0116: Does stolen food taste better?

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“You saw that woman?! Your father is still with her?”

Lu Xiaoyan shot up her arm and slammed it onto the table, her eyes reddening with fury.

“Mom, calm down. That table cost more than fifty thousand yuan.”

At the mention of money, Lu Xiaoman finally regained some composure.

“Whew... What did that woman tell you?”

“I was the one who asked Dad about it. I know what happened now, but neither of them said a single bad word about you.”

“So you’re saying this is all my fault? You think your mother is a terrible woman?!”

Lu Xiaoman stared at her daughter and ran a hand through the hair above her forehead, disheveling her formerly elegant hairstyle.

“Mom, you’re my mother. Besides, this is a grievance between the two of you, something that happened so many years ago.”

“As your daughter, I only want to tell you that sometimes what you see isn’t necessarily the truth.”

“Just like today. You immediately misunderstood Xu Lin and me. Even if we were dating, you didn’t have to react like that. We could have talked about it calmly.”

Ji Yun spoke with measured calm, but Lu Xiaoman had been through enough to recognize what her daughter’s words implied. Her daughter clearly liked that young man and was already laying the groundwork for a future relationship.

Still, she could not be bothered to say anything about it now. Her mind was filled with images of her husband together with that woman, and the thought made her feel sick.

“Forget about you for now. Your father is still accompanying his ex-wife? Does he even remember that he has a wife?”

“Mom, you only know how to be angry. Why don’t you ask why he chose to be with that woman?”

“He’s getting old and tired of me. He must have started having other thoughts!”

“Have you ever wondered why you’re angry with her? Are you afraid? Afraid she’ll take Dad away from you again? You and Dad both hurt Aunt Yao, didn’t you?”

“What did I ever do to hurt her? From beginning to end, I never went looking for trouble with her, and I never said a single bad word about her in front of your father! Ask your father yourself!”

“I’ve already told him what he did wrong. But Mom, even if you never said anything, weren’t the things you did also hurtful to her?”

Her daughter’s words struck her squarely in the heart, instantly silencing her retort. No matter how she argued, she had still been the third party.

“Whew... So you’re saying I was the other woman? Without me, where would you have come from?”

“Dad realized that he had wronged her, and he feels guilty. It isn’t for any of the reasons you’re imagining.”

Ji Yun paid no attention to her mother’s outburst and continued speaking calmly.

“Aunt Yao ran into difficulties, so Dad went to help her.”

“She ran into difficulties? What kind of difficulties could she have? Didn’t she get married soon after your father and I did? And she married a rich man, too.”

“She’s living alone now, and she’s fallen ill. Dad only went to help her after he found out.”

“How do you know everything she said is true? Child, you’re too young. Illness is just an excuse girls use.”

“No. Aunt Yao has cancer. It’s already in the terminal stage, and there’s no treatment left. I don’t think Dad made the wrong choice. He has to stay there and accompany her through the final stretch of her life.”

“What cancer? Stop talking nonsense! What is this, some television drama?”

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“You can go see for yourself, or wait another ten days or so. Dad doesn’t have any ulterior motives. He’s only doing this because he feels guilty.”

“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty, either. I only want you to understand why Dad never told you. I’m not trying to defend him.”

“He failed to tell you the truth himself, which led to constant quarrels between him and his wife and left his daughter worrying about them all day. That was his fault.”

Ji Yun continued speaking, her reasoning clear and orderly. Mrs. Lu found herself almost unable to argue back. Her daughter had truly inherited her gift for eloquence.

Meanwhile, in the nearby kitchen, two people were preparing breakfast and chatting as they worked.

“Mr. Xu, so that’s what happened when you went out with Ji Yun yesterday.”

“Didn’t Ji Yun tell you?”

“No. It wasn’t really about you.”

“Miss Chu, I’m not some celebrity. Why are you paying attention to me?”

“Aren’t you a celebrity now?”

“Don’t remind me! You’ve already left show business, yet you still went and liked the post?”

“Of course I had to like it. My acting has improved, so naturally I had to show off a little.”

Chu Qingchan casually took out her phone and held it before him.

“Look. Everyone’s praising me. Maybe I should go back to acting after all.”

“You gave up on your music dream awfully quickly. If you give up, I’m afraid Teacher Guan won’t.”

Although Xu Lin had not visited recently, he had heard plenty about Teacher Guan from Chu Qingchan.

Teacher Guan thought highly of her and had said that if she worked harder and persevered, she was guaranteed to become at least a top-tier diva.

After hearing that from such an accomplished musician, Chu Qingchan had thrown herself into studying and training.

Every day, she went to Teacher Guan’s place as punctually as if she were clocking in at work, studying from a little after eight in the morning until a little after six in the evening.

“Xu Lin, do you really think I can succeed? I’m afraid I’ll waste Teacher Guan’s guidance—and the wonderful songs you wrote for me.”

Chu Qingchan was not especially confident in herself. She had only decided to give it a try because Teacher Guan believed in her. But the outcome...

“I believe in your talent, and I believe in your effort. How could you possibly fail?”

“You’ve never even heard me sing an entire song, yet you’re so certain.”

“Yes.”

Xu Lin’s gaze was extraordinarily firm, leaving her a little embarrassed. Was she really that impressive?

Xu Lin placed the omelet he had spread and cooked onto a plate, and only then did he suddenly remember something.

In his previous life, shortly after graduating, he had encountered all kinds of difficulties. His mother’s medical treatment had cost a great deal of money, and his own career had not gone smoothly.

At that time, two people had supported him more than anyone else. One was Ji Yun, who had encouraged him emotionally. He had remembered that single “You can do it” for so many years.

The other was Chu Qingchan—or rather, Chu Qingchan’s songs. He listened to them every night as he slowly drifted to sleep, so that he could face another day of work with renewed energy.

Her songs were not filled with the kind of shallow, relentlessly motivational lyrics that urged people to strive upward every day. Yet whenever he heard her voice and melodies, the fighting spirit and hope within him would awaken.

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“The omelet’s burning!”

“Ah! Sorry, I got distracted. I was too busy looking at you.”

“Am I really that beautiful?”

“Of course. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. I’m not lying!”

And she was also the only person ever certified by the system as having a Charm value of nine. Xu Lin had to admit that the system’s taste was excellent.

He was suddenly rather eager to meet the remaining four young women.

Heh heh heh—

No, wait. He still had enough trouble on his hands to keep him scratching his head. He could take things slowly.

“I forgot to ask—why did you come here this morning? Did you need something from us?”

“I nearly forgot. I came to take you exercising. Didn’t you say ages ago that you wanted to get in shape?”

“I can’t get up that early... How about exercising tonight after you finish school?”

Chu Qingchan put on a pitiful expression. The usually icy goddess making such an adorable face gave Xu Lin a sudden jolt.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re making it impossible for me to refuse...”

At his words, Chu Qingchan’s eyes lit up. She did feel that she needed exercise—she had been the one to suggest it, after all—but a full day of work already left her exhausted.

The next second, however, Xu Lin abruptly raised a hand.

“But... I refuse! I’m doing this for your own good. You sit and work for long periods, so you really do need to exercise.”

Xu Lin thought about it. Among the girls he knew, aside from the still-young Liu Qin Nuan, Chu Qingchan and Ji Yun seemed to have the poorest physical fitness.

“Xu Lin, you don’t feel sorry for me at all. Can’t we do something else? Anything but running?”

“You can choose something else yourself. But if you run, I can go out with you in the morning. We can chat while we exercise, so it won’t be boring.”

“...”

Chu Qingchan lowered her head. Her body strongly resisted the idea, but lately she had been so busy, while Xu Lin had classes, that the two of them had spent far less time together.

If they could exercise together in the morning...

Suddenly, it did not seem so exhausting anymore. Perhaps she could give it a try.

“Getting your body healthier will help your singing, too. Performing requires stamina.”

“All right... I’ll try it first.”

“Good. Here’s your reward.”

Xu Lin smiled, picked up a piece of omelet with his chopsticks, and held it out to Chu Qingchan.

She opened her small mouth and took a gentle bite, then leaned forward and stole a glance at Ji Yun, who was still talking nearby.

The texture of the omelet in her mouth was the same as usual, yet somehow it tasted far better.

Was this the power of eating in secret?

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