Chapter 252 - 253: Now Here

Chapter 252: Chapter 253: Now Here

After discussing the cooperative investment project with Rose in the apartment, Rose finally decided to contact Wang Jie as soon as possible. However, before doing so, she needed to acquire a small to medium-sized entertainment company to justify the investment.

Regarding these matters, Yang Chen only played a coordinating role and wasn't willing to get deeply involved.

As daylight hours decreased in the winter, Yang Chen noticed the dimming sky and decided to drive back to the Longjing Villa.

As soon as he entered the door, Yang Chen was slightly surprised because he didn't see the usual sumptuous and steaming hot meals ready as before. The hall was empty and quiet, devoid of any human presence.

Yang Chen closed the door and walked upstairs, knocking on Wang Ma's door. The door opened, revealing Wang Ma wearing a thick coat, her face unnaturally flushed.

"You're back, Master, what time is it now?" Wang Ma asked.

Seeing Wang Ma's disoriented state, Yang Chen knew she must be ill and asked with concern, "Wang Ma, are you alright? You look like you've been sweating a lot."

"Ah, when you get older, you tend to get some minor illnesses. I'm not sure what happened, maybe I caught a chill tonight. I started feeling dizzy this afternoon and wanted to sleep. I took some cold and anti-inflammatory medicine to bring down the fever, but I probably overslept," Wang Ma sighed. "Master, why don't you call Miss and go out to eat tonight? I really don't have the energy to cook."

"Where's Ruo Xi?" Yang Chen asked curiously.

"Miss must be working in the study. Ah, she probably won't remember it's dinner time if you don't call her," Wang Ma sighed again. "Master, go call Miss. I'll go back to rest."

"Wang Ma, let me go out and get some food for you," Yang Chen said.

"No need, I can't eat right now. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep. I'm sorry to trouble you, Master," Wang Ma smiled reluctantly and closed the door.

Yang Chen sighed. Despite Wang Ma's good health maintenance, she was in her fifties now, and catching a cold wasn't a trivial matter.

He walked to the door of Lin Ruoxi's study, and indeed, light leaked out from under the door crack.

Lin Ruoxi had been working since he returned home and hadn't noticed that it was time for dinner.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock."

After knocking on the door, it took a while before Lin Ruoxi opened it.

She was wearing a long robe-style pink pajama, tied with a fluffy belt around her slender waist. Her hair was slightly messy from being loose for a long time in the study, and her face was flushed from lack of oxygen, her watery eyes blurred and charming.

"Have you had dinner?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

"It's dinner time, but there's no food," Yang Chen said.

"What do you mean?" Lin Ruoxi frowned.

After informing Lin Ruoxi about Wang Ma's cold and sleepiness, a trace of concern flickered in Lin Ruoxi's eyes. Immediately, she wanted to go and knock on Wang Ma's bedroom door.

Yang Chen grabbed her arm. "Don't disturb Wang Ma. Let's go out for dinner first."

"You go if you want to. I'm not hungry," Lin Ruoxi refused outright, pulling her arm free from Yang Chen's grip.

Yang Chen sighed. Since that day he had impulsively kissed her, their relationship hadn't been the same. "Even if you're mad at me, don't take it out on your own stomach. You've been working since you got back. How can you not be hungry?"

"I'm just not hungry," Lin Ruoxi replied coldly.

"Wang Ma needs medicine now. Let's go out for dinner and buy medicine for her. Don't you even have the thought to get medicine for Wang Ma?" Yang Chen tried a different approach.

Lin Ruoxi fell silent and started looking around the whole small restaurant. The old wooden tables and chairs, sewage and garbage everywhere on the tiled floor were very unappetizing to her. She couldn't understand why this guy didn't choose a nicer place.

Before long, two large plates of fiery red crayfish were brought over.

Lin Ruoxi stared blankly at the spicy scent emanating from them. The crayfish were grilled with various sauces, bright red and bizarre in appearance. Even when she ate Australian lobster, it was always served as sliced meat. She had never seen a whole crayfish like this before.

Yang Chen skillfully peeled open the crayfish shells and took out the meat with his hands, enjoying it. Seeing Lin Ruoxi still hesitant and frowning at him, he asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Don't you like crayfish?"

"Well, how do you eat this?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

Yang Chen was momentarily taken aback. "Just watch how I eat and do the same," he replied.

"Don't you think it's dirty to eat directly with your hands?" Lin Ruoxi found it hard to accept.

"How else would you eat it then, without using your hands? Maybe with your toes?" Yang Chen chuckled helplessly.

"At the very least, use a pair of plastic gloves, the sterilized kind," Lin Ruoxi insisted.

Yang Chen laughed. "This isn't a five-star restaurant. Just manage with what we have. Don't be too picky, our esteemed President Lin. Surely you can handle peeling crayfish?"

Lin Ruoxi was furious. If it weren't for this guy bringing her to such a place, would she have to stare helplessly while unable to eat?! She gritted her teeth and decided to pick up a crayfish with her hand, attempting to imitate Yang Chen.

However, the crayfish shell wasn't smooth. Lin Ruoxi's delicate finger got pricked by a sharp part of the shell. She quickly put down the crayfish and examined her finger, finding that the shell had punctured the skin, causing it to bleed. The spicy oil from the crayfish exacerbated the pain when it came into contact with the wound, almost bringing tears to Lin Ruoxi's eyes.

Seeing this, Yang Chen immediately grabbed a few napkins, saying with a wry smile, "Why are you in such a hurry? Take it slow."

Feeling aggrieved, Lin Ruoxi felt like she had encountered the worst luck in several lifetimes. Why did she have to meet such a guy? A peaceful dinner in a quiet restaurant would have been sufficient. Now she was suffering in this shabby place.

As she thought about it, her eyes turned red, almost shedding tears.

Yang Chen felt sorry for her, but also found the situation amusing. Lin Ruoxi's expression, silently enduring the suffering, was truly rich and colorful.

"Forget it, stop peeling. Go to the restroom and wash the wound clean of the spicy oil," Yang Chen suggested.

Lin Ruoxi stood up silently, wrapping her finger with a napkin, and walked to the small restroom in the corner.

About three minutes later, Lin Ruoxi returned with clean hands. The wound was small, and the bleeding had stopped.

As she returned to her seat, Lin Ruoxi, whose complexion wasn't great, unexpectedly noticed that her empty plate now held a small pile of crayfish meat. It was white, tender, shell-free, and glistening with sauce under the light, looking quite enticing.

Seeing her return, Yang Chen placed a piece of freshly peeled crayfish meat into Lin Ruoxi's plate and said with a smile, "I made sure not to touch the meat with my fingers while peeling it. It should be quite clean. Have a little taste. If you don't like it, you can give it to me. You can eat when the other dishes arrive."

Lin Ruoxi looked at her plate full of crayfish meat and the pile of crayfish shells in front of Yang Chen. All the dissatisfaction she had felt towards Yang Chen just moments ago, even the lingering barrier between them over these past few days, suddenly dissipated into thin air.

Noticing her lack of response, Yang Chen asked with some concern, "Why aren't you eating? You really don't want to? It actually tastes quite good."

"Yang Chen," Lin Ruoxi looked at him with a complex expression and said, "Has anyone ever told you before that you're a fool?"

Yang Chen paused for a moment, shook his head, "No."

"Well, now someone has. You're a fool," Lin Ruoxi declared.

With that said, she sat down and, under Yang Chen's bewildered gaze, proceeded to devour the crayfish meat on her plate with great relish.

Yang Chen watched her in a daze for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head.