Chapter 26: An Ache in the Hear (2/2)
Her body was simply… too smelly!
Cheng Xi took the longest and most careful bath she had ever had in her entire life, even washing her hair thrice. When she finally came out, she was unable to smell even a trace of sourness.
After picking up her phone, she saw an unread message from Lu Chenzhou. “Your clothes are at the door.”
When she opened the door, she indeed found a large paper bag outside. She took it inside, opened it, and noticed that the inside contained not only a jacket, but also a pair of jeans, a warm undershirt, and a box of disposable underwear.
When she remembered that a man had bought all of this, Cheng Xi felt uncomfortable from head to toe. But since it had already been bought, no matter how she felt, she had to change. Her original set of clothes was too smelly and oily, completely unwearable.
Besides her new jeans being slightly too large, the rest of the clothes fit her well. After Cheng Xi finished changing into her new set of clothes, she went around in a circle downstairs, and then finally found Lu Chenzhou’s car parked outside. The windows were down; Lu Chenzhou sat inside on the phone, his laptop on his knees as normal.
His chauffeur, on the other hand, seemed to be gone.
Cheng Xi waited for Lu Chenzhou to hang up before approaching him. As she came closer, Lu Chenzhou unconsciously moved away from her.
She felt slightly embarrassed. She stood still, smelling herself delicately. “Do I still smell bad?”
Lu Chenzhou looked at her. Perhaps it was because she had just taken a bath, but Cheng Xi’s whole body exuded a warm and inviting feeling. It was as clear as a polished crystal, and so clean that it made others want to take a bite out of her.
It was a pity that she didn’t realize that herself, instead turning around to gaze at her surroundings. “Is it just you?”
Lu Chenzhou ignored her.
Cheng Xi continued, saying, “The chauffeur, Mr. Chen, bought the clothes, didn’t he? Where is he? I’ll pay him back.”
“That’s not necessary.” Lu Chenzhou said coolly. He looked at her. “This is your payment for helping me avoid a calamity.”
“Er,” Cheng Xi stuttered. “Shouldn’t it be me reaping what I’ve sown?”
Lu Chenzhou shut his laptop, casting sidelong glances at her. “But you seem to be happy about reaping what you’ve sown?”
Cheng Xi shrugged her shoulders. “Then what should I do? Cry? Unfortunately, crying can’t solve my problems. Furthermore, after cleaning myself, I’m as good as new again. So what’s there to be mad about?”
Her words were humorous, and Lu Chenzhou couldn’t help but curl up his lips slightly upon hearing them. “It’s getting quite late. When are the two of you planning to return?”
Lu Chenzhou’s hand, which was resting on his laptop, shook. He raised his head. “You two?”
“Yes, I plan on staying here for a night because I keep feeling like there are still some questions that I haven’t investigated fully.”
“Of course there are problems,” Lu Chenzhou said with a laugh. “At the very least, that old widowed grandmother who tossed a bucket at you has problems. If she were really living by herself, then her bucket wouldn’t have been filled with so much stuff.”
Cheng Xi blinked. “What stuff?” She really hadn’t noticed this, mainly because she had been so shocked at the time that she hadn’t been able to think about anything else.
Lu Chenzhou’s voice was ice cold as he replied, “The most identifiable objects that she flung out at you were potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, and noodles. Perhaps if there were only one type of food it would be a coincidence, but what about multiple types?”
Cheng xi understood immediately. The items that Lu Chenzhou had mentioned were exactly what they had ordered for lunch. The leftover vegetables and rice in a restaurant were usually poured into a bucket to be dealt with later.
Something like that could be sold for money; for example, some people would buy it specifically to feed their pigs, and people wouldn’t generally throw it away carelessly. If the old grandmother’s bucket of foul water had really come from the restaurant, then the behavior of the restaurant owner’s wife afterwards was worth considering carefully.
“She truly seemed to be trying to help us, but it felt more like she wanted to quickly scare us away… Does this mean she doesn’t want us to keep investigating?”
Although Lu Chenzhou didn’t say anything, his face revealed an expression of disdain at how long it had taken her to figure it out.
Ignoring his facial expression, Cheng Xi merely sighed again as she said, “So the crux of the matter lies with the restaurant owner’s wife? Not only does she know Chen Jiaman, but she also probably has some deeper connection with her.” Upon realizing this, she became agitated. In her excitement, her two hands extended into the car and grabbed hold of Lu Chenzhou’s wrist.
“Ah, what are you looking at?”
Lu Chenzhou slightly tilted his head, his gaze landing on her hand, her fingertips just like spring onions, as white as jade.
Unexpectedly, he didn’t find it dirty. Instead, an ache in his heart sprang out of nowhere. Her fingertips reminded him of the jade tea pet that he often played with in his office, which was the same shade of translucent, warm white.
But the teacup was cold and hard. He idly wondered what her fingertips would feel like.
And, as he thought of this, Lu Chenzhou raised his left hand and lightly caressed Cheng Xi’s hand.
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