Chapter 74 Confession
The weather is sunny, the sun and breeze are gentle, spring is here, and all things are singing in harmony.

The sunlight filtered through the morning mist and sprinkled into the house, and the birds were happily announcing the good news in the treetops.

Chen Mo got up early in the morning, humming a little tune while taking care of himself.

After working for half an hour, Chen Mo looked at himself in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction, "Not bad."

With this mood and this weather, I only envy the mandarin ducks, not the immortals.

The weather is great, the mood is good, everything is just right.

At this time, Xu Hongdou was sleeping in without knowing anything. A few strands of hair were sticking to her cheeks and there was a slight smile on her lazy and confused face.

I wonder if even in my sweet dreams I have foreseen the good things that are about to happen.

It was not until noon that Xu Hongdou got up, yawning, and stretched herself. She raised her hands and lifted up her skirt, revealing her fair and slender waist, with her white thighs also stretched out naked and casually.

The room is filled with spring light, which is even brighter than the sunshine outside the window.

It's a pity that this beautiful scenery has not been seen by anyone, and no one has been lucky enough to appreciate it yet.

Because Chen Mo told Xu Hongdou last night that he had to go out for something in the morning and they would not have lunch together, so Xu Hongdou had a simple and casual lunch alone.

Resting after dinner, Xu Hongdou lay on the lounge chair on the terrace, picked up a book and flipped through it casually.

The warm afternoon sun fell at Xu Hongdou's feet, and a breeze blew from time to time, bringing a little coolness. Time was slow and quiet at this moment, and everything seemed to be frozen in a painting.

It’s so nice to not have to go to work, so nice that I can’t help but feel sleepy.

Yes, I don’t know when Xu Hongdou fell asleep again, and the book was covering her face.

This is the magic of books.

The sunlight moves slowly and quietly, driving the changes in light and shadow, leaving traces of the passage of time.

The sun sets quietly in the west and it is almost dusk. The sunset glows the sky red and the tiny white clouds dot it like floral patterns.

"Gulu~~Gulu~~"

The casserole in the kitchen was emitting steam, the inside of the casserole was churning, and the lid was shaking and making knocking sounds.

Chen Mo smelled the fragrance and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

This is the delicacy that Chen Mo has been waiting for more than two hours, the delicacy of Zibo - crispy pot.

The method of making crispy pot is not complicated:
Place the cabbage on the bottom, add lotus root slices, kelp, fried tofu, peanuts, and blanched pork bones and trotters.

Then add ingredients such as chopped ginger, chopped green onion, star anise and peppercorns, and finally pour on the secret sauce made from light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, and rice vinegar.

Generally, you don’t need to add water because the cabbage will release water on its own.

All that's left is waiting for the cooking time.

Every household in Zibo knows how to make crispy pot, but the taste of each one is different.

Chen Mo made Liu Guiqin brand crispy pot.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Chen Mo turned off the fire, served the food, and then sent a message to Xu Hongdou.

Xu Hongdou was chatting with Chen Nanxing at this time.

"I'll be at your place around 5 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Will I be in time?" Chen Nanxing's voice came from the phone.

"We're still in time. The concert doesn't start until 7 o'clock, which is not far from me. We can have dinner together then."

"OK." Chen Nanxing nodded. "By the way, how are you and Chen Mo doing?"

“It’s still like this.”

"Since that day, Chen Mo has not made any move until now?"

"No, I don't know what he is preparing."

"Then you're not anxious?"

"No." Xu Hongdou shook her head. "I told him that there was no need to prepare anything."

"It's just a relationship, there's no need to make it so complicated."

"Tsk tsk tsk, you guys don't want this one but you insist on giving this other one to me. How enviable." Chen Nanxing sighed.

"When will someone do this to me?"

"Where is your new colleague?" Xu Hongdou asked.

"Don't mention it. We have been assigned to different groups on business trips recently and haven't seen each other much." Chen Nanxing sighed.

"Don't be anxious. Good things never come too late. When love is supposed to come, it will suddenly appear." Xu Hongdou comforted.

"Forget it. Don't hold out hope. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Just leave it to fate."

"Even if you don't have a boyfriend, you still have me."

"That's right. When the time comes, I will be alone in my old age, so you must remember to visit me more often."

"Don't worry, if you really want to be alone, I'll bring you to live with me when we get old."

"Wow, Anko you're so nice?"

"That is."

"But will Chen Mo agree by then?"

"If he doesn't agree, I will move to the nursing home and live with you," Xu Hongdou promised.

"No, no, no, won't Chen Mo hate me to death?" Chen Nanxing laughed.

"Please bless me, your sister, so that I can meet my ideal person soon."

"I also want to have a sweet love."

"There will definitely be one. Our conditions are not bad."

"Hey, do you think Chen Mo will confess to you at the concert tomorrow?" Chen Nanxing suddenly thought of it.

Xu Hongdou thought about it and shook her head: "No."

"Why?" Chen Nanxing asked curiously, "I think it's very possible. Isn't Sister Nan Chen Mo quite familiar with her?"

"For Chen Mo, arranging a confession session shouldn't be a difficult task, right?"

"Because we don't like the atmosphere of being coaxed into making decisions," Xu Hongdou explained.

"So if Chen Mo really prepared something, I think it would only be for the two of us."

"Well, you two are pretty compatible then."

"Ding ding~" Xu Hongdou noticed her cell phone vibrating and she checked the message.

"Chen Mo called me to eat. Come over tomorrow and we'll talk."

"Go, go, go and be happy, woman." Chen Nanxing waved his hand.

Xu Hongdou couldn't help but smile and shook her head, "It's just a meal."

"It is happiness to have someone invite you to eat every day."

"Ok."

As soon as Xu Hongdou opened the door, she saw Chen Mo leaning against the door with a bouquet of pink roses.

"What are you doing here?" Xu Hongdou asked.

"Waiting for you." Chen Mo handed the flowers to Xu Hongdou with a smile.

Xu Hongdou took the flowers subconsciously, feeling a little strange, "We live across the street, why did you come out to wait for me?"

"Today is different."

Chen Mo took Xu Hongdou's hand and walked into 1102 with her.

As soon as she entered the house, Xu Hongdou saw more roses of various colors, misty blue, light purple, light yellow, and pure white.
There are roses of almost all colors, placed all over the house and can be seen everywhere.

On the coffee table in the living room, there was a larger bouquet of red roses, nine hundred and ninety-nine in total.

When Xu Hongdou saw this, she instantly understood what Chen Mo was trying to do.

"Just buy one bunch, why did you buy so many?"

"Not much." Chen Mo smiled and shook his head.

"The bouquet of red roses, 999 flowers, is too big. I was afraid it would be difficult for you to hold it, so I gave you the pink roses in your hand, 11 flowers."

"There are also flowers of various other colors, totaling 1,314."

"Forever and ever, I will only love you for my whole life."

"Wait a minute, I'll go back and change my clothes."

Xu Hongdou had never expected Chen Mo to be so formal, she thought he was just coming over for dinner as usual. So Xu Hongdou wore a loose blue shirt that hung down to her thighs and even covered her shorts, and a headband, simple and casual.

Although Xu Hongdou doesn't care much about these rituals, how could a girl not care about her own image at such an important moment?

"No need, you're fine like this, do whatever makes you comfortable." Chen Mo held Xu Hongdou.

“No, I’m like this.”

Before Xu Hongdou could say something, Chen Mo took her to the dining table and gently forced her to sit down.

"Come on, sit down first."

"Why didn't you tell me in advance so I could put on makeup." Xu Hongdou still felt a little "complaining" after sitting down.

"You are beautiful like this. I like you like this."

Chen Mo sat next to Xu Hongdou.

"Let's not be so nervous, just relax and be comfortable."

"You're being so formal, and you still have the nerve to say that." Xu Hongdou muttered.

"I just want to add a little atmosphere. Let's just have a simple meal like usual."

As he spoke, Chen Mo lifted the lid of the casserole on the table.

"Crispy pot?" Xu Hongdou's eyes widened, a little surprised. "How do you know how to make it? This is a dish from our hometown."

"I just learned it. Try it and see if it tastes good." Chen Mo smiled and motioned Xu Hongdou to try it.

Xu Hongdou glanced at Chen Mo first, then picked up a piece with chopsticks and tasted it.

The meat is already soft and boneless, fragrant and tasty.

"Yeah! That's the taste." Xu Hongdou nodded repeatedly.

"I haven't eaten it for a long time. I can only eat it during the Chinese New Year when I go home." Xu Hongdou couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.

The land and water nurture the people. The taste of hometown is not just delicious, but more of a sense of belonging and a memory that is hard to give up.

As we grow up, we move farther away from home and go back home less and less often, and the word "hometown" tends to become more and more attached to our hearts.

It is hard to leave our hometown; it is something engraved in our bones.

Xu Hongdou couldn't help but take another bite with his chopsticks. "Why does your cooking look so similar to what I make at home?"

At the first bite, Xu Hongdou felt that the taste was very familiar. After the second bite, she realized that this seemed to be the taste she used to eat at home.

"I asked my aunt for advice." Chen Mo said with a smile.

"My mother taught you?" Xu Hongdou was a little surprised.

"Of course, the more the mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, the more satisfied she was." Chen Mo said proudly, "So the aunt taught me all her secret recipes."

"If you want to eat it in the future, just tell me and I'll make it for you."

When Xu Hongdou heard Chen Mo talking about son-in-law, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

However, the crispy pot that Chen Mo made for her really made her feel warm inside.

Not only did she taste the flavor of home, but also because this was something Chen Mo learned and made for her.

"Eat slowly and eat more." Chen Mo looked at Xu Hongdou eating happily and felt very satisfied himself.

"You eat too." Xu Hongdou picked up some food for Chen Mo.

"Okay." Chen Mo nodded and started eating.

In fact, when the two of them are together now, they don’t need to find any special topics to talk about.

The two of them ate quietly without talking, and they didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, they felt comfortable and natural.

"What have you been doing today?"

"sleep."

"Just sleeping?"

"I slept until noon, had a meal, and fell asleep again while lying on a chair."

"You are a pig. You eat and sleep when you are full. You sleep and eat when you are full." Chen Mo said with a smile.

"You are the pig. Being able to sleep is a blessing. Do you understand?" Xu Hongdou kicked Chen Mo lightly under the table.

"That's true. Eating well and sleeping well is a blessing."

In fact, Chen Mo knew that Xu Hongdou was too tired from work.

It's not only physical fatigue, but also mental fatigue.

Working in the hotel service industry, you have to deal with all kinds of guests with a smile every day and bear other people's emotions, which must make you physically and mentally exhausted.

After they finished eating, Chen Mo washed some fruit and ate it on the sofa with Xu Hongdou.

"You made so many, what a waste."

Xu Hongdou looked at the huge bouquet of roses on the coffee table and couldn't help but speak.

"If you like it, don't waste it."

"I like it but I can't like it so much."

Xu Hongdou looked around at the roses of various colors and shook her head with some regret.

"There's more." Chen Mo said.

"Ok?"

Chen Mo walked towards the 990 roses, took out a box from among the flowers and handed it to Xu Hongdou.

"Look, do you like it?"

"What?" Xu Hongdou took it, opened it and saw that it was a small bracelet.

"The exquisite dice are decorated with red beans, do you know how deep my love for you is?" Chen Mo explained with a smile.

"This is the perfect way to express my feelings for you."

"Who told you to be called Hongdou?"

Listening to Chen Mo's words, Xu Hongdou looked at the exquisite dice in her hand. A red bean was embedded in the hollow carved dice.

"The dice are made of deer antlers, which symbolizes 'good fortune, prosperity and well-being'. They are also made of bone."

"The red beans in it are acacia seeds, and the names and meanings are suitable."

"Love seeds are poisonous, just like my longing for you, which has penetrated into my bones and cannot be cured by medicine."

Chen Mo spoke softly with a gentle smile in his eyes.

"Have you been preparing for this these days?" Xu Hongdou looked at Chen Mo.

"I think it's best to give this to you at this moment." Chen Mo said seriously.

"Xu Hongdou, when I first saw you, I was indeed amazed by your appearance."

"During this time together, I was attracted by your straightforward and cheerful personality, and sometimes I was amused by your silly and cute personality."

"Seeing that you have a stomach problem but always make do with your meals makes me feel bad. You are so considerate and caring to every customer at work, but you don't know how to take care of yourself a little more in life."

"So, Xu Hongdou, can you give me an identity to take care of you, and give me the right to care for you and love you justifiably?"

"I never like to meddle in other people's affairs, but I want to interfere in your life, only you."

Xu Hongdou tilted her head slightly and looked at Chen Mo, with a smile in her eyes. "Why doesn't this sound like a confession, but more like a proposal?"

Chen Mo smiled, "If you want"

"You wish. Don't even think about skipping steps!" Xu Hongdou snorted.

Chen Mo smiled and asked, "Then let's take the first step?"

Xu Hongdou couldn't help laughing, and replied seriously: "Okay, boyfriend."

"Hahaha."

Hearing Xu Hongdou's answer, Chen Mo excitedly went up to Xu Hongdou and hugged her and spun around.

"I'm dizzy, I'm dizzy, put me down quickly." Xu Hongdou shouted while hugging Chen Mo's neck.

After hearing this, Chen Mo slowly stopped, then hugged Xu Hongdou tightly, buried his face in her neck, smelled the fragrance of Xu Hongdou's hair, and said softly:

"Please give me more advice in the future, girlfriend."

(End of this chapter)