Chapter 31
The room fell into a strange silence. After Lin Zhao spoke, Chu Xihuan said nothing. Not hearing Xihuan’s voice, Lin Zhao also grew apprehensive.
After an unknown amount of time, just as Lin Zhao thought Xihuan was not going to answer her and was pouting in annoyance, she suddenly heard Chu Xihuan’s voice.
“Get down.” A plain and simple sentence, as if she were commenting on the nice weather.
“Huh?” Lin Zhao was confused by the sudden change of topic and didn’t react for a moment.
“Get out and sleep on the floor,” Chu Xihuan said again, this time with a hint of gritted teeth in her voice.
This Lin Zhao’s ability to take a mile when given an inch was becoming more and more skilled, and her ability to twist concepts was also top-notch. Chu Xihuan was starting to wonder if she was really as foolish as she appeared.
Lin Zhao’s eyes widened. After confirming that she hadn’t misheard and that it was really Xihuan who was kicking her out of bed, she quickly hugged Chu Xihuan tightly and whined, “No, I want to sleep with Xihuan. I don’t want to sleep on the floor.”
“Sleeping on the floor isn’t as fragrant as sleeping with Xihuan. I can’t sleep well without holding Xihuan, and I like to sleep while smelling Xihuan’s scent.”
Chu Xihuan, who had been unmoved by her initial words, her face darkened as she heard her say more and more infuriating things. She pushed back and kicked Lin Zhao. “Get out.”
This person was shameless and spoke without any filter, which angered Chu Xihuan so much that she wanted her to sleep on the floor for the rest of her life!
“Mmm?”
Her leg was kicked, and Lin Zhao didn’t feel any pain, but she did feel Xihuan’s firm attitude. She whined with a resentful expression, “Xihuan~ I don’t want to~”
“If you don’t, then you can forget about me kissing you in the future,” Chu Xihuan said coldly.
The next second, Lin Zhao had already flipped over and was standing on the floor, starting to look for things to make a bed on the floor.
Chu Xihuan was speechless.
How much does this person love to kiss?
Lin Zhao made a bed for herself on the floor and lay down, but she still couldn’t help but look at the bed with a resentful expression.
Xihuan is so cold and heartless! She was so gentle and passionate when she kissed me earlier, but in the blink of an eye, she’s telling me to get out!
She doesn’t feel bad for me at all!
Chu Xihuan ignored her gaze and turned over, her back to Lin Zhao. Hearing the old bed creak as she moved, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of annoyance.
This bed was just like that Lin Zhao, so noisy!
She forced herself to close her eyes and clear her mind, trying to fall asleep. Recalling Lin Zhao’s shameless behavior earlier, she couldn’t help but smile helplessly. No wonder she could be a loafer; she did have a bit of a thick skin.
Lin Zhao, on the floor, didn’t know what Chu Xihuan was thinking. Seeing that Xihuan really had no intention of letting her back on the bed, she pouted and finally fell asleep facing the bed.
Perhaps because she was really tired from the day’s work, Lin Zhao fell asleep quickly. When Chu Xihuan noticed that her breathing had become shallow and steady, she was both angry and amused.
She had been so unwilling to get out of bed and sleep on the floor earlier, and she had even said that she couldn’t sleep well without her. But now, she had been on the floor for such a short time and was already sleeping so soundly. From the looks of it, she was sleeping quite well.
If it weren’t for the fact that this person had done such a physically demanding job at the docks during the day, Chu Xihuan really wanted to wake her up and ask her if she wasn’t supposed to be unable to sleep well.
Without Lin Zhao chattering in her ear, Chu Xihuan’s sleepiness also slowly crept up, and she gradually fell asleep.
When she woke up the next day, Chu Xihuan realized that it was already bright outside, and Lin Zhao, who had been sleeping on the floor, was gone. Even the things she had taken down to make a bed on the floor had been put away.
Chu Xihuan rubbed her head and sat up. After a moment, she got out of bed and got dressed, tidied the quilt on the bed, and didn’t hear any noise from outside, thinking that Lin Zhao had probably already gone to the docks to work.
After washing up, she went to the kitchen and, sure enough, found the breakfast Lin Zhao had left for her in the pot, still warm, just right for her to eat when she got up.
Chu Xihuan stared blankly at the poached eggs in the pot, thinking of the rough stitching on Lin Zhao’s clothes. That person had taken such poor care of herself, but when it came to taking care of her, she was exceptionally meticulous.
A hint of warmth appeared in Chu Xihuan’s eyes. She took the bowl from the pot and ate slowly, thinking that she would have to make a few more sets of clothes for Lin Zhao later.
Later, Lin Zhao would be an apprentice at the craftsman’s place. Although it wasn’t an easy job, it wouldn’t be right for her to dress like she was going to the docks. No matter what, she had to dress more respectably.
When she went to her second sister’s place, she was, after all, half a member of the Chu family. If she dressed so shabbily, wouldn’t that be a disgrace to her second sister as well?
After finishing breakfast, Chu Xihuan really didn’t stay idle. She went through her clothes, picked out the ones that were suitable for Lin Zhao, and then altered them to her size.
With both of them busy, time passed quickly. Originally, Chu Xihuan had thought of practicing her cooking while Lin Zhao was not at home, but altering clothes was also a troublesome and delicate task. Before she knew it, it was lunchtime, and there was some noise from outside.
There was noise, but she didn’t hear Lin Zhao’s voice, which made Chu Xihuan’s brow instinctively furrow with a bit of unease. She wondered if the members of the Lin clan had come to cause trouble again, but this time, they were being sneaky instead of making a big scene.
Speaking of which, it was really unexpected that the members of the Lin clan had just swallowed that loss last time and hadn’t come to cause trouble again.
It was obviously not that simple for Second Auntie Lin and the others to swallow that loss. The only one with that ability could only be Lin Yongchang, the head of the Lin clan.
Chu Xihuan was starting to wonder if the reason Lin Yongchang was unwilling to come was because he had really taken too much of Lin Zhao’s family’s property back then and was afraid that if the matter was brought up again and made a big deal, it would be difficult to resolve.
Chu Xihuan had not considered helping Lin Zhao get back what was originally hers, but in the end, that thought remained just a thought.
Not to mention that the Lin family’s property had been spent on the pretext of funeral arrangements, and so many years had passed. Lin Zhao was still young at the time, so it was completely impossible to calculate the property. No matter how they argued now, they wouldn’t have any advantage.
Chu Xihuan opened the study door and walked out, only to find that all the noise was coming from the kitchen. Her appearance also made the person inside turn to look at her in surprise.
“Xihuan, did I disturb you?” Lin Zhao was still holding a kitchen knife and cutting vegetables.
Chu Xihuan was silent for a moment when she saw her. “Why are you so quiet this time?”
In the past, she was always so boisterous when she came back. This sudden quietness, on the contrary, made her think there was a thief in the house.
At her words, Lin Zhao looked at her with a bit of grievance. “I didn’t want to disturb you, did I?”
She was being considerate of her. Why did Xihuan’s tone sound like she was blaming her?
Chu Xihuan was speechless.
She slapped Lin Zhao on the face, turning her head back, and changed the subject. “What are you planning to make today?”
This person, always with a wronged face. She had just asked a question. Was she bullying her?
Chu Xihuan didn’t have to think much to know that if Lin Zhao’s elders were still around, she would definitely be a little tattletale.
Lin Zhao, who had been slapped on the face, was quite happy. “We’re having fish today!” She had just been cutting some side dishes.
Hearing her words, Chu Xihuan was a little surprised and looked around the kitchen. “You know how to kill a fish? Where’s the fish?”
“Uh,” at her words, Lin Zhao paused for a moment, then said hesitantly, “No, I asked the lady who sold me the fish to help me kill it.”
With that, she pointed to the fish that was still wrapped in a lotus leaf.
Speaking of which, the reason she had chosen to buy a fish was because she had seen from the number of times Xihuan had taken from the fish dish at the homecoming visit that she liked to eat fish.
Chu Xihuan nodded. Seeing Lin Zhao like this, she knew that she probably hadn’t cooked fish much before. She went to get the cookbook she had bought and looked for the fish recipes in it.
“Let’s make steamed fish,” Chu Xihuan said, thinking as she looked at the cookbook. There were quite a few fish recipes in it, but compared to steamed fish, the other methods were too complicated for them.
“Oh, okay,” Lin Zhao nodded. Naturally, she would do whatever Xihuan said.
Chu Xihuan read the recipe to her and also watched Lin Zhao’s technique from the side, seeing how she handled the methods described in the book.
Steamed fish was not difficult to make. She prepared the sauce according to the cookbook and steamed it in a pot. Considering that there couldn’t be only one meat dish on the table, Lin Zhao also made a soup with vegetables and tofu, so that the dishes were not so monotonous.
During dinner, Chu Xihuan looked at the plate of fish on the table and hesitated to start eating.
She actually quite liked to eat fish, but she didn’t like the fishy smell, so every time the family made fish, the cook would handle it carefully to minimize the fishy smell as much as possible.
“Xihuan?” Lin Zhao called out cautiously.
Chu Xihuan glanced at her. Remembering Lin Zhao’s seriousness when she made this dish, she took a deep breath and made up her mind that no matter how fishy it was, she would not spit it out in front of Lin Zhao. She started to eat.
The person who had killed the fish had handled it very well. Chu Xihuan took a piece of fish belly and ate it, then a look of surprise crossed her face. She looked at Lin Zhao with some disbelief.
The fish was very tender, not at all overcooked, and the fishy smell was very light, within the range that Chu Xihuan usually required for her fish.
“It’s delicious,” Chu Xihuan said.
This was the best dish she had eaten since she came to the Lin residence. Compared to the other things that were just edible, this fish was much more flavorful.
Hearing her say this, Lin Zhao’s eyes lit up, as if she couldn’t believe it. She also took a piece and ate it. After tasting it, she couldn’t help but sway her body and call out Chu Xihuan’s name repeatedly.
“Xihuan! This fish is so delicious!”
Lin Zhao had never eaten such a delicious dish made by her own hands!
“Mm, it tastes very good,” Chu Xihuan affirmed. Even her appetite had improved because of the taste of this dish.
Lin Zhao was very excited. “I’ve memorized the recipe. I’ll make it for Xihuan again in the future!”
Xihuan likes to eat fish. If I can make delicious fish, will Xihuan like me a little more!
And after Xihuan is happy, will she take the initiative to kiss me?
Lin Zhao was very excited, which led to her getting a little carried away. She looked at Chu Xihuan with an expectant expression.
“Xihuan, how are you feeling now?”
“?”
Chu Xihuan didn’t react immediately to her change of topic.
“Then if you’re in a good mood now, will you kiss me?”
“…”
**
Author’s Note:
Xixi expressionless: Kiss my ass.
