Chapter 58: Eat? Eat My Ass!
Now that she felt she had found Lu Zheng’s weakness, Yi Ning was in a particularly good mood.
“Hmphhm”
She hummed a little tune as she stood behind Lu Zheng, half-forcing him along into another room.
To keep Lu Zheng from unconsciously realizing that the area was covered by projections, Yi Ning continued to keep him within a tight 5 cm radius of herself, just as she had before.
Once again, Yi Ning led Lu Zheng to turn at an apparently empty spot.
Watching Lu Zheng obediently turn as she did, a strong sense of satisfaction surged up from within her.
Good thing she had stopped Lu Zheng from getting close to that table just in time. Otherwise, would she still be this leisurely now?
She glanced sideways, feeling even more relieved.
“What’s wrong? Standing there spacing out.”
Maybe she lingered in her satisfaction a bit too long—Lu Zheng finally asked.
He followed her gaze. It was aimed at the table he had tried to approach earlier.
“Nothing.”
Yi Ning shook her head and cast another glance at the now-empty and altered table, her expression a bit complicated.
“Let’s go.”
She shook her head, patted Lu Zheng, and tugged at his coat hem to pull him along, clearly not wanting to dwell on the matter.
After all, that table was only an illusion projected by the machine—the real one had long since been moved elsewhere.
Lu Zheng’s pixel screen showed a confused expression.
He tilted his head slightly, as if about to say something more.
“Alright, alright, don’t overthink stuff. Just come with me.”
Noticing Lu Zheng’s hesitance, Yi Ning immediately began pushing him again.
She once more placed him in front of herself and continued to steer him forward, hoping to get him out of the projection-covered area as soon as possible.
“Hey, hey.”
Lu Zheng moved his hand a little and easily slipped out of Yi Ning’s grip.
Due to some earlier misunderstandings, Yi Ning had started treating Lu Zheng a bit more roughly than before.
And since he was technically the one who had provoked her first, Lu Zheng felt she was just expressing her displeasure at being teased, so he didn’t bother voicing any complaints and silently endured her dominatrix behavior.
But this silence only deepened Yi Ning’s misunderstanding.
This guy must like this kind of treatment.
Her actions would only make him happier.
With that rewarding mindset, Yi Ning wasn’t even trying to be polite.
Pushing and verbal jabs were daily occurrences; if she happened to be in a bad mood, she might even kick Lu Zheng’s butt to vent her frustration.
After all this, Lu Zheng inevitably started to feel a bit annoyed.
He turned to glance at Yi Ning, hesitated for a second, then ultimately said nothing, continuing to follow her lead around the base.
After all, he had started it—so he kept his complaints to himself.
Fortunately, the doorway to the next room was now just ahead.
Yi Ning led Lu Zheng around a few more projection-covered pits and finally reached their destination.
She pushed open the door and extended her right hand inside.
“After you.”
Given how accustomed he’d grown to Yi Ning’s rough treatment, her current polite demeanor actually caught Lu Zheng off guard.
Seeing him frozen in place, Yi Ning quickly reacted.
She gave his butt a firm nudge with her foot.
Caught off balance, Lu Zheng stumbled forward into the room.
“Oops, sorry, I forgot you liked it that way.”
Yi Ning closed the door behind them.
But her words made Lu Zheng feel something was off.
“Like what?”
A question mark appeared on Lu Zheng’s pixel screen.
Unfortunately, Yi Ning took it as him trying to hide his shameful preferences.
She raised her right hand and covered her mouth slightly, hiding her curling smile.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Her expression was like a mother who had just discovered an adult magazine hidden under her son’s bed.
That mix of helplessness and faint affection left Lu Zheng thoroughly bewildered.
Had he accidentally let something slip without realizing it?
Lu Zheng tried every angle of questioning he could think of to break through Yi Ning’s defenses, but all were blocked by that same look—like she was gazing at a shy kid exposed for his kink.
“I understand.”
What do you understand!?
Yi Ning’s gaze gave Lu Zheng the chills, but no matter how he probed, all he got was a knowing smile or a gentle “I understand.”
He started to suspect that maybe Yi Ning didn’t actually know anything and was just messing with him.
Forget it.
Lu Zheng gave up.
He stepped sideways a couple of paces, intending to grab the chair by the table to sit down.
But then he paused.
Why wasn’t Yi Ning stopping him?
He turned and looked at Yi Ning, who was now blocking the door with her body.
The Mother of Understanding smiled at him again.
No way he was getting anything out of that look.
Lu Zheng curled his lip, no longer interested in pushing the issue.
He simply walked over to the table, sat in the chair, and took a quick look around the room.
Stove, sink, kitchen knife, cutting board…
All sorts of kitchen utensils confirmed one thing—this was a kitchen.
Lu Zheng instinctively rubbed his stomach.
He’d rushed over in such a hurry that he hadn’t even eaten lunch.
He glanced at the time.
It was already close to 12:30.
Come to think of it, hadn’t Yi Ning been holding a rice bowl when she opened the door?
Lu Zheng looked around again.
He quickly spotted an open rice cooker, steam still rising from the pot filled with rice.
“Speaking of which, it’s about time for lunch, huh?”
He started to hint.
“Then why aren’t you hurrying back to eat?”
Seeing that Lu Zheng wasn’t planning to leave, Yi Ning walked away from the door, came to his side, and dragged over a chair for herself.
She deliberately played dumb, acting like she didn’t get the hint.
This guy actually wanted to mooch a meal off her?
Ugly face, bold imagination.
Yi Ning turned her head and rolled her eyes in silence.
Given her former male identity, Yi Ning didn’t mind humoring Lu Zheng’s weird kinks or helping him keep a secret—but that didn’t mean she was willing to let him eat here.
She had only cooked enough for herself for one day. If she invited Lu Zheng, she’d have to cook again for dinner.
Too much trouble.
Besides, he had barged in against her will—she was still mad at him.
Why should she go through the hassle of feeding someone who caused her trouble?
Yi Ning let out a dismissive humph.
So, in summary—Eat? Eat my ass!