CHAPTER 633: CHAPTER 622: VICIOUS VILLAIN

Jiang Cheng not only found the food delicious but also felt a hint of familiarity. This taste?

He then shook his head, no, the dish that Little Ya, Ye Qiu, made was even tastier than this, and besides, she’s only fifteen. How could she possibly be cooking in a restaurant?

At this moment, in the kitchen of He Chef, a trace of joy appeared on He Jiangnan’s face: "I’ve worked so hard for so long, and even though it still doesn’t match up to yours, I’ve made a lot of progress."

Ah De and Jin couldn’t help but give a wry smile: "It’s because you have the talent, boss. We’ve been learning together, so why can’t the two of us make it as good?"

"You guys are doing pretty well too. If you keep trying, you will catch up with us," Ye Qiu said, comforting them with a smile.

Ah De and Jin encouraged each other: "We won’t give up."

"The pastry is ready, let the servers bring it out!" Saying that, Ye Qiu took out the steamed pastries.

Ah De and Jin watched intently, while He Jiangnan sighed with emotion: "As soon as this pastry is out, those social media celebrities will probably rush to check in first again."

"Can’t blame them, even this old man wants to take pictures and linger upon seeing it." Mr. He gave Ye Qiu a thumbs up, "Our restaurant has added another signature dish."

No wonder everyone was singing its praises; the pastry was simply too beautiful!

Its bottom layer was tender green, just like the tips of budding lotus leaves; the middle transitioned from milky white to peach red, with the red neither ostentatious nor vulgar, just like a just-blooming lotus flower, making it a sight that greatly uplifted one’s mood.

And its biggest selling point was the taste – refreshing with a hint of sweetness, not cloying or choking, truly leaving a lingering flavor in the mouth.

"Ever since Little Ye Qiu came up with this dish, I’ve learned not to judge a book by its cover," said He Jiangnan reflectively.

As the pastry was taken away by the server, Ye Qiu looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile: "Boss, are you saying I’m ugly?"

"No." He Jiangnan replied quickly, "I mean you’re young. How could you be ugly?"

Ye Qiu nowadays really couldn’t be considered ugly. When she first arrived, she was just a girl with somewhat yellowish skin and a frail figure. In just one month, her skin had become a lot more fair and delicate, and she had grown quite a bit taller. Although she was not as stunning as those peerless beauties, she belonged to the type that becomes more attractive the more one looks. He Jiangnan even wondered if it was the food from his restaurant that was nourishing her.

Look at how pretty Little Ye Qiu has become! He thought with a great sense of achievement.

Over here, Jiang Cheng saw the pastry that had just been served, which looked very familiar, and was struck with a revelation – hadn’t he just eaten this last night? How did it become a new feature of the restaurant’s menu?

He gently picked up a piece. The texture upon tasting was indeed exactly the same as what he had eaten yesterday. What was going on?

When the server came over to serve dishes again, he finally asked, "Excuse me, can I take out the dishes from here?"

The server smiled in reply, "Because our dishes are meant to be eaten fresh to enjoy the best taste, we do not allow takeout and do not have delivery services."

"I see," Jiang Cheng nodded.

"Ah Cheng, it’s delicious, right?" Gao Feng said excitedly, "I told you I wasn’t lying to you. The food here is really good. This new pastry wasn’t available last time I came. It’s truly beautiful!"

Jiang Cheng did not respond to Gao Feng but his suspicions grew. Since takeout was not allowed, how did Ye Qiu manage it? Or could it be that she actually made this pastry? And these dishes, he always felt a certain familiar taste.

With suspicion mounting, by evening, he found himself stopping his motorcycle not far from the restaurant.

Close to nine o’clock, when the restaurant was about to close, he finally saw a familiar person leaving, carrying a lunch box he recognized, then getting on an old electric scooter.

He confirmed the guess in his heart, but at the same time furrowed his brows. Why did Ye Qiu need to work? A small girl, wasn’t she afraid of being bullied by others?

When Ye Qiu arrived home, Jiang Cheng also immediately parked the motorcycle in the garage and then called out to her.

"Hey," he started, but didn’t know what to say next, his gaze a bit awkward.

Ye Qiu turned her head, looking at him with a puzzled expression, as if waiting for him to continue.

Jiang Cheng looked her in the eye, his hand placed awkwardly, and with a stiff tone he said, "I saw everything, why are you working at that restaurant?"

Were you bullied? I can help you deal with it.

The latter sentence was on the tip of his tongue, but his awkward demeanor kept him from saying it.

"Working is obviously for making money!" Ye Qiu chuckled lightly, her expression hardly changing, yet Jiang Cheng’s heart involuntarily tightened.

How could he have forgotten Ye Qiu’s awkward place in this family? She hadn’t been doing household chores for a while now, and her mother was probably even less satisfied with her, certainly not giving her any pocket money.

Looking at Ye Qiu’s simple unbranded T-shirt and jeans, a twinge of pity flashed through his eyes.

Of all the children in this family, she must have been the only one in such straits!

The eldest brother was lavished with Jiang Hongcai’s affection and never lacked for money, Miaomiao was the late-born daughter of Jiang Hongcai and Luo Sitian and would never be neglected, and as for himself, despite being an illegitimate child and not favored by Jiang Hongcai, his monthly allowance was automatically transferred to his bank account, not to mention he had competition prize money as well.

But what about Ye Qiu? What did she have? Jiang Hongcai would never care for a stepdaughter with no blood relation, and Luo Sitian, her own mother, felt even more so that Ye Qiu was an encumbrance. It must have been very oppressive and uncomfortable for her in this family!

No wonder she went out to work over the summer break. She was short on money, so short that she didn’t even have one decent piece of clothing.

And yet those people still said she followed her mom to marry into this family to enjoy wealth and glory, but that was all fake.

The room she lived in was the smallest and most rundown, her clothes were few, and in the past, she was always the one doing the cleaning for the family.

Thinking about this, he couldn’t help but remember when she first joined the family, Luo Sitian, in order to make a good impression on Jiang Hongcai, tried hard to manage the home, but in fact, most of the household chores were done by Ye Qiu.

He still remembered the thin and tiny Ye Qiu, who entered his room with a timid face to clean it and how he, disliking her slow movements, yelled and chased her out.

At that time, she had just arrived in this family and had lost her father. She must have been so frightened, yet he treated her like that!

Jiang Cheng clenched his fists, feeling so repulsive!

"What are you two doing standing downstairs?" Just as he was about to say something, Jiang Yi came downstairs.

He looked at the lunchbox in Ye Qiu’s hand with eager anticipation: "Qiu, what delicious food did you bring today?"

Jiang Cheng’s words got stuck in his throat and he couldn’t say them anymore, feeling a hint of resentment in his heart towards Jiang Yi.

So, the words that came out were not very pleasant: "Big brother, didn’t you say that it’s not good to eat at night? This is what Ye Qiu brought for me."

Jiang Yi and Ye Qiu both turned their heads to look at him, their expressions full of surprise.