Chapter 5

Ying Quhe carried the toiletries prepared for Tian Jian in one hand, a weary look on his face. His suit jacket was draped over his forearm, and his crisp white shirt made him look exceptionally handsome.

The door behind him was half-open, and he was bathed in the sunset light, his skin tinged with a warm golden hue. Xi Mi looked up at just that moment and met his deep, dark eyes. Her cheeks inexplicably grew warm. She hurriedly turned her head away and looked back at Tian Jian.

She wasn’t swayed by looks. Judging by appearance alone, her First Senior Brother Lin Nan, though older, wasn’t bad-looking either.

None of the senior brothers in her family were ugly either; they were all fair and handsome like young opera performers. She’d actually grown tired of handsome men long ago, yet Ying Quhe always managed to make her look a little longer.

Perhaps… this man possessed the same wolfdog aura as Old Man Xi?

So an image of two imposing German Shepherds appeared in her mind.

One old, one young.

The two German Shepherds’ auras were exactly the same.

The two girls sat on a long bench, but Tian Jian was noticeably half a head taller than Xi Mi. Against Tian Jian’s oval face, Xi Mi’s face looked a bit rounder. Her brownish-chestnut hair was cut to her ears, the tips naturally curling inward, giving her a bit of a doll-like charm and looking a bit like Xiao Guai.

If not for her full and delicate features, people might mistake her for a boy from behind.

Very cute.

Tian Jian had once shared a stage with Taiwan’s top beauty, Xiao Xiao. Tian Jian’s looks were in no way inferior to Xiao Xiao’s. If Tian Jian stood there quietly without speaking, she would be flawless. But the moment she opened her mouth, people would notice something was off, realizing that beneath the beautiful exterior was a somewhat naive soul.

Against the backdrop of such a beauty, Ying Quhe genuinely felt… hmm, Xi Mi was still the more pleasing to the eye.

Tian Jian had originally been eating quite quickly, but the moment she saw Ying Quhe enter, she immediately put down her noodle bowl, sat up straight, and almost reflexively said in a mechanical tone, “Hmm… the most special thing about this dish is the mint juice added to the noodles. Although the broth tastes like beef, the base is simmered with pork bones.”

Xi Mi froze.

She actually tasted the mint in the noodles? That was her own little quirk. How sharp did a tongue have to be to detect the nearly negligible amount of mint juice she’d added?

“You don’t need to report on the food to me. Keep eating.” Ying Quhe’s voice was very soft, a stark contrast to his strictness on the competition stage.

Tian Jian had an extremely sharp palate, so Ying Quhe always liked having her taste dishes, asking her to point out the special features of each one. As a result, whenever Tian Jian saw Ying Quhe during a meal, she would reflexively report the dish’s special points to him.

In the eyes of ordinary people, Tian Jian was a fool, but she indeed possessed extraordinary talents that left others sighing in admiration.

Her mind could overturn an ordinary person’s perception of genius and foolishness.

The more he interacted with her, the more Ying Quhe felt there was truly no difference between a genius and a fool.

Ying Quhe placed the toiletries he was holding on the table and asked Tian Jian, “Have you checked out the room yet?”

Tian Jian shook her head, turned to glance at Xi Mi, and then looked at Ying Quhe, saying, “Lao Qu, I want to sleep with Mi Mi.” She casually took Xi Mi’s arm and tilted her head, resting it on her shoulder.

This caught Xi Mi completely off guard. The beauty’s head landed on her shoulder, bringing with it a faint fragrance, and for some reason, it made her straighten her back, giving her an overwhelming sense of “boyfriend power.”

But wasn’t this a bit too sudden?

She had only known this beauty for less than half an hour; they merely knew each other’s names.

Even though they were both girls, they had just met, so sharing a room seemed somewhat inappropriate. Xi Mi opened her mouth to politely decline, but Ying Quhe tapped his knuckles on the table, calling her, “Come outside with me for a moment.” Then he turned to Tian Jian, coaxing her like a child, “Jianjian, sit here for a while.”

Tian Jian obediently placed her arms on the table, sat up properly, and nodded solemnly.

Xi Mi followed Ying Quhe to the backyard, stopping under a large banyan tree.

Ying Quhe glanced towards the front hall of the inn, furrowed his brows slightly, and spoke to her in the gentlest tone he could manage, “Tian Jian’s situation is a bit special. Did you notice?”

Xi Mi nodded. When she looked up at him, she didn’t dare meet his eyes, keeping her gaze fixed on his chin.

“Here.” He tapped his temple with his index finger and explained concisely, “A severe fever when she was young affected her mind here, making her think differently from ordinary people. But she’s a kind girl. She’s drawn to you without any ulterior motives. I hope you understand.”

Xi Mi understood.

So it wasn’t Alzheimer’s. It was a severe illness that damaged her brain… That was why the anti-lost wristband was fastened on her?

So… the reason her words carried that naive air was clear now.

Tsk. What a pity.

“Mr. Ying, are you asking me to help look after Miss Tian?” Xi Mi looked at him directly with her large eyes.

Her eyes were moist, as if a deeply rooted magnet lay within them, almost drawing him entirely in. Ying Quhe had decent self-control; he quickly recovered his composure, deliberately lowering his voice to a heavier tone. “Yes, that’s what I mean. I heard from the landlady that you’re working here? Help me look after her these few days. Whatever the landlady is paying you, I’ll give you double.”

Only a fool would turn down money. But Xi Mi remained composed, clearing her throat and saying seriously, “Mhm, I get along well with Miss Tian. I don’t mind helping you look after her. She can sleep with me tonight, then.”

Ying Quhe pulled out a key from his suit pocket and handed it to her. “She’s afraid of the heat and can’t sleep without air conditioning. Please understand. This is the key to the No. 1 cottage. You two sleep downstairs, I’ll sleep upstairs. We won’t disturb each other, don’t worry.”

Xi Mi opened her palm. Ying Quhe loosened his two fingers holding the key ring, and the key dropped lightly into her palm. Xi Mi weighed the key in her hand and said with the tone of a little streetwise veteran, “Alright, you’re the boss. I’ll move over right this instant.” She carefully chewed over Ying Quhe’s words again and quickly found a point of confusion. “Mr. Ying, how do you know my room doesn’t have air conditioning? Do you know where I live?”

Her small hand once again drew Ying Quhe’s gaze, causing his thoughts to drift a little. He ignored her question entirely and asked, in an oddly fixated tone, “How old are you?”

The question stunned Xi Mi.

Was he going to dismiss her outright for being too young? Thinking this, she casually made up a lie on the spot, faking her age. “Twenty… twenty-five.”

She looked every bit like a young girl, her face still carrying a trace of babyish softness, like a student. Wasn’t it said that twenty-five was a hurdle for women?

This girl took really good care of herself.

But then again, if she really was a student, her family probably wouldn’t be pressuring her into marriage, so twenty-five was probably accurate.

Thinking this, Ying Quhe felt oddly relieved.

The moment that feeling surfaced, even Ying Quhe was startled. What was he thinking?

He had no other intentions. He simply felt a connection with this girl. From Weibo to their repeated encounters, it was hard not to notice her. He was only after the recipe, nothing improper. Ying Quhe reassured himself this way.

After a long day, Ying Quhe was genuinely hungry. He deliberately lowered his voice and asked Xi Mi, “You’re a good cook? The noodles taste pretty good.”

The rich baritone struck Xi Mi’s eardrums, stirring something for a moment. She wasn’t one of those people obsessed with voices, but right now, this man’s voice had seriously stirred her.

That voice sounded a bit familiar.

“You want some?” Xi Mi blinked, grinned, her two little canines showing. “Twenty Yuan a bowl. No haggling.”

“You charge?”

Quite the sharp one. He asked casually, “Taurus?”

“Yep.”

So how had they ended up talking about zodiac signs? Xi Mi was a bit puzzled.

“Your Taurus traits are very pronounced.”

His subtext was: Taurus and Virgo, a perfect match…

*

Thanks to Tian Jian, that very night, Xi Mi found herself lying on the big bed in the large first-floor bedroom of the standalone cottage. Her whole body sank into the soft mattress, so blissful she forgot all about her old room. She breathed in the faint scent of sunshine from the duvet cover, hugging the soft pillow and rolling around.

The air conditioning was set just right, nice and cool.

Now this was a fucking bedroom!! This was a place fit for humans! Comparing the two, her guest room was practically a steamer.

A steamer for pigs!

As it turned out, the only standalone cottage at the inn was where Ying Quhe stayed. Yesterday, Xi Mi had never even imagined she could move in here. Even if Culinary Dao sponsored her another 9,999, she wouldn’t dare dream of such an expensive suite!

The next morning, Ying Quhe left a note and some cash for her, asking her to look after Tian Jian.

Xi Mi counted the red bills Ying Quhe left behind, her brows arching in delight.

So generous!

The inn was fully booked. No one would be checking in for the next few days, and no one would be checking out, so Xi Mi hung the “No Vacancy” sign on the door.

Behind the inn was Ling Jiang, where people often fished. Xi Mi took Tian Jian to buy a fresh grass carp, brought it back to make Qiekuai, record a video, and try her hand at the path to internet fame.

Back at the inn, Xi Mi had Tian Jian help her record the video. Tian Jian took the phone and started muttering, “Mimi, you’re so much like Lao Qu. He likes recording videos too.”

Xi Mi didn’t rush to gut the fish. First, she stunned it with the back of her knife, scraped off the scales with practiced efficiency, then sliced open the belly and cleaned out the innards.

The blade cut in diagonally from the tail, slowly shaving off slice after slice, each piece light and thin as paper. She laid a slice on the back of her hand, and the blue veins beneath her skin were faintly visible through it.

Every slice was cut with identical, uniform precision. She used paper towels to absorb the blood, and then it was ready to dip in sauce and eat. Unlike Ying Quhe, who catered to everyone’s tastes, she even prepared the dipping sauce according to ancient recipes.

Tian Jian might be a simple girl, but she took her tasks more seriously than anyone, and she filmed the video beautifully for her.

After recording, Xi Mi uploaded it to Weibo. The video was about forty minutes long, with no editing, no enhancements, not even background music. The whole process was dry and utterly dull.

Yet she looked at it with eager anticipation, setting her phone on the table as she waited for fans to like, comment, and reply…

She pointed at her phone and bragged to Tian Jian, “Jianjian, I have a feeling my followers could break two hundred today.”

As if her days as an internet celebrity were just around the corner…

Tian Jian, that silly girl, didn’t question her at all. She ate the fish slices dipped in sauce, nodding heavily with food in her mouth. Because it was fresh, live grass carp, prepared without any cooking, only sliced with a knife, it truly achieved “thread-fine, gossamer thin.” Eating it with wasabi sauce, it had the mouthfeel of raw fish slices at first bite, but once chewed, it was completely different—crisp, tender, and silky, an addictive texture.

“Mimi, this is the best raw fish I’ve ever eaten!” This addictive, umami-rich flavor blossomed on Tian Jian’s sensitive tongue. She might never be able to stomach thick-cut Japanese-style sashimi again.

Xi Mi didn’t pick up her chopsticks. Eyes fixed on her phone screen, she corrected her: “This is Qiekuai, not sashimi. Don’t compare that Japanese stuff to our family’s Qiekuai.”

Xi Mi waited a full ten minutes. Her Weibo on her phone showed no activity whatsoever. Finally, her posture shifted from eager, upright expectancy to wilted, hopeless despair as she slumped over the table.

At last, Weibo let out a ding.

She nearly sprang up on reflex, her eyes lighting up. She unlocked the screen and tapped into Weibo. It was a private message?

Sina News:

#Caught on Camera! Man Harasses Nurse in Ambulance, Female Doctor Slapped for Intervening#

Then she refreshed her follower count.

Holy crap! What was going on?! She was losing followers!!

She’d had 199 followers!! How did it suddenly drop to 156?

That drop was way too extreme!!

Weibo clicks: 0, comments: 0, reposts: 0.

Clearly, the spectator wave^[1] had passed. Not only were there no comments, no reposts, no likes—even her follower count had plummeted to a pitiful state.

Xi Mi was on the verge of tears, slumped over the table in despair.

Tian Jian reached over and patted her head. “Mimi, don’t be sad. Tonight I’ll have my husband and my third brother’s wife follow you, okay?”

Xi Mi grabbed her hand. “You’re a savior in my hour of need!” She was determined to become an internet celebrity.

Ying Quhe passed by the kitchen and saw the two girls puttering around inside. He stood by the window for a moment.

He took out his phone, switched to an alt account, and liked her Weibo post.

Inside, Xi Mi jolted up like she’d been electrocuted and hugged Tian Jian. “Aaaah… Jianjian, someone liked my post!!”

Tian Jian had no idea why she was so happy, but her excitement was infectious, and she soon found herself swept up in it too. The two girls clutched each other and spun around on the spot.

Ying Quhe was utterly flabbergasted.

All that for one like? Seriously?

After a while, Tian Jian took out her phone, opened her rarely-used Weibo, found Xi Mi’s account and followed her. She nudged her with a finger. “Mimi, I’ve followed you.”

“Okay, okay, let me check. I’ll follow you back right away.” Xi Mi clicked on her new followers and her jaw nearly dropped.

Weibo ID: Sweetheart Jianjian.

Weibo Verification: Champion of the 2nd 《Super Brain^[2]》.

Followers: 2.5 million.

Wait…

Isn’t she a silly girl? Had brain damage from a fever as a child? What’s with the Super Brain champion?