Trending Again – Chapter 30

Seeking the root of the illness, detecting anomalies with the sense of smell

Si Meng stared at the lively and energetic little shota in front of her, feeling an instant headache. She thought this was like dealing with a mischievous monkey and wished he could calm down a bit.

“Don’t keep jumping around, tell me why you’re not eating,” Si Meng grabbed his collar, becoming more comfortable as she spoke.

“The food is not tasty, too smelly, and they’re not as good as snacks.” Xiao Yino nibbled on a stack of potato chips. Si Meng snatched the chips from him, and he looked at her with a pitiful expression.

“Pretending to be pitiful won’t work. Your grandpa entrusted you to me, and from now on, no more snacks for you.” Si Meng uncovered all his hidden snacks and locked them in the cabinet, causing Xiao Yino to roll on the floor in protest.

“You villain, just wait for me!” Xiao Yino issued a threat and then ran out.

Si Meng walked into the kitchen, intending to find clues. She questioned several chefs, all of whom claimed to follow the cooking rules diligently, expressing their innocence regarding the young master’s deliberate provocations. They were shocked and tearful at the accusation that their cooking resembled leftovers from a sewer.

Si Meng, frustrated and unable to extract any useful information, heard Lin Hanyue’s scream from upstairs. She rushed upstairs to find Lin Hanyue covered in ink. Without much thought, she knew the mischievous little devil was behind it.

“Are you okay?” Si Meng inspected Lin Hanyue from head to toe, realizing she was just in shock.

“He actually brought a dead mouse, and the ink spilled on me from the table,” Lin Hanyue said with a hint of irritation, still shaken.

“Go downstairs and stay with the old master. Let me handle him. I’m not afraid of mice,” Si Meng reassured Lin Hanyue before setting off to discipline the troublemaker. Xiao Yino, playing hide-and-seek like a cat, darted from room to room, holding a small notebook containing the names of people he disliked.

Then he crossed out Lin Hanyue’s name, a triumphant expression on his face. Writing the three characters for Lin Hanyue was too difficult, so he substituted it with the pinyin ‘Lin Han Yue.’ It turned out that the aloof sister was Lin Hanyue. This was the perfect opportunity to drive them both out.

In fact, he had heard about Lin Hanyue a long time ago. Wasn’t she the perfect little junior sister his brother always raved about? His brother would frequently compare him to Lin Hanyue, something he detested. He disliked other people’s children, and it seemed like his brother might even have a secret crush on Lin Hanyue. Humph, dreaming of becoming his sister-in-law? No way.

Moreover, his brother was a troublesome guy – the friend of an enemy is an enemy.

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“You little troublemaker, you better come out and apologize now. If I catch you, your butt will be in trouble.”

“I’m not afraid of you, heh heh heh,” he made a face at Si Meng.

Hearing the sound, Si Meng walked towards the room. Xiao Yino revealed a sly smile, as he had set up a trap at the door, a large bucket of footwashing water awaiting her.

Si Meng reached the door frame. A childish trick? She walked smoothly into the room without any hindrance.

Xiao Yino was puzzled. Did his device malfunction? Just as he was about to peek into the door crack, the footwashing water spilled all over him. With this realization, Xiao Yino couldn’t help but rush into the bathroom to vomit.

Meanwhile, Si Meng, who had been hiding behind the door, was also puzzled. How did this little devil know her exact location? He could follow her so closely. After pondering for a moment, she came to the conclusion that either he had an extraordinary sense of hearing or an exceptional sense of smell. Combining his previous actions, it seemed that the reason for the little troublemaker’s food aversion was his unusually keen sense of smell.

The smell of meat, the aroma of cooking oil from vegetables, circulated and amplified directly in his nasal cavity. That’s why he would vomit at the mere smell. Having found the root cause, it was time to treat the problem accordingly.

Si Meng, while confirming her thoughts about the boy, was mentally compiling recipes. Hundreds of dish names flashed through her mind, and with a sudden inspiration, a plan was formed.

Entering the study, which served as the second-floor library with even more shelves than the first floor, Si Meng encountered another trap set by Xiao Yino. Determined to settle the score, he had arranged a trap here, taking advantage of the dim lighting in the library to catch anyone off guard.

“I’m inside. If you have the guts, come and catch me.”

“You little troublemaker… Help, let me out!” Si Meng’s plea for help echoed, and Xiao Yino, thinking he had succeeded, rushed out to check. However, in a moment of inattention, he stepped into a looped rope, and suddenly, he found himself suspended in the air.

Dizziness overwhelmed him, and once again, he felt the urge to vomit.

“Letting you off for not behaving, daring to bully Lin Hanyue and tease me? You deserve a punishment.” Si Meng lifted his pants, revealing his little buttocks, and gave him a few slaps.

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“I was wrong, ugh, let me down, sob, I apologize, I’m really sorry.” Xiao Yino was truly defeated this time. This woman was too terrifying, even more formidable than that deadly woman Jiang Luli. This was the most miserable he had been through being pranked.

“You can stay hanging; putting you down is also annoying.” Si Meng wasn’t going to let him off so easily.

“What should I do then? I’ll listen to you. You’re the boss.”

“Listen to me, behave, eat your meals properly, and apologize to your grandpa and Lin Hanyue. No more mischief.” Si Meng stated each word firmly.

“Okay, okay, I’ll behave. Can you please let me down now?” Si Meng cut the rope and released him.

In a flash, he ran off again, but Xiao Yino ran too hastily and collided with the bookshelf. The bookshelf, made of aged wood and long neglected, was inherently unstable. It swayed and toppled over, leaving Xiao Yino in shock. He stood frozen, but Si Meng quickly reacted, pulling him down to the ground, saving him from the falling shelf.

Looking at Si Meng’s pained expression, Xiao Yino realized he had caused trouble and didn’t expect things to take such a turn.

Trembling, he said, “Sister Si Meng, are you okay? You’re bleeding, what should we do?” His voice quivered, tears streaming down his face.

“Why are you crying? I’m perfectly fine, just a superficial wound, no bone injury,” Si Meng reassured, patting his head. He threw himself into Si Meng’s arms.

Through sobs, he mumbled, “Uhhhhhh, I thought you, you were gonna die.”

When Lin Hanyue and the others walked upstairs, they saw rows of toppled bookshelves and the two entangled figures.

“Are you hurt? Does it hurt?” Lin Hanyue gently supported Si Meng’s right hand, relieved to find that the wound wasn’t too deep.

“I’m fine, just need a bandage,” Si Meng said nonchalantly.

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In the living room, Lin Hanyue was helping Si Meng with the bandage. In the study, Xiao Yino was getting a good scolding from his grandfather. However, despite his punishment, he was concerned about Si Meng’s injury. His brother had taught him that one should take responsibility for their mistakes, and now that he considered himself a man, he felt accountable to Si Meng.

“You did a beautiful job with the bandage,” Si Meng praised, looking at the bow on the bandage.

“Next time, just stay with me. I worry when you’re out of my sight,” Lin Hanyue felt that Si Meng seemed to get injured easily as soon as she’s out of her sight, whether it was a major or minor injury.

“Haha, unexpected, totally unexpected.”

After bandaging the wound, Si Meng insisted on preparing a meal for Xiao Yino. No one’s persuasion worked on her. She wasn’t that delicate, and a small injury wasn’t going to render her incapable of doing anything.

Si Meng went into the kitchen to chop vegetables, with Lin Hanyue assisting to ensure she didn’t injure herself again. Meanwhile, Xiao Yino continued to hide in the door crack, sneakily watching.