I am a Chef in the Modern Era

Chapter 59: Tripe Hot Pot

Translated by Yan of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Public opinion controversies never lasted for very long, particularly in today’s age where fresh news appeared extremely quickly on the internet. All sorts of lead stories on the front pages were all swept away rapidly, much less such a small lead story that couldn’t count for much.

What’s more, it’s not like the two of them were icons that attracted much attention from viewers. Sexual orientation wasn’t much of an issue anymore nowadays, so that small lead story was only popular for two days before it was swept aside. But even so, everyone who should and shouldn’t know all ended up knowing the truth in the end.

Grandfather Shen blew up with anger, and he gave them ten or so terrifying consecutive calls, wanting to bring them back home. It wasn’t that he was going back on his word; instead, he just felt like what the two of them did truly lacked maturity. It must be said that it was the easiest to misinterpret news that gossips spread to amuse themselves. Everyone who had ties to the Shen family knew that Shen Fu liked a boy, so that wasn’t much, but they didn’t know if Shen Fu was sincere or heartfelt. They would only think that Shen Fu was an immoral rich kid who couldn’t be trusted with responsibility, which was very inappropriate for when he would eventually take over the Shen family’s business.

Rather than letting things stay like this, it would be better to tell everyone that Shen Fu wasn’t playing around, that he truly wanted to be together with Lin ShuYi. If this was the case, it wasn’t a problem of morality and conduct, but of sexual orientation. In this era, which could be considered more open-minded, sexual orientation wasn’t a huge issue anymore. It wasn’t like they were celebrities either, so nobody really paid much attention to that.

But Shen Fu didn’t know what Grandfather Shen was thinking. He thought that Grandfather Shen was going back on his promise, especially after the following conversation occurred.

“You little brat, are you still not coming back?!!” A raging Grandfather Shen.

“Grandpa, things are already like this, what’s the use in going back?” A lazy Shen Fu who had just woke up.

“What’s the use in going back?! Come back to get married!!” He had to hurry and settle their affairs, because he still wanted to get Shen Fu into the higher levels of the Shen clan corporation next year. With things like this, how could he get in?!

Shen Fu’s eyes narrowed, his sleepiness gone entirely. He sat up, his voice low, “Get married? What marriage?”

Actually, it wasn’t Shen Fu’s fault for being sensitive. Grandfather Shen had truly done this kind of thing too many times prior. Before, he had resolutely opposed Shen Fu and even whipped him, as Grandfather Shen was almost angered to death by this degenerate grandson. He thought that even though Shen Fu liked Lin ShuYi a lot, he didn’t actually want to marry him, which was normal according to Shen Fu’s usual careless attitude of not wanting to be bound by marriage. But if he didn’t want to get married, why did he cause so much trouble and disaster?!!

Grandfather Shen was so mad that his face went red. “What marriage?! If you don’t want to get married in this kind of situation, then what do you want to do?!! Do you want to let everyone know that you found a boy to play around with?!”

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Grandfather Shen was momentarily so angry that he couldn’t even explain in detail. His original intent was this: since you made such a mess, then you have to get married to the other person! Things are already like this, but you’re still not getting married; do you just want to play around with the other person?!

But Shen Fu misinterpreted it to be like this: you’re already such a disgrace at this point that now everybody knows you’re a homosexual! Quickly go and find someone to get married to so that you can scrub away this disgrace!!

It was clearly just one sentence, but it was interpreted into two very different meanings. The two of them, who didn’t understand each other, both felt very tired.

Shen Fu’s expression went dark. He originally wanted to joke around with his grandpa and act cute, but that intent disappeared. This was the first time he felt like the generation gap between him and his grandfather was so large. He tried so painstakingly to be together with Lin ShuYi, yet his grandpa still wanted him to marry a woman. “Grandpa, I know that you want what’s best for me.”

You know, yet you still aren’t coming back!! Grandfather Shen’s angered chest rose up and down endlessly.

“But I won’t get married.”

What!!

“Besides Lin ShuYi, I won’t get married to any others, especially a woman. I thought I already made that very clear. I’m sorry, grandpa.” Then Shen Fu hung up.

Grandfather Shen stared lifelessly at the phone for a while before he finally understood. Even though the two of them were talking to each other, it was actually just like a chicken talking to a duck. Who told him to marry a woman ah?!

After hanging up, Shen Fu also felt extremely tired in his heart. He had known long ago that this would be a difficult path to walk, but his experience this time was particularly deep. He liked Lin ShuYi and wanted to be with him. But at the same time, he also wanted his grandpa to understand him.

Ever since he was young, even though he always joked around and talked back to his grandpa, he knew in his heart that the one who loved him the most in the entire Shen family probably wasn’t his mom or dad, but his grandpa. So he also especially wanted his grandpa to be able to support him. But the situation right now was the same as placing Lin ShuYi and Grandfather Shen on two opposite ends of the scale, while he stood in the middle, picking between them.

Shen Fu rubbed his temples. He didn’t want to choose at all. He had to think of a way to completely settle this matter.

At noon, Lin ShuYi went to Old Man Yang’s place to hang around. He then called Shen Fu to say that he wouldn’t be cooking at home today, since Old Man Yang said that there were a lot of people at home, so he wanted to make hot pot for lunch and had invited Shen Fu.

Shen Fu agreed. Before hanging up, Lin ShuYi told him to stop by a grocery store on the way there and buy some duck blood and tripe, which Old Man Yang liked to dip in hot pot the most. Shen Fu agreed again and finally hung up.

Lin ShuYi actually felt a bit strange in his heart, because Shen Fu wasn’t sticking to him at all today. In the past, Shen Fu was always trailing behind him no matter where he went. When Lin ShuYi said that he was going to Grandpa Yang’s place today, Shen Fu gave a grunt of assent while lying on his back on the couch, but he didn’t move. Lin ShuYi felt like Shen Fu probably had something on his mind, but when he thought about it again, he felt like he was overthinking it. After all, it didn’t mean much if Shen Fu wasn’t following him for just one day, yet Lin ShuYi still felt uncomfortable and unused to it. He didn’t know why, but he always wanted to see what Shen Fu was doing, so when Old Man Yang said they were going to eat hot pot, he called Shen Fu.

It was getting colder and colder by the day. The moment Shen Fu left, he was forced back inside by the chilly wind. He couldn’t find his scarf in the room, and finally he took Lin ShuYi’s flax-colored scarf from the coat rack and wrapped it around himself before he left.

After locking the door, he went to the grocery store first to buy food. The couple at the store wasn’t there, and there was only a young woman watching television. When Shen Fu entered, the young woman noticed, and she continued to stare at Shen Fu, believing she was being unobtrusive. While she watched him, she typed on her phone, her complexion ruddy and extremely excited.

Shen Fu actually knew what she was doing. As long as it was someone from Chaoyang Street, they probably all knew him and Lin ShuYi. The only ones who were most likely still in the dark were Old Man Yang and Lin ShuYi.

After Shen Fu bought the duck blood and tripe, he weighed it on the scale. “How much is it?”

The young woman was flushed as she counted the money. After she watched Shen Fu pay the bill and leave, she started to type again on her phone, fingers flying. [I saw that Shen Fu!! He’s really so handsome in real life too!!]

[Photo please!]

[Too bad, he’s already gone. He wasn’t with that other boy either.]

[Doesn’t matter, you’re so close. When it’s break later, you can go over. Isn’t XiQin Restaurant right over there? Next time we’re on break I’m going to your place!!]

[Come come come, I’ll take you to observe big handsome bro. Really so handsome!!] After the young woman finished typing, she even added a pink heart before lifting her head to look at Shen Fu, who was already far away.

Sure enough, there were quite a few people gathered in Old Man Yang’s home: Xiao Wan’s family, and Old Uncle Chen’s family. Old Man Yang was currently boiling the broth, and Lin ShuYi was helping him with his sleeves rolled up. Everyone was talking and laughing with each other, and it was very lively.

They probably shouldn’t know about the news of him and Lin ShuYi yet. If they knew, things probably wouldn’t be like this. As he thought, Shen Fu glanced at Lin ShuYi again, feeling a little remorseful for the first time.

He liked Lin ShuYi, that was true. But it didn’t seem like Lin ShuYi liked him, right? Now that such news exploded, even though nobody knew yet, once they found out, he didn’t know how they would look at them. He didn’t care, but Lin ShuYi had grown up here. If the others couldn’t accept it, how many rumors and slander would he have to endure? Most importantly, Lin ShuYi didn’t seem to like him all that much.

Though he urgently wanted Lin ShuYi to like him back, and he was even willing to assume responsibility for everything, he still couldn’t bear to let Lin ShuYi suffer everyone’s criticism. Especially since Lin ShuYi wasn’t prepared at all, especially since these were the people Lin ShuYi cared a lot about.

At the beginning, he thought that this was a good opportunity, but thinking about it again, it wasn’t much of an opportunity anymore. However, things were already like this. Even if Lin ShuYi didn’t think it was worth it, Shen Fu didn’t want to let him go at all.

As Shen Fu thought, he couldn’t help but sigh. The road was a long one.

It was like Lin ShuYi had telepathy. He looked over and said, “What are you doing standing in the doorway?”

Shen Fu tucked away all the emotions in his heart before he lifted the bag in his hand and entered.

Old Man Yang and the rest looked at him too. “Xiao Fu’s here.”

Only Xiao Wan looked at him with bright eyes, not scooting over or talking, just with eyes full of gossip. Xiao Wan was probably the only one in this room who knew what had happened.

After three rounds, everyone was pretty much full, and they cleared away the dishes. They all went to sit in front of the television, chatting as they watched TV. Old Man Yang went to clean up, but he was rejected by Lin ShuYi, so Shen Fu went to help Lin ShuYi. Shen Fu quietly rolled up his sleeves to help clean the dishes, not as talkative or flippant as usual.

Shen Fu was definitely hiding something from him! Lin ShuYi thought.

But he didn’t have a chance to interrogate him yet before Xiao Wan pushed open the kitchen door and entered. “Big brother Xiao Yi, let me do the dishes with big brother Xiao Fu. Grandpa Yang is calling for you.”

Lin ShuYi wasn’t suspicious, and he wiped his hands before leaving. Shen Fu watched Xiao Wan. He knew that she would definitely ask.

Sure enough, after Xiao Wan craned her neck and watched Lin ShuYi walk over to the living room, she immediately turned to look at Shen Fu. “Big brother Xiao Fu, I saw that microblog.”

Shen Fu rubbed his temples. He felt like dealing with gossip truly made his head hurt.

“You don’t have anything to say to me?” Xiao Wan was with them quite a lot. Even though she had always felt like there was something ambiguous between them, in the end Xiao Wan wasn’t very old either, so she had never thought very deeply in that direction. After she saw that post, she felt extremely enlightened. No wonder she always felt like their relationship wasn’t ordinary. So this was how things were?

Xiao Wan had never come in contact with gay love before. Logically speaking, she should find it unfathomable, since homosexuality wasn’t as accepted in their country yet. But when the people involved were Shen Fu and Lin ShuYi, Xiao Wan unexpectedly found it easy to accept. There had always seemed to be a kind of restraint between them, making people feel as if there wasn’t anything that strange even if they were actually married.

But the only thing that Xiao Wan found hard to accept was that – wasn’t big brother Xiao Fu big brother Xiao Yi’s cousin?!

Shen Fu’s mind whirled. Even if they were at the point where everyone would know, it would still be good to have someone on their side. What’s more, Lin ShuYi considered Xiao Wan a younger sister, so he definitely wouldn’t want Xiao Wan to misunderstand their relationship. As a result, Shen Fu started to explain the long story to Xiao Wan’s anticipatory expression.

“You two aren’t brothers!! Then did you have an ulterior motive for big brother Xiao Yi from the very start?! Does big brother Xiao Yi like you too?! Are you two going to get married overseas?!” Xiao Wan opened her mouth, interrogative questions springing out one after another.

Shen Fu patiently continued explaining, the answers to all her questions. “We aren’t brothers. I didn’t have any ulterior motives at the start; it was purely a coincidence that I bumped into him. The microblog post exploding was just an accident, and we aren’t actually together. As for marriage, let’s wait until we’re together to talk about that.”

After Xiao Wan finished listening, she didn’t speak for a long time.

Shen Fu was puzzled. Did he explain something wrong? Why did Xiao Wan have this expression? Was this acceptance? Or not?

Afterwards, Xiao Wan slapped his shoulder heavily. “Big bro Xiao Fu, good luck! I will definitely support you! Help you to get him!!” She didn’t think so before, but after those sisters analyzed it gently and passionately on the microblog post, she also started to believe that these two were a perfect match. If they weren’t together, who else could be worthy of her handsome and omnipotent big brother Xiao Yi?!

Shen Fu: ...

The so-called ‘corruption is as deep as the ocean, once you enter morality becomes a stranger’ – was probably talking about this kind of situation, right?

Everything was progressing too smoothly. Shen Fu found it irrational.