On the way home, Yu Zhile checked the data from the livestream.
The popularity had dropped slightly but still accumulated fifty to sixty thousand. If this trend continued, she would be able to use the synesthesia feature in the next session or the one after. According to Cloud Live’s usual practice, popularity accumulates faster after the host enables synesthesia. At that point, she would gradually unlock the mall features.
As for the cooking segment, Yu Zhile already had her explanation ready. The only remaining issue was Zhou Yuesheng’s identity. Thinking of this, she glanced back at him. Yu Zhile had classic “peach blossom eyes,” with slightly upturned corners. The smile in her eyes was like the spring waters of March—gentle and enchanting. That sudden glance caught Zhou Yuesheng off guard, and he lowered his eyes to hide his momentary lapse in composure.
The two maintained a certain distance, walking one after the other, and soon arrived home.
Yu Yue was watering the vegetable patch in the backyard. Seeing Yu Zhile return with a full load, he smiled happily. Upon spotting the raggedly dressed Zhou Yuesheng, he looked him up and down, his gaze eventually resting on the man’s fingertips. “Sister, who is he?”
“Go inside and find some clothes first,” Yu Zhile said, changing the subject.
Yu Yue nodded and turned into Yu Wanqin’s room.
“Did Xiao Yun arrange an identity for you?” Yu Zhile asked.
Zhou Yuesheng shook his head, his eyes dark. It seemed she had mistaken him for a companion. However, this would make his subsequent investigation much easier.
“Alright, then listen to me,” Yu Zhile replied. She immediately fabricated a backstory for Zhou Yuesheng: he had fallen into the sea and lost his memory.
Yu Yue brought out an old, faded military uniform belonging to Yu Haiguang. As Zhou Yuesheng took it, the familiar feel of the fabric caused a sharp glint to flash in his eyes. While he was changing, Yu Zhile told Yu Yue the prepared excuse.
“Oh,” Yu Yue responded flatly. It seemed he had accepted the explanation.
Zhou Yuesheng in a military uniform made Yu Zhile’s eyes light up. The green uniform made his posture seem even more upright. His buzz cut and rugged features gave off a cold, stern, and lethal aura.
Yu Zhile poured the seafood into a wooden basin and asked Yu Yue to get some ginger, scallions, garlic, and chili from Chen Zhao. She then asked Zhou Yuesheng to help her stack the dried pickling jars under the eaves.
“How do you charge? Batteries? Solar power?” Yu Zhile sat on a stool, watching Zhou Yuesheng’s bulging muscles with great interest as she suddenly asked.
Zhou Yuesheng remained silent for a moment before answering, “I eat.”
“That’s not very high-tech,” Yu Zhile muttered under her breath.
By then, Yu Chi had just woken up. Drowsy-eyed, he carried “Crawly” out of the house and wabbled into her arms. Yu Zhile kissed his cheek and ruffled his hair, while Yu Chi affectionately nuzzled her neck.
As it grew dark, Yu Zhile began preparing dinner. She planned the recipes for each type of seafood: braised hairtail, steamed mantis shrimp, blanched sea hares, and a piece of kelp for egg drop soup. The rest would be dried for storage. Mud snails needed to soak in saltwater for a day before pickling, so she scheduled that for the next day.
Yu Zhile and Zhou Yuesheng processed the seafood, Yu Yue handled the seasonings, and Yu Chi helped wash the rice. The four had clear roles and worked systematically.
“Process the sea hares. Pull out the cartilage and remove the eyes and mouth,” Yu Zhile demonstrated for Zhou Yuesheng. Zhou Yuesheng was a quick learner, and his movements soon became proficient.
Yu Zhile turned to handle the hairtail. She cut off the heads and fins, sliced open the bellies, and cleaned out the organs and black membrane. Then, she cut the fish into five-centimeter sections and marinated them with cooking wine and ginger slices. The mantis shrimp only needed a few rinses in saltwater, but the kelp was more troublesome. After soaking in saltwater for half an hour, the kelp still needed to be spread out and scrubbed to remove the slimy film on the surface before being cut into palm-sized pieces for drying.
Once everything was processed, the hairtail had been marinating for over twenty minutes. Yu Zhile patted the fish dry, poured oil into a ceramic pot, and fried the sections until they were golden brown on both sides. Next, she used the remaining oil to sauté the ginger, scallions, garlic, and chili. She added the fish sections, poured in hot water, and seasoned it with soy sauce and sugar. After braising over medium heat for a while, she turned up the flame to thicken the sauce. Finally, she served it once the sauce became thick and rich.
The dominant, savory aroma of the braised hairtail occupied every corner of the small courtyard, causing even Zhou Yuesheng’s throat to bob.
The second dish was steamed mantis shrimp. She simply arranged them on a plate, added shredded ginger and scallion sections, sprinkled half a spoonful of salt, and put them in the steamer. The blanched sea hares were even simpler; she just dropped them into boiling water for a minute or two before scooping them out.
Yu Zhile took the shredded kelp that Yu Yue had boiled for three minutes, added hot water, cracked two eggs into it, added salt, and a few drops of sesame oil. In less than two minutes, the kelp egg drop soup was ready.
As usual, she set aside a portion, and Yu Yue delivered it to the cow shed in his wheelchair. Zhou Yuesheng silently observed everything, noting the “cow shed” as a point of information.
When Yu Yue returned, the meal officially began. Everyone’s first bite went to the braised hairtail. The rich sauce exploded on their taste buds. Combined with a mouthful of soft, fragrant rice, the flavor lingered in their mouths. Yu Chi squinted his eyes in satisfaction. The blanched sea hares were full of roe and milt. Dipping them into Yu Zhile’s special sauce, they were so sweet and fresh it was “unbelievable.”
Zhou Yuesheng had lived in a military compound since childhood. His parents were very busy, so he had grown up eating at the canteen. Eating this meal, his expression softened considerably.
“I’ll teach you how to eat mantis shrimp,” Yu Zhile said, fearing Yu Chi might prick his hand on the spikes. She placed a shrimp belly-up on the table, inserted a chopstick into the upper end of the tail, flipped it, and slid the chopstick along the back between the meat and the shell. Then, using another chopstick to hold it firm, the shell slowly separated from the meat.
“See, a whole piece of meat,” Yu Zhile proudly displayed her success. Seeing this, the corner of Zhou Yuesheng’s mouth curled slightly. The three clumsily imitated her method and eventually succeeded in separating the meat. The steamer was made of bamboo, so even the shrimp meat had a faint fragrance. The three of them ate heartily.
On the other side, Chen Zhao wasn’t having such a good time, hissing in pain as he got pricked by the mantis shrimp.
Zhou Yuesheng stayed in the same room as Yu Yue and Yu Chi. Deep into the night, when the breathing in the room was long and steady, he suddenly opened his eyes and quietly slipped out the door.
After work the next afternoon, the rumor of Yu Zhile dating a “wild man” at the beach had fermented and reached Haiyang Village. The Zhang family arrived at her door in a fury.
“Old Mrs. Yu, what does your family mean by this? You said Yu Zhile was promised to my Zhang family, yet she’s being unchaste and dating a wild man at the beach?” Leading the way was Old Mrs. Zhang, followed by a row of fierce-looking men.
Seeing this, Wu Caixia’s legs trembled.
“What nonsense are you talking?” Old Mrs. Yu had been bedridden with anger since the family split and hadn’t left the house, so she hadn’t heard the rumors about Yu Zhile.
Old Mrs. Zhang put her hands on her hips. “Why are you pretending? That wild man is still living at your granddaughter’s house!”
Old Mrs. Yu turned pale and looked at Wu Caixia.
“W-well, someone in the village saw Leni dating a wild man on the beach. Th-that man followed Leni home in disheveled clothes,” Wu Caixia stammered.
Old Mrs. Yu slapped her thigh and said angrily, “Yu Zhile, you brat! Just wait till I skin you alive.”
With one look, the two old women reached an agreement to go settle the score with Yu Zhile. Their shouting attracted the neighbors’ attention. The news spread from ten to a hundred, and soon a crowd gathered behind Old Mrs. Yu and Old Mrs. Zhang, marching aggressively toward Yu Zhile’s house.
At this moment, Yu Zhile was preparing pickled drunken mud snails, and Zhou Yuesheng was helping her. The noisy commotion caused them to turn their gaze from the snails to the courtyard gate.
The next second, the gate was kicked open. A man drooling and letting out a strange laugh pounced toward Yu Zhile, shouting, “Wife! My wife!”
Before Yu Zhile could react, Zhou Yuesheng extended a long leg and sent the man flying two meters away.
“Qiang Bao! Are you okay? Don’t scare me!” Old Mrs. Zhang’s cries erupted as she rushed to the man’s side. The man was hunched over like a cooked shrimp, groaning in pain.
Furious, Old Mrs. Zhang pointed at Yu Zhile and screamed, “You unchaste harlot! You actually let your lover beat my Qiang Bao? I’m going to teach you a lesson today!” With that, she moved to slap Yu Zhile.
With a cold face, Yu Zhile caught her hand and slapped her back. Slap! The sound was crisp and loud. Everyone was once again dumbfounded. Good heavens, the delicate “flower of Haiyu Village” had really turned into a spicy pepper.
“You… you… you!” Old Mrs. Zhang was stunned for a long time. “Second, third, fourth! Kill this little whore for me!”
Three burly men stepped forward, growling as they charged at Yu Zhile. Zhou Yuesheng stepped in front of her, taking down one with each punch. In less than ten seconds, the three of them were wailing on the ground.
“Yu Zhile, do you have no manners? Striking your mother-in-law and letting a wild man beat your brother-in-law!” Old Mrs. Yu didn’t get close, shouting from a distance.
Yu Zhile sneered. “I didn’t even know I was married.”
“I am your elder! Can I not arrange your marriage?” Old Mrs. Yu clamored. The next second, she burst into tears. “You’re really breaking my old heart. I only arranged this exchange for your own good. Otherwise, Yu Yue would end up alone for the rest of his life.”
Hearing this, the onlookers thought it was a good deed and began to urge Yu Zhile to consider the bigger picture. Yu Zhile threw a kitchen knife. It landed firmly two centimeters from the old woman’s toes, sinking three inches into the mud.
“Ah! You want to commit murder?” Old Mrs. Yu shrieked.
Yu Zhile said coldly, “Do I share even half a drop of blood with you? Get out of my house.”
“You’re having an affair with a wild man! It’s scandalous! You should be drowned in a pig cage!” Old Mrs. Yu immediately turned her spear toward Zhou Yuesheng.
With a creak, the door to Yu Yue’s room opened, and Chen Zhao pushed Yu Yue out.
“This is my sister’s fiancé, a subordinate of my father,” Yu Yue dropped a bombshell.
Everyone looked at Zhou Yuesheng. At a glance, he did indeed have the aura of a soldier. They believed eighty percent of Yu Yue’s words.
“I belong to the 125th Division of the Western Theater Command,” Zhou Yuesheng’s aura suddenly shifted. “Comrade Yu Zhile is my fiancée. Slandering a military dependent is illegal.”
He scanned the crowd. This was not just to help Yu Zhile out of a jam, but also to throw out a lure. Everyone believed him completely and turned on Old Mrs. Yu, criticizing her for trying to force a marriage.
Seeing that public opinion had turned against her, Old Mrs. Yu immediately pretended to be dizzy and had Wu Caixia help her home. Seeing this, Old Mrs. Zhang naturally didn’t dare trouble Yu Zhile further. She chased after Old Mrs. Yu, demanding an explanation.
Old Mrs. Yu and Wu Caixia were caught halfway. The two groups started arguing and pushing each other on the spot. Old Mrs. Yu refused to admit anything, and Old Mrs. Zhang gave her a hard push.
“You shameless old hag! Stop pretending!” she shouted. “Give me my money back right now!”
Old Mrs. Yu stumbled back several steps. She wanted to snap back, but suddenly felt the world spinning and slumped to the ground. At the same time, two streams of warmth trickled down her nostrils, carrying a foul, metallic smell of rust.
“Mother, what’s wrong?” Wu Caixia screamed as she went to help. “Mother, why is your nose bleeding?”
Old Mrs. Yu felt a throbbing sensation in her temples. She pointed a trembling finger at the panicked Old Mrs. Zhang and squeezed out, “M-murder… Pay me… Pay for my medical bills.”
“What does it have to do with me? I barely touched you!” Old Mrs. Zhang threw out a sentence, gathered her sons, and fled in a panic.
Old Mrs. Yu sat on the ground for a while. Suddenly, her head stopped spinning, and her nose stopped bleeding. She stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.
“Mother, are you okay?” Wu Caixia was surprised. She thought Old Mrs. Yu was faking it and gave her a thumbs-up. “Mother, you’re amazing! No wonder they were fooled by you.”
Old Mrs. Yu couldn’t explain what had happened, but she accepted her daughter-in-law’s admiring gaze with her head held high.
On the other side, the troublemakers had left, and the onlookers naturally dispersed. Some old men, relying on their age, lectured Yu Zhile with stern faces: “Living together before marriage is scandalous.”
“Old man, which of your eyes saw them living together? Zhou Yuesheng stayed in the cow shed last night,” Chen Zhao retorted.
The old man was left speechless, his face flushing red, and he walked away grumbling.
As the crowd drifted away, Chen Zhao said with a grin, “Sister, you don’t need to thank me. The food you cook is just too delicious.”
Yu Zhile burst into laughter. “Come eat at my house whenever you have time.”
Chen Zhao nodded eagerly, afraid she might take back the offer. Yu Zhile was amused by him again, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pink hem disappear into the crowd. For some reason, it looked somewhat familiar.