Chapter 86: The Taste of Home
“What are you ‘ah-ing’ for? Do you want me to serve you?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t really understand.”
He had to give the newbie a live demonstration.
An hour later, Tang Ze came downstairs, feeling a bit unsatisfied. The experience with the big star was indeed different, but she was a bit too frail.
“Master isn’t gentle with the ladies at all.”
Xi Meng teased. She was starting to get a feel for Tang Ze’s boundaries. A little joking was fine, but when it was time to be serious, don’t cross the line. Even An Bai understood this.
Tang Ze rolled his eyes. “Heh, I taught her for at least half an hour. You all should teach her properly.”
The women giggled. They would definitely have to tease Li Linger when she came down.
“I’ve noticed that the people in the surrounding villas are all peeking over here.”
After the joke, Ye Qingyi said with a note of caution. Turning on the lights had made them a target.
Tang Ze suddenly picked her up. “They can only be envious. If they’re smart, they’ll just keep their envy to themselves. Otherwise, they’ll die.”
Ye Qingyi wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes filled with admiration. “Master…”
“I wasn’t satisfied just now.”
He picked a random bedroom and went inside.
An Bai, being smarter, immediately snuck in after them.
Sun Ting and Xi Meng exchanged glances. With so many women now, when would it be their turn?
Night fell, and the entire Shuangdong District was plunged into darkness, except for this one villa, which shone brightly like a mirage.
But it was also like a challenge: Come and rob me! I have electricity!
The temperature had dropped to -6°C, and the ground was starting to freeze.
Everyone in Shuangdong District was huddled under blankets, shivering. But Tang Ze was in his underwear and a black tank top, doing push-ups in the living room. Sun Ting, Ye Qingyi, and Xi Meng were even doing yoga, their yoga pants accentuating their long, alluring legs.
Occasional bursts of laughter came from the kitchen.
Li Linger, still sore, was cooking for everyone, blushing from the teasing. She wished she could dig a hole and hide. But with An Bai helping her, it was a little easier. After all, she was cooking for six people.
Tang Ze thought to himself, From now on, I’ll just let things happen. Five times the speed is enough. And with Li Linger, the energy bar has reached 74%.
This was a pleasant surprise. He was about to unlock the 3.0 gift pack. He wondered what goodies would be inside.
He was already invincible with 2.0. Once 3.0 was unlocked, how would anyone else survive?
“Can you keep your voices down? I can hear you talking about me.”
Tang Ze, doing push-ups with one hand, shouted towards the kitchen. Did they think he was deaf?
An Bai poked her head out with a spatula. “Master, I didn’t!”
“Little Linger, don’t learn bad habits from them. Learn to be proper.”
Tang Ze said seriously, which made the three women doing yoga giggle. Was his ‘proper’ really proper?
Li Linger barely managed a hum, her neck flushing red. An Bai’s constant teasing made her feel unsteady on her feet.
Soon, a sumptuous dinner was served. Tang Ze sat at the head of the table and looked at Li Linger, kneeling beside him. So quick to learn the bad habits, so slow to learn the good ones. Are you trying to defy me?
“Sit down and eat, all of you. You’re making me look like a pervert.”
Sun Ting said seriously, “Eating with Master is a transgression of the hierarchy. This is a basic principle. Please, Master, understand. Without rules, there is no order. This is also to let the newcomer know who is in charge here.”
“Yes, we can’t offend Master’s authority. There will only be more newcomers in the future. Eating is a way to establish dominance.”
Xi Meng’s words were met with agreement from the other women. Newcomers will have to kneel at the back. The front row is reserved.
See? I’m the bad guy now.
“Alright, we’ll eat at the table once a week. That’s not an unreasonable request, is it?”
“Once every two weeks.”
Ye Qingyi said.
Tang Ze almost laughed out loud. Who started this trend? Step forward, and I’ll beat you!
Actually, eating at the table felt like a home, and Tang Ze had always eaten alone. Perhaps the lunch he had had earlier had struck a nerve.
After dinner, he went to the living room, wanting to read some apocalyptic novels to supplement his knowledge, but there was no internet. It seemed communication was about to be completely cut off.
An Bai suddenly shouted, “Master, you haven’t fed us yet!”
“Feed you? Don’t you have hands? Does Master have to serve you? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Tang Ze grumbled and sat on the sofa. Have I been too nice lately? Have they gotten too bold? I’ll have to throw them some bones to make them behave.
He could feed one, but five was a different story.
“Lingling, you’ve made Master angry.”
An Bai whispered.
“Huh? I didn’t, did I?”
“Yes, Master said your little canine teeth are too sharp.”
Li Linger blushed and whispered, “Sister Bai, can you teach me later?”
“Okay, no problem. You can practice with a banana first.”
Ye Qingyi asked curiously, “You two aren’t eating? What are you whispering about?”
“Nothing, nothing! Eating, eating!”
An Bai and Li Linger shook their heads like rattle-drums, and Li Linger’s face felt hot.
After dinner, they all sat on the sofa, eating fruit and staring into space. No TV, no internet.
“By the way, let’s hear Little Linger’s story.”
Tang Ze found a new topic: the newcomer’s self-introduction.
Li Linger, holding a banana, snapped out of her daze. “I’m not a very good storyteller.”
“Oh, Master means tell us about your past, from childhood to now.”
An Bai got along well with Li Linger, perhaps because she was a fan.
Li Linger was silent for a moment, then said, “I was born in a small city. My parents were both teachers, which is probably why they were so strict with me, especially about not dating early. They wanted me to focus on my studies so I could get a good job. I didn’t disappoint them. I got into a top university, majoring in English, thinking I’d become an English teacher.”
“You studied English? I thought you studied acting. Then why did you start acting?”
Sun Ting peeled a grape and fed it to Tang Ze, who just opened his mouth to receive it.
Ye Qingyi, on the other side, was even more skillful, holding a grape between her teeth and feeding it to him, taking advantage of the situation.
Li Linger blushed and looked away. “During my freshman year, I was just accompanying a friend to an audition, but I got cast myself. I just went along with it for fun.”
“So that’s how it happened. That means you’re very talented.”
Xi Meng sighed. She had just been playing around and became famous.
