"Could you both kindly enlighten me on what exactly you said to that Miss An this morning to make her so hell-bent on moving in with us?" Xiang Ri repeated his inquiry over lunch.
Chu Chu set down her chopsticks with a nonchalant air. "That's a private matter between women. Why are you prying into things you don't need to know?"
"Women?" Xiang Ri raised an eyebrow, his expression growing amused. "Do you still consider that peculiar creature to be a woman?"
"Go to hell!" Chu Chu shot him a glare, but her expression quickly softened into one of mild exasperation. "An An may have her quirks, but she's still a girl at heart. I don't see why a grown man like you has to stoop to her level."
"But are you two genuinely okay with her moving in? You do realize she'll disrupt our peaceful lives, right, Chu Chu?" Xiang Ri protested, clearly against the idea of Miss An joining their household.
He couldn't shake the ominous premonition that her arrival would spell the end of his marital bliss. Yet, for reasons he couldn't fathom, both ladies seemed fully supportive of the arrangement.
Chu Chu, seemingly oblivious to the undertones of his objection, shrugged carelessly. "It's no big deal. We've already prepared everything. She can use the room Mom stayed in last time."
"Well, since you've both made up your minds, there's nothing more for me to say." Resigned, Xiang Ri sighed deeply, then stroked his chin in mock contemplation. "Though, I can't help but feel like we're inviting a wolf into our home."
Being likened to "inviting a wolf into the fold" clearly struck a nerve with Chu Chu. She jabbed a finger at him, her tone teasingly indignant. "If we're talking wolves, you're the real big bad one! That night, you promised to stay fifty centimeters away from me..."
She trailed off abruptly, her words cut short by a deliberate cough from Shi Qing, who had been quietly focused on her meal.
Realizing what she was about to blurt out, Chu Chu froze, her face flushing an alarming shade of crimson. Embarrassed at almost revealing such a mortifying detail, she wished fervently for the earth to swallow her whole. Thank goodness they were at home and not in public—any other scenario would have been utterly unbearable. Her mortification turned to fury as she kicked Xiang Ri hard under the table, her eyes shooting daggers at him as a warning.
"Ow, that hurts!" Xiang Ri yanked his leg back with dramatic flair, feigning pain with such skill that even the triumphant Chu Chu fell for it.
She huffed dismissively and turned away, deciding to ignore him entirely.
Seeing her reaction, Xiang Ri knew the storm had passed. He couldn't help but feel elated, already contemplating how to milk the situation for sympathy. However, his train of thought was interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone.
Chu Chu's ears perked up instantly, her earlier resolve to ignore him flying out the window as her eyes gleamed with suspicion. Even Shi Qing paused mid-meal, her gaze laced with an unspoken but palpable threat.
Xiang Ri briefly considered stepping away to answer the call but quickly dismissed the idea, fearing it would only arouse more suspicion. With a silent prayer that it wasn't a certain female police officer calling, he reluctantly pulled out his phone.
If it did turn out to be her, he resolved to pretend it was a wrong number, no matter how much it might incense her. Better to deal with her wrath later than to face the fury of the two women glaring daggers at him now.
Xiang Ri's worries were clearly unfounded. The moment he saw the name on his phone screen, he exhaled in relief. It wasn't the policewoman but rather a certain "shameless woman" calling.
"My dear nephew, are you ready to charm your way through this for me?" came a flirtatious voice from the other end.
"Cut the nonsense. Where are you? I'll head over right now," Xiang Ri snapped. He hadn't forgotten the favor this so-called "auntie" had mentioned yesterday—a task that involved him playing the villain to break up a couple.
"Why the rush?" she teased, her tone dripping with insinuation. "You already have so many girlfriends, yet you're still this eager? Then again, I can't blame you. My friend's daughter really is stunning..."
"One more word, and I'll hang up," Xiang Ri interrupted sharply, unwilling to waste his time on her idle banter.
"You brat! Is that any way to speak to your elder?" she huffed before lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Fine, I'll tell you. It's at the Blue Ocean Sky Restaurant on Changchun Street. But listen, don't mess this up for me, or I can't guarantee I'll keep certain things to myself..."
*Click.* Xiang Ri ended the call without waiting for her to finish.
"Xiang Kui, what was that about?" Chu Chu asked as she noticed him putting down the phone. Although she'd discerned it was a woman on the other end, his curt attitude had dispelled most of her suspicions.
"It's just a minor errand. I need to head out right now," Xiang Ri said as he stood to leave.
But Shi Qing, ever the helpful instigator, added with a knowing smile, "That sounded like a woman on the phone, didn't it? Teacher, could it be that this errand is particularly *important*?" She emphasized the last word with a pointed look.
As expected, Chu Chu's curiosity was immediately piqued. Her gaze turned suspicious as she studied him. "Oh, really, Xiang Kui? If it's something so *important*, why don't we come along? Maybe we can help."
Xiang Ri shot a withering glare at his meddlesome apprentice before turning to Chu Chu with an exaggeratedly pained expression. "Chu Chu, this is something you can't help with. Look, it was my aunt on the phone. You remember, she mentioned yesterday that she needed me to do her a favor. Now she's calling to remind me about it."
"Oh, so that's it!" Chu Chu nodded, recalling that the voice on the phone had indeed sounded familiar. Combined with Xiang Ri's obviously disgruntled tone, she was convinced he was telling the truth. Satisfied, she waved him off without further interrogation.
Feeling like he'd been granted a pardon, Xiang Ri darted for the door, narrowly escaping just as his mischievous apprentice seemed ready to say more. Before she could get another word in, he slipped out and shut the door behind him.