Chapter 14 The Phone Call: "You can comfort her."...
Mu Tingyu was still a little afraid of accidents, and kept her eyes on the basket nervously the whole way. She dared not ride at high speed anymore and almost rode the bicycle at the speed of a manual wheelchair.
She only breathed a sigh of relief when the wine jar landed safely on the kitchen table.
This was the first time Xing Ze had seen her treasure something so much. He asked in a low voice, "You like to drink?"
Mu Tingyu raised her head, instinctively denying, "No..."
She quickly changed her mind halfway through her sentence: "Yes, I like it."
Seeing her confident expression, Xing Ze turned back to the stove, his voice carrying from afar: "You can have a drink tonight if you want; his liquor isn't low in alcohol."
Is it strong? Mu Tingyu leaned closer to smell the mouth of the jar. It was quite sweet, and she couldn't smell any alcohol at all.
She rubbed some water on Xing Ze's hand, which was washing vegetables, and washed her uninjured hand. She casually said, "I'm full now, so you don't need to prepare my lunch."
Xing Ze didn't agree, only saying, "Snacks can't replace meals."
Mu Tingyu puffed out her cheeks, holding her breath: "Okay, you're making noodles? Then put in less noodles."
"knew."
Xing Ze turned on the range hood, and Mu Tingyu, amidst the somewhat loud buzzing sound, hurriedly found a relatively large basin, washed it clean, and then carefully poured in the flour.
Without a kitchen scale, she could only add ingredients by feel.
"A two-to-one ratio..." she muttered to herself, then turned on the tap and added some water. She then went to the stove, scooped up a spoonful of salt, and took an egg from the refrigerator to crack into the stove.
She thought for a moment, then turned and asked, "Xing Ze, where is the starch?"
A packet of starch was handed to her, and Mu Tingyu took it and sprinkled some into it.
"I have no idea how much 20g is... Let's just leave it at that... Whether it works or not depends on you, little dough!"
Xing Ze stood next to her, took a moment to turn his head, and looked at her muttering to herself. He smiled subtly: "A recipe you found online?"
“Yes,” Mu Tingyu said hurriedly, turning around to grab chopsticks and stirring the mixture in the bowl. “But I don’t know how much I put in; it’s all up to it.”
She stirred the mixture in the bowl until it formed dough flakes, then carefully washed her right hand, and with her other hand, she held the bowl and began to knead the dough.
She had difficulty maneuvering with one hand, so she clumsily pushed and scooped the dough back with her palm. After doing this several times, the dough became extremely sticky.
She continued to use her palms and fingertips to grab the dough flakes stuck to the bottom of the bowl and press them into the soft, loose dough.
She continued kneading for a while, then added a little more flour, and the dough gradually became smooth and pliable.
With a "thud," the dough made a springy sound as it came into contact with the bottom of the bowl.
Mu Tingyu touched her forehead with her wrist and nodded in satisfaction.
It seems I do have some talent.
Without a kitchen scale, he still managed to make dough. What else could he be but a genius?
Xing Ze also turned off the stove and served two bowls of noodles.
He carried the bowl to the dining table, returned to the stove, and glanced at the dough in the basin.
Mu Tingyu wrapped the basin with plastic wrap, smiled at him, and raised her eyebrows, saying, "The little dough ball has been born smoothly. I wonder how much it weighs."
Xing Ze smiled slightly: "Congratulations, wash your hands and have dinner."
Mu Tingyu persisted, asking, "Is it powerful or not?"
Xing Ze looked at her eyes, which were brighter than usual, and his smile deepened: "Impressive."
Upon hearing the satisfactory reply, Mu Tingyu proudly raised her head, like a victorious little peacock.
She ate as she walked through the market that morning and wasn't hungry at all. After washing her hands and sitting down at the table, she didn't immediately pick up her chopsticks.
She asked tentatively, "Hey, I heard Sister Xiaoping say on the phone that she sent you some wine, but I haven't seen you drink it?"
Xing Ze looked up upon hearing this, his voice flat: "You were eavesdropping?"
"......"
Mu Tingyu: "I've noticed that you can be a bit childish sometimes."
Xing Ze had never heard anyone use those two words to describe him in his life. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Having the spoils of war isn't enough for you, you're also eyeing my wine?"
"No way!" Mu Tingyu said, feeling wronged. "You wouldn't be hiding in your room secretly drinking it, would you?"
As she spoke, she stuffed a mouthful of noodles into her mouth.
It contained baby squid and spinach, and although the soup was light and thin, it had a very fresh and sweet flavor.
Xing Ze has this skill: even though he doesn't seem to add any seasoning, he can still make simple noodles taste delicious.
This caused her to lose her appetite, but she was then hooked and forced to eat a few more bites.
"I can't eat anymore, I really can't eat anymore!" she put down her chopsticks and declared righteously.
"I didn't put in much noodles, so I ate the vegetables."
Xing Ze got up and ladled the remaining noodle soup from the pot into a bowl.
Mu Tingyu stuffed another spinach into her mouth, her eyes fixed on his figure, and mumbled, "I knew you were hungry!"
Xing Ze glanced at her: "When have I not been the one cleaning up after you?"
Okay. Mu Tingyu couldn't refute him: "Then eat more, you've worked hard."
After finishing their meal, Xing Ze went to the sink to wash the dishes, while Mu Tingyu took out the dough that had almost risen.
She found a clean cutting board, sprinkled flour on it, placed the dough on it, and then frowned as she looked at the bandage on her hand.
Xing Ze said without looking up, "Don't take it off."
Mu Tingyu: "..."
“Wait here,” Xing Ze rinsed the foam off his hands, “I’ll get you a transparent glove.”
Mu Tingyu followed him to the cabinet and peeked inside.
There was a faint smell of old wood inside. The first floor was divided into three rows, and each row was further divided into three compartments. The items in each compartment were placed exactly where they were needed, making very efficient use of the space.
Mu Tingyu asked curiously, "This cabinet has a very interesting design. Did you order it from outside?"
“No,” Xing Ze took out gloves and handed them to her, “I made them.”
Oh right, he built all of these houses himself.
Mu Tingyu took the gloves and put them on her left hand: "Where did you live before your house was built?"
"I stayed in town for a while." Xing Ze returned to the sink to continue washing the dishes.
Mu Tingyu clicked her tongue in amazement: "Running around every day? You're so persistent! Is this place absolutely necessary to stay?"
"The scenery is alright."
The shepherd acknowledged this, but then asked, "Isn't it quite difficult to get approval for self-built houses in rural areas these days? Don't we need to apply for some kind of homestead use certificate?"
Xing Ze glanced at her and said, "Mm."
Mu Tingyu glanced at his nonchalant expression and realized that this was not a difficult task for him.
Could it be some rich young master from a wealthy family who's come to the countryside to experience rural life?
That doesn't seem like it. What young master is as down-to-earth as him, doing all the work himself?
She was very curious and couldn't help but ask, "Why did you decide to stay here?"
Xing Ze gave only one word as an answer: "Tired".
Mu Tingyu was quick-witted and realized that his original place must have caused him some trouble, which was why he wanted to come to this remote place to find peace and quiet.
She actually understands Xing Ze very well.
Because there was a time when she really wanted to be alone, do nothing, and not see anyone. She even considered running away to hide in the deep mountains and forests.
We are all adults, and as long as we live in this world, it's impossible to be without worries.
It's just that people have different experiences, so it's hard to empathize with others.
It doesn't matter, as long as it releases stress, whatever method you use is fine.
As long as you don't choose to suppress your emotions indefinitely.
Then they can continue to live.
Mu Tingyu lowered her eyes and poked the soft dough with her finger.
Xing Ze was wiping the table when he heard the girl who was busy at the cutting board call out, "Xing Ze, do you have any rubber bands at home? Could you get me one? My gloves are too big and keep falling down!"
He went back to the sink and washed the rag: "No."
Upon hearing this, Mu Tingyu turned her head to look at the short hair sticking up on his head and remained silent for a moment.
It seems we really don't need it.
But she has a problem now.
Why does this wildly growing, seemingly unkempt hair look perfectly natural on his head?
Is this what they call the modeling gap...?
She had cut her hair short once before, and she was actually smiling when she left the hair salon.
But every day after that, when she woke up to find her hair all messy, she hated herself for having the audacity to walk into the hair salon.
She sighed and prepared to reach out and untie the hair tie on her braid.
"Give me your hand."
Xing Ze produced a yellow rubber band from somewhere, stretched it open with his thumb and middle finger, and waited for Mu Tingyu's hand to reach out.
His fingers were long, with clearly defined and strong knuckles, exuding a palpable sense of power. The rubber band in his hand seemed like a small, loose-leaf ring.
Xing Ze waited for a long time, but she did not respond.
Looking up, he saw her staring blankly at his hand holding the rubber band, lost in thought.
"?"
He frowned and waved his hand in front of her eyes.
Mu Tingyu suddenly snapped out of her daze and looked up to meet his gaze.
Then her fair cheeks flushed red at a visible speed, quite noticeably.
Xing Ze looked at her, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," Mu Tingyu said, looking embarrassed.
How come she has so much lewd content in her head...? She's probably been reading too many erotic books, sob sob...
Wow, those fingers are so sexy...
Xing Ze held her hand through the transparent gloves and tied a rubber band around her wrist.
It's a little loose, but at least it's secured.
He frowned and commented again, "Too thin."
Xing Ze had large, broad hands; compared to him, Mu Tingyu's hands looked like skinny chicken claws.
"I've definitely gained weight in the two weeks I've been here!"
Mu Tingyu shouted as if to cover up his embarrassment, then awkwardly pulled the rubber band to stretch it before letting it snap back onto his wrist.
That poor patch of skin instantly began to turn red.
Xing Ze clicked his tongue: "So your hands are free? Are you a child?"
Mu Tingyu didn't want the title of "childish devil" to truly fall on her head, so she pretended not to hear and returned to the cutting board to continue processing the dough.
Xing Ze leaned against the control panel with his arms crossed, looking down at her with a hint of barely perceptible doubt in his voice: "...Why are you girls so anxious about your weight?"
Mu Tingyu hadn't expected that her casual complaint would lead to such a conversation. And...
She uttered two words: "You guys?"
Xing Ze raised an eyebrow, about to speak, but then seemed to remember something, and his expression turned somewhat strange.
This expression was extremely rare on his face, but Mu Tingyu didn't notice it.
She was looking down, dividing the dough she had rolled into long strips into small pieces, as she answered him, "Well... it's not that I'm anxious, but I definitely can't gain too much weight. I need to restrain myself a little, otherwise I might not be able to fit into my clothes."
Xing Ze's gaze, filled with a hint of inquiry, fell upon her face.
She seemed oblivious and continued, "But girls always love to look pretty, you can comfort her."
Xing Ze didn't respond, and the kitchen fell silent for a moment.
Mu Tingyu was focused on dividing the dough, without even looking up.
"......"
A hint of disappointment flashed across Xing Ze's eyes. He was about to speak when a vibration interrupted him.
His phone screen was lit up next to the stove, showing incoming calls.
He reached out and took it, glanced at the screen, pressed the answer button, and turned to walk out.
"Hello."
The person on the other end of the phone shouted "Aze" at him and said something else.
He replied, "No, I'm at home."
The voice sounded very gentle.
Mu Tingyu was still dividing the dough, her hands moving constantly, a few strands of hair falling smoothly down her neck.
She lowered her eyes, listening to Xing Ze's footsteps gradually fade away, her thoughts drifting for a moment.
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be a girl.
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