Chapter 14
Ye Zhi didn’t know how to politely refuse. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to play with the little girl, but with Huo Youqiao present, he felt so stiff that he didn’t know how to position himself. Just when he was at a loss, Huo Youqiao spoke up, “It’s almost dinner time, let’s stop playing for now and eat first. After dinner, we can continue playing. Ranran, go wash your hands first.”
Ranran put down the ball and immediately grabbed Ye Zhi’s hand. “Zhi Zhi, come wash your hands with me, then we can eat together.”
Ye Zhi couldn’t refuse Ranran’s enthusiasm.
The nanny, around forty years old, was Ranran’s exclusive nanny, taking care of her since she was two years old. She was responsible for Ranran’s three meals a day, picking her up from school, and accompanying her to extracurricular activities. In the evening, after giving her a bath, she could leave.
Of course, she also prepared dinner.
She was aware of the situation in the Huo family, so she wasn’t very friendly to Ye Zhi when she returned. Later, Ye Zhi took over some of her work—such as preparing breakfast and lunch for Ranran, helping Ranran with her kindergarten homework, and teaching her to complete tasks. As a result, her attitude toward Ye Zhi became cold.
It was evident from the fact that she never prepared dinner for him.
Ranran pulled Ye Zhi to the dining table, and the nanny obviously wasn’t pleased. She only set two places for dinner. Ye Zhi, accustomed to reading his parents’ expressions, could sense the mood. He wanted to find an excuse to go back to his room, but Ranran got off her chair and eagerly said, “I’ll help Zhi Zhi get the bowls and chopsticks.”
Ye Zhi wanted to refuse, but couldn’t. He couldn’t refuse and wanted to follow her. Huo Youqiao, who hadn’t spoken to him all this time, spoke up, “Let her go. You don’t have to follow her around for everything. Let her learn to be independent and diligent.”
Ye Zhi could only sit back in his seat, feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles.
Huo Youqiao’s presence was intimidating, and Ye Zhi didn’t dare to sit casually. He was tense, gripping his pants tightly with both hands.
Fortunately, Ranran soon returned with a “clatter, clatter, clatter,” which made Ye Zhi feel a bit more at ease.
During dinner, Ye Zhi hardly ate anything himself, focusing on picking out food for Ranran, removing fish bones, peeling shrimp shells, and wiping the oil stains off her mouth with a tissue. He did all these things skillfully, showing great care, and every time Ranran spoke, he listened attentively, answering in a soft and gentle voice.
Others might have considered him weak, but Huo Youqiao, observing from the sidelines, felt it was a kind of tenderness.
No wonder Ranran liked him.
After dinner, Ranran had to go to her extracurricular class again, so Ye Zhi took the initiative to clean the kitchen and wash the dishes. He was good at cleaning and organizing, and it only took him about half an hour to restore the kitchen to its clean and tidy state.
Huo Youqiao happened to walk in at that moment, holding a cup of coffee.
Every time he was in the same space as him, Ye Zhi felt an invisible pressure. He paused, resisting the urge to step back, “Would you like some coffee?”
“Yeah.” Huo Youqiao suddenly added, “The coffee you made last time was good.”
Ye Zhi quickly said, “Then I’ll make it for you.”
Huo Youqiao handed the cup over, and Ye Zhi took it carefully, making sure not to touch his fingers. The cup was clean, but Ye Zhi still washed it again under the tap, then opened the cabinet, “Do you want ground coffee or coffee beans? Ground coffee will be faster.”
“Coffee beans.”
“Okay, you go ahead and do what you need to do. I’ll bring it up to you after I’m done brewing.” Ye Zhi realized that Huo Youqiao’s gaze was on him, and he felt stiff all over, incredibly nervous.
Huo Youqiao didn’t leave but instead took a few steps closer, “You make it, I’ll watch.”
Unable to refuse his request and unable to say something like “I’m nervous because you’re here,” Ye Zhi tried hard to appear more natural and began grinding the coffee beans.
The room fell silent for a while, with only the sound of grinding beans. After a while, Huo Youqiao spoke first, “I’ve ordered Acheng to come back tomorrow. Regarding the scandal he caused outside, I’ll have him explain himself.”
