Chapter 112
The skin under my palm was burning hot, the muscles firm, rising and falling with each breath.
I jerked my hand back like I'd been shocked, and shot Jason an annoyed look. "I'm not interested in muscles!"
"Not interested?!" Jason's eyes went wide with disbelief. "Wait, did you even look properly? Look at my eight-pack abs, these smooth V-lines, and you're saying you're not interested?!"
"Is it because I didn't train them well enough? Or do you not like this type anymore?"
"What kind of muscles do you like? I'll go train them!"
I glanced at him and turned my attention back to the historical fantasy drama.
"Sue..." Jason called out to me, looking like he was about to lean in again.
"Either eat or go home," I glared at him fiercely. "I already made dinner anyway, and I'm not refunding your money!"
Jason raised his eyebrows, amusement spreading in his eyes.
He went over to the dining table to eat.
I ignored him and leaned back on the sofa, watching TV.
After Jason finished eating, he took his bowl to the kitchen and washed it himself.
Seeing it was getting late, I went straight to my room to rest.
As for Jason?
This wasn't the first time he'd stayed at my place and refused to leave.
I couldn't be bothered to kick him out. It never worked anyway.
I accepted the twenty thousand dollars Jason had transferred and went to sleep peacefully.
The next day.
Jason showed up at Old Cooper Mansion right on time.
He tied on an apron, looking even more serious than yesterday.
Chef Linda stood to the side with a complicated expression.
Jason gripped the spatula tightly, then suddenly seemed to remember something and rushed out of the kitchen.
Just his luck—Jason ran right into Thomas sneaking out with Grandma Cooper and Jessica.
"Where are you all going?" Jason asked.
Caught red-handed, Thomas looked embarrassed. He cleared his throat and said, trying to stay calm, "We're planning to eat out. Want to come?"
"I'm not going." Jason shook his head.
He paused, then added, "And you're not allowed to go either. You all need to stay here and help me taste-test."
Jessica's little face instantly fell.
She looked at Grandma Cooper pitifully.
Grandma Cooper said helplessly, "Jason..."
Before she could finish, Jason looked at Grandma Cooper seriously. "I want to make this for Sue."
Since Jason put it that way, she had no choice.
After making sure all three of them would stay, Jason returned to the kitchen satisfied.
Even so, Jason still wasn't at ease, constantly poking his head out of the kitchen to check if the three in the living room had snuck away.
Linda said helplessly, "Mr. Jason, why don't you focus on cooking first?"
Jason nodded. "Okay."
He confidently grabbed some seasoning and poured it into the pan.
Linda was shocked. "Mr. Jason! That's sugar, not salt!"
Jason looked surprised. "Really? What do I do?!"
Linda said, "There's nothing we can do. Just throw it out."
"Okay."
Linda looked at the trash bin, already half-full of food waste. Her lips moved, but she ultimately couldn't hold back.
"Mr. Jason, if it's really not working out, maybe you should just stop cooking?"
"Do you think I'm doing a bad job?"
"I wouldn't put it that way. I just think it's a bit wasteful of ingredients."
"So you think I can't afford to buy ingredients?"
Linda said, "Mr. Jason, as long as you're happy."
Linda gave up.
I had just gotten off work when I received a call from Jessica.
"Mom, where are you? Come save us!"
I was a bit surprised. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Dad's cooking at home again today! He's really going to poison us all! Please come quickly! I really don't want to eat Dad's horrible cooking!" Jessica's voice was full of despair.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Okay, I just got off work. I'll be there in about half an hour."
"Okay! I'll wait for you!" Jessica cheered and hung up.
I shook my head, not expecting Jason to have run off to the Old Mansion to cook again.
But then thinking about how Jason was doing this to cook for me, my feelings became complicated.
If this were before, I never would have imagined Jason would go to such lengths for me.
As soon as my car pulled up to Old Cooper Mansion, I immediately noticed two luxury cars parked outside.
"Ms. Wilson, what a coincidence," Ryan greeted me with a smile.
I nodded slightly and responded politely, "Hello."
Richard, on the other hand, seemed to be looking at me with an awkward expression.
I couldn't understand what his expression meant, and I didn't want to dig deeper.
After all, his dislike of me wasn't something new.
I didn't bother with small talk and went straight inside.
"Sue? What are you doing here?" Jason looked completely surprised when he saw me.
My gaze fell on the oil-stained apron he was wearing. I paused, then looked up to meet his somewhat embarrassed eyes.
He cleared his throat, his ears turning slightly red as he looked away. "I was just cooking and accidentally made this mess."
I nodded, my eyes scanning the room. Not finding Jessica, I asked, "Where's Jessica?"
"They probably went out to eat." Jason sounded a bit dejected as he said this.
I held back a laugh. "Then I'll wait for them to come back."
Ryan and Richard came over at this moment.
Richard curiously peered toward the dining table, and after finding nothing there, asked in surprise, "Jason, you called us over for dinner. Where's the food?"
My gaze fell on Richard.
Seeing how expectant he looked, it seemed he had no idea what he was about to face.
Jason nodded. "In the kitchen."
With that, Jason strode toward the kitchen, looking like he was going to bring it out himself.
Seeing this, both Richard and Ryan looked surprised.
No one expected Jason to actually cook himself.
Richard even said excitedly, "Looks like today's meal is going to be great!"
I couldn't help but laugh quietly.
If it were really that great, how could Jason be the only one home?
Under Richard's expectant gaze, Jason brought out the food.
Linda followed close behind, also carrying two plates.
The moment Ryan and Richard saw what the food looked like, they fell silent.
At the dining table, everyone looked at each other. The room fell into a deathly silence.
"Why are you all just standing there? Sit down." Jason's words broke the silence.
I sat down first with a calm expression.
This wasn't my first time eating Jason's cooking. I knew what to expect.
But Richard and Ryan stood there for a long time before stiffly taking their seats.
Looking at the clearly questionable dishes on the table, no one made a move.
Linda had already stepped back to the kitchen doorway, only peeking out with half her body.
Richard chuckled. "Linda, have you not been cooking much lately? Your skills have really gone downhill!"
Linda shook her head. "Mr. Jason made all of this."
Richard's mouth twitched. His gaze fell on Jason, his smile extremely awkward. "I just remembered I have something very important to do today! I'll be going now!"