Chapter 33: The Bruise on the Shoulder

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The Bruise on the Shoulder

After agreeing to meet at the night market later, Fu Chao took Qing Xi and headed back.

After all, his place wasn’t far—only a ten-minute walk.

There was plenty of time for a nap, a good way to rest and recharge before opening for business that evening.

And that was exactly what Nan Zhi planned to do.

So she temporarily ended her livestream and lay down with Nan Yi on the small bed.

She fell asleep quickly.

When she woke up again, about an hour had passed.

The space beside her was empty. Nan Yi was nowhere to be seen.

Her sleepiness vanished in an instant. Nan Zhi shot up, her eyes quickly scanning the room—

No one!

The color drained from Nan Zhi’s face!

It felt as if a giant hand had seized her heart!

She scrambled out of bed and into her slippers, but as she tried to stand, her legs felt numb and she stumbled straight to the floor...

"Watch out!"

Nan Yi returned just at that moment.

As he pushed the door open, he was limping, as if he’d injured his right foot.

But Nan Zhi was looking down to steady herself on the bed frame, so she didn’t notice.

By the time she steadied herself and looked up again, Nan Yi was already back to normal, rushing over like a little cannonball!

"Are you okay?!"

His beautiful, obsidian eyes, like polished glass, were fixed on Nan Zhi, filled with anxiety and tension.

Nan Zhi took a deep breath, and the physical unease gradually subsided.

She tried to tell herself to stay calm and talk things through with her son.

But anger still bubbled up, refusing to be controlled.

She demanded, her words sharp and deliberate:

"Where did you go?"

’Do you have any idea how worried I was when I woke up and you were gone?’

’I even thought my return...’

’...was just another dream!’

Nan Yi took an instinctive step back.

He sensed the suppressed emotion in Nan Zhi’s voice. Memories of past beatings and scoldings churned in his mind, and he had the almost instinctual urge to wrap his arms around himself for protection.

"I... I..."

His small body trembled uncontrollably, like a startled bird.

Seeing this, a chill ran down Nan Zhi’s spine. The sight jolted her, and she was instantly clear-headed.

"I’m sorry."

Nan Zhi murmured, at a loss. Her anger vanished without a trace.

But Nan Yi just stood there with his head lowered, his expression hidden in shadow, and said nothing.

An abyssal silence opened up between them.

It felt like they had gone back to a few days ago, when she had just returned, and Nan Yi had been wary of her, like a little hedgehog with all its quills raised.

Nan Zhi’s head throbbed. ’It’s as if all my efforts these past few days have been for nothing,’ she thought.

She raised a hand to her temples and tried to soften her voice.

"I just... I woke up and didn’t see you, and I was so worried. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten angry with you. But next time, please just let me know before you go out, okay?"

Nan Yi tentatively raised his head.

His dark, sharp eyes seemed to be observing, judging.

After a long moment, like a snail carefully extending its soft antennae from its shell, he finally responded.

Nan Yi: "I-I’m sorry."

Nan Zhi hummed softly in acknowledgment.

After that, while there was no lingering resentment between mother and son, things were a little awkward.

They divided the work in quiet understanding—turning the stream back on, tidying the room, and prepping the ingredients.

And when the time came, they headed out to the night market a bit early.

The viewers in the livestream chat didn’t seem to notice that anything was amiss.

[The online shareholders are rubbing their hands together. Time for business!]

[Wonder if there’ll be anything new on the menu tonight?]

[Do the mother and son seem a little quiet to anyone else? Did something happen?]

[Aren’t they always pretty quiet?]

[I’m more curious about who was spamming the ’Starry Sky’ gifts in the stream this afternoon. One of those is 30,000. That guy sent so many. What a whale!]

...

Nan Zhi and Nan Yi arrived at the entrance of the night market with their food cart. From a distance, they saw Fu Chao, wearing a baseball cap and holding Qing Xi’s hand.

Qing Xi waved happily as he ran over.

"Yiyi! Pretty Auntie!"

A faint smile touched Nan Zhi’s lips.

Nan Yi’s expression softened considerably as well.

"Slow down, don’t fall,"

Fu Chao called out to his nephew before walking over and taking the food cart from Nan Zhi.

Nan Zhi didn’t refuse.

’After all, they were about to work together. Were they... temporary boss and employee?’

"Follow me."

Nan Zhi said, leading the way.

Qing Xi grabbed the hand of a somewhat quiet Nan Yi, and they stuck close to her side.

Fu Chao brought up the rear, pushing the cart.

Fu Chao looked at the cart, which was packed to the brim with ingredients.

"This much? Are you sure you’ll be able to sell it all?"

Nan Zhi paused and gave him an odd look.

"You didn’t watch the show yesterday?"

Fu Chao coughed awkwardly.

"...Filming was exhausting. I slept all day."

So he hadn’t been online at all and had no idea about all the drama the show had gone through the day before.

Nan Zhi decided to keep him in suspense.

"You’ll find out soon enough."

Fu Chao was curious, but he didn’t press the issue.

They arrived at the spot where Nan Zhi had set up her stall the day before.

The spot was empty; it hadn’t been taken over by someone else this time.

But Nan Zhi soon learned that it wasn’t that no one had tried, but that they had been stopped.

"Xiao Nan! You’re here!"

The woman from the neighboring stall beamed when she saw Nan Zhi.

No doubt this was because her grilled sausage sales had shot up five- or six-fold yesterday, all thanks to Nan Zhi.

So, upon seeing Nan Zhi, the woman not only smiled but also leaned in to whisper.

"Remember that couple that was copying you and selling fried rice? They tried to take this spot again today, but we stopped them! Don’t you worry, this is your permanent spot now. We’ll all watch over it for you!"

Nan Zhi had no idea any of this had happened.

After a moment of surprise, she offered her sincere thanks.

"Thank you so much for the trouble."

The woman waved her hands dismissively.

"Not at all! Thanks to your fried rice, the whole night market is doing better than usual! We’re the ones who should be thanking you!"

With that, she pressed two steaming hot grilled sausages into Nan Zhi’s hands.

Fu Chao, who had been watching for a while, finally asked quietly:

"Is your fried rice business really that good... Ah."

’That was a stupid question,’ he thought.

’Who was he to question Nan Zhi’s cooking?’

"Mm-hmm."

Nan Zhi’s gaze was distant as she distractedly handed one of the sausages to him.

She was thinking about that couple.

’The first time they caused trouble, I let it go for the sake of the show.’

’I could let it slide once, but not twice. My patience has its limits.’

A cold glint flashed in Nan Zhi’s eyes.

As Fu Chao took a bite of his sausage, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Just then, Qing Xi ran over.

"I have to go to the bathroom... Uncle, you’re hogging the food!"

Fu Chao quickly stuffed the remaining half of the sausage into Qing Xi’s mouth to shut him up.

Then he turned to Nan Yi, who was trailing behind.

"Yiyi, want some sausage?"

Nan Yi shook his head.

"How about the bathroom then?"

After a moment’s hesitation, Nan Yi nodded.

Fu Chao let Nan Zhi know, then led the two boys toward the public restroom.

Halfway there, a boisterous little boy ran past, accidentally bumping into Nan Yi’s shoulder.

Nan Yi winced.

"You okay?"

Fu Chao moved to check if Nan Yi was hurt.

But as he looked down, he caught a glimpse of a small bruise on the boy’s thin shoulder through the collar of his T-shirt.

Fu Chao’s expression turned cold in an instant!