Chapter 72 — Then I Suppose I'll Force Myself to Eat a Little

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From Uncle Qing, Wei Zhao had also learned that if he had not come, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu would have eaten breakfast every morning in the school cafeteria. Wei Zhao, however, did not find cooking a bother.

There was still a bit of rice left over from last night. Wei Zhao decided to make egg fried rice—it was no more than the work of a moment.

Wei Zhao dressed, left his room, and headed toward the dining room.

He opened the refrigerator in the kitchen and found a sausage and a few eggs. Wei Zhao was not worried about these things expiring—Uncle Qing checked regularly and bought fresh items to put in the fridge. Though the two little princesses seldom cooked for themselves, it never hurt to be prepared; sometimes when Gu Mengyao got hungry at night, she could fry herself an egg.

After searching for a while, he found no scallions. Ever since the "scallion-shaking song" had become popular, the price of scallions had gone up, so Wei Zhao simply gave up on chopped scallions.

Wei Zhao had often made egg fried rice at home, so a fragrant pot of fried rice was soon ready. He served himself a bowl, ate it quickly, then tossed the bowl into the sink, scrubbed it clean, and put it back on the rack.

Wei Zhao was also afraid that yesterday's incident might repeat itself, so he simply washed the used bowls and chopsticks himself and put them away.

Perhaps he had made some noise, for before long Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu came yawning down the stairs in their pajamas. Both wore cartoon-print pajamas that looked rather cute, a little out of keeping with their age—though Wei Zhao reflected that they watched cartoons all the time, so he understood… girls, after all… especially girls raised like young mistresses, were bound to be a little childish.

Only, beneath the nightgowns, two pairs of smooth ** made Wei Zhao's blood boil all over. Couldn't these two girls be a little more careful at home? Did they really think he did not exist? Don't think he dared not push them down… uh, actually he really did not quite dare…

"Wow, Brother Arrow, you've made us breakfast again!" Shen Yushu wrinkled her pretty nose and followed the aroma toward the kitchen. "Ooh, it's egg fried rice today—my favorite!"

"Ahem, ahem…" Gu Mengyao was a little displeased at Shen Yushu's being so obvious. How could you let that thing Wei Zhao get so smug?

"Yaoyao, are you eating?" Shen Yushu took a bowl, served herself a portion, and then asked Gu Mengyao.

"I… I don't like it." Gu Mengyao still could not quite let go of her pride. Eating what Wei Zhao made—wasn't that the same as letting her mouth be softened by his food? Though she had eaten it yesterday and the day before, today… ah, Xiaoshu really was too much. If you're going to eat, then eat, but must you look like it's the most delicious thing in the world?

"Eat together. I made plenty—if you don't eat it, it'll go to waste." Wei Zhao seemed to have seen through Gu Mengyao's saying one thing and meaning another, and smiled.

"Oh, the teacher said we mustn't waste food, so I suppose I'll force myself to eat a little." Gu Mengyao hesitated, then took the step Wei Zhao had offered her.

"Heh…" Wei Zhao said nothing. So the young mistress even knew about thrift now?

"Take your time eating. I'm going out for a stroll." Wei Zhao was afraid his presence would embarrass Gu Mengyao, so he turned and walked out of the villa…

"Yaoyao, haven't you noticed? Brother Arrow is a very considerate man—good at fighting, good at cooking, and handsome… now that I look at him, he's really quite handsome!" Shen Yushu whispered to Gu Mengyao as she ate her egg fried rice.

"Xiaoshu, don't tell me—two bowls of noodles and one bowl of egg fried rice and you've been bought off? You're already speaking up for him?" Gu Mengyao stared wide-eyed at Shen Yushu. "Don't tell me you're in heat?"

"You're the one in heat!" Shen Yushu blushed and said, "I'm just afraid someone will beat us to him, and then you'll regret it. I saw that fox Qiu Lingshan—she's clearly very interested in Brother Arrow. They've known each other two and a half days and they're already getting all cozy."

"Him? Who'd want him?" Gu Mengyao twisted her mouth. "I don't think he's any good either. The moment Qiu Lingshan tempts him, he takes the bait…"

At the mention of Qiu Lingshan, Shen Yushu felt a little gloomy. How could her own brother like a woman like that? If he knew something had happened between Qiu Lingshan and Wei Zhao, he would surely go mad…

"Achoo!" Wei Zhao sneezed the moment he stepped outside. What was wrong with him? Had he caught a cold? It wasn't cold at all this early in the morning. Of course, Wei Zhao did not yet know that the two girls inside, eating the egg fried rice he had made, were even then bad-mouthing him.

Though Wei Zhao had already lived in this villa for three days, this was the first time he had carefully observed the scene outside. This was clearly an area where wealthy people lived; anyone who could afford a house here was naturally either rich or noble.

Shen Yushu's background did leave Wei Zhao somewhat suspicious. He had never seen any of her family, yet she lived alone in a villa—her family, he supposed, was hardly ordinary.

A black Ferrari came tearing up from not far off, its engine roaring with insolent bravado. As it neared Wei Zhao it visibly slowed, and the driver peered at him with a flicker of puzzlement. He had met most of the young masters and misses of the neighborhood, but this face was unfamiliar. The Ferrari pulled up at the gate of Gu Mengyao's villa, and the driver rolled down the window—a young man.

"Hey, brother, you new here?" the young man asked Wei Zhao.

"Me? I suppose so..." Wei Zhao had no idea who this fellow was, but since the man showed no other intent, Wei Zhao decided to give him the courtesy of an answer.

"My name's Sun Yikai. If you ever run into trouble, you can drop my name. I look out for everyone in Seaview Villa Bay," the young man told Wei Zhao.

"All right. Thanks." Looking at the utterly enthusiastic Sun Yikai, Wei Zhao nodded. He had no need of anyone's protection, but Sun Yikai seemed to mean no harm, so Wei Zhao would not embarrass him by refusing.

Seeing that Wei Zhao appeared never to have heard his name, Sun Yikai only smiled faintly and said no more. "Brother, I haven't been to school in ages—got to go check in today. See you around."

"See you." Wei Zhao waved him off.

Sun Yikai started the car and roared away.

From Sun Yikai's words Wei Zhao gathered roughly that the man was well connected in society, and since Wei Zhao belonged to the same villa community, he took it upon himself to look after everyone there.

Still, it could also be seen as a bit of showing off. Either way, Sun Yikai was not particularly objectionable, and Wei Zhao gave no sign of what he thought.

Not long after Sun Yikai left, Wei Zhao saw several more fine cars pass before his eyes, though none stopped—sports cars, along with Mercedes, BMWs and Audis, and of course a few top-tier luxury cars like Bentleys and Rolls-Royces.