The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 82
by Little PandaExtra IF-Line – Modern Arc
Dinner
Evening arrived.
Advanced Mathematics really was a difficult subject. At least, Song Linlin had studied hard all afternoon, but not much knowledge stuck in her head. Throughout the whole process, she only remembered that Chi Qianning had a small mole on her collarbone, and the faint, elusive fragrance on Chi Qianning when she got close.
It was already six in the afternoon. Song Linlin had successfully solved an Advanced Math problem. She put down her pen and turned to look at Chi Qianning beside her. She saw that extremely beautiful face also staring at her scratch paper.
Song Linlin suddenly felt nervous. Her Math foundation wasn’t good, and learning Advanced Math was very strenuous for her. Especially this problem, which might be simple for others, Song Linlin could only get right by luck.
Now, a top student in Math was sitting right next to her, watching her solve problems the entire time. They had spent the whole afternoon just working on this type of problem.
Song Linlin sat there nervously. Chi Qianning watched very carefully. She went through all of Song Linlin’s problem-solving steps and thought processes, finally nodding, her cool voice carrying a rare hint of satisfaction.
“Not bad, you got it right,” Chi Qianning said.
Song Linlin immediately broke into a smile. “Yay!”
She had finally conquered this problem. Her hard work all afternoon hadn’t been in vain, and neither had Chi Qianning spending an afternoon teaching her Math.
Her gaze unintentionally fell on a decorative clock on the cabinet, and only then did Song Linlin realize how late it was. The sky outside had turned orange-red, and the sun was beginning to set. She exclaimed in surprise:
“Time flies! It’s already past six!”
Chi Qianning took out her phone, glanced at it, and nodded in agreement. “Time always flies when you’re studying.”
Song Linlin just gave a vague smile at this. In reality, when she studied Advanced Math in the past, she only felt that time passed incredibly slowly, as if a day dragged on like a year.
Song Linlin was a very adaptable person. After spending the afternoon together, she realized that Chi Qianning didn’t seem to be a difficult person to get along with. She just appeared a bit cold, but was actually quite easy to talk to.
So, when interacting with Chi Qianning, Song Linlin also became much more relaxed and at ease. She thought about how Chi Qianning had patiently tutored her all afternoon, and now it was dinner time. Why not make her a meal?
Song Linlin had always been the type to act on her thoughts immediately, so she said right away, “Teacher Chi, are you hungry? Let me make dinner for you!”
“You know how to cook?” Chi Qianning asked back, surprised.
“Uh…”
Song Linlin was momentarily stuck. It seemed she hadn’t really cooked much before. At home, her mom did most of the cooking, and Song Linlin had only mastered some very basic things. But she had already made the offer. Knowing how to cook noodles should count as knowing how to cook, right…?
So Song Linlin nodded. “Of course! Making dinner is no problem.”
“Is that so?”
Chi Qianning thought for a moment. She had been eating at restaurants or ordering takeout for the past few days. A home-cooked meal didn’t sound too bad. “Okay, there are some ingredients in the fridge. It should be enough for the two of us.”
“Okay! Teacher, you just sit here. I’ll call you when it’s ready!” Song Linlin said with a lot of enthusiasm.
Chi Qianning, who had originally thought of lending a hand, nodded. “Alright then.”
Song Linlin left the sofa and headed towards the kitchen. She walked past the dining area and into the kitchen, freezing for a moment as she looked at the high-end kitchenware around her. She realized there were some things she definitely didn’t know how to use. But she had promised to make dinner for Chi Qianning, and asking for help now would be too low1!
Song Linlin could only open the fridge first, planning to see what was inside before deciding what to make for dinner. The fridge was spacious, and the crisper section was filled with many vegetables and fruits. Song Linlin reached in and rummaged around, unexpectedly spotting a large box of pasta.
How about making pasta? Song Linlin had some awareness of her own cooking skills; anything too complicated and she would definitely mess up2, but pasta wasn’t difficult.
After rummaging through the fridge some more, Song Linlin finally decided to make creamy mushroom pasta, accompanied by a small steak fried in butter. Neither of these required much technical skill, so she figured they probably wouldn’t turn out too bad.
Once dinner was ready, Song Linlin had specifically tried to imitate the plating techniques of Western restaurants. Although she didn’t know how it tasted, the food in front of her looked quite presentable. At least, you couldn’t tell it was a dinner made by a kitchen newbie3 who rarely cooked.
Song Linlin suddenly felt much more confident. She hadn’t expected to be quite talented at cooking! Maybe if she couldn’t find a job after graduation, she should just open a restaurant. People always need to eat; it felt much more promising than her own major.
“Teacher Chi, dinner’s ready! You can come eat now!” Song Linlin poked her head out from the dining room towards Chi Qianning in the living room.
Chi Qianning also felt a strange sense of anticipation for this meal. She stood up from the sofa and replied, “Okay, coming.”
In the dining room, Song Linlin thoughtfully pulled out a chair for Chi Qianning. But Chi Qianning didn’t sit down immediately. She looked at the plates on the table and suddenly said, “Mm… don’t you think we should have some wine with this?”
Reminded by her, Song Linlin thought about the atmosphere, and it did seem like a bottle of wine was missing. So she nodded. Chi Qianning turned and walked to the wine cabinet, which was a glass case filled with a wall of various bottles. She asked Song Linlin, “What would you like to drink?”
“Ah? Me?” Song Linlin’s previous nod had just been a subconscious reaction. She was a good student; the only alcoholic beverage she had ever drunk was a pre-mixed cocktail from the supermarket, the kind she had thrown away after one or two sips because it didn’t taste like she imagined.
Being asked like this by Chi Qianning, Song Linlin could only scratch her head. “I haven’t really drunk alcohol much…”
“Is that so?” Chi Qianning scanned the wall full of bottles in the cabinet and took out a bottle of red wine with a relatively low alcohol content. “Then let’s drink this.”
She also grabbed two wine glasses and sat back down. She usually lived alone, and the dining table was only big enough for two. Song Linlin sat opposite her. If there had been a white candlestick, it would have truly had the atmosphere of a romantic dinner.
First, she poured herself a glass of red wine. Then, holding the bottle, Chi Qianning looked at Song Linlin. Even though the other girl hadn’t drunk much before, she still asked politely, “This one isn’t strong. Would you like some?”
If anyone else had asked her, Song Linlin would have definitely shaken her head and refused without hesitation. But looking at Chi Qianning opposite her, eating at the same table, with Chi Qianning about to pour wine for her personally… as if by some strange impulse4, Song Linlin didn’t hold out for even two seconds before nodding. “Okay.”
She didn’t even consider that she didn’t really know how to drink, nor did she know her alcohol tolerance. Just a simple question from the other person, and she agreed.
Holding the wine bottle, and considering Song Linlin hadn’t drunk much before, Chi Qianning didn’t pour too much for her, just a small amount of red wine, less than a third of the glass.
Taking the wine glass, Song Linlin looked at the red wine inside. At first glance, the liquid seemed almost black, but when she gently swirled the glass, she could see its beautiful red color. It had a slightly sweet, fruity aroma, which made Song Linlin eager to taste if it was as sweet as it smelled.
But Chi Qianning opposite her hadn’t started drinking yet, so Song Linlin felt it would be impolite to drink first. She said to Chi Qianning, “Thank you, Teacher Chi.”
“Mm, let’s eat dinner.”
Chi Qianning remained a woman of few words, and she was even quieter when eating. Song Linlin didn’t know what to say either, and suddenly the only sound in the dining room was the quiet clinking of cutlery.
Song Linlin tasted her creamy mushroom pasta and felt it was pretty good, or at least not bad. Then she cut a small piece of steak. As soon as she put it in her mouth, she realized it seemed a bit overcooked.
Song Linlin couldn’t help but glance up at Chi Qianning and asked in a low voice, “Teacher Chi, what do you think of the dinner?”
Chi Qianning was also chewing on her steak. It took her five or six seconds to swallow the small piece of beef before she said tactfully, “It’s okay, except the steak is a bit overdone.”
“I’ll try harder next time. I definitely won’t overcook it again.”
Song Linlin had been afraid it wouldn’t cook through, so she’d fried it for a long time. As a result, now that she tasted it, she realized it was indeed too well-done. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she raised her wine glass, subconsciously wanting to drink something to hide her expression.
But when the wine entered her mouth, the taste was vastly different from what she had imagined. Song Linlin had never drunk red wine before, and at this moment, she really wanted to spit out all the liquid in her mouth.
But seeing Chi Qianning sitting opposite her, Song Linlin forcibly suppressed the urge and swallowed the red wine in one gulp.
“What’s wrong?” Chi Qianning noticed Song Linlin’s fleeting change in expression and asked.
Song Linlin waved her hand and forced a smile. “Nothing, I just almost choked a little, that’s all. I’m fine now.”
Chi Qianning didn’t doubt the truth of Song Linlin’s words, just advised, “Mm, be careful.”
The two of them finished the meal in silence. After that sip of wine, Song Linlin’s head gradually started to feel a bit dizzy. Fortunately, she hadn’t drunk much, so it didn’t affect her thinking or normal actions.
Song Linlin proactively insisted on washing the dishes. Then she took all of Chi Qianning’s trash bags downstairs and threw them into the trash can before calling a taxi back to school. By now, the sky had completely darkened.
Back at the dorm, as soon as she pushed open the door, her other roommates all cast curious glances towards the entrance.
One roommate immediately said, “Wow, Song Linlin, what were you up to? Your face is all red!”
“Is it?”
Song Linlin raised a hand to touch her face; it really felt hot. Her head was spinning, and she couldn’t be bothered with much else, so she climbed directly onto her bed.
Listening to the other three gossiping5 non-stop, Song Linlin said, “Don’t guess wildly. I went to study Math this afternoon and just came back after dinner.”
Only Wen Yueyue also knew the inside story. She leaned close to the edge of the bed. “You went to my sister for tutoring? She’s actually a really nice person, right!”
Song Linlin nodded. Chi Qianning was indeed very nice. But it wasn’t just tutoring; she had also helped Chi Qianning clean her place and, while she was at it, made her dinner.
LP: Dinner date
Footnotes
- Term: low | An English word used in Chinese slang, meaning uncool, embarrassing, or of poor quality/taste.
- 翻车 | fānchē | Literally “to overturn a vehicle.” A popular internet slang term meaning to fail, often spectacularly or embarrassingly, or for a situation to go wrong unexpectedly.
- 厨房小白 | chúfáng xiǎobái | ‘小白 (xiǎobái)’ literally means ‘little white’ and is a common slang term for a novice, beginner, or newbie in a particular field. So, ‘厨房小白’ means a novice cook.
- 鬼使神差 | guǐ shǐ shén chāi de | An idiom meaning “as if ghosts and gods were at work,” describing an inexplicable urge or action, something done as if by a supernatural force or a strange whim, often leading to an unexpected outcome.
- 八卦 | bāguà | Originally referring to the Eight Trigrams of Taoist cosmology, in modern slang, ‘bāguà’ means “gossip” or “to gossip.” It often refers to celebrity gossip or idle chatter about personal affairs.
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