Chapter 82

Shen’s mother did not object to the two of them moving out, and even helped them find a suitable house.

Shen Yao Xing had gone to see that house, located in the northern district of the capital, quite far from the bustling streets, requiring a walk of several blocks to reach.

Although the location was a bit remote, Shen Yao Xing was very satisfied because it was quiet enough. Moreover, the house faced south with its back to the north, providing good lighting and ventilation. As for the interior size, it was already too spacious for two people.

Before moving in, Shen Yao Xing had people tidy up the house first. Only after ensuring everything was in order did she move in with her belongings.

Throwing two large bags of luggage onto the bed in the bedroom, Shen Yao Xing began hanging her clothes on the wooden rack, not forgetting to remind the person surveying the environment, “Pack your own things, I won’t help you.”

Jiang Ming Yue glanced faintly at the neatly folded clothes on the bed, then shifted his gaze to survey various parts of the room again.

Although not as large as the Shen mansion, it was clean and looked pleasing to the eye.

Thinking this, Jiang Ming Yue walked to the bed and began to arrange his own clothes with his jade-white long fingers.

After organizing her own things, Shen Yao Xing didn’t bother with him and ran out excitedly. She remembered there was a pond here, which was the most scenic spot in the house.

As the young woman’s figure disappeared, Jiang Ming Yue paused in arranging his clothes. His jet-black eyes turned slightly, falling on the small bundle at the head of the bed. The bundle’s color matched that of the bed, making it easy to overlook.

Inside was wrapped her undergarments. She always disliked putting those intimate clothes together with other garments and usually placed them separately.

Perhaps she had forgotten in her excitement.

Jiang Ming Yue put down his half-arranged clothes, walked over to open the small bundle, and took out a fire-red undergarment embroidered with a small water lily. The soft texture was irresistible.

The undergarment was still entwined with the young woman’s unique sweet fragrance.

Thinking of something, a faint blush tinged Jiang Ming Yue’s fair earlobes. His thin lips curled into a sweet smile as he took the few undergarments and arranged them neatly on another carved wooden rack.

After finishing, he went out following the path the young woman had taken. Turning past a small path paved with pebbles, he saw from afar that the young woman was crouching outside the pavilion, one hand gripping the railing, the other reaching into the pond water, seemingly trying to catch something.

Jiang Ming Yue’s brows furrowed slightly as he walked slowly into the pavilion.

“What are you doing?”

Focused on her task, Shen Yao Xing replied absent-mindedly: “Catching fish.”

“What for?” Jiang Ming Yue’s eyes fell on her wrist, slightly covered with duckweed, his words full of disdain: “Get up quickly, the water is dirty.”

“If you think it’s dirty, then don’t eat it.” Shen Yao Xing glanced back at him and said, “There are no servants to wait on you in this house now. Don’t you know you have to cook for yourself if you want to eat?”

Shen Yao Xing was quite excited about this self-reliant experience, but excitement aside, it was better to clarify the division of labor.

“Later, you can be in charge of lighting the fire for cooking!”

Jiang Ming Yue seemed to have heard some terrible news, his exceptionally handsome face showing undisguised disdain, “That would dirty my clothes.”

“Oh, then you can do the stir-frying.”

The man still looked disgusted, “It would make my body smell.”

Huh, how fucking fussy.

Shen Yao Xing rolled her eyes, her hand in the water suddenly moved swiftly, and a lively carp was pulled out of the water. She stood up and stepped into the pavilion, her sharp eyes noticing the man take a step back.

She kept a straight face and shook the flapping fish, “Then you’re in charge of killing the fish.”

Killing people was Jiang Ming Yue’s forte, but killing this smelly, dirty thing was something he was utterly unwilling to do.

Extremely reluctant, Jiang Ming Yue chose to light the fire.

They needed to prepare dinner. They had already eaten lunch before moving into the house. Dry firewood was already prepared in the woodshed, and rice and seasonings had been placed in the kitchen the day before they moved in.

Feeling the dishes weren’t enough, Shen Yao Xing specially went out to buy some vegetables and meat. The stove for lighting the fire was a bit low, requiring one to half-squat to light it.

Shen Yao Xing thoughtfully brought him firewood, saying to the person standing far away, “Hurry and light the fire, it’ll be dark soon if we’re any later.”

Actually, she was holding back laughter, really wanting to see the usually high and mighty, disdainful young master lower himself to squat in front of the stove to light the fire.

Jiang Ming Yue looked at her coldly and walked over slowly.

A quarter of an hour passed.

The fire hadn’t been lit, but the kitchen was full of rolling smoke. Shen Yao Xing, holding a spatula, saw that the oil in the wok hadn’t even heated up, yet she was almost coughing her lungs out from the smoke.

She quickly pulled the person still producing smoke and ran out. Only after breathing fresh air did she lean against the wall to relieve her stinging eyes.

At this moment, Jiang Ming Yue’s expression was still indifferent, as if the thick smoke had no effect on him at all. Only his fair face was somehow smudged with a streak of black, adding a touch of incongruity to his cold and noble aura.

Like an immortal from the ninth heaven tainted by earthly smoke, he looked even more captivating than his usual aloof appearance.

Unfortunately, Shen Yao Xing wasn’t in the mood to appreciate this. She angrily pointed the spatula at him, mercilessly criticizing, “You seem so smart usually, how come you can’t even light a fire!? I could do better with my foot than you. Is this lighting a fire? This is fumigating mosquitoes!”

“Let’s switch, you stir-fry and I’ll light…”

Before she could finish, the person in front of her had already turned and left, leaving her with only a cold back and an icy statement.

“Since you claim to be so capable, just do it yourself then.”

Shen Yao Xing watched his gradually disappearing figure, the back of her hand holding the spatula bulging with blue veins.

In fact, she really couldn’t manage alone. Lighting a fire in that small space was different from doing it outdoors. Just as a small flame was lit, it would go out when she looked up.

Finally, when the fire burned strong, she faced another problem looking at the huge pot on the stove.

This was her first time cooking in this world, and without any lessons, the method she used for roasting wild game wouldn’t work. She could only stir-fry chaotically, adding seasonings at random.

When the dishes came out of the wok, they were black and greasy, looking unappetizing.

After serving the dishes, Jiang Ming Yue stood in front of the dining table, raising his sleeve to cover his nose, his gaze disdainfully surveying the few dishes, “Is this pig feed you’ve made?”

Shen Yao Xing felt as if an invisible arrow had pierced her heart. The veins on her forehead bulged as she glared at him with narrowed eyes, gritting her teeth: “If you’re so disgusted, then don’t eat.”

“I had no intention of eating.”

“……”

In the end, they both went out to eat. When they returned, Shen Yao Xing bought several cookbooks from the street, the kind with pictures.

At night, after bathing, the two were each reading in different parts of the bedroom. Shen Yao Xing sat by the desk on the left side, with a candle lit on the shelf behind her right shoulder. In her hand was the newly bought cookbook.

Jiang Ming Yue, on the other hand, was leaning against the bed on the other side of the bedroom.

Apart from the occasional sound of turning pages, there was no other noise.

Jiang Ming Yue slightly turned his eyes, his gaze drifting towards the somewhat hazy figure in the candlelight.

A moment later, he leisurely stood up, put down his book and took the Floating Snow sword hanging on the wall. Drawing out the frost-emitting blade, his black eyes surveyed the sword body, murmuring, “Tomorrow, you’ll accompany me in sword practice.”

“I’ll practice your hammer,” Shen Yao Xing inwardly retorted, her eyes not leaving the book, “I’m very busy now, we’ll talk about tomorrow’s matters tomorrow.”

Jiang Ming Yue slowly walked towards her with the sword. He rarely held the sword these days, except when accompanying the young woman in her sword practice. At other times, the sword was just like a decoration in the bedroom.

Whenever this person held a sword, the malevolent aura around him would surge. The sword body, emitting a faint glow, seemed to be dripping with blood in a trance.

Shen Yao Xing shuddered and looked up to glare at him: “What are you doing?”

Although she knew he wouldn’t harm her, it was still scary to see this late at night.

Jiang Ming Yue came to stand in front of her, looking down at her, his gaze sweeping over the book in her hands, “What are you reading?”

As he spoke, the sharp sword returned to its sheath. He casually put the sword aside and sat down next to the young woman.

Shen Yao Xing’s gaze returned to the book, “Reading a cookbook, otherwise that dish from today will be what you’ll have to eat in the future.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a sudden pain in the soft flesh of her waist. Shen Yao Xing gasped, rubbing the painful spot and gritting her teeth at him: “Are your hands itching?!”

Jiang Ming Yue met her gaze, his eyes flickering with entangled shyness. The offending hand suddenly began to massage that soft flesh.

This look was indeed familiar, seen almost every night.

It was precisely the meaning of seeking intimacy.

Shen Yao Xing was now so busy that she didn’t even have time to move her eyes from the book, let alone satisfy him. She perfunctorily coaxed him: “Be good, go lie on the bed first, I’ll be there in a moment.”

She then turned her back, ignoring him.

Jiang Ming Yue coldly stared at the back of her head, reaching out his long arm to snatch the book, sneering: “What use is it to read now? With your brain, you’ll forget it all by tomorrow morning. It’s better to read when you need it tomorrow.”

That sounds so reasonable, but Shen Yao Xing wasn’t happy at all.

Jiang Ming Yue tossed the book aside casually and stood up, walking towards the bed.

Shen Yao Xing, having been explicitly called stupid, stood up and strode over, rolling up her sleeves as she walked, looking fierce.

Tonight, if I don’t make you cry to heaven and earth, I’m not surnamed Shen!

Perhaps due to the change in environment, both were physically excited. By midnight, Jiang Ming Yue finally cried, only because Shen Yao Xing kept denying him release, stopping each time just before the crucial moment.

The man’s eyes, which during the day were filled with coldness, were now misty with thick tears. His reddened eye sockets continuously leaked teardrops towards the corners of his eyes as he sobbed lightly, calling her: “Zhao Zhao… it’s so uncomfortable…”

In this matter, Shen Yao Xing was not at all afraid he would resist. He seemed to be persisting in something, no matter how uncomfortable he was, he wouldn’t actively thrust his abdomen.

Shen Yao Xing looked down at him from above, puffing out her reddened cheeks, “Will you still make me accompany you for sword practice tomorrow?”

Perhaps knowing that his current appearance was too embarrassing, Jiang Ming Yue raised his arm, which had a faint pink tinge and was burning hot, to cover his watery eyes. Biting his lower lip, he reluctantly shook his head.

This made Shen Yao Xing’s heart soften a bit. She leaned down to lightly touch the corner of his lips, whispering in his ear: “If I have time after finishing my work tomorrow, I’ll accompany you.”

With that, she finally allowed him to release completely.

The next morning, Shen Yao Xing took a cookbook and bustled about in the kitchen, finally managing to prepare a breakfast that looked somewhat presentable.

At the dining table, the man had resumed his cold and aloof demeanor. Shen Yao Xing ladled a bowl of porridge for him, watching him expectantly.

Jiang Ming Yue took a sip of the porridge, glancing at her indifferently, “What taste do you expect me to discern from a bowl of plain porridge?”

Shen Yao Xing hurriedly pushed the side dishes in front of him, “Try these.”

Jiang Ming Yue obligingly tasted a mouthful, then spat it out into a prepared bowl, commenting emotionlessly: “Barely edible, yet difficult to swallow.”

“……”