Chapter 25: Daily Life 1

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Daily Life 1

Wu Shi wasn’t just good-looking; he was *very* good-looking.

After all, his father, Wu Zhenlin, was a handsome man standing at five-foot-eleven, and his mother had the distinct charm of a Hong Kong film actress. It was only natural that the son born of their union wouldn’t be lacking.

Even though he was still young and his features hadn’t fully matured, he could already be considered quite the handsome boy.

This article from Big Eye Consulting seemed like it was written by Zhi Shiwei. It was heavily biased, dedicating extensive coverage to his own group.

However, when he saw the byline at the end of the article, he realized he’d guessed wrong. It was an editor surnamed Yang.

’Hm? Chief Editor Yang?’

He then read through the article again and noticed a problem.

Ye Lan wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the article. This went against the usual conventions of domestic news reporting, unless Director Ye had intentionally requested she not be included.

’So why would Director Ye come all this way just to present an award at a minor competition?’

’It must be because of Ye Zhaohui.’

Tsk, tsk.

’I knew from the start that kid’s family was something else. First the bodyguard, now leaving in a minibus.’

"Hey!"

"Holy shit!"

Louise’s voice suddenly rang out from behind him, startling the completely unprepared Wu Shi so badly that he blurted out a curse.

"Hee hee hee~!"

Her prank a success, Louise laughed happily.

Her hair was still damp, draped casually over her shoulders, and she was wearing a pure white slip-style nightgown.

Having just showered, she gave off a mixed scent of body wash and shampoo.

"What are you looking at? You’re so absorbed~! You didn’t even hear me come in," Louise said.

Wu Shi glanced at the floor. A trail of wet footprints led from the bathroom door into the bedroom. ’This girl walked out barefoot!’

’Walking around barefoot and trying to be quiet, who could possibly hear that? And isn’t she afraid of slipping?!’

To keep the girl from bothering him, he replied in perfectly enunciated Chinese, "What are you saying?"

"I... I said... what... you looking at," she replied in halting Chinese, her words following English syntax.

"This," Wu Shi said, pointing to the report on his computer. ’I can’t believe this girl actually went and started learning Chinese.’

"Wow!"

Leaning on Wu Shi’s shoulders, Louise squeezed in front of the computer. She probably couldn’t understand most of the Chinese, but she could not only understand the photo, she was looking at it with great relish.

"Hey, Louise, you’re practically lying on top of me. And your hair is wet," Wu Shi said in Chinese, exasperated. ’See? This is how annoying little girls are.’

"Hehe! A-amazing!" Louise said in Chinese, turning around and giving him a thumbs-up.

"Thanks. I’m going to take a shower. I need to get a good night’s sleep; I have school tomorrow." Freed from being used as a support, Wu Shi felt a lot more comfortable and let out a yawn.

"Mhm, mhm." It was unclear if Louise understood, but she nodded obediently.

Wu Shi got up, and she started walking ahead of him.

SWOOSH!~

As it turned out, bare feet + water + tile floor = zero traction.

The moment Louise picked up her pace, she fell straight backward.

"Damn it!"

Wu Shi felt himself get slammed to the ground, his back hitting the armrest of the chair on the way down.

"HISS!!!"

"Sorry! I—I’m sorry!" Louise quickly scrambled out of Wu Shi’s arms, turned around, and apologized profusely.

"I’m... I’m fine."

Wu Shi waved his hand dismissively and reached back to feel his back. Hiss... a stinging pain shot through him.

"Me... look," Louise said, pointing behind him.

"It’s fine. Probably just scraped it a little," Wu Shi said, shaking his head.

"Mhm, mhm." Louise lowered her head, looking upset.

Seeing that the girl looked like she was about to cry, Wu Shi had no choice but to say in English, "Louise, I said it’s okay. It’s not your fault."

"I’m... still... sorry... for hurting you," Louise replied in Chinese, her face full of apology. Her glistening eyes looked like they were about to spill tears again.

’Great. I speak English, you speak Chinese. This conversation is going nowhere.’

CLICK!

Just then, the front door opened. Wu Zhenlin and Martina were back.

"Oh? Well, well, well!" Martina froze for a second, then a mischievous grin spread across her face. She deftly hooked the heel of one high heel with the toe of her other foot, slipping it off and placing it in the shoe cabinet without bending down.

"..."

Wu Zhenlin stared in silence. The scene before him was truly something he couldn’t bear to look at.

Wu Shi was sitting on the floor with Louise kneeling before him.

"Mamu! It was all me! I knocked Wu Shi over and hurt him!" Louise cried out in English, her voice cracking as if she were about to burst into tears.

"It’s nothing, I just got bumped a little. It’s not a big deal," Wu Shi quickly explained.

"You fell? Let me see." Wu Zhenlin was very concerned about his son.

Seeing that neither of them seemed to blame Louise, Wu Shi stopped explaining and simply lifted his shirt. Beside his spine was a red scrape with bits of broken white skin.

Wu Zhenlin hurried to get some iodine. "Don’t move," he said. "Let me disinfect that for you."

"Dad, it’s fine. I still need to take a shower!" Wu Shi wasn’t bleeding, so he didn’t think it was a big deal.

"You can just give yourself a sponge bath today," Wu Zhenlin said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Fine, fine, fine."

Wu Shi sighed in resignation. He glanced at Louise, wanting to say, ’See? This is all your fault. Not being able to shower in the middle of summer is going to be miserable.’

But when he looked over, he saw Louise’s eyes were red-rimmed as she hugged Martina and wiped away her tears.

’Forget it,’ he thought. ’It’s just my bad luck. I should have anticipated the ’slip’ but didn’t take precautions. My awareness just wasn’t sharp enough! I’m doing extra practice at the track this weekend!’

After the little drama, everyone returned to their own rooms to rest.

Wu Zhenlin had bought the apartment early, so not only was the price low, but it was also large and spacious.

All three bedrooms were large, big enough for everyone to sleep separately.

「Early the next morning」

At six-thirty, Wu Shi was woken by his alarm, feeling utterly exhausted as he got up.

’Waking up early for school is torture.’

He had just stepped out of his room when he saw Louise emerging from the room across the hall.

The thought that she didn’t have to go to school made him suddenly feel a little envious.

"Wu Shi... have you seen... Mamu?" Louise asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Didn’t she sleep with you?"

"She was there last night, but when I woke up, she was gone."

"..."

’How was he supposed to answer that?’ He could only change the subject. "Do you need the bathroom? You can go first if you want."

"Oh~"

Louise stumbled into the bathroom, still half-asleep.

CLICK.

The door to Wu Zhenlin’s room opened.

Martina came out, yawning. As she passed Wu Shi, she patted his little shoulder and said, "I’ll have to trouble you to grab some rice noodle rolls outside for breakfast today, little guy. I left money on the coffee table."

After speaking, she walked calmly and naturally into the guest room.

A short while later, Louise came out of the bathroom, still looking half-awake. It seemed she’d forgotten she had come out to look for her mother.

’No need to look anymore, though. Your mom’s already gone back to catch some more sleep.’

Wu Shi scratched his head. It was rare for his home to be so lively this early in the morning.

’But... why was he the only one who had to wake up so early?’

The days at school were so ordinary and wonderful. The teacher’s lecture, the students’ chattering whispers—it all came together to form a dreamlike scene.

And when Wu Shi awoke as if from a dream, school was already over for the day.

"Hah~"

’The best part of the day was just beginning.’

Wu Shi, who was used to coming home and just throwing something together for dinner, opened the door and saw Louise on the sofa. He immediately realized there was a problem.

"Where are my dad and Aunt Martina?" He already guessed the answer but couldn’t help asking.

"Hmph!" Louise pouted, her cheeks puffed out. "They went out," she said, aggrieved.