Chapter 109: I’ll Take Good Care of Him
When extreme mental tension finally eases, the accumulated fatigue can crush a person in an instant.
Hearing a heavy sigh of relief from behind her, Su Yuqing turned around curiously, only to see the usually energetic Chen Mo looking unexpectedly exhausted.
She understood in an instant that Chen Mo had just been pretending to be full of energy in front of her these past few days.
Although she didn’t know what was making him so mentally drained, when she thought about how he had helped her with her own problems, tutored everyone, and looked after her day-to-day, she could imagine how hard he had been working.
A pang of heartache struck her, and she started wondering how she could help him recover.
For the moment, she didn’t disturb Chen Mo, who was resting his head on the desk. Instead, she took out her phone and started looking up ways to help someone recover from mental exhaustion.
Some suggestions involved medication, while others recommended soothing massages.
Working under the principle that all medicine has side effects, Su Yuqing decided to look into the massage therapy options.
Soon, she found quite a few guides on how to give someone a massage to relieve physical and mental fatigue.
She quickly and quietly began to study them.
Before long, the bell for the afternoon exam rang.
Su Yuqing committed what she had learned to memory before starting to focus on the test.
The two afternoon exams were basically no trouble for Chen Mo.
English was a breeze.
And he handled the science composite exam with practiced ease.
However, between his mental fatigue and taking two exams in a row, Chen Mo couldn’t help but feel a dull ache in his temples after he finished.
As soon as she finished her test, Su Yuqing immediately turned to look at Chen Mo with concern.
Seeing him like this, she had already decided how she was going to help him relax when they got home.
With the afternoon exams finally over and evening self-study canceled, the two of them could go home early.
After making plans with Zhao Yuanyuan and Huang Mao to celebrate her birthday tomorrow, the two of them walked out of the school gates side by side.
"There’s no evening self-study today, so let’s make something nice to eat at home." It had been two days since they had cooked for themselves, so Chen Mo was thinking of taking the opportunity to make something.
Su Yuqing watched as he once again seemed to have recovered his energy, and for some reason, her heart ached.
She could tell that even when he was exhausted, he would do his best to hide any discomfort and show her only his best side.
It was a sign of his gentleness and care, but it made her heart ache for him.
He never let her see his vulnerable side.
’But I can’t just ignore it.’
For once, she disagreed. "Let’s not. I’m kind of craving Elder Xu’s fish ball dumplings tonight. We’ve only ever had them as a late-night snack, so we didn’t eat much. If we have them for dinner, we could also try his homemade rice noodles."
"Alright, as long as you’re happy." Chen Mo smiled gently, letting Su Yuqing take the lead.
Seeing his willingness to accommodate her unconditionally warmed Su Yuqing’s heart, but she still wished that he would sometimes pay more attention to his own physical and mental well-being.
His attitude of ignoring his own condition to focus only on hers made her feel both warm inside and pained for him at the same time.
’If he won’t care for himself, then I’ll have to care for him,’ Su Yuqing secretly vowed in her heart.
Soon, the two arrived at Elder Xu’s shop.
Normally, he wouldn’t have been open so early.
But with the weekend approaching, he opened his doors earlier. On Friday and Saturday nights, he always started business a bit sooner.
This was because he hoped students wouldn’t just come for a small late-night snack, but could sometimes come and have a proper meal.
Chen Mo and Su Yuqing’s arrival today made him very happy, giving meaning to his decision to open early.
After the two ordered a generous amount of food, he immediately went to prepare it with a cheerful grin.
Seeing Elder Xu’s enthusiastic attitude, the two of them sensed a vibrant life force that was rare in someone his age.
Although Chen Mo only ordered a medium portion of fish ball dumplings and a bowl of hot and sour rice noodles, Elder Xu still gave them some extra toppings.
Whenever he saw these kids come in, Elder Xu was as happy as if he were seeing his own grandchildren.
After all, he was a true magnate who owned several buildings in the neighborhood.
Running the stall was purely a hobby for him; he wasn’t in it for the money at all.
This was why his food was so delicious and inexpensive.
Just from collecting rent, he had more money than he could ever spend.
How much could he possibly earn from a small food stall like this?
If it weren’t his personal passion, the daily grind would never be worth it.
Seeing the satisfied expressions on his customers’ faces as they ate his food and hearing them praise his cooking—those were the moments that made Elder Xu the happiest.
It made him happier than earning wads of cash.
When Chen Mo came to eat, he always gave Elder Xu that sense of spiritual fulfillment.
After every meal, he never forgot to offer a word of praise for Elder Xu’s culinary skills.
Bringing friends to patronize the shop made Elder Xu even happier.
After the two had eaten their fill, he asked with concern if they were full.
"If you’re not full, you can have more. I offer unlimited refills on dumplings and wontons here," Elder Xu said, looking at them with a broad smile.
"We’re stuffed. Elder Xu, if you keep giving away food like this, how are you ever going to make money?" Chen Mo said with a helpless smile.
"As long as you enjoy the food, that’s all that matters. The money isn’t important," Elder Xu said with a casual grin.
"I’m just worried your reputation for great, cheap food will spread too far. Then I’ll have to wait in line for half a day just to eat here," Chen Mo said with a chuckle. "After all, where else can you find food this delicious at such a low price?"
Hearing Chen Mo’s praise, Elder Xu grinned from ear to ear. He said cheerfully, "Don’t worry. Even if this place blows up, I’ll always save a special spot for my regular customers."
Chen Mo might have been joking with Elder Xu, but in the future, his shop truly would become unbelievably popular.
In less than a year, the sudden rise of the short-form video industry would make his shop go viral, and it would be perpetually packed with an endless stream of customers.
After eating their fill and returning home, Chen Mo made a point of stopping by the guest room where Su Yuqing was staying. He pretended to check the sturdiness of the security bars on the window, but he was actually looking to see if any of the screws had been replaced.
And sure enough, he found one: a new screw that had been artificially aged.
’They did a perfect job hiding it,’ he thought. ’If I hadn’t known what to look for, even with my strong observation skills, I might not have spotted this new screw that was deliberately made to look old.’
After confirming that things were just as his mother had described, Chen Mo was finally able to relax completely.
At least for now, there were no threats to Su Yuqing near the house. And even if there were, someone was secretly watching over their residential area. His home was an impenetrable fortress that could keep Su Yuqing safe.
At least on his own turf, he no longer had to be paranoid, worrying about some unknown person breaking in at any moment to harm Su Yuqing.