CHAPTER 1077: CHAPTER 1077: ROSES AND TEARS (PART 3)

Chu Xinqing’s gaze moved from Qiao Liang’s face to his hand, where a small dish lay on the pristine bandage, with a bright red apple on it.

"Where did it come from?" Chu Xinqing asked in confusion.

Qiao Liang raised his lips in a mischievous smile, "Stolen from next door!"

As he spoke, he lifted his left hand, pinched the apple stem, and gently pulled. The stem came away with the core, and the previously sliced apple spread out like petals, blossoming into a beautiful rose in his palm.

He placed the prepared medicine at the center of the rose and raised his hand to present it to her.

"Xiaoqing, happy birthday! Take your medicine first, then have some fruit. I’ll go find you something to eat in a moment."

Chu Xinqing lifted the corners of her lips, her eyelashes blinked, and yet two lines of tears fell, wetting her cheeks.

After many years, seeing him carve an apple rose again, it had been a whole six years.

Back then, he was passionate about culinary arts, but his father thought he should study business management. Even though their family was in the catering business, they didn’t need him to become a chef.

At the time, Qiao Liang was just a teenager in his rebellious phase, naturally unwilling to compromise. As a result, the two of them argued countless times, even to the point of quitting school and signing up at the Landai Culinary Academy on his own.

His father cut off his financial support and forbade others from helping him, even persuading many people to dissuade him, including Chu Xinqing’s father.

Back then, only Chu Xinqing supported him. She saved money wherever she could and used it all to help him, bringing in all sorts of expensive ingredients from around the world for him to practice with.

Saffron and caviar from Iran, potatoes from Noirmoutier Island in France, Wagyu beef from Japan, truffles from Alba in Italy... And because of his pride, she never said she bought them especially for him, she just excitedly flew over with the goods, claiming she wanted to eat them and asking him to cook.

No matter how terrible his dishes turned out, she would eat them with a smile, and then go on to find even better ingredients for him.

At that time, she was still very young and didn’t really understand the true essence of culinary arts. She simply tried her best to help him in her own way.

On that day, it was her fifteenth birthday. She used all of her money to buy the most expensive truffle from Alba, Italy, and was so broke she couldn’t even afford a plane ticket. She had to take the train all the way to his school.

When she saw him, she pitifully said that no one was with her for Valentine’s Day and asked him to make truffle for her.

He recognized it as a priceless truffle and finally understood everything she had done. At the time, he was moved beyond words and asked her what gift she wanted.

She said she only wanted a rose.

He ran through several streets, but all the flower shops had already closed. Running back to where he lived, he saw Chu Xinqing sitting alone on the sofa, looking expectantly at him. Unable to bear disappointing her, he ran back out again.

He ran across several more streets but still couldn’t find a rose. But as he passed by a fruit shop, he saw some fruit labeled as apple roses. He had a sudden idea and bought them all with the money he had left, trying countless times, cutting his fingers in the process, until he finally crafted a rose out of an apple. Carefully, he presented it to her.

Just like today, he pulled away the apple core and let the apple bloom like a rose in his hand.

That year, he studied desperately, practiced relentlessly...

...

...

Adding updates, see you at midnight~!~

[The hard-adjusted time difference is gone again, sigh~~~]