Chapter 149: Jealousy

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Goudan kept heaping more rice into the bowls. The two guards did not refuse, but Xi Nian dared not eat any more.

“Goudan, thank you, but I don’t eat much. You don’t need to give me any more.”

Goudan acted as though it had not heard him.

Xi Nian looked up at Zhong Yuxiu. “Comrade Zhong, don’t just watch. Could you say something to Goudan? It only listens to you.”

“Ahem. Goudan, Comrade Xi really doesn’t have much of an appetite. That’s enough.” Zhong Yuxiu broke into an unkindly delighted smile.

“Beep, beep, beep.”

Goudan carried the rice bowl away. Xi Nian shook his head with a laugh. Who would have imagined that in this day and age, going to someone else’s house for a meal would require worrying about overeating?

After the meal, Xi Nian stayed at the Zhong residence for a chat and took the opportunity to ask Zhong Yuxiu about her plans for the coming year.

“I know your studies are keeping you busy. I’m not trying to pressure you. But if you have any plans, you can tell me in advance.”

Plans?

At present, all she wanted was to develop the restorative fluid.

“Comrade Xi, I don’t have any particular plans for now. I’ll finish what I’m working on first. I’m busy studying medicine, so the research and development work will have to be put aside for a while. As for the future and what I’ll do, I can’t make any guarantees.” Zhong Yuxiu spoke frankly.

Xi Nian nodded in understanding. “It’s good that you have a plan. If you need anything, just call and let me know.”

“All right.” Zhong Yuxiu nodded. “By the way, I wanted to ask: The weather in the Upper Capital is so cold. After people wash their clothes, do they have any way to dry them besides roasting them over a fire?”

“No.” He knew this very well. “Even if a room has heating, few people would leave their clothes indoors to dry slowly.”

Heating could only maintain a warm, constant temperature; it could not guarantee that clothes would dry. Freshly washed garments would still drip water no matter how hard they were wrung out, and winter clothes were thick and heavy, retaining even more moisture.

Leaving wet clothes indoors for too long was harmful to one’s health.

No one who was not foolish would trade their health for a few quickly dried garments.

Having understood the situation, Zhong Yuxiu nodded lightly. “As it happens, the clothes at my house won’t dry. I want to make a dryer specifically for clothes, shoes, and things like that. Anything that can be dried can go into it to speed up the process. It’s a simple device. I’ll give you one when you come after the New Year.”

“The materials you asked me to bring were for the dryer?” Xi Nian immediately realized it after her explanation.

“That’s right.”

Xi Nian nodded. “Have a good New Year. There’s no need to hurry.”

“There’s no need to rush. It isn’t difficult. What would I be hurrying for?” She did not even need to make it herself.

Xi Nian: “…”

Sure enough, even geniuses differed from mad geniuses.

The geniuses at the research institute would not dare guarantee that they could produce experimental results in just a few days, yet Comrade Zhong, this mad genius of scientific research, could do exactly that. One could only admit defeat.

“Good luck. It won’t matter if you take a little longer.”

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Zhong, the Big Shot, Yuxiu, Underestimated: Fine, as long as you’re happy.

After chatting for quite some time, they saw that darkness had fallen. Xi Nian and the two guards took their leave. Zhong Yuxiu even invited them to stay for dinner, but they refused.

Once they had gone and she had closed the gate, she asked, “Goudan, what are we having for dinner?”

“Master, I’ve prepared several small dishes for you.” Goudan came over carrying a tray.

Yuxiu rose and went with it to the dining room. The tray held three plates of stir-fried vegetables and a pot of meat soup with three kinds of fresh ingredients. Mushrooms floated in the soup, whose base was thick and milky white. It looked appetizing just to see it.

“Master, you’ve eaten too well these past two days. If you continue eating like this for several more days, your body won’t be able to absorb everything. Excess nutrition can easily make you gain weight.”

“I know. This is fine.” She had indeed eaten rather too well over the past two days.

She had eaten at the Yan residence and at home, and most of the dishes had been meat.

After dinner, Zhong Yuxiu rose and walked toward the sofa. “Goudan, clear the table.”

“Yes, Master.”

Goudan went to the table and cleared away the leftovers. It washed the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and then brought over a basin of hot water for soaking her feet.

“Master, soak your feet. Soaking them more often in cold weather is good for your health.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Goudan.”

Zhong Yuxiu loosened the bag. She had inspected all the materials Xi Nian had brought. By the standards of the present day, they were all excellent materials. Xi Nian had clearly put a great deal of thought into them.

Goudan’s mechanical voice sounded. “Goudan is not tired. It is Goudan’s honor to serve Master. Goudan is very happy.”

“Good Goudan.”

She sat down happily on the sofa. Goudan placed the basin beneath her feet, and she removed her shoes and socks before putting her feet into the water. The temperature was around fifty degrees Celsius, suitable for first immersion. Water that was too hot at the beginning would make it difficult to put one’s feet in, so a gradual rise in temperature was better.

While she was soaking her feet, someone knocked on the front gate.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Goudan, go see who it is.” She had not released her mental power, but with Goudan there, she had nothing to worry about.

Goudan opened the gate, revealing Yan Rushan. He was carrying a large bundle of something in his hand.

“Oh, it’s Big Brother Yan. Why have you come so late? Is something wrong?” Yuxiu called out.

Goudan stepped aside, and Yan Rushan hurried inside. He set the bundle down beside the sofa, then crouched beside Yuxiu and took her delicate hands in his broad palms. Frost clung to his brows and hair, and even the scarf around his neck was covered in white snow.

“What happened?” Why was he being so silent?

“Nothing. I just wanted to see you.”

He gently rubbed the tender skin on the back of her hand.

Zhong Yuxiu tugged at her hand, but could not pull it free. “Didn’t we just see each other? Why come over so late when your hands are freezing?”

“Yuxiu.”

“Hmm?”

“Did you invite Comrade Xi Nian to dinner?” Yan Rushan raised his eyes to look at her.

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Zhong Yuxiu nodded. “He brought me the materials and came by to offer New Year’s greetings, so I asked him to stay for a meal.”

“So that’s how it is.” Yan Rushan’s gaze grew dim, deep, and shadowed. “Next time, invite me too, all right? I was at fault today. I went to the black market to take care of something and wasn’t home.”

Otherwise, he certainly would have come over to keep her company for dinner.

“You still haven’t gone home?”

Yan Rushan: That was not the point.

He still nodded. “I came straight here after returning to the compound.”

“No wonder your hands are so cold. You haven’t eaten either, have you?”

“Mm.” Yan Rushan nodded lightly.

“Goudan, is there any food left?” she called out.

Goudan answered with two beeps.

Zhong Yuxiu said, “If there is, make him egg fried rice. Stir-fry some greens with it too, and remove the egg’s raw smell.”

“Beep, beep, beep.”

Goudan turned and went off to get busy.

Looking down, she saw the stern lines of Yan Rushan’s face relax. Zhong Yuxiu narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Yan Rushan.”

“Hmm?” Yan Rushan stared fixedly at her, unsure why she had suddenly called him by his full name.

“Are you jealous again?”

The tips of Yan Rushan’s ears twitched. He looked a little awkward, but still nodded honestly.

“An outsider gets to eat with you.”

“He was a guest. He came all the way over to offer New Year’s greetings and even brought me materials for my experiments. What’s wrong with inviting him to dinner? Was it really worth coming back and giving me the cold shoulder?” Men truly could not be indulged.

“I didn’t.”

Yan Rushan lowered his eyes.

Zhong Yuxiu had no intention of letting him off. “You didn’t what?”

“I didn’t give you the cold shoulder.” The one at fault was himself. He was the one who could not stay by her side.