Chapter 17: The Snail Maiden — Reeling Him In Without Even Trying
The colleagues nearby immediately looked over.
The moment they noticed the blood splattering onto the floor, blooming crimson against the tiles, they jumped to their feet in alarm.
“Oh my God, Beauty Chi! Are you okay?”
Chi Yang was on the verge of tears from the pain.
She had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t paid attention to the carving knife at all. By the time she realized it, the blade had already sunk straight into her fingertip.
She had always been delicate.
The kind of person whose skin would turn red after a little summer sun. Pain had never been something she handled well.
Her coworkers rushed around in a panic, helping her stop the bleeding. It took quite a while before the wound finally settled.
And it wasn’t a small cut.
Nearly a centimeter long, and deep, too.
One colleague frowned worriedly.
“Maybe you should go to the hospital. A cut that deep could get infected or leave a scar. For people like us who make relief murals, our hands are our livelihood.”
Chi Yang’s eyes were red.
The tip of her nose was red too.
She glanced up at the clock. The hour hand was already nearing six.
Then she remembered that Chi Qing was supposed to come over after work for dinner.
The problem was that there was practically none of her stuff in the marital home. If her mother came and realized she hadn’t actually been living there, she would definitely start worrying again.
So Chi Yang slapped on a bandage, thanked her colleagues, promised she’d get the wound checked, then hurried out of the National Museum with her injured finger held awkwardly aloft.
But instead of heading to a hospital, she drove home to her little villa first.
She packed some clothes and daily necessities at lightning speed, then stopped by her favorite restaurant to pick up several dishes she thought her mother would enjoy before finally driving to Xizi Bay.
Xie Youci worked late that evening.
When he pushed open the front door, he’d expected the usual sight of an empty, silent house.
Instead, a rich aroma of food drifted toward him.
Unexpected.
And mouth-wateringly tempting.
He changed his shoes in the entryway, loosened his tie, slipped off his suit jacket, and walked into the living room.
Then he saw a figure bustling around in the kitchen.
Like a modern-day Snail Maiden.
Chi Yang was wearing a pink apron.
With her index finger held carefully aloft, she was taking dishes one by one out of insulated takeout containers and transferring them into clean serving plates.
Click.
The sound of the door startled her.
She spun around in surprise and immediately met Xie Youci’s lazy, dark gaze.
She hadn’t even noticed when he’d gotten home.
At the moment, he was leaning casually against the tiled wall, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
“Mrs. Xie,” he drawled. “Have you turned over a new leaf today?”
“What does that even mean?”
Chi Yang pouted.
Realizing it was Xie Youci and not her mother, she immediately lost interest and turned back to fussing with the food.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
One brow lifted.
“I thought maybe Mrs. Xie suddenly grew a conscience and decided I shouldn’t have to keep guarding an empty bed by myself. Maybe you came back specially to make me dinner.”
“In your dreams.”
Chi Yang snorted.
She seemed to be in a good mood, though.
At the same time, she discreetly tucked her injured finger behind her back, unwilling to let her sworn enemy see her in such a pathetic state.
“Who would make dinner for you? My mom’s coming over later. I specifically bought all this from a restaurant for her.”
Understanding flashed across Xie Youci’s face.
Of course.
The female hooligan who’d been obsessed with male strip shows just a few days ago wasn’t going to suddenly develop this kind of domestic awareness.
Still, Chi Yang clearly didn’t have time to entertain him.
She had no idea when Chi Qing would arrive and was terrified everything wouldn’t be ready in time, so she sped up her movements.
Unfortunately, this pampered young lady had never done household work in her life.
Even something as simple as pouring soup from a container into a bowl seemed intimidating.
She was so afraid of spilling it that she looked moments away from grabbing a ladle and transferring it spoonful by spoonful.
Xie Youci couldn’t watch anymore.
He clicked his tongue.
“Go stand over there.”
He reached for the soup.
“Just tell me what you want done. I’ll do it.”
Chi Yang immediately stepped aside without hesitation.
She wasn’t good at this sort of thing anyway.
And her hand hurt.
Why refuse free labor?
Turning his head toward her, Xie Youci asked, “So? What exactly am I doing?”
Chi Yang lifted her pretty face, smiling so brightly that her eyes curved into crescents.
“Just put everything from the takeout containers onto plates. We’ll pretend we hired someone to cook for us.”
Xie Youci: “…”
Lowering his gaze, he began pouring the soup.
“If you’d told me earlier, I would’ve just arranged for a housekeeper to come.”
“There wasn’t time…”
Chi Yang mumbled quietly.
She glanced down at her hand.
The cut was in an awkward spot for a bandage, and blood had already started seeping through again.
When her mother had called, it had already been late.
Then this whole accident happened, and she’d completely forgotten to mention it to the male lead.
“Xie Youci.”
She drifted over behind him.
“Can you help me out later?”
“Hm?”
“Just cooperate with me a little. Feed me some food, act affectionate, whatever. Don’t let my mom realize our relationship isn’t good…”
Our relationship isn’t good.
Xie Youci immediately caught those words.
His sharp eyes slid sideways toward her.
Using her uninjured hand, Chi Yang tugged lightly at the corner of his shirt.
Blinking up at him, she asked softly,
“Just tonight. Okay?”
Her eyes were incredibly clear.
In motion, they sparkled like a river of stars.
When she looked at someone steadily, they seemed to hold an entire spring lake within them.
Without realizing it, she lured people in.
Hooked them.
Xie Youci only turned to look at her once.
Yet the moment his gaze met hers, he nearly drowned.
Fortunately, reason returned quickly.
He looked away.
“Considering you performed pretty well at the Xie family dinner last time.”
Chi Yang instantly lit up.
The smile that bloomed across her face was dazzling, brightening her already beautiful features until she seemed even more radiant.
And before he knew it, Xie Youci was stealing another glance.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Damn it.
Why was this heartless woman flirting with him again?
Annoyed, he pressed his tongue against his back teeth and firmly dragged his gaze away.
No more looking.
Meanwhile, Chi Yang happily hummed a tune as she carried dishes to the dining table.
After placing her mother’s favorite osmanthus lotus root on the table, she noticed Xie Youci emerging from the kitchen with the chicken soup.
And something else.
A ring had appeared on his left ring finger.
Chi Yang blinked.
“…Huh?”
She stared.
“You actually carry that stupid ring around with you?”
She hadn’t seen him go upstairs to get it.
Xie Youci didn’t answer directly.
Instead, he cast her a sideways glance.
“Mrs. Xie begged me to play the role of a loving husband. Don’t tell me you forgot the most important prop.”
Chi Yang naturally hadn’t.
In fact, she had shown remarkable foresight.
When she’d gone home to pack earlier, she’d specifically brought the diamond ring Xie Youci had bought for her.
Though…
She seemed to have left it in the car.
“I’ll get it.”
With that, she headed outside.
Unlocking the car, she leaned across the driver’s seat searching for the ring box.
Suddenly, a sharp throb shot through her injured finger.
“Hiss…”
She sucked in a breath.
Looking down, she saw that blood had nearly soaked through the bandage.
It looked ugly.
And she worried that leaving it wrapped up might make it fester.
So she simply peeled it off and tossed it into the car’s trash bin.
She could endure it for a little longer.
After dinner with her mother, she’d stop by a clinic on the way home.
Once she’d slipped on her wedding ring, Chi Yang returned to Xizi Bay.
The dishes had been reheated and arranged neatly across the dining table.
Chi Yang and Xie Youci sat side by side, both staring at the clock.
Seven o’clock.
Eight o’clock.
Nine o’clock…
The food had already gone through several rounds of reheating.
Leaning lazily against his chair, Xie Youci turned toward her.
“So when exactly is Mom coming?”
“I don’t know…”
Chi Yang was clutching her injured finger.
Her first instinct wasn’t even to object to him calling Chi Qing Mom.
Instead, she was simply hungry.
And the cut from the carving knife hurt more and more with each passing minute.
Her eyes lowered.
Disappointment seeped into her voice.
“She clearly said she’d come as soon as she finished work…”
