Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 63

"The food today... isn't to your liking either?" Dugu Xihui put down his bowl and asked with a frown.

"It's alright," Zi Jin replied, her eyes fixed on the rice bowl in front of her.

"I received the message that she has already set off and is heading this way."

"Oh." Zi Jin's voice didn't show much emotion, but her heart was in turmoil. She had never imagined that Yu Luo would come to save her. When she abandoned her, she had forgotten all their past affection, only thinking about how Yu Luo had deceived her. Now that she was in danger, Yu Luo was still willing to come. How could she not feel guilty? How could she not feel ashamed?

"You cannot die before she arrives." After saying this, Dugu Xihui picked up a piece of tofu and put it into Zi Jin's bowl.

Zi Jin stared blankly at the tofu in the bowl, finally understanding why Dugu Xihui insisted on eating dinner with her every day. He must have thought she rarely ate and was on a hunger strike. How could he have come up with such a thing? Why hadn't she thought of it herself?

Dugu Xihui was furious to see Zi Jin staring blankly at the tofu in her bowl without touching it. She had already condescended to serve her food; what more did she want?

Although Zi Jin didn't look up, she could feel the sudden change in the atmosphere around her. She sighed inwardly, picked up her chopsticks again, frowned, picked up a piece of tofu, put it in her mouth, and chewed it little by little.

Dugu Xihui unconsciously raised his eyebrows, then continued eating his white rice.

Zi Jin looked up and was stunned when she saw the food on the table. The table was full of vegetables and tofu, with not a single piece of meat. No wonder he had been eating plain rice all day. She had been eating with him for days and had never seen him eat a single vegetable. She knew he was an obsessive picky eater. Now that he had changed the entire menu, he probably thought she preferred something light, so he replaced all the fish and meat on the table.

Zi Jin lowered her eyes, feeling the pain in her chest intensify, and her breathing became labored. She reached out, hesitated for a moment, picked up a piece of green vegetable from the table, paused again, and quietly placed it in Dugu Xihui's bowl. Then she quickly put her chopsticks back down, lowered her head, and pretended to be busy eating her rice.

Dugu Xihui paused for a moment, but did not say anything. She placed the green vegetable on the other side of the bowl and continued eating her rice.

Zi Jin secretly glanced up and saw Dugu Xihui's actions. She was furious and, without thinking, picked up another piece of green vegetable and quickly put it into Dugu Xihui's bowl. Her wide eyes stared at Dugu Xihui's every move.

Dugu Xihui didn't look up, calmly placed the vegetables on the other side of the bowl, and continued eating her white rice.

Zi Jin was furious! She stood up abruptly, walked to Dugu Xi Hui's side, picked up the greenest vegetable on the table, and put it to Dugu Xi Hui's lips.

Dugu Xihui's beautiful eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the green vegetables in front of her, then looked at Zi Jin's uncompromising expression, and actually put the vegetables in her mouth.

Zi Jin chuckled smugly: "Little white rabbit, white and white, loves to eat carrots and vegetables..." Before she finished singing, she saw Dugu Xihui's face turn pale and then flushed, and he couldn't decide whether to spit out or swallow the vegetables in his mouth.

Zi Jin shrank back, only then remembering her identity. She quickly returned to her seat and stole a glance, only to see Dugu Xihui staring at her with a strange expression. She guiltily raised her head: "I'm doing this for your own good. You're different from others; you've always been weak and don't like to eat vegetables..."

Zi Jin froze on the spot, not understanding what she was saying. How could these words have been said so casually? Besides, although she knew that Dugu Xihui was extremely picky about food, she had absolutely no idea that Dugu Xihui had a poor constitution. Where did this come from? Where did this come from?

Dugu Xihui looked at Zi Jin in shock, seemingly unconsciously chewing the food in her mouth, her eyes blank. Only after she finished the whole vegetable did her eyes gradually clear, slowly becoming tinged with a deep anger. He suddenly stood up and looked sharply at Lou Shuo.

Lou Shuo stepped forward, knelt down, and fearlessly met Dugu Xihui's murderous gaze: "This subordinate did not presume to judge the master's right and wrong, please investigate thoroughly, master!"

Dugu Xihui turned to look at Zi Jin, his gaze sharp as a knife, making Zi Jin feel like she was in deep trouble.

Zi Jin, the coward, shrank back, not daring to admit that she seemed to have known all along: "This... well, your skin is too... pale. I've read a few medical books since I was little... I didn't mean anything by it. If you don't want to... I promise I won't say anything more next time. I promise... umm... I promise Yu Luo, okay?"

Upon hearing the words "fish fall," Dugu Xihui's raging anger seemed to vanish instantly. He lowered his eyes, sat back down, picked up the bowl on the table, and stared blankly at the vegetables inside.

"Hui'er, you've been weak since you were little, how can you compare to him? If you eat more vegetables, you'll definitely grow up to be a hundred times more handsome than him. Come on, my good Hui'er, eat some more." The woman smiled sweetly, her voice as gentle as a pool of spring water.

Dugu Xihui abruptly threw down the bowl in her hand, slumped dejectedly into the chair, closed her eyes tightly, and furrowed her beautiful brows, as if longing, reminiscing, or grieving.

Startled, Zi Jin quickly stood up from her chair, jumped a step away, and looked at Lou Shuo for help. Lou Shuo ignored her and remained kneeling in place.

At Lou Shuo's signal, the servants went in and out, tidying up the table and setting out tea and snacks. Dugu Xihui seemed to be asleep, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed.

Everyone left, but Dugu Xihui showed no intention of opening his eyes. Lou Shuo knelt to the side, quite pleased with himself. Zi Jin had once again experienced the bitterness of being caught in an undeserved disaster and the capriciousness of Dugu Xihui, so she naturally did not want to stay any longer. She breathed slowly, suppressing the pain in her chest, and moved little by little toward the door, afraid of being noticed by the two of them.

As the door drew closer, Zi Jin's face lit up with joy, and she practically held her breath as she moved closer.

"Bring the wine," Dugu Xihui said softly, his brows furrowed.

Lou Shuo suddenly looked up at Dugu Xihui: "It is springtime now, and since you are suffering from a chronic illness, you should not drink alcohol."

"Bring the wine." The voice grew slightly louder, leaving no room for argument or compromise.

Zi Jin remained rooted to the spot, not daring to move, for fear of being noticed by the two.

Lou Shuo glanced in the direction where Zi Jin was standing and winked at her, but Zi Jin shook her head vigorously.

Lou Shuo narrowed his eyes slightly and glared at Zi Jin threateningly.

Zi Jin raised her head and gave a light "humph," continuing to move outwards: "Given your repeated ignoring, failing to help those in distress, kicking someone when they're down, and gloating over their misfortune, only a fool would stab himself twice for you."

Lou Shuo shook his head slightly and casually threw an unidentified object, which hit Zi Jin's leg as she was about to leave the house.

Caught off guard, Zi Jin stumbled forward two steps and fell with a thud not far from Dugu Xihui. She lay there, annoyed, looking at Lou Shuo's smiling eyes: A scoundrel! A complete scoundrel!

Dugu Xihui opened his eyes and glanced at Zi Jin, who was lying in front of him with a pained expression: "Go get the wine."

Zi Jin immediately stood up, her smile unusually humble and obsequious, bowing and scraping: "Yes, yes, yes, I'll go right now, right away, right away." After saying that, she immediately ran towards the door.

"Come back." Dugu Xihui opened her eyes and looked at Zi Jin's fleeing figure. She felt extremely annoyed. She thought that Zi Jin would definitely try to stop her, but she did not expect that Zi Jin's eagerness to escape would make Dugu Xihui feel annoyed, but she did not know how to express it.

Zi Jin stood still, slowly turned around, and put on the most harmless expression, afraid of being caught in the crossfire: "Do you need anything else?"

Dugu Xihui's usually calm eyes flashed with a hint of anger: "No need!"

Zi Jin turned and ran wildly, reaching the end of the corridor in one breath. She plopped down on a stone bench by the railing, rubbing her chest and panting heavily. It took her a long time to calm the intense pain in her chest.

While Young Master Jinyang is indeed terrifying, my attitude towards him is too strange. What's wrong with me?

Ming was terrified of the pain, yet she shielded him from the whip without hesitation; Ming was afraid of upsetting Xile, but she almost severed her long-standing friendship with Xile to protect him; Ming was under house arrest, yet she wasn't afraid at all, and even felt certain deep down that he wouldn't really hurt her; Ming was afraid of him, but when she saw him self-harming, she felt a pang of guilt for his willfulness and a slight pang of heartache.

It's so bizarre, it's gone too far, it's crossed the line, and I have to be on guard.

"Guard Lou instructed me to deliver this wine to you." In the dim light of the corridor, a servant-dressed man stood respectfully before Zi Jin, holding a jar of wine.

Zi Jin stared blankly around, then realized the servant was talking to her. In her heart, she cursed Lou Shuo for being inhuman: "Why do you have to send it yourself?"