Chapter 172 - Papaya

“Hah.” Ellie tucked the business card into her pocket with a carefree smile, exuding a roguish energy from head to toe. She scoffed, “Trying to tame me? Keep dreaming.”

However, one of the three great laws of the universe-Murphy’s Law-reminds us that you should never speak with such certainty, or you’ll risk a painful slap in the face.

Regardless of how things unfolded, after achieving the originally planned objective of “handing the business card to Ellie,” Chu Qianqian had to leave. She was deeply concerned about the self-reliance of Qingyi and Chu Ziyu, so she had to fly back to City B that very night.

The mood before her departure was somewhat somber, but since Chu Qianqian was still a little annoyed deep down, she cursed Ellie once more before leaving, wishing out loud that someone would teach her a lesson someday. This managed to lighten the melancholy of their parting.

“I’ll be in City B for around three months this time. Here, this is my address. If you come to City B to meet Boss Wei, you can drop by and visit me.”

“Why would I visit you? To get cursed at again?”

“What cursing? I’m wishing for you to find the right person soon and stop being so wild.”

“Wild? I’m just enjoying life. The adult world is not something a little girl like you would understand.”

“Oh? So you’re admitting you’re older than me? Auntie~”

“Chu Qianqian, you…”

When she arrived back at the villa, it was exactly 8 p.m. Although her flight had been delayed by half an hour, the traffic on the way home was surprisingly smooth, and she arrived thirty minutes earlier than expected.

“Qianqian, you’re back!”

Qingyi’s voice was as lively as ever. Despite feeling a bit fatigued from the plane ride and car travel, Chu Qianqian somehow felt rejuvenated upon hearing his voice.

“I’m back. Have you guys had dinner yet?” Chu Qianqian asked casually, even though she already knew the answer in her heart. At this time of night, it seemed impossible they hadn’t eaten yet.

The question was just a conversational habit-after all, people often kick off casual chats by mentioning meals.

But Qingyi, ever the unconventional one, nodded and said, “Not yet.”

“What’s going on?” Chu Qianqian put down her bag and started heading toward the kitchen. “I wasn’t here; didn’t you think to order takeout?”

Originally lounging on a beanbag chair, Qingyi immediately jumped to his feet upon seeing Chu Qianqian head towards the kitchen. He quickly followed her. “We were waiting for you!”

“Waiting for me?”

When Chu Qianqian entered the Kitchen, she finally understood what Qingyi meant by “waiting for her.” Looking at the newly organized space, everything seemed tidier than before she left. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but it really did look like the place had been put into perfect order.

“Was it you or Ziyu who did this?” Although she phrased it as a question, Chu Qianqian already had her guess-it was most likely Chu Ziyu.

Sure enough.

“Of course it was Ziyu. You know I’ve never stepped foot in the Kitchen. I’m a total disaster when it comes to cooking,” Qingyi replied, entirely unapologetic, as if it were a badge of pride.

Chu Qianqian sighed helplessly. She wanted to tease him but found herself at a loss for words. After all, given Qingyi’s privileged upbringing, he could theoretically spend his life lazing in bed and still be taken care of.

“Come on, Qianqian, the food’s all set up in the dining room. Ziyu timed it perfectly for when you’d get back, and he just finished setting everything out,” Qingyi said, ushering her toward the dining area.

Noticing the hint of concern in her eyes, Qingyi patted his chest confidently and reassured her, “Don’t worry, I snuck a taste, and it’s really good! Plus, it’s healthy and great for your skin. You’re gonna love it!”

In the dining room, Chu Ziyu was engrossed in arranging the plates, trying to make the presentation as appealing as possible. So focused was he on his task that he didn’t even notice Chu Qianqian had already returned. When he finally looked up and saw her standing there, he froze for a moment, realizing he’d been a little too absorbed. His earlobes flushed red as he clumsily finished arranging the last plate.

It was rare to see Chu Ziyu so flustered. Amusement flickered in Chu Qianqian’s eyes, and her smile threatened to spread wider. She tried her best to suppress it, but it took several attempts before she finally managed to keep the corners of her mouth from curling up.

After discreetly touching her lips to confirm she wasn’t smiling, Chu Qianqian stepped forward to help with the plating.

Lifting the lid off one of the bowls, her gaze settled on the contents. Letting out a soft sigh, she finally understood why Qingyi had been so confident about it earlier-Chu Ziyu’s dinner preparation turned out to be three fruit salads.

Given everyone’s differing tastes, each salad was topped with a different dressing. Qingyi’s was drizzled with his favorite sweet salad dressing, Chu Ziyu’s was dressed with yogurt, and Chu Qianqian’s was topped with honey.

Adding honey to fruit salad had always been a small personal quirk of Chu Qianqian’s, one she’d held onto for years. It wasn’t something she often talked about, so she’d assumed only the housekeeper at the Chu Family villa knew about it. She never expected Chu Ziyu to remember this little detail as well.

Ziyu…

“Is it good, Qianqian?” It was Qingyi who spoke up first, eager as always. Chu Ziyu, the one who had actually made the food, hadn’t said a word yet, but Qingyi couldn’t wait. “I told you it’d taste great, didn’t I?”

With a soft chuckle, Chu Qianqian couldn’t help but laugh at Qingyi’s overly earnest expression, as if he were proclaiming some undeniable universal truth. “Yes, yes, the fruit is delicious, very fresh, and the honey is wonderfully sweet.”

That last comment was clearly directed at Chu Ziyu.

As expected, upon hearing it, Chu Ziyu cleared his throat awkwardly and lowered his head, looking a bit flustered.

After eating several pieces of papaya in a row, Chu Qianqian finally glanced closer at the contents of her plate. Sweet orange, apple, cherry, grape, strawberry, papaya… papaya… papaya… She quickly glanced over at Qingyi’s and Chu Ziyu’s plates to compare and confirmed her suspicion-her portion was stacked with an unusually large amount of papaya compared to theirs.

Chu Qianqian liked plenty of fruits, but papaya wasn’t exactly one of them. The texture just didn’t sit well with her. After swallowing yet another piece of papaya, she couldn’t help but murmur, “Why does my plate have so much papaya?”

Though her voice was soft, Qingyi was seated close enough to hear.

His ears twitched slightly, and Qingyi’s cheerful voice rang out in the dining room, “Oh, that’s because I specifically asked Ziyu to put more in for you! I heard girls love eating papaya, so I figured you would too. That’s why Ziyu added extra.”

As he said this, Qingyi turned to Chu Qianqian, his lashes fluttering like an overgrown house cat begging for praise. “The papaya has a really thick rind, you know. I spent ages peeling it perfectly!”

In an instant, Chu Qianqian’s expression froze, completely stiff. The only part of her that could still move was her eyes, which darted back and forth between Qingyi and Chu Ziyu. For a moment, she couldn’t quite decide whether they genuinely didn’t understand why women liked papaya, or whether they were just messing with her.

An awkward sensation crept down from her scalp and spread throughout her body. Chu Qianqian, her face locked in a rigid expression, was screaming internally. “Isn’t it common knowledge that papaya is rumored to enhance breast size?! What’s with piling all this papaya onto my plate?! I’m plenty well-endowed as it is!”

Unintentionally, Chu Qianqian found herself cursing silently in her head.