Chapter 199: Rebellious to the Bone
Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Rebellious to the Bone
Xue Can exerted a great deal of willpower to suppress the urge to get rid of Lei Li.
Lei Li wasn’t the type to play by the rules. The more you told her not to do something, the more she wanted to do it.
Utterly rebellious.
Xue Can didn’t want to get into a huge fight with Lei Li in front of Shen Lu. He figured he’d just get through the meal for now and explain everything to Shen Lu in private later.
Seeing Xue Can’s foul expression, Lei Li felt a surge of satisfaction.
She finally let go of Shen Lu and picked up her chopsticks.
As soon as she took a bite, she immediately sensed the secret within the dishes.
’This food can actually soothe the Spiritual Sea!’
It wasn’t just one dish; every single one, including the rice, had this effect.
Lei Li shot a quick glance at Shen Lu as a million thoughts raced through her mind.
’For example, why do these dishes have the ability to soothe the Spiritual Sea?’
’Is it the ingredients?’
’Where did the ingredients come from?’
Lei Li’s first thought wasn’t of Shen Lu. She had eaten at the restaurant during the day, and the lunch specials didn’t have this effect.
She took a look and figured Xue Can must have brought them.
Xue Can was very capable and resourceful. He seemed a bit sullen, but he had some good connections in other survival bases.
’So he brought them back from his last mission?’
’Maybe he can’t cook, so he just gave them to Shen Lu to prepare?’
’That seems to add up, right?’
Shen Lu was an ordinary person, so she probably wouldn’t understand the true value of these ingredients. He wouldn’t have to worry about her figuring anything out.
But the more she thought about it, the more Lei Li felt that something wasn’t quite right.
Shen Lu ate a few bites and put down her chopsticks. "Pardon me, but my fiancé hasn’t eaten yet. I’ll have to be going now. Please, take your time."
She considered herself a perceptive person. ’A young couple is trying to have a meal. What am I doing just standing here?’
And so, Fu Cheng once again became her perfect excuse for a graceful exit.
This time, Lei Li didn’t try to keep her. Hearing Shen Lu admit with her own mouth that she had a fiancé put her in an excellent mood.
She was almost certain now that there was nothing improper going on between Xue Can and Shen Lu.
Xue Can wasn’t a saint by any means, but he wouldn’t stoop so low as to pester an engaged woman.
Shen Lu successfully excused herself and carried a tray of food up to the second floor.
The moment she saw Fu Cheng, she couldn’t help but start gossiping.
"Xue Can has a gorgeous girlfriend!"
Fu Cheng adjusted the head of the bed himself and let out a soft "Hm?" with a rising, questioning inflection.
He had given her the exact response she’d been hoping for, which only made Shen Lu more eager to chat.
"I saw her during the day, she’s really so beautiful! She’s tall with a gorgeous face. She must be a Superpower User. She and Xue Can make a great match."
Shen Lu placed the tray on the small overbed table. "She seems to have a very lively, proactive personality. The perfect complement to Xue Can."
Fu Cheng stared at Shen Lu in silence.
He had "seen" the Female Superpower User downstairs with his consciousness.
’Beautiful?’
’I don’t think so.’
In his eyes, Shen Lu was the most beautiful, unique, and only one who mattered.
He desperately wanted to tell her what he was thinking.
But he was afraid that if he did, Shen Lu would find it offensive.
As Shen Lu chatted on, she got a little carried away and suddenly blurted out, "Did you ever have a girlfriend back in school?"
Fu Cheng: ?
Shen Lu belatedly realized what she’d just asked and picked at her fingers in embarrassment.
"It’s not like ours was an arranged childhood betrothal. You mean you never dated anyone before we were engaged?"
Fu Cheng sounded a little resigned. "No."
Shen Lu let out a sound of surprise. "You mean no girls in your class liked you?"
Fu Cheng might not be much to look at now—missing an arm and a leg, and blind in one eye—but in the original owner’s memories, the uninjured Fu Cheng had been exceptionally handsome.
Fu Cheng stared directly at her. "I... don’t know."
For some reason, his stare made Shen Lu feel a little guilty.
After a few seconds, she puffed out her chest again.
’I didn’t ask anything out of line. Can’t a girl gossip a little?’
"You should eat. I made lots of food today, don’t let it get cold." Shen Lu pushed the spoon into Fu Cheng’s hand, changing the subject with practiced ease. "This is the char siu. It’s sweet. Try it, see what you think."
Fu Cheng sighed silently, a knot forming in his chest.
But under the circumstances, he couldn’t very well keep pressing the previous topic.
Downstairs in the booth, Xue Can sat with his arms crossed, coldly watching Lei Li eat with great relish.
"Aren’t you going to eat?" Lei Li picked up a piece of beer-braised duck. "This duck is absolutely delicious!"
"Finish eating and get out," Xue Can said, his voice cold and merciless. "As for the government collaboration, the Gale Mercenary Corps is pulling out. I’ll have someone send over the contract termination fee tomorrow."
Lei Li swallowed the meat in her mouth. The smile didn’t leave her face, but her eyes grew cold.
"Xue Can, can you please not act so impulsively?"
"My patience has its limits."
"Just because I crashed your dinner?" Lei Li was completely unfazed. "What’s the big deal? I’ll just pay Boss Shen a premium to make another spread."
’It’s just money. She has plenty of it.’
Xue Can scoffed. "You really think too highly of yourself."
"Of course I think highly of myself. If you don’t even value yourself, what’s the point of living?"
Lei Li was a shameless rogue; Xue Can was simply no match for her.
Besides, he wasn’t good at verbal sparring and had no desire to waste his breath on her.
Given his usual temper, he would have slammed the table and stormed out long ago.
But he couldn’t bring himself to leave.
He’d finally gotten a meal cooked by Shen Lu herself. It would be a total waste if he didn’t eat his fill.
But he didn’t want to eat with Lei Li, which led to the current awkward stalemate.
At this moment, Xue Can detested this lawless, unruly woman from the bottom of his heart.
Seeing that Xue Can was genuinely angry, Lei Li dropped her flippant act.
"Is this really necessary, Xue Can? Since when are you so petty? I just happened to run into you eating here and decided to join. Is that really enough to make you this angry?"
"Happened to? Do you take me for an idiot?" Xue Can sneered.
There was no such thing as that many coincidences.
Lei Li was a fairly well-known female mercenary. Beautiful, with a high Superpower Level, and the daughter of the Thunder Mercenary Corps’ commander. Even without looking into it, he knew how extravagant the nightlife of this "Mercenary Corps heiress" was.
Lei Li was a regular on Gold Street. Normally, this was the time she’d just be waking up. After getting ready, she’d be calling up her friends to go party at the clubs.
But that was all after nine o’clock.
And right now, it wasn’t even seven-thirty.
Her lie exposed, Lei Li didn’t even flinch. She decided to just lay her cards on the table.
"Okay, fine. I admit I had you looked into today. What, was I supposed to do nothing when I found out you were chasing some other woman?"
"You know I like you!"
That was just the kind of girl Lei Li was: direct and domineering. Whether it was a person or a thing she liked, she would do whatever it took to get her hands on it.
But once she had it, she would quickly grow bored.
This was also why she pursued Xue Can so relentlessly. Other men she could chase and coax, and they’d fall for her. Xue Can was the one man she’d used every trick in the book on and still failed to win over.
This ignited her desire for conquest. She was determined to make Xue Can fall at her feet.