Free Web NovelChapter 195: Chapter 195: Scoundrel
"Alright, what are you spacing out for?" After wiping away the blood, Wu Sheng saw Su Li in a daze and gave her cheek a little pinch.
The gesture was far too intimate. Wu Sheng really shouldn’t have done it.
But seeing her just standing there, spaced out, he acted on instinct.
Only after the pinch did he realize it was inappropriate, and a sentence tumbled out of his mouth.
"You can pinch me back."
He leaned in, offering his own cheek to Su Li.
Su Li: "...Stop messing around."
Su Li watched Wu Sheng rinse his hand clean, then resigned herself to once again becoming a human crutch, helping him up.
"I’m not too heavy, am I? Are you tired?" Wu Sheng was milking it for all it was worth, feigning concern.
"I’m not tired. Just walk properly."
"Okay. Su Li, I’m hungry." Hearing the tone of her reply, Wu Sheng immediately leaned against her and whined about being hungry.
"Then let’s go eat." Su Li thought for a moment. "What do you want to eat? No, wait, I can’t ask you that. With your hand injured, you can’t have anything that might cause inflammation. You need something light and nutritious."
After this brief monologue, Su Li found a clean and tidy restaurant.
"Ma’am, I’d like to order some dishes that are good for blood replenishment."
The owner was a middle-aged woman. She nodded immediately. "For blood replenishment? Easy. First, I recommend our Four-Red Replenishing Congee."
"We only have one bowl left. I’ll bring it right out for you."
Su Li nodded. "Great. And then I’ll order some other blood-replenishing dishes."
"You got it." The woman was very enthusiastic. "Chinese yam is good for the blood. We just got some fresh yams in today, really good quality. We can make a simple stir-fried yam. There’s also black chicken soup, it’s been stewing since noon. It’s excellent, very nourishing."
Su Li nodded. "Okay, let’s go with your recommendations. And let’s get some pig’s blood, too... You know, eat what you’re missing."
She did a quick calculation. "That should be about enough for now."
"Alrighty, that’s all we have of those anyway. Just a moment, the food will be out soon."
The woman bustled off.
Wu Sheng hadn’t been able to get a word in. He felt something was a little off, but when he saw Su Li coming over to help him, he immediately tossed that feeling aside. freewebnøvel.com
"Here, have a seat." Su Li poured some water. "Have some water first."
Wu Sheng took the water Su Li handed him, bubbling with happiness.
"Okay." He downed it in one go and handed the cup back to Su Li.
Su Li poured another cup. He downed it again and handed it back.
This time, Su Li didn’t pour another.
"Are you being silly again? You can’t drink so much." ’I don’t want a repeat of that time you got hiccups just because I was the one pouring.’
"I’m not being silly, I’m really thirsty." Wu Sheng smiled. "Drinking more will help calm my nerves."
Only then did Su Li pour him another cup.
"I’m sorry," she said softly again.
"You should be sorry. All the blood I lost today... you might say it was from my hand, but really, it was my heart that was bleeding," Wu Sheng said, sounding aggrieved.
He wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest. The bit of blood from his hand was nothing, but his heart really was bleeding.
He was deliberately putting on an act, all so Su Li could see his bleeding heart.
"I..." Su Li felt a pang of guilt. Just as she was about to apologize again, she heard Wu Sheng continue.
"So, to comfort my wounded heart, you have to take good care of me from now on. My hand is injured... a lot of things are inconvenient."
Wu Sheng said this with his eyes lowered, not letting Su Li see his expression.
"Okay. Of course, I should." Su Li immediately agreed.
"You promised. You can’t take it back now." In an instant, Wu Sheng started acting as if he’d lost the use of his other hand too.
"I won’t take it back. I would have done it even if you hadn’t asked," Su Li said, shaking her head.
"Now that you say that, my hand doesn’t even hurt as much anymore," Wu Sheng immediately chimed in.
Just as Su Li was about to speak, the owner came over with a bowl. "Here we are! The Four-Red Replenishing Congee has arrived. Have some of this first, the rest of the food will be right out."
The woman had said one bowl, and she brought over just one, placing it in front of Su Li.
Su Li quickly stood up and moved the bowl in front of Wu Sheng. "Here, drink up."
The owner, who had only taken a couple of steps, glanced back with a strange look in her eyes. "Young lady, isn’t the congee for you?"
"No, it’s not," Su Li replied, curious. "Why?"
"Oh, nothing. Enjoy your meal." The woman shot Wu Sheng an odd look, forced a smile, and walked away.
From her gaze, Wu Sheng felt that sense of strangeness again.
"Hurry up and drink." Unfortunately, Su Li’s urging left him no time to ponder it.
"Okay." Wu Sheng obediently took a sip, his expression a little strange.
"What’s wrong?" Su Li asked, looking at the congee. ’Jujubes, red beans, peanuts... they all seem normal. All good for blood replenishment.’
"It’s so sweet," Wu Sheng answered after swallowing.
"It’s a sweet congee, of course it’s sweet. They probably used brown sugar, right?" Su Li let out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, brown sugar." Under Su Li’s watchful gaze, Wu Sheng took another sip.
"You don’t like sweet things?" Su Li asked him.
"It’s... it’s alright," Wu Sheng said, forcing down another mouthful.
"That’s good. But even if you don’t like it, you have to eat it for your health. Good medicine is bitter, you know. You lost so much blood today you were dizzy," Su Li urged. "Drink it all while it’s hot. Finish it. It looks like the owner made it really well."
Wu Sheng: "..." ’Is this what they call shooting yourself in the foot?’
He looked at the full bowl of congee in front of him and felt like crying.
’This isn’t congee, this is something more terrifying than poison!’
For the next five minutes, under Su Li’s concerned gaze, Wu Sheng finished that bowl of "poison" with a wooden expression.
Wu Sheng let out a huge sigh of relief and drank a glass of water to calm his nerves.
The owner had said the food would be out soon, and she wasn’t kidding. Wu Sheng had just emerged from the shadow of the "poison" when all the dishes arrived at the table.
"Eat up while it’s hot! If it’s not enough, just let me know," the owner said enthusiastically. It would have been better if she wasn’t looking at Wu Sheng so strangely.
"Let’s eat." Without Wu Sheng having to ask, Su Li served him a bowl of rice and picked up food for him.
Wu Sheng felt blissful.
And then, he wanted to be even more blissful.
So, despite being ambidextrous enough to write and use chopsticks with either hand, he suddenly "forgot" how to use chopsticks with his left hand.
He fumbled with the chopsticks for ages, managing to get only a pitiful amount of rice into his mouth.
Watching from across the table, Su Li felt helpless.
"Can you use a spoon?"
"I can." Wu Sheng switched to a spoon, but he was still a bit clumsy and couldn’t manage the other dishes.
"I want some pig’s blood, Su Li," Wu Sheng requested after scooping up some rice.
"Okay." Su Li picked up a piece for him and placed it on his rice.
A flash of a smile crossed Wu Sheng’s eyes.
"Su Li, the yam."
"Su Li, the pig’s blood."
"Su Li, the chicken."
The meal instantly became much livelier.
In the end, it somehow turned into him being partially fed.
"Yam, ahhh..."
Wu Sheng sat there with his mouth open, waiting to be fed like a baby bird. What could Su Li do but feed him?
"You eat too," Wu Sheng even urged Su Li, insisting they eat together. This flustered Su Li so much that she forgot to use a separate pair of serving chopsticks.
When Wu Sheng finally bit down on her chopsticks with a satisfied look, Su Li’s expression was one of complete resignation.
Wu Sheng always managed to get his way with his various tricks and words, making Su Li laugh in spite of herself.
After the chaotic meal, Su Li finally put down her bowl and chopsticks.
"Alright, you’ve eaten six bowls. You can’t eat any more. Time for soup."
Wu Sheng had eaten six bowls, and she was stuffed, too.
"Okay." In truth, Wu Sheng had been full after the fifth bowl; he just couldn’t bear to give up the feeling of being fed by Su Li.
This feeling of being fed and doted on by Su Li was simply too wonderful.
