The Daughter-In-Law Is So Pitiful? Just Take Her Home and Pamper Her! - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Rumors Spread

“But—” Xu Yao greeted Chen Mi with a smirk (not even trying to be subtle), “You still got energy to worry about that?”

Chen Mi instantly tensed up. Neither of them had any clothes on, and the skin-to-skin contact was overwhelmingly intimate.

“N-No more… I really can’t,” Chen Mi tried to scoot away, but the moment he shifted even a little, Xu Yao pinned him back. “Seriously, I can’t take it anymore.”

“Then what should I do, babe? You really gonna leave me like this?” Xu Yao’s usually deep, calm voice now carried a touch of grievance and… coyness?

Chen Mi couldn’t take that tone. Even through the soreness in his body, he turned to face Xu Yao. He opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, blushed, lowered his head—then raised it again with resolve, only to look away once more.

After a few rounds of this inner struggle, Xu Yao just quietly watched his baby wrestle with himself.

Finally—“I… I’ll use my mouth, okay?” His voice was nearly inaudible and incredibly fast. As soon as he finished, he buried his face into Xu Yao’s chest.

But Xu Yao heard it loud and clear. The thing that was already pretty energetic just got even more so.

Chen Mi felt it pressing against his stomach and buried his head even deeper.

Xu Yao cupped the back of his neck with one hand and lifted his face with the other. Seeing how red his cheeks were, he kissed him deeply.

Who knew how long that kiss lasted—long enough for Chen Mi to almost run out of breath before Xu Yao let go.

Chen Mi was panting, lips red and full, already incredibly tempting. And then those lips said something even more irresistible—“You… you’ll have to teach me. I… I don’t know how.”

Xu Yao took a deep breath and covered Chen Mi’s mouth with his hand.

Only Chen Mi’s eyes remained visible—glistening and soft, the corners tinged red, brows lightly furrowed as if asking what’s wrong? why are you covering my mouth? That innocent, pitiful look just made him want to bully him even more.

Xu Yao couldn’t take it. He decided to use something else to shut him up.

By the time they were done fooling around, it was already lunchtime. Oddly, not a single person had knocked on the door all morning. Xu Yao had given Ahei two days off, but it was strange that not even a single customer had shown up.

They didn’t think much of it—maybe it was just a slow day.

Chen Mi was crouched at the doorway feeding the kittens when he heard people mention “LTP” and “Xu Yao.” The bag of cat food fell from his hand with a thud.

“Did you hear? Xu Yao offended the Liu family back in the day… all for some high school boy. Nineteen years old.”

“For real? A high schooler (nineteen)? What kind of relationship was that?”

“They say that kind.” The man even raised both thumbs and bent them in a suggestive gesture.

“What? Doesn’t that make him LTP?”

“Exactly! And that new apprentice of his—so young. Bet he’s…”

Before the guy could finish, Sister Lin threw a table rag at them. “You’re full of sh1t!”

The two didn’t argue back. It was like their mission was complete. They quickly took off.

Chen Mi’s brows knit tightly together. A sense of unease rose in his chest. He thanked Sister Lin and turned to go find Xu Yao.

Just as he turned around, a sickeningly familiar figure caught his eye. Zhao Jinrong stood nearby with two thugs, the tip of his crocodile leather shoe grinding into a half-burnt cigarette.

When he noticed Chen Mi looking, he raised his voice, “Master Chen!”

As he bent down, the gold chain around his neck slipped out of his collar. The red thread on the pixiu pendant had turned black.

“Heard you’re still… doing okay this year?”

Suddenly, the sterilizer let out a loud whirring sound.

Xu Yao stepped out from the back room, twirling a razor between his fingers that gleamed cold under the lights.

“Boss Zhao, that blue dye of yours washed out already?” He stood in front of Chen Mi, his broad shoulders shielding him completely from view. “Want me to fix it for you?”

Zhao Jinrong stiffened. His expression shifted slightly, then he gave a hollow chuckle and turned to leave.

“No need, Boss Xu. See you around.”

Once he was gone, Chen Mi tugged Xu Yao back into the shop and anxiously told him everything he’d just heard. His gaze was full of worry.

Xu Yao listened silently, then sneered. His fingers absentmindedly traced the blade of the razor. The metal glinted under the lights, dangerously cold.

“It’s fine.” He reached out to ruffle Chen Mi’s hair a bit harder than usual, as if comforting both him and himself. “That bastard Zhao Jinrong can’t stir up anything big.”

Chen Mi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end just nodded. He bent down to pick up the bag of spilled cat food, his fingertips trembling slightly.

The shop was eerily quiet—even the usually buzzing fan seemed to have fallen silent.

Xu Yao stared out the glass door at the occasional passersby. He noticed their glances would briefly, hesitantly land on the barbershop before quickly darting away—as if afraid to be tainted by something.

“You hungry?” Xu Yao asked suddenly.

Chen Mi blinked, then shook his head. “Not really.”

“Bullshit.” Xu Yao scoffed and turned toward the kitchen. “You haven’t eaten all morning. Of course you’re hungry.”

Chen Mi followed him and watched as Xu Yao pulled out last night’s leftover ribs from the fridge. His movements were quick and practiced—he heated the pan, added oil, and the moment the smoke rose, Chen Mi felt his eyes sting.

“Ge…” he whispered.

“Hmm?” Xu Yao didn’t quite catch it, focused on flipping the ribs as the sauce bubbled and sizzled.

“…Nothing.” Chen Mi lowered his head, staring at the tips of his shoes.

Xu Yao paused for a second but didn’t press. He simply turned the heat down a notch, letting the ribs simmer longer and soak up the flavor.

After a moment, he spoke up again. “Chen Mi.”

“Yeah?” Chen Mi looked up.

“Do you trust me?” Xu Yao asked.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Chen Mi replied, “I do.”

Xu Yao smiled and flicked his forehead. “Then stop worrying so much.”

The rich aroma of braised ribs gradually filled the entire shop. Chen Mi’s stomach finally gave an embarrassing growl.

Xu Yao glanced at him, smirking. “Not hungry, huh?”

Chen Mi’s ears turned red. He muttered, “…That was the cat.”

Xu Yao snorted with laughter. He dished out the ribs and pulled two cans of beer from the cabinet, cracking one open and handing it over. “Here. For the shock.”

The cool can against his palm helped Chen Mi calm down a bit. He took a swig, the bitter taste of beer exploding on his tongue. He frowned but swallowed anyway.

Watching him, Xu Yao suddenly reached over and wiped a bit of foam from the corner of Chen Mi’s mouth with his thumb. “Slow down. No one’s stealing it from you.”

Chen Mi froze, ears turning even redder.

“Call me ge again,” Xu Yao said with a smirk, eyes twinkling with mischief and something softer beneath.

Chen Mi had his head lowered, but after hearing that, he looked up in surprise, wide-eyed. “You… you heard that?”

“Mm. Didn’t catch it clearly though. Say it again.”

Chen Mi’s face turned beet red. He averted his eyes awkwardly but still obediently murmured, “Ge…”

This second ge was even softer than before, tinged with shyness and embarrassment. Xu Yao’s heart skipped a beat. He reached out and gently ruffled Chen Mi’s hair again.

The shop was still empty of customers. But at this moment, that didn’t really seem to matter.