Chapter 1209: Veggies in His Teeth
âTechnically,â Su Bing announced as he adjusted his seat, âweâre not going to the libraryâweâre going to the open space next to it. I saw some jelly grass growing there the other day. We can pick a bunch and make something delicious tonight.â
At the mere mention of jelly grass, both Su Li and Su Le perked up like puppies hearing the word âwalk.â
Su Li, who had the prime seat just behind Chen Xi on the motorbike, leaned forward with wide-eyed excitement. âBig Brother, since when do you know how to make herbal jelly? Did Mom secretly teach you again?â
Su Bing gave him a light tap on the forehead. âI learned back in our hometown. I just watched Mom cook and picked it up on my own. She never âsecretlyâ taught me anything. Mom always teaches in broad daylightâno secrets needed.âđ§đâŻđđđđđđ°đˇđŚđ.đ¸â´đ
Meanwhile, Chen Xiâstill processing this bizarre idea of voluntarily eating grassâcouldnât quite understand the excitement. He wasnât living through a famine, thank you very much. And now Su Bing was saying tonightâs âdelicious dinnerâ was⌠boiled grass?
His appetite deflated on the spot.
âFine, Iâll take you,â he muttered, starting the engine. âBut first, pop quiz: donât you think I look especially handsome today?â
After all, heâd taken the motorbike to school and the way peopleâespecially the girlsâhad turned to stare as he zoomed past? That was enough to inflate any young manâs ego. Outwardly, heâd kept a poker face, but inwardly? Heâd been thriving. What was the point of being a heartthrob if his three resident sidekicks couldnât even stroke his ego?
Silence.
Then Su Li, ever the blunt instrument, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. âYour outfitâs pretty cool. But your face? Same as always.â
Chen Xi blinked. That couldnât be it. He looked damn good today, and he knew it. He turned his head slightly, eyes darting to Su Bing, who was sitting behind Su Li, hoping for a better review.
Su Bing glanced at him and murmured, âI just noticed thereâs a piece of leafy vegetable stuck between your front teeth.â
With the wind howling past them on the motorbike, Chen Xi didnât quite catch that. âWhat? What leaf? Say it louder!â
Su Bing didnât bother to respond, but Su Li didâloud enough for the whole street to hear.
âCHEN XI! MY BROTHER SAYS YOUâVE GOT VEGGIES IN YOUR TEETH!â
Chen Xi nearly choked on his own dignity. These two little devils were going to be the end of him.
But then came the angelic voice of Su Le, sweet as sorbet. Sitting in front of him, she turned her head and said, âYou look super cool today. Handsome and cool. A little veggie in your teeth canât ruin that. Donât worry. Also⌠I really want to eat chilled herbal jelly tonight.â
Flattery wrapped in a requestâwhat a deadly combination.
How could Chen Xi say no to that face? He sighed, defeated. For Su Le, the familyâs resident charmer, he would endure anything. Even wild grass.
By the time they reached the vacant lot near the library, they looked like a field trip gone rogue. Su Bing took Su Li with him to start collecting the grass, and in no time, theyâd amassed three entire bags of the stuff.
Chen Xi stared at the bundles, horrified. His stylish, limited-edition motorcycleâhis pride and joyânow had weeds strapped to the back. He looked like a street vendor on a mission.
He protested. Loudly. Passionately. Dramatically. None of it worked.
And so, looking thoroughly humiliated, he rode off into the sunset with three children and three sacks of grass.
Unbeknownst to him, Tang Xue had seen the whole thing.
She blinked as Chen Xiâs silhouette disappeared around the bend, taking with him the three childrenâGu Ziâs children, to be precise. Her heart twisted with confusion. Was Chen Xi babysitting for Gu Zi? Had he been spending all this time with her and the kids?
Maybe her idea to cozy up to Gu Zi to get closer to Chen Xi had been right after all.
But then again, something didnât add up. Why would Chen Xi willingly spend so much time with three completely unrelated kids? Why hadnât he come looking for her?
No. It had to be Gu Ziâs doing.
Someone must have been speaking ill of her to Chen Xi behind her backâplanting seeds of resentment. And who else had the motive and access, if not Gu Zi? After that little misunderstanding theyâd hadâwell, Tang Xue had apologized, but who knew what Gu Zi really thought?
The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became: Gu Zi was sabotaging her.
Meanwhile, Chen Xi remained blissfully unaware that heâd once again been sighted and overanalyzed by Tang Xue.
All he wanted was to escape the public eye and get these kids homeâraising children was no small task, thank you very much.
Back at the Chen residence, Su Li dragged Su Le off to do homework while Su Bing marched into the kitchen with his bag of jelly grass like a culinary general returning from war.
âChen Xi,â Su Bing called, bossy as ever, âput the other two bags on the bamboo trays to dry. Theyâll keep longer that way.â
Chen Xi shot the bags a look of pure revulsion, but being the unofficial sous-chef-slash-house-help, he obeyed. Moments later, the grass was spread out and drying under the sun like freshly harvested tea leaves.
That evening, the whole family gathered for dinner. Chen Yu and Sun Yi were home, adding to the full-house atmosphere. After the meal, the maids brought out dessert.
Each person received a porcelain bowl filled with milk and what looked like black, gelatinous cubes floating ominously inside. It shimmered like onyx and lookedâŚquestionable.
The maid, ever the enthusiastic narrator, beamed.
âMaster Chen, Madam, Second Young Master Chenâthis is a special dessert made by Young Master Su Bing! Itâs herbal jelly in milk! He made it from wild grass! Isnât that amazing?â
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