Chapter 153: Letting Go

"There's red wine, right? How about I buy some steaks later and pan-fry them for them? What do you think?"

"Later on, the women can eat steak and drink red wine, while we have mutton skewers and beer."

Chen Liang, of course, had no objections. "Alright, you're the chef, you call the shots! Just buy the ingredients, and don't worry about bringing wine; I still have a few bottles of imported liquor at home, we can drink those together too!"

After making peace with Shazhu, Chen Liang thanked the assistant cook who had served him his food, picked up his lunchbox, and left.

Another assistant cook, who was close friends with the one who served the food, watched his friend staring longingly after Chen Liang. He walked over and nudged him. "Hey, snap out of it! The person's already gone, why are you still standing there like a post?"

Then he teasingly remarked, "What's wrong with you lately, kid? Why do you stare in a daze at Section Chief Chen's back every single day? Don't tell me you swing that way, bro?"

"Bullshit! I'm a hard-core, straight-as-steel man, alright!" the assistant cook who had served Chen Liang retorted.

"Heh, then do you have the hots for our director? I advise you to give up on that pipe dream. Come here, let me tell you a secret—this is top-secret gossip!"

"Don't let our director's delicate, rose-like appearance fool you; she's got thorns. Word has it that not long ago, our director shot and killed several hoodlums with a gun!"

"Really or not? Don't mess with me!" The assistant cook found it hard to believe.

"Why would I lie to you? My relative saw it with their own eyes, complete with all the vivid details. It's totally true!"

"Whoa! Then our director is truly a heroine among women! Amazing! But come closer..."

Seeing his good friend willing to share such juicy gossip, the assistant cook whispered into his ear for quite a while.

"Is this for real? Did Ma Hua actually get allotted an apartment?" The other man was equally shocked by this blockbuster piece of news.

"Could it be fake? It's written right there on the list! My aunt works in logistics, and she told me with her own mouth!"

"My aunt said that originally Ma Hua wasn't qualified, but who can blame him for having such a good master? Chef He gave up his own quota and handed it to him. This matter has been spreading like wildfire through the logistics department."

In this era, taking on a master was not done casually; the apprentice had to truly treat the master like his own biological father. Therefore, even if others knew about Shazhu transferring his quota, they couldn't really say much about it.

"I'm telling you, as long as we cozy up to Section Chief Chen and have him whisper sweet nothings into the director's ear pillow-talk style, getting our official employment status approved will be an absolute breeze."

"My good brother, thanks to your reminder. Much obliged!"

"Think nothing of it. We're good brothers, aren't we?"

Leaving aside these two assistant cooks lost in daydreaming, the man belonging to the woman they spoke of—bah! The woman belonging to the man they spoke of—was currently embracing his wife and having a meal together.

After finishing dinner, Chen Liang held the fragrant, soft, and lovely Xiaoyu while they went to sleep—the purely platonic kind.

After all, Chen Liang's kidneys were made of flesh and blood. At the frequency with which he engaged in romantic intimacy with his wife, even kidneys made of cast iron wouldn't hold up; he'd have to swap them out for Adamantium ones to survive.

A little past three in the afternoon, Chen Liang woke up naturally from a sound sleep. With his eyes still closed, he first stretched luxuriously, then felt around the space beside him. Finding no one there, he jolted awake and sat straight up.

Only then did he notice Xiaoyu had already gotten up and was reading a book sitting at the desk. Chen Liang put on his clothes and, without bothering to make the bed, walked over to Xiaoyu, picked up the teacup on the desk, and took a large gulp.

With less than two hours left before the end of the workday, Chen Liang couldn't be bothered to go out and wander around. He pulled over a chair, sat down behind Xiaoyu, reached out, and began twirling some fruit in his hands.

Neither Chen Liang nor Xiaoyu spoke; they simply leaned against each other in that manner, quietly experiencing the peaceful tranquility of the passing years.

After getting off work, going home, and having dinner, Chen Liang exchanged a meaningful glance with the little flat-chested cabbage who was out cooling herself in the breeze. The two of them headed toward the restrooms, keeping a distance of two meters apart.

Along the way, Chen Liang briefly muttered a few words from behind regarding tomorrow's meal with Shazhu: "Remember, tomorrow you can have at most one glass of the red wine. Don't drink any more than that!"

With that, Chen Liang veered off to the men's restroom next door to relieve himself. By the time he came out, the little cabbage had already scampered excitedly back home.

It wasn't easy, truly; every step Chen Liang took on this path was immensely difficult.

Damn it, the more Chen Liang thought about it, the angrier he got. Compared to the old lech at the grain store next door, he was as pure as a little virgin, practically bringing shame to all time-travelers.

When Chen Liang picked up his wife and returned to their new home, he took advantage of a moment when Xiaoyu wasn't paying attention and covertly produced a case of red wine from his supermarket space.

He uncorked all the wooden stoppers, took out sleeping pills he had prepared and ground into a fine powder beforehand, and poured them evenly into every bottle of red wine. Then, he gently swirled them a few times to let the sleeping pills dissolve rapidly into the wine.

Chen Liang wasn't doing this to harm anyone; he simply wanted to ensure that Xiaoyu would get drunk.

He had learned this trick back in his past life when he worked undercover, picking it up from the FBI field operatives. It belonged to the category of covert assassination techniques.

Because the human body has a limit to its alcohol tolerance, once alcohol intake reaches its maximum threshold, the body exhibits withdrawal reactions, such as intoxication, vomiting, dizziness, and the like.

However, if sleeping pills are mixed into the alcohol, the brain becomes numbed, thereby blocking the body's alcohol tolerance limits. In other words, the person will not feel drunk, causing them to continue drinking indefinitely until they die of alcohol poisoning.

Using this trick in his past life, Chen Liang had secretly dealt with quite a few corporate executives, making him thoroughly familiar with the process.

The dosage he administered was just right—neither making a person drink too much nor too little, just enough to get them nicely drunk.

Now, you could say everything was fully prepared, with only the east wind lacking!

That night, for once, Chen Liang did not drink his medicinal liquor. Instead, he played an exceptionally warm and friendly singles match with Xiaoyu, with both sides calling it a day once a light point was reached.

The next morning, Chen Liang woke up to the aroma of food. Normally, at home, Chen Liang acted like an aristocratic lord who wouldn't even bother to pick up a fallen soy sauce bottle.

For him to cook in the kitchen—unless he had overindulged in his medicinal liquor and made Xiaoyu cry—would he ever personally whip up a loving breakfast to comfort her.

Just as Chen Liang finished his breakfast, Shazhu arrived in a flurry of anxiety, bringing the little cabbage along with him.

Looking at Liu Siyuan, who was dressed to the nines, Chen Liang suddenly felt as though her flat chest had grown just a tiny bit. Could this be a psychological illusion?

He shook his head, ridding his mind of such an unreliable thought, and stood up to welcome the visiting Shazhu and his wife.

Shazhu, you really can't blame me for this; you're the one who brought this upon yourself. Finding an excuse for himself, Chen Liang poured two cups of tea and carried them over.

"You guys wait a moment while Xiaoyu and I tidy up, and then we'll head out. By the way, Shazhu, have you bought all those ingredients?"

Shazhu picked up his teacup and took a loud sip. "They're already ordered. In a while, I'll just go over and pick them up. Hey, stop dawdling! What time is it already? Do you still want to eat on time or not?"

Damn it, I've never seen anyone so proactive about wearing a green hat. Shazhu, you've got some real guts!