Chapter 16 Chapter 16 You are not someone else.

She was grabbing at a life-saving straw and yelled at him, "Excuse me, could you please buy me some sanitary napkins? My stomach hurts so much." Chen Zhuo no longer cared about whether it was awkward or troublesome. He had to go out first instead of sitting on the toilet with his hands on his stomach.

There was no response from the door. Shen Zhuo thought he didn't want to help, which was understandable, but she still held on to a last glimmer of hope and explained to him: "I don't want to trouble you, but there has been no rider for the delivery I ordered..." As she spoke, Shen Zhuo felt angry and desperate. This menstrual period was really ignorant! It came in the middle of the night.

"I checked and found a 24-hour convenience store nearby. Please send me the things you need to buy." Shao Chengzhang's voice sounded again.

Shen Zhuo thanked her quickly. She was in so much pain that she couldn't even support one hand to type, so she simply sent him a screenshot of the order from the food delivery platform.

"Okay, wait for me a moment."

After waiting for another twenty minutes, Shen Zhuo heard another knock on the door. She hid behind the door, took the bag from the crack, and immediately changed into a pair of pajamas. She threw the dirty underwear directly into the trash can.

Shao Chengzhang boiled a pot of hot water and added some boiled water, preparing to give Shen Zhuo medicine. He knew some women would experience dysmenorrhea, but only after seeing Shen Zhuo's face turn pale with pain and sweat on her forehead did he realize how severe her pain was.

He wanted to help her sit on the chair, but she shook her head and said no.

"My pajamas are dirty. If they rub against the chair, they will get dirty." However, her pajamas were dark sea blue, and if you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell there were blood stains.

Shao Chengzhang ignored her and pushed her directly onto the chair. "You're not feeling well now. You can clean the dirty chair. What's the big deal?" He opened the medicine box, took out a tablet of ibuprofen and handed it to her. He also brought warm water and said, "Take the medicine first."

Shen Zhuo pursed his lips and said "thank you".

After taking the medicine, Shao Chengzhang helped Chen Zhuo back to the house. When she saw the bloodstains on the bed sheet, she felt embarrassed. She stammered: "That..."

Shao Chengzhang interrupted her: "Go to the cloakroom and change your pants. I'll change the sheets."

"Thank you so much..." Shen Zhuo was so moved that he didn't know what to say.

Shao Chengzhang looked down at her and said, "You've said thank you many times tonight. Is there anything else you can say?"

That's true, but what else can she say besides "thank you"?

Chen Zhuo thought for a moment and then said, "Good people will have a peaceful life." The emoticon of someone bending over and bowing at a ninety degree angle came to his mind.

Unexpectedly, she would say that. Shao Chengzhang just laughed and said, "Stop talking. Let's save our energy."

Shao Chengzhang helped her get pajamas, found a clean four-piece suit, and went to the bedroom to change.

After changing into his pajamas, Chen Zhuo slowly moved out, wanting to help, but was stopped by Shao Chengzhang, "You have to wait a while, sit with me first."

Chen Zhuo couldn't really help; the medicine hadn't kicked in yet. She couldn't stand due to the pain in her lower abdomen, so she sat on Shao Chengzhang's bed.

"Why do you have to change a whole set?" It was obvious that she only needed to change the sheets. She had only slept there for two days and they were not dirty at all. She felt like she was being disliked.

"I feel uncomfortable looking at the inconsistent colors," said Shao Chengzhang.

"Oh." It turns out he has obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Shao Chengzhang put the four-piece suit he had taken off into the laundry room, put on a clean suit and made the bed. When he looked up and said it was done, he found that Chen Zhuo had fallen asleep with his knees hugged.

Her head rested on her knees, her long hair falling, covering half of her face. Shen Zhuo was good-looking, but not the kind of exquisite beauty that relied on makeup. She was the type that became more attractive the more you looked at her. Her face was square, and her facial features were generous and relaxed. Even without a face, she looked comfortable no matter how you looked at her.

He stood quietly for a while, his eyes wandering between her eyebrows. It took him a while to realize that he was a little absent-minded. He pursed his lips to suppress his emotions and slowly approached her.

"Chen Zhuo." He called her twice in a low voice.

She seemed to have heard it, her brows slightly furrowed, and she hummed vaguely twice, but she did not wake up. Instead, she curled up further into her knees and fell asleep again.

He didn't argue with her anymore, but raised his hand and carefully held her wrist, then put her arm around his shoulder, then put his other hand under her knees, and when her body swayed slightly, he gently picked her up.

The moment her body temperature touched him, he subconsciously held his breath.

Her head rested naturally on his shoulder and neck, her breath warm, caressing the skin below his collarbone. He lowered his head and glanced at her sleeping face. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, her lips parted slightly, as if she was dreaming about something, and her brows were slightly wrinkled.

Shao Chengzhang's throat tightened slightly and he took very light steps. The moment he put her on the bed, he almost held his breath.

Chen Zhuo still seemed uncomfortable. As soon as she touched the mattress, she subconsciously twisted her body, turned over and lay on her side, with her legs bent and her whole body curled up.

The night at the end of April was still a little chilly. Shao Chengzhang pulled the quilt over her and tucked the corners in.

When Chen Zhuo woke up, he thought it was still dark. The curtains were drawn tightly, not a single ray of light came through, and the whole room was pitch black.

She stretched lazily, and the silk four-piece suit felt a little cool and slippery when it touched her skin, which was not the touch she was familiar with.

Her thoughts suddenly went back to a few hours ago, and she remembered.

She asked Shao Chengzhang to go out at 3:00 in the morning to buy her sanitary products and medicine, and also asked him to help her change into a four-piece suit. In the end, she only remembered that she was sitting on the floor, so how did she get to the bed?

Could it be that he carried her to the bed? But apart from this possibility, Shen Zhuo couldn't think of anything else.

Her face suddenly felt hot, and she buried herself in the quilt again. She took a deep breath and smelled the residual laundry detergent on the bedding. It was different from the floral scent she usually used, with a hint of woody notes that made her feel at ease.

After lying down for a while, she calmed down and opened her phone, only to find that it was already past eleven o'clock. She quickly got up and opened the curtains, and the sunlight was dazzling.

She actually slept the whole morning? !

After making the bed, Chen Zhuo found a black card on the bedside table with a sticky note on it. There were only three simple words written on it: Consulting Fee.

Chen Zhuo took a closer look and saw that it was a bar membership card. She curled her lips and smiled, thinking that the gift was quite what she wanted.

Walking out of the bedroom, she heard noises coming from the kitchen. Aunt Chen was not at home this weekend. Shen Zhuo leaned over and saw Shao Chengzhang in the kitchen with his back to her.

Shao Chengzhang turned without warning, his gaze fixed precisely on Chen Zhuo, as if he had eyes on his back that could see her at a glance. He asked, "Does your stomach still hurt? Do you need to take ibuprofen?"

Chen Zhuo nodded and shook his head: "It doesn't hurt much anymore, but I still need to take it." The ibuprofen was still on the island, and Chen Zhuo took another pill while he was on an empty stomach, otherwise the effect of the medicine would be slower if taken after a meal.

"What do you like to eat? There are some vegetables in the refrigerator, would you like to take a look?"

"Are you going to cook for yourself?" Shen Zhuo was stunned. Shao Chengzhang could cook?!

Shao Chengzhang nodded, walked over, opened the double-door refrigerator, and pulled open the vegetable shelf. Shen Zhuo took a look and asked him, "Do you like eggplant?"

"If you like eggplant, then make eggplant. What else do you want to eat?"

"Okay." Shen Zhuo smiled. "Make whatever you like. I'm fine with it. I'm not very hungry." Shao Chengzhang took out a few more ingredients and said, "Go wash up. We'll eat in an hour."

Chen Zhuo nodded: "Okay, then I'll come over to help later."

"Need not."

Shen Zhuo thought he was worried that she was not feeling well, so he explained, "It's okay, the pain will go away after taking the medicine."

"No." Shao Chengzhang shook his head, "I don't like people around me when I'm doing things."

"...Oh." What is she feeling so moved about?

It took an hour, and the table was filled with three dishes and a soup, all attractive in color and fragrant in aroma. She was stunned and asked in disbelief, "Did you make all this?"

Shao Chengzhang hummed softly, as if to say that this was nothing to him.

She sat down and without hesitation, she took the first bite of the eggplant. She had only expected something "edible"—after all, Shao Chengzhang didn't look like someone who could cook—but she was surprised by what she tasted.

If you want to make eggplant delicious, you really need a certain level of skill.

First, you have to deep-fry it, controlling the heat. Getting it crispy on the outside and soft on the inside is a challenge. Too little time and it won't be crispy, too much time and it will taste bitter. Throughout Chen Zhuo's life, she's only been able to count on one hand the restaurants that make flavored eggplant that she's been thinking about.

"How did you learn to cook?" Shen Zhuo felt that with his level of skill, he could be a chef in a restaurant.

"Because white people's food is really terrible." Shao Chengzhang shrugged.

Chen Zhuo burst out laughing. "I've seen before that if an international student has a good temper, looks decent, and can cook Chinese food, then they're a star in the local Chinese social circle."

"Really?" Shao Chengzhang thought for a moment, "It seems that many people have found various excuses to eat with me or invite me to live with them, but I don't like living with others. It would be very troublesome, so I have always lived alone."

Tsk, what does he mean by that... Chen Zhuo pursed his lips slightly, and the scene of her bothering him last night came to his mind, and he suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Well... Actually, I don't like to trouble others, but I'm really sorry for disturbing your rest last night." Shen Zhuo thanked him again.

"Nothing." Shao Chengzhang looked at her, his tone light, but it made her heart beat faster, "You are not someone else."

She suddenly didn't know how to respond. Her cheeks felt like they were scalded, and even her ears turned red. She could only look away and eat in silence.

After dinner, Shen Zhuo offered to wash the dishes, but Shao Chengzhang rejected her offer because they already had a dishwasher. She had no choice but to collect the dishes from the table and send them over.

Shao Chengzhang simply rinsed the plate and then placed it in the dishwasher built into the cabinet. Shen Zhuo stood behind Shao Chengzhang holding the plate, already thinking about how to repay this favor.

She doesn't like to trouble others.

To trouble others is to owe them a favor, which is like laying a trap for yourself. So if she can repay a favor as soon as possible, she will definitely not delay.

Shao Chengzhang didn't see her behind him. When he stood up, his shoulder hit the plate in her hand with a "bang", and the plate slipped out of her hand with a crisp sound.

Chen Zhuo stumbled a step and quickly grabbed the plate, "Hey——"

Shao Chengzhang subconsciously supported her, holding her arm with one hand and supporting her lower back with the other hand, pulling her back.

The plate was held steadily by Shen Zhuo, and she was held steadily by Shao Chengzhang.

Suddenly, the two of them were extremely close. Her gaze fell squarely on his jawline, and she could even smell his scent.

It was clean and clear, not perfume, but more like the residual smell of shower gel, very light, flowing only in the air nearby.

Shen Zhuo felt the hand on her lower back, through the fabric, but it seemed to carry a scorching temperature, penetrating her skin. At that moment, it was like a very fine electric current running through her spine, clear and nowhere to escape.

She jumped back as if she had been electrocuted, and subconsciously elbowed Shao Chengzhang in the chest.

Shao Chengzhang didn't expect Shen Zhuo to react so strongly. The sudden dull pain in his chest made him gasp.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Chen Zhuo blinked blankly, a hint of apology appearing on his face, "Um, are you okay?"

"It's okay." Shao Chengzhang raised his hand and rubbed his chest, smiling silently. His Adam's apple moved slightly, "Give me the plate."

Shen Zhuo took a breath uncomfortably, only to find that his breathing was completely out of rhythm.

"Then I'll go back to my room first." She handed over the plate and left as if nothing had happened.

Only she herself knew that at this moment, her palms, cheeks and ears were hot.

She couldn't identify what kind of mood it was, but she felt nervous and helpless, which made her feel unusually at a loss.

This was a feeling she had never experienced in her twenty-eight years.

She walked faster and faster, as if she could shake off the illusion of intimacy she had just felt. Then, almost as if escaping, she left the kitchen and returned to the bedroom.

Shao Chengzhang stared at Chen Zhuo's fleeing back and suddenly smiled.