Shen Wuqiu glanced at her and sat down at the dining table. "I'll have to trouble you then, Auntie."
"You're too kind. He's your friend, so naturally he's a distinguished guest in our home."
Shen Wuqiu lowered his head and ate his breakfast, not saying a word.
After breakfast, the rain stopped. Shen Wuqiu was bored at home, so she went with Uncle Zheng and the others to see the bayberry trees in Xishan.
Yesterday's rain was quite heavy, so these newly planted bayberry trees need some care.
After wandering around the bayberry grove, Shen Wuqiu returned by himself.
As a result, one of the guests who had come from afar showed no awareness of being a guest and was still not up.
It's almost noon, he's sleeping way too much.
As Shen Wuqiu thought this, she couldn't help but worry.
So as soon as she got home, she went straight to the guest room upstairs and knocked several times, but there was still no response. She then tried turning the doorknob, and the door opened.
Shen Wuqiu stood at the door and politely called out a few times. Just as she was about to go in, her room door opened, and Gu Lingyu poked her head out. "Sister, I'm here."
Shen Wuqiu frowned slightly at her impolite behavior of going to her room without saying hello, but when she met a pair of smiling eyes, she couldn't stay angry and walked over to her. "You're awake?"
"Hmm." As she approached, Gu Lingyu playfully wrapped her arms around her neck, "Where did you go, sister?"
"I just went out for a stroll." Shen Wuqiu was still a little uncomfortable with this kind of familiar intimacy. She pushed her hand away without making a sound, and when she saw that she was wearing a shirt that was practically bare, she took the shirt out for her. "Your clothes are all dry, go ahead and change."
Gu Lingyu took off her clothes right in front of her, and slowly put on her own clothes as if afraid that the person in front of her would not look at her even once.
Shen Wuqiu tried her best to appear calm and collected. "...Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"
"I want to eat braised sea bass, steamed turbot, and pan-fried yellow croaker."
"...Why are they all fish? Are you a cat?"
Gu Lingyu blurted out, "I am my sister's cat."
Shen Wuqiu took it as just childish sweet talk and didn't take it to heart. "By the way, my cat came back last night."
"I knew she'd come back, didn't I?"
How did you know?
"I just... guessed randomly."
With that, Gu Lingyu quickly ran into the restroom.
Shen Wuqiu also thought she was just making things up. After watching her go into the bathroom, she tidied up the clothes that the other person had casually thrown away and put them on the bedside table. Only then did she notice that there were four shiny little fruits there at some point.
The fruit looks like a fig, but smaller, and is bright red, almost glowing, making it very tempting.
She had never seen this kind of fruit before. Shen Wuqiu couldn't help but pick one up, put it to her nose and sniff it. Instantly, a sweet aroma wafted over her. She didn't consider herself a glutton, but at this moment she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
The more she looked at it, the more tempted she became. In the end, Shen Wuqiu couldn't resist the temptation and picked one up and put it in her mouth.
A note from the author:
Yesterday was the beginning of autumn.
Qiuqiu said she would treat someone to the first cup of milk tea of autumn.
So in this chapter, I'll be giving away 520 jjb to two lovely ladies.
The 2nd and the 20th.
Love you all, muah!
Chapter 22 The Gift
The fruit melted in her mouth the moment it entered her mouth. Apart from the sweet aroma still lingering in her nose, Shen Wuqiu didn't have time to experience any more flavors.
This... turned out to be a wasted meal.
Shen Wuqiu's lips were still slightly parted as she stared at the three remaining fruits on the counter. Reason told her that she really couldn't eat these strange fruits anymore.
But faced with the delicious-looking and fragrant little fruit, she felt completely powerless to resist it.
After a fierce struggle, reason prevailed, and she picked up another fruit.
It still melts in your mouth, so fast that her taste buds can't detect any sensation.
Shen Wuqiu refused to believe it and picked up the third one.
It's still that same loneliness that melts in your mouth.
Shen Wuqiu took a deep breath, staring at the last one; she was determined to taste the flavor of this fruit.
"Sister, why isn't it hot?"
Just as she was examining the last fruit, wondering where to start eating it, the bathroom door opened. Gu Lingyu, who came out, immediately changed her expression when she saw the small red fruit on her lips and rushed forward to snatch it.
However, as soon as she reached out, the fruit in Shen Wuqiu's hand slipped into her mouth with a slurp.
It melts in your mouth and disappears without a trace in an instant.
"..." Shen Wuqiu swore that it was indeed Guozi who started it.
They both stared at each other with wide eyes.
After a moment, Gu Lingyu slowly turned her hopeful gaze to the counter, which was now empty. Holding her breath, she mechanically moved the items on the counter one by one, but the fruits were still nowhere to be found. She knelt down again and carefully searched the gaps between the counter and under the bed...
"Well..." Shen Wuqiu realized what was happening, feeling guilty and uneasy, but still honestly said, "If you're looking for those red fruits, then don't look for them?"
Gu Lingyu, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled all over. After a while, she turned her head to look at her.
That look in his eyes was chilling.
Shen Wuqiu looked away shyly, secretly took a breath, and explained, "I didn't expect these fruits to be yours. I thought... they were a gift from my cat..."
Fearing the other party might misunderstand that she was making excuses for herself, she added, "My cat is very intelligent. She once took my dad's dried fish at home, and the next day she brought him something that looked like a ruby. Since these fruits of yours were on my bedside table, I assumed she brought them back for me on her own."
Shen Wuqiu finished speaking in one breath. These words were not her way of excusing herself. The first thought that came to her mind when she saw the fruit was that her little darling had finally had a change of heart and knew to bring her some gifts.
After waiting a long time for a response, Shen Wuqiu secretly went to look at her. Seeing that Gu Lingyu was still kneeling on the ground in the same position, she felt even more guilty. "I really didn't know this was your fruit, otherwise I would never have...eaten it..."
Shen Wuqiu clearly lacked confidence when he said that last sentence.
She herself found it strange; she was really not a glutton, but just now it was as if she were possessed.
Faced with Gu Lingyu's silence, Shen Wuqiu was completely at a loss for words.
The silence made the atmosphere even more awkward.
After a short while, Gu Lingyu, who was kneeling on the ground, finally moved her lips, "Four...four...did you eat all four?"
Although she was reluctant to admit it, Shen Wuqiu nodded with difficulty, but still tried to save face for herself, "I initially just wanted to taste it, but I couldn't taste anything... I don't even know how I ate the last one."
Gu Lingyu's upper body slumped down.
Shen Wuqiu felt even more apologetic and squatted down, "I'm sorry, I really didn't know... I've never seen this kind of fruit before, and I don't know where you got it..."
Gu Lingyu interrupted her angrily: "Of course you haven't seen it."
"..." Shen Wuqiu looked embarrassed. "Then how can I make it up to you?"
Gu Lingyu stared at her stomach.
A hot gaze can be a little embarrassing.
Shen Wuqiu turned slightly to the side. "Or, where can I buy this fruit? I can buy it for you."
"Within the Three Realms, only one of these fruits appears every hundred years. How are you going to buy it for me?"
"..." Shen Wuqiu stared at her, and it took her a while to react. "What did you just say?"
Gu Lingyu saw that she looked frightened and pouted, but the thought of all the fruit being gone made her feel extremely distressed, so she lowered her head and remained silent.
Shen Wuqiu was also upset, blaming herself for being greedy.
However, things that have already been eaten cannot be returned intact.
"How about this, you name your price?"
Hearing her vulgar words, Gu Lingyu became even angrier. "Money isn't everything. It can't buy this fruit anyway, so what's the use?"
Shen Wuqiu agreed with this, but since this kind of fruit exists in the world, it must be able to be measured by its value.
Anyway, she didn't believe the other party's nonsense about only one every hundred years. If only one every hundred years, four would take four hundred years. How were the other three preserved? They weren't gold.
The other person seemed completely unmoved by reason, which made Shen Wuqiu feel frustrated and angry. She even began to suspect that this person was trying to scam her.
"Now that I've eaten it, what do you suggest we do?"
Gu Lingyu raised her head after a long while, then placed her hand on her stomach, saying earnestly and devoutly, "You must let them grow up well here."
"..." Shen Wuqiu looked as if she had seen a ghost, and it took her several dozen seconds before she looked down at her stomach. "What do you mean by that?"
Do you know how rare this fruit is?
"..." Shouldn't the food in your stomach be digested? At this moment, Shen Wuqiu deeply realized the communication barrier between herself and the person in front of her. She took a deep breath; she didn't want to get entangled with this person any longer. "Besides this, are you sure you don't need any other compensation from me?"
"Besides this, there's nothing else you can do to compensate me."
They were talking past each other.
Shen Wuqiu stood up. "By the way, it hasn't rained much today. After dinner, I'll take you home."
Gu Lingyu, who had originally intended to stand up, immediately sat down again, looking incredulous and aggrieved: "You ate all my fruit, and now you want to kick me out?"
"..." What's the connection between these two things? Shen Wuqiu, for one, couldn't understand, but tried to reason with him from an elder's perspective:
“Your running away from home will definitely worry your parents, even if you don’t like what they’ve arranged for you… Hmm, partner, you should talk to them properly, instead of running away from home without a word. Besides, it’s not safe outside, for such a pretty young girl like you…”
"Is my sister worried about me?"
The little girl really knows how to shift the focus.
Shen Wuqiu paused, not answering her question directly. Right now, she just wanted to get the person off. "How about this, I'll take you home first. If you like our place and want to come visit, you can come after your parents find out."
Gu Lingyu shook her head, hugged her legs, and rested her head on her stomach. "Now that I've lost the fruit, I can't go home even more."
"Huh? Why? Is it a family heirloom?"
Gu Lingyu thought for a moment and nodded, "The fruit is a sacred object of the clan."