Volume 15: Under Human Skin

Chapter 207: Selfish Resentment[1]

Lin Dongxue lay in the bed and stared at her laptop. She didn't know what was being shown in the TV series but her heart was full of resentment.

Every time she mentioned that she wanted to move, he would always say “I wish you success.”. Even if he tried to get her to stay in a fake manner, she’d feel happier.

I really don't understand what this guy is thinking!

Outside the bedroom, Tao Yueyue and Chen Shi were talking. Tao Yueyue said, “A friend sent me a message and asked me if I want to go to her house to play.”

“Go. It’s not easy to have a friend!”

“She's stupid though! Don't you mind if I play with her?”

“Learning is fake. Friends are real. Would you still remember what you learned after ten years? However, you’d remember the times you played with friends very clearly… Let me give you some pocket money!”

“I'm off then!”

“Okay, come back later.”

Lin Dongxue muttered quietly, “Hmph, what a heartless guy!”

She continued watching the TV show when suddenly Chen Shi shouted, “Dongxue, help!”

Lin Dongxue quickly put on slippers and ran out. It turned out that Chen Shi was frying meatballs in the kitchen with meat filling in both hands. The oil in the pan on the side was boiling. Chen Shi said, “Hurry up and turn off the fire. I overestimated the speed that I could ball up these meatballs.”

Lin Dongxue laughed and turned down the fire. Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief as he rubbed out another meatball, covered it in breadcrumbs, and threw it into the oil.

“You really like to cook, huh? You’re frying things at home on a weekend?”

“It's rare to be able to buy shepherd’s purse. I can make shepherd’s purse[2] meatballs that can be eaten over several days… Smell it. Doesn’t it smell nice?” Chen Shi extended his hand over.

“Go away, go away! Don’t touch my nose.”

“Don’t eat it then.”

“I won’t then! I’m going to find a house today and move away tomorrow!” Lin Dongxue said angrily, thinking that if he said “I wish you success,” she’d just leave immediately.

“Why don’t you help me make meatballs?” Chen Shi suggested.

“No, I'm leaving!”

“Long'an is so big, do you know where to go? Hurry up and finish the meatballs. I’ll drive you to a reliable real estate agency.”

Lin Dongxue let out a soft “hmph” and went to wash her hands. Chen Shi taught her how to make the meatballs in the palms of her hands to create ones that were the size of ping pong balls. Then, they coated it in breadcrumbs to finish.

Lin Dongxue thought that it was just rubbing a ball. How hard could it be? However, the meat in her palms was very disobedient, and the more she tried balling it up, the flatter it got. Chen Shi already had three or four meatballs in the wok. She hadn’t even formed one on her side.

“Don't use so much pressure. It's not play-doh!” Chen Shi took her hands in his and eventually, a ball was formed.

Chen Shi's big hands holding her own made Lin Dongxue blush and she looked up at him. He continued explaining with a serious look, “Your is too big right now. It won’t cook properly. Use three fingers at a time to scoop out the meat… You have a small hand, so maybe use four fingers.”

Lin Dongxue reached out and wiped a little bit of meat on the tip of his nose. Chen Shi raised his head and looked helpless. Lin Dongxue had an expression like she was trying to play with him, so he was amused.

“Naughty!” Chen Shi also reached out and wiped some on her nose.

“How dare you do that to me!” Lin Dongxue grabbed a lot of the meat.

“Don't do it! This is hard to wash!” Chen Shi pleaded.

The oil in the wok exploded, scaring Lin Dongxue. She jumped to the side as Chen Shi said, “Hurry up. The balls are getting overcooked.”

“You only know how to make meatballs!” Lin Dongxue muttered.

Finally, a large dish of meatballs was made. Chen Shi picked one up with his chopsticks and held it right next to Lin Dongxue's mouth. “Try it, you made it.”

Lin Dongxue pushed her hair out of the way and tasted it. “It's delicious! It's fragrant and refreshing. Not greasy at all.”

“Let it cool down here and then put it in the refrigerator when it cools. I'll accompany you out.”

Sitting in the car, Chen Shi really typed in a real estate agency on the GPS navigation. Lin Dongxue was disappointed in her heart. The two didn’t speak the whole way over. Lin Dongxue was watching the scenery outside. Suddenly, a grilled fish shop appeared in sight and the car stopped there.

Lin Dongxue looked at Chen Shi in surprise and Chen Shi said, “It's noon. Let's have a meal first!”

“I only have today off to find a house, move in in the afternoon, and clean up the aftermath in the evening.”

“Don't hurry so much. Isn’t this your favorite?”

“Who says I love this?! Grilled fish is only my second favorite! My favorite is mala soup!”

Chen Shi spread his hand and pretended to be recording on it. “Okay, okay, I'll note it down. Let's go for mala soup then.”

Lin Dongxue was happy and giggled. “Okay, we don’t have to go. We’ll just go to this shop!”

However, the grilled fish shop was overcrowded, and it took a long time to queue up. Lin Dongxue said, “It's okay to just eat fast food. It's been a long time since I’ve had it.”

“Today is your last day at my house. Of course we have to have a nice meal.”

“It's okay, it’s not like we won’t have a chance to do this in the future,” Lin Dongxue said with a slight disappointment in her heart.

They found a fast food restaurant and ordered two sets of meals. Chen Shi ordered a cola, burger, and French fries. Lin Dongxue ordered a black tea, burger, and vegetable salad which was relatively low on calories in comparison.

Chen Shi tasted the fries and praised, “It's fried well. You try it.”

He reached out and handed it over. Lin Dongxue ate it while it was still between his fingers and felt embarrassed after eating it. A couple beside them was doing the same. Wouldn’t others think they were…

Lin Dongxue lowered her head silently and ate the food on her plate. She had too many thoughts in her heart and had no appetite at all. She was full after eating half of her meal.

At this moment, a young monk came over and put one of his hands up in a Buddhist greeting[3] as he said, “Miss, are you done with the food?”

“Uh!” Lin Dongxue was a little embarrassed. “I’m still eating!”

“Excuse me.”

The young monk sat down at another table. He was like those downcast beggars. He was as calm as eating food in the temple. He used both hands to conduct another Buddhist ritual before he began eating other people’s leftovers. He ate it calmly and seriously.

After eating, he cleaned the table, put the garbage and wrapping on a plate, and poured it into the trash can. Then, he went to another table to eat the leftovers left there.

Lin Dongxue kept staring at the young monk and commented, “Do you think this monk is real or fake? How can he go to a fast food restaurant to beg? It's strange.

“He doesn’t care about that in his heart!”

“Do you think he's a real monk? I think he's fake. How can there still be monks who go out to beg for alms? Don’t they just stay at the temple and try to think of ways to get donations?”

“A type of rice can raise hundreds of people. China is so big, you can't conclude that there are no monks like that!” Chen Shi stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“Creating good karma.”

Chen Shi walked over and did a ritual. “Master, you won’t be full doing this. I will give you some money to buy a mantao!”

“So kind of you!” The monk said in response.

Chen Shi took out fifty yuan, but the monk didn't accept it. He shook his head and smiled. “It doesn't take that much to buy a mantao. Ten yuan is enough.”

“Unfortunately, I have no change.”

“It's okay, I have a cell phone.”

The monk pulled out a very cheap phone and Chen Shi used WeChat to transfer ten yuan to him. The monk gratefully said, “The donor is kind and will be blessed by the Buddha.”

Lin Dongxue thought it was funny, and secretly mumbled, “The monk even uses a mobile phone. You can tell he’s a fake with just a glance! He’s been fooled!”

1. You only bear resentment to others when you can’t take responsibility for your part or your feelings in something.

2. Known as ji cai in Chinese. It’s a type of plant.

3. https://photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/251/53/92861277.jpg Can be done using one or two hands. Usually two hands.