Accidentally Sold Myself (Rebirth) - Chapter 29
29: Mutual Teasing
When Gu Xi returned, she naturally didn’t engage in a “300-round battle” with Clarice, as it was just a joke. However, Clarice took it seriously, repeatedly calling Gu Xi a “coward” over and over again!
Annoyed by Clarice’s teasing, Gu Xi snapped back, “Sorry, I’m not a husband, I’m a wife.”
Clarice tilted her head, clearly confused. “Husband?”
Gu Xi facepalmed. “Wife.”
Clarice, still not getting it, repeated, “Husband!”
At that moment, Luo Ningshuang, who had been standing behind them, suddenly spoke in a cold tone, “You two seem to be having quite a lot of fun. Why don’t you just go get married as husband and wife?”
Hearing this, Gu Xi gave Clarice a playful smile and made a zipping gesture over her lips. Clarice, catching the hint, immediately fell silent.
But Luo Ningshuang’s expression grew even angrier. “Aunt Lan,” she called out, “doesn’t your grandson have the day off today? I’ll give you the day off to spend with him.”
Aunt Lan emerged from the kitchen, hesitating. “But the dishes—I’ve only just started preparing them.”
Luo Ningshuang tilted her chin toward Gu Xi. “No problem. Gu Xi said she’d take care of entertaining our guest, so she’ll show off her cooking skills. You can go home now!”
“Oh, well then, I’ll leave it to Miss Gu Xi. I’m off!” Aunt Lan said cheerfully before leaving.
Gu Xi: “…” No, Aunt Lan, don’t go!
Her cooking skills were barely passable, and truth be told, she had no desire to cook—she wouldn’t admit it, but she was just lazy. Gu Xi glanced at Luo Ningshuang silently and said, “I never said I’d cook. If you want food, make it yourself.”
Luo Ningshuang’s lips curled into a smile, but it wasn’t the warm, gentle one from before—it was icy. “Have I been spoiling you too much lately? So much that you’ve forgotten the difference in our positions?”
Gu Xi knew it was said in anger, but the words stung deeply. Yes, their statuses, their social standings, the food they ate, the things they used, their social circles—everything was different. She shouldn’t have any unrealistic expectations.
Gu Xi stood up, her face expressionless. “Fine. You’re the boss, the sugar daddy. Whatever you say goes.”
Clarice sensed the strange atmosphere. Luo Ningshuang didn’t seem as approachable as before, and Clarice realized she might never have truly understood her.
When Luo Ningshuang’s cold gaze turned to her, Clarice jumped up in a panic. “I’ll go help in the kitchen!”
But before she could take a step, Luo Ningshuang’s icy voice stopped her. “Hold it. Who said you could help? Sit down.”
Clarice immediately plopped back down, sitting ramrod straight, legs together, hands on her knees, the picture of obedience.
In the kitchen, Gu Xi stared at the array of ingredients, feeling overwhelmed. She only knew how to make a few simple dishes. Bracing herself, she rummaged through the supplies and finally found the easiest option: cucumbers.
Gu Xi gathered all the cucumbers, washed them, and took a big bite of one. “Mmm, not bad,” she mumbled with a grin.
She set aside a few eggs and began slicing the cucumbers—one, two, three…
“What are you doing?” Luo Ningshuang suddenly appeared in the kitchen, eyeing the pile of sliced cucumbers in surprise.
Gu Xi turned and rolled her eyes. “Cooking, obviously!”
Luo Ningshuang frowned, exasperated. “Are you seriously going to eat all those cucumbers?”
Gu Xi nodded, counting on her fingers. “Of course! We can make cucumber soup, cucumber stir-fried with eggs, cucumber salad, raw cucumber slices, and the rest can be used for a beauty mask!”
Luo Ningshuang: “…”
“Forget it, I’ll cook. You just assist me.” Luo Ningshuang said, rolling up her sleeves.
Gu Xi was thrilled—she’d been hoping for this. Dropping the knife, she pointed at the cucumbers. “What about these?”
“Throw them out.”
Gu Xi thought it was a waste to toss them all, so she kept a portion and brought them to the living room…
Luo Ningshuang prepared the meal while waiting for Gu Xi to return and help, but after a while, Gu Xi still hadn’t come back. Puzzled, she muttered, “Does it take that long to deal with cucumbers?”
Curious, Luo Ningshuang stepped out of the kitchen—and froze. In the living room, Gu Xi and Clarice were covered in cucumber slices—on their faces, arms, even the tiny exposed area near their collarbones. They hadn’t spared a single spot.
Spotting Luo Ningshuang, Gu Xi tried to wave but couldn’t move. She managed a muffled, “Look how thrifty I am!”
Clarice chimed in, “It feels so nice.”
Luo Ningshuang: “…” Fine, I’ll do it myself. Why did I give Aunt Lan the day off?
When the meal was ready, Gu Xi finally peeled the cucumbers off her body, patted her face, and said to Clarice, “My skin feels alive again.”
Clarice nodded. “When I go back to my country, I’m buying tons of cucumbers to do this every day.”
“Cucumbers, cucumbers—are you two done?” Luo Ningshuang snapped, feeling like she’d exhausted a year’s worth of patience in one day.
“Wow, this smells amazing! Curry chicken cutlet rice!” Gu Xi sat down eagerly and dug in.
“I didn’t know you could cook.” Clarice said, her tone tinged with disappointment.
“But this made me realize something. I’ve decided to return to my country tomorrow.” Clarice took only one bite before poking at her food, her voice carrying a hint of tears.
Gu Xi didn’t know how to comfort her, and Luo Ningshuang merely said coldly, “Good that you’ve figured it out.”
Clarice, however, suddenly perked up, pointing her spoon at Gu Xi. “It’s tough, but I think you’re way more interesting. If you two ever get divorced, I’ll definitely pursue you!”
The living room fell silent for a few seconds.
“Haha, got you! Just kidding. Your food doesn’t suit my taste, so I’m heading back to the hotel.” Clarice stood, set down her bowl and chopsticks, grabbed her bag, and left with a carefree air.
Whether her words were true or not, only she knew.
“She’s kinda cute.” Gu Xi remarked casually. She wanted to ask Clarice to stay and lighten the mood, but she didn’t want to upset her “sugar daddy.”
“Cute or not, it’s got nothing to do with you.” Luo Ningshuang shot back.
Gu Xi: “…”
Ding! A notification from the Jinjiang system reminded the author about copyright.
Oh, she’d almost forgotten about that. Gu Xi immediately put on a flattering smile. “Hey, Big Boss, can I talk to you about something?”
“Oh? Go ahead.” Luo Ningshuang said, raising an eyebrow.
Gu Xi hesitated before saying, “Well, I’m actually a web novel writer—not super famous, just scraping by. Since you’re planning to break into the entertainment industry, you’ll need scripts, right? So, I was wondering… could you buy the film and TV rights to my work?”
Luo Ningshuang gave her a meaningful smile. “So, you’re begging me now? Hmm, with that attitude, you’re making this tough for me…”
Gu Xi wanted to strangle her but held back. Instead, she squatted beside Luo Ningshuang, massaging her leg with a fawning grin. “Big Boss, please, have pity on poor little me and agree!”
Gu Xi widened her eyes, trying to look as pitiful as possible. Luo Ningshuang lifted her chin. “Tch, you are pretty pathetic. Fine, it’s not like I’ll lose anything. What’s your pen name?”
“MoeLazyDog!” Gu Xi chirped, happily squeezing Luo Ningshuang’s leg.
“Oh, it’s you.” Luo Ningshuang said matter-of-factly.
“But I should warn you—even if I sign your work, you won’t get all the money. Or rather, only half.” Luo Ningshuang teased, seeing Gu Xi’s smug expression.
“What? Why?” Gu Xi’s precious money couldn’t be taken away!
“Because,” Luo Ningshuang said with a smirk, “it’s marital property.”
Gu Xi: “…” Can I get a divorce?
As if reading her mind, Luo Ningshuang cut her off. “Try divorcing me, and it seems your works will be split in half too.”
“Fine, half is half. Why are you so smug about it? So proud, huh? I’ll strangle you!” Gu Xi started squeezing harder, making Luo Ningshuang wince, but she didn’t notice how close her hands were to Luo Ningshuang’s upper thigh.
Luo Ningshuang grabbed her hands, and Gu Xi looked up, confused. Luo Ningshuang’s gaze was unreadable, her voice low. “Are you trying to seduce me?”
Gu Xi followed her gaze downward and realized her mistake. She yanked her hands back, nervously rubbing her fingertips. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to.”
“Gu Xi, you think a ‘sorry’ is enough?”
“What else can I do? Fine, you can pinch me back!” Gu Xi pulled over a chair, propped her leg up on another, and adopted a defiant posture.
“Alright then.” Luo Ningshuang said.
Gu Xi immediately regretted it—she’d dug her own grave.
Luo Ningshuang leaned closer, her smile making Gu Xi uneasy. Sure enough, her touch was light, almost like a breeze, slowly moving upward inch by inch. Besides feeling ticklish, Gu Xi felt an embarrassing flutter of excitement. Unable to hold it in, she snapped, “Have you not eaten or something? Pinch harder!”
“Ah! Not that hard… it hurts… ugh… Luo Ningshuang, you’re such a jerk!” Gu Xi was sure her thigh was bruised. Every time Luo Ningshuang pressed, it hurt so much she wanted to cry.
“Tch, you told me to pinch harder. What, not satisfied?” Luo Ningshuang sat back, shrugging.
“You’re doing this on purpose to get back at me.” Gu Xi glared.
Luo Ningshuang chuckled. “So what? Aunt Lan’s not coming back today, and I already cooked, so you’re washing the dishes.”
“Fine, I’ll wash them. Big deal.” Gu Xi huffed, clearing the leftovers and heading to the kitchen to start washing.
“Jerk, jerk, stupid jerk.” Gu Xi muttered, scrubbing the plates as if they were Luo Ningshuang. After a while, something felt off. “Wait a minute. Why was Luo Ningshuang so calm after I revealed my pen name?”
“System, can you check what Luo Ningshuang is doing in the living room?”
Ding! The system is not a surveillance camera.
Gu Xi: Bad review!
She set down the plate, rinsed her hands, and shook off the water, ignoring the clean towel nearby—it was a habit.
Tiptoeing to the kitchen door, she peeked out to see what Luo Ningshuang was up to. But instead, she was startled by Luo Ningshuang’s sudden appearance.
“Ah!” Gu Xi stumbled back, slipped on the wet floor, and fell with a thud.
Luo Ningshuang: “…”