Chapter 531: Chapter 531: I am doing well abroad
 

Especially when it snowed, the cold wind mixed with thick snowflakes hit her face, and she had no warm clothes on her body. Back then, she couldn’t even find a place to shelter from the cold.

Her nose tingled, and her eyes actually reddened.

Those past events were better left unrecalled.

Even to this day, she didn’t know how she had survived. If she hadn’t met Nie Chenglang, she might have frozen to death on the streets of Paris by now.

Now, not to mention washing vegetables, she could do all of those odd jobs that others could do.

Shen Chi’s sharp eyes stared intently at her face, detecting the slight changes on it.

Although Xu Chaomu was bowing her head, washing vegetables seriously, he still felt it.

He turned her shoulders to face him and looked into her eyes with a stern voice, “Xu Chaomu, tell me, did you suffer a lot during those five years in Paris?!”

A trace of sourness slid over her heart, and she suppressed all the bitterness inside.

She continued washing mushrooms as if nothing was amiss, her tone casual, “No, I had a pretty good time, so content that I didn’t yearn for home.”

“Liar!” Shen Chi shouted coldly.

She was clearly lying!

He had raised her for eight years; every time she lied, her gaze was shifty, and she dared not meet his eyes.

Like when she sometimes didn’t do her homework and planned to copy someone else’s the next day.

Back then, he would ask her coldly, “Have you finished your homework?” Every time she had finished it, her answer would be swift and decisive, her little face filled with pride.

But if she hadn’t done it, of course, she would also say “I finished it,” though with an evasive look and hesitant tone.

Her expressions and tone always betrayed her, without fail.

Five years later, it was still the same.

As soon as she heard Shen Chi’s cold voice say “liar,” Xu Chaomu shuddered in fright, reflexively dropping the mushroom in her hand.

Those eight years had scared her.

Whenever he accused her of lying, it pretty much meant she was lying.

If her lie was exposed, the consequences were serious—he would punish her by not allowing her to eat.

Of course, that was the milder punishment. More severely, he would lock her in the room for several days, not allowing her to attend class.

But now that she thought about it, she still felt fortunate; Shen Chi had never laid a hand on her.

Perhaps it was because they had no blood relation whatsoever.

At that time, it probably wasn’t worth it for him to hit her; it would take too much effort.

Later, when she got a little older, he no longer managed her studies.

If she wanted to study, fine; if not, that was fine too. He wouldn’t inquire further.

At that time, he probably had given up on her.

Now, hearing Shen Chi’s cold snort, Xu Chaomu pouted, “I didn’t lie, I was living well abroad and didn’t even need to pay for my own expenses…”

The next words she wanted to say were, “with Nie Chenglang’s help,” but after thinking it over, she swallowed them down.

During those five years abroad, she rarely used Nie Chenglang’s money. She understood a principle very well: taking someone else’s money curtails your independence, even if they are the closest of friends.

“Look me in the eyes and say it!” Shen Chi demanded coldly again.

Xu Chaomu kept her head lowered, pretending to pick up the mushrooms from the sink, with her heart pounding like a frightened deer.

This skill of lying, honed over many years, still couldn’t escape Shen Chi’s discerning eyes.

Were her lies so blatantly obvious?

It seemed… not, right?

His strong hands forcefully turned her shoulders, his sharp gaze never leaving her!

“Alright, alright, I had a hard time during those five years, struggling to make ends meet, struggling with hunger and cold. Are you happy now?” Xu Chaomu replied perfunctorily.

She didn’t want to share those not so lovely things with Shen Chi.

Let the past stay in the past; there was no need to bring it up again. Every time she remembered those moments, it felt like reopening old wounds.

Thinking further back, she would recall those events on the Sumatra Island ferry…

It felt like a distant memory, as if it had been sealed in the depths of her heart, but in truth, those memories were unforgettable…

The scars on her back still bore frightening marks even today.

“Xu Chaomu, don’t beat around the bush with me!” Shen Chi said angrily.

“Let’s cook; I’m hungry.” Xu Chaomu lowered her head; she never dared to look into his eyes.

“We’re settling this today.”

Shen Chi felt a pang in his chest. She used to be clumsy; let alone washing vegetables, she couldn’t even wash chopsticks properly. And now? She washed with remarkable proficiency.

She must have suffered a lot abroad.

The thought spread pain throughout his entire body…

“I’m hungry, Shen Chi, are you going to cook or not? If you’re not cooking, I’m really going to eat out!”

Xu Chaomu dropped the mushrooms and angrily looked up at him.

Her emotions had mostly settled, but there was still some resentment in her big eyes.

Seeing that she was adamant about not speaking, Shen Chi did not push her any further.

He seemed to sigh, but soon reverted to an indifferent tone, “Since you’re so capable, you’ll wash the dishes later.”

“No way! I only eat; I do not wash dishes!” Xu Chaomu said sternly, hands on her hips, very seriously negotiating with him.

She hated washing dishes, absolutely hated it! Back in C City, when she had a fight with Shen Chi, she ran off to wash dishes in a small restaurant. Later in Paris, she washed many dishes as well.

She admitted, she had developed a psychological shadow.

The area of her psychological shadow was as big as a basketball court now!

“Then who will wash the dishes?” Shen Chi asked seriously.

“Can we just get the maid to wash them?” Xu Chaomu whispered.

“No good, I told them all to go back today.”

“…” Xu Chaomu rolled her eyes and poked his arm, “Fourth Brother… why don’t you wash… with a reward…”

“A kiss won’t bribe me,” Shen Chi snorted coldly.

Having said so, he went to tidy up the kitchen.

“Two?”

“Not enough.”

“Three?”

“Not enough!”

“If you don’t wash, then you won’t get any!” Xu Chaomu huffed.

Not washing the dishes didn’t really cost her anything; worst case scenario, she’d just wait for the maid to come back tomorrow.

Besides, Shen Chi was so rich, even if he just bought new dishes, so what! So what!

“…” Shen Chi had a face full of black lines; was this her way of threatening him?

The result of the threat was… his capitulation.

“You’re pretty, so whatever you say is right,” Shen Chi glanced at her.

“Hehe.” Xu Chaomu liked to hear those words and smiled happily.

Shen Chi knew how to coax someone after all; she had heard plenty of his sweet nothings.

In the kitchen, Shen Chi and Xu Chaomu were busy together.

Most of the time it was Shen Chi cooking, with the occasional call out: “Mumu, hand me the greens.”

“Mumu, wash the chopsticks.”

“Mumu, pass me the salt.”

…

Xu Chaomu became Shen Chi’s assistant, bustling about in the kitchen, back and forth, back and forth.