Chapter 260

“What are you thinking about?” Yannis reached over and pinched Zinnia’s cheek. He didn’t get why she kept zoning out mid-conversation.

“Nothing. Is the food here yet? I heard this place serves fast,” Zinnia snapped out of it and pulled her face out of his hand.

“The veggies are here. Eat some first,” Yannis said, killing her excitement with one sentence.

“Yannis, you know I don’t like vegetables,” Zinnia said, frowning at the pile of leafy greens, which totally ruined her appetite.

She turned to look at the window. The restaurant was nicely decorated, with see-through panels showing a snowy scene that looked almost real.

“Yannis, does it snow here?” she asked, staring at the fake snow outside, full of curiosity.

Back when she lived with Nathan in the south, she’d never seen real snow. But she’d seen videos online, and it looked beautiful–now she really wanted to see it for herself.

She traced the glass with her finger, watching the soft flakes fall behind it. She reached out, trying to touch them, but felt nothing but air. A flicker of disappointment showed in her eyes.

“It hardly ever snows in Jinston. If you want to see snow, we can go to Haverton. It snows there a lot,” Yannis said. “When winter break starts, I’ll take you there.”

“They even have a snow park there. You’d like it,” he added. “We’ll stay for a couple of days and have fun.”

Yannis glanced at the fake snow outside. Jinston barely got snow–he’d only seen it maybe ten times in his life. The last time was two years ago, right before he went abroad.

“Oh.” Zinnia looked a bit let down after hearing that.

“Here comes your favorite–smoked brisket,” Yannis said, placing a plate in front of her.

“Finally, some meat.” Zinnia’s face lit up right away. She stared at the brisket like it was the best thing in the world, a big happy smile spreading across her face.

Zinnia was easy to please. As long as there was meat, most of her bad moods just disappeared.

Seeing her so easily cheered up, Yannis gave a helpless little smile. He’d never let her go without good food, yet she still acted like meat was the best surprise ever.

Zinnia focused completely on eating, not even noticing that Yannis had picked up his phone.

“Why aren’t you eating? Got work again?” Zinnia had just picked up a bottle of milk when she noticed Yannis hadn’t touched his food and was still on his phone.

She figured he must be working again, so her voice dropped a little near the end. She set the milk down and picked up a spoon, planning to get him a bowl of chili con carne.

Hearing her speak, Yannis instinctively put down his phone and opened the milk she had just set aside. As he handed it to her, she handed him a full bowl of chili con carne.

Their hands bumped mid-air. They both smiled, not at all surprised by each other’s actions.

Sometimes, when Yannis suddenly had to deal with something during meals, Zinnia would quietly fill up his plate. It was like she was scared he’d starve or something.

And over time, Yannis had developed a habit whenever they ate together–he’d always keep an eye on her to see if she needed anything, topping things off for her every so often.

Chapter 260

Like opening milk. Zinnia was usually too busy eating to open her drink, but after eating something spicy, she always got thirsty, So Yannis would always have a bottle of opened milk ready for her.

Zinnia set down her spoon, took the milk, and took a big sip. Her already rosy lips turned an even deeper red from the spice.

She couldn’t really handle spicy food, but she still insisted on eating it. She said chili con carne only tasted right when it was spicy. Now her whole face was flushed, and tiny beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

She took another big gulp of milk and fanned her cheeks with her hand. The heat in the restaurant was on high, and between that and the chili con carne, Zinnia felt warm all over.

She took off her coat, and before she could figure out where to put it, Yannis had already reached out and taken it, hanging it neatly on the back of his chair.

“Have some broccoli,” Yannis said, placing a small plate of broccoli in front of her after hanging up her coat.

Zinnia could handle broccoli a bit better than other vegetables. Just the idea of those dark green vegetables made her head hurt.

“Can’t I just skip the veggies? Do I have to ruin such delicious chili con carne with green stuff?” Zinnia sighed dramatically. She didn’t understand why she had to eat vegetables at all.

“Just hang in there for eight more months,” Yannis said.

Zinnia would be an adult in eight months. After that, her body functions would be more stable. But Zinnia felt like her mind and body were already pretty adult now.

“Eight more months, huh.” Zinnia rested her cheek on her hand, looking depressed at the thought of eating veggies for that much longer.

“Come on, try it. Don’t you like food with a crunch?” While they were talking, Yannis gently pushed the broccoli closer to her.

Zinnia could handle vegetables, but they had to be the right texture–crunchy. Too soft, and she wouldn’t eat it. Too hard, same deal. Only vegetables cooked just right could pass her test.

“Poor me, being forced to eat vegetables.” Zinnia stared at the greens in front of her, sighed, and took a bite like she was facing a firing squad. She chewed slowly, clearly not enjoying it at all.

“Poor Zinnia. Want some sausages?” Yannis asked, watching her wrinkle her little face like she’d just been made to swallow poison. He couldn’t help but find it funny.

He had no idea why she hated vegetables so much, and no clue how Nathan used to convince her to eat them. Yannis had spent all this time with her and still hadn’t found a method that worked.

He’d tried everything. But every time he told her to eat her greens, she’d pout and grumble, complaining that vegetables were disgusting and saying that once she got rich, she’d wipe every green veggie off the face of the earth and eat meat every day.

Every time she said that, Yannis just wanted to laugh. He loved the way she muttered nonstop like that.

It was hard to believe that when they first met, Zinnia had been so quiet and distant, barely saying a word. If Yannis hadn’t taken the initiative, she never would’ve approached him.

But now, Zinnia shared everything with him. Yannis loved listening to her talk–even if it was just complaining about how a test question was way too hard and she felt too dumb to solve it, or how much homework she had.

That withdrawn, reserved personality the Shaw family had forced on her had vanished without a trace somewhere along the way. The Zinnia in front of Yannis was bold, confident, and totally unrestrained. She didn’t care about appearances and showed her every little quirk without hesitation.

Maybe Zinnia herself hadn’t even noticed how much she had changed.

“Of course I want some. Thank you.” Zinnia forgot all about complaining as she quickly reached for the plate of sausages, her eyes crinkling with delight.

Chapter 260

“Careful, it’s hot. Take your time,” Yannis reminded her.