Chapter 334
Shen Yi sat unmoving on his seat while his father conversed with their guest, with his little brother, grumbling to himself how unlucky he could be. Qiao He then appeared to his side, whispering that his orders from the food delivery app had arrived just on time.
“Dad, they are here.” Shen Yi told his father.
Shen Huang’s face lit up excitedly and turned to his five guests.
“Why don’t you join us for lunch? I hope takeout lunch is okay with you. We have managed to get some dishes prepared by Silver Leaf’s Special Class.”
That piqued the interests of their guests. Who had never heard about Silver Leaf and their newest students?
“Ahh, we wouldn’t say no to that, Chairman Shen! I haven’t tasted any dishes from Silver Leaf itself.”
“Aren’t we lucky today? Silver Leaf’s meal for lunch? Even if it’s takeout, I wouldn’t mind eating it.”
Chairman Shen lifted his hand to call his assistant. A moment later, some freshly cooked meals were served in front of them. Shen Xue gulped. He could feel his stomach growling from hunger.
He threw his father a begging glance, hoping he would spare him some. His prayers were answered when Qiao He placed the same small box in front of him.
The group opened their lunch boxes only to reveal a simple poached chicken dish with rice and some side dishes. There wasn’t anything special with the appearance, except that it was more organized and not messy.
Shen Yi removed the cover of his lunchbox and saw a small cloth stuck beneath the cover. It must be his wife’s idea.
Mister Zhao, who was one of their guests, excitedly dug in on his lunch and was surprised when he tasted the rice. His eyes popped open with his jaws dropped as he didn’t expect the flavor of the plain rice. He paused for a moment before resuming tasting rice and chicken on his box.
There was literally no translation for the word that explained how silky and smooth the chicken tasted like. Everyone enjoyed their meal, and it was only a matter of time before they found themselves hoping for another serving.
While the chicken was undoubtedly a key component of the dish, Shen Yi personally thought the main event was the rice, which is cooked with chicken fat and chicken stock. Normally, rice was cooked with plain water so he could only imagine the reactions when people first taste his wife’s version of this dish.
Lu Xinyi had cooked this once for him. She’d said that it was a luxury to cook rice using chicken soup, and the taste was better than plain white rice by a mile and a half. He easily agreed with her observation as he ate. The allure of this dish was a celebration of chicken’s natural flavor and texture.
As if the rice weren’t enough, the chicken was perfectly cooked, emerging from the stockpot perfectly moist and silky. On top of all that, one could get to douse the whole thing in as much sauce as they want. In this case, there were three sauces: a chili sauce, a ginger sauce, and a sweet dark black soy sauce.
When one sunk their teeth into a piece of chicken, they’d be getting a double whammy of the sweet and savory tenderness of the meat and the slippery succulence of the skin. That flaccidness might throw off foreigners not used to that texture, but it’s revered by locals.
The experience would be heightened by a mouthful of the accompanying rice—perhaps equally, if not more important than the chicken itself—which was made by frying the rice grains in chicken fat before being boiled in chicken stock and a handful of herbs including pandan leaves.
“It’s too bad we cannot have more,” Shen Huang sighed, but he was content of what he’d eaten for now. His daughter-in-law always made them coming for more of her dishes. The last time, she’d sent a huge box of macarons to Shen Group, and both of his sons were fighting over it.
“Ahh, didn’t you have a sponsored student at Silver Leaf? I heard she’s a good one.” Mister Zhao commented.
Shen Huang smiled and took a sip from his teacup.
“Lu Xinyi…” Mister Jia seemed to think of something. “They say she’s good, but is she really from the Sun family?” Another one asked. That made Shen Huang’s smile falter and gauged his son’s reaction.
Shen Yi kept his calm facade even if their guest started questioning about his wife.
“Are you sure about Lu Xinyi? She’s still a Sun woman after all. We both know that the Suns don’t play by the rules,” Mister Zhao commented.
“The Sun family, ah? I met their newest president—what’s her name again? Ah, Sun Feiyan. She seems decent compared to her aunts. Their family business is growing more because of her. She’s also a great beauty. I’ve also seen Lu Xinyi one time, but the difference between her and Sun Feiyan is really…” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Really what?” Shen Yi’s eyes were cold and murderous, but the oblivious man wasn’t aware that he just stuck his foot in his mouth.
Upon hearing what Mister Jia said, Chairman Shen and Shen Xue knew that the demon had been provoked.
“I’m not really sure,” Mister Jia shook his head. “I remember Sun Qiyan telling me that they had one cousin that was kicked out from their family. Could it really be Lu Xinyi? There was news that she was contesting her right for some inheritance. If that’s true, then she really has some nerve to use the Shen family to offend her own family, right?”
“That can’t be helped,” Mister Zhao agreed, “It’s really a wonder how come each family has its own black sheep. All of these because of greed. If I have a family member or a relative like her, I’ll surely kick her out of our family.”
The deafening silence coming from the three Shen men were disturbing. The other guests who remained silent watched how Mister Jia and Mister Zhao saw how their hosts’ mood changed while talking about Lu Xinyi.
They could feel something bad was about to happen, and they were sure that if they kept their mouth shut, their proposals to the Shen Group would still have a chance to get approved.
Qiao He couldn’t wait for his Boss Yi to give his orders. He would surely love to kick those asses out of the Shen Group after insulting their Young Madam in front of Chairman Shen and his Boss Yi. It wasn’t really hard to know what was waiting for these idiots.
It was over for both of them, and he couldn’t wait for these rats to run for their lives, pack their things, and go into hiding. The three Shens hadn’t uttered a single word as they continue to talk bad about Lu Xinyi.
“They say she’s a good cook, but one can easily make a decent dish by just following a simple recipe. What’s so special about her?” Mister Jia said. He then turned to Shen Yi with a huge smile plastered on his face, “President Shen, I trust your judgment, but why her? She was a mere baker from a closed down cafe from what I’ve heard. You should have sponsored someone like Ye Xieren for better chances at Silver Leaf.”
Shen Yi held his chin and tilted his head on one side.
“It’s a pity that the mere baker you were talking about is my wife. It seems you have a bad habit of talking bad about a person you’ve never met for once. Otherwise, you wouldn’t dare to humiliate Lu Xinyi in front of us.”
All of a sudden, both men laughing to each other’s comments froze, their faces changed as if they had seen a ghost. This could have been the most awkward and embarrassing moment in their lives as they made a fool out of themselves.
Now, they wanted to dig their graves and bury themselves alive rather than receiving the demon’s wrath. Their faces burned as they were stuck in their seats with Shen Yi, staring at them across the table.
Never would they thought that there was something really going on between President Shen and Lu Xinyi. Well now, they had to learn the hard way that words could easily make or break a person.
“Brother Jia, we must be fools to believe those rumors.” Mister Zhao laughed awkwardly. He then faced the demon king who was devoid of any expression. He sat there like an ice statue, waiting for the fools to speak for themselves.
“President Shen, please forgive this lowly one for insulting Madam Shen,” He then slapped his own cheeks several times to punish himself. He was waiting for Shen Yi to stop him, but the demon king refused and watched him continue to torture himself.
Mister Jia turned to Chairman Shen for help, but even the old man’s smile vanished on his face. They knew then that they messed it up big time.
“Xin’er is our dear Young Madam Shen and the pride of the Shen family. For you to be able to talk badly of her in front of us was truly… disappointing…”
Shen Yi stood up to leave with his lips curled into a sinister smile. What he said next was enough to make both men peed on their trousers.
“The food you have just eaten, was it delicious?”
Both men nodded dumbly. Even if they were on their right minds, they could tell that the meal for today was indeed delicious and out of this world.
“Delicious, isn’t it? You see, Lu Xinyi isn’t just my wife. She’s my own personal goddess, and this goddess had let you eaten the dish she made today. You think you are worthy to eat something that my Goddess made with her own hands? Please throw it up and never show your ugly faces in front of me again.”
The two men in question stared back at him in disbelief. They were speechless but hoping that the demon king would still spare their lives.
“Will you do it, or should we consider this as your last meal on this lifetime?”
This man in front of them was someone they could never dare to offend, and yet they successfully took his undivided attention when they both insulted the wife of the demon king unknowingly. Just earlier, they were saying things that shouldn’t be said about Young Madam Shen.
Since they had offended the demon king’s woman, would they be able to step outside of the Shen group alive?
Without any further words from the demon king, Mister Zhao and Mister Jia ran outside the room and tried to find the nearest washroom. Once they found one, they both opened two different cubicles at the same time, kneeling down as they were forced to throw up the food that Lu Xinyi made today.