chapter14 Reconciliation as if nothing happened

"Asher, I don't want to leave..."

Asher continued, "I don't care where you come from. If others see you like this, even if you go out, they won't let you off easily. As long as you don't just pretend with me, I can let you stay, or if you just want to play elsewhere on the island, I can take you. I just don't want to see you unwilling to stay here, which only makes me angry."

Scarlett choked up heavily, speaking with difficulty, nodding frantically in panic.

Asher watched her continue to cry uncontrollably, his tail sliding over her body, gently brushing her back as if comforting her.

Scarlett tightly held onto his tail, tears falling incessantly.

Asher looked at her with a deep gaze, unable to discern any particular meaning, and fell silent for a while. Seeing her in such poor spirits, he decided to bring her inside, sat her down on a chair, handed her some tissues, and softened his tone, "You don't have to be on edge all the time, I don't want to harm you either."

Perhaps crying too hard, Scarlett couldn't calm down for a while, continuously pulling out tissues, unable to stop her tears.

Asher poured her a cup of hot water, patting her shoulder gently. "Don't cry, you look ugly when you cry."

Scarlett's eyes were swollen like walnuts, looking down at Asher's tail, the white scales shimmering under the light, and she sobbed, "Asher, I don't want anything else, I'm afraid of them, can you not scare me?"

"Okay," Asher nodded, "Go upstairs and rest. Your clothes are all wet, sleep in a bit tomorrow, we don't need to worry about the swimming pool."

Scarlett's shoulders trembled, and Asher urged her to go back to her room. Watching her take small steps upstairs, he finally turned off the living room light and returned to his own room.

Scarlett hurriedly took a bath, couldn't find a hot water bottle, added a small blanket to her stomach, and covered herself tightly with the blanket to sleep.

The next day she still got up on time to make breakfast. Through the window, she saw Asher collecting things from the pool and rinsing it with water before refilling it.

During breakfast, Asher noticed Scarlett's pale face and asked, "Are you feeling unwell? Should I call a doctor?"

"It's okay, just need some rest."

"It's troublesome to call a doctor here, and it'll probably take a long time. If you feel uncomfortable, let me know sooner."

As they ate, someone started talking, and the atmosphere improved significantly. Scarlett thanked him and tentatively asked, "Asher, can you have some things sent from outside again?" After all, she was a woman, and the things here weren't sufficient.

"They'll send things over again in a day or two. If you need anything, just let them know," Asher looked at her and asked, "Do you need clothes?"

"I have plenty in the closet."

"Before I came here, women lived here too, but it's been a while. I'll tell Nero to bring some more things and stock up on some common medications for you." Asher lived here alone, so he didn't need a lot of things and hadn't prepared much.

"Thank you."

"Let's go to the beach in a few days."

Scarlett's interest was piqued, her eyes shining, "Really?"

Asher didn't expect her to be so happy. "It's been a while since I went too. It's nice to catch some fresh fish and shrimp."

"Yeah, fresh ones are the best," Scarlett's eyes curved into crescents.

"After breakfast, go rest upstairs. There's nothing much to do here."

The rich and enticing aroma wafted from the kitchen, mixed with heat and meaty fragrance, making one unable to resist feeling hungry. Asher had nothing to do, so he wandered into the kitchen to see what Scarlett was cooking.

The pot on the stove made bubbling sounds, emitting white steam from the top. Scarlett wore a small apron, humming a tune in the kitchen, her voice unclear. Seeing Asher come in, she said crisply, "Asher, I made pork rib soup today, it's delicious."

The fragrant scent of lotus root mixed with the rich aroma of pork ribs. Asher lifted the pot lid, and a wave of heat hit him. He said, "Smells good."

"Yeah. My mom used to make this soup a lot in autumn. It's simple and delicious." Scarlett felt like she said something wrong, she shouldn't have mentioned her family in front of him, so she quickly changed the subject, "It's been simmering for two hours, should be ready. You try it first and see if you like it."

She stopped her work, washed her hands, and brought a bowl, ladling out most of the soup from the pot and handing it to Asher. "You try it first, I'll stir-fry a couple of dishes, then we can have lunch."

She also put a small spoon in his bowl, "Be careful, it's hot."

Asher took it and blew on it a few times before taking small sips.

"Are the lotus roots cooked? It's better if they're softer," Scarlett asked from the side.

Asher took a bite of the lotus root. It was tender and chewy, with a faint fragrance, and he said, "They're cooked."

"I'll turn off the heat then, it won't be too hot when served. Perfect." Scarlett turned off the heat. "I've had steamed pork ribs with glutinous rice before, very delicious, but I don't know how to make it."

"You cook well, no need to be so modest."

"Just simple dishes. It's okay for casual family meals, but can't compare with real chefs." Scarlett turned around, stood by the counter, and picked up a piece of cleaned beef from the sink, placed it on the cutting board, and cut it into thin slices with a knife, then cut it into shreds. "I'm making shredded beef with pickled peppers, spicy and sour." She noticed that Asher liked meat, so for one meal, she usually made a pure vegetarian dish to cater to his taste.

Asher held his bowl with his left hand, and with his right hand, he scooped up the soup with a spoon, continuing to eat the lotus root pork ribs. He watched Scarlett holding the knife, slicing the beef into thin slices first, then cutting it into shreds. Although they weren't evenly cut, they looked roughly the same, and her technique was quite skilled. He asked, "Do you often cook before?"

"Not really, occasionally. I'm too tired after work, so I don't feel like cooking. The kitchen utensils here are very handy." Scarlett glanced at the row of knives. "Look, there are more than a dozen knives alone, for cutting, peeling, deboning, pointed knives, cleavers, scissors, each one is separated, very convenient to use."

"We're not short of money, so I buy things in sets, as long as they're convenient to use. But they're quite sharp, so be careful."

"Yeah. Asher, were you ever bored living alone?" Scarlett asked as she chopped vegetables.

"Not really. When someone else is here, it's noisy. Others are usually afraid of me, so rarely come to visit. I'm used to it." Asher quickly finished his soup and handed the bowl over. "Help me with a bit more."

Scarlett took it and went to the kitchen, scooped more soup for him, and heard him say, "Add a couple more ribs."

Scarlett put a lot more ribs in his bowl before handing it to him. Asher looked satisfied. He gently stirred it with a spoon, blew on it a few times, eager to cool it down quickly. Seeing Scarlett's plate with a dish already prepared, with layers of seasoning on top, red and white, he asked, "What's that?"

Scarlett followed his gaze, "Garlic pork belly. I didn't cut it very evenly, if it's too thick, the taste won't be as good."

Asher raised his chin, indicating, "Give me a piece to try."

Scarlett put down the knife she was holding, but the blade was placed on the cutting board, and when she turned around, her clothes brushed against the blade, and the knife suddenly slipped off the counter.

The blade descended straight down, heading towards the top of her foot. In a split second, a hand reached out from the side and blocked it, diverting the knife to her right side, making a loud clang as it hit the kitchen floor.

Scarlett's heart trembled, seeing the fine tungsten steel knife lying on the side, and Asher's right forearm bleeding continuously, as if water was seeping out from a crack, she felt a rush of panic, and her first reaction was to apologize, seemingly no matter what happened.

Asher still looked calm and composed, holding his soup bowl with his left hand, and his two fingers pressed against the wound on his forearm with the other.

Scarlett's face turned pale suddenly, throwing down what was in her hand, stammering, "I-I'm sorry..."

Seemingly now, no matter what happened, her first reaction was to apologize.

Asher still looked calm and composed, holding his soup bowl with his left hand, and his two fingers pressed against the wound on his forearm with the other.

Blood continued to flow out, trickling down his arm in long streaks, dripping onto the light-colored floor, red dots like cinnabar, Scarlett panicked, hastening to pull his hand, pressing down on the wound, "Do you have any medicine? I'll get it right away, where is it?"

The wound was over an inch long, not shallow, but Asher seemed not to feel any pain, still with a relaxed and absent-minded look as he watched Scarlett press his wound. After a while, he said casually, "Didn't I mention it to you yesterday? I'll have some medicine sent over next time. There's none here at the moment!"

"None? What should we do then? Is there really no medicine at all?" Scarlett fretted.

"It's okay."

Blood oozed out from between her fingers, sticky. Scarlett was flustered, rushing around, anxiously saying, "You keep pressing it, I'll go find something to bandage it, stop the bleeding first."

She ran upstairs, the stairs creaking under her feet. She didn't remember when she had seen any bandages or the like, ran into the room to find a clean cotton shirt, quickly tore it into strips with scissors, and ran downstairs with the strips of cloth.

Asher was sitting calmly on the sofa in the hall, as if nothing had happened, using two fingers to press on the wound.

Scarlett quickly brought a towel, scalded it with boiling water, wrung it dry, and came to Asher, gently wiping away the blood around the wound. Seeing the long wound still oozing blood, she panicked, but fortunately, the blood was almost coagulated now, not flowing as profusely as before.

She first put a small cloth underneath, then pressed the wound for him, hoping to completely stop the bleeding, "Asher, raise your arm a bit."

Asher laid his forearm flat, his gaze still calm and leisurely, allowing her to fuss over him.

Scarlett squatted on the ground, brought a towel, scalded it with boiling water, wrung it dry, and came to Asher, gently wiping away the blood around the wound. Seeing the long wound still oozing blood, she panicked, but fortunately, the blood was almost coagulated now, not flowing as profusely as before.

She first put a small cloth underneath, then pressed the wound for him, hoping to completely stop the bleeding, "Asher, raise your arm a bit."

Asher laid his forearm flat, his gaze still calm and leisurely, allowing her to fuss over him.

Scarlett squatting on the ground, her eyes were watery, she bowed her head and apologized softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put the knife there."

Seemingly now, no matter what happened, her first reaction was to apologize.

Asher still looked calm and composed, watching her slender white fingers brushing against his forearm, the touch on his skin was cool, and he looked at her eyes with water, comforting her, "I said it's okay, it'll be fine soon, you don't have to be so nervous."