35: Chapter 35 Lightly cooked dishes cause internal heat

Zhao Xiaoshuai's unconditional devotion to Chu Ziqing might seem like a case of his sincere heart being wasted on an ingrate, but in reality, it wasn't all in vain.

His deep devotion, his responsible burden-bearing, every single detail—it was all being watched by someone else.

Chu Xinyi and Chu Ziqing were very different.

Chu Ziqing was the type to believe whatever she was told; she blindly trusted "authorities," lacked her own discernment or cognition, and didn't know how to be flexible.

When she was young, she listened to her father, studying hard, keeping her head down, and living a low-profile life. She really was cautious and timid, avoiding contact with others.

Later, when she grew up and saw more of the world, she met many "sisters" on a certain app, and she began to learn "fist techniques" and pursue a "true" life.

She was the kind of person who was easily "molded."

Chu Xinyi was very different.

She was truly intelligent; from a young age, she knew how to observe and think for herself, forming her own worldview.

Perhaps she wouldn't say it out loud, appearing to go with the flow and adapting to her surroundings on the surface, but in her heart, she had a firm sense of cognition.

She handled interpersonal relationships very well. In class, her label was probably "the mysterious and omnipotent straight-A student," though recently, perhaps another "big" character needed to be added.

Whenever classmates encountered any difficulties, the first person they thought of to ask for help or advice was her, even before their teachers.

And she never let her classmates down, gradually gaining everyone's recognition.

She had read many, many books and had been exposed to the internet from a very early age. Combined with her talent for learning whatever she set her mind to, she was more than qualified to be the class know-it-all.

It wasn't only recently that she had received love letters.

Even though she never showed her full face and tried to keep a low profile, she was very popular; she had occasionally received love letters and confessions since middle school.

It was just that, without exception, she had rejected them all.

Girls who mature mentally at a very early age often have a common flaw: they feel that their peers are just children, too naive and too boring.

Such girls usually prefer more mature men, even those of the "uncle" generation.

Chu Xinyi was no exception.

After all, they had been playing quite wildly just now, and both of their undergarments were soaked through with snow water; if they didn't take a shower quickly, it would be easy to catch a cold.

Because she had to hurry to cook, Chu Xinyi entered the bathroom first.

Listening to the splashing of the water, Zhao Xiaoshuai absent-mindedly flipped through the book Chu Xinyi had left on the table, "Jane Eyre."

As a STEM guy, he had heard of this classic often, but he had never read it.

Compared to classics, he preferred reading those web novels.

Since it was just a quick rinse, Chu Xinyi finished washing quickly and walked out wearing only a long-sleeved shirt.

It was a T-shirt with a cartoon pattern printed on it, with a long hem that covered the shorts underneath, creating a visual illusion of "wearing nothing."

Dazzled by those long legs, he unnaturally averted his gaze.

"You should wear more at home, don't catch a cold."

"It's fine. It'll get hot once I start cooking, and I'll put more on if I get cold. You should go take a quick rinse too; you can use that brown towel."

The bathroom was small, and at that moment, it still retained a bit of mist and a very faint fragrance.

After all, it wasn't his own home, so Zhao Xiaoshuai just took off his base-layer shirt, dried it with a hairdryer, and casually wiped his body with the towel.

The towel was quite new, the long and large kind. He didn't know why a young girl like her would have such a towel ready.

Zhao Xiaoshuai looked at himself in the mirror and felt that the fat on his body had reduced significantly; in just a few short days, there was even a slight sense of muscle definition.

He hadn't done much strength training; presumably, the strength attribute added by the system was taking effect.

When he came out again, the small room was already filled with the aroma of food.

"The gold-medal sous-chef is in position. Does the head chef need any help?"

"Hmm, then help me taste the flavor."

The Sister-in-law picked up a small piece of beef with her chopsticks, blew on it lightly a few times, and with her left hand supporting it underneath, she brought it to Zhao Xiaoshuai's lips.

Zhao Xiaoshuai tasted a bite; it was tender and flavorful, presumably having been prepared in advance.

He gave a thumbs up and praised, "Just right! As expected of a head chef."

The Sister-in-law smiled happily and turned back to busy herself with another dish.

Seeing that even the chopped green onions and garlic were already prepared on the side, Zhao Xiaoshuai, unable to really help, had no choice but to sit back at the table so as not to be in the way.

T-shirts with patterns on the chest—the effect is vastly different depending on who wears them.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoshuai could see that the cartoon character printed on the Sister-in-law's clothes had a pair of very large, very full eyes.

As she moved about busily and turned, those big eyes seemed to rotate up, down, left, and right, appearing very lively.

The centers of the pupils of those round, big eyes seemed to be somewhat protruding; perhaps it was just the material of the clothes.

A plate of steamed prawns was the first to be brought up by the Sister-in-law; the two little black dots on the bright red shrimp heads looked quite cute.

"You didn't even call me when it was ready; I should have brought it."

Sitting opposite each other, looking at the slightly suspended cartoon character across from him, Zhao Xiaoshuai felt that he would have to buy the Sister-in-law a taller table in the future.

Although she was currently at the peak of her youth and could completely ignore gravity, she still needed to take care of herself; some things could use a rest on the table from time to time.

The Sister-in-law really hadn't held back on this meal—beef soup, steamed prawns, shredded chicken—but she had controlled the portions, with not too much of any single dish; she must have put a lot of thought into it.

"The matter of you ambushing me just now cannot be let go just like that!"

Zhao Xiaoshuai was stunned for a moment before he realized she was talking about the snowball fight earlier.

"What do you want to do about it?"

"I'll punish you by making you peel a shrimp for me."

"You got it!"

Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't peel shrimp when he ate them himself; he usually just pinched off the head and tail and gulped it down in one bite, but fortunately, peeling shrimp wasn't a technical skill.

"Ah~," seeing her brother-in-law finish peeling the shrimp, Chu Xinyi opened her small mouth, waiting cutely to be fed.

The Sister-in-law took a bite right at the shrimp tail, inevitably touching Zhao Xiaoshuai's fingers.

The table wasn't large, and their sitting postures were very casual. Plus, the Sister-in-law had long legs, so often, with just a casual movement, the two of them would make contact.

"Brother-in-law, why don't you peel the shells when you eat shrimp?"

"Shrimp shells are good for calcium." Actually, he was just lazy, but he made it sound more sophisticated.

"The texture of peeled shrimp meat is completely different. If you don't believe me, try it."

As she said this, the Sister-in-law skillfully peeled a shrimp and brought it directly to Zhao Xiaoshuai's lips.

Perhaps their coordination wasn't great, as this bite almost took off half of the Sister-in-law's finger.

Fortunately, he didn't use force, so it was basically like a suck, and the Sister-in-law didn't mind, calmly pulling her hand back.

Seeming not to find a tissue, she casually sucked her fingers clean before picking up her chopsticks.

After finishing this meal—which was clearly made up of very light dishes—Zhao Xiaoshuai felt a bit "heated."

After helping the Sister-in-law wash the dishes, Zhao Xiaoshuai hurriedly took his leave.

After seeing her brother-in-law off, Chu Xinyi returned to the room, put on her long pants, and put her binding back on.

Finally, she sat comfortably at the desk, opened the world classic on the table, and began reading it with great relish.