Chapter 40: Chapter 40: An Incident

By the time Lu Xiao came downstairs, Lu Huan had already been silently questioning her life choices for quite a while.

Now, seeing Lu Xiao, Lu Huan subconsciously stared at her. This sudden attention made Lu Xiao feel a bit strange. “What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?”

“You said just now… you wanted me to learn what from you? I didn’t hear you clearly.”

The moment she heard this, Lu Xiao knew. It wasn’t that Lu Huan hadn’t heard her; she’d heard perfectly well but just couldn’t believe it.

After all, in this place, the fact that a female could cook was indeed rather hard to comprehend.

She had no intention of explaining and said directly, “Go wash your hands, then come to the kitchen.”

With that said, Lu Xiao turned and went into the kitchen.

Lu Huan stood frozen in place, watching. After Lu Xiao went inside, she naturally picked up an apron, tied it on, and started bustling about. Lu Huan’s eyes were wide with shock.

’No way, is Lu Xiao really going to cook?’

“What are you spacing out for? Hurry up!” Lu Xiao said, reminding her after seeing her standing there motionless through the glass door. “Wash your hands and come over here to wash the vegetables.”

Lu Huan snapped back to reality and hurried to the restroom. She was determined to see if Lu Xiao could actually cook, or if she was just putting on an act for her.

When she came to the kitchen with clean hands and saw the green vegetables on the counter, she held her hands slightly open and said with a look of bewilderment, “How… how do I wash this?”

Lu Xiao glanced at her. “Wash the dirt off with your hands and water. Do I really need to teach you that?”

Lu Huan was so bluntly rebuked by Lu Xiao that she couldn’t argue.

Once Lu Huan finished washing the vegetables, Lu Xiao went right over and took out a tomato. “I’m only going to teach you this once. Tomorrow, you’ll be making lunch by yourself. If you don’t learn, you’ll go hungry!”

Lu Huan’s eyes flew wide. “How can you be like this!”

“Don’t forget whose house you’re in. It doesn’t matter how I treat you. If you don’t want to learn, get out now. You can skip dinner, too.”

Lu Huan mumbled, “This is the only way you know how to threaten me. Fine, I’ll learn!”

“If you’re going to learn, then cut the crap. For tomato and scrambled eggs, you chop the tomatoes into pieces and whisk the eggs, like this!” Since Lu Xiao was going to teach her, she didn’t hold back, explaining every step in detail. If Lu Huan were smart, she would have opened her terminal to record what Lu Xiao was saying, but she clearly didn’t think of that.

Lu Xiao didn’t remind her. Some things can’t be taught; you have to learn them the hard way.

In total, she made three dishes and a soup, all of which were simple, home-style meals: tomato and scrambled eggs, cold-dressed shredded potatoes, stir-fried pork with green peppers, and seaweed egg drop soup.

Even if Lu Huan only learned to make one of these three dishes and a soup, she wouldn’t have to go hungry tomorrow.

When the food was served, Lu Huan was unusually quiet.

She truly hadn’t expected that Lu Xiao could actually cook, that it wasn’t just an act.

Instead, as if by magic, she had actually produced these dishes, and they smelled fragrant and looked delicious.

So much so that during the meal, Lu Huan kept sneaking glances at her from the corner of her eye.

Lu Xiao naturally sensed it but pretended not to see, ignoring her completely.

After the meal, Lu Huan subconsciously stood up to clear the table, but as she reached out, she heard Ares say, “You already helped with the cooking. I can handle the cleanup.”

Suddenly not being told to do chores, Lu Huan instinctively looked over at Lu Xiao, who was drinking sparkling water.

“What are you looking at me for? Isn’t it nice not being told what to do?”

Lu Huan immediately pulled her hands back and silently reflected, ’Why did I just stand up to help out of habit?’

’It’s all Lu Xiao’s fault. She’s been scaring me with the ’no food’ threat for the past two days, and it’s almost become a conditioned reflex.’

’No work equals no food. QAQ’

Lu Huan had never felt that her life had been this difficult.

“I don’t want to sleep on the sofa anymore.” Lu Huan was quiet for a moment before saying softly, “This sofa is too soft. It’s uncomfortable to sleep on.”

After sleeping on it for one night, she felt like her back was about to break.

’There are so many empty rooms here. It wouldn’t be too much to let me have one, right?’

“There are plenty of empty rooms. You’re the one who insisted on sleeping on the sofa instead of using one. What could I do about it?”

The rhetorical question left Lu Huan stunned.

’That’s right. Lu Xiao never actually said she couldn’t sleep in a room. In fact, when she first arrived, she even had Ares get one ready for her. It was her own fault for being rude to Ares and sleeping on the sofa.’

After thinking it over, Lu Huan’s face flushed for some reason. “Then I’m going to my room.”

With that, Lu Huan hurried upstairs, picked a random empty room, and pushed the door open to go inside.

Lu Xiao watched her panicked retreat and couldn’t help but chuckle.

It wasn’t that Lu Huan was a bad person, she was just too spoiled. She acted recklessly without considering the consequences, which was a common problem for females in the Empire.

It was a result of this world’s social norms.

Therefore, Lu Huan, who had never hit a wall or suffered any hardship, would naturally learn to behave after stumbling a few times and tasting some bitterness.

Teaching Lu Huan some discipline wouldn’t be that hard.

That evening, Lu Xiao was getting ready to take a bath before giving Ares his Spiritual Soothing when she suddenly received a voice call request from Teacher Ai Li.

Normally, Teacher Ai Li and the others rarely bothered her after work.

For her to suddenly send a voice call request now, Lu Xiao had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

Sure enough, after she accepted the call, she heard Teacher Ai Li on the other end. “Dear, are you resting? Something’s happened at the shelter. I’m afraid we need to head over. I’ll come pick you up in a bit so we can go together, okay?”

For something to happen at the shelter that required their attention, it couldn’t be a minor issue.

“Okay, Teacher Ai Li.” Without asking any further questions, Lu Xiao cut the communication and started packing. She didn’t know if she’d be able to come back tonight, so just in case, Lu Xiao packed some extra things.

Whether she would need them or not, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Once she finished packing, she went to Ares’s room.

Ares, who had just gotten out of the shower, had only a bath towel wrapped around his waist. His exposed upper body had smooth, elegant muscle lines. The lean muscles weren’t exaggerated but exuded a sense of power, making for a beautiful sight.

Not to mention, Ares also had defined serratus muscles and V-lines.

He probably hadn’t expected Lu Xiao to come over at this time, so Ares hadn’t had a chance to get dressed yet.

When Lu Xiao pushed the door open, she was a little taken aback by the sight, but she didn’t look away. She gave him a generous look and said with a smile, “You have a nice body.”

Ares’s movements as he was getting dressed faltered for a moment, and the tips of his ears turned red. “Thank you.”

Then he noticed the bag in Lu Xiao’s hand and the outdoor clothes she was wearing, and asked in surprise, “You’re going out?”

Only then did Lu Xiao remember why she had come. “Oh, right. I came to tell you that Teacher Ai Li is coming to pick me up. There’s been trouble at the shelter, and we need to go over. I don’t know if I’ll be back tonight, so don’t wait up for me. Get some rest. As for the Spiritual Soothing, I’ll make it up to you when I get back. Also, regarding Lu Huan, if she says or does anything, just ignore her. I’ll deal with her when I return.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep