YV | Chapter 17

A steaming bowl of red-broth braised pork noodles was brought to Sheng Xiaoyang in front of him, Zhang Xu casually picked up a pair of chopsticks and handed them to him, asking, "Do you want a spoon?"

Sheng Xiaoyang nodded.

Zhang Xu turned around and took one out of the disinfection cabinet.

Su Yaozu had only had a couple sips of liquor, and with a little bulk came a little courage, so he felt this was wrong.

The small noodle shop was a Su family ancestral property, and because of various reasons it had been divided to Su Miaomiao's father. In the year before last, when Su's father passed away, the property naturally and properly was inherited by his wife and daughter. Su Miaomiao's paternal uncle was not convinced, and had caused trouble several times openly and covertly, always repeating the same line of argument, why should the Su family's things be given to outsiders, Miaomiao will marry in the future, water spilled out can't be taken back, it's still cheaper for others!

When Su Miaomiao heard this, she was angry at first. Zhang Xiumei comforted her, people's words can't be controlled, but the money and the house are truly yours, why be angry.

Su Miaomiao had not expected her mother to be so open-minded, and her mood became much calmer.

Seeing that verbal attacks were ineffective, Su's uncle switched to physical troublemaking, sending Su Yaozu over, saying it was to experience life, but in fact he was there to be an eyesore and stir up trouble. He had not expected that Zhang Xiumei and Su Miaomiao were not easy to brainwash, and besides their own clarity, there was also Zhang Xu in front of them.

Zhang Xu blocked about seventy percent of the fire.

Su Yaozu slapped the jujube-wood table so hard it rang. He sat straight-backed and shouted at Zhang Xu, "What the hell does it have to do with you! This shop has the surname Su, and I share the same surname!"

Zhang Xu said nothing, looking at him coldly.

Master Song brought out the second bowl of noodles, put it at the pass-through, and, too embarrassed to go out himself, held a handful of peanuts in his hand and crouched to the side watching the show.

Sheng Xiaoyang was not full after a couple bites, and felt that Su Yaozu was far too nauseating. He quietly went around Zhang Xu and headed for the kitchen.

Su Yaozu was certain he was in the right, his chin lifted so high it was practically haughty.

Zhang Xu lifted his eyelids, a cold light sharp and cutting, and said, "The footbinding cloth of feudal leftovers has wrapped your little brain up, that's pretty fitting for your name."

Su Yaozu's cheek twitched. "What did you say?!"

"Whether or not it makes sense, the court doesn't look at your surname. Be a good son and grandson, don't always fantasize about being someone's ancestor, and pass this on to your dad too." Zhang Xu regarded him indifferently and kept going. "Also, the property deed isn't hidden in the shop, no need to get up in the middle of the night to go rummaging around. If you die of sudden death, nobody will smash bowls for your dad and cry at his grave. Your ancestors making a name all the way to the King of Hell's hall, letting ghosts laugh at the show."

Su Yaozu's face turned the color of pig liver.

Master Song sighed in admiration, tsk tsk, this mouth, amazing.

Sheng Xiaoyang could not hear it, and even with the angle shifted he could not see Zhang Xu's lip movements, but the momentum was very effective, handsome.

Zhang Xu's eyes lowered at the outer corners, looking down at Su Yaozu from above. "As for the several thousand yuan missing from the shop these past two months, that's enough for a case. Tomorrow I'll copy a set of the surveillance footage and send it to your old man to see, whether to report it to the police is up to him."

Su Yaozu's face went deathly pale. After holding it in for a long time, he finally let out a fart of a sentence, "I already unplugged the power to the shop's cameras!"

Zhang Xu sneered, pointed to the southeast corner of the roof, and said, "There, I just installed it. Specifically to guard against you. Didn't unplug that one too?"

Su Yaozu was instantly ashamed and enraged. He pointed at Zhang Xu's nose and cursed heaven and earth, "My dad was right, Zhang Xiumei is just biased toward you, took you in and raised you by her side, and gave you quite a bit of money too! The two of you are the real family, who cares whether Su Miaomiao lives or dies! The name on the property deed for this shop may not even be Su Miaomiao's, I'll sue you! I..."

Just as Su Yaozu was rolling his eyes white, gasping as if he might die, Sheng Xiaoyang happened to come over, carrying a large porcelain bowl in his hands.

Zhang Xu said be careful, but Sheng Xiaoyang didn't even look sideways.

Zhang Xu: "..."

Su Yaozu kept going mad, and Sheng Xiaoyang walked straight past him. Not at all carefully, the porcelain bowl was knocked over by Su Yaozu's raised hand. Sheng Xiaoyang's wrist turned nimbly, and the scalding hot soup poured straight down from Su Yaozu's chest.

Su Yaozu screamed in fury, and Sheng Xiaoyang couldn't hear it.

Master Song was stunned, too late even to crack his peanuts, repeating nonstop, "My goodness gracious, my goodness gracious, my goodness gracious."

Zhang Xu frowned, and in his urgency hooked Sheng Xiaoyang's hand, bringing him behind himself to avoid Su Yaozu's twisted fingers as they lashed out.

Sheng Xiaoyang widened his eyes, then everything within the range of his vision blurred, turning into colorful bubbles, with only Zhang Xu remaining clear and bright. He rode a little train, rumbling out of Sheng Xiaoyang's heart, along his blood, breaking into his limbs and bones, and finally gathering in his palm, slowly rising into a blazing sun.

Sheng Xiaoyang could not control himself, his fingertips tightening, wrapping around Zhang Xu's knuckles for a moment, then immediately letting go.

Zhang Xu lowered his gaze and blinked quickly, as if he had not noticed. He pressed Sheng Xiaoyang's shoulder bones and made him sit properly, saying, "Eat properly."

Sheng Xiaoyang pursed his mouth, lowered his eyes and obediently looked down, probably saying, oh.

Zhang Xu: "..."

This had nothing to do at all with the momentum from just now of daring to pour hot soup on a living person. Obedient or fierce, on Sheng Xiaoyang, there was a natural compatibility between the two.

Zhang Xu could not be bothered to talk much more with Su Yaozu, told him to get lost, and that from tomorrow on he did not need to come anymore.

Su Yaozu was helplessly furious, "This is Su Miaomiao's shop, on what grounds?!"

Zhang Xu raised an eyebrow, leaned closer to him, and asked with a cold smile, "Didn't you always think this shop was mine? I rely on this."

Su Yaozu stood there dumbfounded, a vast chill rushing from his spine to the top of his head, and he almost dropped to his knees for Zhang Xu.

Sheng Xiaoyang ate his noodles quietly, but the corner of his eye secretly stayed fixed on Zhang Xu's face.

Gentleness and forceful coldness were also two sides that fit together seamlessly. Sheng Xiaoyang thought, I like both.

By the time Su Yaozu got lost, Zhang Xu picked up the remote and turned the TV back on, switching it back to the children's channel.

Sheng Xiaoyang stopped eating when he watched TV.

"That's a bad habit," Zhang Xu said, tapping Sheng Xiaoyang's bowl. "Eat while you watch."

"Oh, is that how the habit gets better?" Master Song came over and asked with a smile, teasing him, "A Xu, if you had a son, you'd definitely spoil him into being lawless."

Zhang Xu smiled and did not refute it.

Sheng Xiaoyang sucked on his chopsticks. He looked at Master Song, then at Zhang Xu, and understood the content of their conversation. The light in his eyes was like a candle in the wind, swaying and dying out. But he hid it very well, lowering his head so nobody could see it, including himself.

Sheng Xiaoyang quickly finished eating. He was full and put down his chopsticks. In fact, he had eaten in such a hurry that more than half of it was stuck in his throat.

Zhang Xu's appetite was average, and there was still quite a bit left in his bowl, so he pushed it aside.

Sheng Xiaoyang looked at the floating oil in his noodle soup and guessed that Zhang Xu did not like heavy flavors, silently remembering it.

Zhang Xu asked, "Are you full?"

Sheng Xiaoyang reacted after three seconds and nodded.

"Want to take a walk outside?"

Sheng Xiaoyang tilted his head, huh?

Zhang Xu curved his lips in a smile. "Digest."

In the end, Zhang Xu paid the bill, and Sheng Xiaoyang stood on the steps waiting.

A birdcage hung under the eaves, and Sheng Xiaoyang, bored, tilted his head up and glared eye to eye with the black bird in the cage.

Master Song was very worried, and tugged at Zhang Xu while chattering, "Su Yaozu is gone, you have to find me someone! Otherwise this shop won't be able to stay open, and everybody will come to my kitchen for self-service, all right!"

Zhang Xu thought about it and said okay, then asked, "What requirements do you have for employees?"

Master Song was quite embarrassed. "I'm also someone who gets a salary, not good to set requirements, right."

"You are the backbone of the noodle shop, hiring someone is to cooperate with you," Zhang Xu said. "Otherwise if the work feels bad, and you run off, Miaomiao will be able to hang herself in front of me."

Master Song's old face flushed red. After a few polite words, he said directly, "Then my requirements aren't high, hard-working, willing to do things, able to endure hardship, anyway don't bring another Su Yaozu here, I won't run off either! You let Miaomiao rest assured."

Zhang Xu gave a faint smile and said okay.

Sheng Xiaoyang was still the same as before, always walking one step behind Zhang Xu. They passed the stone arch bridge, threaded through the crisscrossing alleyways, and stepped on the mottled light and shadow beneath the pagoda trees. Sheng Xiaoyang smelled the lingering fragrance of soy milk, and every brick and tile in front of his eyes formed Zhang Xu's gentle back.

Sheng Xiaoyang could not tear his eyes away.

Zhang Xu felt a scorching light was burning him, exploding fireworks from his back and boiling his blood. But he could not tell where the light and heat came from. Maybe the rain had passed, and the sun had broken through the clouds, so it was impatient. He did not turn around to investigate the truth.

Sheng Xiaoyang asked, Where are we going?

Zhang Xu knew only a little sign language.

So Sheng Xiaoyang made a walking motion with two fingers.

Zhang Xu understood at once and asked, "Did you bring it?"

Sheng Xiaoyang froze, touched his pocket, then nodded.

He had brought it.

He was wearing Zhang Xu's clothes, and still not used to them, the collar hanging crookedly to one side, the thin bones on the other side exposed.

Zhang Xu's gaze was unnatural. He looked at the brick wall, looked at the shade of the trees, watched birds flying, listened to cicadas singing, chased after the sound of the wind, but in the end his eyes still swept over the ferocious scar beneath Sheng Xiaoyang's neck.

That was a gorge-like crack, one that wanted to swallow Zhang Xu whole.

As for what Zhang Xu was feeling, it could not be seen on his face. He cleared his throat and said, "Come with me, let's go."

【📢Author's note】
In front of Zhang Xu, Sheng Xiaoyang: a well-behaved little cat

In front of everyone else, Sheng Xiaoyang: Don't provoke me, I'll bite you to death