Chapter 205 You Can Just Give a Bit of Benefit
He was about to reason with her when Justin appeared at the door of the kitchen. He looked at Jane and said, "Your phone's ringing."
Jane subconsciously ordered Edward. "Help me keep an eye on the fish."
After that, she walked out of the kitchen, leaving Edward there, who had something to say. He took a look at the golden fish in the wok. He remained motionless. She just asked him to keep an eye on the fish. Then he would do just that.
Justin knew that Edward would do nothing. He quickly walked into the kitchen and took a spatula to turn the fish over. Edward soon frowned slightly. "Don't touch it."
Justin replied, "The oil won't splatter. Stay away if you're scared."
Edward felt quite shameless. Unexpectedly, it was exactly what Jane had said to Justin a while back. At that time, Justin was scared to death.
Experiences had nothing to do with one's age. It only depended on who experienced it first.
Both the uncle and nephew were in the kitchen. One of them forcefully pretended to be calm while the other appeared vigilant. Jane took out her phone from her bag outside the kitchen. It was a call from Charles.
"Hello, Charles."
Charles' voice came from the phone. "Jane, are you home?"
Her surrounding was filled with things that she was very familiar with. For a moment, she found it hard to explain. She was just in the same neighborhood, so she simply replied, "Yes, what's the matter?"
Charles said, "Come out. I'll treat you to a meal."
Jane said. "It's fine. I'm about to eat."
Charles said, "I've something very important to talk to you about. And I can guarantee that you'll be interested in it."
Jane smirked. "Why can't you say that on the phone?"
Charles said, "We've got to talk it over face-to-face. Hurry up. I'm at Sky Palace. Call me when you arrive."
Charles spoke quickly at the other end of the phone. Jane turned to peek at the kitchen. Edward was afraid that Justin might be burned. So, he was now wearing dishwashing gloves with a pair of heat-resistant kitchen gloves on the outside. He was now turning the fish over with the spatula with great difficulty.
Jane found it amusing. But she held back her laughter and said, "I've still got to deal with something here. It may take half an hour."
Charles said, "That's just right. I've got to meet a person here. See you after an hour."
Jane agreed to it before she hung up the call and walked into the kitchen immediately.
The door was opened. When Edward heard that, his tense body soon became at ease. He turned around and looked at Jane. He then said calmly, "I'm supposed to turn it over, right?"
Jane was great at dealing with people who lied. Not only did she not go and help him, but she even stood on the spot and praised him. "It turns out that you know how to fry fish. Then I'll leave the fish to you. I'll prepare something else."
But Edward yearned nothing more than to leave the kitchen and stay away from the wok. He wanted to stay away from the fish since its eyes remained open no matter how he fried it. However, he was struck speechless because of Jane's words.
Justin was a sensitive person. He took the lead and said something to keep himself out of trouble. "Then I won't meddle in it since my uncle is helping here."
Jane asked, "What would you like? Mushroom sauce or black pepper sauce for the fish?"
She was asking for Justin's opinion, but Edward did not see that. Both he and Justin gave their replies at the same time. "Mushroom sauce."
"Black pepper sauce."
Edward wanted mushroom sauce while Justin wanted black pepper sauce.
Jane looked at the two of them before she said decisively, "I'll make both. I'll cut the fish later and make two different sauces."
Justin left with satisfaction. Edward could accept it too. But he continued frying the fish with great fear.
Jane promised to meet Charles. Naturally, she needed to act fast now. Her action became quicker. But the thing that Edward was afraid of the most happened when he least wanted it. The surface of the wok appeared calm. When he looked over, something terrible happened. The oil in the wok suddenly splattered. He immediately closed his eyes and stepped back. Although he did not scream, it was more than enough to show his fear.
Jane heard the sound of the oil splattering. Then she saw Edward move quickly to the side while covering his eyes. She soon put down the knife in her hand and walked to him. She asked, "Mr. Smith, are you alright?"
Edward put down his hand and narrowed his left eye slightly. Jane hurriedly asked, "Did you get some oil in your eye?"
Edward was frightened just now. Now he was still filled with lingering fear. He reacted slowly and touched the bottom of his left eye. He did not get some oil in his eye, but the oil splattered on the place near his lower eyelashes.
Jane found it inappropriate to use her hand directly. Hence, she looked up and said, "Put down your hand. Let me take a look."
Edward obediently moved his hand away. Jane then fixed her eyes on the area around his eyes without blinking. She was checking for burns while Edward was looking at her eyes.
They rarely had a chance to stand so close to each other. He could see her pupils. They were not purely black. There was a bit of black in the middle with a soft amber light around it. He wondered if it was because of the direct illumination of the light.
Jane saw a tiny red dot underneath his lower eyelashes. It looked like it was splattered by the oil. If it was less than an inch higher, the oil would splatter on his eyes.
"Please wash it with water."
Jane stood beside the sink and placed one of her hands on the handle of the tap. Edward took off his gloves and lowered his head to wash it with water. Jane then handed a napkin to him.
"How? Are you feeling better?"
Edward said, "I'm fine."
Jane said, "Go out and take a rest. I'll soon finish cooking."
Edward threw away the napkin and blinked. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt anymore."
Jane said, "If I get hurt, we can treat it as an industrial injury. But we can't do the same thing for you. Go out and keep Justin company."
Without blinking, Edward looked at her and said, "Why not? Something happened to me when I was helping you. You should be held responsible."
Jane widened her eyes slightly. "You won't ask me to make up for your loss with money, will you?"
Edward asked in reply, "Do you think money can resolve this issue?"
Jane was deep in thoughts for a moment. She then whispered, "Can we resolve it privately if I cut a bigger half of fish for the mushroom sauce for you?"
Edward nearly failed in keeping his composure. He suppressed his desire to laugh and looked at her for three long seconds. He then said, "Deal."
Jane finally persuaded him to leave. He spoilt rather than accomplished things. On the contrary, Jane found that cooking alone in the kitchen was more effective.
Edward looked around. Justin was not in the living room. He then went to the ajar door of the secondary bedroom and looked inside. Justin was sitting at the desk and doing his homework. If that scene happened a few months ago, his entire family would assume that Justin was sleepwalking. But now, it became something normal under Jane's guidance.
Edward remained silent. He quietly closed the door and sat alone on the sofa in the living room to play Sudoku. Someone called him while he was in the middle of the game, asking him to dine out. But he refused that person. He claimed that he was busy and that he could not leave.
After he hung up the call, he continued with his game. Before long, Vincent called him.
Edward beat him to it and said, "I'm busy."
Vincent continued to persuade him. "Maple Restaurant. Fried eggplant. Are you coming or not?"
Edward knew that Vincent was purposely teasing him, so he said calmly, "Go on and eat on your own."
He then hung up on Vincent and said secretly, "I've got fried eggplant at home. Why should I dine out?"
There were more men than women in the Smith family. It had been a long time since Edward see a woman busy cooking in the kitchen. Although she came because of Justin, she told him that she would give him a bigger portion of fish. What would be Justin's thoughts if he learned about that?
Based on that incident solely, she was indeed quite sensible.