11 – Competing with the Manly Bitch for the Fish Pond
Zhou Hui had made over a dozen calls, but Han Haoyu didn’t answer any of them. Anxious, she went back to check Yu Ai’s social media feed, only to discover that Yu Ai had actually deleted the recent post!
What did deleting it mean? Yu Ai must be at Han Haoyu’s place, so why wasn’t he answering her calls? So late at night, a married woman like Yu Ai alone in a single man’s home—what were they doing together?
Zhou Hui tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep the more she thought about it. Later, she sent Han Haoyu a message, but there was no reply from his end. She then messaged Yu Ai on WeChat, but still no one responded.
…
When Yu Ai woke up in the morning and checked her phone, she saw that Zhou Hui had sent her three WeChat messages, all asking if she was there. The last one was sent as late as 3:30 a.m.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Yu Ai shook her head. A single social media post could make Zhou Hui this anxious? You’re not doing so well, are you?
Han Haoyu woke up naturally. When he opened his door, he was greeted by the aroma of food.
Breakfast was already set on the living room table.
Yu Ai turned to look at him. “Xiao Yu, you’re awake? Go wash up and come have breakfast.”
Han Haoyu still felt a bit groggy. “When did you go out to buy groceries?”
“I ordered delivery to bring them over.” Yu Ai nudged him, pushing him toward the bathroom. “Why are you still standing there? Go wash your face.”
By the time Han Haoyu finished washing up, he looked fresh and alert again.
Yu Ai had prepared some stomach-friendly dishes: a bowl of ham and thin noodles with a fried egg, paired with a glass of milk. Simple, but very appetizing.
Han Haoyu finished the noodles in no time.
When he looked up, he noticed Yu Ai staring at him. “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me?”
He glanced at the noodles in Yu Ai’s bowl. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m full.”
As Yu Ai reached to clear the bowls, Han Haoyu took them from her. “I’ll do it.” After all, she had made breakfast, and it wouldn’t be right to make her do the dishes too.
Yu Ai didn’t argue with him.
When Han Haoyu went into the kitchen, he saw a pile of groceries on the floor. He turned to ask Yu Ai, “Why did you buy so much food?”
“Exactly, I was planning to make soup, but you don’t even have a pot here.” Yu Ai complained, “After you finish washing the dishes, come with me to buy some kitchenware.”
As Han Haoyu washed the dishes, he said, “I don’t usually cook. What’s the point of buying things I won’t use?” He didn’t know how to cook anyway.
“Then won’t all this food I bought go to waste?” Yu Ai replied to Zhou Hui’s WeChat message while saying, “It’ll come in handy eventually. Next time I come to your place, I can cook for you.”
Han Haoyu paused while washing the dishes. For some reason, he agreed.
After finishing the dishes, he remembered he needed to get his phone.
He went to his room to look for it and found the screen black. Realizing he hadn’t charged it all night, it must have run out of battery. Yu Ai urged him from the doorway, “Hurry up, I’ll go press the elevator.”
Han Haoyu could only plug his phone into the charger for now. Since the supermarket was right downstairs in the complex, he grabbed his wallet and bank card and headed out.
Yu Ai was at the elevator, looking at her WeChat chat with Zhou Hui. The “typing” indicator had appeared several times, but the last message was still the one she had sent earlier: “I’m here, what’s up, Hui Hui? Is something wrong?”
When Han Haoyu arrived, Yu Ai put her phone away.
As they entered the elevator, she glanced at Han Haoyu and took a few steps back.
“What are you doing?” Han Haoyu looked puzzled.Yu Ai looked somewhat flustered. “I… I’m still wearing yesterday’s clothes. I’m afraid the smell might bother you, so I’ll keep my distance.”
He glanced at Yu Ai, who was still wearing the same little white dress from yesterday. Unconsciously, yesterday’s scene flashed through his mind again. He cleared his throat lightly. “Ahem, I’ll take you to buy some clothes.”
After exiting the elevator, he pulled Yu Ai closer. “Don’t worry, you don’t smell bad. In fact, you seem to carry a faint fragrance.”
Yu Ai’s face flushed red. “What are you talking about? That must be the scent of your bathroom shower gel.”
Hearing this, Han Haoyu realized that while walking beside her, he could indeed detect the familiar fragrance of his usual shower gel, but mixed with something else—like her natural body scent he had noticed when he was close to her yesterday.
Inside the supermarket, Yu Ai first went with Han Haoyu to the kitchenware section.
Yu Ai picked up a pink piggy bowl set. “Look, this is so cute!”
Han Haoyu glanced at it—a small white ceramic bowl with pink pig patterns printed both inside and outside.
“Look, there’s a blue one too.” Yu Ai placed the blue piggy bowl in the shopping cart. “When buying things, it’s best to get them in pairs.”
Pushing the cart forward, she continued browsing, examining everything with interest and often pulling Han Haoyu into discussion.
“Oh, I think this pink pot is quite nice too.” Yu Ai had taken a liking to a pink pressure cooker. She said, “This pot is quite large and has all the functions. Let’s get this one.”
“Are you sure?” Han Haoyu could hardly imagine what his kitchen would look like with a pink pot in it.
“What? Don’t you like it?”
“I think black is better—it doesn’t show dirt as easily.”
“You don’t cook much anyway. Just wipe it clean after use.” Yu Ai said with a serious expression, “When buying things, you should get what you like.”
You mean what you like, right? Han Haoyu shook his head. “I never said I liked pink.”
“Ah? You don’t like pink?”
Seeing Yu Ai’s confused expression, Han Haoyu said, “Where did you get the idea that I like pink?” He was a normal man, after all.
“But I saw the emblem on your chest from yesterday’s clothes was pink too. Didn’t you treasure it so much you were reluctant to wear it?”
Mentioning that piece of clothing, Han Haoyu frowned and didn’t respond. It was a gift from Zhou Hui.