Come on, What Kind of CEO Chases His Roommate Back to the Country? - Chapter 63

Early the next morning, Pei Song woke up.

Lying in bed, he could hear voices and the clinking of dishes coming from downstairs. He knew Grandma Pei must be busy preparing for today’s blind date.

He grabbed his phone and sent a message to Su Mi: Are you home?

The reply came quickly: Yup, what’s up?

Pei Song: Mind if I come over for a bit?

Su Mi: Of course not! Perfect timing, my mom just made a bunch of delicious food.

Pei Song let out a breath of relief and quickly got out of bed to wash up.

He tiptoed downstairs and slipped out the door while Grandma Pei was busy in the kitchen.

When he arrived at Su Mi’s place, he had just pressed the doorbell when the door opened from the inside.

“Song Song, you’re here!” Su Mi’s voice was full of excitement. “Come in! My mom made tons of good stuff.”

Pei Song followed him inside and immediately saw Shi Yancheng sitting on the couch, chatting with Su Mi’s mom.

Both of them froze for a second, clearly not expecting to see each other there. A subtle tension instantly filled the air.

“Hello, Auntie,” Pei Song greeted politely.

“Oh, Song Song’s here!” Su Mi’s mom beamed. “Look at you, getting more handsome every time! You haven’t come to see Auntie once since you got back from Country D.”

Pei Song smiled sheepishly and handed over a gift bag. “I brought some pastries for you.”

“You didn’t need to bring anything!” she said with mock reproach, though she still accepted the bag. “That lemon tart you made last time, I still can’t stop thinking about it. When you have time, make one for Auntie again, okay?”

“Sure! Next time I’ll come just to make it for you,” Pei Song replied with a smile.

Su Mi leaned in and whispered, “You don’t mind my cousin being here, right?”

“What’s it got to do with me?” Pei Song glanced awkwardly in Shi Yancheng’s direction. “He can be wherever he wants.”

“Ooh~” Su Mi looked back and forth between them, clearly sensing some gossip-worthy tension.

Pei Song was about to say something when his phone vibrated. He pulled it out, it was a call from Grandma Pei. He declined the call, but it rang again just seconds later.

He declined again. Then came a string of text messages. 

Grandma Pei: Where are you? Miss Zhang is about to arrive!

Grandma Pei: If you don’t come back right now…

Grandma Pei: You ungrateful brat!

Pei Song turned his phone to silent, clearly annoyed, though he could still see the screen lighting up nonstop.

Shi Yancheng had been quietly observing him the entire time. He watched as Pei Song repeatedly rejected the calls, his expression becoming more agitated and his brows furrowing deeper.

“Xiao Mi,” Su Mi’s mom called from the kitchen. “Come help me with something.”

“Coming!” Su Mi got up and went into the kitchen.

Now it was just Pei Song and Shi Yancheng alone in the living room.

“Something bothering you?” Shi Yancheng finally asked.

“It’s nothing,” Pei Song replied reflexively, though his guilty expression said otherwise.

Shi Yancheng glanced at him but didn’t press.

“I’ll go see if Auntie needs help,” Pei Song said and stood up, heading for the kitchen.

Shi Yancheng watched him go, then followed.

Delicious smells wafted from the kitchen. Su Mi’s mom was frying meatballs, golden, crispy little ones lifted straight from the hot oil, still steaming.

Su Mi was helping out… or more accurately, “raiding” the food, each time his mom finished frying a batch, he’d immediately pop one into his mouth.

“My glutton of a son,” she said, half exasperated, half amused. “I’ve been frying for half an hour and there’s not a single meatball left.”

“Heh,” Su Mi mumbled through a mouthful, “Studying abroad in Country D was miserable. Dry bread every day, I used to dream about these meatballs.”

He looked at Shi Yancheng and Pei Song and said, “I’m seriously jealous of cousin Leon. Back when he and Song Song were living together in Country D, he got to enjoy Song Song’s cooking every day.”

At that, both Shi Yancheng and Pei Song instinctively glanced at each other then quickly looked away.

“Wait, you two lived together in Country D?” Su Mi’s mom asked, surprised.

“Yup,” Su Mi quickly explained. “Song Song was switching apartments, and cousin had a spare room. I introduced them.”

Pei Song looked a little flustered, fiddling with his sleeve. “Yes, I was really grateful Mr. Shi let me stay.”

“Still calling me ‘Mr. Shi’?” Shi Yancheng said with a half-smile, half-sneer.

Pei Song pretended not to hear, turning to Su Mi’s mom instead. “Auntie, I see you’re kneading dough. Are we making dumplings?”

“That’s right! I was planning to make dumplings for lunch.” She smiled. “But I’m doing it alone, so I might not finish in time.”

“I’ll help!” Su Mi raised his hand immediately.

“Yeah, right,” his mom shot back without hesitation. “Last time your dumplings were so ugly, even the dog didn’t want them.”

“Then let Song Song teach my cousin how to do it!” Su Mi grinned mischievously. “Cousin’s smart, he’ll pick it up quick.”

Shi Yancheng opened his mouth to reply, but Su Mi’s mom chimed in first, “Great idea! Song Song’s dumplings are beautiful. The ones with chive filling last time, thin wrappers and delicate folds. Like little pieces of art.”

Pei Song looked slightly embarrassed by all the praise. “It’s really not that impressive…”

“Then it’s settled!” Su Mi clapped his hands and turned to Shi Yancheng. “Cousin, you’ve got yourself a top-notch teacher, you better pay attention.”

Shi Yancheng raised an eyebrow and looked at Pei Song. “Alright then, I’ll be counting on Manager Pei to guide me.”

There was a teasing undertone in his voice that made the tips of Pei Song’s ears turn pink.

Soon, the dining table was set up with a dough board and a bowl of prepared filling. Pei Song demonstrated first, expertly pinching out neat, delicate folds.

“Looks easy enough,” said Shi Yancheng, picking up a wrapper, only to struggle with the filling. He put too much in and couldn’t close it properly.

“You have to do it like this,” Pei Song said, trying not to laugh. He reached over and adjusted Shi Yancheng’s hand. “Pinch this side first, then slowly work your way to the center…”

Their hands brushed lightly, and both felt a strange little jolt.

Su Mi, watching from the side, looked thoroughly entertained, until Shi Yancheng shot him a look, and he quickly pretended to focus on kneading dough.

“Hey, what happened to this one?” Su Mi’s mom pointed at the oddly shaped dumpling in Shi Yancheng’s hand and burst out laughing.

“That’s called creative innovation,” Shi Yancheng replied with a straight face, though a flicker of helplessness passed through his eyes.

The all-powerful CEO, undefeated in the business world, was currently being humbled by a tiny dumpling.

“Try again,” Pei Song said, picking up a new wrapper and patiently demonstrating once more.