Heavy Taste
Just as Zhenxiu had finished her job, her boss returned in what was best described as a very drunk state. He was quite generous with her pay, giving her forty dollars for half a day of work.
Yang Chen wanted to punch his cocky face so badly but eventually decided against, remembering Zhenxiuâs previous lecture.
Sheâs right. The people around me might look like me, but they are not like me. Normal human beings have their own ways of dealing with things. I need to realize that and stop acting like a tyrant. Looks like I really have to organize my thoughts. Shouldnât my cultivations provide me with a more carefree life? Why am I still so troubled??
he thought.
Yang Chen still couldnât understand the source of his cultivation even after reading loads of books from the Tower of Scrolls.
The cultivation he had gotten from the Endless Resolve Restoration Scripture was unlike any other type of cultivation he had seen.
They walked in silence to the car.
Yang Chen was still contemplating how he should apologize to Lin Ruoxi whereas Zhenxiu didnât want to break the atmosphere.
She chose not to question Yang Chenâs change of car. She assumed it was one of Lin Ruoxiâs cars and he selected it at random.
Yang Chen felt frustrated and when he saw that Zhenxiu wasnât talking. It made him want to ask for her opinion.
Just when he was about to start talking, he heard a weird noise coming from beside himâŠ
Zhenxiu covered her belly while blushing.
Yang Chen was confused at the noise. âZhenxiu, you havenât had your dinner, have you?â
Zhenxiu nodded awkwardly and said, âI was too busy so I forgot to eatâŠâ
Yang Chen frowned. âWhat do you want to eat? Iâll buy it for you. Think of it as the fee for your lecture.â
Zhenxiu rolled her eyes at him. âWhat are you talking about, fees and whatnotâŠâ
âThatâs not the point, just tell me where you want to eat.â Yang Chen smiled.
Zhenxiu bit her lip and answered, âTurn right in front to the late-night supermarket there. It has Korean instant noodles and seaweed wrapped rice, letâs eat there.â
âWhat? Instant noodles? Seaweed wrapped rice?â Yang Chenâs lips twitched. But he gave anyways upon seeing Zhenxiuâs serious face.
It seemed that her background had more of an influence on her choices than he thought.
After deciding to eat at the supermarket, Yang Chen accompanied her to get her favorite kimchi flavored instant noodles and a box of seaweed wrapped rice.
They sat outside the supermarket while waiting for the instant noodles to be cooked.
It looked rather silly of them to wait for a bowl of instant noodles to be cooked late at night, but Zhenxiu looked rather excited at the thought of it.
Yang Chen couldnât help but ask, âZhenxiu, what should I say to Ruoxi so that she will forgive me?â
She was licking her lips hungrily and she frowned at his question. âWhy should you have to explain anything?â
âI shouldnât? So I should pretend as if nothing had happened?â
Zhenxiu replied, âWhat I meant to say is there is no point in you trying to explain yourself. Brother Yang, do you really think Sister Ruoxi really wants to listen to your long-winded explanations?â
Yang Chen was confused. âThen what does she want to hear?â
Zhenxiu looked at him hopelessly and sighed. âSheâs furious at you right now. Any explanations you make will come across as you trying to tell her that she has no reason to be mad. It would only sound like she was asking for it. All you can do now is apologize to her and hope to be forgiven.â
Yang Chen contemplated for a while and said hesitantly, âSo I should beg her?â
âYouâre the one who didnât settle things right so whatâs wrong with that? I thought guys had a big heart?â Zhenxiu said, âGirls donât respond well to reason when they are upset. If I were you I wouldnât have walked out of the office. I would have begged and kept apologizing until she forgives me! If she scolds you, you should listen. Better yet, you should reprimand yourself. If she hits you, stay still. She wouldnât hit you too hard anyway. If she kicks you out, stay no matter what. Donât care about others, sheâs your wife so why care about what other people think?â
Yang Chen gulped. âZhenxiu, where did you learn all this from?â
Zhenxiu rolled her eyes. âBrother Yang, you really are simple-minded. Look at all the Taiwanese and Korean dramas. The male lead actors might act all macho in the beginning but would throw their egos aside in front of their women. You can be strong in front of everyone else but why would you do that in front of your wife?â
Yang Chen nodded numbly. It felt like he had been out of touch for years. Generation gap? It couldnât be. He wasnât even 25 yet!
But those dramas all sound very exaggerated.
?Yang Chen thought, scratching his head.
The instant noodles were served after a while and Zhenxiu opened up the seaweed wrapped rice. She counted them and said, âBrother Yang, there are five pieces in here and each of us gets two pieces. What should we do with the last piece?â
Yang Chen answered nonchalantly, âYou can just eat it, why bother asking me?â
âHow could we do that? Itâs like I made you give it to me. You said we were friends so why should you let me have it?â Zhenxiu pouted and complained.
Yang Chen smiled bitterly. âAlright if youâre bothered then Iâll have it.â
âNo!â Zhenxiu shook her head. âWhy donât we play rock, paper, scissors? The winner gets to eat.â
Yang Chen was caught off guard. âYou want me to play a childâs game with you for it?â
âWhy? Are you scared?â Zhenxiu taunted him.
Yang Chen had already been called a simple-minded person, he couldnât let go after being taunted like this.
âAlright Iâll play but the loser has to be flicked on the forehead!â Yang Chen said.
Zhenxiu pounded the table. âOkay! But let me tell you now, I was dubbed the âKing of Foreheadsâ in the orphanage!â
Yang Chen rolled up his sleeves. âStop talking and letâs start!â
Others would have thought they were idiots if they saw them but they were very serious about it.
âRock, paper, scissors, shoot!â
Yang Chen showed rock and Zhenxiu showed scissors.
Zhenxiuâs face went green as she pouted. âHmph, you got lucky. I guess God took pity on you for getting scolded by Sister Ruoxi. Come!â
Yang Chen didnât hesitate and flicked her forehead while wearing a proud smile.
âOuch!â Zhenxiu covered her forehead and pouted. âBrother Yang, Iâm a pretty girl. How can you hit me so hard? It hurts!â
It was incredibly painful even though he didnât use a lot of strength.
âWhich pretty girl on earth would call themselves one? Let me tell you, we donât cheat in this house and bluffing isnât allowed either.â Yang Chen laughed wickedly.
Zhenxiu cursed under her breath. âNo way, letâs play two more rounds!â
âAgain?â Yang Chen was dumbfounded, âDo we really have to do this for a piece of seaweed wrapped rice?â
âThis will affect my honor as the âKing of Foreheadsâ! How can I treat it lightly?â Zhenxiu huffed.
Yang Chen didnât really care. âAlrightâŠâ
And so they played another round.
Yang Chen showed paper and it was cut by Zhenxiuâs scissors.
âYay!â Zhenxiu jumped off her chair and ran to Yang Chen. âOkay, donât move, itâs my turn!â
Yang Chen felt more relaxed seeing her happy face.?
She really is still a little girl,
?he thought.
So he closed his eyes and waited for it.
Zhenxiu licked her lips and blew air towards his foreheadâŠ
Yang Chen opened his eyes in curiosity. âZhenxiu, what are you doing? Why are you blowing air?â
Zhenxiu caught his head. âDonât move, donât move! It hurts more after doing this! You should lower your guard since Iâm a girl.â
Yang Chen was dumbfounded as he thought it wouldnât hurt no matter how she hit him. But he chose to keep that little bit of information to himself.
So he closed his eyes again and let Zhenxiu do her thing.
Zhenxiu went closer to Yang Chen and was going to blow air, but it felt weird after being interrupted.
Her lips were so near to his face and if she leaned closer, she could kiss his faceâŠ
Zhenxiu couldnât help but think what would happen if she kissed him. Could she have played it off as a reward for picking her up? But he wasnât her lover so wouldnât it be weird to kiss him so randomly?
No no no, Sister Ruoxi treats you so well. How could you even think about it?
?she told herself.
Zhenxiu blushed from her thoughts, her mind jumbled with thoughts as she struggled to decideâŠ
She stood still and even forgot to breathe.
Yang Chen waited for a while but he couldnât sense anything from Zhenxiu, so he opened his eyes and asked in confusion, âZhenxiu, whatâs wrong? Whyâs your face so red?â
Zhenxiu was surprised and she stuttered, âOh⊠Iâm doing it now.â
After saying that she didnât care if Yang Chen closed his eyes and immediately flicked his forehead.
She kept quiet as she ran back to her seat and ate her instant noodles without uttering a single word.
Yang Chen asked, âI thought we were playing three rounds? So whoâs eating the food if we both scored one?â
âWho cares! Weâre not kids so why care about it!â Zhenxiu looked up and grumbled.
Yang Chenâs lips twitched.?
This girl has such a fickle mind. One moment it was super important to her, the next moment, Iâm being called a kid for caring at all.
Yang Chen shook his head and didnât say anything else. He had to find a chance to apologize to Lin Ruoxi when they got home after eating.