Chapter 26 (Revised)
Shi Xuze spoke confidently in front of Luo Jiayou, as if getting forgiveness was not difficult.
But when he actually stood at the door of Yao Yingmo's house, he didn't even have the courage to raise his hand and press the doorbell.
He turned around for the fifth time and checked his appearance in the reflection of his front door.
Today he chose a well-tailored white hoodie and paired it with slim-fitting black trousers. It looked neat and tidy, and made the overall visual effect appear at least ten centimeters taller than his original height.
The hair was specially washed and blow-dried, and every strand of hair is well-behaved and smooth, which has a very age-reducing effect.
Now, any passerby would think he is an excellent and obedient high school student.
He believed that this kind of dress would surely soften Yao Yingmo's heart.
In fact, his legs were shaking and his palms were sweaty.
What if Yao Yingmo doesn't forgive him?
"It's okay," he said to himself. "I can't put it off any longer."
He must explain everything clearly to Yao Yingmo and obtain forgiveness before leaving for the recording studio.
Shi Xuze took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying his best to slow down his heart rate.
After making sure that he wouldn't stutter as soon as he opened his mouth, he slowly raised his arm, extended his index finger, and pressed the doorbell very solemnly.
After two rings, the door opened with an impatient, aggressive sound of breaking wind.
Shi Xuze subconsciously placed his hands on his thighs, stood straight, not daring to breathe or raise his head.
As soon as Yao Yingmo opened the door, she saw Shi Xuze standing there at a loss, his head lowered and his eyes fixed on his toes, leaving only the top of his furry head facing her.
His hair is quite thick and of good quality. Given his chaotic sleep schedule, he can still maintain such good condition. He has excellent genes that will make girls envy him.
Yao Yingmo's focus shifted inappropriately.
Shi Xuze waited a long time for Yao Yingmo to speak, and he became more and more nervous, pinching the seam of his pants with his fingers.
Yao Yingmo noticed his little movement and brought his thoughts back to normal.
It can be said that Shi Xuze grasped her thoughts and preferences very accurately.
Seeing his pitiful appearance, she couldn't get angry at all.
She sighed, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Shi Xuze thought he had misheard and looked up in surprise, "Huh?"
Seeing his dazed look, Yao Yingmo patiently repeated, "I said, have you had breakfast?"
It was true, he heard it right.
Not only did Yao Yingmo not scold him, he also asked him if he had eaten breakfast.
Shi Xuze was overjoyed, but he remembered that he had to apologize today, so he didn't dare to be presumptuous and just answered honestly, "No."
Yao Yingmo opened the door completely and said, "Come in."
Yao Yingmo welcomed the person into the house, pointed to the shoe rack by the door, and asked the person to change into slippers. Then he walked towards the kitchen without looking back.
As she walked over, she said, "You're too early. I'm just starting to prepare breakfast. Go sit on the sofa and wait."
What Yao Yingmo said meant that he wanted to give him breakfast.
Shi Xuze was ecstatic to be able to eat the long-missed Yao family charity meal, but he thought that he must apologize first. He absolutely could not enjoy the breakfast she provided so comfortably before apologizing.
He's not that thick-skinned yet.
So he quickly changed his shoes and called out to Yao Yingmo anxiously, "Um...I..."
Yao Yingmo stopped and turned back, "Huh?"
Shi Xuze bent down and said, "I'm sorry."
"Um."
Shi Xuze didn't understand what Yao Yingmo meant by "hmm".
Did she forgive him? Or did she simply acknowledge that she had heard him? Or were these just meaningless syllables, indicating that she didn't want to pay any attention to him?
Shi Xuze raised his head, looked at Yao Yingmo, and pleaded anxiously, "Can I, can I have a chance to argue?"
Yao Yingmo nodded.
"I...where should I start? I'll start from the beginning. I'm sorry I don't know how to explain it simply."
Yao Yingmo looked at him and said, "It's okay, you can say whatever you want."
"I wear a mask for a special reason. I love to talk too much, so I always wear a mask to remind myself to talk less. I wore it on the day of the fire because I was afraid of being choked by smoke and hurting my throat."
"I wear a hoodie every day because I encountered sasaeng fans a few years ago. That's why I changed to wearing a hoodie to cover my face. This way, my whereabouts and residence won't be discovered, which is safer."
"I didn't mean to pretend to be socially anxious to deceive you."
Yao Yingmo wasn't surprised that Shi Xuze knew she thought he was socially anxious, after all, she had posted on Weibo. As for his signature mask and hoodie look, she had already heard about it from Li Yicheng.
People are afraid of being famous just like pigs are afraid of being fat. She can understand Shi Xuze's dilemma.
There was even more reason for the actions on the day of the fire.
He was a socially anxious person, which was indeed just a misunderstanding on her part. It was also because she took it for granted and did not think from multiple perspectives.
However, the key issue in this whole matter is not here.
"When did you find out that I was Zhaohe's? And why didn't you tell me earlier?" she asked.
Shi Xuze began to stammer, "Actually... not very long ago, I only discovered it recently."
"recent?"
Yao Yingmo's rising ending tone and the heavy pronunciation that made one hear the grinding of teeth made Shi Xuze tremble all over. He didn't even dare to choose his words carefully and just poured out everything in one go.
"It was the day after I gave you the white lion. Luo Jiayou, the giraffe, told me you posted on Weibo, and I immediately recognized the little white ears in the corner of the picture; they look exactly like the white lion's. Then I found your previous Weibo post, which was about you being in a fire, and it was posted on the same day as the fire."
"I had some suspicions at that time, but at that time, I didn't understand why you said I was socially anxious, so I guessed it was just a coincidence and didn't take it to heart."
"It wasn't until the day I helped you assemble the microphone equipment that I truly confirmed that you were Mr. Zhao He."
Yao Yingmo neither nodded nor shook her head, just waiting for him to continue.
"I didn't dare to tell you because I felt like I had a bad image as your neighbor. I was starving in front of you, eating and drinking for free, and I looked like I had social difficulties. No matter how I looked at it, I looked unreliable."
"I'm worried that if you knew my true identity, you'd lose trust in me, which might affect this radio drama collaboration. I originally planned to keep it a secret from you until the end of the collaboration, but that day you said you wanted to come to the studio. I tried to stop you but couldn't, and I knew I couldn't keep it a secret any longer."
"And then, it's like this now."
Shi Xuze bent down again, "I'm sorry, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have thought of hiding this from you and keeping you in the dark. Miss Yao... Miss Zhaohe, please forgive me."
"I'm not angry." Yao Yingmo looked at the top of his head, which he had seen for the third time today, and resisted the urge to touch it. He changed the subject and asked, "Can I have some chocolate jam?"
Shi Xuze was still in the process of expressing his sincere apology and found it difficult to extricate himself for a while.
Hearing Yao Yingmo's question, he was stunned for a moment, and almost answered instinctively based on the reflex of being told so many times over the years, "No, you can't eat sweets before recording."
"Okay, then how about getting you something salty, like fried eggs and chicken?"
"OK."
"Okay, sit down and wait."
Even though he knew that Shi Xuze was Hu Guang, Yao Yingmo still couldn't change his attitude towards him, and still spoke to him as if he was taking care of a junior.
There was no way. Although he talked a lot today and was particularly persistent, his clothes were too pleasing and the look in his eyes when he spoke made it impossible for her to feel disgusted.
Today's conversation made her feel that Shi Xuze and Hu Guang were indeed the same person. The characteristics of both sides coexisted well in him, and he was even more vivid and lifelike than when viewed separately.
Yao Yingmo left him in the living room. When she came out of the kitchen after making breakfast, she saw him sitting stiffly with his legs together and his hands on his thighs.
Exactly the same posture she had before entering the kitchen.
She suppressed her smile, brought the plate to him and put it down, and saw him shudder without any surprise.
"Can you talk to me?" she asked.
Shi Xuze looked up suddenly like a child who was suddenly asked a question by the teacher. His voice was trembling but loud, "Yes, yes."
Yao Yingmo really wanted to laugh.
But you can't laugh.
She cleared her throat and deliberately lowered her voice to make herself sound fierce enough, "Take off the mask! Otherwise, how are you going to eat?"
"Oh, okay. Sorry." Shi Xuze apologized hurriedly and reached out to take off the mask.
Because he was nervous, he hooked his fingers two or three times before he could hook the ear loop of the mask.
"Eat." Yao Yingmo took his breakfast and sat down next to Shi Xuze.
Shi Xuze glanced at her breakfast, which was chocolate toast and fried eggs.
He looked at the plate in front of him again. On it was a sandwich. The bread and fried egg were the same, but there was also chicken and lettuce.
Yao Yingmo actually made another breakfast for him.
How could she be so nice? I was such a bastard for thinking of hiding it from her.
Shi Xuze despised himself in his heart, but he also felt secretly relieved.
Being able to get a special breakfast means that the disaster he faced in front of Yao Yingmo can be declared over.
He finally put his mind at ease and wanted to enjoy his breakfast with peace of mind.
After taking a bite, he felt full of happiness.
He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "It's so delicious, it's simply a delicacy on earth."
"It was just a normal sandwich, the chicken was poached and there was no extra seasoning."
Yao Yingmo felt that his praise was a bit too much. After all, considering his work plan for the day, she had prepared a light and healthy meal, which could not be very delicious no matter how she thought about it.
Shi Xuze could also tell that this breakfast had a light taste, but he felt that this sandwich tasted particularly delicious, the lettuce was particularly crispy, the bread was particularly fragrant and soft, and the chicken was particularly fresh.
He emphasized again, "But it's really delicious, and every bite is full of happiness."
"Okay." Yao Yingmo couldn't understand his admiration and could only answer perfunctorily.
Shi Xuze got excited and started to let out a bunch of flattery that he hadn't been able to say before. "The braised pork last time was super delicious, the texture was just right, and the sauce was flavorful. The bread you baked last time was much more fragrant than the original one sold in the store. How did you do that? And your white rice is also..."
Shi Xuze praised so sincerely and eloquently that it seemed as if his compliments would never end.
Yao Yingmo's face turned red when he heard this, and he suddenly felt the urge to ask him to put the mask back on and seal his language function again.
But she didn't.
Because Shi Xuze was still eating, he still had two-thirds of his meal left.
Yao Yingmo only had two bites left.
The heat on her face faded, she checked the time, and interrupted him forcefully, "I received your compliment."
"Now, you need to shut up and finish your breakfast quickly so we don't get late."
Shi Xuze shut up obediently and said, "Yes, sir."
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