Rebirth from the Ashes

Perhaps it was late and there were only two of them at home.

Or maybe Fu Qingxuan felt bad because he was this close to smashing Shen Xi with a bowl, so he did not drive her away nastily when she picked up a pair of chopsticks to join him.

Watching Shen Xi enjoying the meal and digging in more than he was, who had been hungry all night, Fu Qingxuan asked, “I thought girls refrain from having supper?”

Mom and Aunt were against having supper.

His aunt, in particular, would not have another bite once it was past six o’clock in the evening. Aunt said fairies lived on morning dews and sweet nectars.

“You seem to have some misconception about girls.” Chewing with delight, Shen Xi mumbled. “Why can’t we eat if you boys can?”

Fu Qingxuan frowned. “I didn’t have anything tonight. Did you have dinner?”

Shen Xi refuted, “So I can’t be hungry after dinner? In that case, you can save lunch and dinner if you had breakfast. Will you be full forever if you have one meal?”

Fu Qingxuan choked. Even though it was all utter nonsense, he found himself at a loss for a comeback.

Fine. She won this time for having the last say.

For once, she did not get under his skin; perhaps because the food was good. He did not find her an eyesore anymore.

Shen Xi enquired, “Were you reading all this while?”

Fu Qingxuan answered, “Yes.”

She asked, “You came looking for food because you were hungry?”

He replied, “I was done with the book.”

She retorted, “Oh!”

A bookworm indeed. Shen Xi was impressed by how he skipped sleep and meals just by being lost in the book.

The pair finished the food without another word but there was a pleasant and warm air surrounding them.

Perhaps this was an occupational hazard for Fu Qingxuan, but hygiene was of great importance to him. Whether he was sharing a meal or eating by himself, he would always designate a serving utensil in each dish to avoid using personal cutlery for serving.

Before they dug into the food, he cautioned her to use the serving utensil if she wanted to share the hotpot with him.

Since Shen Xi did not have such practice when eating at home, she would forget and used her own chopsticks to fish for the food instead.

Fu Qingxuan wondered if she had him under her spell as he was not the least bit disgusted or offended by her negligence of using the serving utensil. Shen Xi would use her own chopsticks and glanced at him guiltily as she finally recalled his instruction.

He must be out of his mind. The girl was so mean, put up all these walls, and now stealing his food.

Yet, why could he not hate her?

It was still dark in the morning when Shen Xi woke up.

Her teacher informed her that Mr. Huo wanted her to arrive at six o’clock sharp and if she were a minute late, she did not have to bother coming at all.

It was two in the morning when Shen Xi got up for a drink. She had hotpot with Fu Qingxuan before setting the alarm at four and proceeded to have a short nap.

She did a quick check on Mr Huo’s location and hers. Mr. Huo’s home was not far and it would only take half an hour for her to get there with a quick jog.

Fu Qingxuan was a light sleeper and he barely had a wink when he picked up noise coming from outside his room. He got up in a daze and without changing out of his pajamas, he put on a hat and a knee-length down jacket before following Shen Xi.

The rain had stopped by now but it was still rather foggy.

Behind the wheel, Fu Qingxuan kept a certain distance from Shen Xi as he followed her.

The morning fog was good to cover his tracks.

The mean girl was clever and would tease him if she were to discover him.

Fu Qingxuan was only tagging along in fear she might lose her way, run into bad guys, or get into some random car.

He was afraid she might be stupid. Qingye would never forgive him if something bad were to happen to her.