Chapter 204
Chapter 204
“Are you feeling okay? If not, I’ll have a doctor take a look at you,” Yannis said as he drove Zinnia home, his concern for her lingering.
Even though they’d only been in the car for a few minutes, he felt relieved he’d asked about the smoke.
“Nah, I’m fine. I wasn’t exposed to it for long, so I feel okay,” Zinnia reassured. She held her breath most of time when she in the previous car. After parking, they took the elevator home.
After changing her shoes, Zinnia stood there expectantly and said in a playful tone, “Yannis, you promised to make fish for me today—and I want barbecue too.”
Yannis neatly put her shoes away in the cabinet and said, “I haven’t forgotten. Go do your homework for a bit. It’ll be ready when you’re done
Still holding the sunflower, Zinnia asked, “Let me arrange the flower first. Do you have a vase here?”
“There are some in the storage room. Pick whichever you like,” Yannis said, taking off his light jacket and leisurely rolling up his sleeves.
“Those are all antiques. And you’re telling me to use them for arranging a flower?” Zinnia looked at him in disbelief, seeing how dead serious he was.
Yannis had a storage room filled with rare antiques and collectibles, each worth anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions, or even tens of
millions of dollars–and that was only a fraction of his collection.
It was said that in the Perkins residence, he had a basement vault housing even more valuable treasures, where even the cheapest vase could be worth
millions.
But now he was telling her to take one of these treasures as a vase. Just imagining those exquisite antique vases in Yannis’s collection took her breath
away.
Zinnia had a weakness for beautiful things–be it people or objects. Just gazing at them lifted her spirits.
“Why not? These vases are all quite beautiful–I thought you’d like them. If none of those suit your taste, I can have new ones delivered,” Yannis said in a leisurely tone.
“Yannis, I might break them,” Zinnia said worriedly. ‘His things are way too expensive–I couldn’t even afford to pay for one of them if I broke it,‘ She thought.
Yannis chuckled when he saw her worried little face. He gently nudged her shoulder and said, “If you break one, just grab another.
“Even if you smash them all, I’ll just buy more–it won’t make a dent in my wallet. Go on, pick whichever one you
like.”
Zinnia finally chose a simple porcelain vase. The vase looked made of jade, smooth and warm to the touch, with a delicate, refined texture.
She unwrapped the sunflower, carefully trimmed the stems, and nestled it into a vase. She set the vase by her desk, right where sunlight streamed through the window, casting the golden blooms in a warm glow that turned the corner into a picture–perfect scene.
“Are you done picking?” Yannis asked as Zinnia squeezed into the kitchen where Yannis was cooking. He handed her a bowl of freshly washed grapes.
“Yes,” Zinnia nodded. She popped a grape into her mouth, then fed one to Yannis. “It’s sweet.”
“Yes, it is, but don’t eat too much–we’ll have dinner soon,” Yannis said as he bit into a grape, the burst of sweet juice filling glance at Zinnia beside him. “Go wait outside. The kitchen’s a bit smoky.”
He knew she couldn’t handle smoke–whether from cooking or cigarettes–as it always made her feel unwell.
“The smoke is floating out of the window,” Zinnia protested.
outh. He turned to
Chapter 204
“Even so, there’s still smoke. Be a good girl,” Yannis continued.
“I’ve prepared a health–building diet for you,” Zinnia said, taking out a pouch of ingredients. “Just blend it and drink a cup every day – ill drengia your spleen and nourish your stomach.”
She had made some extra while preparing a remedy for Bonnie, thinking Yannis could use some too.
The medical soup she’d given him before had already helped his recovery, but now that his health had improved, it was better to switch to something gentler–hence this diet.
The ingredients are simple, but could nourish his spleen and kidneys.
When Yannis saw her pull out another pouch, he felt a little sick–he thought she was about to make him drink more medicine again. After dutifully taking her concoctions for a whole month, he was truly sick of it.
Every time he drank them, his whole body felt uncomfortably hot. But when he heard it was just a diet this time, he finally breathed a sigh of reliel
“I’ll make extra so we can share,” he said with a smile. ‘The diet is good for health–why should I keep it all to myself? She deserves to enjoy the benefits too,‘ He thought.
Zinnia shook her head and said, “I made this for you. I really don’t need it–I’m perfectly healthy.” Inwardly, she thought, ‘I’ve had more than enough of this when I was a kid. No way am I drinking anymore.‘
Yannis smiled as he took the pouch. “I’ve consulted the doctor–the diet is good for you too. Come on. Prepare another portion so we can drink it together,” he tried to persuade her.
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The previous medicinal soup contained potent medicinal herbs that might have been too strong for her, but this milder health–building diet would gently nourish her system. They should share this together–he didn’t want to keep it all to himself.
“Yannis, this is for your health. I’m perfectly fine–I don’t need it,” Zinnia protested. She thought, ‘Honestly, what sane person actually enjoys drinking herbal concoctions? I certainly don’t.‘
Yannis smiled tenderly. “Come on, be good. I’ll make you something delicious.”
Caught in Yannis’s captivating gaze, Zinnia absent–mindedly went to prepare a portion for herself as well. By the time she snapped out of it, he had already dumped the ingredients into the blender and started blending.
“Yannis, using the beauty card like this is so unfair,” Zinnia grumbled, barred from the kitchen and left standing at the doorway with a deadpan expression, staring at Yannis inside.
She’d only ever heard of the “beauty trap” as one of those classic tricks, but now she was finally getting a taste of it herself.
With that face–and those ridiculously soulful eyes that could make even a dog feel special–Yannis was dangerously charming. Before she realized it, she’d already found herself doing whatever he said.
“Thanks for calling me handsome, Zinnia,” Yannis chuckled, deliberately missing her point.
“Ugh!” Zinnia huffed and shoved two grapes into her mouth, thinking, ‘This man is getting more shameless by the day. He used to hate to be called pretty, and now he’s actually bragging about it?‘
“Try this,” Yannis said as he stepped out, his slender, elegant hands holding a bowl in one and a fork gripping a piece of pork in the other.
The pork glistened with rich sauce, still steaming hot. Its tender, jiggly layers looked absolutely mouthwatering.
Despite herself, Zinnia opened her mouth. Yannis blew on the meat to cool it down before feeding it to her. As soon as the meat touched her tongue, she instinctively began to chew, her eyes sparkling with delight.
“Is it good?” Yannis asked.
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Chapter 204
“It’s delicious,” Zinnia nodded eagerly. Her earlier complaints about Yahnis were gone the moment the fender pork melted in her mouth. A single bare was all it took to win her over–she personally experienced that the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach.
“Yannis, with skills like yours, it’s a waste you’re not a chef. Just think of all the foodies missing out,” Zinnia sighed with admiration.
Wow, his cooking was seriously on another level.
“Didn’t I already become your personal chef? And don’t think I forgot–you promised to save up and support me one day. So you’d better work hard, Zinnia, because I’m ready to retire early and let you take care of me.”
As soon as he brought up the idea, Zinnia thought to herself, ‘With the way he spends, I’d need hundreds of millions just to keep up with this money pit, I can’t possibly afford that.’
Then, with a teasing smile, she said, “Yannis, we can’t be so lacking in ambition. You’re at the perfect age to build your career–put in some effort.”
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