Chapter 191

Shen Li's movements of washing the vegetables slowed down. She lowered her eyelids, blinked, and told him in a very peaceful tone: "I'm... not that much of a virtuous wife and good mother either."

Hearing this, Xie Qin straightened up with a relaxed expression, walked to her side, took the inner pot out of the rice cooker, and stood beside her. He turned on the faucet to rinse it. Shen Li took a step to the side to give him space, so as not to crowd him.

At this moment, Xie Qin added: "An auntie comes over to clean during the day, and there's a washing machine that can dry clothes. For clothes that need dry cleaning, you can call the property management, and they will come to pick them up."

Shen Li replied: "The service here is quite good."

Only when Xie Qin said these things did Shen Li realize that the residential complex he lived in was a high-end one; even entering from the main gate felt very high-class and impressive. The location of this complex didn't seem too far from Wuchuan's East Lake, less than ten kilometers, only a ten-minute drive, and there were several shopping malls nearby.

After Xie Qin washed the rice, he wiped the excess water off the inner pot with a paper towel, put it into the rice cooker, and plugged it in. Then, he took his phone out of his pocket and gave it to her: "My phone is out of battery, help me charge it."

Shen Li had just finished washing the vegetables. She glanced at him and wiped the water off her hands. "Where do you keep your charger?"

Xie Qin: "It should be in the room, go look for it."

"Okay." Shen Li took his phone, turned, and went to his room. She found the charger by the bedside table, plugged it in, and as she was leaving the room...

She saw Xie Qin with his head lowered, loose hair scattered on his forehead, sleeves rolled up, cutting vegetables with swift, decisive movements. Seeing this scene, Shen Li pressed her lips together faintly, walked to his side, and said softly: "Didn't we agree that I would do the cooking?"

While cutting the vegetables, Xie Qin glanced at her sideways and said quite annoyingly: "Oh. I was afraid you'd make it taste too bad."

Shen Li was speechless. She considered herself a decent cook. However, considering that a wealthy young master like Xie Qin had a picky palate, he might indeed be critical and complain about this or that. If he couldn't eat a single bite, it would be a waste of ingredients, which wouldn't be very good.

Looking at his familiar, crisp, and clean knife skills, it was hard to imagine that Xie Qin would actually cook; this was something she never would have thought of before.

The task she was supposed to do had been snatched away, and now that she was free, she couldn't just stand by and watch him do everything. She had promised to pursue him.

"Do I need to help you with anything?"

Xie Qin found something for her to do: "Peel the garlic."

"Oh." Shen Li nodded slowly: "Okay."

Under the soft light of the kitchen, two figures stood, each doing their own thing.

Shen Li gave him the peeled garlic. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that's it. If there's nothing else, go out; don't get in the way in the kitchen, it's easy to affect my performance."

"Mm." As Shen Li turned to go out.

Xie Qin's voice sounded behind her again: "Shen Li."

Shen Li turned to look at him: "Mm?"

Xie Qin told her: "There are strawberries in the refrigerator."

Shen Li: "... Strawberries? When did you buy them?"

"Just picked them up while shopping at the supermarket." Xie Qin added: "Wash them and eat them yourself."

Did he buy them specifically for her?

Thinking of this, Shen Li's heart felt a wave of warmth. She walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and saw that on the middle shelf, there was indeed a box of white cream strawberries. This seemed to be the most expensive variety of strawberry; she had never eaten them before because they were too expensive.

After taking them down, she went to wash the strawberries.

Xie Qin turned on the stove to heat the pan, waiting to add oil. After Shen Li washed the strawberries, she hesitated, her gaze constantly fixed on him. After a while, she acted boldly, picked the largest strawberry, and fed it to his mouth. "For you."

Xie Qin stared straight at her, then looked down at the one in her hand. The corners of his mouth pulled into a cold, indifferent arc, and he opened his mouth slightly to eat the strawberry she had fed him.

Seeing him finish it.

Shen Li also looked into his eyes. There was an ambiguous feeling in the atmosphere that was unraveling and spreading. Holding the basket of strawberries in her hand, she said to him, "I'm going out..."

"Mm."

Shen Li moved past the glass door, went to the living room, sat on the sofa, turned on the TV, and picked a random program to watch.

However, by the time the episode of the TV show was almost over, she hadn't remembered what the content was; all her attention was on the busy figure in the kitchen, and as she watched, she became distracted.

She didn't know why, but she always had a very strange feeling in her heart. This feeling wasn't bad; it was very good. She couldn't put it into words, like a place in her heart that had been empty was suddenly filled. The gloom in her heart had dissipated somewhat, making her feel a lightness she had never felt before, and she wasn't as tired.

Just then, Shen Li's phone rang with a message notification. She stood up, took her phone from the table in the entryway, and looked at the message Zhang Zixin had sent.

Zhang Zixin: 【Did you ask?】

Shen Li replied to the message while lowering her head and walking toward the sofa, 【Ask what?】

Zhang Zixin: 【That thing at noon. Didn't you ask Xie Qin why he fired Zhao Zhouyuan?】

Ah... she had forgotten.

She didn't care much, so she hadn't taken it to heart.

Shen Li: 【I forgot to ask.】

Thinking about it, she added another message, 【I haven't pursued him successfully yet, we aren't boyfriend and girlfriend. I'm afraid it would be bad to ask about such private matters.】

Zhang Zixin: 【If you don't even ask, how do you know it's bad? Sister, what is your mouth for, just eating? (Smile)】

【Don't always just sit there guessing blindly (Smile)】

【Six years without seeing each other, can you improve your relationship without talking? (Smile)】

There was a sense of frustration in these words.

Just then, Xie Qin walked out of the kitchen carrying dishes, his gaze sweeping over the person on the sofa. "Come over and get the bowls, time to eat."

"Mm." Shen Li stood up, looking at the message on the phone screen, feeling that what she said seemed to make sense.

She replied: 【Okay (Smile)】

【Eating now, let's chat later (Smile)】

Zhang Zixin didn't reply again.

Shen Li walked to the dining table, put down her phone, and then went to the kitchen to get two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

Xie Qin had cooked four dishes and a tomato egg soup. Shen Li sat opposite him, holding her chopsticks, thinking about Zhang Zixin's words, wanting to find a suitable opportunity to start a topic with him.

Xie Qin was eating, not speaking to her either.

The atmosphere was too quiet.

After a long silence.

Shen Li finally gathered the courage to take the initiative: "Xie Qin..."

Xie Qin: "Speak."

Shen Li lowered her eyes, not looking at him: "I heard from Zhang Zixin that you fired Zhao Zhouyuan."

"Mm." Xie Qin used his chopsticks to pick up a braised shrimp, placed it on a paper towel on the table, peeled it, and put the shrimp into her bowl.

Shen Li looked at the shrimp in her bowl and asked in a flat tone: "Was it because she didn't do a good job?"