Standing Next To You-Chapter 543: A warm meal, A cold welcome

Fei Chuan paused, his brows furrowing. "Why is she coming here?"

"You really don’t know?" William’s tone grew irritated. "Hey, I know you’re not that dumb—you do realize my sister has feelings for you, right?"

"Yeah. But I rejected her the moment I found out. You were there. You saw it."

"But she didn’t take it that way! I think, even now, she still believes you’ll marry her."

Fei Chuan’s frown deepened. "I have no intention of marrying anyone. Besides, didn’t you say you’d handle the aftermath?"

If he remembered correctly, the day he rejected Melanie, William had assured him he would make things clear to his sister. He didn’t want Fei Chuan to break her heart, so he had promised to take care of the rest.

"I said that because I know how heartless you can be when you want to make a point." There was some movement on the other end of the call—William was retrieving a wine bottle from his storage. "But my sister is stubborn. I bet she doesn’t even remember you rejecting her."

"Fine. I’ll tell her myself." Fei Chuan had no intention of giving her false hope.

"No! Don’t tell her now!"

Fei Chuan didn’t agree. "It’s better to cut it off early—"

"Just not now." William interrupted. "She just arrived in County C. She needs someone she trusts to show her around. Can’t you accompany her and let her enjoy her vacation first? Just be patient."

Fei Chuan wanted to refuse, but William was insistent—and sincere. In the end, he reluctantly agreed.

"Just remember, don’t say anything harsh to her while she’s there. If you’re going to reject her, do it when she’s back here. I don’t want her spending the flight home heartbroken."

For the sake of his friendship with William, Fei Chuan agreed to entertain Melanie.

William, relieved, thanked him. "Oh, and one more thing—don’t tell her I called. Act surprised when she arrives. She wants to surprise you. Don’t be rude, okay?"

Fei Chuan: "..."

Did William really see him as that cold-hearted?

The call ended.

Assistant Chen glanced at Fei Chuan through the mirror. "Should we go back to the villa?"

"No need." Fei Chuan looked out the window. It was still an hour’s journey from his villa to the airport. There was enough time for him to visit at least one place.

"Then should I tell the butler to let her in?"

"Yeah. Make her comfortable. Just don’t let her in my room."

Assistant Chen understood and continued driving.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at their destination.

Assistant Chen parked the car and glanced at the surrounding scenery. In front of him stretched an expanse of green land dotted with gravestones.

He cast a sideways glance at Fei Chuan, wondering who his boss was visiting today.

Was it his mother?

Fei Chuan walked ahead. Assistant Chen hesitated to follow.

Noticing this, Fei Chuan turned around. "What are you dawdling for?"

"Uh... Should I give you some space?"

Fei Chuan raised a brow, then pulled a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket. "Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that. Here, find this place based on the drawing."

Assistant Chen unfolded the paper. It was a sketch of a grave beside a tree.

He lifted his gaze, scanning the vast field. How was he supposed to find this grave with just a drawing?

Why not just take a picture instead of sketching it?

But he said nothing and silently began his search. His boss’s family history was truly complicated. He didn’t even know where his mother was buried and had to rely on a drawing.

How sad.

....

Fei Chuan chose another direction and strolled around.

But the place didn’t feel familiar. There were graves and greenery around, just like in his dreams, but the resemblance wasn’t quite right.

The more he walked, the more unfamiliar the graves felt.

"...This isn’t it," he muttered. He just knew this wasn’t the place from his dreams.

He glanced at his watch. Two hours had already passed since they arrived.

Sighing, he called Assistant Chen and told him to head back.

Assistant Chen had found a few graves beside trees that seemed similar to the one in the drawing. He showed Fei Chuan the pictures he had taken, but Fei Chuan shook his head. Those graves was not the one in his dreams.

Fei Chuan sighed.

Today’s search had come up empty.

But this was only day one. He was just getting started.

Without another word, he and Assistant Chen returned to the car and drove home.

.....

The kitchen was filled with a tantalizing aroma.

Grandma Bei’s voice rang out loudly as she scolded Bei Sangyun. "Not that... Oh, don’t touch it! That’s hot!"

But it was too late. Bei Sangyun had forgotten she wasn’t wearing oven mitts and grabbed the pan directly.

"Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" She hissed but didn’t dare let go, carefully moving the pan to a safe spot first.

"Let me see your hands." Grandma Bei demanded. Like an obedient child, Bei Sangyun held them out.

Her palms were red—clearly burned.

"Run them under cold water. Ye Zhai, get my ointment from the kit!" Grandma Bei called out.

From the living room, Maid Ye Zhai, who was busy with another task, shouted back, "Coming!" She quickly put down what she was holding and hurried to find the kit.

When she returned, her eyes widened at the sight of Bei Sangyun’s reddened skin.

"Young Miss!" She rushed over, gently drying Bei Sangyun’s hands before carefully applying the ointment.

"We should handle the cooking instead, Young Miss," she suggested again.

"Aigo, I’ve been telling her that since she burned the food two hours ago, but she won’t listen." Grandma Bei’s usually doting expression had turned stern. "Now that you’ve burned your hands, you need to let us finish the rest."

"It doesn’t hurt much, Grandma. And it’s not serious—I can still cook."

"Nope. I won’t let you set foot in the kitchen until your hand is healed. Ye Zhai, drag her to her room."

Maid Ye Zhai grabbed Bei Sangyun, the latter protested that she could still cook, but Maid Ye Zhai escorted her to her room despite her complaints.

Maid Ye Zhai made Bei Sangyun sit on the couch before retrieving another medicine kit. She carefully applied another layer of ointment to her palm.

"These dishes are complicated to cook. You need guidance from experienced chefs and plenty of time to practice. You can’t just learn them in a day—especially someone like you, who doesn’t have much experience in the kitchen," Maid Ye Zhai said seriously.

Bei Sangyun chuckled. "Is it your turn to nag me now?"

"You know I wouldn’t nag if I didn’t think you were doing something foolish, right?"

"...Is this really foolish?" Bei Sangyun pouted. "I just wanted to cook his favorite dishes from that restaurant we visited. I always had to order them before, but I want to show my sincerity by learning to make them myself. That’s not so stupid, right?"

"It wouldn’t be stupid if you took cooking lessons first or at least started with the basics," Maid Ye Zhai replied, carefully wrapping bandages around the knife cuts and blisters on Bei Sangyun’s hands. Just looking at them made her sigh in heartache.

"But baking is easy. Why is this so complicated?"

Maid Ye Zhai could list a hundred reasons, but she chose to stay silent. Instead, she asked,

"Does it really have to be today? You can give him the food next week. Get familiar with the kitchen first." Like how to use knives properly, how to cut, how to control the heat, and basic common sense—like choosing the right spatula.

"That’s too late. It’s already been a week since that day. If I let another week pass, things will only get harder between us." Bei Sangyun lowered her gaze. "Besides, I miss him."

Maid Ye Zhai sighed.

Ever since Bei Sangyun confided in her about her past life, she couldn’t help but wonder—why was she so determined to get Fei Chuan back?

She still remembered how Bei Sangyun had smiled then, her eyes filled with unwavering sincerity.

"Because I promised to stand by him next time... as he once stood next to me. For the rest of my life."

Maid Ye Zhai recalled those words and sighed deeply. "Fine... but let me help. I’ll be your hands while yours are still injured."

With Maid Ye Zhai’s firm insistence, Bei Sangyun finally agreed.

They returned to the kitchen together and received an earful from Grandma Bei. However, with Maid Ye Zhai backing her up, Grandma Bei could only scold them but still allowed Bei Sangyun to stay. She watched her like a hawk, making sure she didn’t touch anything that could further injure her hand.

Finally, just before dinner, all the dishes were ready.

Bei Sangyun looked at the table with bright eyes. These complicated dishes had been cooked by her—well, at least half of them. The rest had been finished by Maid Ye Zhai and Grandma Bei. Still, she had watched, helped, and participated, making it feel like she had cooked them, too.

Excitedly, she packed the food with Maid Ye Zhai’s help.

"How are you going to send it?" Maid Ye Zhai asked.

"I’m delivering it myself. Straight to his doorstep." Bei Sangyun’s voice was filled with determination.

It didn’t matter if Fei Chuan was still mad at her. Whether he accepted or rejected her food, she would accept it with an open heart.

She believed that with effort and sincerity, Fei Chuan’s heart would eventually soften, and little by little, he would forgive her.

Today, she was moving forward. She was officially starting her mission: Operation Get Fei Chuan’s Forgiveness.

But the happiness, excitement, and nervousness bubbling in her heart turned ice-cold the moment she arrived at Fei Chuan’s villa.