t help but mutter to the system in his mind:

“System, did you see that just now? He touched my head! … No, just… between good brothers, is this also… the same? Why do I feel like something is not right…”

[According to the analysis of the human social behavior database, close physical contact such as stroking the head can be classified as a normal interaction between close male friends in some cultural contexts.】

The system’s mechanical voice sounded solemnly, but there was a subtle pause at the end before slowly asking:

[The host thinks, what’s wrong?】

“Ah? No, no! What could be wrong!”

Xu Wen seemed to have been stepped on, and immediately denied it in his mind, forcing his heartbeat to accelerate at that moment because it was too sudden.

“Yes, they are good brothers! It’s normal to care about each other! … Well, that’s right, that’s it!”

While he was mentally building himself up, he secretly raised his eyes and glanced at Lu Qingrang opposite.

Seeing that the other person was continuing to eat as usual, as if the gentle touch just now was just his illusion, Xu Wen slowly suppressed the remaining strange feeling in his heart and picked up the chopsticks again.

…Okay, maybe he really thought too much.

After the meal, Xu Wen rushed to wash the dishes, humming louder than usual.

Lu Qingrang wiped the stove silently, and the two of them worked in harmony in the small kitchen.

Occasionally their arms would touch each other, and they would pause for a moment, then continue pretending as if nothing had happened.