Chapter 17: Same-Sex or Hidden Illness

Pei Yan Zhou walked towards the sofa. Jian Ruo Ci breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, finally, she had gotten rid of this difficult big Buddha. She lowered her head and cut the vegetables. With him gone, she could calm down a lot.

Pei Yan Zhou took off his suit and placed it on the sofa. Then he returned to the kitchen, his shirt sleeves rolled up slightly, revealing a section of his lean forearm.

Jian Ruo Ci looked up at him. “What are you doing?”

What was he up to?

Pei Yan Zhou said coolly, “Helping.”

Helping? He was probably going to make things worse. Such a precious man, with a butler at home, a noble young master who didn’t eat earthly food, how could he possibly cook? She didn’t believe he was really here to help.

“Mr. Pei, you rest. I’ll do it.”

The title “Mr. Pei” was a reminder of his status. He wasn’t supposed to be in the kitchen.

Pei Yan Zhou glanced at the unwashed vegetables in the sink, turned on the water, and started washing the vegetables with a natural, skilled hand.

Jian Ruo Ci looked at him. He was actually doing it right.

She lowered her head and cut the vegetables. When she finished cutting the vegetables, she found that Pei Yan Zhou had already finished washing the vegetables and was dealing with the carp.

He held a knife, cut open the fish’s belly, and cleaned out the innards. His technique was skilled, his movements elegant, not at all like killing a living creature.

She had been cooking for so long, and she found it troublesome to deal with fresh carp like this. Opening the belly and cleaning out the innards, he did it so easily.

After cleaning out the fish’s innards, he turned on the water and washed the blood off the fish. She was watching intently when Pei Yan Zhou said slowly, “Staring at me like that, I’ll think you like me.”

He didn’t look up, and his hands didn’t stop.

Caught, Jian Ruo Ci unconsciously looked away. “I was looking at the fish, not at you.”

The fish was cleaned and placed on the cutting board. Pei Yan Zhou picked up the fruit plate with the strawberries and placed it in her hand. “Go to the living room.”

“…” Was she being rejected, or what?

She held the fruit plate and looked at him. “I’m thanking you, inviting you to dinner. You’re the guest. How can you do it yourself?”

“This one doesn’t count. Next time.” Pei Yan Zhou lowered his eyes and used the knife to make even cuts on the fish.

Jian Ruo Ci: “But…”

As soon as she opened her mouth, Pei Yan Zhou picked up a strawberry and put it in her mouth. “Be good, go to the living room.”

Jian Ruo Ci froze in place. The word “be good” went straight to her bones. His tone was a little doting. What was going on?

If it were anyone else, she would think they were crazy for saying such greasy words, how disgusting.

But Pei Yan Zhou, with that face, that voice, what if she fell for him? Who would pull her back?

The truth was, she was a face-value person.

“Oh…” She held the fruit plate and went to the living room, a lovestruck smile on her face. She was still immersed in his doting tone.

Even the strawberries tasted extra sweet.

After a few seconds, she finally came to her senses. She put the fruit plate on the coffee table and patted her face with her hand. “Jian Ruo Ci! How can you be so pathetic?”

It was just a man, after all. He was just good-looking and had a nice voice.

But she still couldn’t help but blush and her heart race. Her cheeks were burning. She ran to the bathroom, scooped some water with her hands and splashed it on her face. She pointed at herself in the mirror and warned, “Don’t be so pathetic! Do you hear me?”

She dried the water off her face and sat down on the sofa in the living room. She looked towards the kitchen and met Pei Yan Zhou’s gaze. She quickly looked away, not wanting to look at him.

After a dozen seconds, she secretly glanced at the kitchen again and caught the curve of his lips, a clear smile.

At that moment, she realized that he had done it on purpose. She had been tricked by this bad man, Pei Yan Zhou, just by that smile.

This man was really bad to the bone. He had tricked her into blushing and her heart racing, but he was secretly gloating behind her back.

Did he think he was amazing, that he could make a girl blush and her heart race with just one sentence?

Jian Ruo Ci clenched her fists, suppressing the urge to strangle him.

Even when she was facing Liang Jin Yu and her daughter, she wouldn’t have such a big emotional fluctuation. Now, she wanted to kill him.

She picked up a strawberry from the fruit plate and stuffed it into her mouth, biting it fiercely, filled with resentment.

Suddenly, a mischievous smile curved her lips. Since he dared to tease her, she would give him a little trouble too.

She walked towards the kitchen, pretending to be casual. “Mr. Pei, how old are you? Do you have a partner?”

She said, stuffing a strawberry into her mouth.

“Why?” Pei Yan Zhou looked up at her. “Want to marry me?”

“…”

Who would want to marry him!

At this moment, Pei Yan Zhou asked back, “Don’t you know my age?”

She knew, but she had to act. “Mr. Pei, are you eighteen?”

“Hmm.”

Jian Ruo Ci: “You’re an old man, and you don’t have a partner?”

She stared at Pei Yan Zhou for a few seconds. He didn’t say anything, so she took it as a confirmation.

Jian Ruo Ci looked shocked, covering her mouth with her hands. “You wouldn’t be…”

“You wouldn’t be gay, not liking women…”

“If it’s not about your sexual orientation, then it must be that you have a hidden illness…”

As soon as she said those words, Jian Ruo Ci clearly felt Pei Yan Zhou’s face darken. His face was a little scary, but it didn’t affect her happiness. He had teased her first.

This was his own fault.

Under Pei Yan Zhou’s cold gaze, she said with a stiff smile, “Your face…”

“It must be that I’m right. You really have some kind of hidden illness…”

She said earnestly, “Uncle Pei, it’s not shameful to have a hidden illness. Quit smoking, drinking, and staying up late. Seek medical attention in time, and you’ll be fine. I… believe in you! Come on, baby!”

Jian Ruo Ci was about to burst out laughing.

Uncle Pei…

Hidden illness…

Would he be angry to death?

She felt a chill down her spine. The kitchen was like an icehouse.

She secretly glanced at Pei Yan Zhou. He was playing with the knife in his hand, his eyes black and cold.

Her intuition told her that if she didn’t leave this place of trouble, she might end up with blood splattered on the scene, dismembered by him in the kitchen.

Jian Ruo Ci awkwardly laughed twice. “That… Uncle Pei.”

“No, Mr. Pei, you continue… continue…”

“I won’t bother you.”

She left the kitchen without looking back. This revenge was too satisfying. Holding back her laughter was really uncomfortable. She sat on the sofa, covering her mouth to laugh, trying not to make a sound. After all, there was a devil in the kitchen who was ready to kill and dismember.

She was laughing hysterically on the sofa, secretly glancing at the kitchen. She found that Pei Yan Zhou was staring at her intently.

Instantly, she stopped laughing, pursed her lips, widened her eyes, and nodded at him, as if to prove that she wasn’t laughing.

After a dozen seconds, Pei Yan Zhou was still looking at her. His face was as black as coal. Jian Ruo Ci instantly felt even funnier.

What should she do? She couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She looked at the pillow on the sofa and buried her face in it, like an ostrich.

Pei Yan Zhou’s eyes softened with amusement. He said softly, “Silly.”

His tone was particularly doting.

How could he not see through her little trick? He was just playing along with her.

She was such an easy person to make happy, but no one was willing to let her be simply happy these days.

Jian Ruo Ci lay on the sofa and laughed for a while before she recovered. She muttered softly, “Jian Ruo Ci, you’re going to get wrinkles around your eyes if you keep laughing.”

But it was really funny. She didn’t know why she said those things about being gay and having a hidden illness. She just wanted to sarcastically say he was old and give him a hard time. She didn’t expect those words to come out of her mouth so easily.