Chapter 33 – I’m the matsutake mushroom on the chopping block.

Translator: kirie

Editor: alexie

“Your dad hit you? Impossible, he cares about you so much!”

Wen Che’s initial impression of Li Shaoyao was that he was a pitiful child that was being ostracized by his family elders. If it weren’t for Li Shaoyao being the only remaining descendant, in a truly rich and powerful family like the Li family, just the internal familial conflict would devour him to the bone.

But he was luckier than Ji Zhinong. At the very least, Li Shaoyao’s parents sincerely valued their son. The elders of the Li family who flaunted their seniority were hard to get along with though. Otherwise, why would nineteen year old Li Shaoyao have to be entrusted to Wen Che back then during the banquet?

‘Did your uncle make something up about you again? Or was it your aunt? Didn’t your mom… auntie¹in reference to Li Shaoyao’s mom stop it?”

Li Shaoyao caught his wrist and stopped his imagination. “Nobody made things up about me. They don’t have the courage to. I accepted the punishment myself. Like you said, I should pay the price for what I did.”

“Enduring sixty canes was the price of me protecting you.”

Ji Zhinong wanted to touch the wound but didn’t know where to start. “Sixty times? Uncle²referring to Li Shaoyao’s father was really brutal. The beating definitely tore your skin and flesh.”

“It’s not that extreme. My father was gentle with the hitting. He simply caned me a little over ten times, that’s all. Bleeding was inevitable.” Li Shaoyao was even in the mood to laugh. “I’ll be fine after just laying down like a turtle for a few days.”

“Did you see a doctor?”

“Yeah.” He supported his upper body. “The dishes look good, but I have to avoid eating spicy food for a few days.”

“Right, right. If you eat spicy food now, the wound will probably get inflamed. But there’s a plate of cabbage on the table that doesn’t have spicy peppers in it. You can eat that.”

“I don’t like salty things. I don’t want to eat cabbage.”

“You’re being picky about it?”

“I’m a patient.”

Ji Zhinong couldn’t do anything about him and thought before saying, “I’ll go ladle some of the matsutake mushroom soup in the pot. You can eat that.”

“Okay.”

Ji Zhinong immediately got up and went downstairs to ladle a bowl of soup.

Li Shaoyao had already sat up by himself. Because he now knew about it, Ji Zhinong instantly felt like Li Shaoyao had become much more haggard.

He sat by the bed and handed Li Shaoyao the bowl. Li Shaoyao lifted his hands just slightly, and his handsome face scrunched up like an uglifruit³Look it up, it really is pretty “ugli” XD.

His dramatic acting amused Ji Zhinong so much that he kept laughing. He almost even dropped the bowl, so he took the initiative to say, “Fine, I’ll feed you!”

Only then did Li Shaoyao show mercy on his outstanding face, being a quiet beauty of a patient.

Ji Zhinong fed him spoonful by spoonful, and Li Shaoyao drank spoonful by spoonful, not forgetting to compliment him whenever he had the chance.

Their gazes hadn’t separated until the soup was finished. When Zhinong put the bowl on the table, the spoon slipped right out in a moment of carelessness. He reached out to catch it in a hurry, but Lu Shaoyao was a step ahead of him in catching that spoon and caught Zhinong’s hand while he was at it.

After catching it, he didn’t let go. He put the spoon back on the table, carefully pulled apart Ji Zhinong’s weakly clenched fist, and looked at the skin of his palm closely, saying in concern, “Did oil splash into your hand?”

“How could that happen? I’m an off-duty chef.”

“An off-duty chef? Why didn’t I know that you’re that amazing?” Li Shaoyao was as curious as if he had discovered the New World. “Zhinong, you know how to cook?”

“Honestly speaking, I’m really good at cooking.”

Wen Che wouldn’t be modest about his strengths. If he wasn’t modest, then the current Zhinong wouldn’t be modest either. He raised his head, rather smug and proud. Engrossed in looking at him, Li Shaoyao pulled him a little closer and rubbed the tip of his nose against Ji Zhinong.

If two matches were rubbed in this way, they would catch fire. But humans would only flare up with desire.

But before this desire flared up, Ji Zhinong poked Li Shaoyao’s shoulder softly, exposing him mercilessly. “Didn’t your hand hurt so much that you couldn’t raise it?”

Li Shaoyao: “…..”

He forgot about acting.

He was about to pretend to be in pain when Ji Zhinong laughed. “Think that I’m that easy to trick?”

“Rest well. Let’s talk after your wound heals.”

Ji Zhinong pushed him into the blanket, got up, and left holding the bowl.

Li Shaoyao thought that the loss of $6 billion was really worth it.

When Wen Che’s mind was in a mess and he needed to calm it down, he normally chose to wash the dishes. Though there was a dishwasher next to him and though Ah Jing was also a human dishwasher, he still wore the gloves and made soap bubbles with dishwashing liquid, personally wiping away the oil stains with a rag.

It felt like the mess in his mind was cleaned along with the bowl.

The reason for the mess in his mind was that his first reaction to Li Shaoyao getting close to him just now wasn’t evasion nor was it warning himself that it was an exchange, turning a blind eye, and then making up his mind to let him do whatever like before.

Not only did he not want to resist just now, but he was also looking forward to it, even. His body even got dry.

He had really become an unpresentable mess.

When he finished washing the bowl, his face was still burning, so he could only take a shower. But after being warmed by the steam, his ears become red too.

When it was bedtime, Ji Zhinong wanted to get away with it by going to a secondary bedroom, but Ah Jing was intentionally guarding the door, reminding him to sleep in the master bedroom and saying that the blanket in the secondary bedroom was drying under the moon.

…Drying under the moon, indeed! Ji Zhinong could only return to the master bedroom. When he walked into the room, only a warm colored night lamp was lit inside. Li Shaoyao was sleeping on his side, his breathing even and seeming to be asleep.

It was good that he was asleep. That way, he wouldn’t be able to see Ji Zhinong’s smack red face and ears. He even turned off the light in a self exposing manner before he climbed into the blanket in the dark. He didn’t expect a big hand to wrap around his waist and pull him to the right, straight into a warm embrace, before stopping.

Li Shaoyao lay his head in between Zhinong’s nape and shoulder. His hair, which was sticking up everywhere, tickled the most sensitive spot behind Ji Zhinong’s ear.

Zhinong realized in misery that even his breathing had become much rougher.

Why was it like this?

He just hadn’t done it for a month, and he got this sensitive?!

He wanted to hide these humiliating changes pathetically, but the wind that blew past his ear made his entire body dry.

“You really want it?”

“…………………”

“You weren’t asleep?”

“You woke me up with your rubbing, Zhinong.” Li Shaoyao intentionally leaned over his ear and sighed softly, “How attached you are to me.”

“Your back is still wounded. Don’t be reckless.” Ji Zhinong already felt like running away. “I-I should go to the secondary room instead… mhm—“

He hadn’t finished speaking, but Li Shaoyao had already easily taken control of him with his hands.

“Tell me, how should matsutake mushrooms be cooked so that they taste good?”

“…..”

“If you’re not going to tell me, I’ll try myself.”

Fresh matsutake mushrooms are shaped like umbrellas. They have brown caps, white and tender stalks, and are plump with flesh. When rubbed in the hand, a chef has to control his strength while having a level of technique. Matsutake mushrooms raised in greenhouses have the most moisture, so when one fiddles with the cap just slightly, water gets squeezed out. When it’s entirely covered with juice, it will overflow with a fine aroma and the sound of it boiling over…

Ji Zhinong, drenched in sweat, sighed tearily that marriage was difficult.

Others are the meat on the chopping block, but I’m the matsutake mushroom on the chopping block.

• 1
  in reference to Li Shaoyao’s mom
• 2
  referring to Li Shaoyao’s father
• 3
  Look it up, it really is pretty “ugli” XD