Chapter 48: Is she virtuous?

Sitting on the sofa, Bai Yun’s mind was filled with Lu Weizhu’s smile, and she found herself feeling a little strange.

“…Ah…this is crazy.”

She had always liked seeing pretty girls smile before, but this was the first time she couldn’t stop thinking about one.

Bai Yun got up and walked toward the Kitchen.

Under the pure white light, the young girl was busy in front of the cabinet.

The Chef’s Knife and Cutting Board collided, producing a series of crisp sounds.

Watching the girl’s busy back, Bai Yun pursed her lips.

She returned to the sofa, bored out of her mind, and simply took out her Mobile Phone to scroll through some videos.

Although she really wanted to help, it felt a little too rude to reject someone’s goodwill.

Time passed by the second.

There were many ingredients bought today, and compared to takeout, cooking herself was indeed a bit time-consuming.

The good news was that Lu Weizhu didn’t find it boring.

She liked cooking.

After a while, a delicious aroma began wafting from the Kitchen.

Lu Weizhu started bringing out the dishes one after another.

“Dinner’s ready.”

She placed the last plate of Chili Oil Fish on the Marble Round Table, then looked over at Bai Yun sitting on the sofa.

“Mm, okay.”

Bai Yun nodded.

Her mind was completely off the phone; she couldn’t even remember what she had been watching.

Sitting on the chair, Bai Yun looked at the Marble Round Table before her.

There were many dishes on the table, but they were mostly homestyle.

Things like Stir-fried Beef and Sour and Spicy Shredded Potato.

The most eye-catching was a large bowl of Chicken and a fish covered with Chili and Peppercorns.

“Hmm…smells so good.”

She sniffed, squinting her eyes.

Turning her head to look at Lu Weizhu who was tidying her sleeves by the side, a word suddenly popped into Bai Yun’s mind—dutiful.

That was probably the word to describe Lu Weizhu.

“…All yours…”

Having been complimented, Lu Weizhu scratched her head shyly and gave a goofy smile.

She was genuinely happy; she liked being praised, liked this feeling of recognition.

“Sorry, I don’t know how to make many things, so these are just simple home dishes. I hope you don’t mind, Yun-jie.”

Lu Weizhu patted her sleeves and sat down, sitting across from Bai Yun with one chair in between.

“How could I mind? Weizhu, you’re already amazing. You’ll probably be a very dutiful wife someday.”

Bai Yun didn’t think much of it and instinctively said something that would be considered praise by ordinary people.

As for why she said ‘wife’ and not ‘husband’…judging from Lu Weizhu’s goofy expression, Bai Yun didn’t see her as the dominant type.

“D…”

A barely audible sigh escaped.

For some reason, the thought of Lu Weizhu getting married one day made Bai Yun’s chest feel tight.

Her voice was very soft, and she didn’t think Lu Weizhu would hear it.

“…A dutiful wife, huh…”

In fact, Lu Weizhu’s attention was fully caught by those words: ‘dutiful wife’.

The smile on her face dimmed as she lowered her head.

She didn’t think she deserved to be anyone’s wife.

Someone like her, who had fallen so far, having a trustworthy friend was enough.

She didn’t dare to hope for more.

If she married someone, wouldn’t that be too unfair to that person?

So it was better for her to rot alone in the mud ditch.

Thinking about these unhappy things, but with Bai Yun still here, Lu Weizhu tried not to show her self-pity.

She still smiled, but the smile was faint.

“Hm? Why the long face? Weizhu is definitely very dutiful! Or do you want to be someone’s husband instead?”

Bai Yun didn’t think the word ‘dutiful’ was wrong, so the problem could only lie with the word ‘wife’ behind it.

Somehow, Bai Yun felt a little nervous and unconsciously clenched her left hand.

She waited for Lu Weizhu’s answer.

“……”

Lu Weizhu opened her mouth.

“It’s not that, and I’m not unhappy either.”

She shook her head.

“Mm, mm.”

Bai Yun’s heart that had been stuck in her throat finally relaxed.

She nodded repeatedly but still felt worried and didn’t dare to ask further.

Forcing questions against someone’s will, digging into everything, would probably just annoy them.

“Yun-jie, let’s eat first, or the food will get cold. I worked really hard to make it.”

Lu Weizhu changed the subject, handing Bai Yun a Bowl of Rice.

“Mm, okay.”

Taking the opportunity, Bai Yun accepted the rice.

She picked up her Chopsticks and grabbed a piece of fish.

The fish skin was covered in chili and peppercorns that had been fried once, looking very tempting.

“Hmm…delicious.”

Bai Yun chewed a few times and swallowed the fish.

The aroma lingered on her lips and teeth.

Though it was homestyle food, it already tasted quite good.

Squinting her eyes, Bai Yun picked out a Fish Bone.

She quite liked dishes with bold flavors.

“Hmm, as long as Yun-jie likes it.”

Resting her chin on her hand, Lu Weizhu watched Bai Yun eat.

After watching quietly for a while, she started picking at the dishes herself.

It had been a while since she last cooked, so Lu Weizhu wasn’t sure if her skills had declined.

After eating a piece of beef, she squinted her eyes.

Her cooking hadn’t changed.

“By the way, Weizhu, why haven’t I seen little Wei Yu?”

Uncomfortable with the quiet atmosphere and wanting to talk more with Lu Weizhu, Bai Yun struck up a conversation.

“Ah…Wei Yu…her stomach isn’t well, so she can’t eat these kinds of things.”

Lu Weizhu sounded a little regretful.

Why?

Why was it Wei Yu who was sick and not her?

And why was it their parents who died years ago, not her?

Lu Weizhu clenched her Chopsticks tightly.

Compared to Chopsticks, human flesh and skin were fragile; her thumb was hurting.

“I’ll make something special for Wei Yu later.”

Her momentary resentment vanished, and Lu Weizhu smiled.

It had been out of necessity that Wei Yu had to eat takeout before.

After all, she didn’t have the means to rent a nearby place to cook, nor the time.

It was only because she now had two patrons that she could afford to handle this.

Her thoughts drifted further away, and Lu Weizhu didn’t know whether she should hate them.

The pain was real. Without them, her sister would have died too — that was also real.

“Weizhu, Weizhu?”

Bai Yun’s voice pulled Lu Weizhu back from her thoughts.

“Ah…sorry, Yun-jie, I was thinking about the past and got distracted.”

Lu Weizhu shook her head.

She felt a bit embarrassed.

Rubbing the tip of her nose, she felt apologetic.

This meal was prepared out of gratitude, but she ended up bringing Bai Yun a lot of unhappiness.

“No need to apologize, it’s nothing.”

Seeing Lu Weizhu’s apologetic face, Bai Yun hurried to comfort her.

The girl in front of her always blamed herself over trivial matters.

Bai Yun thought again of the melancholy on the girl’s face before.

She wanted to know her past.

While feeling a bit heartbroken, Bai Yun was curious about Lu Weizhu’s history.

But right now, could she ask questions that might cause the girl pain?

Did she have the right to expose her wounds?

Bai Yun pushed those thoughts aside for the time being.

“Weizhu, please don’t always blame yourself. Many things really don’t matter.”

After a long pause, Bai Yun spoke again.

“Smile more.”

“You’re beautiful when you smile.”

Bai Yun didn’t say the last sentence out loud.