Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork with Tofu - Chapter 5
Guo Zeyan, ever the gentleman, pulled out my chair for me.
“Come on, try what I made,” he said softly.
I picked up a piece of food with caution, eyeing him suspiciously.
“You didn’t poison this, did you?”
Before Guo Zeyan could reply, the live chat was already going wild
[Poison him? He couldn’t bear to]
[If he poisoned anyone, it’d be himself]
Guo Zeyan chuckled, “Relax, I already tasted it.”
I carefully put the food in my mouth.
To my surprise, it was delicious.
“It’s really good—this shredded pork with garlic sauce tastes just like mine.”
“That’s because I learned from you.” He ruffled my hair. “Try the others.”
I picked up a chicken wing and took a bite.
It was as good as any restaurant’s.
“Well?” Guo Zeyan looked at me expectantly.
“When did you learn to cook?”
He smiled, satisfied. “I just learned a few dishes, all for you.”
The comments turned sour with envy
[Is it really that good? Let me try]
[If I can’t eat it, it’s not good]
[Yichen is way too lucky.]
Guo Zeyan explained, “You used to say I was a spoiled young master who couldn’t do anything for himself. I didn’t want you to see me that way, so I asked Auntie to teach me. Looks like it paid off.”
The room went quiet.
My heart softened.
I’d grown up an orphan, moving out of the group home at eighteen.
I’d taught myself to cook, fix pipes, change lightbulbs—everything.
This was the first time someone had learned to cook just for me.
My eyes stung. Maybe I wasn’t as forgotten as I’d always thought.
“If I died, would you remember me?” I asked Guo Zeyan.
I’d seen a quote online.
Death isn’t the end; being forgotten is.
I’d always felt invisible, as if I’d been gone for years and no one noticed.
“I would. And not just me—your fans would remember you too.”
In just one day of being CP with Guo Zeyan, my Weibo followers had shot up.
He met my gaze, and I looked away, flustered.
“Mm.”
“Eat up.”
The chat was full of teary-eyed comments:
[Pure love warriors, down for the count]
[This is too sweet, I can’t take it]
[My romance brain is acting up again]
“I want to try your juice,” Guo Zeyan said suddenly.
I remembered there was a lot of salt in that watermelon juice.
“Huh?” My eyes widened.
“Didn’t you just make watermelon juice? My favorite,” he said, reaching for the glass.
I grabbed his arm.
I’d put so much salt in there as a prank.
“Don’t drink that,” I blurted.
“Why not?”
“It’s summer. Juice goes bad quickly,” I improvised.
He smiled. “Doesn’t matter. Even if it’s gone bad, I’ll drink it. After all, you made it.”
He tipped the glass back and took a sip.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for his reaction.
He frowned slightly, but then his face relaxed.
“It’s fine.”
I swallowed, guilt rising.
He’d cooked all this for me, and I’d pranked him.
“Eat,” Guo Zeyan said, raising his glass and finishing the juice in one go.
Then he picked up my glass, lowering his voice, “Let me get you a fresh one.”
“No, it’s fine, I’ll drink this.”
“No way. Mine tasted a little off. Don’t drink it. I’ll make you a new one.”
He walked into the kitchen to make another glass.
“Guo Zeyan…” I called quietly.
He looked back. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
After the show, Qiao Nan came to pick me up.
“Yichen, Guo Zeyan is really good to you. He drank your juice, worried it was spoiled, and made you a fresh one.”
I wasn’t in the mood.
“Sis Nan, I put a spoonful of salt in his juice,” I muttered.
“What?” Her voice shot up an octave.
“So it wasn’t spoiled, you just salted it?”
I nodded, ashamed. “I regret it. I just wanted to mess with him a little, didn’t think he’d drink the whole thing.”
Qiao Nan sighed, pinching her brow. “Only Guo Zeyan would spoil you like this.”
Guo Zeyan’s van was still outside.
I decided to go apologize.
“Yichen, what brings you here?”
He sounded genuinely happy—it was the first time I’d come looking for him.
“I’m sorry,” I said, head down.
“I shouldn’t have pranked you with salt in your juice. I know it was wrong.”
He was silent.
Oh no. He’s really mad.
Just as I was about to panic, he spoke:
“I knew you put salt in it.”
If he hadn’t finished it, I wouldn’t have felt so guilty.
“I’ll drink anything you give me.”
His tone was firm.
I felt even worse.
“If you want me to forgive you, there’s only one way…”
He pressed his lips together, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
“What way?”
“Kiss me.”
“We’re both—”
“We’re both men,” he interrupted, “but so what? I like you. Isn’t that enough?”
Did I like Guo Zeyan?
I’d never dared to think about it.
Did he really like me?
I wasn’t sure.
“Forget it, I won’t force you. I’ll take the initiative.”
Before I could react, he leaned in and pressed a light kiss to my forehead.
A flash of white danced before my eyes, and a tingling warmth spread from my forehead through my whole body.
His lips curled into a gentle smile.
“I’ll teach you how to love, Yichen. I’ll do my best, so maybe one day you’ll like me too.”
After that, things between us felt different—subtle, but definitely changed.
One day, a woman stormed into the studio, threw a bank card on the table in front of me.
“There’s five million on this card. Leave Guo Zeyan.”
Qiao Nan told me later she was Guo Zeyan’s former fiancée.
The woman, Li Zixuan, flicked her hair and sneered, “Zeyan’s just playing with you. He’d never actually like a man. You’re just a mudfish thinking you’re a delicacy.”
Qiao Nan’s face turned red with anger. “Are you insane? If Zeyan doesn’t like you, go yell at a toilet, not here.”
I’d never seen her so fierce.
Li Zixuan glared. “You’re just a lousy manager. Who asked you?”
“If even a barking dog can speak here, why can’t I?” Qiao Nan shot back, ready to fight.
I quickly pulled her back.
“Sis Nan, don’t. Let’s not stoop to her level.”
I had my assistant escort Qiao Nan outside.
Li Zixuan turned to me. “Five million—will you leave him or not? Ten million?”
I pulled out my phone and called Guo Zeyan on speaker.
He picked up immediately.
“Yichen, what’s up?”
I took a deep breath.
“Your ex-fiancée is here, offering me ten million to leave you. Maybe you should tell her who’s chasing whom.”
He didn’t hesitate.
“Li Zixuan, I warned you—I’ll never like someone like you. Our engagement ended long ago. And for the record, I’m the one chasing Yichen. Still chasing, got it?”
Li Zixuan’s face turned purple with rage.
"Your parents will never accept you two.”
“My parents are my business, not yours. I suggest you stay away from Yichen.”
“He’s just a man,” she spat, unwilling to give up.
“Man or woman, he’s better than you. He’ll always come first in my heart—unlike someone who doesn’t even treat others as human.”
Li Zixuan, fuming, snatched up her card and stormed out.
I finally let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
For the first time, I felt a strange sense of security—like maybe, just maybe, I really mattered to someone.
“Come on, try what I made,” he said softly.
I picked up a piece of food with caution, eyeing him suspiciously.
“You didn’t poison this, did you?”
Before Guo Zeyan could reply, the live chat was already going wild
[Poison him? He couldn’t bear to]
[If he poisoned anyone, it’d be himself]
Guo Zeyan chuckled, “Relax, I already tasted it.”
I carefully put the food in my mouth.
To my surprise, it was delicious.
“It’s really good—this shredded pork with garlic sauce tastes just like mine.”
“That’s because I learned from you.” He ruffled my hair. “Try the others.”
I picked up a chicken wing and took a bite.
It was as good as any restaurant’s.
“Well?” Guo Zeyan looked at me expectantly.
“When did you learn to cook?”
He smiled, satisfied. “I just learned a few dishes, all for you.”
The comments turned sour with envy
[Is it really that good? Let me try]
[If I can’t eat it, it’s not good]
[Yichen is way too lucky.]
Guo Zeyan explained, “You used to say I was a spoiled young master who couldn’t do anything for himself. I didn’t want you to see me that way, so I asked Auntie to teach me. Looks like it paid off.”
The room went quiet.
My heart softened.
I’d grown up an orphan, moving out of the group home at eighteen.
I’d taught myself to cook, fix pipes, change lightbulbs—everything.
This was the first time someone had learned to cook just for me.
My eyes stung. Maybe I wasn’t as forgotten as I’d always thought.
“If I died, would you remember me?” I asked Guo Zeyan.
I’d seen a quote online.
Death isn’t the end; being forgotten is.
I’d always felt invisible, as if I’d been gone for years and no one noticed.
“I would. And not just me—your fans would remember you too.”
In just one day of being CP with Guo Zeyan, my Weibo followers had shot up.
He met my gaze, and I looked away, flustered.
“Mm.”
“Eat up.”
The chat was full of teary-eyed comments:
[Pure love warriors, down for the count]
[This is too sweet, I can’t take it]
[My romance brain is acting up again]
“I want to try your juice,” Guo Zeyan said suddenly.
I remembered there was a lot of salt in that watermelon juice.
“Huh?” My eyes widened.
“Didn’t you just make watermelon juice? My favorite,” he said, reaching for the glass.
I grabbed his arm.
I’d put so much salt in there as a prank.
“Don’t drink that,” I blurted.
“Why not?”
“It’s summer. Juice goes bad quickly,” I improvised.
He smiled. “Doesn’t matter. Even if it’s gone bad, I’ll drink it. After all, you made it.”
He tipped the glass back and took a sip.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for his reaction.
He frowned slightly, but then his face relaxed.
“It’s fine.”
I swallowed, guilt rising.
He’d cooked all this for me, and I’d pranked him.
“Eat,” Guo Zeyan said, raising his glass and finishing the juice in one go.
Then he picked up my glass, lowering his voice, “Let me get you a fresh one.”
“No, it’s fine, I’ll drink this.”
“No way. Mine tasted a little off. Don’t drink it. I’ll make you a new one.”
He walked into the kitchen to make another glass.
“Guo Zeyan…” I called quietly.
He looked back. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
After the show, Qiao Nan came to pick me up.
“Yichen, Guo Zeyan is really good to you. He drank your juice, worried it was spoiled, and made you a fresh one.”
I wasn’t in the mood.
“Sis Nan, I put a spoonful of salt in his juice,” I muttered.
“What?” Her voice shot up an octave.
“So it wasn’t spoiled, you just salted it?”
I nodded, ashamed. “I regret it. I just wanted to mess with him a little, didn’t think he’d drink the whole thing.”
Qiao Nan sighed, pinching her brow. “Only Guo Zeyan would spoil you like this.”
Guo Zeyan’s van was still outside.
I decided to go apologize.
“Yichen, what brings you here?”
He sounded genuinely happy—it was the first time I’d come looking for him.
“I’m sorry,” I said, head down.
“I shouldn’t have pranked you with salt in your juice. I know it was wrong.”
He was silent.
Oh no. He’s really mad.
Just as I was about to panic, he spoke:
“I knew you put salt in it.”
If he hadn’t finished it, I wouldn’t have felt so guilty.
“I’ll drink anything you give me.”
His tone was firm.
I felt even worse.
“If you want me to forgive you, there’s only one way…”
He pressed his lips together, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
“What way?”
“Kiss me.”
“We’re both—”
“We’re both men,” he interrupted, “but so what? I like you. Isn’t that enough?”
Did I like Guo Zeyan?
I’d never dared to think about it.
Did he really like me?
I wasn’t sure.
“Forget it, I won’t force you. I’ll take the initiative.”
Before I could react, he leaned in and pressed a light kiss to my forehead.
A flash of white danced before my eyes, and a tingling warmth spread from my forehead through my whole body.
His lips curled into a gentle smile.
“I’ll teach you how to love, Yichen. I’ll do my best, so maybe one day you’ll like me too.”
After that, things between us felt different—subtle, but definitely changed.
One day, a woman stormed into the studio, threw a bank card on the table in front of me.
“There’s five million on this card. Leave Guo Zeyan.”
Qiao Nan told me later she was Guo Zeyan’s former fiancée.
The woman, Li Zixuan, flicked her hair and sneered, “Zeyan’s just playing with you. He’d never actually like a man. You’re just a mudfish thinking you’re a delicacy.”
Qiao Nan’s face turned red with anger. “Are you insane? If Zeyan doesn’t like you, go yell at a toilet, not here.”
I’d never seen her so fierce.
Li Zixuan glared. “You’re just a lousy manager. Who asked you?”
“If even a barking dog can speak here, why can’t I?” Qiao Nan shot back, ready to fight.
I quickly pulled her back.
“Sis Nan, don’t. Let’s not stoop to her level.”
I had my assistant escort Qiao Nan outside.
Li Zixuan turned to me. “Five million—will you leave him or not? Ten million?”
I pulled out my phone and called Guo Zeyan on speaker.
He picked up immediately.
“Yichen, what’s up?”
I took a deep breath.
“Your ex-fiancée is here, offering me ten million to leave you. Maybe you should tell her who’s chasing whom.”
He didn’t hesitate.
“Li Zixuan, I warned you—I’ll never like someone like you. Our engagement ended long ago. And for the record, I’m the one chasing Yichen. Still chasing, got it?”
Li Zixuan’s face turned purple with rage.
"Your parents will never accept you two.”
“My parents are my business, not yours. I suggest you stay away from Yichen.”
“He’s just a man,” she spat, unwilling to give up.
“Man or woman, he’s better than you. He’ll always come first in my heart—unlike someone who doesn’t even treat others as human.”
Li Zixuan, fuming, snatched up her card and stormed out.
I finally let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
For the first time, I felt a strange sense of security—like maybe, just maybe, I really mattered to someone.
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