After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 35

Jujube, Astragalus, and Goji Berry Stewed Black-Boned Chicken

When Bai Xiying woke up, the sky outside the window was already dark.

Her eyes were bleary, her brain not yet fully awake from sleeping too long, leaving her with the uncomfortable feeling of having been forcibly filled with paste.

And the side of her neck felt a little uncomfortable, too.

Bai Xiying reached back to rub her neck, slowly sat up, and moved her neck from side to side. Once she had more or less adjusted, she was completely awake.

Hasn’t the sun risen yet?

Bai Xiying subconsciously thought as she looked at the pitch-black sky.

The next moment, she realized it was probably already evening.

Just then, a rustling sound drifted in from the crack of the door, which hadn’t been shut tight.

A sharp glint flashed through Bai Xiying’s eyes. She threw back the covers, pulled a dagger from under her pillow, and, barefoot, crept along the wall to open the door.

The warm yellow chandelier on the living room ceiling was diligently on duty. It seemed someone was cooking in the open-plan kitchen.

Bai Xiying froze.

Looking at that familiar back, she suddenly realized that Lin Xingzhu also had a key to the apartment.

Soundlessly, she returned the dagger to its original place. Bai Xiying didn’t forget to put her shoes back on before going out.

“How come you’re here?” she asked.

Lin Xingzhu turned her head upon hearing the voice. “You’re awake?”

As she said this, she felt a hidden pang of guilt.

Bai Xiying nodded, watching as Lin Xingzhu, wearing the little bear apron she had bought, wielded a kitchen knife and chopped vegetables.

“Yeah, I slept for so long,” Bai Xiying said. “It’s so absurd. Not counting the time I slept last night, I actually slept for an entire day.”

Although she hadn’t fallen asleep until nearly dawn last night, sleeping through a whole day was still quite absurd.

Lin Xingzhu kept her back to her, pretending to focus on chopping vegetables, not daring to say that Bai Xiying should have woken up in the afternoon but had been knocked out again by her, which was why she was only waking up now.

When Bai Xiying had gone back to put on her shoes, she had checked her phone. Sure enough, it had been put on silent mode without her knowledge. Among the dozen or so missed calls, the most recent ones were from Lin Xingzhu.

As for the string of red missed call notifications from Mu Muqing above them, she selectively ignored them.

So, it must have been that Lin Xingzhu couldn’t reach her and used the spare key to come find her.

At this thought, Bai Xiying’s gaze softened slightly. “I made you worry.”

Lin Xingzhu hurriedly said it was nothing, then methodically placed the chopped ingredients to the side and began to blanch the substantial dish¹ she had just bought tonight.

The chopped black-boned chicken² was blanched in boiling water to remove the blood, then taken out after a few minutes and rinsed clean. After that, Lin Xingzhu put the already prepared pitted jujubes³, ginger slices, and astragalus⁴, along with other seasonings and the black-boned chicken, into the pot to start the soup.

Bai Xiying just leaned against the doorframe like that, her eyes fixed on Lin Xingzhu’s every move without blinking.

The apron she had bought for herself fit Lin Xingzhu perfectly, as if it were custom-made. To make movement easier, Lin Xingzhu had tied her long, dark hair into a high ponytail, but the stray strands that occasionally floated by her forehead gave her entire side profile an air of gentle tenderness.

For an instant, it seemed Bai Xiying had dreamed she was back in that morning not long after she and Lin Xingzhu had first met.

The wisps of steam rising from the fragrant and mellow soy milk blurred her delicate features. It was like any other ordinary morning, warm and natural.

Bai Xiying didn’t dislike drinking soy milk, not to mention she had already detected the hint of sweetness beneath the mellow fragrance—it was a cup of soy milk that Lin Xingzhu had specially added sugar to.

But looking at such a gentle and adept Lin Xingzhu, the Bai Xiying of that time had only found it incredibly jarring.

But why was it that now, seeing the same warm and heart-soothing scene, she couldn’t help but want to draw closer?

Bai Xiying’s fingers curled, her nails scraping marks into the doorframe.

The absurdity of last night seemed to reappear. Bai Xiying pressed a fist against the doorframe and let out a soft gasp, calming the tumultuous emotions stirring in her heart.

A moment later, the aroma of the black-boned chicken began to drift to her nose. Bai Xiying sniffed lightly, and having regained her composure, she asked in confusion, “Why did you decide to make black-boned chicken soup tonight?”

She remembered not having this in her fridge, so the chicken must have been brought by Lin Xingzhu or bought on the spot.

Lin Xingzhu: “…”

The old doctor’s muttering echoed uncontrollably in her mind. Even Lin Xingzhu herself didn’t know why she had taken those words to heart and specifically ordered a grocery delivery service to buy this high-quality black-boned chicken.

“…Maybe because you need to replenish yourself⁵,” she said with difficulty after a moment of struggle.

Bai Xiying: “Replenish? I’m perfectly healthy.”

Lin Xingzhu gave her a complicated look.

She had never intended to hide this matter from Bai Xiying from the start. After all, the doctor had said her body was deficient⁶, and for the sake of her health, it was very necessary for Bai Xiying to know her own physical condition and pay attention to nourishing herself afterward.

Bai Xiying suddenly had a very bad premonition.

Lin Xingzhu coughed lightly, clearing her throat. She turned halfway to the side, as if this could reduce the embarrassment of facing the dramatic⁷ scene head-on.

“When I came this afternoon, I noticed you looked very hot. I was worried you had a fever, so I took you to the hospital,” Lin Xingzhu said in a low voice, her eyes darting around as she spoke words that were anything but low-key. “The doctor said you weren’t sick, but that your body is a bit deficient and you might need to replenish yourself.”

After relaying the abridged version of the doctor’s words, Lin Xingzhu let out a full sigh of relief.

I really don’t want to know why Bai Xiying is so deficient. It’s probably just because her health is genuinely poor.

As for what the doctor said about “moderation” and “restraint,” I’ll just let it be like a gust of wind passing by and not pay it too much mind.

Bai Xiying’s face suddenly turned a little red, which gradually shifted to an ashen color as Lin Xingzhu finished speaking.

She was certain that what Lin Xingzhu said was an abridged version. As for the unabridged version, Bai Xiying gritted her teeth; she could already guess what the doctor had probably said.

And yet the main culprit who caused her indulgence last night was completely ignorant!

Lin Xingzhu watched this color-changing process unfold and couldn’t help but click her tongue in wonder.

So when the emotions are strong enough, a person really can visibly change their facial color.

She turned her back, guiltily adding the washed goji berries⁸ into the nearly-done soup. Suddenly, she heard Bai Xiying call her name.

“Thank you for your concern.”

These few words were spoken by Bai Xiying through somewhat gritted teeth.

Lin Xingzhu suddenly shivered. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”

Staring at Bai Xiying’s almost tangible, oppressive gaze, she lifted the pot lid again to look at the soup, swallowing hard to avoid her eyes. “You see, I specially bought a very large black-boned chicken and made a whole pot of soup.”

Noticing the shift in Bai Xiying’s gaze, Lin Xingzhu brought out her full acting skills and said with a bitter smile, “It’s because that old doctor also took a look at me and said I was too deficient, way too deficient, and that it was absolutely necessary for me to replenish myself properly!”

“Tonight, we’re both responsible for finishing this jujube, astragalus, and goji berry stewed black-boned chicken.”

Bai Xiying clenched her fingertips.

“Is that so?” she asked lightly. “Let’s not talk about that for a moment. How come I don’t remember going to the hospital today? Was I sleeping that soundly?”

Another killer question.

Lin Xingzhu was about to say that was indeed the case, but in the next second, she noticed Bai Xiying casually touching the back of her own neck.

Lin Xingzhu: “…”

So perceptive?

She had used a skillful, precise force to knock her out at the time, deliberately controlling the strength so that Bai Xiying absolutely wouldn’t feel much pain afterward.

Bai Xiying touched the slight oddness on the side of her neck, a smile that wasn’t quite a smile on her face.

Lin Xingzhu put on a harmless grin. “Alright, it’s because you weren’t behaving while I was carrying you to the hospital. You kept moving in your sleep, so for the sake of traffic safety, I had to resort to this inferior plan.”

After saying this, Lin Xingzhu turned around, muttering as she lifted the pot lid, “Going to the hospital still has its benefits. Otherwise, how would we have known that both our bodies have problems? Both too deficient, we need to replenish!”

Seeing her so blatantly dodging the topic, Bai Xiying almost laughed out of anger.

But she truly had no memory of that period, and Lin Xingzhu’s explanation also proved that the reason she had slept so soundly was definitely because she had done something.

Unable to figure it out, Bai Xiying decided not to think about it anymore. In any case, she was certain that Lin Xingzhu had no intention of harming her, nor did she intend to take advantage of her.

Besides, the soup Lin Xingzhu was making really did smell wonderful.

Bai Xiying went to wash her hands, then came over to help Lin Xingzhu in the kitchen, washing bowls and preparing things.

Lin Xingzhu had eaten at this dining table many times already. She expertly⁹ sat down in her usual spot, with Bai Xiying, as always, sitting opposite her.

A bowl of warm, fragrant black-boned chicken soup went down, accompanied by meat that had been stewed until it was extremely tender. Lin Xingzhu ate with great satisfaction.

She finished one bowl and had just put it down when she saw Bai Xiying, who was in the middle of drinking her own soup, cast a light glance at her.

“…What is it?”

Bai Xiying smiled. “Didn’t you say you were very deficient? How is one bowl enough?”

With that, she took Lin Xingzhu’s bowl and refilled it for her.

Lin Xingzhu: “…”

This is truly a case of lifting a rock only to drop it on my own foot¹⁰.

But faced with Bai Xiying’s eyes, which shimmered with a watery light, Lin Xingzhu found she couldn’t refuse.

She took a deep breath and once again buried her head and moved her chopsticks.

Fortunately, Bai Xiying also seemed to be aware of her own physical condition and, without Lin Xingzhu needing to say anything, proactively refilled her own bowl for a second helping.

By the time they were completely finished, Lin Xingzhu was already very full. Looking at the small half-pot of soup left at the bottom, she sighed faintly, truly not knowing who was being replenished tonight.

And why was I in such a hurry? Replenishing the body doesn’t have to start tonight. I brought this upon myself, drinking two large bowls. Where am I supposed to burn off all this energy and vitality tonight?

Bai Xiying ladled the remaining soup into a bowl, placed it in the fridge, and then put both their utensils into the dishwasher to start the cycle.

A silent understanding seemed to have formed between them—one cooks, one cleans, a very comfortable arrangement.

When Bai Xiying came out after cleaning the stovetop, Lin Xingzhu was propping up her head and looking at her.

Lin Xingzhu brought up the official business Mu Muqing had tasked her with: “She said the collaborating party for the project you’re holding is getting anxious. She told me to have you send it to the project manager as soon as I got in touch with you.”

Bai Xiying paused for a moment.

She frowned, then as if thinking of something else, said, “Okay, I got it.”

Lin Xingzhu smiled, and was about to add a few more words when her body suddenly stiffened.

A warm stream seemed to be flowing inside her nasal cavity.

“…”

F#ck! Don’t tell me this wretched body is really too deficient to be properly nourished! It’s giving me a nosebleed on the spot¹¹?!

Lin Xingzhu abruptly straightened up, her long arm shooting out to grab the tissue box nearby.

Unfortunately, she was a step too late.

Bai Xiying stared in astonishment at the crimson nosebleed, then fell into deep thought.

Could it be that Lin Xingzhu wasn’t lying to me? Is she really that deficient?

---

---