Assistant Architect

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

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Since he was directed to work insuccession, Zhang Siyi was too embarrassed to leave the kitchen so he stood byfearing that Gu Yu would ask him for more help.

There isn't a lot of food; a fewgreen vegetables, a potato, three eggs, some pork, a tomato and some herbs.Zhang Siyi can't imagine what you can make with so few ingredients.

Gu Yu took the potatoes in hishands, contemplating his next move and said, “Cooking and designing are similar.It's just a game of combinations and permutations.”

Zhang Siyi: “???”

Gu Yu picked up the kitchen knifeand started cutting the potatoes into pieces. He spoke: “There are so differentways to use the ingredients one needs to decide what is the best use of the resource,so none is wasted. Zhang Siyi, if you are the chef with these ingredients, whatwould you do?"

Mind void of any answers, ZhangSiyi looked blankly at him. There is a relationship between food and design? Isthis a test? As the past has proven, Zhang Siyi suspected this is some sort oftest. In order to avoid digging himself a huge pit, he wants to say: "You areso good, then you do it!" …Yes! He can say that!

However, Gu Yu asked, and ZhangSiyi could only obediently answer. He contemplated the question for a fewmoments and thought of simple dishes then reluctantly said: “Tomatoscrambled eggs, fried potatoes, fried vegetables, braised pork.” It seemsthat the ingredients can only do this.

“That’s all you can do withthese little ingredients.” Gu Yu smiled and commented: “Is it reallygood to make tomato scrambled eggs with only one tomato and three large eggs?"

Zhang Siyi: “….” Itdoesn't matter how suitable it is, you can still eat it!

Gu Yu cut the potatoes, took thepork belly and put it in his hand and measured it. He said: “If the meatis thoroughly cooked, it will shrink. If it was a different cut of meat itwould be the same size." Gu Yu circled a rice bowl.

Zhang Siyi saw Gu Yu looking athimself grinning as if Gu Yu was ridiculing him. Zhang Siyi wanted to scream.You said that you are doing it for me!

Gu Yu put the meat on the cuttingboard. With a kitchen knife he cut four quarters, and then cut the remainingthree-quarters into pieces, and the potatoes seemed to be exactly one to one.Then he sliced the quarter of the meat he measured and placed it next to theevenly beaten eggs. Finally, he cut the tomato into small pieces and put it ina small bowl then placed it next to the egg. Watching Gu Yu Zhang Siyi stilldoesn't understand completely.

While he was prepping theingredients, Gu Yu put a pot of water on the stove to boil. From the top of thecabinet, he took out a box of starch and gave it to Zhang Siyi.

“Hey, do you want this tothicken or use it to coat the meat?" Zhang Siyi asked.

Gu Yu gawked at him: “Youknow all this?” Looks like you can cook, too.

Zhang Siyi: "……" Shit! Exposed!

Gu Yu was very happy and handedhim the boiled meat piece directly to him: “I'll leave the coating toyou."

Starch has the effect of tenderizingmeat. If the raw meat is coated in starch and then fried, the taste will becomesmoother and more tender. However, too much on the meat will cause the starchto become a paste wrapped around the meat and thus ruining the taste.

At Gu Yu's command, Zhang Siyi clenchedhis jaw and felt that he was way too comfortable at telling him what to do.

With a 'sizzle', Gu Yu began making the first dish; fried eggs withminced meat.

Thestrips of meat that was coated in starch was placed on the bottom of the pot tobe fried crispy. Then, green onion, cooking wine and soy sauce was added to thepan. Lastly, half the egg liquid was dropped into the pan and the kitchen wasoverflowing with a pleasant aroma.

WhenZhang Siyi turned around, he saw Gu Yu turning the pot to flatten the eggs, andthe expression of concentration was the same as when he was designing. Eventhough it was hot, and the kitchen became smoky, the scene before Zhang Siyimade him think that Gu Yu looked gentler and more amiable.

Thegolden minced omelet was placed on the side of the pot, but Gu Yu didn't stopthere. He grabbed the meat prepared by Zhang Siyi to make the next dish andstarted braising the potato slices.

Watchinghim for a little while, Zhang Siyi couldn’t help but ask: “When did youlearn to cook?”

The roar from the range hood was loud and Gu Yudid not hear clearly. Zhang Siyi got closer and asked again.

Gu Yu smiled and said: “From an earlyage.”

Zhang Siyi: “How young were you?"

Gu Yu: “In Junior high school. My parents werevery busy at that time, so I did my own cooking."

Zhang Siyi was shocked. At such a young age hewas already self-reliant. Not only was Gu Yu cooking for himself every day, buthe also took the number 1 position in high school and entered Big T University.Compared to himself, as a child with nothing to worry about, there was neveranything for him to do!

Gu Yu said again: “I have a younger sisterthat is one year younger than you. When I was in junior high school, she wasonly in elementary school. She had to rely on me to cook for her.”

Zhang Siyi gawked: “You have a sister!? Whatabout your family?"

Gu Yu: “Yes. My parents were fined a lot of money,so I always joked that she was buying food to deliver.”

That being said, Zhang Siyi found that when Gu Yumentioned his sister, both his tone and expression were gentle.

None of these dishes added vinegar, but ZhangSiyi smelled something sour… Why didn't he have a big brother like Gu Yu?

Zhang Siyi asked: “So, what is she doingnow?”

Gu Yu: “My sister? She is still incollege.”

Zhang Siyi: “Where is she studying? What program?"

This time, Gu Yu did not answer right away. Heput in some garlic and stirred the green vegetables before turning his head tolook at Zhang Siyi. He asked, “I am so curious. Do you want to be mybrother-in-law?”

Zhang Siyi： "…………" Fuck off!

Finally, with the rest of the egg and tomato, GuYu made a small bowl of tomato soup for two.

In less than an hour, three dishes and one soupwere brought to the table by Zhang Siyi. The seemingly too few ingredients weretransformed into a hearty meal prepared by Gu Yu.

Zhang Siyi looked at the table covered infragrant food. Mouth salivating, stomach rumbling; can’t wait to eat: “Boss!Come eat"

Gu Yu washed his hands, suddenly remembered what,and from the cupboard under the bucket he removed an old wine jar.

Outside the kitchen, Zhang Siyi did not wait forhis response and instead ran back over and asked: “What are youdoing?”

He saw Gu Yu put a small pot on the gas stove andignite it. There was a slight smell of distiller’s grains in the air, and itgradually became thicker and thicker.

“What did you just call me?” Gu Yuasked.

“Ah?” Zhang Siyi was curious about whathe was doing so he wasn't really thinking about it deeply. With a half-heartedreply he said "Boss?"

While holding the handle of the pot, he wasn't isa hurry to adjust the stove temperature. He raised is brow: "In private you arealso calling me Boss?"

Zhang Siyi: “Ah? Isn't that your name? Thanwhat do I call you?”

Watching Zhang Siyi, Gu Yu grinned with a faintsmile and stated: “Call me Gege**.”

Zhang Siyi: “…” …..o////o…..

When Gu Yu says such things to him in allseriousness Zhang Siyi is confused. Does he really want to be called brother?Is he flirting? Or is he joking? What does he really want? Zhang Siyi feltuncomfortable and blushed than changed the topic: "What are you cooking?"

Trying to change the subject in this way is tooobvious. Gu Yu saw him turn bright red, but luckily for Zhang Siyi, Gu Yudidn't continue to tease him and answered truthfully:" Since its cold, I'mpreparing a hot drink for us to warm up."

Zhang Siyi inhaled deeply through his nose and smelled the wine. His eyeswere getting brighter and brighter: “What kind of wine is this? It smellsgood! What supermarket is it from?"

Gu Yu: “It's homemade rice wine made by me."

Zhang Siyi looked at Gu Yu like a rare animal andwas surprised: “You can still make wine?”

“What’s so hard about making rice wine? Itcan be brewed with glutinous rice and koji." Gu Yu briefly told him about theprocess of brewing rice wine, what type of rice, cooking, cooling, mixing….. Aprocess for people who have not been exposed to brewing at all is extremelycomplex. However, in Gu Yu's view it's as easy to do as making rice with a ricecooker. So simple!

ZhangSiyi is really curious: “You are usually very busy with work staying latein the company. Where is there so much time?”

GuYu took the stained chopsticks and dipped them into the wine to test the temperatureagain. He turned off the fire and answered Zhang Siyi: “I'm not chattingwith friends online."

ZhangSiyi: “…”

Thisman really does not forget to point out his faults all the time! Since he gotto work, he rarely chatted with his friends on social media anymore!

Finally,it's time to eat dinner. Gu Yu took two small glasses out and poured the wine.He put the hot pan on a wood block on the table and a handmade cotton pad wasused to keep the wine warm.

Aftergently tapping the glasses for a toast, Zhang Siyi was going to say a few wordsof thanks, but he didn't expect Gu Yu to immediately drink the whole glass.

“Hey,the temperature is just right.” Gu Yu whispered.

Well,Zhang Siyi is not convinced. He put the wine glass to his lips to test it. Thetemperature of the wine is slightly higher than that of his tongue. Swallowingthe wine, it tastes sweet and intoxicating. When the cup goes down, only thelimbs are warm. After a few more words, it seemed like Gu Yu didn't want totalk while eating, so Zhang Siyi quietly ate his meal.

Initially,Zhang Siyi thought he would be very nervous eating with Gu Yu. He didn't expectthe atmosphere to be so relaxed.

Thisis quite different from the ease of eating with Fu Xinhui. When together withFu Xinhui, they will talk a lot about things. It is better to say that they areeating through the process of talking.

However,eating with Gu Yu, Zhang Siyi feels that he is enjoying the meal itself. Withevery sip of wine, he drinks and every dish he tastes he is over filled withhappiness.

Regardlessof whether the insulation in the old house is very good or not, Zhang Siyi canhear the howling wind outside. When the north wind gusts, it whistles throughthe gaps between the houses. But their environment in which they were locatedwas so warm that even the expression on Gu Yu face was warm and beautiful. Whenhe met the other person eyes, it was like he could see through time.

Thisis his first time in half a year to experience this feeling. He didn't when FuXinhui and Jiang Hai rented a house together. He didn't when he got payed thefirst time. He didn't when he received his first bonus. Although heis optimistic, in his heart, he always felt restless and uneasy.

Forthe first time, he felt calm and stability and it was because of the simplemeal that Gu Yu cooked for him. At this moment, it seems that no matter howwindy and rainy outside, as long as he is with Gu Yu, he will not be afraid ofanything.

Immersed in the sense of security, Zhang Siyi didn't want this moment to end.

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The author has something to say: [Flower arrangement.]

Last night had a dream, dream to Gu Xiao Hand pinch a piece of cake tease four aunts, four aunt jumped feet up to eat, after eating put gu Xiao’s hand licked again … Be sweet and silly.

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T/N: gege : (哥哥) The direct translation to English is elder brother but there are deeper implications to the word not culturally equivalent in English. Not only does it mean Brother in Chinese, but in the context of the novel, the word also means a mature and handsome man, wanting an emotional connection, adoration…. Similar to 'Oppa' in Korean, girls can call a boyfriend Gege.

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