After finishing the meal, the immediate problem is washing the dishes.
Xuan Zhixia took a sip of water, then screwed the cap back on and calmly said to Shang Shuji, “Beginners often don’t know how much dish soap to use when washing dishes. I can guide you on how much to put in.”
Shang Shuji was speechless at his self-righteousness: “…Do you think I look like I love housework? Or do you think I’m so easygoing that I’m willing to be taken advantage of? You haven’t done enough work today, a few dishes won’t ruin your delicate hands.”
Xuan Zhixia curved his lips slightly and replied gently, “No, it’s just that I felt Mr. Shang wouldn’t lower himself to argue with me.”
“But since you want to make a fuss about it, then I really am in the wrong. After all, Mr. Shang has no obligation to take care of me… I can wash the dishes, but I need warm water. The water coming out of the tap here is too cold. I don’t want to start coughing after washing the dishes, which would be a waste of time.”
Shang Shuji: “…”
Xuan Zhixia looked at him with clear eyes.
Shang Shuji remained silent for a moment, then stood up with a heavy heart and began to collect the bowls.
Xuan Zhixia also stood up to help collect the items.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu looked at each other, and then followed each other toward the kitchen, but didn’t go in; instead, they peered through the doorway.
Shang Shuji placed the bowls and chopsticks on the stove and said calmly to Xuan Zhixia, “With your attitude of not being able to carry your own suitcase and refusing to go out shopping as if it were your life, saying ‘I can wash the dishes’ is just an excuse. I don’t want to waste my energy arguing with you, so I’ll do the work, but you’d better shut up.”
Xuan Zhixia felt a little helpless. He looked at Shang Shuji, who seemed to want to say something, but didn’t say it out loud. He just smiled slightly, showing his excellent manners.
Shang Shuji: “…”
He suddenly realized that Xuan Zhixia was not only like a cat that was difficult to raise and had a natural tendency to take the lead, but also like a cunning fox disguised as a little white rabbit.
In short, they don’t seem to be looking to be good people; they appear easy to get along with, but are actually extremely difficult to deal with.
Shang Shuji scooped water into a basin with a ladle and then looked at Xuan Zhixia.
Xuan Zhixia stepped forward, opened a brand new bottle of dish soap, and poured some into the water. Then he put the dish soap back in its place and said, “That’s enough. After washing with dish soap the first time, you still need to wash it a second time with clean water to remove any remaining dish soap. Well, Mr. Shang, thank you for your hard work. I’ll head out now.”
Shang Shuji twitched the corner of his mouth but did not respond.
Xuan Zhixia didn’t care about his attitude. After all, he was a worker, so it was normal for him to have some resentment. Anyway, it didn’t bother Xuan Zhixia.
Seeing Xuan Zhixia about to come out, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, who were waiting outside the kitchen door, immediately turned around and ran away.
The two children went back to their bedroom, where there was only one chair that they couldn’t separate, so they simply climbed onto the bed and sat down.
“Dad and Xuan Zhixia… no, we said we would call him Uncle, but I forgot… Dad and Uncle talked for so long! Such long sentences!” Shang Jingqi’s face was shocked.
Shang Jingshu couldn’t understand the adults’ complicated thoughts either, but she subconsciously felt strange: “Dad doesn’t like to talk much. He usually doesn’t talk much, but he talks a lot when something important happens. But washing dishes isn’t an important thing, is it? And Dad’s intention is to dislike Uncle, right? So why would he talk more with someone he dislikes?”
I can’t figure it out.
Shang Jingqi lay down on the quilt and said, “Adults such a hassle.”
Shang Jingshu also lay down on the other side of the blanket and nodded: “Adults are the most troublesome, but we want to grow up to be just as troublesome adults…”
The two children chatted back and forth, but soon they started to doze off. After all, they are still young and have limited energy, and they had just eaten, so they were prone to drowsiness.
Xuan Zhixia took a book out of his suitcase and went back to the recliner in the main room to read it.
He was actually sleepy and wanted to take a nap, but he had only eaten a few minutes ago, and lying down to sleep wouldn’t be good for his stomach. Xuan Zhixia didn’t want to upset his sensitive stomach, so he simply sat on the recliner and read a book, planning to take a short nap in a little while.
It’s only a little past 2 PM now, and the production team said the meeting time is 3 PM, so there’s still time to rest.
After washing the dishes with some difficulty, Shang Shuji came out of the kitchen and saw Xuan Zhixia dozing off while holding a book. Although his eyes were still open, they were lifeless and his gaze was unfocused.
After scrutinizing Xuan Zhixia for a few seconds, Shang Shuji looked away, glanced at the time, and decided to check his emails before the assembly.
He glanced up at the camera in the main room, then turned and walked towards the bedroom near the backyard. Although there was a camera outside the bedroom door, the angle was easier to avoid, and Shang Shuji didn’t want the email content to be captured.
Once in the bedroom, he took out his phone and was about to open his email when his gaze suddenly stopped.
A few seconds later, Shang Shuji returned to the main room and glanced at his suitcase, which was sitting alone in the corner.
“Xuan Zhixia.” Shang Shuji looked at the person sitting on the recliner, half asleep, and calmly announced, “I won’t give you the bedroom.”
Xuan Zhixia was in low spirits and took a moment to look up before asking, “Are you talking to me?”
Shang Shuji: “…I saw your suitcase in the bedroom, but that bedroom isn’t yours alone. I won’t give it to you, no discussion.”
Xuan Zhixia closed the book he had barely read, then lazily leaned back in the recliner and replied nonchalantly, “Whatever, but at least give me half a bed.”
Shang Shuji: “…”
Strangely enough, Shang Shuji originally didn’t like arguing with people and even thought that people who argued and quarreled were not mature and stable enough.
But looking at Xuan Zhixia right now, it seemed like he wouldn’t take anything you said seriously, and Shang Shuji suddenly felt like picking a fight, hoping to exchange a few words with Xuan Zhixia.
Xuan Zhixia himself had already closed his eyes, seemingly intending to go to sleep.
Not wanting to appear unreasonable, Shang Shuji suppressed the urge to cause trouble and walked towards his suitcase, intending to take it into the bedroom as well.
Just as Shang Shuji’s hand touched the suitcase, a terrified scream suddenly came from the children’s bedroom.
“Ah! A ghost—”
Shang Shuji frowned slightly.
Xuan Zhixia slowly opened his eyes.
Shang Shuji walked towards the two children’s bedroom and heard Shang Jingqi’s voice again: “What? What the hell?”
Shang Shuji had already reached the door and asked as he went inside, “What’s wrong?”
Both children were sitting on the bed. The two quilts, which had been neatly folded, were now a little messy. Shang Jingqi was rubbing his eyes, as if he had just woken up from sleep.
Shang Jingshu’s face had turned pale with fright just now, but now she was so angry that her face turned rosy.
She pointed to the window, which had no curtains and offered a clear view of the outside world, and said angrily, “No, it’s not a ghost, it’s that naughty boy Gao Shang! I was about to fall asleep when I suddenly saw someone pressed against the window. It scared me to death! His head suddenly popped out, and I thought it was a ghost…”
“Huh?” Shang Jingqi turned around and looked out the window.
He was lying with his back to the window, and he closed his eyes earlier than Shang Jingshu, so he didn’t see or hear anything.
Shang Shuji also looked out the window, but there was no one in sight outside.
Afraid he wouldn’t believe her, Shang Jingshu said anxiously, “It’s true! Dad, I’m not lying! I was so scared that I sat up immediately. He seemed scared too; he froze for a moment and then ran away. I really saw it clearly!”
As she spoke, Shang Jingshu climbed out of bed, put on her shoes, and ran outside: “He can’t have gone far. If we go out now, we can definitely catch him!”
Shang Shuji followed behind Shang Jingshu, who looked like a little deer, as they walked out. Shang Jingqi also quickly put on his shoes, saying, “I’m going too!”
Xuan Zhixia remained lying on the recliner, watching the father and his two children leave without moving an inch.
But they must not have gone far, because Xuan Zhixia could still hear Shang Jingshu’s clear voice: “There he is! It’s Gao Shang! I told you! There’s also a cameraman with him!”
Then came Shang Jingqi’s troubled voice: “But he’s been running for so long and is already far away from us. Should we still chase after him?”
In the end, they didn’t chase; Shang Shuji and the two children quickly returned.
“Hmph! We’ll have to meet again later! I’m going to beat him to a pulp! He’s just trying to scare people on purpose!” Shang Jingshu said fiercely.
Shang Jingqi clenched his fists: “What he did was…peep…peep! Yes! Peep! I wanted to say peep at first, but I couldn’t think of the word right away… He ran away after being caught peeping, and didn’t even apologize. What a bad kid!”
Shang Jingshu pouted unhappily, her lips looking like they could hold an oil bottle.
“How strange! Why is Gao Shang outside our window?”
“I don’t know, but if he doesn’t apologize, we won’t play with him!”
“What if… he appears outside the window again and scares people?”
Shang Shuji, who hadn’t expressed any opinion until now, calmly said, “Later, I’ll use the extra bed sheets to put up a simple curtain for your room’s window.”
Upon hearing that their father was going to help them, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu were overjoyed and surprised, no longer complaining about Gao Shang.
Xuan Zhixia, who was sitting on the recliner, listened to the conversation and then spoke up, calmly asking, “Neither bedroom has curtains. Mr. Shang, why don’t you go all the way and hang curtains in my room as well?”
Shang Shuji looked at him.
Xuan Zhixia remained calm and composed on the recliner. Clearly, since hearing Shang Jingshu’s scream, Xuan Zhixia’s only reaction had been to open his eyes.
To this person who was so lazy that even a sloth would have to admit defeat, Shang Shuji said unhurriedly, “I told you, that room doesn’t belong to you alone.”
Upon hearing this, Xuan Zhixia looked slightly helpless: “Mr. Shang, would you be more accepting if I said, ‘Please hang curtains in our room as well?'”
The emphasis is on “we” in “our room”.
Shang Shuji: “…”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu looked at the two adults and felt that it was time for them to show their skills!
We need to show our uncle that they are sincere in admitting their mistakes and correcting them, so we need to speak up for him!
But I can’t upset my dad, so I can’t completely side with my uncle either!
So the two children racked their brains and then whispered to Shang Shuji, “Dad, that’s your room too, it needs curtains!”
“Uncle can’t do anything, he’s not as capable as Dad. Dad, don’t be angry with Uncle, he’s not in good health, and it would be a real problem if he got sick!”
Xuan Zhixia was a little surprised by what the two children said.
Immediately, he calmly nodded slightly to Shang Shuji, as if in agreement.
Shang Shuji: “…”