Taming a Wild Rose - Chapter 6 Part 2

After Sheng Zhao’s frantic explanation and Li Ji’s oppressive gaze, Duan Jingrui had no choice but to choke out a tearful confession, nodding as he admitted he was her cousin.

Sheng Zhao’s expression was gentle and composed, carrying a hint of innocent feigned ignorance. “That’s right, this child has been rather uninterested in school recently, so I wanted to let him stay here for some time. Is that okay?”

Li Ji played with his cup in boredom, voice deep and raspy, seemingly subtly mocking her. “What could I possibly object to?”

Sheng Zhao bashfully lowered her eyes, unsure how to appease him and prevent him from getting upset.

On the other hand, Duan Jingrui seemed quite excited about staying, grabbing Sheng Zhao by the hand and pulling her upstairs to find a room. Seeing this, Li Ji’s aura grew even more menacing.

Sheng Zhao paused, then pulled Duan Jingrui away before Duan Jingrui could drag her off, escaping Li Ji’s deathly stare. She left Li Ji sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed, face cold and expression stern.

Duan Jingrui excitedly told her, his words barely audible, “Sister Sheng, which room are you staying in? I want to sleep with you—”

“Shh—” Sheng Zhao abruptly covered his mouth and pressed him against the wall.

The young man’s face reddened instantly as he looked up at Sheng Zhao’s placid expression, whining softly. He then stuck out his tongue and gently licked the hand covering his mouth, like a puppy seeking affection. His glossy eyes were moist, like a puppy’s.

The wetness of his tongue delicately touched her palm and the sticky sensation made Sheng Zhao flinch instinctively.

Her face darkened slightly. She rubbed the crease between her brows tiredly, then said quietly, “Jingrui, you’d better listen to me more often, behave yourself and be my cousin—”

Her voice was gentle, but within moments, it was tainted by a faint threat: “Otherwise, I’ll stop your monthly allowance from your parents, remove that tongue piercing, dye your hair back, and never let you get closer than ten metres to me again, understood?”

Duan Jingrui nodded dumbly. It seemed he wanted to argue, but couldn’t find the right words. After pursing his lips, he asked Sheng Zhao in a small voice, curiosity still present in his gaze, “Sister Sheng, who was that old man with such a gloomy face?”

“What old man?” Sheng Zhao’s eyes flickered with displeasure and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. “He is now my client under my full authority.”

Duan Jingrui paused before he realised what was going on. “Then he’ll be your next—”

Under Sheng Zhao’s oppressive gaze, Duan Jingrui covered his mouth sheepishly and didn’t say another word.

“Remember to call him ‘gege’ when we get back, okay?”

“…Okay,” Duan Jingrui replied after a pause, somewhat disgruntled but managing to hold it in.

Still seething internally, Duan Jingrui began to feel irritated toward Li Ji as well.

While they were talking, Li Ji silently finished cooking and sat down quietly at the dining table.

The first thing Sheng Zhao and Duan Jingrui saw upon descending the stairs was Li Ji’s calm scowl, and a bowl of— grass?

There was only one plate of vegetable salad on the table.

Li Ji met Sheng Zhao’s incredulous gaze, lips curling slightly upward, voice deep and hoarse. “Well, dinner’s ready; let’s eat.”

“But…” This was a bowl of grass, Sheng Zhao wanted to say something, but seeing Li Ji’s dark expression, she kept silent.

…Angry men really were quite terrifying.

As if sensing Sheng Zhao wanted to say something, Li Ji lifted his eyebrow and said with a teasing tone, “I’m trying to lose weight, so I only eat vegetable salads at night.”

“…Oh.”

Clearly, not too long ago when he was dieting, even without Sheng Zhao’s request, Li Ji would still cook a normal meal for her alone.

His cooking skills truly were exceptional; Sheng Zhao liked eating the food he made.

But Duan Jingrui only heard the word “weight” and, after measuring up Li Ji’s near-perfect figure, let out a sour sigh before stuffing the salad into his mouth as though he didn’t care. This made both Sheng Zhao and Li Ji roll their eyes slightly.

Watching Duan Jingrui devour half of the salad despite being already full, Sheng Zhao suddenly had a ridiculous thought: Wait…this silly boy doesn’t think that eating more salad will help him lose weight.

Li Ji’s anger inexplicably subsided somewhat. His gaze flickered past Duan Jingrui and Sheng Zhao, lips curling upwards faintly, eyes narrowed in slight amusement.

He thought to himself—How stupid.