Chapter 89: Who’s Cooking Dinner?
As night fell, Young Master Sang dragged his battered body and slowly knocked on the door.
Even though he had been through a lot, a man is supposed to bring a reassuring smile home, no matter how many disappointments he faced outside. He couldn’t let his wife and child worry.
So, Sang Zhe specially changed into a clean outfit from the system, took a deep breath, and acted as if nothing had happened as he returned home.
“I’m back.”
“You’re finally back! Why did you come home so late today?”
“Had some issues at work…”
At home, everything was as peaceful as ever.
Zhang Xiaoying had already prepared dinner, waiting for Sang Zhe to return so they could dig in.
During the meal, Sang Zhe seemed a bit absent-minded.
He was pondering how to bring up Meng Qiyan and the others with Zhang Xiaoying.
This wasn’t something he wanted to keep from her. After all, it wasn’t a big scandal, and Xiaoying wasn’t unreasonable.
But organizing his thoughts took quite some brainpower.
As the four women feasted, Sang Zhe hesitated for a long time before he finally decided to speak:
“Um—”
“Um, husband, I have something to discuss with you.”
“…Huh?”
Sang Zhe then noticed that Zhang Xiaoying looked a little shy at that moment.
After a while, she quietly said, “I… want to take a few days off to visit my parents.”
Sang Zhe was stunned for a moment.
He had heard Zhang Xiaoying mention her parents before.
After proposing, during a few days of travel, he had even asked about his future in-laws.
After all, this was about dowry, household registration, and wedding customs—a whole bunch of things.
He didn’t want to mess things up in front of his father-in-law.
But Zhang Xiaoying seemed relaxed.
She mentioned her parents were just ordinary mortals who ran a tailor shop in the city.
She even reassured Sang Zhe, saying her parents were easygoing and wouldn’t have high demands.
Hearing that Zhang Xiaoying wanted to visit her family, Sang Zhe didn’t think much of it and asked:
“Is this sudden? Is something wrong with my father-in-law?”
“Not at all.” Zhang Xiaoying shook her head slowly. “Just this morning, my parents sent a letter asking how I’ve been.”
“The last time I updated them was right after you saved me. It’s been a while now.”
“I haven’t seen them in ages, and I miss home a bit. Plus, they don’t know about you yet…”
Seeing Zhang Xiaoying’s cheeks turn slightly red, Sang Zhe became nervous.
Oh no.
That’s right.
Since he was already engaged to Zhang Xiaoying, he definitely had to pay a visit to his in-laws.
But it was so sudden, and he hadn’t mentally prepared himself.
“Then, should I quickly ask for leave tomorrow?”
Sang Zhe hurriedly said, “I need to get a nice outfit, prepare some red envelopes and wine…”
Seeing him panic, Zhang Xiaoying couldn’t help but chuckle behind her hand.
“Husband, there’s no need to rush. My parents still don’t know about you.”
“How about I go home first and test the waters with them, and we can visit together later?”
Sang Zhe finally calmed down slowly.
Suddenly, Si Jingzhu, who had been silent, furrowed her brow and said softly:
“Wait.”
“If Xiaoying goes back to her family, who’s going to cook for us during this time?”
A dead silence fell over the table.
Everyone looked at one another, wide-eyed.
Yan Rouwan looked innocent. She had always been focused on her training, of course, she couldn’t cook. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been crashing at Sang Zhe’s place every day.
Si Jingzhu needed no introduction. It was a miracle she wasn’t considered food herself.
Shi Qingyan could cook.
But now her tiny body, being just a five or six-year-old girl, struggled to prepare meals for the whole house.
That left only Sang Zhe.
A useless fellow who could only boil instant noodles.
Everyone stared at each other, unable to say a word for ages.
Finally, Zhang Xiaoying quietly suggested, “What if… we hire a maid for the time being?”
That seemed to be the only solution.
There were indeed some women in town who lived off cooking and cleaning for wealthy families, and the price was quite affordable.
Sang Zhe sighed silently, “Alright. I’ll go look for one tomorrow.”
—
—
The next morning, after packing her bags, Zhang Xiaoying hopped on a carriage back home.
Though she would only be gone about a week, the thought of not being able to cuddle with Xiaoying for that long made Sang Zhe helplessly sigh.
And in the end, he hadn’t even mentioned Meng Qiyan.
He’d just wait until Xiaoying returned to talk about it.
Even though Xiaoying was going back to her family, work had to continue as usual.
In Master Yu Xia’s prison.
When Sang Zhe once again entered with a dissipation pill, Master Yu Xia’s attitude had improved significantly from before.
Her face no longer wore that look of utter disdain, filled with curses wishing him dead.
Now all that was left in her eyes was sadness and pleading.
“Please… don’t feed me again…”
“I don’t want to become useless… I really don’t want that…”
“It was my fault before; I wronged you and your disciples… I’m sorry…”
In the end, she was practically clinging to Sang Zhe’s leg, begging on the ground without any dignity.
Her hair was disheveled, clothes unkempt, her eyes bloodshot with deep dark circles, lips chapped and pale.
Sang Zhe just calmly watched her pitiful appearance.
Looking at the once proud and aloof Master Yu Xia.
Now, she seemed like a desperate woman begging at his feet.
“If you had known this day would come, why act like that in the first place?”
He slowly squatted down, calmly meeting Master Yu Xia’s dodging and fragile gaze.
“Weren’t you always thinking that the weak are worthless and should naturally yield to strong ones like you?”
“When it’s your turn to be the weak one, how does it feel?”
Master Yu Xia’s eyes trembled, her pitiful gaze dimmed.
“So… I can’t lose my cultivation… if I lose my cultivation, I’ll have nothing…”
“Please, I’ll join the Demon Cult; I’ll accept your soul mark!”
“Don’t take my cultivation from me,” she gazed deeply at Sang Zhe, eyes filled with desperate struggle, “Please…”
Sang Zhe thought for a moment and showed her a radiant smile.
Master Yu Xia didn’t understand why he was smiling.
But she still tried to muster a faint smile back, matching Sang Zhe’s mood.
But the next moment, her smile froze.
Sang Zhe stuffed the dissipation pill into her mouth again.
“No… mmm!”
As the pill melted within her, Master Yu Xia seemed to lose all her strength, collapsing against the wall.
The confusion and despair in her eyes as she looked at Sang Zhe was clear:
“Why…”
“I clearly… agreed to your request…”
“The reason is simple.” Sang Zhe gently tucked the empty vial back into his pocket.
“Apologies are the most useless things in this world.”
“If you truly feel you’ve done wrong…”
“Then you should pay the price obediently.” His gaze flickered with indifference, “That’s better than just saying sorry.”
