Chapter 280: You Feel Like Family
Chapter 280: Chapter 280: You Feel Like Family
Fu Chao hoisted up the large cardboard boxes he was carrying.
"Here to the rescue!"
Nan Zhi was genuinely surprised.
"How did you know?"
She’d just been stressing about how to pack everything, and then Fu Chao showed up at her door with cardboard boxes as if he’d read her mind.
What a lifesaver!
Fu Chao grinned cheekily.
"Did you forget? The villagers sent some to our house, too, just not as much as you got... Whoa, you’ve got enough local specialties here to open your own shop!"
The thought gave Nan Zhi a headache, but she couldn’t help but feel a warmth spread through her. A smile played on her lips.
"Well, their hospitality is hard to refuse."
For once, Fu Chao dropped his usual carefree expression and said seriously,
"It’s what you deserve. I doubt there are many chefs out there as selfless as you, willing to share pastry recipes that could easily be kept as exclusive secrets!"
At the mention of this, Fu Chao hesitated. He wanted to advise Nan Zhi to think more of her own interests, but he was afraid his words might damage their friendship and make him seem petty and selfish.
He mulled it over but couldn’t find the right way to broach the subject, and his internal conflict was written all over his face.
Nan Zhi saw right through him.
"Don’t worry, I have more up my sleeve than just that. Besides, a chef’s foundation is built on skill and experience. Hoarding recipes doesn’t actually help you improve."
"...That’s true."
Nan Zhi’s words actually ended up reassuring him, and his mood brightened considerably.
He then enthusiastically offered to help her pack.
With an extra person, things would go faster, so Nan Zhi saw no reason to refuse.
In the midst of their conversation, however, they’d inadvertently forgotten about Qing Xi.
Qing Xi, feeling quite neglected, piped up to make his presence known.
"Auntie Zhizhi, where’s Yiyi? Is he still not up?"
Nan Zhi glanced back.
"He’s still..."
"I’m up."
A sluggish voice drifted from behind the curtain.
Following that, Nan Yi, wearing black and white panda pajamas, slowly shuffled out.
Nan Zhi had picked out the pajamas especially for him. They were plush and puffy, making him look like a little black-and-white glutinous rice ball.
The panda hood drooped behind his head, accentuating his round, rosy-pink cheeks.
He looked like a completely different person from his usual cool-little-guy persona!
Fu Chao’s and Qing Xi’s eyes lit up in unison.
"So cute!"
Before Nan Zhi could stop them, the uncle-nephew duo rushed over to Nan Yi.
Fu Chao couldn’t resist taking out his phone to take a picture of Nan Yi.
And Qing Xi was even more direct, reaching out and pinching Nan Yi’s ear.
Nan Zhi let out a snort of laughter.
Nan Yi’s face flushed red as he protested indignantly,
"Don’t pinch me!"
Qing Xi said with a cheeky grin,
"But Yiyi is so cute."
This only made Nan Yi angrier.
"Don’t call me cute!"
Qing Xi tilted his head.
"Then what should I say?"
How would Nan Yi know?
He just huffed, turned, and stormed back into his room.
Qing Xi tried to chase after him, but Fu Chao grabbed him by the back of his collar.
Qing Xi struggled, his arms and legs flailing.
"Don’t bully him," Fu Chao said.
Qing Xi finally deflated.
The amusement in Nan Zhi’s eyes never faded.
To be honest, the moment Fu Chao had whipped out his phone to take a picture, she’d felt the exact same impulse.
’But that’s okay. I already took plenty last night.’
’Buying these pajamas was definitely the right choice!’
A little while later, Qing Xi snuck into the room anyway. Soon, they could hear him chattering away like a little chatterbox.
As for Nan Yi, he must have gotten used to Qing Xi’s presence, because he didn’t protest.
Nan Zhi and Fu Chao listened closely for a moment. Once they confirmed there were no signs of conflict, they started packing with peace of mind.
Nan Zhi set to work, unfolding the cardboard flats, assembling them into boxes, and sealing the bottoms with tape to make sure they were secure.
Fu Chao, meanwhile, was in charge of stuffing the heavy bags of local specialties into the boxes.
Working together, they quickly packed eight boxes and stacked them in a corner, forming a small mountain.
Nan Zhi wiped the sweat from her brow.
Fu Chao dusted off his hands.
"Oh, right. Did you know Xie Yu went back to the capital early today? Seems like something came up."
"I know. He called me this morning."
In fact, it was Xie Yu’s call that had woken her up.
Shortly after she got off the phone with Xie Yu, Xu Li had called, kicking off a busy morning that hadn’t stopped since.
As for Xie Yu’s call, he’d said there was a problem with his new film project. He had to go back to the capital to deal with it, which was why he and his daughter, An’an, had left ahead of everyone else.
Besides saying his goodbyes, Xie Yu had mainly called to set up a time to meet once she was back in the capital.
Nan Zhi didn’t refuse, but she also didn’t agree.
She just gave him a vague, "We’ll see when the time comes."
This wasn’t her deliberately stringing Xie Yu along.
It was because she knew from the original novel’s plot how the heroine, Xie An’an, became an orphan. Her father, the brilliant director Xie Yu, had a falling out with the producer while filming what would be his final movie. In retaliation, the producer ran him over with a car and killed him. That event was the root of the heroine Xie An’an’s tragic childhood.
If the original plot was correct, the film Xie Yu was preparing for now was that exact movie—
the one that would bring him the greatest honor of his career, and also the very thing that would lead to his death.
So, when Nan Zhi heard Xie Yu mention on the phone that "there was a little problem with the movie," her first thought was of the producer who was destined to kill him...
"What are you thinking about?"
Fu Chao’s curious question broke Nan Zhi out of her thoughts.
Of course, Nan Zhi couldn’t very well explain the plot of the "original novel."
She gave a casual reply.
"I was just thinking about heading over to the village school later to say goodbye to the teachers and kids."
Fu Chao’s interest was piqued.
"I’ll go with you guys, then!"
Nan Zhi nodded readily.
Fu Chao was thrilled, but then he seemed to remember something.
He hesitated for a moment before carefully bringing it up.
"Did you hear that someone donated money to the village school? They say he also gave several million to Cuishui Village to build better roads..."
Nan Zhi’s gaze sharpened, and a wry smile touched her lips as she looked at Fu Chao.
"What are you trying to say?"
’First, he brings up Xie Yu, and now the donations. He’s beating around the bush so much, but it’s obvious this is all aimed at a certain someone—’
Fu Chao raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay, I admit it. I wanted to ask how you feel about Lu Shixu. He came all this way to a remote mountain village for you, he’s donating money to build roads... all these gestures... What do you make of it all?"
Nan Zhi paused, taken aback for a moment.
But the feeling passed quickly, and she smiled as she asked in return,
"What do you *hope* I feel?"
Fu Chao sighed.
"Fine, I admit I don’t have a good feeling about you and Lu Shixu. It’s mainly because of his family... Ugh, if you knew anything about them, you wouldn’t want to get tangled up in that mess. Maybe you think I’m overstepping, but I’m genuinely concerned for you. I don’t know why, but sometimes, I see you as a little sister. I just feel this... affinity..."
Fu Chao kept muttering.
But Nan Zhi’s curiosity was piqued by something else he’d said.