Chapter 80: We’re Not That Kind of Indulgent Relationship

Pei Shijin tried to negotiate with Lu Yixue. “Can’t I go buy it for you after dinner?”

Lu Yixue didn’t speak. She simply stared at Pei Shijin quietly, her amber eyes taking on a slightly pitiful look that left Pei Shijin utterly defenseless.

“I’ll go buy it for you right now.” Pei Shijin started heading for the door.

Lu Yixue was delighted. “No need.”

She grabbed Pei Shijin’s shoulders, leaned in, and captured Pei Shijin’s lips with a quick lick. Before Pei Shijin could react, she pulled away. “Just a taste for now. It’s very sweet.”

Pei Shijin’s face flushed hot. She quickly glanced at Little Mingzhu. The little one was fully focused on battling her bubble gum and hadn’t noticed Lu Yixue’s action.

Her pounding heart burned. How could she do something like that in front of a child? Fortunately, Little Mingzhu hadn’t paid attention.

For the first time, Pei Shijin shot Lu Yixue a dissatisfied glare before grabbing the rice wine and ducking into the kitchen.

The faintly angry Pei Shijin looked so vibrant and alive.

Lu Yixue felt a bit regretful that she hadn’t captured the moment on camera, but there were plenty of days ahead. There would surely be more opportunities to see it.

She stared at Pei Shijin’s retreating back and licked her lips. She hadn’t tasted the sweetness of the candy—only the fragrant sweetness of those red lips.

Should she steal another kiss?

Lu Yixue followed her into the kitchen, leaving Little Mingzhu alone in the living room, still diligently blowing bubbles.

Pei Shijin shot a sideways glare at the pursuing Lu Yixue. Lu Yixue responded with a smile. “I’ll help.”

“Then help me shred the meat.” Pei Shijin wasn’t polite, harboring a bit of intent to boss her around.

Shredding the cooked meat and stir-frying it to dry out the moisture was physical labor.

“Sure.” Lu Yixue felt only joy.

Pei Shijin, meanwhile, separated the egg whites on the side to make cake rolls.

The soy milk machine nearby was still cooking soy milk, buzzing and vibrating occasionally, its hum filling the kitchen. Lu Yixue couldn’t even chat with Pei Shijin—the machine drowned out softer voices.

Speaking louder… wasn’t feasible right now. She’d strained her voice yelling that morning and eaten spicy food at noon; her throat hurt.

“Mommy, Momma, I blew a bubble!” Little Mingzhu finally achieved her goal and ran over to show off to her parents.

But when she tried to blow another, it only formed a tiny ball before popping. The little one whined, “Wahhh, I clearly learned how.”

“It’s the bubble gum that’s bad. Is your tongue tired? Spit it out, and let your Momma go buy some more with you.” Pei Shijin ruffled Little Mingzhu’s head. “With new bubble gum, you’ll blow it perfectly on the first try.”

“Bad candy!” Realizing it wasn’t her fault, Little Mingzhu beamed instantly. “I knew Mingzhu was the best!”

“Momma, Momma, let’s go buy bubble gum.” Little Mingzhu hugged Lu Yixue, whose hands hadn’t stopped working.

“Okay.” Lu Yixue swiftly removed her gloves. Her pale fingertips were slightly red—shredding meat was exhausting; her fingers ached.

Pei Shijin watched them leave and continued beating the egg whites. Once done, she mixed them into the cake batter, poured it into the baking tray, and slid it into the oven.

Busy as ever, Pei Shijin started on the mochi next.

This was also physical work, especially mixing in the eggs evenly at the end.

But Pei Shijin was strong. She donned gloves, added the egg liquid while kneading the dough balls, and soon had it ready.

Classic black sesame flavor, cranberry, coffee chocolate, and plain—Pei Shijin divided the dough into four portions and mixed in the respective fillings.

The oven was occupied with the cake, so Pei Shijin’s eyes scanned the kitchen. She spotted an air fryer and decided to use it for the mochi.

Though Lu Yixue had stepped out to rest her fingers, she still thought of her task. After buying two big boxes of bubble gum, she headed home.

She even thought Little Mingzhu’s short legs were too slow and wanted to scoop her up for a carry.

Little Mingzhu happily relaxed, hugging the jar and admiring the colorful gum wrappers— so many flavors.

By the time they got home, the house was filled with enticing aromas. Lu Yixue sniffed. “Is that butter?”

No one answered. Little Mingzhu bolted to the kitchen upon entering to show off her bubbles to Pei Shijin.

Lu Yixue turned on the TV for her to watch later.

When she reached the kitchen, Little Mingzhu had finished her performance and was basking in praise.

“Go watch TV.” Lu Yixue grabbed a handful of bubble gum from the jar Little Mingzhu held. Standing beside Pei Shijin, she asked, “What are you making now?”

“Soy milk.” Pei Shijin stirred the thickening paste in the pot.

Lu Yixue peeked over but couldn’t make it out. “Want more bubble gum? Which flavor?”

“Blueberry.” Pei Shijin glanced at the pile in her hand—they were already out, so one more wouldn’t hurt.

Lu Yixue peeled the wrapper and popped it into her own mouth. “Want a taste?”

Pei Shijin instantly caught her meaning. The smile on her face faded by three degrees as she recalled that surprise kiss. She wanted to clarify things. “Please behave yourself. We’re not in a relationship where we can be so indulgent.”

“Where’s the indulgence? I didn’t even steal the candy from your mouth.” Lu Yixue said breezily. She quickly peeled another piece and tucked it into Pei Shijin’s slightly parted lips.

Pei Shijin sighed.

“Don’t sigh. Teach me how to blow bubbles.” Lu Yixue poked Pei Shijin’s cheek.

Pei Shijin pushed her hand away and rubbed her face. “Chew it soft first, then flatten it with your tongue tip. Press your upper and lower teeth against the gum-wrapped tongue, pull your tongue back, and blow.”

“Like this?” Lu Yixue blew a small bubble, asking muffledly.

“Mm-hm.” Pei Shijin demonstrated, blowing a palm-sized one.

“I have work to do.” With that, Pei Shijin focused on stirring the increasingly thick paste, as if blocking out all external noise.

Seeing this, Lu Yixue knew when to stop. She’d gained plenty today. She turned, donned her gloves, and resumed shredding meat while practicing bubbles.

Her fingers soon ached again. Lu Yixue hadn’t realized her fingers were so delicate, but she could endure it.

When Pei Shijin finished her other tasks and checked, she asked, “How’s it going?”

“Almost done.” Lu Yixue said. “How’s the shredding?”

Pei Shijin praised generously. “Very good, nice and fine. Some mochi is ready—take it to eat with Little Mingzhu. I’ll handle the rest.”

“You take it. Finish what you start.” Lu Yixue replied.

The gloves were transparent; Pei Shijin clearly saw Lu Yixue’s reddened fingertips and regretted assigning her such rough work.

“There’s no start or finish to this—it’s just a small task. Go eat.” Pei Shijin’s tone was unusually firm.

People’s behaviors were influenced by those around them. With Lu Yixue’s deliberate indulgence, Pei Shijin’s boldness grew.

“Fine.” Lu Yixue removed her gloves and handed them to Pei Shijin, like a handover ceremony.

There were plenty of new gloves, but Pei Shijin hesitated, then took them to avoid waste.

Pei Shijin began shredding, but Lu Yixue didn’t leave. She peeled another blueberry gum and popped it in her mouth.

“I can blow big bubbles now. Watch.” Lu Yixue said.

Pei Shijin pursed her lips. “Mm.”

In her peripheral vision, she saw Lu Yixue puffing one cheek, her expression serious as if tackling a major task. It was truly adorable.

Pei Shijin forced herself to look away.

“Look, look.” Lu Yixue called muffledly. Pei Shijin didn’t catch it, so she poked her waist.

Pei Shijin turned and saw the bubble growing huge, nearly obscuring Lu Yixue’s face. “Stop blowing, it’ll—”

Pop. The bubble burst.

Lu Yixue fled to the bathroom to wash her face.

Pei Shijin stood stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help laughing.

When Lu Yixue returned with a straight face to grab mochi, avoiding eye contact.

“There seems to be something stuck in your hair.” Pei Shijin suddenly said.

Lu Yixue instinctively pawed at her hair. “Where, where?”

“Oh, my mistake. It was just a reflection.” Pei Shijin said sheepishly.

Lu Yixue dropped her hand. “Oh. Are your eyes uncomfortable? I can put some drops in.”

“No, they’re fine.” She’d just wanted to tease Lu Yixue. Pei Shijin kept her head down shredding meat, unsure why she’d blurted it out.

Maybe because she’d never seen Lu Yixue with bubble gum all over her face before. It was excessively cute.

The afternoon filled the kitchen with constant aromas.

By evening, the kitchen quieted. The three sat on the sofa, eating and watching cartoons.

They had no room left for the lunch leftovers.

The next day, as Pei Shijin stepped off the high-speed train, she received Teacher Zheng’s call.

“I’ve just arrived in Yancheng. Okay, I’ll head over now.” After hanging up, Pei Shijin looked at Lu Yixue and Little Mingzhu. “Teacher needs me. We’re going separate ways—I’ll take a cab, you head home.”

“Taxis are hard to get here, and it sounds urgent. Let the driver take you. Mingzhu and I aren’t in a rush.” Lu Yixue said.

“Yeah, yeah! Mommy, Mingzhu wants to ride the subway with Momma~” The little one was thoughtful—and genuinely curious about the subway.

On the train, Little Mingzhu had overheard someone say subways were like sardine cans. Would it smell fishy?

“Okay, thanks.” Pei Shijin crouched to hug Little Mingzhu. “See you tonight or tomorrow morning.”

“Okay~ Bye, Mommy~” Little Mingzhu hugged back.

Lu Yixue watched Pei Shijin, who showed no sign of hugging her, so she initiated, wrapping her arms around Pei Shijin. “Be safe.”

“Mm.” Pei Shijin’s hands hovered over Lu Yixue’s back until she let go.

On the way, Pei Shijin gazed at the scenery speeding by outside the car window, pondering why Teacher Zheng had summoned her so suddenly.

Maybe some urgent task. Pei Shijin thought. She’d taken pay without much work so far; she felt bad for her teacher wasting money on her. Helping out would be ideal.

Teacher Zheng sent a new address via phone. She no longer lived in the hospital staff dorms but had moved to a nicer neighboring complex.

Pei Shijin followed the address. Entering the building, she spotted two foreigners heading out.

They looked familiar—probably doctors from Mrs. Belika’s side. This might be housing she rented for them.

In the elevator, Pei Shijin eyed the corner camera, wondering if Teacher Zheng had been invited over by Mrs. Belika. They seemed very close.

Confirming the door number, Pei Shijin rang the bell. The door opened quickly.

The aroma of home-cooked food wafted out. “Hello, Teacher. You haven’t eaten yet?”

“Mm, have you? There’s an urgent project—I want you to follow up on it.” Teacher Zheng handed her slippers.

“I had breakfast. Leave it, Teacher; I can manage.” Pei Shijin changed into slippers and surveyed the plain interior.

“If you can eat, join me. We can talk over food. At my age, watching you young ones eat makes my own meal tastier.” Teacher Zheng said.

“Sure.” Pei Shijin was led to the table—three dishes and a soup, quite abundant.

“Have some soup; softshell turtle is nourishing.” Teacher Zheng ladled her a bowl.

Pei Shijin thanked her again, not wanting to disappoint, and sipped. “Very fresh.”

“Drink more if you like.” Teacher Zheng said.

“Mm, Teacher, what project? I’m only good at body conditioning…” Pei Shijin said.

“Eat first.” Teacher Zheng picked up her chopsticks.

Pei Shijin felt puzzled. Suddenly, her head spun, and she lost consciousness.

Teacher Zheng sighed at Pei Shijin. She truly liked this student and wondered if they’d work together again.

Belika emerged from the bedroom, two doctors trailing her. “Zheng, don’t be so pessimistic. I’m just borrowing some of her blood and gland fluid—not taking her life.”

Teacher Zheng sighed. “I could never trust a madwoman’s promise.”