Chapter 26: To Wash, or Not to Wash?

Chapter 26: To Wash, or Not to Wash?

Kill? Kill someone?

Chen Xiao’s mouth fell open as he stared at Phoenix in astonishment—such a delicate, lovely girl, and she was talking about killing someone?

Phoenix held his gaze for a few seconds, then suddenly broke into a dazzling smile, the murderous aura vanishing completely. “Just kidding! You’re really something—do you believe everything you hear? I’d never kill anyone. I’ve never even killed a chicken.”

Her ability to change expressions was quicker than a professional actor’s. One moment, she was radiating such chilling menace she seemed a reincarnation of Ximen Chuixue; the next, her smile was pure and crystalline... This skill was truly impressive.

Chen Xiao eyed this woman whose face changed as easily as flipping a page. He said nothing, but thought to himself, I won’t believe a word you say from now on.

“Let’s go.” Phoenix waved at him, evidently having read his thoughts. She smiled serenely, “Believe me or not, it’s up to you. But the truth is: today’s my birthday. No one has ever bought me a five-yuan beef burger for my birthday before.”

As she spoke, she rummaged in her small shoulder bag and tossed him a little plastic bottle. “Here, the sauce on that burger is pretty strong. Remember to have some gum to keep your breath fresh.”

Chen Xiao caught it and glanced at the label: “Yida.”

Phoenix’s smile was bright, her eyes mesmerizing. Under her gaze, Chen Xiao’s mind went a little blank; he instinctively took out a piece of gum and popped it into his mouth. The sweet taste quickly filled his mouth, but Phoenix was already turning to leave.

“Hey, your gum...” he called after her without thinking.

Phoenix turned back with a mischievous look. “It’s your gum now.”

That fleeting glance was so breathtaking that Chen Xiao felt as if an electric current had passed through his heart.

Ah… she really was a playful girl, even leaving with a line from a commercial...

With a melodious laugh, Phoenix drifted out the door. Chen Xiao was so dazed by her parting look that by the time he collected himself, she was long gone.

Birthday? Burger? And… (he squeezed the little bottle), Yida?

Chen Xiao sighed, unable to suppress a faint sense of emotion. A girl of such rare beauty—on her birthday, there must be countless people eager to treat her to the world’s most extravagant meals… A burger? The thought was almost comical.

Her final smile had left a ripple in his heart. Chen Xiao sternly warned himself: Beauty is a curse, beauty is a curse! A girl like her, if she’d lived in ancient times, would have been the kind to set the world ablaze for her sake.

If she fell into the hands of a foolish king, he might even lose his kingdom for such a siren!

Snapping out of his reverie, Chen Xiao gave a bitter laugh.

What was all this? He’d come here to work, and on his first day hadn’t earned a cent—in fact, he’d given away his own dinner. And since the recipient was a beautiful woman, he couldn’t even ask for money...

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he slapped his forehead: It’s late, time to close up and go home! Yaya’s still waiting at home.

Well, Old Man Ai said as long as I keep the place open every Thursday night, it’s fine.

Time to go home!

.

On the subway ride back, Chen Xiao couldn’t stop replaying images of the girl named Phoenix in his mind. Every detail seemed extraordinarily vivid—each frown, every smile, every glance, and that last look that sent a tremor through his heart...

It wasn’t as if he’d never seen beautiful women before, but a girl like Phoenix—Chen Xiao would bet that ninety-nine out of a hundred men would be moved by her. She was breathtakingly beautiful, yet carried not the slightest air of arrogance. These days, even girls with just a hint of beauty walked around like royal princesses, their chins held high. But Phoenix, for all her beauty, was cheerful and open, never frivolous, and possessed an irresistible natural charm.

All the way home, Chen Xiao couldn’t stop thinking about Phoenix. Only after leaving the subway did he laugh at himself and pat his forehead.

What’s gotten into me? She’s just a girl I met once—have I become lovesick? He chuckled self-mockingly, but still couldn’t suppress a surge of anticipation: She’ll come back again, won’t she?

By the time he got home, it was already seven in the evening.

The sun had set, and lights glowed from every window, but when Chen Xiao entered his own home, the living room was completely dark. Yaya sat on the sofa, her chin in her hands, quietly gazing out the window.

He’d already noticed that this blue-blooded girl didn’t like to turn on the lights.

As soon as Chen Xiao entered, Yaya leapt up, flitting over to him like a butterfly. Her blue eyes shimmered with a hint of delight. “You’re back!”

“Uh, you haven’t eaten yet?” Chen Xiao flicked on the light and glanced at the kitchen behind her. It was cold and empty—Yaya clearly hadn’t eaten.

Seeing the hint of loneliness and desolation on her innocent face, Chen Xiao felt a pang of guilt. “Sorry, I got caught up with something and came back late. Next time, I’ll remember to call you.”

He naturally took Yaya’s hand and led her to the kitchen, where he quickly whipped up some egg fried rice from the contents of the fridge and brought out the leftover beef burger.

“I’ll buy more groceries when I have time. There’s milk in the fridge—you can help yourself during the day,” Chen Xiao said as he deftly scooped the fried rice into a bowl.

Yaya leaned against the doorframe, her gaze gentle as water, quietly watching his every move. Suddenly she murmured, “During the day… I was alone…”

“What?” Chen Xiao looked back at her.

“Here.” Yaya pointed to her heart, then, after a moment’s thought, to her forehead. “And here—both felt empty. I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat and stared off into space.”

Chen Xiao was silent for a moment. “Didn’t you read?”

“I did… but the books are so boring.” Yaya sounded forlorn. For such a delicate, fragile-looking girl—one who’d inspire any man’s protectiveness—her sadness made Chen Xiao’s heart soften.

Come to think of it, leaving such an innocent soul at home alone was rather cruel. After all, she was a living, breathing person—not a pet.

“Mm… sorry,” Chen Xiao said softly. “I have to go to class during the day, but on the weekend I’ll take you out. We’ll go to the amusement park.”

“Amusement park…” Yaya repeated the phrase, a glimmer of happiness in her eyes. “That’s the place from the books, right? The one with the huge Ferris wheel?”

Chen Xiao nodded, and Yaya beamed, bouncing into his arms. After a moment’s hesitation, she stood on tiptoe and, before he could react, pressed her warm, fragrant lips lightly against his left cheek.

He looked down to see curiosity in her eyes.

“I learned it from a book,” Yaya said earnestly. “There’s a book in your study—it said that when a man comes home, a woman expresses her joy and welcome like this…”

Chen Xiao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. There were indeed a few romance novels on his bookshelf.

Thank goodness she hadn’t gone online. If she’d accidentally come across some steamy stories… Given her pure, naive mind and complete ignorance of relations between men and women—if she tried to imitate those…

Enough! Chen Xiao hurriedly cut off his own train of thought.

She was still gazing up at him, those clear blue eyes utterly defenseless, like an unguarded city…

No! Tomorrow I must buy her some underwear!

There were no women’s undergarments in the house, and though Yaya was wearing his old T-shirt, under the dim light it was revealing in ways that made Chen Xiao gulp hard and silently recite a mantra to calm himself.

He quickly coughed and looked at Yaya seriously. “You can’t just copy everything from books, understand? How should I put this… Oh, right! You shouldn’t do that to just any man—only when you’re truly happy inside…”

“But I really was happy to see you come home,” Yaya replied, her blue eyes guileless.

He hurriedly stepped back, pretending to fetch a bowl, and escaped into the living room.

Yaya followed him closely.

Thankfully, he’d already taught her how to use chopsticks. Watching her eat, Chen Xiao finally relaxed and searched for some small talk. “Uh, the house uses solar water heaters. After you finish eating, go take a shower… By the way, you’ve been here two days and haven’t showered yet…”

Yaya frowned, looking at him in confusion. “Shower… what’s that?”

Chen Xiao began to sweat. He gestured awkwardly. “Well… it’s… um…”

“I’ve never showered…” Yaya said, curious. “In the bio-pod where I lived, there was an airflow automatic purification system and cleansing solution… I’d soak for two hours every time.”

Airflow? Was that a dry wash?

Chen Xiao was stunned. Humans can be dry-cleaned?

No wonder… even without showering, the girl was always so clean and fair-skinned.

But now the bio-pod had been taken away by the service agency...

“Well, without the pod, you’ll just have to use the bathroom here. It’s simple—just stand under the shower and wash yourself…” Chen Xiao’s heart was pounding, but he forced himself to act calm as he shoveled rice into his mouth.

Yaya watched him intently, her blue eyes pure and innocent, and asked in her angelic voice, “Chen Xiao, will you help me wash?”

Thunk!

Chen Xiao toppled backward off his chair, spraying egg drop soup from his nose.

Sitting on the floor, he glared at Yaya.

Hmm, how did Shakespeare put it?

To wash, or not to wash,

That is the question!

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(Ahem, some things came up at home today, so only one chapter. Please forgive me, everyone—tomorrow there will be two chapters~)

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