The smell of food wafted from a particular bungalow with a small yard in the Coleman Residence. Young Master Yoseph, who was the manager of the Dynasty Hotel and a first-class chef, was making late-night snacks. His food was so delicious that everyone would want to come and grab the food he prepared, even if it was a mere plate of stir-fried vegetables.
Because Steve and Matthew were Yoseph's neighbors, they were the first to notice the fragrance. Steve walked to the balcony and looked toward Yoseph's yard. "Yoseph! Are you trying to lure us with food again in the middle of the night?"
There was no response from Yoseph. Steve thought perhaps it was because he was not loud enough, so he did not stop for a moment as he went back to his room, changed his clothes, took his cell phone, and left for Yoseph's yard. A few minutes later, he appeared in the hall next door, but someone was already there. It was his younger brother, Matthew.
"Steve, are you here to crusade our beloved brother for what he's doing right now?"
Steve answered with a pretentious solemn face, "Who else are we going to crusade if not Yoseph when he chooses not to rest but cook delicious food and lure everyone in the middle of the night?" As soon as he finished speaking, his straight face changed to a mischievous smile as he asked Matthew, "So, what is our brother cooking, by the way?"
"You'll know once you go in. It's quite lavish, and the big plate of grilled cajun garlic butter lobster tails is the most eye-catching food. You know I don't like lobsters, but I can't help but drool when I see them." As Matthew replied, he held his brother's arm and pulled him in the direction of the yard. "Let's go and eat the lobsters."
"Sure, let's finish off his lobsters." Yoseph's cooking clearly tempted the brothers. Still, instead of admitting that, they justified their 'evil' plan of eating everything Yoseph made by saying that Yoseph brought this upon himself.
On the other hand, Yoseph heard his brothers' conversation in the hall. By the time the brothers appeared in his yard, he had already finished preparing the supper and was taking off his apron.
"Yoseph, you just can't let us have a good rest, can you? Luring us with your food in the middle of the night..." teased Steve.
Matthew chimed in the conversation after hearing what Steve said. "I cannot agree more… I've gained two pounds recently, so I thought of reducing social gatherings and eating fewer late-night snacks. But my beloved brother, Yoseph, has been the culprit in preventing me from losing weight. So, instead of losing weight, I have gained more weight." Matthew sounded like he was complaining but did not stop picking up the lobsters. He never liked lobsters, but if Yoseph made them, he would eat them all up, even if he would gain ten pounds by the end of the day.
"I can't sleep, so I just thought of making a few dishes. Then, if you want to eat, bring them out. I don't recall prohibiting you from eating." Yoseph was delighted with the reactions of the two younger brothers. It would be his failure as a first-class chef if he could not attract his brothers, who were living next to him, using the aroma wafting from the food he prepared.
The moment Steve and Matthew heard that they quickly brought all the cooked dishes out to the dining table, but Yoseph insisted that they bring them to the hall. The two brothers looked at each other and instantly knew what Yoseph was really up to—it was not that Yoseph could not sleep. Rather, he deliberately cooked a few good dishes to lure the guest upstairs who was temporarily living with the Colemans. In that instant, they recalled that Jane loved spicy lobster tails the most.
The two brothers, who took the hint, followed Yoseph's order and placed the dishes on the coffee table in front of the couch. They also each brought a low stool and sat around the coffee table while Yoseph brought two bottles of wine.
"Gotta work tomorrow, so I won't be drinking tonight. If I get drunk, I'll have to work overtime in the next few days." Steve declined the drink, and so did Matthew.
"Well, my time is more flexible than yours, so I'll drink." Yoseph's work was not as busy as the brothers'. If he got drunk, he would just skip one day of work; it was not a big deal to him. He poured himself a glass of wine, and as he watched his two younger brothers eat with relish, he could not help but cough lightly. When his brothers looked over, he pouted in the upstairs direction.
"Oh my God, these spicy lobster tails are really delicious! It's fragrant and spicy and finger-licking good!"
"That's right! Even someone like me, who doesn't like lobsters, can't help but drool at these delicious lobsters! You're truly worthy of being the first-class chef of the Dynasty Hotel. Oh no, I mean, the general manager!"
Steve and Matthew understood their brother's hint and praised the food as loudly as they could while eating. In fact, there was no need for such commotion as the room was full of the lobster fragrance that Jane would be able to smell even if she were asleep.
Jane had yet to fall asleep. She was lying in bed, tossing and turning; it was something Grandma said to her in private that had affected her sleep. Old Madam Coleman and Grandma told her frankly that Dylan would be adopting one child from Yoseph and Matthew after the brothers married and had their own child.
Jane knew she was going to marry Yoseph, but the fact that she had to accept Old Madam Coleman's request even before getting married was a bit annoying. How could anyone be willing to give their child to others?
Even if the child would still be living at the Coleman Mansion after the adoption, the child would no longer be calling her 'mommy'. Instead, the child would regard Kendall and Dylan as his parents. Jane was heartbroken just by thinking about it.
Old Madam Coleman was adamant that if Jane could not agree to this request, she could not marry Yoseph. Grandma Coleman had the utmost power in deciding every matter in the Coleman Family, and everyone had to obey her decisions, except for Dylan, who dared to resist the old lady.
It smells so good! Jane, who was tossing and turning, smelled the scent and could not help but sigh. She picked up her phone and checked the time; it was 11.00PM, and Kendall would be home by now. Could it be that the central kitchen was preparing Kendall some late-night snacks? But the kitchen was so far away that it would be quite impossible for the aroma to waft so far.
Hmmm… then the aroma is from… As soon as the thought flashed across her mind, Jane immediately rolled over and got out of bed. I can't sleep anyway. I might as well go downstairs and have a look. If Yoseph is really cooking now, I promise I will eat everything up! The moment she walked out the door, the scent grew even pungent. She could also hear Steve and Matthew bragging about Yoseph's good cooking skills downstairs. Sure enough, Yoseph was showing off his cooking skills.
This guy could have shown his skills off during the day, but he did it at night. He sure did not want anyone to sleep in peace.
"Spicy! This is so spicy!" Matthew exclaimed while eating. He could not stomach spicy food but could not resist the temptation of the lobster tails. The central kitchen made them three meals a day, strictly following the recipes arranged by the nutritionist at home. Such recipes would not contain these home-cooked dishes that ordinary people liked to eat.
As such, Matthew could only taste such delicacies at Yoseph's place, and while the lobsters were really spicy, it did not stop Matthew from continuing to eat while sticking his tongue out.
"All of you are so mean! You're having supper but didn't even bother to tell me." Jane ran downstairs the moment she heard there were spicy lobster tails and naturally chose a spot next to Yoseph. Yoseph didn't even say anything as he merely handed her a pair of disposable gloves.
"Do you want wine?"
"Nope." Jane wore the disposable gloves and started eating the lobster tails with Steve and Matthew while conveniently ignoring Yoseph's triumphant smirk.
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