NABC Chapter 1631 Internship?
Chapter 1631 Internship?
Watching her mother, Wu Yuejiang, chatting more and more amiably with Qin Hao, Huang Yimei returned to the living room, sat down next to her father, Huang Jianzhi, pouting and looking unhappy.
"Dad, do you really believe this womanizer's nonsense?"
Huang Jianzhi didn't even lift his eyelids. He picked up the newspaper on the coffee table, turned a page, and said slowly, "As a stranger, his character is none of our business. Why bother taking it so seriously?"
He paused, put down his newspaper, looked up at Huang Yimei, and his tone became serious: "However, if it's as your boyfriend, then we'll have to conduct a strict review."
"How is it reviewed?" Huang Yimei asked curiously as she leaned closer.
Huang Jianzhi glanced subconsciously towards the kitchen and lowered his voice, saying, "Time will tell. A person's character isn't determined by what they say, but by what they do."
At this point, he suddenly realized something, his eyes narrowing: "You wouldn't...?"
Huang Yimei quickly waved her hands, shaking her head like a rattle drum: "Absolutely impossible, I swear! That guy and I are just ordinary classmates. I only dragged him here today to save the day in order to get rid of Liu Yang!"
Upon hearing this, Huang Jianzhi visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension between his brows vanished.
Huang Yimei's eyes darted around, and she leaned closer to her father, lowering her voice to tease him: "I thought you and Professor Wu would be fooled by this guy with just a few words, but I didn't expect you to be waiting here. As expected, an old fox is an old fox, and you are still the most shrewd old man."
"Go away, you have no manners." Huang Jianzhi smacked her on the head in annoyance, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.
As they were talking, Wu Yuejiang's voice came from the kitchen: "You two stop chatting and come over to serve the dishes. Xiao Qin has been helping me for half the day."
Huang Yimei stuck out her tongue, and the father and daughter smiled at each other before getting up and going to the kitchen.
Huang Yimei was stunned as soon as she entered the kitchen.
On the stove, six or seven plates were neatly arranged, containing sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pork belly, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, steamed sea bass, braised prawns, and a bowl of steaming seaweed and egg drop soup. Each dish looked enticing and smelled delicious; just looking at them made one's mouth water.
Qin Hao, wearing a floral apron, stood in front of the stove, using a spatula to plate the last dish. His movements were so practiced, it was as if he had been working in the kitchen for over a decade. In the steamy air, his angular profile was slightly flushed by the steam, giving him an inexplicable sense of homeliness.
Huang Yimei stared blankly for a moment, then shook her head and cursed herself inwardly: Huang Yimei, wake up! This is that womanizer who changes girlfriends more often than he changes his paintings!
At the dining table, Huang Yimei looked at the table full of dishes, sniffed, and exclaimed, "Wow, today's meal is so lavish!"
Wu Yuejiang rolled her eyes at her: "We have guests over today, so of course we need to prepare more dishes."
After the four of them sat down, Huang Yimei picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, took a bite, and immediately squinted her eyes, revealing an expression of enjoyment on her face: "Mom, these sweet and sour pork ribs are especially delicious today! The sweet and sour flavors are just right, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, even better than what you get at restaurants! Your cooking skills have improved again, it looks like I'll have to come home to eat them more often in the future."
As she spoke, she picked up another piece, stuffed it into her mouth, and puffed out her cheeks, looking just like a little squirrel that had stolen a nut.
Wu Yuejiang wasn't in a hurry to expose him. He slowly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said unhurriedly, "This sweet and sour pork ribs... was made by Xiao Qin."
"Cough cough cough-"
Huang Yimei nearly choked on her breath, coughing violently until her face turned red. She quickly grabbed the water glass beside her and took a big gulp before she could barely catch her breath. She stared at Qin Hao with wide eyes, completely incredulous.
Seeing this, Huang Jianzhi chuckled and teased, "You've really hit a brick wall with your flattery today."
Huang Yimei's face flushed instantly, whether from choking or embarrassment, she didn't know: "Mom, why didn't you say so sooner?"
"I'm just taking this opportunity to test things out, so you won't keep fooling me all the time." Wu Yuejiang snorted and slowly picked up her rice bowl, taking a bite of food.
Huang Yimei pursed her lips, somewhat unconvinced. She hesitated for a moment, then picked up another piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, put it in her mouth, and chewed it carefully a few times.
The sweet and sour sauce melts on the tongue, and the ribs are fried to perfection, with a crispy outer skin and tender, juicy inside.
"But to be honest, this sweet and sour pork ribs taste quite unique. Is there some special seasoning in it?" Huang Yimei couldn't help but ask.
Huang Jianzhi also picked up a piece, savored it carefully, and nodded in agreement: "It is indeed quite special. The meat flavor is particularly rich, and there is also a fruity aroma. It doesn't seem to be made with ordinary sweet and sour sauce. Xiao Qin, how did you do it?"
Qin Hao put down his chopsticks and smiled: "Uncle, I don't really like cooking, especially since I spend an hour or two in the kitchen for every meal. But I love to eat, so I often come up with some weird and unusual ways of cooking. I call this 'evil cultivation'."
"Oh, how exactly does this heretical cultivation method work?" Huang Jianzhi asked, intrigued.
"For example, this sweet and sour pork ribs, the traditional way is to simmer it with sugar and vinegar, which is very time-consuming, and it is easy to burn if the heat is not controlled properly. So I thought, can I use beverages instead? I tried using cola, soda and other drinks, tried several kinds, and found that fruit juice is the best. The sauce made from it is particularly clear, and it saves the step of making caramelized sugar, which saves time and effort."
After listening, Huang Jianzhi's eyes showed a hint of approval, and he nodded repeatedly: "Not bad, you made bold assumptions and carefully verified them. You have a great spirit of research."
"What? He's just lazy." Huang Yimei pouted and muttered unconvinced, "He clearly has proper methods but doesn't use them. He insists on using these crooked methods and calls himself an evil cultivator. He makes it sound like he's practicing martial arts."
Wu Yuejiang glanced at her sideways, her tone tinged with disdain: "You have the nerve to call her lazy? At least Xiao Qin can cook for herself and figure out how to make it taste better. You, on the other hand, can't even cook a bowl of noodles all your life."
"Mom!" Huang Yimei pouted and turned to Huang Jianzhi, "Oh Dad, look at my mom, she's bringing up my shortcomings in front of outsiders again, where am I supposed to put my face?"
Huang Jianzhi watched the mother and daughter bickering with a smile, and waved his hand: "Alright, alright, let's eat. Xiao Qin has worked hard today, eat more."
He picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it in Qin Hao's bowl, his movements as natural as if he were entertaining a younger member of his family.
Qin Hao thanked her very politely: "Thank you, Uncle Huang. I was just helping out. The real chef is Aunt Wu. I learned a lot from her today."
"Look at Qin Hao, he's so good at talking." Wu Yuejiang nodded in satisfaction and served Qin Hao another bowl of soup: "Here, drink some more soup."
As Huang Yimei watched her parents become increasingly friendly towards Qin Hao, a bad feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.
What kind of magic did this guy use? Just yesterday he was described by his parents as a "womanizer" and a "good-for-nothing rich kid," but in the blink of an eye, he's become "Little Qin is a good kid," "has a spirit of inquiry," and "knows how to talk."
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She had a feeling that there was some kind of ulterior motive hidden behind Qin Hao's harmless smile.
After having eaten and drunk his fill, Qin Hao glanced at the wall clock and offered to leave: "Uncle and Aunt, it's getting late, so I won't disturb your rest any longer. Thank you for your hospitality today."
"Oh dear, it's only 7:30, sit a little longer," Wu Yuejiang said, trying to persuade him to stay.
"No, no, I should go back now. I have class tomorrow." Qin Hao stood up and gave a polite bow.
Huang Yimei was secretly pleased; finally, they were leaving. She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Wu Yuejiang yanked her up from the sofa: "The guests are leaving; you should at least see them off. Don't you have any manners?"
“It’s not like he can’t find his way…” Huang Yimei muttered softly.
"Huh?" Wu Yuejiang glared at her.
Huang Yimei shrank back and could only reluctantly get up and follow Qin Hao downstairs.
The motion-activated lights in the hallway were dim, and the sound of their footsteps echoed in the cramped space. When they reached the first floor, Huang Yimei suddenly quickened her pace and pushed open the unit door before Qin Hao could.
Night had fallen outside, and the large locust tree in the courtyard cast dappled shadows under the streetlights. Several crickets chirped incessantly in the grass, and the evening breeze carried the chill of early autumn, making one feel slightly cold.
Once she was sure her parents upstairs couldn't hear her, Huang Yimei grabbed Qin Hao's chest and pinned him against the wall.
"Tell me, what are you up to by being so attentive to my parents?"
She was only up to Qin Hao's chin. At this moment, she was standing on tiptoe, tilting her head back, trying her best to look fierce. However, because of her overly beautiful big eyes, she did not look intimidating at all. Instead, she looked like a little kitten baring its teeth.
Qin Hao was pinned against the wall by her, but he wasn't flustered at all. Instead, he looked down at her with great interest.
"Intentions? What intentions could I possibly have?"
"Don't give me that!" Huang Yimei gritted her teeth. "Stop trying to fool me! If you're really that kind, why didn't you explain things clearly downstairs? Why did you have to wait until my parents misunderstood before explaining? I think you did it on purpose!"
"I'm innocent!" Qin Hao raised his hands, looking completely innocent. "Your parents didn't give me a chance to explain back then."
Huang Yimei was speechless for a moment.
Qin Hao's words were so well-chosen that she couldn't find a reason to refute them.
"Fine, you've got some nerve," Huang Yimei gritted her teeth. "But this isn't over! I haven't settled the score with you for stealing a kiss from me when I wasn't looking!"
"That's what the plot requires—" Qin Hao drawled.
"Plot requirements my ass!" Huang Yimei's temper flared up again: "Even if it's for acting, couldn't you have told me beforehand? You suddenly kissed me, I wasn't prepared at all! Do you know how embarrassed I was?"
"If I had told you beforehand, would you still have been able to act so naturally?" Qin Hao looked at her with a smile.
Huang Yimei opened her mouth, only to find herself speechless.
"Soliciting nonsense..." she muttered under her breath, but her momentum clearly weakened.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Qin Hao suddenly moved.
He sidestepped, his body sliding off Huang Yimei's grasp like an eel. Before Huang Yimei could react, she felt a force pull her halfway around, and when she came to her senses, their positions had reversed.
Now it's her turn to be pinned against the wall by Qin Hao.
Qin Hao rested one hand on the wall near her ear, the other casually in his pocket, leaning slightly forward, looking down at her. They were so close they could feel each other's breath.
"What...what do you want to do?" Huang Yimei's heart skipped a beat, her voice trembling with panic. "Don't do anything rash! My parents are upstairs. I just need to call out..."
Qin Hao did not answer, but slowly moved closer.
His face drew closer and closer to hers, so close that Huang Yimei could clearly see the curve of his eyelashes and smell the faint scent of laundry detergent on him, mixed with a hint of the smell of cooking in the kitchen.
Huang Yimei nervously pursed her lips.
Then, she heard a soft chuckle in her ear, followed by Qin Hao's voice, which was teasing and playful: "Don't worry, it's not like I've never seen a woman before. These things are more interesting when you cooperate with each other."
Huang Yimei suddenly opened her eyes, feeling both ashamed and angry. Just as she was about to lash out, she saw Qin Hao suddenly put away his playful expression.
He took a step back, widening the distance between them, his expression becoming somewhat complicated. The dim light from the streetlamp cast interplay of light and shadow on his face, making his eyes, which usually held a carefree smile, appear somewhat forlorn.
"Actually..." Qin Hao's voice suddenly lowered, carrying a seriousness that Huang Yimei had never seen in him before: "I'm quite envious of you."
After saying that, he didn't linger any longer, turned around and walked towards the red Porsche 986. He opened the car door, started the engine, and the red taillights streaked across the night before disappearing around the corner of the alley.
Huang Yimei stood there stunned for a long time.
The night breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead. She stared blankly in the direction where the Porsche had disappeared, Qin Hao's last words echoing repeatedly in her mind.
"Envious of me?"
When Huang Jianzhi got home, he saw that his daughter looked absent-minded. He put down the newspaper he was holding and asked, "What's wrong? You look like you've lost your soul after seeing someone off."
Huang Yimei plopped down on the sofa, pursing her lips. "When Qin Hao left just now, he actually said he envied me. What did he envy about me? That I'm poorer than him?"
"He's a super-rich second-generation heir who drives a Porsche and lives in a villa, and he envies me, a poor student living in an old-fashioned residential compound? Is he out of his mind?"
Huang Jianzhi and his wife exchanged a glance, both with a knowing smile in their eyes.
“Xiao Qin isn’t a bad kid at heart,” Huang Jianzhi said slowly. “It’s just that his parents weren’t around when he was young, so he’s a bit lacking in love.”
"Lack of love?" Huang Yimei was taken aback.
Wu Yuejiang nodded and picked up the conversation: "We were chatting in the kitchen just now, and he talked a lot about his childhood. When his parents were starting their business, they were so busy that they barely had time to breathe. He started cooking for himself when he was in the third grade of elementary school. He lived alone and was scared at night, so he could only sleep with the living room light on."
“He said what impressed him most was when he had a high fever, almost 40 degrees Celsius, and he was lying in bed alone, too weak to even lift a glass of water. Later, his family’s nanny found him and took him to the hospital. By the time his parents got back, he had already been discharged.” Wu Yuejiang sighed as she said this, “This child is actually quite pitiful.”
"No wonder he said he envied me just now..." Huang Yimei muttered softly.
Huang Jianzhi patted her shoulder: "Alright, don't think too much about it. It's getting late, go wash up and go to bed."
Huang Yimei nodded, got up, and walked towards her room. As she reached the door, she glanced back at her parents in the living room.
The father was reading the newspaper while wearing glasses, and the mother was knitting a sweater beside him. The two of them would exchange a few words from time to time, and occasionally bicker, but the warm feeling that permeated the ordinary was the most precious thing in the world.
The next day, Huang Yimei returned to school.
As soon as she entered the teaching building, she sensed something was wrong—classmates she knew and didn't know were all looking at her with strange eyes. Those eyes contained curiosity, inquiry, envy, and jealousy, a variety of emotions.
Although she had always been the center of attention, it was mostly from the admiring gazes of the opposite sex. Today was different. Even the girls who usually ignored her were staring at her, gathering in small groups to whisper among themselves, and glancing in her direction every now and then.
"Is there something on my face?" Huang Yimei asked a familiar girl next to her in a low voice.
The girl looked her up and down, then shook her head: "No."
"Why were they all staring at me like that? I felt like a giant panda in a zoo."
The girl chuckled and lowered her voice, saying, "You don't know? The whole school knows you're dating Qin Hao."
Huang Yimei raised an eyebrow, not taking it too seriously. From childhood to adulthood, gossip and rumors about her had never ceased; she was long used to being the subject of conversation. Today it's this, tomorrow it's that, and in a few days the buzz would die down and nobody would talk about it anymore.
She turned her head to look at Qin Hao not far away, and saw that he was surrounded by a group of boys who were asking him all sorts of questions.
"Old Qin, you're awesome! You even managed to win over Huang Yimei!"
"I knew it! Huang Yimei has ignored everyone for so many years because she has high standards and looks down on us ordinary people. Only someone like Qin Hao is good enough for her."
"Brother Qin, can you teach me a thing or two? How did you win her over?"
Qin Hao leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, a profound expression on his face: "These things are all about fate. You can't force things. You guys are still too young."
"cut--"
The surrounding boys booed, but they couldn't hide the envy on their faces.
Huang Yimei rolled her eyes at his smug look. This guy was a natural actor; he acted well-behaved in front of her parents yesterday, and today he was a carefree and irreverent person at school. He switched between the two so seamlessly and without any flaws.
However, seeing that Qin Hao also received the same "treatment" as her—surrounded by a group of people asking him all sorts of questions, and being pointed at and talked about wherever he went—Huang Yimei felt much better.
She wasn't the only one who was unlucky.
The counselor stepped into the classroom just one minute before class started.
The counselor, surnamed Wang, was in his early forties, wore black-rimmed glasses, and always had a stern face, looking as if he was perpetually angry. He walked to the podium with a document in his hand and cleared his throat.
"Class, please be quiet for a moment, I have something to tell you all."
The classroom fell silent instantly, and all the students turned their attention to the podium.
"The department has announced that students who have completed their credits can now find internships on their own." The counselor waved the document in his hand: "The internship period is three months, and an internship report is required after the internship. I have posted the specific requirements on the bulletin board, so please check it out yourselves."
These words immediately sparked a flurry of whispers in the classroom.
"Internship? You're already doing an internship so soon?"
"It feels like I just started school yesterday, and now I'm graduating in the blink of an eye..."
"Where should I find an internship? I haven't decided yet."
"I plan to go back to my hometown and ask my dad to make some arrangements so I can get an internship certificate first."
The girl next to Huang Yimei nudged her arm and whispered, "Huang Yimei, have you found an internship yet?"
Huang Yimei nodded: "Yeah, I'll go to my brother's design institute. Anyway, staying in school is boring, so I might as well gain some social experience."
"I really envy you." The girl sighed, her tone tinged with emotion. "Both your parents are university professors, and your brother is an architect. They paved the way for you even before you graduated. Unlike us out-of-towners, we have to rely on ourselves for everything."
Huang Yimei smiled but did not reply.
She knew she was lucky to have been born into a family that, while not extremely wealthy, was warm and harmonious. Although her parents were strict with her, they never lacked the support she needed.
She subconsciously looked at Qin Hao.
The guy was leaning lazily back in his chair, his eyes half-closed, looking drowsy. The sunlight from the window shone on his angular profile, giving him a golden glow.
Huang Yimei muttered to herself, "A super-rich second-generation like him shouldn't need to worry about this kind of thing, right?" (End of Chapter)