Chapter 37: Mischief

This woman really needs to be taught a lesson. She is far too mischievous.

Even after they stepped out of the elevator, Cen Mo was still brooding. She turned to Su Xingzhi and said, “I have a feeling that by tomorrow, our story will have acquired yet another version. It will definitely include a scene where I outsmarted a rich heiress.”

She spoke in such a pompous, literary way that Su Xingzhi nearly laughed. “What about my part?”

“You?” Cen Mo thought for a moment. Over the course of the day, at least ten people had come to tell her their versions of the story, so she already knew the general pattern. “In your case, you were probably frightened by the rich heiress’s overbearing personality, then realized how wonderful your ex-girlfriend was and returned to the arms of your old love?”

“Not bad. Quite a compelling story.” Su Xingzhi praised her, then reached out and took her hand, walking openly out of the company with her.

After everything that had happened that day, Cen Mo could not be bothered to make a fuss about anything else. Still, she reminded him, “President Su, you haven’t forgotten the company regulations, have you?”

“Mm. I’ll change them tomorrow.” When they reached the car, the man said it calmly, opened the door for her, and then got into the driver’s seat.

Cen Mo felt even more helpless. Who changed company rules like this? Wasn’t that terribly irresponsible?

When he saw her casting him a disdainful sidelong glance, Su Xingzhi wasted no words. He simply leaned over and kissed her for a while, refusing to stop until her cheeks had flushed.

Afterward, he leisurely fastened her seat belt. “I gave it some thought today. There’s no harm in abolishing the rule. After all, this sort of thing cannot really be prohibited. Keeping it would only make the company seem overly strict and devoid of human feeling.”

“And how exactly did you arrive at that conclusion?” Cen Mo was rather curious. He had always seemed entirely removed from ordinary human concerns, so how had he suddenly begun caring about the employees’ feelings?

“By putting myself in their position.”

Su Xingzhi actually pondered for a moment before delivering this answer with perfect seriousness.

“…”

Well, all right. Who would have thought that after falling in love, the company president could actually bring benefits to all his employees?

Thinking of it that way, Cen Mo felt that the burden on her shoulders had become even heavier…

…

Both of them were a little hungry, so they discussed where to have dinner.

Cen Mo wanted some home-style food and suggested, “How about we buy some ingredients at the supermarket and go home to cook?”

She had been making boxed lunches for Su Xingzhi for quite some time and already knew his tastes, so she was not worried that he would find the food unfamiliar.

“Fine.” The man agreed, glanced at the navigation, and drove straight to a nearby supermarket.

People said that shopping increased one’s sense of happiness. As far as Cen Mo was concerned, that was certainly true. She was in a particularly good mood while buying things, especially when she saw the dazzling array of ingredients in the supermarket.

It was her first time there. Near the entrance, they even sold potted flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Pots of plump-leafed lettuce, bok choy, and other greens were planted in flowerpots, their appearance highly deceptive. They had been made to look just like ornamental plants.

She stopped to look at them. “If we put these beside the hot pot while eating, wouldn’t the ingredients be as fresh as possible?”

“Take some and try them. I happen not to have any plants at home.”

Su Xingzhi actually picked several pots and put them in the cart: one of bok choy, one of lettuce, and one of baby greens.

Cen Mo thought the ones he had chosen looked too wilted, so she replaced them with hardier plants. Only then did the two of them continue browsing.

A little later, she saw that the potato chips were on sale and stopped again. “Do you eat these?”

The shelf was fairly high. She instinctively rose onto her toes, but before she could reach up, Su Xingzhi had already taken the bag down for her and placed it in the cart.

“Take whatever you want. You don’t have to ask me.”

He had never liked snacks, while Cen Mo was not averse to them. She would occasionally crave something when she saw it, but she would never go to the supermarket specifically to buy such things.

They wandered around for a while longer, and before they knew it, they had filled the cart with a mountain of groceries. After paying, they went straight back to Su Xingzhi’s place.

This time, Cen Mo planned to make chicken curry. They had all the ingredients they needed, and after washing her hands, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

But when she glanced at the kitchen counter, she felt that something was missing. She had clearly bought a great many kitchen utensils for this place before.

She lowered her head and searched through the cabinets. After a while, she emerged, thoroughly satisfied, holding two brightly colored children’s bowls. Her hair had been tousled by the cabinet door.

“Why do you dislike these two bowls so much? They cost money, you know.” She complained as she hurried to rinse them beneath the faucet.

Su Xingzhi had just taken off his coat. Seeing the bowls, he felt a headache coming on. He was reminded of the time he had called her cartoon lunchbox childish and the chain of events that had followed, so he decisively chose silence.

When the woman had washed the bowls and placed them neatly on the counter, he walked over and embraced her from behind.

“Are we eating with these two bowls today?”

“What else can we do? We don’t have any spare bowls.” As she spoke, the man’s breath brushed against the back of her neck, making her itch. She could not help shrinking her neck before continuing, “Besides, aren’t the patterns cute? We can each use one. Couple bowls.”

Only then did the man show some interest. “All right. We’ll use them from now on.”

For the curry, Cen Mo used bone-in chicken thighs. There were two in the package. After taking them out and washing them, she frowned and pondered for a long time. In the end, she found a pair of scissors, removed the bones, and cut the meat into small pieces.

Su Xingzhi watched from the side. When she began putting all her strength into cutting the radish, he gestured for her to stop and casually took the knife from her.

The Japanese-style knife was not nearly as useful as a traditional cleaver. When faced with harder vegetables, it was impossible to put any real force behind it.

Cen Mo shook out her hand. The back of the knife had left her palm aching. She instructed him to cut the radish into irregular rolling chunks, and the two of them worked together until all the ingredients were simmering in the pot.

The rice was already cooking in the rice cooker and would soon be ready. Cen Mo let out a sigh of relief and was just about to rinse her hands beneath the faucet when her feet suddenly left the floor.

The man said nothing. With steady steps, he carried her upstairs.

There was still vegetable juice on her hands. She struggled to stretch them out in front of her, doing her best not to touch either of their clothes, and complained irritably, “If you don’t put me down, I’m going to smear it all over you.”

The threat was utterly useless. After carrying her to the sink in the bathroom, Su Xingzhi still did not lower her. He merely bent down a little.

“Wash them yourself. Quickly.”

“Hey…” Cen Mo became even more annoyed. She struggled and was just about to climb down on her own when her right ear suddenly grew warm, and she froze.

The man lightly bit the soft tip of her ear. His voice was surprisingly gentle.

“Good girl. Be obedient.”

But this was obviously a threat! Cen Mo was furious, yet she resigned herself to her fate, reached out, turned on the faucet, and washed her hands with considerable difficulty.

After she dried them on the large towel nearby, Su Xingzhi seemed satisfied. He kissed her on the cheek, then carried her into the bedroom and finally set her down.

It was the same familiar mattress. Cen Mo was used to it by now. She lay flat on her back and looked at the man leaning over her, blinking.

“What are you doing?”

They had not been together for very long, but she had already been kissed by this man countless times. Hadn’t he been supposed to be detached and calm? It was all a lie.

His handsome face was still cold and composed, but which of the things he did had anything to do with that expression?

“You deliberately kept your distance from me at the company and let everyone say I was a heartless man. Tell me, how should we settle these accounts?”

Supporting himself with both hands beside her head, Su Xingzhi raised an eyebrow. The jade ring on his little finger brushed against her warm earlobe as he deliberately moved closer, inch by inch.

So now everything was her fault?

Flustered by his teasing, Cen Mo instinctively shrank her neck. Her earlobes slowly reddened.

She thought for a long time. “All right. It was all my fault. How about… I give you some compensation?”

Su Xingzhi had not expected her to be so straightforward. He stopped and waited to see what she intended to do next.

The woman slowly patted his arm. “Could you get up for a moment?”

With some effort, she pushed him aside. Their positions were reversed, and she slowly lowered her head, imitating his earlier pose by bracing her hands beside his head.

The faint, sweet scent of her shower gel drifted over.

Su Xingzhi lay there without moving, watching her approach without blinking. Her short hair fell against his cheek, tickling him.

“Do you smell…” Cen Mo brought her face close to his ear and said in a幽幽? no. Must English. “Do you smell something?” she murmured. “Our curry is burning!”

She placed particular emphasis on the final words, then nimbly rolled off him, put on her slippers, and trotted downstairs.

Su Xingzhi sat up and leaned against the headboard, his long legs stretched out carelessly. He raised a hand and pressed the space between his brows.

This woman really needed to be taught a lesson. She was far too mischievous.

There really was a faint burnt smell in the air. He stood up and went downstairs.

Cen Mo was standing by the pot, adding water. She turned around and glared at him reproachfully.

“Luckily, I came down in time. Otherwise, the whole pot of curry would have burned, and you would have had to eat all of it.”

“Mm. I’ll eat it.” Su Xingzhi answered lazily and sat down at the table, inexplicably displeased.

A little later, Cen Mo brought over the food in the children’s bowls. Seeing that his mood was off, she smiled.

“Do you want to take a cold shower?”

It was not as though she knew much about such things. Anyone could learn this sort of common knowledge by reading a novel, right? Especially after the two of them had been embracing for so long. It was only normal for him to have had that sort of reaction. She had noticed it herself…

She added, “I’ve heard that holding it in for too long isn’t good. It affects… future performance.”

She had only meant to say it casually out of concern, but when she looked up and saw Su Xingzhi’s expression, she immediately shut her mouth. Instinctively, she sensed danger.

“Whether it affects anything or not, you’ll find out later, Mo Mo.”

He stared at her and spoke each word distinctly. His attractive, laughing eyes seemed to narrow slightly.

This was the first time he had called her by her nickname, but it carried an entirely different implication. Cen Mo hunched her shoulders and decided not to say anything more.

She… regretted it a little.

She lowered her head and ate several mouthfuls of curry rice, then went back to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Just as she was about to take a sip, she heard the man across from her ask pleasantly, “Are you staying the night?”

“No, I don’t think so. My clothes and everything are at home.” Cen Mo answered at once.

“Mm. That’s fine too. We have plenty of time.”

Su Xingzhi slowly set down the children’s bowl in his hand and nodded, his expression perfectly calm.

Plenty of time?

Cen Mo lowered her head and stuffed another mouthful of rice into her mouth without saying a word. Why did she suddenly feel that the phrase sounded slightly ominous?