Chapter 16: Newlyweds Who Need More “Practice”
Cheng Fei originally only wanted to disgust him a little, but she never expected Gao Ming, that crafty businessman, to catch the hidden meaning in her words.
Trying to beat the snake but getting bitten instead, she really had terrible luck!
Grinding her teeth angrily, Cheng Fei could only blame herself for digging the hole with her own hands.
“Fine! But let me say this first, you need to pay the food expenses in advance.”
Gao Ming raised his chin.
“You really never act unless there’s profit involved… What about the twenty-five thousand from yesterday morning?”
“That counts too?!”
“How does it not count?”
“That was compensation money! A reward for what you did to me!”
“……”
Gao Ming once again became speechless.
“Let me explain it like this… When you stay at a hotel and the staff carries your luggage upstairs, the tip you give is extra money. Whether you give more or less depends on your mood. You don’t even have to give it at all.”
“But that has nothing to do with meal expenses. You can’t just refuse to pay for food because you’re in a bad mood. That’s unreasonable.”
Gao Ming narrowed his eyes.
Inside those eyes, he could almost see golden light shining.
Just like the other day, the words “money lover” were written all over Cheng Fei’s face without the slightest attempt to hide it.
“Fine.”
Gao Ming nodded and lowered his head to finish everything left in the bowl.
After wiping his mouth with a tissue, he quickly went upstairs.
Not long after the sound of the door closing, Cheng Fei’s phone gave a notification sound.
After seeing the number on the screen, Cheng Fei smiled happily.
Rich people really had no mercy with money.
If only she could throw money around like that someday!
Half-asleep, Cheng Fei had no idea how long she had slept.
She only knew she could probably sleep another whole day without any problem.
Back when she worked in sales, at least she had enough rest.
But ever since turning into this body, only three days had passed, yet she had already been leaving early and returning late for two straight days.
And today, since she would not be able to come back at noon, she could only prepare Gao Ming’s lunch in the morning.
Yawning as she left home, she headed straight for the supermarket inside the neighborhood.
Just like the day she fell from the building, the vegetable section was once again being fiercely “attacked” by elderly uncles and aunties.
Only rotten leaves remained.
The supermarket staff stood nearby waiting for the old people to leave before putting out fresh vegetables.
Otherwise, after those people swept through the area, there would only be more rotten leftovers.
Cheng Fei had the same thought in mind and lazily wandered off to look at other things first…
Carefully managing her time, she finished everything before six-thirty sharp.
Pushing her shopping cart while eating an ice cream, she felt instantly refreshed after the cool morning wind blew against her.
Nearby, many elderly people who had just “returned victorious” were still sweating on the exercise equipment, continuing their own version of Ragnarok.
Looking at the magnificent scene before her, Cheng Fei could not help clicking her tongue and shaking her head.
If she had not seen it with her own eyes, who would believe these were the same people who looked weak and fragile on buses and always got offered seats?
As Cheng Fei looked away, she suddenly noticed a familiar figure deep within the crowd.
That boxing style…
It looked strong and powerful, and even his movements carried wind with them.
What exactly was Gao Ming practicing?
While she was wondering, Gao Ming suddenly stepped forward and raised his arm.
His elbow slammed into the punching pad tied to a tree.
The small tree shook immediately, and several leaves rustled down.
The moves looked somewhat like Muay Thai, but not as ruthless.
Cheng Fei did not know much about traditional martial arts, so she could not tell what style it was.
Still…
That guy’s body was surprisingly good.
Usually she never noticed it, but now that he was shirtless, his muscles actually looked very solid.
Tch! Rich people really had too much free time.
If she had free time to train before, she definitely would have been stronger than this guy!
The corners of Cheng Fei’s mouth twitched unconsciously. Her eyes even seemed to turn golden and narrow like cat eyes.
“You’re up pretty early.”
Cheng Fei had been thinking so deeply that she did not even notice Gao Ming walking over.
She jumped in shock so hard that the ice cream in her hand fell to the ground.
“I’ll buy you another one later.”
“…Uh! There are still more at home.”
Being caught secretly watching him was naturally a little embarrassing.
Cheng Fei awkwardly grinned.
After picking up the fallen ice cream and throwing it into the trash can, Gao Ming grabbed Cheng Fei’s hand with one hand while pushing the shopping cart with the other.
In front of everyone’s eyes, he looked at her with a smile and confidently walked home beside her.
The moment the two left, the gossip immediately began.
“You can tell those two young people are newly married. Like the old saying goes, they still need more practice!”
“He scared the girl so badly that she dropped her ice cream. What a waste.”
“Exactly! The outside got dirty, but the inside was still fine!”
“If it were me, I’d rinse it off and keep eating it!”
“Eww!”
The moment those words came out, several people nearby immediately looked at the speaker with disgust.
That was way too unhygienic.
“What are you all reacting for? It’s not like I’d eat it myself.”
“I’d give it to my son instead. That brat wouldn’t know where it came from anyway…”
“……”
Some things really should not be said out loud.
Once mentioned, they instantly brought back memories, and embarrassing stories.
For example, when they were young, they had all picked up fruit or snacks that fell on the ground, blown on them a few times for show, and stuffed them into the mouths of children who were still babbling.
Almost every silver-haired person there had done something similar before.
Without saying it openly, they all silently returned to exercising.
After returning home, the two stopped acting and went back to normal. They had not bought much food, just enough for two meals. It was better to buy fresh ingredients later than buy too much because of cheap prices and let it spoil.
The sounds of cooking came from the kitchen. Gao Ming’s ears twitched like a cat’s. Even though the smell of body wash filled the bathroom, he could still smell food in the air.
He truly had not eaten enough last night, and the morning boxing practice used up a lot of energy. His stomach immediately started growling.
Shredded pork with green peppers, stir-fried broccoli, and fried potatoes with eggplant and peppers were already packed into insulated lunch boxes. Something else was cooking in the pot, giving off a sour but nice smell. He had only taken a shower, yet she had already finished making all this food.
Cheng Fei sat there comfortably eating fried rice, scrolling on her phone. When she saw him come downstairs, she pointed at the bowl and plate placed upside down across from her.
“Pretty fast.”
Cheng Fei swallowed a mouthful of rice with a sip of beer and said, “You take showers more carefully than women do. Even when I soak in a bathtub, I never spend more than twenty minutes.”
“…It feels good. Helps with tiredness.”
Gao Ming scooped up a spoonful and put it into his mouth.
“You cooked dishes and rice too. You didn’t buy this, right?”
Cheng Fei rolled her eyes.
“Who sells cooked rice at the supermarket this early in the morning? This is leftover rice from when your parents visited a few days ago.”
“……”
Leftovers. And from three days ago.
Cheng Fei sighed and explained, “Don’t look down on leftover rice. Fried rice is supposed to use overnight rice. Of course, not the kind someone spit out.”
“……”
Gao Ming’s expression immediately darkened, and he stared at her. Cheng Fei wisely shut her mouth and lowered her head to keep eating, avoiding his murderous glare.
“I stored it in a sealed box and kept it half-frozen. It’s basically the same as one-night-old rice.”
“But it’s still three days old. If it makes me sick, can you afford the compensation?”
Cheng Fei looked up and saw Gao Ming pointing at himself. But she understood what he really meant. He was not just talking about himself, but also about his identity and position.
An upset stomach was not a big deal. A few pills would fix it. But if it caused him to miss a business chance, the losses would be huge.
Thinking about it that way, Cheng Fei suddenly was not sure whether Gao Ming’s stomach was stronger, or the bacteria in the rice.
To her, three days was nothing. She had even eaten food left for a whole week before. But everyone was different. In the end, this was all because of her habit of being too stingy.
Cheng Fei practically jumped out of her chair and tried to grab the plate. Gao Ming reacted quickly and pushed it aside.
“I’m definitely eating this meal.”
“Come on, let’s just eat something fresh, okay?”
As she spoke, she pushed the uncovered lunch boxes toward him. Gao Ming raised an eyebrow and pushed them back.
“Too greasy for the morning.”
He refused every approach. Soft or hard methods, nothing worked.
Cheng Fei nervously finished breakfast, but Gao Ming showed no signs of discomfort.
After cleaning everything up, Gao Ming drove her to the shop. Carrying the lunch boxes, Cheng Fei laughed awkwardly and asked again,
“Your stomach…”
“Feels great for now.”
“Oh…” Cheng Fei got out of the car weakly. Just as her feet touched the ground, Gao Ming spoke again.
“The food was good. But next time, don’t use ingredients kept that long. Saving money isn’t the same as being cheap. If you want to save money, you don't need to overstock on things, you just need to be efficient.”
Those righteous words coming from him sounded strange, yet also strangely reassuring. At least she no longer had to worry about stomach problems coming back to haunt her.
Cheng Fei smiled and waved.
“If you want it to taste better, heat it up again at noon.”
“Mm.”
Gao Ming smiled lightly, rolled up the car window, and drove away.
The heavy weight in Cheng Fei’s heart finally disappeared. But the moment she turned to open the shop, a smiling face suddenly appeared right in front of her.
Her heart jumped, and she almost screamed.
It was Zheng Qi. This woman appeared like a ghost sometimes. Early in the morning, she had actually come here to secretly watch the situation. Looking at that knowing smile on her face, Cheng Fei realized Zheng Qi had guessed correctly again.
“So loving, huh?”
“Hehe…” Cheng Fei gave a fake smile.
Zheng Qi followed behind her. A sweet fragrance drifted over, making Cheng Fei unconsciously sniff the air.
“What did you make? Smells amazing.”
“Lunch, what else? Beautiful lady!” Cheng Fei grinned and moved a little closer to Zheng Qi. She did not know what perfume Zheng Qi was wearing, but it was neither too strong nor too light. Yet somehow it quietly hooked people’s hearts.
It awakened a kind of desire no man could resist.
“Wow, it smells even better than my cooking!”
“New product. Want to try some?”
Seeing the small bottle in Zheng Qi’s hand, Cheng Fei instantly became alert. If she used that perfume, wouldn’t it attract all kinds of perverts? And even if she safely got home, there was still a young, energetic man there. What if he suddenly lost control and jumped at her? Would she even survive?
“N-No thanks!”
“Haha, what are you afraid of? You’ve got a husband to protect you!”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of…”
Zheng Qi put away the perfume and rested her chin on her hand.
“That’s true. If it really brought out his wild side, he’d probably want to do it from morning till night. With your little body, could you even handle it?”
“Hehe…”
Cheng Fei responded with an expressionless smile.
Being slept with by a man sounded worse than getting shot dead.
If she had to play around, she would rather do it with a hot beauty like Zheng Qi…
As she imagined it, Cheng Fei’s eyes wandered toward Zheng Qi again, moving through the gaps in her clothes.
With a goddess beside her, how could she focus on cleaning properly? But there was no choice. If she wanted to earn money and escape in the future, she could only force herself to endure it for now.