Chapter 19

The cucumber slices he was cutting immediately went askew.

Henry turned around in surprise, and the knife, still smeared with chopped vegetables, clattered into the sink.

He clearly hadn’t expected Selena to find him here, and his face quickly flushed red.

“Joel, didn’t we agree to keep this a secret?” he asked.

The chef, Joel, waved a hand.

“I didn’t say a word.”

“Why are you here?” Selena asked in disbelief.

The National Medical Research Institute wasn’t a place just anyone could enter, let alone gain access to the kitchen.

“Don’t you know?” Joel chuckled as he stirred a pot of soup.

“Henry is the beloved grandson of the institute’s director. He grew up in this place. It’s practically his second home.”

“He heard that you had come to the institute and was worried you wouldn’t be used to our northern cuisine. So, he sneaked in here to help in the kitchen, just to make your meals better. ”

—- “This kid even stole a century-old aged tangerine peel from the former director’s private collection just to make soup for you, since he knows your stomach is rather sensitive.”

“Stop talking, Joel.” By now, Henry’s ears were burning red with embarrassment.

As he spoke, he even tried to hide his burned arm behind his back.

The way he cautiously concealed his injury was both endearing and heartbreaking.