"Mom, why are you here?" Yan Yifei asked with a deadpan expression. Carrying a temperature-controlled box, he trailed behind the elegantly dressed woman, sounding somewhat helpless.
He had just stepped out to pick up a delivery, only to find his mother standing at the door. This was the first time she had suddenly shown up at the military academy so late at night. She had a scowl on her face, and he had no idea how he had offended her.
"How long has it been since you last went home? You don’t even come back on weekends. I could understand if you were out on a training mission, but I asked around and found out you didn’t have any off-campus training tasks this month. You’ve grown too big for your boots, actually learning how to lie!" Mrs. Yan’s tone was aggressive. She truly couldn’t fathom it. Her son, who usually came home obediently every weekend, hadn’t returned once this entire month.
Earlier that evening, she had run into Mu Hanyu’s mother while shopping. Hearing her mention a few things, Mrs. Yan finally learned about her son’s situation at school. She originally thought his absence was excusable because he was away on a training mission, but it turned out he had been lying to her all along!
Yan Yifei unlocked his dorm room and let Mrs. Yan walk in first while he followed.
"Mom, I’m already nineteen. What does it matter if I don’t go home for a month?" Yan Yifei said softly, carefully placing the temperature-controlled box on the table.
Mrs. Yan knew her son was growing up and needed his freedom, but she didn’t care whether he was even listening as she grumbled through her complaints.
"It’s not that I want to control you, but you can’t lie. If you don’t want to come back, just tell the truth. It’s not like I’m going to force you to go home.
"I went to great lengths to hire a master chef from the Sunny Day Restaurant to cook for our family for six months. I just wanted to help you build up your health and give you a surprise, but you stubbornly refused to come back for a whole month.
"I didn’t want to run over here so late at night either, but I ran into Aunt Han on the way. Aunt Han asked me if you had bullied Mu Hanyu again, saying she cried for a long time after getting home.
"Tell me, did you bully Mu Hanyu?" Mrs. Yan asked knowingly.
"Mom, you know how annoying Mu Hanyu is. I just wanted her to take the hint and back off," Yan Yifei said, sounding a bit irritated.
"You could have been more tactful. She’s a girl, after all, and such a pretty one at that. With your personality, you should be content that a girl like her is so devoted to you."
"Mom, I don’t want to discuss this topic anymore. Please don’t bring her up. It’s annoying," Yan Yifei said. He was torn about whether he should open the temperature-controlled box in front of his mother.
She would definitely try to snatch his food. However, his mother was relentless; if he didn’t give her a satisfactory answer, she could annoy him to death.
"Why are you having dinner so late?" Mrs. Yan frowned as she looked at the temperature-controlled box on the table. "How about I have our family’s master chef deliver your meals starting tomorrow? I’ll go talk to the principal and have him pull some strings for you."
"No need, I’ve already had dinner. This is just a late-night snack sent by a friend," Yan Yifei replied. He had no choice but to open the temperature-controlled box and take out the delicious food inside.
It was too late to hide it. He could only lay out the shrimp dumplings, shumai, BBQ pork buns, lotus leaf sticky rice chicken, egg tarts, and soy milk one by one in front of his mother.
"It looks exquisite enough, but what is this yellowish-green thing? Is it even edible?" Mrs. Yan asked with a hint of disdain, poking the lotus leaf sticky rice chicken with her index finger.
"No, I’m going to find your uncle right now and have him pull some strings for you. The master chef will make all three of your meals. Don’t you love the Exotic Beast Meat made by Master Qingping?" Mrs. Yan expressed her dissatisfaction as she looked at the food on the table, which, despite its delicate appearance, lacked a strong aroma.
Yan Yifei didn’t say a word. He grabbed a small plate and placed one shrimp dumpling, one shumai, one egg tart, and one BBQ pork bun on it for Mrs. Yan, then poured her half a glass of soy milk.
He pushed it in front of her. "Mom, try it. It’s delicious. I like it a lot."
Mrs. Yan was quite surprised by this. Her picky eater of a son was actually telling her that he liked this food.
Even when they went to dine at the Sunny Day Restaurant, which was said to produce the best food in the entire Federation, his absolute favorite among all their delicacies was Master Qingping’s roasted Exotic Beast Meat.
Ever since he tried it once, he would go to the Sunny Day Restaurant for roasted Exotic Beast Meat whenever he had free time, never breaking the habit. Yet, this month, he hadn’t gone even once, which was highly unusual.
Although Exotic Beasts were hard to hunt, he was a son of the Yan Family. No matter how difficult it was, they had to satisfy his cravings.
To spare him from having to wait and pre-order Exotic Beast Meat every time, she had spent a fortune and owed the Sunny Day Restaurant a favor just to invite Master Qingping to their home as a private chef for six months.
But now, he had a change of heart?
Yan Yifei ate with a satisfied expression, completely ignoring his mother’s thoughts. He was already a little reluctant to share the portions he had given her, so it would be even better if she didn’t eat them.
Watching her son bite into a golden, pastry-like piece of food with a look of pure contentment, Mrs. Yan grew curious.
She tentatively picked up the same item as her son and took a careful bite. The crust was flaky and crispy, while the soft, yellow filling melted in her mouth. It carried a rich milky aroma and was sweet but not cloying.
Mrs. Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly as she chewed the crispy crust and swallowed. "What is this called?" she asked, pleasantly surprised. "Which master chef made it? This dessert is truly excellent."
"She’s not a master chef, just an ordinary freshman from Mingzong," Yan Yifei replied casually. He then picked up a shrimp dumpling, stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, and gave a perfunctory answer.
Hearing this, Mrs. Yan felt a bit disappointed. So it was just a student. Her interest quickly waned.
However, seeing how satisfied her son looked while eating, she followed Yan Yifei’s example and took a bite of a shrimp dumpling. It was... delicious!
"Son, son, what is this called? It’s so good too! I always thought shrimp had a strong fishy smell. Even the master chefs at the Sunny Day Restaurant can’t completely mask that odor.
"Son, son, what’s this chubby white one called? It’s so soft! Ah, the filling is the true soul of this dish. It’s way too delicious!
"Son, son, what’s this one with the yellow wrapper, white inside, and a little red dot on top? It’s so fresh and tender!
"Son, son, what are you eating right now? Give your mother a piece too!" Mrs. Yan said. Taking a sip of soy milk with a blissful expression, she eyed the yellowish-green, cube-like object in Yan Yifei’s hands that resembled withered leaves.
She no longer found it ugly and hastily urged Yan Yifei to share some with her.
With a deadpan expression, Yan Yifei picked up a knife and cut the lotus leaf sticky rice chicken in half. He knew this would happen! Enjoying it all by himself was completely out of the question now.
"Even though it looks a bit ugly, what’s inside smells incredible," Mrs. Yan said. She took the half of the sticky rice chicken Yan Yifei handed her, grabbed it directly with her hands, peeled back the lotus leaf, and took a bite.
"Oh my goodness, the rice on the outside has the fresh fragrance of the lotus leaf, and it’s soft and sticky. The chicken inside is so tender and flavorful! Which student made this? It rivals the delicacies from Qingtian! I love it!" Mrs. Yan’s face was a picture of happiness. She ate with immense satisfaction, completely tossing her previous determination to lose weight to the back of her mind.
Yan Yifei felt a pang of heartache as he watched Mrs. Yan polish off the food until nothing was left. He had assumed that since she was on a diet, she wouldn’t finish it, leaving him at least a small portion to enjoy later. But she had eaten everything!
And what was this about hiring Master Qingping for him? She was clearly the one who preferred Master Qingping’s roasted Exotic Beast Meat, dragging him along to eat it whenever she had free time.
"Hurry up and tell me who she is, down to the last detail! Otherwise, I’ll post your childhood princess photos on the Star Network!" Mrs. Yan threatened.
Yan Yifei’s expression darkened. "...This again? Mom, can’t you come up with a new trick?"
"Hmph! As long as it works! If you don’t tell me, I’ll post them right now!" Mrs. Yan opened her Light Brain, preparing to log onto the Star Network.
Yan Yifei raised a hand to stop her. "I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you. She’s a culinary freshman next door named Gan Lan. She’s been streaming on the Happy Dreams live-streaming platform lately. Tomorrow, if you go to that platform’s homepage, look for a stream called the Huaxia Barbecue Stall. That’s her..."
"Smart choice!" Mrs. Yan said smugly.
Yan Yifei hung his head in defeat.