Chapter 18: Practicing My Voice
As soon as the door opened, Gu Zhiren was standing there. He calmly adjusted the cuff of his right sleeve with his left hand. His gaze moved slowly from the room next door, then he lifted his eyes slightly.
His sharp look made Mu Yi hold her breath for a moment.
“You came right on time,” she muttered.
She pulled the door open wider and stepped aside, wearing a faint smile. Her lips pouted slightly, and there was a hint of acting cute in her expression.
Gu Zhiren didn’t say anything. He just glanced at her calmly.
As if afraid he might leave, Mu Yi quickly closed the door after he stepped in, locked it, and let out a small sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing.
Noticing her strange behavior, Gu Zhiren looked at her silently, then turned his head and carefully scanned the whole room.
Compared to the last time he came, nothing had really changed.
As he looked around, his eyes stopped at the low table, where there was an empty takeout bag.
He didn’t pay much attention to it.
Just as he habitually adjusted his cuff again, Mu Yi stepped closer and stood behind his shoulder, tilting her head and looking at him in a strange way.
“Don’t just stand there, sit down,” she said.
She walked past him toward the kitchen. “I bought fried chicken and beer. The chicken got a bit cold, so I’ll heat it up. Just wait a moment, it’ll only take a few minutes.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren looked at her, still cautious. He replied casually, but clearly refusing, “No need.”
“Huh?”
Mu Yi turned her head.
“You eat it yourself. I just came to check on your writing today.”
After saying that, he looked away.
“You’re not eating? That’s a shame. Fried chicken with beer is really delicious…”
Gu Zhiren looked indifferent. But when he accidentally noticed a few pieces of underwear hanging on the balcony, his thoughts were about to drift.
Suddenly, Mu Yi’s voice was interrupted by a cry of pain.
“Ah! That hurts…”
Looking toward the sound, he saw the white-haired girl holding her left foot, hopping in place on one leg. It seemed she had accidentally kicked the wall.
Gu Zhiren’s lips moved slightly.
Before he could say anything, she suddenly lost her balance and fell to the ground with a loud thud. A soft cry escaped from her lips.
Seeing this, Gu Zhiren frowned and quickly walked over, helping her up.
“How can you be so careless? Are you okay?” he asked, his tone carrying both concern and slight blame.
“Not okay at all! My foot… it really hurts! I think I twisted it just now.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren turned his head slightly and looked seriously at her feet in slippers, then let out a helpless sigh.
“Get up.”
He carefully helped her stand and led her to the sofa. Mu Yi kept her injured right foot off the ground and lightly hopped using her left foot, which had also been hurt.
“You’re so strange. I’m the one in pain, why do you look worse than me?” she complained.
Gu Zhiren stayed silent. He helped her sit down, then crouched in front of her. With careful and practiced movements, he took off her slippers and gently held her right foot in his left hand.
The skin under his hand was smooth and soft. Her small foot fit perfectly in his palm.
If it were someone else, they might have wanted to admire or play with her foot, but Gu Zhiren was only focused on her injury. His right hand slowly pressed on the twisted area.
“What’s wrong with you? First your hands are hurt, now your foot is hurt.”
He was starting to suspect she was doing it on purpose.
“I don’t want this either…”
Mu Yi wanted to argue loudly. She felt that she wasn’t the problem. But before she could finish speaking, her foot was suddenly squeezed and pressed.
It felt like an electric current ran through her whole body. A tingling sensation rushed from her ankle straight to her head.
Her toes tightened instantly.
After the tingling, there came a wave of soreness and pain. Her nerves were strongly stimulated. She clenched her teeth and pressed her lips together, but a sound still slipped out.
“Mm… ah! It hurts… it hurts… be gentler…”
Hearing her voice, Gu Zhiren paused for a moment, then looked up at her strangely. His brows furrowed, and his expression turned serious and slightly cold.
“What are you doing?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing? You suddenly used so much force!”
“……”
Looking at her confident expression, Gu Zhiren felt a bit helpless. He suppressed his annoyance, looked away, and continued massaging her foot instead of stopping.
Just when things were starting to settle down, another soft sound came from the girl.
Gu Zhiren couldn’t help but glance at her again, then lowered his head and kept working on her foot.
“You’re making such loud noises. Are you practicing your voice or something?” he said helplessly.
“It’s obviously because of your hands…”
As she spoke, Mu Yi seemed to think of something. She gave a small huff, pulled her foot back slightly, and changed the topic.
“Weren’t you asking about my writing? Did you see my update today? I wrote this much.”
She raised one finger, her eyes curved happily, clearly asking for praise.
“Isn’t that your usual amount?” Gu Zhiren said after looking at her finger.
“Ah… no! I mean ten thousand words, not just one update.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren immediately felt like something was coming.
“I worked so hard for once, and you’re not even going to praise me?” Mu Yi puffed her cheeks, clearly unhappy.
Gu Zhiren’s helpless expression deepened a little. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he spoke in a slightly teasing tone.
“You really know how to make your usual laziness sound reasonable. It’s just one day of hard work.”
“You—”
Mu Yi’s frustration shot up instantly.
Seriously, she had never met someone who could talk like this.
But the next moment, she forced herself to calm down. She glared at him, then turned her face away and continued,
“Don’t you want to know why I suddenly worked so hard?”
Gu Zhiren stayed silent. He put down her small foot and lifted the other one, checking her toes. After confirming there was no serious problem, he stood up and brushed his hands.
“If you want to say it, just say it. I’m going to use the bathroom to wash my hands.”
“Mm…”
Looking at his back, Mu Yi bit her lip, rubbed her face with both hands, and prepared herself. Her fair cheeks quickly turned red.
Soon you won’t be so calm anymore… hehe.
Get ready~
When Gu Zhiren reached the bathroom door, Mu Yi took a light breath, clenched her fists, and shouted,
“It’s because of you! Because I… I…”
Hearing her stutter, Gu Zhiren stopped walking and paused for a moment.