30:Not Delicious

Shen Yifei (Shěn Yìfēi) hadn’t expected this woman to show such a cute side.

“Hmph!” Su Muqing (Sū Mùqíng) pouted, turning her head away, her voice a mix of shyness and embarrassment, “What about those people?”

Shen Yifei chuckled, “Don’t worry about them. Let’s go.”

“What did you do to them?” Su Muqing pressed.

“Just scared them off, that’s all,” Shen Yifei said casually, trying to avoid alarming Su Muqing.

Though a sliver of suspicion lingered in Su Muqing’s mind, she didn’t pursue the matter further.

Shen Yifei opened the car door, a grin on his face, “Alright, alright, I’ll tell you everything when we get back. Now, hurry up and get in. Or do you want me to carry you?”

Su Muqing’s face flushed crimson. She glared at Shen Yifei, a mix of shyness and annoyance, then quickly clambered out from under the seat, tidied her dishevelled hair, and moved into the passenger seat.

Shen Yifei settled into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and drove the car out of the woods.

Su Muqing caught a faint, almost imperceptible metallic scent drifting from Shen Yifei – it seemed to be the smell of blood.

Seeing the empty Mercedes by the roadside and a few puddles of blood on the ground, a pang of fear stirred in Su Muqing’s heart.

Suddenly, she felt that the man before her was far more complex than she had imagined. It was the first time she had found Shen Yifei somewhat mysterious.

Despite his outwardly jovial and carefree demeanor, this man concealed a deep secret. He was both a little mysterious and a little… terrifying.

Just as Su Muqing was about to speak, an embarrassing gurgle echoed through the car.

“Grumble, grumble…”

Shen Yifei paused. There were only two of them in the car, and he was certain it wasn’t his stomach. The sound must have come from Su Muqing.

“Ms. Su, are you hungry?” Shen Yifei asked with a laugh.

“I…” Su Muqing was too embarrassed to speak, quickly covering her abdomen with her right hand. Her entire face was burning, like a deflated balloon.

“I didn’t eat dinner tonight, of course I’m hungry,” Su Muqing mumbled, pouting.

Shen Yifei chuckled, “Alright then, Ms. Su, let’s go home and eat.”

The Audi sped away from the suburbs.

They arrived back at the villa.

Shen Yifei plopped onto the sofa. He was a bit hungry himself, and couldn’t help but ask, “Ms. Su, I’m hungry too. Could you quickly make something to eat?”

At these words, Su Muqing’s temper flared. Who did this guy think he was, daring to order her around?

“I’m in a bad mood today. I don’t feel like cooking. If you want to eat, order takeout yourself!” Su Muqing snapped.

“Then give me some money first, I don’t have any to order takeout,” Shen Yifei shrugged.

His last red bill (a common slang term for a 100 RMB note) had gone towards booking a room for Bai Qinyu (Bái Qīnyǔ) last time, leaving Shen Yifei utterly penniless.

He did, however, have a check he had extorted from Qiao Lan (Qiáo Lán).

Su Muqing looked displeased, “If you don’t have money, you can earn it. If you want to eat, you can cook it yourself.”

“Fine,” Shen Yifei sighed, then walked into the kitchen, thinking that he, the ‘master,’ would have to do it himself after all.

The kitchen was well-stocked with various utensils, cooking equipment, and condiments like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

He found noodles, eggs, and some vegetables in the refrigerator, and Shen Yifei simply set about boiling some egg noodles.

A short while later, two steaming bowls of egg noodles were placed on the table, garnished with chopped green onions and sesame oil, releasing an inviting aroma.

In the living room, Su Muqing was browsing the news on her laptop. Catching the scent, she instinctively turned her head towards the dining table.

“Ms. Su, if you’re hungry, feel free to join me,” Shen Yifei said with a smile.

“Eat it yourself,” Su Muqing huffed softly, returning to her news.

“Don’t be shy,” Shen Yifei simply carried a bowl of noodles over to the coffee table and offered her a pair of chopsticks.

Su Muqing was about to flat-out refuse, but then she felt that her attitude just now had indeed been a bit excessive. After all, it was a kind gesture from him. She silently took the chopsticks.

Initially, she held no hope for Shen Yifei’s cooking, but after taking a bite of the egg noodles, Su Muqing was momentarily stunned.

The taste was unexpectedly good, far better than her own cooking.

A strange feeling welled up in Su Muqing’s heart. She hadn’t expected her cooking skills to be inferior to Shen Yifei’s.

“Ms. Su, is it delicious?” Shen Yifei asked.

“It’s not delicious!”

Su Muqing snorted lightly, quickly devouring the egg noodles in front of her.

Shen Yifei was a little speechless. Couldn’t this girl give him some credit?

“Ms. Su, your takeout order!” A voice came from outside the door.

Su Muqing stood up, went to the door, and returned with two takeout containers. Without even looking at them, she placed them on the dining table.

“I’m full. You can eat those if you want,” Su Muqing’s beautiful face looked subtly unnatural. She pouted as she said this, then turned and walked upstairs without looking back.

Shen Yifei stared blankly at the two exquisite takeout containers. So, Su Muqing had already ordered takeout? Were all her previous words just out of spite?

He hadn’t realized Su Muqing had such a proud and somewhat contradictory side (a common character archetype in East Asian media where a character is initially cold but later shows affection). Shen Yifei’s mood instantly brightened. This woman, too, had been hiding a lot about herself when she was with him.

After dinner, they both went to shower and sleep.

Shen Yifei had intended to perhaps deepen their relationship, but this cold beauty gave him no such opportunity, so he had to give up.

Su Muqing still found Shen Yifei a bit of an eyesore in her gaze, but after the events of this evening, she no longer felt such aversion towards him.

Before, Su Muqing had constantly worried about one thing: since she was now living with Shen Yifei, would he try anything with her?

Su Muqing had always been exceptionally beautiful since childhood, truly a goddess-level beauty. She possessed high emotional intelligence and was skilled at reading people. She knew that most men who approached her harbored positive feelings or certain suggestive fantasies.

Of course, this wasn't vanity, but self-awareness.

Through several days of observation, Shen Yifei had been almost *too* well-behaved, to the point that Su Muqing even began to wonder if she was still considered a great beauty.

Although Shen Yifei spoke glibly, there was an occasional flicker of cold detachment in his eyes.

Coupled with Shen Yifei’s unusual behavior tonight, Su Muqing felt a flicker of curiosity about this man for the very first time.

Su Muqing still consciously maintained her distance from Shen Yifei. After all, they were merely fiancé and fiancée by agreement, a relationship without substance or intimacy. It would be best if Shen Yifei understood this.

The next morning, Shen Yifei exhaled a turbid breath, stretching his body.

After washing up, it was just past seven.

Su Muqing happened to come downstairs, dressed in a light blue dress. It still couldn't conceal her ample figure. Beneath a light blue cut-out lace trim, her seemingly bottomless and enviable cleavage resembled a deep valley, exuding a mysterious allure.

Today, she had also applied light makeup. Her exquisite face was as fair as snow, so delicate it seemed it could break at a touch. Paired with her perfect figure, she unconsciously radiated an elegant and noble aura.

It had to be said, when this woman put on a little makeup and dressed up, she was truly dazzlingly beautiful, making even Shen Yifei’s eyes fixate on her.

Noticing the fleeting hint of admiration in Shen Yifei’s eyes, Su Muqing’s lips subtly curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. She felt a small surge of pride. This man wasn’t a complete blockhead after all.

“So early? It’s the weekend, no work today,” Shen Yifei said.

“I don’t have a habit of sleeping in!” Su Muqing retorted huffily.

With that, Su Muqing walked towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” Shen Yifei asked.

“Grocery shopping!”

Su Muqing pursed her lips.

Shen Yifei was a little dumbfounded. A CEO of a large company personally going grocery shopping?