Innocent Ex Is Hot Chapter 9
byMissing You
He Lincheng came down for water and ran into her again. As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred.
After witnessing He Lincheng’s disgusted look, Ran Ying refused to back down and rolled her eyes right back at him.
He Lincheng grew even more annoyed. Standing on the stairs, he looked down at her disdainfully. “Nuisance. Pretentious. Hypocrite.”
Ran Ying looked up to meet his gaze without a hint of fear, firing back directly, “Useless man. You only know how to bully women.”
He Lincheng was provoked. For the first time in his life, someone had insulted him like that. He marched over to her with heavy steps, his brow furrowed with rage. “Who are you calling useless?”
Ran Ying stared him in the eye without blinking, enunciating every word: “I’m talking about you. No one else.”
“You!” He Lincheng raised his arm, pointing a finger at her, his eyes churning with a fury that suggested he might strike at any moment.
“What, you want to hit me?!” Ran Ying’s eyes were equally filled with a surging fire, refusing to yield.
At that moment, He Linzhou walked out of his room unhurriedly, carrying Shancha. He approached the two and, without showing favoritism, scolded them both equally: “Both of you, get back to your rooms!”
The words of the eldest He brother carried weight.
The two parted on bad terms, returning to their respective rooms while cursing each other in their heads.
He Linzhou sat on the sofa downstairs with Shancha in his arms, leisurely sipping tea. The traditionally fermented Darjeeling was indeed delicious; no wonder Zhu Qing had such particular taste.
He Linzhou propped one long leg up, resting the other comfortably on the coffee table.
Shancha lay lazily in his arms, occasionally being petted by He Linzhou, looking very much like she was enjoying herself.
He Linzhou looked down and saw the same lazy expression that was a carbon copy of Zhu Qing’s.
Like mother, like daughter.
Hmph, just like your mother.
Shancha’s fur was soft and smooth, like high-quality silk. He Linzhou thought of Zhu Qing.
Back when they were dating, Zhu Qing used to lean into his arms just like this, his hair feeling just as soft.
They had only been apart for two days, yet he missed him dearly.
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When Marco returned home, he was filled with emotion. “Honey, should I go pray to some gods?”
He had studied Chinese and naturally knew that some things couldn’t be explained by science; they required divine intervention.
Zhu Yao understood his meaning immediately. “Wall Street might not have the things you want to worship.”
He clearly meant going to a temple. When they were dating, Zhu Yao had taken him back to China. Marco had been stunned during their visit to a temple. He knew China had gods and Buddhas, but he hadn’t expected there to be so many.
Zhu Yao had originally intended to just show him around and have him symbolically pray to one or two. To her surprise, the man prayed to every single one he saw, as devout as a lifelong believer. The surrounding Chinese tourists couldn’t help but remark on how great the Buddha’s influence was, attracting even foreigners from the Apennine Peninsula.
As the crowd began to gossip, Zhu Yao had quickly pulled the oblivious Marco away.
If they hadn’t left, someone probably would have stepped forward to recruit him as a monk’s apprentice.
Marco asked again, “Then what should I do, honey?”
Zhu Yao replied, annoyed, “What else can you do? Wait until we go back to China to pray.”
Marco didn’t give up. “Honey, can you perform an exorcism for me?”
During his student days, he had been very fond of this aspect of culture. He remembered some methods used to ward off evil, such as scattering rice, rubbing boiled eggs over the body, or burning paper at midnight.
Driven to her wit’s end by his pestering, Zhu Yao went to the kitchen, scooped out half a bowl of rice, and said to Marco, “Come on, go kneel in the living room for half an hour.”
Zhu Yao casually scattered a handful of rice and pointed to the circle, signaling Marco to kneel.
Marco shook his head. “Honey, I don’t remember kneeling being part of the process.”
Zhu Yao snapped, “If I tell you to kneel, you kneel! Are you Chinese, or am I?”
This logic was indisputable. Marco didn’t dare argue further.
Zhu Yao added, “By the way, after you’re done kneeling, you aren’t allowed to speak for the rest of the day.”
Thinking this was some profound technique, Marco nodded quickly. “Okay, honey, I’ll remember.”
Zhu Yao shook her head. Finally, she could have some peace and quiet today.
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At noon, Zhu Yao and the others sat together to wrap dumplings. Zhu Qing had learned from his parents since he was a child and was proficient in everything from mixing the filling to rolling the dough. Each dumpling was as plump as a gold ingot, with thin skin and generous filling, looking beautiful.
Luca was also learning to wrap them. Since he didn’t know how, his hands and face were covered in flour, making him look like a scruffy little kitten.
Zhu Qing encouraged him from the side, and soon, Luca wrapped a very decent-looking dumpling.
Zhu Qing clapped. “Luca, you’re amazing! It looks so good, even better than mine.”
Marco praised his son, “Wow, baby, you’re great!”
Zhu Yao took a look and saw it actually looked quite good. She thought to herself that it wouldn’t be bad if the boy grew up to be like his uncle. She said, “Luca, wrap them well. In China, people who wrap beautiful dumplings will have good luck in the future.”
Marco asked, “What kind of good luck? Tell me, honey.”
Zhu Yao said, “Isn’t being able to marry a good wife the greatest luck of all?”
Marco agreed, “Yes, yes, absolutely.”
Considering how busy his sister and brother-in-law were, Zhu Qing prepared many types of fillings: pork and cabbage, beef and green pepper, lamb and carrot, leek and egg, and wood ear mushroom and egg. He figured this would be enough for Zhu Yao to eat for a long time.
Over a decade ago, their family had also wrapped dumplings together like this. The family of four would sit together in harmony. Zhu Qing would wrap dumplings while being distracted by the fireworks outside the window. His mother would say that dumplings only tasted good if they were wrapped beautifully. His father rolled the dough into perfect circles, looking just like the ones bought from a supermarket. Zhu Yao, on the other hand, would wrap while complaining. Their mother would occasionally chime in, and everyone would laugh.
Time seemed frozen in that moment. They were wrapping dumplings again, but the people had changed.
He hoped that his parents in that other world were also happily wrapping dumplings.
Zhu Qing said he was going to get a drink.
A moment later, Zhu Yao also said she was going to get a drink.
In the kitchen, both of their eyes were red. Zhu Yao said, “It’s all your fault for making me cry.”
Zhu Qing wiped his eyes, pretending not to care. “Yes, yes, I’m sorry, dear sister.”
Zhu Yao threw a tissue at him. “Wipe them quickly. Once you’re done, come back out and keep wrapping. If these dumplings aren’t finished, don’t even think about going back home.”
“Okay!”
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When it was time to leave, Zhu Yao was extremely reluctant, giving Zhu Qing a thousand instructions.
Marco was also reluctant and said, “Brother-in-law, help me find out if there are any hair transplant surgeries that don’t hurt much.”
Luca said, “Safe travels, Uncle!”
Zhu Qing hugged everyone—his family, connected by blood.
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The person in the neighboring seat on the plane was a white girl with wavy hair, about twenty years old. At first glance, Zhu Qing felt something was wrong; the girl’s lips were too pale.
He greeted her friendly, but the girl was cold. She tossed her hair, ignored him, and turned her head away.
Zhu Qing wasn’t angry and just smiled it off.
It was a dozen-hour journey; he needed to rest well and regain his strength.
The flight attendants began explaining the standard safety procedures. Most people on the plane were Chinese nationals returning home, with only a small number of foreigners.
Next to him was a Black man in a plaid shirt and glasses. As soon as he sat down, he opened his laptop and started working, looking like a programmer. He smiled at Zhu Qing, and Zhu Qing nodded back.
In the seat in front was a couple with their few-month-old daughter. The child was uncomfortable on the plane and kept crying. The mother tried to soothe her with toys, but the baby continued to cry. The father tried, but it was useless.
The woman complained to the man, “She already had her milk and her diaper was changed. Why is she still crying?”
The man rocked his daughter while saying he didn’t know.
The child’s crying grew louder, drawing many displeased looks.
Hearing the crying, a flight attendant came over to ask if they needed help.
The couple was at a loss.
Zhu Qing observed for a moment and asked if he could try.
The couple looked at each other and, having no other choice, handed the child to Zhu Qing.
Zhu Qing took her, observed her, removed her outer coat, patted her little belly, and then switched to a football hold. The child quieted down.
Before long, she fell asleep in the crook of Zhu Qing’s arm.
The couple cast grateful glances his way.
Zhu Qing indicated it was no problem and handed the child back.
Someone found the scene heartwarming and took a photo, posting it to social media.
The surroundings gradually quieted down as many people chose to rest.
Zhu Qing put on his eye mask and began to sleep. After an unknown amount of time, a sudden noise came from beside him.
People began looking over, and a flight attendant rushed over. Zhu Qing took off his eye mask and found the white girl’s face deathly pale, her limbs twitching as she collapsed in her seat.
Screams erupted around them. The flight attendant tried to calm everyone, but it was useless.
Zhu Qing acted quickly, unbuckling the girl’s seatbelt, laying her flat, and beginning CPR.
“Come on, come on!”
“Wake up, lady!”
Zhu Qing did not give up. Finally, after a few minutes, color returned to the girl’s face, and she woke up. Her eyes darted toward the bag on her seat. Zhu Qing understood immediately, opened the bag, and found a bottle of nitroglycerin. He quickly poured out a tablet and placed it under her tongue.
The girl could finally move. Zhu Qing helped her up, and she kept saying, “Thank you, thank you for saving my life!”
Applause broke out around them.
Someone else took out their phone to take a photo.
The flight attendant, breaking into a cold sweat, hurried over to thank Zhu Qing.
Zhu Qing said it was nothing and asked her to give the girl a glass of water.
The flight attendant nodded and soon handed the girl a glass of water.
The girl rested in her seat for a while until her mind was completely clear. She thanked Zhu Qing again and apologized for her initial rudeness.
Zhu Qing said, “It’s nothing, don’t take it to heart.”
The girl said her name was Molly and that she had congenital heart disease. If it hadn’t been for Zhu Qing, she would have lost her life.
Molly asked, “Thank you so much. How should I address you, sir?”
Zhu Qing said, “Zhu Qing.”
“Oh,” the girl nodded. “Are you a doctor?”
Zhu Qing said, “Yes, I’m in the Neurology Department.”
Molly realized, “No wonder you’re so professional. I already had a guess when you were soothing the baby.”
Molly mentioned she worked for a modeling agency and had planned to save money for surgery, but her account had been hacked and drained. Reporting it to the police hadn’t helped. To earn money, she had taken a job to go to China for a fashion show, never expecting to nearly die on the plane.
Before they parted, Molly asked which hospital he worked at, saying she would definitely find a chance to thank him properly in the future.
Zhu Qing repeatedly declined.
Molly insisted, so Zhu Qing had no choice but to say he was at Fengshi First Hospital.
Molly seriously noted it down with a pen and verified the details with Zhu Qing.
Zhu Qing smiled, thinking the girl was a bit too serious.
Molly said she had to be serious; how could she not be serious with the person who saved her life?
Finally, as they parted, Molly gave him a hug.