Chapter 26

Lin Xu hurriedly and firmly refused. It would be so embarrassing if Shu Qingyou saw it, even though she had already abandoned her negligible pride.

“No need, no need. You go blow-dry your hair first. I’ll just ask where you keep the instant noodles.”

“There’s really nothing worth seeing. Go blow-dry your hair quickly, or you’ll catch a cold.”

Shu Qingyou hadn’t taken two steps before Lin Xu blocked her view. Her attempt to cover it up only made it more obvious.

This person definitely had a guilty conscience. Shu Qingyou glared coldly and said, “Move.”

Lin Xu uncomfortably stepped aside. “Don’t scare it, and don’t hit me.”

The words sounded amusing. She thought Lin Xu was the one with violent tendencies.

The closer she got to the kitchen, the more the familiar burnt smell assaulted her senses.

Lin Xu nervously tried to salvage the situation by covering Shu Qingyou’s eyes.

“You haven’t promised not to hit me yet—no, hitting the butt is okay.”

What did this have to do with her butt? Shu Qingyou stated the truth bluntly. “I can’t keep up with your train of thought.”

When she saw the disastrous state of the kitchen, Shu Qingyou resigned herself to it. Life was like that—when you settled into a peaceful calm, it wouldn’t be long before storm clouds gathered, pelting you with hailstones one after another.

It was like a domino effect, relentless.

The pot full of water was dumped in the sink, and the black smoke from the burnt food had stopped, but the windows weren’t open, so the smell lingered thickly in the house, still choking.

People who rarely cooked usually couldn’t gauge the right amount of dry noodles, and Lin Xu had unceremoniously grabbed a huge handful, tossing the packaging around haphazardly.

The swollen noodles that wouldn’t fit in the bowl ended up partly in the trash and the rest stuck to the pot bottom or floating in the water.

Not to mention the wasted eggs—the egg liquid had spilled on the floor without any shoe marks crossing it. Shu Qingyou tried hard to find something that wouldn’t make her angry, and this was probably it.

Turning the kitchen into a smoky battlefield was undoubtedly a talent.

“Lin Xu, I have to say, you’re pretty impressive.”

Lin Xu trembled in fear. Shu Qingyou was actually staying calm, which felt like the calm before the storm.

“I really messed up.”

She apologized anxiously. “How about punishing me by kneeling on a washboard? Or durian works too.”

“We’ll talk about that later. May I share my thoughts?”

“Please, go ahead.”

There was no better time to grovel.

Shu Qingyou gave her a sidelong glance and rolled up her sleeves, preparing to mop the floor first.

“In this world, no one is perfect. I understand that you can’t control your emotions, but you keep doing things that obviously disrupt me. I don’t get it—where’s your bottom line? Even if you have one, you’re relying on me indulging you, right? Habitually repeating the same mistakes. Please remember, this isn’t your home. And I won’t lay a hand on you—I don’t have those kinds of preferences either.”

Not a single curse word, yet it hit Lin Xu like a thunderbolt. She froze in place.

Wave after wave of sourness crashed over her heart. Was this the image she had in her mind?

Her vision quickly blurred. Lin Xu lowered her head and said nothing.

Shu Qingyou glanced at her. She was now slumped over the dining table like a frostbitten eggplant.

Such a fragile heart.

But she wasn’t sure if Lin Xu was reflecting. After all, small accumulations led to great disappointments. The words were harsh, but she had no obligation to clean up after her.

By the time Shu Qingyou finished cleaning, half an hour had passed. She had also dealt with the clumps of noodles Lin Xu had made. In that time, Lin Xu had been as obedient as could be, completely different from the past few days.

Lin Xu’s heart was a tangle of emotions, with pain dominating. She didn’t even think to protest her innocence.

Her peripheral vision kept darting to Shu Qingyou’s busy figure—the rise and fall of her chest, the slightly oversized white bathrobe revealing a glimpse of cleavage when she bent over, the two soft mounds pressing together.

On a normal good day, she would have lost herself to pheromones and daydreamed.

But from Shu Qingyou’s words, she was just an adult who couldn’t even control herself—maybe not even as good as Shu Rong in her eyes.

At that thought, Lin Xu’s eyes welled up again uncontrollably. Even a drowned rat wasn’t as pitiful as her.

She turned her head and happened to see Shu Qingyou carrying a pristine white porcelain bowl, from which wafted the enticing aroma of instant noodles topped with a soft-boiled egg in thick broth.

This broke her defenses more than any scolding or beating. Lin Xu pursed her lips; her stomach was already full of bitterness, yet she wanted to indulge in a good cry.

Her misty eyes lifted to meet Shu Qingyou’s gaze.

Pitiful and helpless, as if Shu Qingyou had beaten her for three days and nights. She knew she was wrong and sought comfort.

Shu Qingyou said, “I cooked you some noodles. I wasn’t sure if you still ate this.”

Lin Xu sniffled softly and hummed in response. She gently wrapped her arms around Shu Qingyou’s slender waist, the soft flannel pressing against her.

She rubbed her forehead against it a few times, like a weary bird finding its nest, mumbling indistinctly, “Thank you, Sister Shu. I really, really know I was wrong this time. I’ll definitely change.”

Shu Qingyou set the bowl down. Right now, Lin Xu seemed purely simple, but she knew it was just a temporary illusion to confuse her.

Perhaps the current environment made Lin Xu easier to deal with, but what Shu Qingyou faced was a living, tricky person.

She said helplessly, “If you can’t change, there’s no helping it. I won’t force you.”

Lin Xu insisted she would change.

The reason was that she wanted to become someone Shu Qingyou could rely on. As for regaining her memories—screw that.

Once she set her goal, she was full of energy. She turned around, picked up a hot strand of freshly cooked noodles, and shoved it into her mouth.

The noodles, buried by Lin Xu earlier, were twisted into small clumps and needed washing.

“Hiss, hot!”

The scalding noodles tumbled in her mouth as Lin Xu swished them around. It took a while to swallow, and she fanned her mouth with her hand to cool it.

Shu Qingyou patted her shoulder and reminded her wryly, “Eating while it’s too hot can damage your esophagus. But you always say too many unrealistic things—getting scalded might not be a bad lesson.”

Lin Xu teared up but kept eating. She was deeply grateful for Shu Qingyou’s evaluation. Sitting in the dining chair, she waited for the noodles to cool before telling Shu Qingyou that she would wash the dishes and not add to her troubles.

It should have been like this all along. Shu Qingyou nodded. Even though they had kissed and gone further, she stayed clear-headed and didn’t indulge. She wasn’t too hung up on physical pleasure.

She could endure it. Solving it herself was always an option.

The next day.

Lin Xu got up early. She hadn’t slept well; chaotic memories had flooded her last night. She went through her routine—getting out of bed, brushing her teeth, washing her face.

Shu Qingyou wasn’t in the room. Only Shu Rong sat obediently sipping her egg drop porridge.

The kitchen had been tidied spotlessly. Lin Xu’s face heated up.

The steamer held two corns and two eggs warming.

She took a corn and bit into it—sweet and glutinous. Looking toward the backyard, she didn’t see Shu Qingyou, so she hurried to check the car.

The car was still there. She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Shu Qingyou hadn’t left because she disliked her and had come and gone at staggered times.

Back in the kitchen, Shu Rong glanced at her habitually before lowering her head to continue sipping her porridge slowly.

Lin Xu sat beside her and patted her head. “Rongrong, where did your mom go?”

Shu Rong ignored her. After all, Mom had told her to be polite at the table, no talking while eating.

Seeing how focused Shu Rong was on her food, Lin Xu dejectedly remembered that this kid was tight-lipped. She wouldn’t move on until she was full.

Following Mom’s instructions, Shu Rong chewed slowly. After finishing her bowl of porridge, Lin Xu checked the time—twenty minutes. The corn was long gone.

Come to think of it, from their recent shared meals, Shu Qingyou ate slowly too, with little meat and more veggies.

No wonder she was so slim. Lin Xu propped her chin, pondering. She should learn cooking from Shu Qingyou to shed her reputation as a kitchen destroyer.

Lin Xu waited patiently until Shu Rong let out a satisfied burp. Without waiting for instructions, she picked her up.

“Want to play something fun?”