Chapter 287 - 233: A Warm Start to the New Year

Chapter 287: Chapter 233: A Warm Start to the New Year

As evening fell, the sky grew dim.

The mountaintop villa was brightly lit, giving it a particularly quiet and peaceful air.

Gu Heng entered the house directly through the garage and immediately spotted Jiang Ruan standing in front of the open-plan Western-style kitchen, learning how to mix fillings from the house chef.

She was dressed in simple, light loungewear: a plain white short-sleeved shirt on top and gray cotton sweatpants on the bottom. Her face had a touch of light makeup, and her jet-black hair was tied back in a simple, low ponytail.

Thanks to Gu Heng’s tireless efforts, day and night, Jiang Ruan’s rear had become noticeably fuller and perkier. Seen from the side, it was like a perfectly round full moon, stretching the fabric of her sweatpants taut.

Seeing her now, standing in the kitchen and earnestly learning how to mix fillings from the chef, her usual cool, moon-like aura had quietly gained a hint of wifely charm.

The sound of the door opening drew Jiang Ruan’s gaze.

When she saw Gu Heng had returned on time, a flicker of joy appeared deep in her eyes.

"You’re back."

Jiang Ruan walked out from the kitchen, moving to greet Gu Heng.

"I remembered you like the pastries from Imperial Kitchen, so I picked some up for you on my way back. You can put them in the fridge later; there should be enough to last you several days."

As Jiang Ruan approached, Gu Heng handed her the exquisite pastry gift box, his voice tinged with tenderness.

"Thank you~"

Jiang Ruan had felt lonely spending New Year’s Eve by herself yesterday, but seeing this gift box, that little bit of grievance in her heart vanished instantly.

"What are you making?"

"Learning how to mix fillings from the chef?"

Gu Heng asked as he took off his coat.

"Yeah."

"I was just idle anyway."

"So I decided to learn from her."

"This way, the next time you’re craving dumplings, I can make the filling for you myself."

Jiang Ruan helped Gu Heng with his coat, replying with a smile.

Hearing her reply, Gu Heng couldn’t help but smile.

Jiang Ruan herself probably hadn’t even noticed how often the word "future" had been slipping into her vocabulary lately.

When a woman starts imagining her future with a man, it means she has already fallen hopelessly in love with him.

"I’m going upstairs to change. I’ll wash up and come down to make dumplings with you."

After speaking, Gu Heng wrapped his arm around Jiang Ruan’s slender waist, gave her red lips a natural kiss, and then turned to walk toward the elevator.

Jiang Ruan watched his back, her long fingers brushing against her now-rosy lips. A warmth bloomed in her heart, and love swirled in her beautiful eyes.

...

「Ten minutes later.」

Gu Heng and Jiang Ruan stood together at the kitchen island, which was dusted with flour.

The two of them began rolling out wrappers and filling them with the mixtures the house chef had prepared.

"I had the chef prepare three kinds of fillings."

"One is a ’three seafood treasures’ mix, one is shrimp with crab roe, and the last is beef and celery."

Jiang Ruan explained to Gu Heng, "Are they to your liking?"

"They’re all my favorites."

Although Gu Heng had just finished a meal with Xu Mo, he hadn’t eaten much, stopping when he was only half-full. Now, after hearing Jiang Ruan list the three types of dumpling fillings, his appetite was stirring again.

Not far away, the house chefs were preparing other dishes.

They knew this was a sweet, couple’s activity, so none of them interfered, leaving the two to their own devices.

"I didn’t expect you to be so skilled at making dumplings."

A hint of surprise flashed in Jiang Ruan’s beautiful eyes. She had assumed that a super-rich man like Gu Heng, who was used to a life of utter luxury, would barely know the first thing about making dumplings, if he knew how at all. She never imagined that his technique would be even more practiced than hers, and she helped her family make them every New Year.

Rolling the wrapper, adding the filling, and sealing the edge—he did the three steps in one smooth, continuous motion.

"What?"

Gu Heng glanced up at Jiang Ruan and retorted with a smile, "Did you really think I was some pampered young master who’s never had to lift a finger in his life?"

Jiang Ruan pressed her lips together, not responding to Gu Heng.

Her expression made it clear that was exactly what she’d thought.

"Hey, hold on a second."

Seeing the usually cool and distant Jiang Ruan reveal such a gentle side was a rare sight, and Gu Heng couldn’t resist the urge to tease her a little.

"What’s wrong?"

Jiang Ruan looked up, a hint of confusion in her beautiful eyes.

"You’ve got a hair here."

Gu Heng said, but his flour-dusted right hand had already moved, reaching out to touch Jiang Ruan’s fair cheek.

As his fingertips brushed past, a streak of flour was left on Jiang Ruan’s cheek.

"Whoops!"

"There’s another one here!"

Gu Heng continued, his fingertips brushing across her other cheek.

At first, Jiang Ruan was still confused.

But she quickly realized Gu Heng was teasing her. She puffed up her flour-smudged cheeks and raised a hand to retaliate against him.

"You’re awful~"

"I’m still wearing makeup~"

Jiang Ruan protested playfully, but her eyes were brimming with laughter.

"You can just wash it off later."

Gu Heng replied with a chuckle, "Besides, you look beautiful with or without makeup."

The two of them laughed and played around, and by the time they had used up all the filling, their faces looked like little kittens. It wasn’t just them; even the household staff couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

"Go ahead and boil the dumplings."

"Don’t cook too many at once, so we don’t end up wasting any."

Making dumplings was purely a way for the two of them to bond; they obviously weren’t going to do everything themselves. After giving instructions to the house chefs, Gu Heng turned to Jiang Ruan. "Let’s go wash our faces."