Chapter 8  

She could not go out, she could not stand in the blowing wind and considering that her head was swollen like a pig's head which would attract undue attention, she decided to stay home for three days.

She was not allowed to touch or scratch, so she could only wrap her hands up like a robot to ensure her own safety.

She had to endure all these tragedies because she did not dare to cross her powerful old lady.

Not allowed to drink alcohol, not allowed to eat spicy food, not allowed to eat beef, mutton, fish, prawns, and crabs.......persist, she must persist. Can she eat at least a little pork? Or at least a little chicken meat or a little duck meat?

She propped up her swollen head with both hands and tried hard to open her eyes that could only see a layer of red. The aroma of the meat was so fragrant and she was drooling.

Stealing a glance at the old lady who was busy in the kitchen, Jia Shao secretly stretched out her hand to reach for the braised pork which was not far from her.

Her two fingers were able to pick up the meat but at the same time, her fingers were clipped by something that flew down from the sky.

"Ao!" Startled by the pain, Jia Shao's gaze traveled along in the direction of her finger and saw a tall figure had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, standing beside the table. The chopsticks in his hands were pinching.......her fingers.

"Zhen Lang!" The two words were said between her teeth as if a piece of braised meat was clenched there. Showing her white teeth, she said. "Let go!"

"Okay." He was very amiable and released his chopsticks but he quickly raised his voice and said. "Jia Ma.......Jia Shao is stealing meat!"

Obviously, she had heard these words for more than 10 to 20 years but why is it still able to arouse her desire to use her fists?

"Just a piece of meat, is that necessary?" She vented her anger indignantly not forgetting to quickly shove the meat into her mouth. "You are not young anymore, why do you still act like a child?"

The meat just went into her mouth and she let out a cry before quickly spitting it out. Her fingers waved like a fan in front of her mouth to cool down her tongue that was nearly cooked by the piece of hot meat.

"Who stole meat?" Jia Mama came out of the kitchen holding a spatula and said in a threatening manner.

Jia Shao covered her mouth, wrinkled her face and shook her head. Then she bowed her head to mourn for the piece of meat that flew out of her mouth.

Zhen Lang carried a glass of ice water in his hand and put it down on the table with a faint smile.

She ignored the fact an enemy's things may cause an allergy, Jia Shao quickly grabbed the glass of ice water and drank in big mouthfuls. Her tongue was still numb with pain and said in a vague tone. "No.....no one stole meat."

With Zhen Lang monitoring her, stealing food to eat was impossible. Jia Shao lay on top of the table weakly and sniffed at the fragrant aroma of the meat while sucking in her saliva.

"This is yours!" Without a trace of sympathy, Jia Mama crudely put down the bowl in front of Jia Shao who was lying on the table.

Zhen Lang had said that she had an allergy because there was excessive toxins in her body, so she should detox. Therefore, while Zhen Lang and Jia Mama had a feast, Jia Shao who was sitting at the same table had to eat a bowl of plain porridge.

In her bowl, there was no minced meat, no oil and not even diced green onions. She could only display a look like a puppy who was begging for food, looking at every piece of meat on the table with watery eyes.

"Can I have a piece of pickle to go with my porridge?" Jia Shao gazed at her mother with a weak look and felt her intestines knotting up in protest.

"Get it yourself." Jia Mama did not even look at her daughter. She held a bowl of soup in her hand and placed it in front of Zhen Lang. "Ah Lang, drink up this soup. I have been boiling this for a whole day."

Zhen Lang showed a gentle smile and Jia Shao was sniffing, her face full of expectation. "Mom, what soup is that?"

"Pig kidney soup!"

"Pui!" The porridge was sprayed on the table and Jia Shao's action resulted in a knock on her head. Jia Mama quickly moved away the soup. "I specially cooked this for Ah Lang and you nearly destroyed it."

"It doesn't matter." Zhen Lang's smile was calm without any changes. "I don't need to nourish my kidneys."

"You must. You have to drink this." Jia Mama's face had turned into a flower. "My daughter is difficult to serve. Tomorrow I will cook for you the Seal Kidney and Chicken Soup, the day after tomorrow I will give you the Pigtail Soup, alright?"

(The two kidney soups mentioned by Jia Mama are soups that nourish the body's growth, sexuality, fertility, and slow down the aging process. The Pigtail soup is for strengthening backbone and waist. The nourishing soups mentioned here are soups especially good for males.)

"Er......" Zhen Lang's eyes darkened slightly and nodded with a smile. "Okay........"

Jia Shao who was covering her mouth had a wide smile that nearly reached her ears. Flashing a warm smile, she said. "Zhen Lang, my mother had boiled this for a whole day, you'd better not make her feel sad. You must drink one more bowl........drink one more bowl......"

Zhen Lang was drinking slowly from the bowl when suddenly a strange smile flashed across his face. In a low voice, he said. "Do you really want me to drink one more bowl?"

"Of course!" Jia Shao nodded hard. Holding on to the bowl of porridge in her hands, she drank noisily and the light porridge at this moment tasted especially fragrant. "I hope you will get more nourishment, get better nourishment and get special nourishment."

It will be better if you get nourished until you have blood rushing up to your brains and get nourished until your kidneys explode!!

Happily, she drank her porridge. She totally did not notice that her own old mother's eyes were moving from her face to Zhen Lang's face and from Zhen Lang's face back to her face.

The cell phone's crisp ringtone suddenly sounded and Zhen Lang stood up to take the call walking to a corner. While he was speaking, he picked up his jacket that was lying on the sofa.

Ending the call, he apologized to Jia Mama with a smile. "Jia Ma, the hospital called to say there is a major surgery consultation I have to attend. I will leave first."

"Okay, okay." Jia Mama nodded. "Work is important. Work is important."

When he reached the door, Zhen Lang suddenly remembered something. "Jia Ma, these few days I may be late in coming back. You don't have to leave me any food."

Jia Mama nodded her head and waved at Zhen Lang. Jia Shao's eyes fell on the bowl of soup that he had not even touched. Behind Jia Mama's back, she silently mouthed a word.....sinister.

Zhen Lang's eyes swept over her face and smiling slightly, he went out the door.

"Being a doctor is really hard work. He can't even have a proper meal." Jia Mama muttered. "He only drank two sips of the soup. How is his body able to withstand?"

Drank two sips? The possibility is.......he did not even take a sip!

Jia Shao wrinkled her nose. "Are you sure he is really going to the hospital consultation and not scared off by your soup?"

She received another knock on her head. Jia Mama gave a firm humph. "Zhen Lang had always been a good child. Do you think he is like you?"

From the bowl, Jia Shao lifted her face that was smeared with porridge and deeply regretted why she had not kept her mouth shut.

Zhen Lang's obedient image was deeply rooted in the hearts of the elderly which was unshakeable. So Zhen Lang was not afraid of her complaints because no one would believe her.

Is this his success or is this her failure?

Silently, she wiped off the porridge from her face. Having lost her appetite, she went into her room.

The whole night, someone with an empty stomach could only hear her hungry tummy rumbling. The effect of two mouthfuls of porridge was not enough to withstand her half-hour digestion. At this moment, a huge protest was heard coming from her stomach.

She lay on the bed weakly. She had turned the channels on the TV from 1 to 100 and from 100 to 1 again and the programs were repeated numerous times throughout the week. She was unable to absorb anything.

The only thing she remembered was the advertisements on instant noodles, biscuits, and jellies. The more she watched, the hungrier she became and the rumbles in her tummy became louder.

When she closed her eyes, the images that drifted in front of her were the food images that were beckoning to her. A roasted duck with oil dripping, a fragrant glutinous meaty rice dumpling with a soft yellow egg yolk, and.......and her favorite preserved egg porridge......

She sniffed and opened her eyes, then buried her head in the pillow.

She must be so hungry that she was going crazy. She could actually smell the aroma of preserved egg porridge. Hallucinations.......must be hallucinations........

For a person who is incompetent in cooking, she did not have the ability to sneakily start a fire to cook something for herself to fill her tummy. As for sneaking out, she did not dare to venture out or she may scare people with the condition of her head.

At this time, the old lady would be asleep......the refrigerator......the refrigerator......

After waiting for the whole night, she slipped out of her bedroom on tiptoes and rushed unsteadily towards the kitchen. Just as she stepped into the kitchen, her head slammed into something.

"Wu!" The pain was so intense that she covered her nose and reached out her hand to feel.

It felt warm......not soft and not hard. The feeling was good and it felt a little solid.......smooth.

Her hands touched it, scratched it, rubbed it and then dug it. She brushed her hands over the top and then moved her hands downwards.

"If you move your hands any lower, I will sue you for sexual harassment." The thing that hit her finally sounded. The voice was calm and steady and at this moment, the small lights in the dining room lit up.

Someone's restless claws stopped abruptly and those eyes reflecting hunger finally became focused.

In front of her stood Zhen Lang who was holding a bowl in one hand and in the other hand he was holding a spoon. He was standing in the kitchen doorway, surrounded with fresh water vapor and his hair wet with the scent of shampoo and.......a messy bathrobe.

Her hand was glued to the position below his chest and another 2 more inches lower, she would be able to reach the top of his underpants.

She pretended nothing had happened and with a deadpan expression, she walked around him. "In future, don't walk around the house half-naked and put on your clothes properly."

Zhen Lang threw a glance at her then ignored her. He sat down at the table and started to eat elegantly with his spoon.

A light aroma of sesame oil, coupled with the fresh smell of diced green onions, mixed with meat and fragrant preserved eggs.........suddenly her stomach let out a loud scream. She could hear muffled laughter floating over from the direction of the dining table.

Angrily she rolled her eyes at him and she raised a fist in front of Zhen Lang. "If you don't want to die, then don't tell my Mom."

Zhen Lang's eyes swept over her fist with a bright gaze. Under the dim light, he looked exceptionally handsome as if he was still shrouded in a mist of water vapor after bathing.

Seeing that he was smart and did not speak, she happily rushed over to the refrigerator.

Her beer, her potato chips, her snacks........

"Yi?!" Surprised, she searched.......the upper level.......the middle level.......the lower level.

Her beer, gone.......potato chips, gone........all the snacks were missing........

She blinked......and then blinked again but she still could not see them. There was nothing in the trash bin. There were only raw vegetables and raw meat in the refrigerator. There was nothing that she could not stuff into her stomach.

Angrily she rushed out of the kitchen. "Hey, did you see my things?"

Zhen Lang elegantly swallowed the last mouthful of porridge, glanced at her briefly and stood up. He picked up his bowl and set it down in the sink then gave her another glance before he walked back to his bedroom.

Jia Shao followed behind him and waited for him to reply. The result was she nearly hit her nose when the door slammed on her.

*Boom!*

She was faced with a flat door. As she stood there in a daze recollecting the moment the door slammed shut, she faintly heard the answer.

"Thrown away."

Did she hear correctly? Did Zhen Lang say the things were thrown away? Her things were thrown away......her snacks were thrown away??!!

Then what is she going to eat today? What is she going to drink today?

She wanted to bang on the door but when her fisted hand stretched out, her fist stopped in front of the door.

Banging on the door was an easy task but the sound would certainly wake her mother. It seems, there is a little problem........

Massaging her cramped stomach, she went back to the kitchen in misery. Unwilling to give up, she went back to rummage through the fridge again but why are some people so astute.......nothing consumable was left.

She grabbed the green leaves in her hand and thought hard. Lettuce can be eaten raw, so these vegetables can also be eaten, right?

But she is not a rabbit, why should she eat green vegetables?

She was standing turning around boringly in the kitchen when at the corner of her eyes, she spied a small pot on the stove. It seems to be still hot and the light fragrance was drifting to her nose right down to her stomach.

She quickly opened the lid and unconsciously she secretly smiled.

Zhen Lang that guy had forgotten to put the pot into the sink. When she saw there was a thick layer of preserved egg porridge sticking to the bottom of the pot, her smile was so wide that her eyes became slits.

After scrapping the pot clean she actually found she could get half a bowl of porridge. Jia Shao smiled triumphantly and hugged her bowl. She took a sip and the porridge tasted so heavenly that she nearly swallowed her own tongue.

Zhen Lang, ah.....Zhen Lang. You threw away my food but did you think I would go hungry? He.....he.....he......

Someone thinks that today's porridge is extraordinarily fragrant and sweet.