Chapter 149: She Is Unwilling to Open Her Heart to Him
When Li Zexing received Shen Lan’s message, he was annoyed at first, but still replied with patience.
Li Zexing: She’s been busy the past few days. Wait another couple of days.
Shen Lan: Is that so? I won’t take up much of Princess Ruoxin’s time. Even a ten-minute slot during her lunch break would be fine.
Li Zexing: Fine, I get it.
The man pinched the bridge of his nose. ’Sometimes he really had to admire Shen Lan. How could someone be so thick-skinned?’
’And she just had to have Lin Xin wrapped around her finger, preying on her sympathy. If the investigation hadn’t revealed that Shen Lan was the true daughter of the Shen Family, he might have ended up with a new sister when she came to the Li Family.’
’Thankfully, that didn’t happen.’
’Otherwise, they would have been the ones to lose face at the birthday banquet a few days ago.’
He really couldn’t put off arranging the meeting with Princess Ruoxin any longer. Knowing Shen Lan’s style, if she didn’t get her way soon, she would just go directly to his mother next time.
Li Zexing reluctantly opened Princess Ruoxin’s chat window and sent a message.
Li Zexing: Free for lunch tomorrow?
Princess Ruoxin replied almost instantly: Of course, Brother Ze Xing! We haven’t had lunch together in so long. What do you want to eat? I heard a new hot pot restaurant opened. How about we go there?
Li Zexing pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, then deleted the message he’d just typed out.
Li Zexing: I’ll pick you up tomorrow. You’ll find out where we’re eating when we get there.
Princess Ruoxin: behaving.jpg
Princess Ruoxin: Okay!
...
「The next day」
Shen Lu woke to a dreary, rainy morning.
"It’s raining. How annoying," Shen Lu complained with a pout, involuntarily recalling her past unpleasant experiences on rainy days.
But now, she would no longer be assaulted by foul odors. Both her home and the shop had air purifiers, ensuring the air was always fresh and clean.
Shen Lu was worried the rain would affect business. She was also a little afraid that the gloomy weather would put customers in a bad mood and cause them to leave negative reviews.
Sometimes, that’s just how it was when you were in a bad mood. You’d find a passing dog annoying and feel the urge to give it a kick just to feel better.
After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and changing her clothes, Shen Lu went downstairs to make breakfast.
"It’s raining today and a bit chilly. Let’s have something hot," Shen Lu said as she put on her chef’s coat. "Sister Cai, how about noodles?"
"Sure. Should I make them?" Cai Su asked.
"Yep, and I’ll be your sous chef."
The two worked together with practiced ease. In less than half an hour, a delicious and light noodle soup was ready.
"Brother Wang, could you do me a favor and run this bowl of noodles over to Granny Jin’s?" Shen Lu called out, stopping Wang Daguo just as he was picking up his chopsticks to dig in. She added careful instructions, "If she doesn’t want to eat, just leave it there and come back."
"Mhm, mhm." Wang Daguo immediately put down his chopsticks, grabbed the food container, opened an umbrella, and rushed out the door.
’Better get there and back quickly, or the noodles will get soggy!’
Shen Lu carried two bowls of noodles upstairs. Fu Cheng was already awake, staring blankly at the rain outside. He sensed her approach, his eyes shifting to the door a moment before his mind fully registered her presence.
"Good morning. Time to eat," Shen Lu said as she set up the overbed table. She placed the bowls of noodles on it, then adjusted the head of Fu Cheng’s bed.
Fu Cheng’s right eye fixed on Shen Lu. Her expression was the same as always, yet he could sense that something was different.
Fu Cheng sent Shen Lu a message: Is something bothering you?
Shen Lu looked up. ’Was I being that obvious?’
’I don’t think so. I glanced in a mirror on my way up, and my face looked the same as always.’
"Nope, nothing’s bothering me." Shen Lu didn’t think the bad weather was worth mentioning. Besides, what was the point of telling Fu Cheng? ’It’s not like someone who’s stuck in bed all day can help me stop the rain, can he?’
’It’s best not to give a patient more things to worry about.’
’She’s unwilling to open up to me.’
Realizing this, Fu Cheng’s chest tightened. He let out a long, soft sigh.
The atmosphere during breakfast grew a little stiff. Shen Lu didn’t pay it much mind. ’Rainy days just have a way of creating a melancholy mood, making everyone feel listless and drained.’
After feeding him breakfast and giving his face a quick wipe, Shen Lu took the bowls downstairs.
Fu Cheng closed his eyes, then opened them again. He began doing some simple rehabilitation exercises with his left hand.
As he was starting his second set, his Light Brain flashed and a message from Li Zenan automatically popped up.
Li Zenan: I’ve thought about it for days, and I still can’t agree with your point of view.
Li Zenan: Fine, you feel that Shen Lu has stood by you, so you don’t want to leave her. I can understand that. But for that very reason, you should go to the hospital for treatment! The sooner you recover, the sooner you can give Shen Lu a better life, right?
Li Zenan: Or have you just gotten used to being useless? Used to a young woman taking care of your every little need? If that’s the case, Fu Cheng, then I truly look down on you!
The last sentence was harsh, but Li Zenan truly couldn’t understand why Fu Cheng was refusing.
He felt Fu Cheng’s reasons were insufficient and didn’t add up.
If he truly cared about what was best for Shen Lu, Fu Cheng would try to recover as quickly as possible. Even if he couldn’t return to his peak condition, getting back sixty or seventy percent of his former strength would be better than this.
Fu Cheng remained silent. He had considered telling Li Zenan that Shen Lu’s cooking had a miraculous healing effect on his Spiritual Sea.
But he knew Li Zenan wouldn’t believe him. He’d probably suspect Shen Lu was using some kind of illegal drugs on him, which would lead to a whole host of problems.
Rather than risk that, he might as well be the "useless" person Li Zenan thought he was.
At least this way, only his own reputation would suffer. It wouldn’t bring any trouble to Shen Lu.
Fu Cheng: I make my own decisions about my life. I’ll bear any and all consequences myself.
When Li Zenan saw the reply, he was so furious he could have flipped over. He nearly ripped off his Light Brain and smashed it.
He was all the way out on the front lines, still going to great lengths to help Fu Cheng, and this was the thanks he got? Such heartless, ungrateful words.
’Fine! He doesn’t want my help? Then I won’t help!’
Li Zenan paced around his room, fuming. Unable to calm himself down, he made a video call to his younger cousin.
Li Zexing was in the middle of changing when he saw the video call from his cousin and accepted it.
Li Zenan: "Go see Fu Cheng again today. Keep the video call on for me. I want to see with my own eyes what kind of state he’s in."
Seeing the fury on his cousin’s face, Li Zexing asked, "What’s wrong? You two still haven’t sorted things out?" while grabbing a jacket.
"Why are you asking so many questions?" Li Zenan was in a foul mood, and his tone showed it.
"But why don’t you just video call him yourself?" Safely on the other side of the network, Li Zexing wasn’t afraid of Li Zenan. ’It’s not like he can reach through the screen and punch me, right?’
The mention of this only made Li Zenan angrier.
’Did he think I didn’t want to?’
’That damn Fu Cheng was the one who refused!’
He really didn’t get it. They were brothers-in-arms who had shared the same bedroll. How could they not even have a video call?
"Cut the crap and just do what I say."
Li Zexing clicked his tongue. "If I wasn’t already planning on going to Little Deer Cuisine today, I really wouldn’t do you this favor. Cousin, if you’re going to ask for help, you should have the attitude of someone asking for help. It’s a good thing we’re family. If anyone else talked to me like that, I’d be debasing myself to even spare them a glance."