Picked Up a White Cut Black Wife - Chapter 14

Back home, Shen Zhao couldn’t stay still. With a noisy presence nearby, she retreated to her studio for some peace.

Shen Qiao pouted, sulking in the living room. She stared at her phone screen for ages, torn between calling her wife and not wanting to disturb her.

Time ticked by unnoticed by Shen Zhao, while the person outside grew increasingly restless, as if suffering from skin hunger—unable to bear even a moment without contact.

The screen lit up and went dark repeatedly, freezing on one interface. Then, she accidentally tapped the edge, instantly opening a new screen. Startled, she quickly backed out.

A moment later, she cautiously tapped back in. As if discovering a new continent, Shen Qiao eagerly explored the app, her enthusiasm unwavering. Finally, she quieted down a bit.

Head bowed, long hair cascading around her face, Shen Qiao’s expression shifted dramatically—frowning one moment, breaking into a smile the next.

Suddenly, the phone screen went black. No matter how she fiddled with it, it wouldn’t light up. Panic surged through her, and she instinctively glanced at the still-closed studio door, wanting to ask Shen Zhao for help.

She tiptoed to the door, raised her hand to knock, but remembered her wife’s words: Don’t disturb me while I’m working.

Reluctantly, she lowered her hand.

How long had passed? When Shen Zhao finally emerged, she found Shen Qiao crouched by the door, looking utterly pitiful.

“What’s wrong? Are you hungry?” Shen Zhao asked.

“Wife, it’s broken,” Shen Qiao said, her voice sounding even more pitiful.

Shen Zhao took the phone and asked, “Have you been playing with it the whole time?”

“Mhm.”

“It’s not broken, just out of battery. Get up.” Shen Zhao found the charger and plugged it in. “There, all done.”

Shen Qiao bounced after her, and sure enough, the phone lit up. A thought struck her, and she held up the phone, calling out, “Wife!”

Shen Zhao, who had been heading to the kitchen to reheat the food, turned around. “What is it now?”

Click—

The phone’s camera shutter sound went off. Realizing what Shen Qiao was doing, Shen Zhao walked over. “Give me the phone.”

“Why?” Shen Qiao clutched the phone to her chest, her expression wary.

“I’m deleting it.”

Shen Qiao shook her head and held the phone out of reach. “Look, it’s really pretty, Wife.”

Shen Zhao: “……”

Why did I even buy her a phone? This is just asking for trouble.

“But my real-life wife is even prettier,” Shen Qiao said with a smile, silently slipping the phone back into her pocket.

Shen Zhao rolled her eyes expressionlessly, took the takeout from the fridge, and reheated it in a pot.

Seeing this, Shen Qiao pulled out her phone again, leaned against the doorframe, and carefully examined the photos she had just taken, her eyes curving into a smile.

The bright firelight illuminated Shen Zhao’s profile, softening her sharp features with a hint of warmth. Shen Qiao couldn’t resist raising her phone, framing her own face in the center of the screen. Just as she was about to snap a photo, she suddenly remembered something and casually asked, “Wife, can you turn off the phone’s sound?”

“So it’ll be easier for you to take sneaky photos?” Shen Zhao replied without turning around, already knowing what Shen Qiao was up to.

Shen Qiao nodded guiltily, but insisted, “I just don’t want to disturb you, Wife.”

“Is that so?” Shen Zhao asked skeptically.

“Mhm, what ulterior motives could I possibly have?”

Shen Zhao chuckled, letting out a soft snort. “Come over and take the dishes out.”

“Okay.”

Undeterred, Shen Qiao continued fiddling with her phone. After much effort, she finally managed to set it up. Just as she was about to secretly snap a photo of her wife’s back, Shen Zhao turned around, catching her red-handed.

“Wife, I was just…” Shen Qiao’s guilty eyes darted around nervously.

Shen Zhao studied her for a long moment, a hint of amusement tugging at the corners of her lips.

The food was quickly heated up. A single lamp illuminated the small dining table as the two sat across from each other, close enough to touch.

“This is so delicious, Wife!” Shen Qiao exclaimed, swinging her feet as she ate.

Shen Zhao wasn’t impressed by such mindless praise. “Don’t eat too much,” she warned. “It’ll be hard to digest tonight.”

“Okay, Wife.”

“Remember to put the dishes away when you’re done.” With that, Shen Zhao got up to pack her things in the bedroom for the trip home.

Seeing Shen Zhao leave, Shen Qiao sped up, quickly finishing her meal and tidying up. She hurried to the bedroom door. “Wife, what are you doing?”

“Packing to go home. Stay here and behave yourself until I get back,” Shen Zhao replied. She didn’t have much to pack and was done in no time.

Shen Qiao stared blankly for a moment, muttering, “Wife’s leaving… I’ll be all alone.”

“Don’t make it sound like I’m abandoning you,” Shen Zhao retorted.

Shen Qiao looked at her intently, her large eyes shining with certainty. “Then how long will you be gone, Wife?”

“I’m not sure. Call me if anything comes up.”

At this, Shen Qiao’s eyes lit up slightly, as if life had finally given her something to look forward to. She nodded vigorously. “I will, Wife!”

Shen Zhao quickly emphasized, “Don’t call me for every little thing, understand?”

Shen Qiao obediently promised, “Okay.”

However, less than two days later, Shen Zhao was already regretting her decision.

When Shen Zhao arrived home at noon, You Shu and Shen Jiaping were frantically busy in the kitchen. But even louder than the sizzling of the stir-fry was her mother’s flustered voice.

“Hurry, flip it over! It’s going to burn! Did you add salt? Did you add salt already?”

“Aiya, I did, I did. I told you, Auntie’s on vacation. Why bother cooking? It’s so much easier to eat out.”

“Stop being so sarcastic. I just want our child to taste the flavors of home.”

“The flavor of salt? Or the flavor of burnt food? Ha ha ha ha…”

Leaning against the kitchen doorway, Shen Zhao chuckled at their banter. After a moment, she called out softly, “Mom, Dad, I’m home.”

“Aiyo!” You Shu turned around, covering her mouth in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? Your father could have picked you up from the airport.”

“It’s fine,” Shen Zhao replied. “Taking a taxi was easy enough.”

As they spoke, black smoke billowed from the wok, carrying the acrid smell of burnt food. You Shu pushed Shen Zhao out of the kitchen while grabbing a spatula to salvage the dish. “Xiao Zhao, go sit down outside for a bit. It’ll be ready soon.”

Seeing the situation, Shen Zhao couldn’t help but smile wryly. She quickly turned off the stove and took the spatula from You Shu’s hand. “Mom, let me handle this.”

“See? I told you not to fuss. You always end up…” Shen Jiaping chimed in from the side.

You Shu glared at her, perhaps knowing her cooking skills were truly lacking. She reluctantly let go of the spatula and stood aside, covering her face as if sobbing softly. “I still remember when Zhao Zhao was little and couldn’t even hold chopsticks properly. Now she’s cooking meals! I wonder how much she’s suffered all these years away from home.”

“Alright, alright,” Shen Jiaping said, pulling You Shu into a hug. “She was just a few months old back then. It would have been strange if she could hold chopsticks properly. Now she’s a grown woman—cooking a meal is hardly a big deal.”

“Shen Jiaping, do you even have a heart? How can you bear to see our daughter suffer?”

“I… what do you mean I don’t have a heart? I never agreed with her choosing archaeology in the first place… With such a vast family fortune, I’m worried about finding an heir, not about her cooking!”

If you two could stop showing off your affection in front of me, I’d suffer a lot less, Shen Zhao thought mechanically as she stirred the vegetables in the wok. Fortunately, she’d grown used to this since childhood.

Despite her mother’s sophisticated and elegant demeanor in public, at home she was no different from a child.

It was said that years ago, Shen Jiaping, as a sponsor of You Shu’s school, fell in love with her at first sight during a school assembly. She then spent considerable effort pursuing her until she finally agreed to be with him.

You Shu had always been immersed in the scholarly atmosphere of the campus, rarely encountering the dark and treacherous aspects of the outside world. Having been doted on by her husband for decades, her temperament remained as pure and impulsive as that of a young woman in her early twenties.

Growing up hearing her parents’ romantic love story, Shen Zhao should have been filled with longing for love. Yet, she seemed almost asexual. In her twenty-five years, she hadn’t even developed a hint of a romantic relationship, let alone dated multiple partners.

This baffled those around her, who assumed she simply hadn’t met the right person. Consequently, relatives tirelessly recommended various eligible men to You Shu, who then passed them on to Shen Zhao.

Due to her demanding job, Shen Zhao rarely visited home, leaving her feeling guilty towards her parents. So, despite her inner annoyance at the endless blind dates, she couldn’t bring herself to reject her mother’s well-intentioned efforts and could only find ways to politely decline.

Returning home this year, she knew she couldn’t avoid the inevitable. As she cooked, Shen Zhao sighed softly.