dkrc Chapter 284 - 282: Will They Still Have a Next Year?
Chapter 284 - 282: Will They Still Have a Next Year?
His comment didn’t help. The moment he said it, Mia Grant was reminded of the horror movie Yates Donovan had put on yesterday.
She sucked in a sharp breath.
This place really was bigger than she had imagined.
Although it was a single-floor penthouse, it had six bedrooms.
It was no exaggeration to say that if she ran back and forth between the bedroom, living room, and kitchen a few times, she’d hit her exercise goal for the day.
You could even keep a bicycle inside just to get around.
’I have to say, Yuri Sinclair is really generous.’
In the end, Ian Sinclair stayed because Mia Grant was genuinely scared.
That evening, she cooked a few dishes for Ian Sinclair herself.
"Perfect. You can be my guinea pig."
"Then I’ll have to charge a fee. Don’t go backing out on me later."
"I’ll pay you if it’s bad. But if it’s good, then you’re the one who’s lucky. Other people don’t get the chance to eat my cooking."
"It looks decent enough, but who knows how it tastes." Ian Sinclair picked up his chopsticks and began to try the food. After the first bite, he looked a little stunned.
Next, he went through and tried every dish on the table, his brow furrowing as he ate.
He certainly didn’t look like he was enjoying it.
Mia Grant noticed this, and her heart sank.
’Oh no, did I mix up the sugar and salt? Or am I just rusty because I haven’t cooked in so long? Have my skills deteriorated?’
Mia Grant’s first instinct was to doubt herself, not Ian Sinclair.
His expression truly didn’t seem like an act he was putting on for her benefit.
Growing impatient waiting for his verdict, Mia Grant simply picked up her own chopsticks and took a bite.
"There’s nothing wrong with the flavor..."
The seasoning was perfect.
She tried the other dishes one after another, and they were all fine.
In the end, she came to a conclusion: either Ian Sinclair’s taste buds were broken, or her style of cooking just didn’t suit his palate.
But she was from the north, too, so her style of cooking shouldn’t have been drastically different from the local Jynsia cuisine.
"Are you doing this on purpose?"
Mia Grant put down her chopsticks and poked him hard on the cheek.
Ian Sinclair glanced sideways at her, a strange look in his eyes.
Mia Grant froze. The way he was looking at her made her feel inexplicably flustered.
"Wh-what is it?"
"Did you cook for yourself all those years you were with the Grant Family?" Ian Sinclair asked in a strange tone.
"..."
Mia Grant was stunned.
Ian Sinclair had just been helping her assemble the colored lights and lanterns, so he hadn’t noticed her bustling around in the kitchen. By the time he came out, she was almost done.
He had assumed she was secretly following a recipe and had already resolved to force it all down, no matter how terrible it tasted, and then praise it as delicious without batting an eye.
And yet...
Now, looking closely, he realized that all the vegetables had been cut very neatly—not the work of a beginner.
It wasn’t as if he’d never cooked before.
He still remembered trying to cook for his mom’s birthday. It had been a complete failure—the vegetables were a chaotic mess, and the taste was beyond description.
_That_ was what a beginner’s cooking looked like.
But Mia’s... no matter how you looked at it, this seemed like the work of someone with years of experience.
’Could it be that she’d had to fend for herself all those years at the Grant Family’s home?’
Mia Grant hadn’t expected Ian Sinclair to read so much into it.
Coming back to herself, she managed a natural-looking smile and explained, "It’s just a personal hobby. Why would I have cooked for myself at the Grant Family’s home? I just looked up some recipes occasionally, during school breaks."
Ian Sinclair leaned closer to her, gazing intently into her eyes. "You... like to cook?"
Like a puppy repeatedly sniffing its food, his gaze was intensely probing.
"Yeah, I do. Am I not allowed to have a hobby?"
Her expression and tone were perfectly natural. As she spoke, she even placed some food into his bowl.
Ian Sinclair looked down at the food in his bowl, and his tone softened. "That’s not what I meant."
"It’s just... strange."
"What’s so strange about it?"
The puppy pouted and muttered, "Someone like you, who cares so much about looking pretty... why would you like being in the kitchen? What if you hurt your hands? The cooking fumes are bad for your skin, too."
Mia Grant’s hand froze.
After a long moment, she couldn’t help but laugh.
"Actually... I don’t like it _that_ much."
Ian Sinclair’s brow twitched.
"But I figured it’s good to learn things, so I wouldn’t starve if I ever ended up alone."
"You’re overthinking it. First of all, you won’t be alone. And second, it’s not like I can’t afford to take care of you."
"But what if? If we lose touch someday, I can’t just keep living the life of a pampered young lady, can I?"
Ian Sinclair found her words strange, and though he didn’t like them, he went along with the conversation. "That won’t happen. If you ever need anything, no matter when, just say the word. I’ll make sure you never go hungry."
"Of course, that’s on the condition that you actually contact me."
He picked out a piece of boneless fish for her. "Don’t always assume the worst. Why are you so pessimistic?"
"Even if you didn’t have... us, you would still do great. I have faith in you."
For some reason, Mia Grant’s eyes grew hot.
After a long moment, she composed herself and nodded with a smile. "You’re right."
Ian Sinclair smiled too. "My mom was just saying the other day that you’ll definitely be more successful than my brother and me in the future."
"From now on, if you don’t feel like cooking, then don’t. You should spend less time in the kitchen. Just give me your recipes and teach me your ways. That way, when you’re craving this flavor, I can just make it for you. It’ll be the same thing."
"You?" Mia Grant looked at the pampered young master before her, whose hands had never known a day of hard work, and this time, she let out a genuine, heartfelt laugh.
"What about me? I’m a very fast learner. How else do you think I managed to cram my way into Jynsia U?"
"Alright, alright." She nodded repeatedly. "I’ll teach you when I get the chance."
"How long did it take you to learn?"
"I can’t remember."
When it came to cooking, Mia Grant truly couldn’t recall when she had learned.
Because during that time, she was the one who cooked all the meals for the family.
Every day, she had to wake up early to make breakfast for the whole family, and when she came home from school, she had to make dinner too. Occasionally, she even had to make a late-night snack for her stepfather and younger brother.
During school holidays, all three meals a day fell to her, but in a way, it was much more relaxing than a regular weekday.
At least she could get some rest earlier. On school days, after cooking, she had to find time to do her homework, then wait for them to finish eating so she could clean up. By the time she was done, it was already past midnight.
She had probably learned how to do all this before she even started middle school.
She was so small back then, and the family’s pot was incredibly heavy. It took all her strength to lift it each time. She had to use a small stool just to reach the stove.
She couldn’t even remember how many times she had burned her hands.
As night fell, Ian Sinclair finished adjusting the lanterns and switched them on for her to see.
Mia Grant looked at the two red lanterns hanging on the balcony, her face breaking into a wide, happy smile.
"They seem a little small. We’ll get bigger ones next year."
She had no concept of what size to get. Before, when she was at home, her mother always prepared everything. After she ran away, she never bought these things for herself.
That was why the Spring Festival couplets and other decorations she’d bought this time were all the wrong size. Luckily, the housekeeper had already prepared everything, so the things she bought didn’t end up being used.
Out on the balcony, Ian Sinclair turned to look at her. After a long hesitation, he finally asked, "Next year... will we have a chance to spend the Spring Festival together? I’ll take you to buy even prettier, bigger lanterns then."
Mia Grant froze, and the two of them looked at each other for a long time. Finally, she smiled and gave a gentle nod. "Okay."
’Will we even have a next year? She wasn’t sure.’