Chapter 122: Two Hundred

Jing Xi: “Do I need to report to you where I stay and what I do in my own house?”

Long Yue Zhi blinked. “No, but I checked all the rooms, and I didn’t see you.”

Jing Xi suddenly remembered her cellar.

“I have a cellar in my house. I was down there cleaning.”

When people lie, they tend to have more small, unconscious movements. To avoid suspicion, Jing Xi always tried to keep her body as still as possible whenever she lied.

Long Yue Zhi asked, “A cellar? What do you store in it?”

“Nothing for now. I’ll use it in the winter.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Mhm…”

After answering, Jing Xi realized—wait a minute, he was the one who barged into her house uninvited, so why was she the one being interrogated?

Then, she remembered the time she brought him steamed buns.

“What are you even doing here? What was so important that your bodyguards had to drop you off?”

“It’s very important!”

…

Jing Xi stood up, grabbed his medicine, walked to the door, and placed it outside. “Hurry up and leave! A man and a woman staying together alone—what does that look like?”

“Hey, it’s not like this is the first time! Why are you suddenly acting like this now?”

“You’ve eaten, you’ve drunk—now get out! It’s getting dark soon, and I’m an unmarried woman. I can’t keep you here!”

Jing Xi stood at the door, hands on her hips, making it very clear: if he didn’t leave, she wasn’t moving either.

But Long Yue Zhi didn’t budge. He just sat in the courtyard and stared at her.

“I’m not leaving. Since I’m already here, why should I go?”

Jing Xi: “???”

“Fine, then I’M leaving!”

She turned around, slammed the courtyard door shut, and was about to walk away.

For some reason, she had been feeling irritated for the past two days!

Long Yue Zhi quickly got up and stopped her, pulling her back into the courtyard and closing the doors behind them.

Lowering his voice, he said, “Enough! Are you trying to announce to the whole village that you’ve got a strange man in your house? What if the neighbors hear?”

Jing Xi put her hands on her hips. “Didn’t you ask about my reputation in this village when you investigated me?”

“Uh, I heard a little.”

“Then you should know! Reputation is useless! You can’t eat a good reputation! If a good reputation could feed people, then I refuse to believe that all those innocent, righteous people of the past would’ve starved to death.”

“Then why did you just say a man and a woman can’t stay alone together?”

Jing Xi: “???”

Wait. Did she just trap herself in her own argument?

Crap!

Long Yue Zhi, thinking he couldn’t win an argument against her, didn’t notice her internal struggle.

He simply grabbed her and pulled her into the house—before she could shout and let the whole village know she had a man inside.

Even if she didn’t care, he had to consider things for her.

But then he paused.

Why did he care so much about her?

—

Inside the house, during their back-and-forth, Jing Xi suddenly felt a dull pressure in her lower abdomen.

Then, she realized something was off.

Immediately, she understood why she had been so irritable these past few days.

Aunt Flo had arrived!

In the past, she used to have painful cramps, but ever since drinking water from her space, the pain had disappeared.

Now, she only felt a dull ache.

But because there was no pain, she always got caught off guard when her period came.

“Let go of me!”

“No way! You need to calm down first!”

“I said, let go! Now! I need to use the bathroom!”

Only then did Long Yue Zhi let go.

He noticed her face was a little flushed, and she was holding her stomach.

“What’s wrong? Did you eat something bad?”

Jing Xi shot him a glare and quickly headed to the bathroom.

After cleaning up, she realized—no pads!

In the end, she decided to go into her space to grab some supplies.

It wasn’t like Long Yue Zhi was going to barge into the bathroom looking for her, right?

Ten minutes later, she came out.

Then, she suddenly remembered the food in the kitchen.

With all this commotion, her stomach was empty again.

She walked into the kitchen and saw that the fire had gone out, but the meat in the pot was still warm, and so were the steamed buns.

She took a plate and some bowls and set the food on the dining table.

At that moment, Long Yue Zhi walked out from inside.

Seeing Jing Xi eating, he immediately sat beside her.

Even though he had just stolen some food earlier, watching her eat made him hungry again.

He looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. “Can I have some more?”

Jing Xi glanced at him. “Steamed buns are five bucks. Ribs are ten.”

“Whoa, that expensive?”

“Take it or leave it.”

Long Yue Zhi patted his pockets. He never carried money when he went out.

That was always Er’Er’s job.

“Uh… I don’t have any money on me. Can I owe you?”

“No.”

“Come on, cut me some slack!”

Long Yue Zhi blinked his big eyes, trying to earn some sympathy.

“I’ll pay you when Er’Er picks me up.”

“For real?”

“For real!”

“Fine, but I’m keeping track! If you eat or drink anything, you have to pay. Even using my toilet costs money—it’s a flushing toilet. One yuan per use.”

Long Yue Zhi saw the sly glint in her eyes but went along with it.

“Alright. Want to write it down in a notebook?”

“Great idea!” Jing Xi put down her chopsticks and went inside.

A moment later, she returned with a brand-new notebook and a pen.

“Let’s start with what you stole earlier. How many buns did you eat? If I’m not mistaken, two? And two ribs?”

Long Yue Zhi wasn’t sure. “Mmm.”

“Two yuan for the buns, five for the ribs. You owe me seven yuan.”

“Got it.”

“Okay. How much do you want to eat now?”

“I don’t want buns anymore, just meat.”

“No problem! Go serve yourself! Oh, and tea costs one yuan per pot. The first pot’s on me, but after that, I’m charging you.”

Long Yue Zhi nodded, amused. “Alright, no problem.”

He went to the kitchen and filled his plate.

Three fist-sized pork bones.

Jing Xi glanced at his plate. This sickly guy sure could eat.

“These three cost ten yuan. You now owe me seventeen yuan.”

Long Yue Zhi sighed at how ruthless she was while happily gnawing on the meat.

So much meat!

So juicy and flavorful!

Even the broth was delicious!

After eating so much meat, he needed something to drink.

He ordered another pot of tea.

Now, he owed Jing Xi eighteen yuan.

After dinner, it was time to brew his medicine.

Long Yue Zhi looked at his three packets of herbs. “You brew it for me, and I’ll pay you.”

Jing Xi immediately picked up the medicine packets. “But I don’t know how to.”

“Do you have a clay pot?”

Jing Xi didn’t have one in her kitchen, but she had one in her space.

“Yes. Wait here, I’ll get it.”

She quickly retrieved it from her space.

Long Yue Zhi instructed, “Fill it with water and simmer for an hour.”

Jing Xi followed his instructions, setting it on the stove.

“Brewing medicine costs five yuan.”

Long Yue Zhi: “No problem.”

Within a few short hours, Long Yue Zhi owed her twenty-three yuan!

As night fell, Jing Xi considered charging him for lodging.

This guy was loaded. His fancy hotel probably cost a fortune.

Charging him a hundred yuan per night seemed fair.

Long Yue Zhi saw her twirling her pen, deep in thought.

Curious, he leaned over. “What are you thinking?”

Perfect timing.

“How much is your hotel room per night?”

“My room or the whole floor?”

“Just your room.”

“Not sure. Er’Er handles that.”

“Then I’ll charge you one hundred a night. That’s fair since I’m feeding you and taking care of you.”

Long Yue Zhi suddenly had an idea.

“How about this—you don’t have to tally everything. I’ll pay you two hundred per day. Full-day rate, even if I stay less.”

Starting today—two hundred per day!