No Such Fetish (11)

Upon hearing Mrs. Shi's words, he turned towards her. In a gentle voice, he responded slowly. "Mum, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm doing pretty well living outside now."

His reply was simple and did not seem to defend Ling Chuxia at all. But it paradoxically seemed to be indirectly lifting the burden off of her at the same time. Ling Chuxia could not help but steal a glance at Shi Che.

Mrs. Shi was still dissatisfied. She continued to ramble at him. "Of course you must be doing pretty well, so well that you don't even remember to come back to your old home and have left this old lady all alone here. It's been so long since you last came!"

"That's why I'm back now."

Shi Che's tone was unenthusiastic and bland as usual. Nonetheless, that was enough to make Mrs. Shi beam with joy, as thin wrinkles appeared at the corner of her eyes. Mrs. Shi seemed almost like a different person from her previously imposing self.

"Since you're finally back today, I will make the cook prepare your favorite dishes and feed you well."

Just as Mrs. Shi finished her sentence, her gaze went straight to Ling Chuxia who immediately got the cue. "I'll head to the kitchen to instruct them, Mrs. Shi."

Mrs. Shi replied with a short, "Mm". Ling Chuxia stood up and took two tiny steps back. Finally, she turned towards the kitchen and headed there.

Shi Che glanced at Ling Chuxia unobtrusively as her demure figure receded.

-

Ling Chuxia naturally knew all about Shi Che's eating habits instinctively: what he liked, what he did not, what he expected minimally, and what he could not eat.

She walked into the kitchen and carefully instructed the cook what to prepare. Every minute detail had to be explained in depth to ensure no margin for error.

The new cook was brought over from a famous five-star hotel after the previous one had retired. He had only been on the job for a few months and was foreign to Shi Che's tastes and preferences, as expected. Shi Che was an extremely picky eater who would not stomach anything that he felt was unpalatable.

When Ling Chuxia finally finished her instructions, the cook was left in awe. "Young Master Shi is such a picky eater, but you, Young Mistress, can remember everything so clearly. That's quite a feat."

After a slight pause, he said amusingly, "Looks like Young Master and Young Mistress are a very loving couple indeed!"

Ling Chuxia's eyes flickered as a faint look of sadness flashed.

She naturally knew everything about Shi Che: what he liked, what he did not, what his daily habits were, and what his interests were. These were things she had to learn since she was young. How could she possibly not be familiar?

As for them being a lovely couple...

She and Shi Che were nothing like a lovely couple. For him, she was only to be detested and never loved.

As for her, she could only 'love' him.

Ling Chuxia pretended as if she missed the cook's words. She hooked her lips and gave him a polite smile as she gently said, "Sorry to trouble you then."

"My pleasure, Young Mistress."

After the instructions were passed down, Ling Chuxia walked out of the kitchen towards the living room. But her speed seemed to get slower with every step she took, as each step required a great amount of effort.

The pressure from Mrs. Shi alone was humongous, but now even Shi Che had arrived. How she wished she could escape the living room forever!