NH chapter 011

Chapter 11: Apron

This dinner was eaten with different thoughts.

After the meal, Huo Ye automatically stood up to wash the dishes, but the old lady restrained him, turning to look at Shen Tingyu first.

Shen Tingyu sensed something was off and had an expressionless face.

“Yao Yao, you’re almost eighteen. Except for sneaking into the kitchen at midnight to steal food, you’ve never stepped into the kitchen, have you?” the old lady said.

Shen Tingyu: “…”

He had explained to the old lady many times that it was only that day he hadn’t eaten much, and his stomach hurt so badly at night that he couldn’t sleep, which was why he had to go into the kitchen just that once, and he got caught.

But the old lady simply didn’t believe him.

“Your mother said you’ve been too pampered. Since you were little, you’ve never washed a dish. Although you can hire someone for housekeeping, you need to have basic living skills. When your father was your age, he could help me in the fields and pick corn,” the old lady often repeated these stories.

“And then there’s Xiao Qi. His family is in a worse condition than yours, which is why he understands things better. You need to learn more from him…” The old lady clutched one of them and said, “There’s a whole table of dishes tonight; it’s not easy washing all of them. You and Xiao Qi can wash them together and learn.”

After hearing this, Shen Tingyu expressionlessly opened his mouth: “Excuse me, is washing dishes that hard or impressive?”

“It’s neither hard nor impressive, but you have to know how to do it. If you don’t wash dishes and don’t cook in the future, who would want to marry you?” The old lady was stubborn, which was very “Shen family” of her.

Shen Tingyu thought otherwise, arguing, “As long as I can earn money, who wouldn’t want to marry me?”

The old lady didn’t like this way of thinking. Her expression turned serious as she said, “Yao Yao, don’t learn from your parents. There are many things that money can’t buy, like love. Marriage must be based on love. You don’t understand now, but someone will teach you in the future.”

Shen Tingyu wanted to say he wasn’t really interested in understanding.

However, when he turned his head, he saw Huo Ye, sitting perfectly obediently, being restrained by the old lady, occasionally nodding his chin in agreement, which made Shen Tingyu’s rebelliousness against the old lady seem even more childish.

And he even mimicked the old lady’s expression, casting a somewhat reproachful glance at himself.

Shen Tingyu: “…”

Ten minutes later.

The two stood in front of the kitchen sink, facing a large pile of dirty dishes, caught in a brief silence.

Shen Tingyu was still wearing the school uniform’s white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his shoulder slightly behind Huo Ye. The distance between them made it easy for them to bump into each other. But he had no mind to care, because he had truly never washed dishes before. So, what should he do next?

He slightly lowered his eyes and glanced at Huo Ye.

Huo Ye handed over another apron, saying, “If you don’t want to dirty your clothes, you should wear this.”

Shen Tingyu didn’t take it, frowned, clearly unhappy. He shifted the topic with a picky tone: “This is pink; I won’t wear it.”

The pink and white apron, featuring a cat paw design on the pocket, looked quite cute. On Shen Tingyu, it would probably look as ridiculous as a CEO cosplaying a maid outfit.

Although Shen Tingyu hadn’t inherited the family business yet and wasn’t a CEO, he couldn’t tolerate diminishing his own dignity.

Huo Ye chuckled, then said, “What about the blue one?”

“Blue…” Shen Tingyu surprisingly considered it seriously. People seemed to have stereotypes about colors, thinking pink should suit girls and blue should suit boys, “Blue is fine.”

Shen Tingyu asked, “Where is it?”

“Maybe at the supermarket,” Huo Ye replied.

Shen Tingyu smiled: “Are you kidding me?”

Huo Ye held onto the edge of the sink with both hands, looking down and chuckling so hard his shoulders shook. Just as Shen Tingyu was about to storm off, Huo Ye straightened up and said gently, “I truly didn’t prepare anything else. Young master, can you please make do this time?”

Shen Tingyu looked upset, struggled for a couple of seconds, and suddenly turned his gaze to Huo Ye’s chest.

Huo Ye raised an eyebrow and followed his gaze.

“You, take it off.” Shen Tingyu enunciated clearly, only moving the corners of his lips, issuing a command like a master.

“I want to wear yours.”

Not “I want,” but “I must.”

Huo Ye said, “Alright, young master.”

So they exchanged aprons, the black and white one on Shen Tingyu, and the pink one with cat paws on Huo Ye.

“Actually, I think this one suits you better,” Huo Ye remarked as he put it on, while Shen Tingyu turned away from him, telling him, “Shut up.”

Huo Ye said, “Okay, young master.”

Hearing these few lines of “young master,” Shen Tingyu couldn’t get angry and reluctantly put the apron on. Right after he tied the back, Huo Ye handed him a pair of yellow rubber gloves, as dish soap could be rough on the skin.

Shen Tingyu thought it was a hassle; why was there so much preparation just to wash a dish? Didn’t you just soak it in water, squeeze some dish soap, and wipe it down a couple of times?

Huo Ye, naturally noticing this, seized Shen Tingyu’s hand unexpectedly, shaking his head with a smile, saying, “No, you have to wear them.”

Shen Tingyu frowned. He wasn’t fond of physical contact with the same sex, but his initial annoyance soon disappeared. He didn’t pull away from Huo Ye and coolly said, “Then put them on for me.”

Huo Ye replied, “Mmm,” and meticulously helped him put them on.

Throughout the dishwashing process, the two didn’t talk much. Huo Ye worked methodically but efficiently, the dishes in his hands sparkling anew. Meanwhile, Shen Tingyu was awkwardly fumbling with the utensils, treating them with a clumsiness and reckless simplicity, causing a clattering noise in the sink that just wouldn’t stop.

Huo Ye paused, glanced at him, and asked, “Hello, do you have a violent tendency?”

Shen Tingyu buried his head in his work, completely ignoring this.

He was still thinking about what the old lady said about him being spoiled; didn’t that just mean being lazy? Shen Tingyu turned his embarrassment and irritation into motivation, washing furiously without caring whether it was clean or not.

After a while, Huo Ye looked at the pile of greasy dishes shining under the light, his fingers still feeling the slickness of the utensils, and let out a sigh.

Shen Tingyu, sensitive to it, said, “Are you complaining about me?”

“No, I wouldn’t dare,” Huo Ye denied honestly.

Shen Tingyu squinted slightly, staring at him for a few seconds as if trying to confirm the truth of Huo Ye’s words, and then said, “You better not be.”

“Mmm, I’ll take care of the rest. You go back to your room and take a shower to rest for a bit. You can leave the dirty clothes in the bathroom,” Huo Ye said with a good attitude, actually wanting to send Shen Tingyu away long ago. If it weren’t for the fact that the Shen family provided too much, Huo Ye would really say that if you, young lady, can’t help, then don’t increase my workload.

Shen Tingyu took off the apron and gloves, too lazy to say a word as he went back to his room. He was already very tired from moving and had been tricked into washing a bunch of dishes. Now, he only wanted to take a shower and wash away all the bad feelings.

Huo Ye sent off the young lady and stayed in the kitchen, taking the opportunity while she was showering to wash the dishes he had done once again.

After finishing everything, tidying up the messy kitchen, and tying up the trash bag to leave it by the door so as not to forget to throw it out when he left. Once all this was done, Huo Ye started his routine of mopping the floor. After mopping and washing the dirty clothes to hang them up, his work was almost finished.

Fortunately, it was just the beginning of the school year, and there was no homework assigned; otherwise, Huo Ye would have to stay until at least eight or nine, and definitely have to stay up late to catch up.

After a while, Shen Tingyu came out of the shower, wearing only a pair of black sports shorts, upper body bare. His hair was still wet, as he hadn’t had the time to dry it; anyway, wearing clothes would get it wet anyway.

Shen Tingyu’s muscular lines weren’t subtle; on the contrary, they were very tense, his collarbones straight like a blade, with a dip so deep it could hold water. The muscles on the sides of his chest were strong and beautiful, leading down to a clearly defined abdomen, with a slender waist that formed an angle when he turned, making people want to reach out and hold him.

While he was wiping his hair with a towel, he was searching for something in several rooms, but unfortunately, it seemed he found nothing.

With no success in his search, Shen Tingyu had to walk over, looking down from a height at Huo Ye who was mopping the floor.

Huo Ye paused and looked up, asking, “Young master, do you have any orders?”

“I need a hairdryer.”

Huo Ye pointed in a certain direction, indicating that the hairdryer was in the cabinet and for him to find it on his own. Shen Tingyu didn’t say anything and walked off.

After mopping the floor, Huo Ye took an empty basket and walked into Shen Tingyu’s room’s bathroom. Not long later, he came back out.

After putting it into the washing machine, he continued to hang it up.

While Huo Ye was hanging the clothes on the balcony, suddenly Shen Tingyu rushed over, grabbing him with one hand and pushing him against the wall.

“—Huh?!” Huo Ye was caught off guard, the drying rod clattering to the ground. He almost reflexively shot back, but when he saw Shen Tingyu’s beautiful face, he froze.

Shen Tingyu lowered his voice and asked, barely holding back his anger, “Did you wash my—my innerwear?”

Huo Ye blinked, confused as to why he was angry. All the clothes at home were washed by him alone; what was wrong?

“This is what I’m supposed to do.” Huo Ye said calmly.

This should have made Shen Tingyu laugh in anger; he had never encountered such an absurd thing. His family’s housekeeper would never do this. Shen Tingyu felt offended, gritting his teeth as he said, “What do you mean you’re supposed to? Is this something you can wash?”

Huo Ye was forced against the wall. He didn’t expect Shen Tingyu to be quite strong. Calmly, he countered, “Why can’t I?”

Shen Tingyu simply couldn’t communicate with him, so he said in a “what the hell” manner, “You’d better return it to me soon.”

Huo Ye shook his head, “Can’t return it; I’ve already washed it.”

Shen Tingyu let go of him and went to rummage in the washing machine.

Huo Ye watched him for a long time and asked, “What are you looking for?”

“Looking for your brain.” Shen Tingyu didn’t even look up, but after rummaging for a while, he was still empty-handed. “Damn, where’s my innerwear?”

Huo Ye laughed, saying, “I handwashed it; I’ve already hung it up.”

“…”

Shen Tingyu just stood there stiffly.

The air fell silent for about three seconds, and then Huo Ye suddenly saw black as he was gripped by the neck and forcefully pushed back against the wall.