Picked Up a White Cut Black Wife - Chapter 10

“Wife, where did you go?” The person in her arms spoke in a small, aggrieved voice, like an abandoned kitten. “I missed you so much.”

“Let go first,” Shen Zhao said, feeling a little breathless from the tight embrace. “Let’s go inside, quickly.”

The girl hummed in protest but slowly released her grip, then grabbed Shen Zhao’s hand instead.

Unaccustomed to such intimacy, Shen Zhao tried to pull away, but the girl’s grip was too firm. Reluctant to struggle in the hallway, she endured the discomfort and let herself be led into the apartment.

“Wife.”

“Stop calling me that. Here, take this while I change.” Shen Zhao handed her the bag. “Let go of my hand.”

The girl obediently took the bag, sniffing it curiously. “Wife, what’s this?”

Shen Zhao changed her shoes and sat on the sofa, answering tersely, “Food. Eat it if you want.”

The girl followed closely, sitting right next to Shen Zhao. “Did Wife buy this for me?”

“Just eat it. Stop asking so many questions.”

“Won’t Wife eat any?”

Shen Zhao, who didn’t have a sweet tooth, shook her head. “No.”

“Then Wife bought it all for me!” The girl brightened instantly, ducking her head to open the bag. A rush of hot steam and sweet aroma escaped. “Whoa, it’s so hot—”

“What’s the rush?” Shen Zhao reached out to catch the sweet potato that was about to roll off the table. The girl quickly covered it with her own hand, their hands overlapping. She looked up, her eyes sparkling. “Wife.”

Shen Zhao ruthlessly slapped her hand away and placed the bag on the table. “Eat slowly.”

“Okay, Wife,” the girl replied with a docile smile, then leaned against Shen Zhao, boneless as if she had no spine.

“Sit up straight,” Shen Zhao said, glaring at her. When the girl didn’t move, Shen Zhao had to shift herself a considerable distance away.

“I want to be close to Wife,” the girl whined, snuggling closer again.

Before long, Shen Zhao’s brow furrowed tightly. “Are you going to eat or not? If not, I’ll throw it away.”

Reluctantly, the girl pouted and squatted beside the coffee table, cradling the sweet potato and taking small, dainty bites.

Shen Zhao had been looking at her phone, but gradually her gaze drifted to the girl, watching her nibble on the sweet potato, bite after bite.

Her table manners are surprisingly refined, Shen Zhao thought inwardly.

After eating half the sweet potato, the girl set it aside and picked up a chestnut. She examined it curiously for a moment before opening her mouth to bite into it.

“Wait,” Shen Zhao quickly stopped her. “Peel off the outer shell first.”

“Huh?”

Shen Zhao held out her hand, signaling the girl to give her the chestnut. She then peeled it open to demonstrate.

Seeing this, the girl braced herself against the floor and scooted closer to Shen Zhao, leaning against her leg. She opened her mouth, waiting for Shen Zhao to feed her.

“Peel it yourself,” Shen Zhao said.

“I want one from my wife’s hand,” the girl replied, tilting her head up and gazing at Shen Zhao like a begging puppy.

Shen Zhao stared at her for a few seconds, then expressionlessly tossed the chestnut into her own mouth. “All gone.”

“I want one too.”

Shen Zhao remained unmoved. “If you want one, peel it yourself.”

“Wife, you’re so heartless,” the girl muttered, squatting back down in her original spot.

Shen Zhao raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She then coldly resumed browsing job boards, determined to get rid of this burden before the holiday.

However, after watching the girl struggle to peel a single chestnut, Shen Zhao grew doubtful. What could this pampered young lady possibly do?

Sighing, Shen Zhao abandoned the job boards and switched to her phone’s contacts, hoping to find a friend who might take the girl in.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Shen Zhao suddenly remembered to ask. “And how old are you?”

“I already told you, Wife,” the girl replied. After a moment’s thought, she blurted out a single character, then, fearing Shen Zhao hadn’t heard clearly, wrote it on her hand.

Cool fingers slid across Shen Zhao’s palm. Suppressing the ticklish sensation, Shen Zhao strained to decipher the girl’s writing. She mentally ran through every possible “Qiao” pronunciation, but still couldn’t identify which character the girl had written.

Unwilling to dwell on it further, Shen Zhao asked, “What’s your surname?”

The girl’s fingertip paused, and her delicate brows slowly furrowed. “I… I forgot.”

“Do you have your ID card on you? Let me see it,” Shen Zhao said.

“ID card? What’s that?” the girl asked, her expression puzzled.

Still an undocumented resident? Where did this woman even come from?

Feeling increasingly exasperated, Shen Zhao said, “Fine. I’ll take you to get one tomorrow.”

“Okay,” the girl nodded vigorously. “Wife, can I see yours?”

“You can see your own when you get one,” Shen Zhao replied flatly.

“Oh, okay,” the girl said, sounding disappointed. After finishing her meal, she returned to the sofa and reached out to hug Shen Zhao.

Fortunately, Shen Zhao reacted quickly, grabbing her wrist. “Wash those claws of yours first.”

The girl withdrew her hand, quickly washed her hands, and then immediately wrapped her arms around Shen Zhao, resting her head on Shen Zhao’s shoulder. “Wife, what are you doing?”

Shen Zhao desperately avoided skin contact with the girl. “I’ll find you a good place to live, with food, lodging, and a salary.”

“Isn’t that just my wife’s house?”

“You’ll have to work,” Shen Zhao added coolly, then countered, “Do you think you’re capable of that?”

“Oh.” The girl pretended to ponder, then nodded. “I’ll work from now on. I’ll do laundry, cook… even help my wife bathe and serve her well at night…”

“Ahem, wait a minute!” Shen Zhao quickly cut her off. “I’m finding you a legitimate job, not… those kinds of things. Don’t think about such… impure things.”

“Then what will I do?” The girl wrapped her arms around Shen Zhao’s neck affectionately. “I’ll do whatever my wife says.”

Shen Zhao removed the girl’s hands. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. This isn’t where you’ll be working.”

“I don’t want to leave my wife,” the girl clung to her, terrified of being driven away.

“You need to earn money. You can’t just eat and drink for free.”

The girl thought deeply for a moment before whispering, “I don’t want money.”

Shen Zhao felt she had finally found a way to communicate with the girl. She said calmly, “In this world, people have to earn money to support their wives.”

“Ah?” The girl bit her lip, looking conflicted. After a long pause, she finally made up her mind. “Okay, I’ll work hard to earn money to support my wife.”

Shen Zhao inexplicably felt like she had won a round, and her mood brightened considerably. “Then get some rest. I’ll take you to find a job in a few days.”

“Mm.”

Shen Zhao’s lips curved into a slight smile as she nodded approvingly. “Go on.”

The girl clung to Shen Zhao’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears. “I’m going to earn money now. Can my wife stay with me?”

“The first step to earning money is independence,” Shen Zhao began to spout nonsense. “Understand?”

Hearing this, the girl’s face grew even more troubled.

Shen Zhao seized the opportunity, pulling her hand away. “Of course, if you don’t want to earn money to support your wife, that’s fine too.”

The girl’s eyes lit up. “Is that really okay?”

Shen Zhao smiled faintly. “Of course. We can always starve together.”

The girl’s smile vanished instantly, and she stopped struggling.

Without the girl’s usual bedtime fuss, Shen Zhao finished washing up in a cheerful mood, lay down, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Shen Zhao took the girl to the police station to apply for an ID card.

Snow was falling lightly outside, but it still covered them both by the time they arrived. Since they were early, the station was nearly empty, and their turn came quickly.

“Take off your coat, tie up your hair, and show your ears,” the policewoman in charge of photography instructed.

Due to her work, Shen Zhao always carried hair ties in her bag. Hearing this, she immediately handed one to the girl.

It was cold, so Shen Zhao had dressed the girl warmly, making her movements clumsy. She struggled for ages to tie up her long hair. “Wife, I don’t know how,” she finally said.

Hearing the girl call her “wife” in public, Shen Zhao couldn’t help but glare at her. She quickly took the hair tie from her hand, tied up her hair, and helped her remove her coat. “Go sit over there.”

“Okay, Wife.”

Shen Zhao: …I really need to break her habit of calling me “wife” in public.