Chapter 230: "Boss Shen is very curious about my affairs?
Chapter 230: Chapter 230: "Boss Shen is very curious about my affairs?
And so, Cai Su was quite warm toward Fu Cheng.
Xiao Lang, on the other hand, blinked, curiously sizing Fu Cheng up.
He knew of Fu Cheng’s existence, had even seen him a couple of times, and knew he was Shen Lu’s fiancé.
But Fu Cheng usually stayed in his room, so this was the first time they had all properly sat down to eat together.
Hmm...
’This guy looks even scarier than Brother Xue.’
Ye Fan had interacted with Fu Cheng more than anyone else, so he had no reaction to Fu Cheng joining them for dinner.
Lin Zhou didn’t react either, though he was slightly worried that Fu Cheng would compete with them for the dishes.
Sitting across from Fu Cheng, Xue Can watched him with a profound gaze. His eyes traveled from Fu Cheng’s left eye, still wrapped in gauze, to his right arm, where the empty sleeve revealed a missing section. His left leg was hidden from view by the table.
Fu Cheng calmly accepted everyone’s gazes, whether they were friendly or critical. He had always been mentally strong. Before his injuries, he had been a standout in any crowd and was used to being the center of attention.
Things weren’t so different now. ’A few stares won’t kill me,’ he thought. ’Let them look.’
"Why is everyone just staring? Let’s eat." Shen Lu looked from one person to the next. The group, who usually dug in the moment they sat down, were all being strangely polite, their eyes darting about but their chopsticks staying put.
So, she had to take the lead and serve herself.
Once Shen Lu had spoken, everyone else began to eat.
Shen Lu asked Fu Cheng, "What would you like? The spicy shrimp balls? Or the dry-pot potato slices?"
"Anything is fine. You know I’m not a picky eater."
Shen Lu used the serving chopsticks to give Fu Cheng a little of every dish. He thanked her, then picked up his own chopsticks and began to eat slowly.
The rehabilitation therapy at the hospital was indeed much more effective than practicing at home. It was expensive, but after just two days, he could already use chopsticks skillfully with his left hand. Its stability and dexterity had improved immensely.
Shen Lu was used to taking care of Fu Cheng, and the others had grown accustomed to it as well. Only Xue Can felt an inexplicable sourness well up inside him as he watched their easy intimacy.
The feeling was so unfamiliar that he couldn’t pinpoint its source.
"Mr. Xue," Shen Lu said, as if she had just remembered something. "Why didn’t you go with the delegation to the Zhunan Survival Base today? I saw your girlfriend on TV this morning. I thought you had gone on the mission together."
’Girlfriend?’
Ye Fan and Lin Zhou snapped their heads toward Xue Can. ’The chief has a girlfriend? Since when? How did we not know?’
This was major gossip, and Ye Fan could barely resist sharing it with the guys in their unit. But Xue Can immediately shut the rumor down.
"I think you’ve misunderstood, Boss Shen. I don’t have a girlfriend." Xue Can’s expression soured. "Lei Li and I aren’t even friends. We’re merely acquaintances."
"Oh, is that so?" Shen Lu’s eyes widened slightly. She was dying to gossip a little more, but seeing the look on Xue Can’s face, she wisely held her tongue.
"I’m not interested in girls like Lei Li."
"All right." Shen Lu felt a little disappointed. ’I thought he and Lei Li would make a good match.’ "It seems I was mistaken."
"Mhm," Xue Can grunted, clearly not in the mood to discuss it.
But Shen Lu wasn’t all that interested in Xue Can’s love life anyway. She was more curious about something else.
"So, Mr. Xue, will you be leaving the city for a mission anytime soon?"
’When I read the book, I pretty much skimmed it. I only remember the general plot points, not the details. I just recall that Xue Can goes out on a mission, but I have no idea what that mission was.’
’Maybe I’m making assumptions,’ Shen Lu thought. ’Perhaps Xue Can didn’t participate in this delegation mission, but met the female lead while on a different one?’
Xue Can’s eyes narrowed. "You seem very curious about my business, Boss Shen."
Shen Lu didn’t catch his underlying meaning. "Since Mr. Xue will be eating dinner here for the time being, knowing your schedule helps me plan the meals."
’Oh, so that’s why.’
Xue Can lowered his gaze, hiding the disappointment in his eyes.
"I won’t be going out on any missions for a while."
His injuries hadn’t fully healed, making him unfit for a mission.
"I’d like some soup," Fu Cheng, who was sitting beside Shen Lu, suddenly said. "Little Deer, could you get a bowl for me?"
"Alright."
Tonight’s soup was a red date and meatball soup—light and sweet, with wonderfully firm meatballs. One sip was enough to warm a person from the inside out.
Shen Lu ladled a bowl of soup for Fu Cheng, adding a few more bites of food to his plate while she was at it.
Xue Can glanced over once before looking away, unable to watch any longer.
’It’s too painful to watch.’
’I know Fu Cheng is injured and needs help with a lot of things, but I just can’t stand watching it.’
’Especially when the one helping him is Shen Lu.’
After dinner, Cai Su and Shen Lu cleared the table. Xiao Lang sidled up to Xue Can, peppering him with questions, while Fu Cheng maneuvered his wheelchair, preparing to head back upstairs.
Suddenly, Xiao Lang’s neck went rigid, his eyes flew wide, and he started to fall backward.
Xue Can caught the boy with one hand and quickly checked him over.
Seeing this, Cai Su’s legs gave out. Shen Lu had to grab her to keep her from falling.
"M-Mr. Xue, Xiao Lang, he’s..."
Xue Can nodded. "Yes. He’s about to undergo his second awakening."
"Is... is he going to be okay?" Cai Su dragged her trembling legs to her son’s side and touched his burning face. It was similar to his last awakening, but not exactly the same, and a sense of dread filled her.
"He’s fine. A high fever is normal during an awakening. As long as it stays within a certain range, there won’t be any problems."
"We should put him in bed first," Fu Cheng called out from the foot of the stairs. "An awakening takes time."
"Right, right." Cai Su, who had been in a complete panic, was influenced by how calm both Xue Can and Fu Cheng were and managed to compose herself slightly.
Xue Can laid Xiao Lang down on the small bed in the dorm room. Cai Su stared at her son’s flushed face, her heart pounding with anxiety. She felt a desperate need to do something for him.
"There’s nothing you can do," Xue Can said, seeing right through her. "He has to complete the awakening on his own. No one can help him."
Cai Su’s eyes welled with tears. "He’ll get through this without any trouble, right?"
Xue Can fell silent. That was a guarantee he couldn’t give her.
Awakenings were a mix of opportunity and risk; no one could be one hundred percent certain of the outcome until it was over.
This was all outside Shen Lu’s area of expertise. Not wanting to get in the way, she stayed in the dorm’s living area instead of going into the bedroom with Cai Su and her son.
"Little Deer," Fu Cheng said, coming up beside her. "You could get a basin of water for Sister Cai. She can use it to wipe Xiao Lang down."
"But doesn’t water only heal and soothe the Spiritual Sea? Is it actually useful for an awakening?" Afraid of being overheard, Shen Lu leaned in and lowered her voice, her warm breath ghosting across the shell of Fu Cheng’s ear. "Or would it be more effective if he drank it?"
A tingling sensation shot from the tip of Fu Cheng’s ear straight to his chest. His fingers clenched as he fought the blush creeping up his neck.
Unfortunately, he failed. A faint pink spread not only across his cheeks, but all the way down his neck.