Chapter 114: Eating Fish?
Chapter 114: Eating Fish?
The internet was buzzing with news about Chen Mo everywhere. Chen Mo had become a celebrity. Every app that showed news had stories about Chen Mo. Within just half a day, Chen Mo, the Chairman of Army Ant, became almost as famous as Zhao Min. People called him many titles: genius, youngest billionaire, perfect boyfriend, and more.
Some were even bold enough to confess their feelings on Army Ant’s official Weibo, which caused a lot of discussion. Meanwhile, the person everyone was talking about was at the supermarket with Xiaoyu.
“Didn’t you say you were staying at the dorm these days?”
“Now I understand why you keep a low profile,” Xiaoyu said with a bitter smile, placing a box of vegetables into the shopping cart. “Those girls are more complicated than I thought. The girls in my dorm were bothered so much by other classmates yesterday that we could only find peace by turning off the lights and going to sleep.”
“What did they do?” Chen Mo asked curiously.
“After our relationship got out, they all wanted me to ask you out to hang out together. You can guess what might happen next, right?” Xiaoyu said.
“I really don’t know. What would happen?” Chen Mo laughed.
“They’d chop you up and eat you.” Xiaoyu glared at him slightly. “Do you want to go?”
“Not at all,” Chen Mo quickly shook his head.
“We’re not really close to them either. They suddenly came over and made things awkward in our dorm. Then today, Ruoxi told me not to come back to the dorm, so I got kicked out. I’m like an abandoned child now. Won’t you take me in?” Xiaoyu said.
She never expected so much trouble after her relationship with Chen Mo became public. First, there were all kinds of news, then endless phone calls. When she went back to the dorm, people kept bothering her to get to Chen Mo. Before, nothing like this ever happened.
“Of course I’ll take you in. It’s even better this way—at least I don’t have to cook for myself, and someone can wash my stinky socks.”
“Do you really see me as your nanny?” Xiaoyu was both annoyed and amused by his attitude. “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll go buy it now.”
“Fish.”
“Then let’s go buy…”
Xiaoyu paused, feeling something was off. She turned and saw Chen Mo’s mischievous gaze. Suddenly understanding, her ears turned red, and she whispered, “Why are you looking at me like that if you want to eat fish?”
After saying that, she hurried off toward the fresh market as if escaping.
Watching Xiaoyu’s retreating figure, Chen Mo smiled softly and followed with the shopping cart.
As they wandered around the fresh market, Xiaoyu seemed distracted. She stopped in front of a fish stall and finally snapped out of it. “Boss, how much for this fish?”
“12 yuan per pound, young lady. You have a good eye. These are the best fish here. Let me pick the biggest one for you.”
The woman at the fish stall beamed when she saw Xiaoyu and reached into the bucket to grab a fish.
“Boss, we don’t need one that big. We can’t finish it. Half would be enough, or a smaller one. We prefer small fish,” Chen Mo quickly said.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a pain on his foot—Xiaoyu had stepped on it.
Xiaoyu didn’t dare look at Chen Mo directly, but her flushed face gave her away.
“Did I say something wrong? We’ve bought so many vegetables already. If we get such a big fish too, we really won’t be able to eat it all. What a waste… I’m sorry.” Feeling the pressure under her foot, Chen Mo quickly whispered an apology near Xiaoyu’s ear.
“Alright then, I’ll give you this smaller one.” The boss lady smiled knowingly at their intimate behavior. “Young man, not many girls know how to cook fish these days. You should cherish her.”
“I will,” Chen Mo replied with a smile.
On the way back after buying the fish, Xiaoyu’s cheeks were still flushed, and she kept her head down without speaking. As soon as they entered the villa, she rushed to the kitchen. Seeing her like that, Chen Mo grinned and followed her in.
“What kind of fish do you like the most?” Chen Mo asked while washing vegetables.
“I like all kinds. My dad runs a fishing boat. Every time he comes back from sea, he brings lots of fish. I’ve loved eating fish since I was little,” Xiaoyu said.
“My aunt’s family also runs a fishing boat. They often give us fish when they return. But since I’ve been away studying these past few years, I rarely get to eat it,” Chen Mo said.
When Xiaoyu heard Chen Mo mention his aunt, she remembered the blind date from last time and smiled.
“What are you laughing at?” Chen Mo asked, confused.
“Laughing at you for being as dumb as this dead fish.” Xiaoyu rolled her eyes at him and continued preparing the fish.
“How am I dumb?” Chen Mo was speechless. “If I were this fish, I’d come back to life and say, ‘We grew from the same root, why rush to fry each other?'”
“Should I put you in the pan and fry you?”
“Never mind,” Chen Mo immediately declined.
Soon, the meal was ready. For two people, there was quite a lot of food—one more fish than usual.
Looking at the steaming dishes on the table, Chen Mo showed a relaxed smile. This kind of simple life was pretty good. But when he looked at Xiaoyu, he noticed she was avoiding his gaze.
Throughout the meal, Xiaoyu didn’t say much, as if she was thinking about something. As soon as she finished eating, she put down her bowl and chopsticks and hurried back to her room.
Night grew deeper under the call of the starlight.
Inside the villa, Chen Mo sat on the sofa, quietly reading news on his phone. There were some articles about him, describing his life or interesting stories from his school days.
Chen Mo laughed to himself. If he didn’t read these stories, he wouldn’t even know he had experienced them.
Earlier, he tried to enter the room but was chased out by Xiaoyu. Left with no choice, he sat in the living room browsing news. Just as he was reading, the door suddenly opened.
Xiaoyu came out wearing a nightgown, her hair still wet, and sat on the sofa. Her face was still slightly flushed, and she fiddled with the hem of her nightgown, lost in thought.
Xiaoyu looked especially cute in her nervous state. Chen Mo’s gaze softened as he stared straight at her.
“Have you looked enough? Help me dry my hair.” Xiaoyu didn’t dare meet his eyes, and her voice trembled slightly.
“Oh, sure.”
Realizing he had been staring, Chen Mo snapped out of it and quickly fetched the hairdryer to dry Xiaoyu’s hair.
Whenever Xiaoyu washed her hair and Chen Mo was around, he would dry it for her. It had become a small but essential part of their life together.
But never before had she felt so tense. Even the first time Chen Mo dried her hair, she wasn’t this stiff.
Chen Mo’s meaning today was too obvious. She tried to pretend she didn’t understand, but she couldn’t hide it.
“Are you nervous?” Chen Mo asked gently.
“Don’t ask.” Xiaoyu became even more nervous at his question.
“If you’re not ready, I can wait,” Chen Mo said while drying her hair.
“No… that’s not it.” Xiaoyu stammered, “You dummy, stop asking.” She was so flustered she didn’t know what she was thinking.
“Okay, I won’t ask.” Chen Mo smiled and quietly continued drying her hair.
The sound of the hairdryer and Chen Mo’s hands slowly eased Xiaoyu’s tension, and her body relaxed.
But as soon as the hairdryer stopped, her nervousness returned, and she stiffened again.
When she came back to her senses, she saw Chen Mo’s face with a mischievous grin.
“Alright, now this little fish is mine. I’m going to eat you until not even the bones are left.” Chen Mo picked Xiaoyu up in his arms and carried her toward the bedroom.
Xiaoyu’s mind went blank. She forgot to struggle and let Chen Mo carry her, burying her head in his shoulder. She knew this day would come eventually.
The moment they entered the bedroom, Chen Mo leaned down and kissed her. Just as Xiaoyu gave up resisting and Chen Mo was about to take the next step, his phone suddenly rang.
“Brother Mo, you have a call.”