The Complete Guide to the Use and Care (41-end)

51

Chapter Fifty-one

Yan Li retorted: “What does it have to do with Su Yuyang that I asked you to be my assistant? Or is it that you can’t leave Su Yuyang behind, so whenever anyone associated with him appears in front of you, you subconsciously think Su Yuyang sent them? Ling Miao, do you think so highly of yourself or do you think so badly of Su Yuyang?”

Yan Li wasn’t giving Ling Miao a hard time. Her calm voice only spoke fact.

Ling Miao stared at his toes in silence. Ji Linxi wanted to speak up for him but also didn’t want Yan Li to misunderstand, so he didn’t say anything. Yan Li sat down again, picked up her chopsticks, and didn’t stand on ceremony. Ji Linxi glanced at her. Seeing her wolf down the food he couldn’t help but to mock: “Are you the reincarnation of a hungry ghost?”

“Don’t know anything about a hungry ghost or reincarnation.” Yan Li chewed her food, oblivious about her image as she said, “But I can tell you for sure that I’m very hungry. Fuck, for the sake of my figure I haven’t eaten a good meal all year. My manager already doesn’t like me coming to Su Yuyang’s place because the moment I get here I can’t control my appetite and he can’t contact me. A month’s rest means I gain ten kilos¹ and then I have to spend another month losing weight. In total, that’s two months of work time wasted. Heh heh. So you understand.”

Yan Li’s smile was childlike. The pure joy in her eyes infected Ji Linxi, whose cool attitude towards Yan Li was shaken.

Yan Li cleaned the plates on the table at lightning speed and gave a satiated burp at the end. Ji Linxi couldn’t hold back his laughter: “Aren’t stars concerned about their image?”

Yan Li rolled her eyes at Ji Linxi, her gaze like that of a teacher looking at a slow student. She wiped her mouth with a tissue and said happily, “Preserving image depends on the time, location, and people present. Here, what do I have to care about?”

Yan Li had shown Ling Miao and Ji Linxi a side she showed only to her closest friends. Her actions shocked Ji Linxi.

“Done eating?” Ji Linxi glanced at the table.

Yan Li said, satisfied, “I’m done. I’ll go wash the dishes.”

Yan Li offered to wash the dishes. Ji Linxi looked at her as if witnessing a miracle. Yan Li expertly stacked the dishes and bowls from big to small, then picked up the chopsticks on the table. Under Ji Linxi’s shocked gaze, she walked to the kitchen carrying the dishes.

Ji Linxi anticipated the sound of breaking dishes, but it didn’t come, and his esteem for Yan Li rose another few points. Not long later she yelled: “Linxi, come over and help me!”

Strictly speaking, this was only the second time Ji Linxi had met Yan Li. To call someone using such an intimate form of address after only having met twice—Ji Linxi mentally gave her the label of ‘very familiar with others.’

“What happened?” Ji Linxi answered as he walked to the kitchen. Seeing Yan Li on her toes, arms reaching to put the plates back in their cabinet, Ji Linxi realized why Yan Li had called him here.

With his additional height, Ji Linxi very easily put the plates back where they should be.

Yan Li was frustrated for a while by Ji Linxi’s height. Several beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and she raised a hand to wipe them away, her breath slightly heavy as she said, “Thanks.”

“Yan Li, I find that you’re not as… mh, irritating… as I imagined.” Ji Linxi assessed.

From the start, Ji Linxi had faced Yan Li coldly. Now, he flashed her a slight smile and Yan Li felt as though her world had opened from a freezing winter to a warm field where flowers bloomed in spring.