What to Do if I Am Noticed by the Straight Guy Next Door?

Su Bin hung up the phone and glanced at the call log on his mobile, confirming that he did indeed call Jin Fei, and he didn’t even have Allen’s phone number.

But since Allen and Jin Fei were together now, why didn’t Jin Fei come over? Did Allen come in Jin Fei’s car? Can Allen even drive?…

While Su Bin was lost in thought, he turned his head and saw Allen appear in his field of vision…

“…” (o口o)

They said it would take five minutes, but it was actually only three or four minutes.

Su Bin stood across the street, facing Allen. In that instant, he was genuinely startled.

Just as he was imagining from which direction Allen would come across the road, the person appeared out of thin air on the opposite side of the road, alone, without a car or any other means of transportation… It was as if they appeared out of thin air!

Su Bin’s feet felt like they were nailed to the ground as he foolishly watched Allen cross the road. Black hair, a black windbreaker, black boots… Apart from a dark red plaid scarf, that person seemed like a black shadow slowly floating toward him.

Su Bin: “…”

“I told you not to move, yet you’re really good at imitating a sculpture,” Allen smiled at Su Bin.

Su Bin: “…” Big… Big brother, I’m still trying to figure out how you appeared!

…Did you descend from the sky? Or teleport? orz…

Seeing Su Bin still dumbfounded, Allen suddenly reached out and snapped his fingers in front of him, adding a phrase that caught Su Bin off guard, “Magic released.”

Coming from anyone else, Su Bin would have heard it as a “joke,” but coming from Allen, with his attire and solemn ancient English, Su Bin could hardly tell what was real and what was not!

Magic… Released…

Su Bin actually felt like he could move now… wtf!

“How did you come here?” Su Bin couldn’t help but ask the question he wanted to ask.

“On foot,” Allen replied calmly.

“You walked here? From home? In three minutes?” Su Bin’s entire expression screamed, “Are you kidding me?”

Allen glanced at him and said, “Do you think that’s possible?”

Su Bin: “…”

Unable to contain himself, Allen curled his fist and covered his mouth, chuckling softly. “Let’s go.”

Su Bin: “…Where are we going?”

Allen: “For dinner.”

Five minutes later, Su Bin followed Allen to the dinner place. It was a “Teppanyaki Experience Hall” next to the stadium, just a three- to four-minute walk away, across the street and around the corner.

Jin Fei, Yang Chengzhe, and Sun Yujie were already there…

At this moment, Su Bin wished he could dig a hole and hide in it because he had been giving Allen the most incredulous look (→_→) all the way.

He went from looking terrified to looking like a complete idiot…

The “Teppanyaki Experience Hall” was essentially a self-service barbecue. The restaurant provided equipment, ingredients, and some basic instructions, and the rest was up to the customers.

“You’re here!” Jin Fei greeted Su Bin with a smile.

It turned out that after Jin Fei and Sun Yujie finished watching the game, they didn’t go back but found a nearby restaurant. They also called Yang Chengzhe, asking him to bring Allen to join them for a meal.

Since it was Saturday today, both of them were free, so they took a taxi and came here to meet up, and now they were just waiting for Su Bin.

Jin Fei and Sun Yujie were currently wearing those oil-resistant clothes, following the guidance of the teppanyaki instructor to marinate the meat.

That’s why Jin Fei said in the phone call that he “couldn’t break away,” while Yang Chengzhe was selecting ingredients, and only Allen had the free time to go out and pick up Su Bin.

Actually, Su Bin wanted to say that since they were so close, he could have just given him the address, and he would have come by himself. Was it necessary to pick him up?

“Today, big brother personally ‘cooks’ for you and treats you to meat. Are you touched?” Jin Fei boasted to Su Bin, then casually sprinkled the marinated beef onto the hot teppanyaki grill… Only to hear a piercing sizzling sound as smoke and a burnt smell filled the air. The barbecue instructor next to him shouted, “Mr. Fly, you forgot to pour oil on the grill!”

“Ah! Really! You have to add oil? Why didn’t you say it earlier? What should we do now…” Jin Fei exclaimed.

Su Bin: “…”

Seeing them scrambling to deal with the messy grill covered in sticky meat, a smile escaped Su Bin’s lips. He had originally wanted to praise Jin Fei—It was really wise of him not to let Chengzhe take charge in the kitchen!

Now it seemed that Jin Fei, who didn’t even know the basic knowledge of adding oil while stir-frying, was no different from Yang Chengzhe…

Sun Yujie next to them wasn’t much better. He was meticulously brushing oil on the surface of the steak with a small brush, paying attention to every detail, as if he was sketching. He brushed it over and over again, not missing a single detail of the meat’s texture…

“Just brush it casually…” Su Bin couldn’t help but remind him.

Sun Yujie nervously held the brush, “What if the parts I didn’t brush get burnt?”

“It won’t. Once the grill is hot and you place the steak on it, the oil will spread,” Su Bin explained helplessly, walking over and taking the brush from Sun Yujie’s hand. “Let me do it…”

…

A few minutes later, everyone gathered around Su Bin, watching as he skillfully grilled the steak, stir-fried the beef, fried eggs, and poured sauce. Throughout the process, the barbecue instructor could only assist Su Bin, listening to his instructions on various seasonings, “Fine salt, cooking wine… No cooking wine? Then beer will do… Do you have curry powder? Add a little… And some lettuce and diced onions… Do you have oyster sauce?…”

Sun Yujie was amazed, “Su Bin, you’re so talented. Have you learned how to cook?”

Su Bin smiled, “I learned a little from the family maid when I was in elementary school. Does that count?”

Jin Fei was surprised, “Elementary school? Your parents trusted you in the kitchen? Could you even reach the stove back then?”

Su Bin paused, recalling the time when he was twelve or thirteen years old, standing on a small stool to operate the gas stove. It seemed that nobody really cared about his safety…

He lightly murmured, “Hmm,” and said, “My parents were often not at home, so I learned how to cook eggs and fried rice from the maid. Everything else, I figured it out on my own.”

And at first, Su Bin didn’t even think about learning to cook on his own. It all started with an opportunity.

It was in his first year of junior high school when he met Huang Zhengming at the boarding school. They realized that they lived quite close to each other, so they often hung out together on weekends.

During junior high school, boys tended to dislike parental supervision. Huang Zhengming’s parents were ordinary working-class people, and every weekend, they would stay at home and make him do his homework. Feeling restricted, Huang Zhengming would make excuses to study with Su Bin and spend the day at his house.

Since Su Bin’s parents were often not at home, the two boys would watch TV and play video games together.

But eating was a problem. At first, they would eat snacks like Xiaohuanxiu instant noodles and Qiduo, but they got tired of them quickly, as they couldn’t satisfy their hunger.

Then they started cooking instant noodles and discovered that boiled instant noodles didn’t taste as good. That’s when Su Bin started considering using the gas stove.

At that time, Su Bin already knew how to cook fried rice, and he had the basic skills of operating the stove and boiling water.

From there, the two foodies went all out. They experimented with different methods of cooking instant noodles, researching the best way to cook them—what heat, how much broth, what ingredients to add… One time, Su Bin added some eggs and pickled mustard greens to the instant noodles on a whim, and the two boys enjoyed it so much that they cooked four or five pots of pickled mustard greens and egg instant noodles in one afternoon, until they were almost sick of eating.

There was also a popular snack at the time called “Country Bumpkin,” which was chicken wings marinated in sauce and vacuum-sealed, similar to the current vacuum-packed soy sauce eggs. They were sold in various shops for around three or four yuan per package.

One time, Huang Zhengming bought a pack as a snack, and Su Bin had a brilliant idea. He chopped up the “Country Bumpkin” and steamed it with eggs in the electric rice cooker. The entire room was filled with the mouthwatering aroma, and Huang Zhengming’s eyes widened in anticipation. He waited by the kitchen door until the steamed eggs were ready, then devoured a bowl of it. Not satisfied with just one, he ran downstairs to buy another pack for Su Bin to continue steaming.

That’s how it all started. The two food lovers were fully immersed in their culinary experiments.

Su Bin had also made some questionable dishes, but Huang Zhengming would always eat them without hesitation. Although he would comment on the taste, as long as it was cooked by Su Bin, he would finish it.

With Huang Zhengming as a willing taste tester, Su Bin’s interest in learning culinary skills was greatly ignited.

At that time, they didn’t have access to many ingredients. For a while, Su Bin focused on experimenting with eggs, trying different cooking methods like steaming, frying, boiling, marinating, scrambling, making omelettes, egg fried rice… So now, when it came to omelettes, Su Bin could come up with over ten different flavors.

The vinegar-glazed omelette that Su Bin made for Allen was the best-tasting one they had concluded back then…

Recalling that experience, Su Bin found it particularly interesting and not as bitter as others might think.

Allen sat nearby, listening absentmindedly, occasionally glancing at the busy Su Bin, his face showing a pensive expression.

Yang Chengzhe sighed, “You remind me of Leonardo da Vinci’s story of painting eggs…”

When Da Vinci was fourteen, he went to Florence to apprentice under the famous artist Verrocchio. Verrocchio asked Da Vinci to paint an egg and told him that even though an egg is the simplest thing, no two eggs in the world are identical. Da Vinci was inspired and ended up spending three years painting eggs, eventually becoming a great artist.

“Who knows, maybe you’ve unconsciously laid a solid foundation in cooking!” Yang Chengzhe remarked.

Su Bin thought that might be true. Throughout this journey, he hadn’t realized how much effort he had put into cooking. What seemed effortless to him might be seen as an insurmountable challenge by others, just like how Taylor couldn’t cook instant noodles properly no matter what.

Watching Su Bin effortlessly prepare various dishes on the teppanyaki grill, Jin Fei beamed with pride. His expression seemed to say, “Look, this is the new cook in my house!”

Soon, it was time to start eating, and everyone gathered around the teppanyaki grill, ready to enjoy the meal with their drinks.

Jin Fei asked, “Su Bin, what would you like to drink? Feel free to order something expensive!”

Su Bin replied, “Can I have a bottle of iced cola?”

Jin Fei was speechless. “Really? You can have beer if you want. Why cola? Are you a child?”

Su Bin hesitated. He was feeling quite hot and just wanted something refreshing and carbonated to drink…

Jin Fei ignored him and ordered a bottle of iced beer for himself and Sun Yujie. Yang Chengzhe still opted for dry white wine. When it was Allen’s turn, he glanced at the drink menu, raised his eyebrows, and directly told the waiter a name.

Yang Chengzhe said, “…”

Su Bin blinked twice. Did Allen just say something about drinking blood…?

Allen mentioned two words, but he quickly glossed over the second one, and Su Bin didn’t catch it clearly.

Soon enough, Su Bin saw the waiter placing a glass of viscous red liquid in front of Allen.

Allen lifted the glass, swirled it around, seemingly observing the color of the liquid, and then took a small sip. As he did, a look of ecstasy appeared on his face… His pale lips were stained with a bloody hue, contrasting with his fair complexion and slender fingers, creating an eerie sense of beauty…

Whether intentional or not, in the next instant, Allen’s gaze swept toward Su Bin, who had been staring at him intently.

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