Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Don’t Touch Me

Translator: 549690339

In the dim light, Shen Chi saw that Xu Chaomu’s small face was still dotted with water droplets and dish soap.

Her hair was a mess, not at all presentable. As for her clothes, although she had an apron on, she still looked very unclean.

Shen Chi frowned in disgust, his face full of contempt.

“Really short on money.” Xu Chaomu wiped her hands, staring into his eyes, and spoke indifferently.

Yes, she was telling the truth, she was indeed very short on money, she was almost unable to afford food.

“If you’re short on money, just tell me, why are you washing dishes in a place like this to show off?!” Shen Chi raised his voice again, his face looking very unpleasant.

“I didn’t ask you to come here to see, of course, I wash dishes to earn money for myself. I won’t ask you for money. Accepting someone’s charity makes you beholden to them.”

“Someone’s charity? You really draw a clear line.”

Annoyance written all over his face, Shen Chi gritted his teeth. Someone’s charity… huh, she saw him as an outsider.

“Shen Chi, please leave now. This place is dirty and messy; it wouldn’t be good if your clothes got dirty. This place isn’t suited for someone as noble as you.”

Xu Chaomu wiped her hands on her apron once more, lowering her eyelids, intending to squat down and continue washing dishes.

Just ten more minutes, and she would complete an hour’s task.

Shen Chi knew, these past days, she had always been going against him.

“If you have something to say, come outside with me. Don’t throw a tantrum here!”

Shen Chi didn’t care whether she agreed or not, he reached back, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her out.

In the kitchen’s dim corner, the light was faint. As soon as they stepped out, Xu Chaomu found the light too intense and instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes from it.

“I’m not throwing a tantrum at you. If I did, you’d definitely despise me, and it wouldn’t be worth it.”

She knew, she had given him a very bad impression recently. Similarly, the impression he had left on her wasn’t good either.

Now, they were mutually repulsed by each other.

It would be better not to see each other at all.

“Your tone is so bitter, and you’re claiming not to be throwing a tantrum?”

Shen Chi pulled her towards the school gate, at first dragging her arm, but then his overbearing palm slid down and gripped her small hand.

Xu Chaomu instinctively tried to pull away: “Don’t hold my hand, I just washed dishes, it’s dirty. Also, men and women shouldn’t touch.”

Shen Chi chuckled: “Men and women shouldn’t touch? I should be the one lecturing you on that. But when have you ever remembered?”

“I’ve remembered it a long time ago, after sticking to you for so many years, I won’t keep clinging to you in the future. And Shen Chi, you are getting married soon, you said it yourself, you want to be forever in love with Miss Bai. So, don’t touch me.”

Xu Chaomu struggled to pull her small hand free, but the man’s grip was always overbearing, not allowing her any leeway.

However, Shen Chi’s spine suddenly stiffened, the smile on his lips halting abruptly.

He had indeed said “forever in love” at the press conference, but he forgot about it as soon as he said it. He hadn’t expected her to remember.

He sighed: “Stop it.’

He didn’t say anything more; those were his own words after all and he couldn’t deny them. Although, things weren’t as she thought.

Moving to the sink, Shen Chi gracefully pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.

The handkerchief carried a faint herb and wood perfume scent, not overpowering, but very pleasant.

He turned on the tap, water cascading down with a “whoosh.”

He pulled her to wash her hands, and Xu Chaomu couldn’t refuse.

Seeing the shallow cuts on her hands, he frowned with heartache.

“Don’t do part-time jobs anymore, just tell me if you’re short on money.” He sighed again, finally not yelling at her, but his tone was full of helplessness. “Shen Chi, when did you start having such a bad memory? Didn’t I tell you last night that I clung to you just for your money? So, you better stay away from me.”

“To me, it doesn’t matter,” Shen Chi said lightly.

Before last night, he couldn’t swallow his pride, angrily confronting her.

Later, he thought, he shouldn’t be angry with her. Having indulged her for eight years, it had become a habit.

He knew she was stubborn; if he wasn’t careful and drove her away with his scolding, what would he do…

Without her, who else could he dote on?

He had never imagined that there would come a day when he would be so despondent.

If he had known this would happen, he should have stopped his mother from going to the orphanage eight years ago. Then, he would never have met this troublesome girl.

But could he bear that?

With a sigh, Shen Chi dampened the handkerchief and meticulously, tenderly wiped her hands. His movements were gentle and careful.

“Little paws have gotten thinner again.” Shen Chi held her hand and bent his head to wipe it for her.

As he bowed his head, his face looked exceptionally handsome in the moonlight, chiseled and strikingly handsome.

This tenderness, like the ocean, was intoxicating, beckoning one to drown willingly.

At that moment, Xu Chaomu was struck dumb, her deep-seated grievances suddenly dissolving.

The tap water was clean and cold, running over her hands, chilly to the touch.

“Come back and live with us, you don’t know how to take care of yourself, you’ve gone thin in just a few days. The school food isn’t good, neither is the accommodation, you won’t be used to it.” Shen Chi spoke lightly.

“Shen Chi, do you know the saying ‘When a gentleman speaks, even fast horses can’t catch up with his word’? It was you who drove me out, and moreover, I’ve grown accustomed to it, I won’t go back with you. That room of mine, isn’t that what you’ve always wanted for Miss Bai? I don’t have anything of value, just clear the room out for her.

“When a gentleman speaks, even fast horses can’t catch up with his word”? Oh, I’m not a gentleman anyway, so such words have nothing to do with me.”

For every word he said, she had ten to counter.

“Why are you being so unscrupulous!”

“If not for these eight years, influenced by your bad example, that’s what I’ve learned from you.”

Shen Chi’s tone was indifferent; he was focused only on one thing, and that was to finish washing her hands and dry them.

Soon, he had cleaned her little paws, and then he used the handkerchief to wipe the stains from her face.

“No matter what you say, I won’t go back. I’m not a ball for you to kick around.

To kick away when unhappy, and pick up when you feel like it.” “Do you think it’s appropriate to compare yourself to a ball?”

“I’m being serious with you!” Xu Chaomu knew he was diverting the topic again.

“Stop it, let’s go, go home. I came over tonight to pick you up.”

“I don’t have a home.”

Xu Chaomu’s voice quivered, her head lowered as she walked away, leaving the sink, leaving Shen Chi.

How could the Shen family be her home? Homes are warm and comforting, but all she ever received at the Shen family was contempt and neglect.

Her home had been gone for eight years.

For a moment, Shen Chi found himself without a response, for the first time feeling at a loss for words.

In the end, Shen Chi compromised but in a domineering tone: “Then take good care of yourself living at the school. If I see you thin again, you better roll back to the Shen family immediately!”

Xu Chaomu didn’t speak.

If it had been the old days, she would have surely thrown herself into his arms, “Big Brother, I’m so touched by how much you can’t bear to part with me..”