Chapter 17 — So Unfair, So Unfair

"Is that so?" Shen Yushu plainly did not believe him, and eyed Wei Zhao with suspicion.

"Of course it's true..." Wei Zhao wore a look of injured innocence; what he had said was, more or less, the truth.

"Hmph." Shen Yushu gave a cold sniff. She had no wish to wrangle with Wei Zhao over this, and picked up the set-top box remote from the coffee table, about to change the channel — but her gaze caught on a wad of toilet paper on the table. It had not been wrapped up properly, and a sticky-looking fluid was faintly visible inside...

"What is this?" Shen Yushu's face went green at once, and her voice trembled: "Well, well, Wei Zhao — here in Yao-yao's house, watching ** videos on the television, and doing such filthy things..."

"What did I do?" Wei Zhao was startled, and followed Shen Yushu's gaze to the coffee table, baffled. When he saw the wad of toilet paper he had used, it dawned on him too — oh hell, don't tell me my luck is that bad?

Wei Zhao knew Shen Yushu had certainly misunderstood. This wad of toilet paper, plus the sticky stuff, tied together with the ** videos he had been watching earlier — no wonder it invited suspicion... Wei Zhao felt so wronged. What kind of mess was this?

"Yushu... don't let your mind run that way. I just came north and I'm not used to the climate — I caught a cold. This is the tissue I used to blow my nose. If you don't believe me, look closely for yourself..." As he spoke, Wei Zhao picked up the wad of tissue from the coffee table and opened it out, meaning to let Shen Yushu have a good look.

"Take it away!" Shen Yushu shrieked. "I don't want to look at anything so disgusting! Wei Zhao, you bastard!"

Wei Zhao was rather embarrassed, but there was nothing he could do. Shen Yushu did not believe him, and he could hardly force her to look. He could only sullenly put the tissue aside. "Believe it or not, I really wasn't..."

Shen Yushu's eyes darted; a scheme came to her. "I've changed my mind. I don't want instant noodles anymore. Go cook for me."

"Huh?" Wei Zhao blinked. "Why?"

"Heh heh, because I've got something on you. If you don't go, I'll tell Uncle Chu that you... you were watching XX on the TV at home and scared both me and Yao-yao half to death." Shen Yushu smiled a sly smile.

Several black lines popped out on Wei Zhao's forehead. What an injustice, what an injustice! But where was he to go to plead his case? If the old man got wind of it, his life would be over.

Wei Zhao drew two deep breaths and said through gritted teeth, "You're ruthless."

"Ruthless? Not as ruthless as you — doing something so shocking." Shen Yushu gave no ground.

Wei Zhao was speechless. He had admitted defeat, but he did not forget to get a little of his own back. "But are you sure you dare eat food made by these hands?"

"Oh, no problem at all. The books say that stuff is all protein — eating it is good for the complexion." Shen Yushu spoke as if it were nothing.

This time Wei Zhao was utterly speechless. Shen Yushu, this little demon, was far harder to deal with than Gu Mengyao. At worst Gu Mengyao merely disliked him, but this girl found every possible way to torment him.

What puzzled Wei Zhao, though, was how Shen Yushu could be so different from a moment ago. She had just called it disgusting and told him to take the tissue away, and now she was saying it was good for the complexion...

"What do you want to eat?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Anything's fine. I don't know what's in the kitchen either — go and have a look." Shen Yushu shifted into a more comfortable position, lounging on the sofa with a certain allure, half a smooth calf slipping out of her pajamas and swinging back and forth, swinging until certain parts of Wei Zhao, which had just calmed down, stirred again.

"All right..." Afraid Shen Yushu would notice his predicament, Wei Zhao walked toward the kitchen bent at the waist. He had not gone two steps before Shen Yushu called him back.

"Hey, Brother Shield, what's wrong with you? Why are you practicing at being a shrimp for no reason?" Shen Yushu found it odd that Wei Zhao was hunched over, but when she saw his lower body, she understood at once what he was doing. Her face flushed, she quickly turned her little face aside and snorted, "So filthy."

Wei Zhao could not be bothered to explain. Since he had already been found out, he simply straightened up and walked quickly to the kitchen.

Watching Wei Zhao's receding back, Shen Yushu's lips curved in a sly smile. Hmph, did he take her for a fool? Did she not know that was snot? She had learned it in physiology and hygiene class at school: that stuff is milky white and carries a particular smell that can be caught from far away. Shen Yushu had never smelled the real thing, but she had been sitting on the sofa for quite a while and had noticed nothing at all from the tissue right beside her — clearly it had no particular smell.

And the most important point of all: the internet said that after a man does that, his lower body goes soft. From the way Wei Zhao had looked just now, he was nothing like a man after release.

Of course, Shen Yushu would not tell Wei Zhao any of this. She would take the mistake for the truth and use it as a hold over him. Hmph, let's see if he dared disobey her next time.

It was so nice to have a free errand boy. Breathing in the aromas drifting from the kitchen, Shen Yushu felt more than ever that her earlier decision had been incomparably brilliant.

When Wei Zhao reached the kitchen, he was taken aback. The kitchen was very well equipped, far better than the big earthen stove back in his village; everything was so modern. On the wall to one side hung a cute little apron with a SpongeBob pattern, but it looked very new, probably hardly ever used. Presumably these two girls had everything brought to them and never lifted a finger; there was no way they cooked for themselves.

Wei Zhao tied the apron on and began searching the kitchen for ingredients he could cook with. In the refrigerator were some tomatoes, spinach, celery, and other vegetables, along with some eggs, but only a small amount of each. Uncle Qing had probably prepared them for Gu Mengyao just in case; whether Gu Mengyao actually cooked was anyone's guess. Still, as the man Gu Pengzhan trusted most, Uncle Qing would naturally think of everything.

He checked the staples: there was flour and rice. Wei Zhao decided to mix some dough and pull noodles, then make a simple bowl of plain noodles — he was hungry himself anyway.

Cooking was second nature to Wei Zhao. He had waited on the old man hand and foot at home every day since he was small, and he had been doing it ever since. Especially with the kitchen here so fully equipped, Wei Zhao quickly kneaded the dough and, with practiced skill, began pulling the noodles. Before long, a bundle of fine, chewy noodles lay on the cutting board.

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