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Wen Jialuo’s mother, Luolinyi, had already prepared dinner. Tonight, Jialuo’s grandparents were not at home for dinner as they were meeting old war comrades.
When Xu Shiqi entered with Baohua, she saw three people sitting on the large sofa. Aside from Wen Jialuo, who widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing her, there was also a boy sitting there. From his features, it was easy to tell that he was Baohua’s cousin.
“Little aunt, this is my classmate, Xu Shiqi,” Baohua said, pulling Xu Shiqi over with a smile.
“Hello, Aunt,” Xu Shiqi greeted busily. The woman across from her, smiling warmly, looked to be in her thirties and was quite petite with a classic charm. If she hadn’t guessed who it was, she probably wouldn’t have linked the awkward, skinny girl to this woman.
“Welcome, welcome,” Luolinyi said, having discreetly sized them up since they entered. She nodded slightly and added, “No need to be formal; just treat it like a classmate gathering.”
Sitting to the side, Wen Yu was full of curiosity. His aunt had been frowning over Jialuo’s personal issues for a while, and he hadn’t seen her smile so happily in ages. When he turned to look, he noticed that Jialuo had unknowingly emitted an “keep away” icy aura, making him think he must have missed out on some good drama.
But it seemed like it wasn’t too late.
Someone came over to inform them that dinner was ready, and the group crossed the lobby, walking over a wooden bridge to the dining hall. Beneath the bridge, a stream flowed gently, and he could even see a waterwheel in the distance. Xu Shiqi sighed inwardly at the charm of the house, wondering who had insisted on making this villa so distinctive.
The large white marble dining table in the middle of the dining room was already filled with dishes, with two middle-aged women waiting by. Before taking a seat, Xu Shiqi went to wash her hands, and when she saw the vibrant red colors on the table, her heart suddenly stirred. She whispered a few words to Baohua, then returned to the table with a smile, leaving Baohua looking puzzled.
The seats were arranged by the only elder present. Xu Shiqi was naturally seated next to Wen Jialuo, which was originally Wen Yu’s seat. He had to give way and sit beside Baohua, blinking his eyes inquiringly at her about what was happening, but Baohua ignored him.
Once Luolinyi was satisfied and seated, she softly said to her daughter, “Jialuo, there are guests; why don’t you say hello?”
Wen Jialuo slowly turned her head like a robot and slightly curved her lips. “Long time no see…”
Xu Shiqi was unfazed, smiling naturally. “Yeah. By the way, the soup Baohua made last time was quite good, wasn’t it?”
Wen Jialuo’s mouth twitched, and she frowned slightly without speaking.
However, Luolinyi quickly took over the conversation. “That’s right, Baohua. Next time, you should teach me how to make that soup; don’t forget.”
Baohua quickly nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Xu Shiqi seemed to just notice the dishes on the table, letting out a soft “Ah.”
Luolinyi immediately noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xu Shiqi smiled a bit shyly and glanced at Baohua.
Baohua, understanding the cue, pointed at the dishes on the table and said, “Oh, I forgot to mention. Seventeen doesn’t eat spicy food.”
It turned out that Luolinyi had heard that they had Sichuan cuisine at Baohua’s house that day, so she had arranged for Sichuan dishes for this dinner. The table was filled with bright red chilies, making it look quite lively, and even the air was filled with a rich, inviting aroma.
“I’m really sorry,” Xu Shiqi said, feeling a bit awkward as she touched her ear, a habit of hers. “My throat gets hoarse whenever I eat spicy food.”
Luolinyi looked a bit disappointed, hoping that this girl could stimulate some appetite in her daughter, but now… Suddenly, Wen Yu winked at her, and when she turned her head, she was shocked to see her daughter leisurely picking food with chopsticks.
Wen Jialuo took the first bite of the dish. The tender, flavorful beef was sprinkled with finely chopped red chilies. It seemed that Luolinyi was not very good at making Sichuan food, but she knew that Sichuan cuisine was not just spicy but also numbing, so the beef surprisingly numbed her tongue. Despite the unique flavor, she chewed slowly, then looked up at Xu Shiqi with a smile: “What a pity; this is truly wonderful food.”
Xu Shiqi smiled weakly. “It does look delicious…” However, she didn’t pick up her chopsticks and even hid her hands under the table, leaning back a little to distance herself from the table. It seemed she couldn’t stand the smell of the chilies and was desperately trying to resist the urge to leave.
But Wen Jialuo, on the other hand, seemed to shake off her earlier gloom. This woman had been aggressive at the dinner table twice, so she was quite pleased with what she saw now. To further provoke Xu Shiqi, she continued to eat a lot, praising her aunt’s cooking enthusiastically. Finally, she even kindly used Xu Shiqi’s chopsticks to serve herself some food, as if completely oblivious to Xu Shiqi’s resistance, innocently urging her to try a bite.
Xu Shiqi had no choice but to reluctantly take a small taste, after which she covered her mouth and began to cough violently. Under Wen Jialuo’s secretly delighted gaze, she apologetically left the table and ran to the restroom.
Wen Jialuo watched her retreating figure, feeling pleased, and had her aunt serve her a bowl of rice. Seeing the other three at the table staring at her, she shrugged slightly and said with feigned regret, “It’s really not my fault; I didn’t expect she couldn’t eat even one bite of spice.”
Wen Baohua coughed lightly, turning her head away in sympathy. In fact, she was avoiding Jialuo’s gaze, sneaking a laugh. She hadn’t expected that Seventeen could act so well; when she coughed, tears were almost visible in her eyes. Looking at Little Aunt and Wen Yu, they also seemed to have been fooled. Only she, as an old classmate, knew that Seventeen could eat spicy food. Though she didn’t eat much to protect her naturally captivating voice, she wouldn’t be unable to handle even one bite.
She imagined Seventeen was now giving herself a thumbs-up in front of the mirror.
For Luolinyi, it didn’t matter whether Baohua’s classmate could eat spicy food; what mattered was that her daughter was now eating heartily. Perhaps the chilies really stimulated her appetite; she seemed to be enjoying her food a lot. At this point, Luolinyi could only smile, carefully serving food into her daughter’s bowl instead of scolding her for being disrespectful to guests.
Before long, Wen Jialuo finished her bowl of rice. The consequence of the spiciness was that she was sweating profusely. Wiping her forehead with a tissue, she turned to check on the person who had hidden in the restroom, realizing that Xu Shiqi hadn’t come out yet. It seemed she was too embarrassed and was looking for a hole to hide in. After all, she was her cousin’s classmate and not her guest, so when she saw her mother had put down the bowl and chopsticks, she got up and said, “I’ll head back upstairs first.”
After Wen Jialuo left, Xu Shiqi finally opened the restroom door.
“She’s finished eating,” Wen Baohua whispered to her, “You did great.”
Xu Shiqi smiled. “What’s the big deal? As long as you can guess her thoughts, you know how to deal with her.”
Hearing this, Wen Yu seemed to understand something, his eyes wide in realization as he pointed at the two of them. “You… tricked Jialuo?”
Seeing Luolinyi glaring at her, Xu Shiqi leaned slightly and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry; I was rude earlier.”
“Now I see,” Luolinyi didn’t blame her. After all, she couldn’t bear to scold her daughter, who was cherished by everyone at home, so she never thought of resolving problems this way. This girl did seem to have a few tricks up her sleeve.
After Wen Jialuo left, the atmosphere at the dining table lightened. Xu Shiqi could tell that perhaps as long as Wen Jialuo was at the table, everyone couldn’t eat and drink freely, always distracted by her presence.
After the dinner party ended, Rolini said she wanted to rest and left first. Seeing that there was no excitement left, Wen Yu also left. Wen Baohua took Xu Shiqi to rest by the waterwheel in the backyard. Xu Shiqi listened to her talk about how the creek flowing through the villa was real mountain spring water, and watched the lights slowly brighten above the waterwheel. Everything here had a peaceful ambiance.
When Wen Baohua returned after taking a call, she told Xu Shiqi, “Just now, my aunt called me. She’s already spoken to the director of the health bureau, and your family’s issue will be resolved.”
“Thank you,” Xu Shiqi replied with a slight smile.
“Don’t thank me. My aunt asked me to thank you,” Wen Baohua smiled back.
“It was just a meal; it wasn’t difficult,” Xu Shiqi said lazily, suddenly remembering something. “Your aunt is actually helping to ensure we have food at home, so in her eyes, it’s not a big deal.”
“Shiqi.” Wen Baohua frowned slightly.
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Xu Shiqi said, patting her shoulder as she stood up from beside the waterwheel. “I need to go back.”
“I’ll take you.”
When they returned to the front yard, they unexpectedly saw Wen Jialuo standing in the distance, arms crossed. The two exchanged glances, unsure of what to do, and approached her.
“Jialuo, are you going out too?”
“Sis, you should go back. I’ll see your classmate off.”
The once bright path was now dimmed by the shadows of the trees where Wen Jialuo stood, her expression unreadable. Her tone was neither warm enough to be difficult to refuse nor cold enough to prompt a straightforward rejection.
Just as Wen Baohua was about to say something, Wen Jialuo waved her hand to interrupt. “Your way home isn’t the same as hers, right?”
Xu Shiqi furrowed her brow, vaguely sensing something. She smiled and stopped Wen Baohua from speaking further. “It’s fine; someone’s seeing me off. You should go home; Xia Bang might have returned already.”
Even though both speakers were calm, Baohua still felt something was off. In the end, she couldn’t go against them and had to watch helplessly as Shiqi got into Jialuo’s car and sped away.
I hope nothing happens. Wen Baohua thought anxiously.
Wen Jialuo drove skillfully, while Baohua was much more cautious. Xu Shiqi carefully buckled her seatbelt and let her long hair blow wildly in the open window.
“I thought you were my cousin’s guest today,” Wen Jialuo finally spoke.
Xu Shiqi, struggling to tuck her hair behind her ear, casually asked, “And?”
“Turns out you were invited by my mom,” Wen Jialuo’s lips curled into a smirk.
It seemed that her earlier act had been seen through. Xu Shiqi thought regretfully.
Wen Jialuo suddenly swerved the steering wheel and pulled the car over to the side of the road.
Xu Shiqi looked around. Although it wasn’t a prohibited area, she wouldn’t have cared even if it were—what was she planning to do?
“I’ve never been played like this before,” Wen Jialuo said, turning to look at Xu Shiqi, who looked rather disheveled.
Xu Shiqi slowly began to untangle her hair, which was surprisingly knotted, and replied, “Played? But what did you lose? You’re not starving, are you?”
“I didn’t lose anything,” Wen Jialuo said lazily, “but you gained quite a lot.”
Xu Shiqi paused her movements and quietly watched her.
“I heard my mom on the phone,” Wen Jialuo suddenly laughed. “The ‘Xu Family Food Memoir,’ that little restaurant I went to last time—your family’s place, right? Food poisoning? I can’t believe you got my mom to help you; you’re really something.”
This was Xu Shiqi’s first time looking so closely at Wen Jialuo without blinking. Wen Jialuo’s sudden smile revealed two small canines—so this girl was definitely not an angel but rather a little demon with tiny black wings. Xu Shiqi imagined the little demon waving a slender fork, attempting to hurt others while also trying to defend herself.
She was quite cute, so Xu Shiqi smiled. But soon, under Wen Jialuo’s angry glare, her smile faded, turning into a blank expression.
“That’s right. You’re so thin; I heard it’s because of your anorexia. Your mom and the others are trying everything to get you to eat normally, even believing a complete stranger like me could make a difference. You’re right; something happened at my family’s restaurant. Although I didn’t want to ask for help, I still shamelessly sought your mom’s satisfaction for my family. So what if it was really embarrassing? But what about you?” Xu Shiqi squinted, taking in the girl’s appearance and gently asked, “You only make your family worry and stress over you. Am I really more embarrassing than you?”
Wen Jialuo, who had initially planned to mock this woman thoroughly, felt her smugness fade away. What replaced it was rapid breathing and a flushed face.
“What do you know? What do you understand?” Wen Jialuo said, her voice low and her eyes reddening with anger. She clenched her fists tightly, trembling uncontrollably.
Who’s the one feeling wronged now? Xu Shiqi tilted her head, looking at the girl who had been easily provoked and suddenly grew agitated, sighing inwardly. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face her. “I don’t understand. If you don’t speak, no one will understand. But I have a little time and space now. Otherwise, why don’t you tell me?” She glanced at the time on her phone and added, “I’m just letting you vent; your mom helped me a lot by letting me eat, and I’m very grateful. This is too good of a deal. So I’ve decided to implement a compensation policy and be your sounding board. What do you think?”
Wen Jialuo gasped as she leaned back in her seat. She half-closed her eyes, forcing all the bitterness to hide behind her eyelids. After a while, she straightened her back and restarted the car. “I’ll take you back.”
Xu Shiqi watched Wen Jialuo’s tightly pressed lips and slowly sat back up. When the car finally stopped in front of her family’s restaurant, she cautiously asked, “I guess the person you have a crush on is someone you shouldn’t love, right?”
Wen Jialuo nearly jumped out of her seat but quickly calmed her surprise, replying coldly, “You’re right.” She leaned back in her chair, watching the ebb and flow of customers at the restaurant, and said, “Since you’re so curious, I’ll indulge you.”