I am a Chef in the Modern Era - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Vanilla Pudding
Translated by Kollumceti Exiled Rebels Scanlations

After dinner, Mother Shen pulled Shen Fu out by his ear and ordered him to go to stroll around the small garden with her in the name of communicating feelings. Then Father Shen and Old Master Shen asked Lin ShuYi to go to the study with them.

Shen Fu was anxious. Weren’t they obviously separating them with the intent of talking to Lin ShuYi alone? He was not worried that they would say something to make Lin ShuYi feel uncomfortable. If it were so, they would not have taken Lin ShuYi’s feelings into consideration and made the first meeting so comfortable. One must know that this had already expressed the Shen family’s attitude and position. At the very least, they were very satisfied with Lin ShuYi.

However, this made Shen Fu feel that there was something that could not be said in front of him and he had to be sent away. Nevertheless, Shen Fu had no time to say anything to object to this, and had been sent away with Mother Shen pulling him by the ears.

After she pushed Shen Fu out of the door, Mother Shen stuck her head in again and cutely said to Lin ShuYi, “Xiao Yi, don’t be nervous. You must not yield by all means.”

Question marks filled Lin ShuYi’s head. Contrariwise, it was Father Shen who didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he looked at Mother Shen. “You’re not to make things difficult for others”, Mother Shen mouthed at him, “Do you hear me?!”

Looking at his own wife who abandoned her husband after getting a daughter-in-law, Father Shen felt really stifled.

Master Shen stood up and jabbed out with his cane, putting a stop to the pantomime between the husband and wife. Then he walked to the stairs before turning back to Lin ShuYi, “Come.”

Father Shen and Lin ShuYi went to the study with the old master. Lin ShuYi was not feeling very nervous at this time. The reason for his nervousness before was due to his uncertainty towards Shen Fu’s parents. He did not know how they were like and what they thought about this matter. Although Shen Fu had said that his Grandpa had the last say on these things, Lin ShuYi still thought that it would be really terrible if Father Shen and Mother Shen did not like him. But now that he knew Father Shen and Mother Shen did not hate him, there was nothing to be nervous about no matter what they said when sitting together.

The Shen family’s study was very clean. There was only wooden furniture in the study and all the furniture were of a uniform color, creating a strict and classical aesthetic. A large desk was placed near the window. Lying on the desk was a paperweight that held down the xuan paper with ink that was yet to dry. It was not know what was written on the paper from a distance.

Both sides of the wall were lined with wooden bookshelves of different shapes, on which all kinds of books were crammed together. There were even some antique books, which seem make Lin ShuYi feel an exceptional sense of familiarity.

“This is my study.” Old Master Shen said.

Actually, Lin ShuYi could already tell. The whole study had a simple and unadorned aesthetic. Although some books were cherished very well, the edges and corners were somewhat worn. With one glance, it was easy to tell that they had been flipped through many times. Moreover, it was clear to see that those antique books were not likely to appear in Father Shen’s or Shen Yan’s study. If this was Father Shen’s or Shen Yan’s study, the things in the study should give off a more youthful vibe.

“Xiao Yan’s study is full of banking, economics and finance books. Although I am a businessman, I really don’t like reading those books after I get older.”

Lin ShuYi nodded, and then, following Old Master Shen’s gesture, he sat on the chair facing the desk. Father Shen sat next to him and Old Master Shen sat opposite him. Lin ShuYi’s gaze swept over the desk. He saw an splash-ink painting on it. It was a black ink painting of a peony.
Lin ShuYi suddenly thought of that Elder Wen who made him write an inscription before giving him a lot of things. He thought to himself, could this old master be trying to sound him out?

Then his heart jumped again. He did not go to school for very long, but he knew so many things. Had this caused Old Master Shen to be suspicious? He was also not accustomed to seeing Elder Wen making things difficult for Shen Fu at that time. If he had known earlier, he would have declined those things and not written any inscription at all.

Lin ShuYi looked at Old Master Shen with deep sorrow as he thought of this, waiting for him to say something about writing an inscription. He also could not lie and could only vaguely fudge his way through. Lin ShuYi basically had no hope as for whether he could bluff his way out and escape the questioning.

Old Master Shen did not say anything and stared at Lin ShuYi for a long while. Then he said, “Xiao Yi, you’ve already thought it through.”

Lin ShuYi: “?”

“I think you guys have already thought about how hard this road is to walk. Homosexuality will not be fully accepted in this country. After the press conference, you will face even more questions and malice. Grandpa can see that you and Xiao Fu are serious about each other. Grandpa just wants to ask, are you sure you would be able to stay together for a lifetime?”

Lin ShuYi put his mind at ease as he firmly met at Father Shen’s eyes, and then he looked into Old Master Shen’s eyes. “Grandpa, I’m not sure I will be able to stay with Shen Fu for a lifetime. I can’t make such irresponsible promises because I can’t guarantee too many things, but I promise that I will always stand firmly by his side as long as I’m beside him for a day. Gossip is a fearful thing, but I’m unafraid of gossip.”

Lin ShuYi’s pupils were very black. They were like the color of the purest black glass, which demonstrated an air of staunchness and calmness that was totally inconsistent with his age. Old Master Shen continued to look at Lin ShuYi before he slowly laughed. Sure enough, neither he nor Shen Fu had misjudged him.

Father Shen also showed a relieved smile. There were no parents who would really be angry with their children for a lifetime. They would still try to accept him even if Shen Fu fell in love with a boy against their wishes. However, Shen Fu’s parents would still worry about his choice which may make him regret or even suffer in the future. They did not wish their child to suffer this kind of pain. If the one that Shen Fu liked was a bad person, they would stop the two even if Shen Fu hated them. Fortunately, Shen Fu fell in love with this child that was a good child worthy of being liked.

Old Master Shen was completely assured. Although Lin ShuYi was really young, his words inexplicably made people feel his sincerity. Old Master Shen laughed heartily. “I just knew that Xiao Fu’s taste in people was just like mine!”

Father Shen silently shifted his gaze away. Such scenes were practically like déjà vu when he chose Li Yun. Lin ShuYi also started smiling unconsciously.

Then he heard Old Master Shen say, “Xiao Yi, write an inscription for me.”

Lin ShuYi: “…”

Was there some sort of karmic relationship between these two?

Old Master Shen ground his teeth as his wrath reached the heavens, “That Wen ZhongYuan is always waving that fan around in front of me. I’ll hang this picture in the middle of the living room and see if he shows off in front of me again.”

Lin ShuYi was torn between laughter and tears.

Fortunately, Old Master Shen did not ask any other questions. Lin ShuYi just obediently dipped his brush in ink and wrote a sentence on the upper right corner of the big drawing of a peony. “A thousand gold cannot buy a light breeze in the night.”

Old Master Shen observed the sentence that Lin ShuYi smoothly wrote after dipping his brush in ink. Then he exchanged a glance with Father Shen. He was becoming even more appreciative of his granddaughter-in-law.

Not only was there was not the slightest hint of choppiness in the vigorous flourishes and strokes of the characters written by Lin ShuYi, they were unconstrained and fluid, which was really a pleasant surprise to Old Master Shen. To be honest, he did not quite believe that it was written by Lin ShuYi when he first saw the fan that old fellow Wen gave him.

Without mentioning others, he had practiced calligraphy for many years, yet Lin ShuYi’s calligraphy level was probably around the same as his. Lin ShuYi was so young and his calligraphy skills were this good. How could he not be surprised?

However, curiosity was just curiosity. If Lin ShuYi was unwilling to say it, he would naturally retain the minimum level of respect and not ask. But this little bastard Shen Fu, really found a treasure.

Shen Fu followed Mother Shen around the garden for ten minutes before he was unable to take a single step more as he kept looking in the direction of the study on the second floor. He was in such a preoccupied state that it seemed as if he itched to fly up there.

Mother Shen slapped Shen Fu on the back of his head and indignantly said, “Can’t you be a little more mature? It’s only been a few minutes since you’ve parted, yet you’re in such an anxious state.”

Shen Fu smiled and stopped staring, turning to look at his own mother who was as delicate as a flower and as refined as precious jade, “Weren’t you and Dad the same as I was back then?”

Mother Shen recalled the past for a moment and blushed. Then she said with annoyance, “Your father was much more stable than you! Only that child could take a fancy to someone like you.”

Shen Fu secretly rolled his eyes. With just a small amount of effort, a son had become inferior to the ‘daughter-in-law’. Was this still his biological mother? However, it gave him a sense of achievement that his mother liked her daughter-in-law so much. It seemed that he would not have to worry about the ‘relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law’ in the future.

The two wandered in the garden for a long time before they saw Father Shen’s gesture of ‘okay’ from the window of the study.

Shen Fu pulled Mother Shen along as he broke into a brisk walk towards the room. Mother Shen was both amused and vexed. Fortunately, she had another son now instead of a female daughter-in-law to share her son with. Otherwise, with Shen Fu being such a wife-con, it would be an awful mess if he married a overly-concerned daughter-in-law! So from this perspective, Lin ShuYi was the more pleasing choice.

Lin ShuYi and Old Master Shen had just come down the stairs when Shen Fu and his mom entered. Shen Fu came forward and wrapped his arms around Lin ShuYi’s shoulder. He beamed as he looked at Old Master Shen. “Grandpa, I’ve lent him to you already. Have you finished talking? If you have, then I’ll bring him around for a tour. He didn’t even get to have a good look at the place before you borrowed him to have a conversation.”

The meaning of being fiercely protective of one’s children was incomparable obvious Old Master Shen was so angry that he wanted to give Shen Fu a knock with his cane. It was only because Lin ShuYi was present that he did not do it. Finally, he waved his hand and said, “Go on, go on.” He was really sticky.

Lin ShuYi did not say a word or make a movement as he glared at Shen Fu. This was also observed by Old Master Shen who furiously thought, Xiao Yi was much more lovable and obedient!

Then Shen Fu grabbed Lin ShuYi and gave everyone a flamboyant greeting before leading Lin ShuYi to visit his room first. After walking a few steps away, Shen Fu suddenly turned back. “Mom, make vanilla pudding for us at noon.”

Father Shen narrowed his eyes as he shot a murderous look at Shen Fu who still dared to order food. One must know that he had not let his own wife cook for many years. If not the the special occasion today and Mother Shen who wanted to use this method to welcome her ‘daughter-in-law’, how could Father Shen allow her to toil in the kitchen? Yet this little bastard still dared to reach out for a yard after taking an inch and order food?

Then they heard Shen Fu say, “Xiao Yi loves eating dessert the most.”

The corner of Father Shen’s mouth twitched. A dramatic change immediately occurred in Mother Shen’s attitude as she beamed with happiness, “I’ll make it, I’ll make it, I’ll make it right away. You boys have fun. Bye-bye Xiao Yi~”

Lin ShuYi: “…”

Father Shen: “…”

His position in the heart of his wife had declined again and again and immediately he was even lower than the ‘daughter-in-law’. What should be done about this?