After Becoming a Cannon-Fodder Lackey, I Swore to Protect the Young Lady to the Death - Chapter 22

Staying up late is all fun and games until the alarm goes off.

Li Gangjiao truly couldn’t fathom why schools insisted on making students wake up before the crack of dawn. Did they honestly believe those few dozen minutes of drowsy morning study actually benefited anyone? Regardless of her internal grumbling, she dutifully donned her uniform and trudged to the breakfast table, a cloud of resentment hanging over her.

A plate of light green vegetable salad was placed before her, accompanied by a glass of douzhi (fermented mung bean milk). Li Gangjiao sat there, knife and fork in hand, looking utterly lost.

Is this it? Just… leaves? Is there no meat in this house?

Sitting across the table, Lu Jiaoyue read her mind instantly. “Sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t give the housekeeper specific instructions, so she just made two portions based on my usual breakfast standards.”

“No worries, it’s fine!”

Li Gangjiao glanced at the housekeeper, Auntie Wu, still busy in the kitchen. To prove she was a good sport, she shoveled a massive spoonful of salad into her mouth. Then… her face turned a shade of sickly green.

This stuff tastes terrible.

Hoping to wash the taste away, she reached for the douzhi. One sip later, her brow furrowed in a deep, troubled wince. The texture was viscous, and the smell was a sour, funky stench—it was honestly worse than the stagnant blood water in the casino’s backyard.

“It’s unsweetened. You probably aren’t used to it,” Lu Jiaoyue noted, gesturing toward the kitchen to indicate she could go get some sugar.

“Do you always eat like this?” Li Gangjiao stared at the elegant porcelain plate holding a few pathetic greens and a smear of dressing. For the first time, she began to wonder if rich people just had weird kinks. Back at the casino, she’d met people with pica who ate all sorts of non-food items; this wasn’t far off.

“Actually, I don’t think it tastes good either,” Lu Jiaoyue admitted, setting her utensils down after a few bites. “It’s just for weight control.”

Li Gangjiao: The price of beauty is too damn high. Give me soy milk, tea eggs, sticky rice chicken, and soup dumplings any day!

She wasn’t just being a picky eater. Even back when she was turning screws on the factory line, she’d never had anything this hard to swallow. The “salad” consisted of a few sad leaves and some finely chopped broccoli; two tiny slices of carrot provided the only spark of color in the bowl. If you put it on a scale, it probably weighed less than 50 grams.

After dabbing her lips with a tissue, Lu Jiaoyue stood up. “I’m going upstairs to grab my keys. Wait for me down here.”

The moment Lu Jiaoyue vanished, Li Gangjiao heard a hissed, “Hey! Over here!” from the kitchen.

Auntie Wu waved her over. Li Gangjiao didn’t hesitate for a second, abandoning her salad and fermented milk without a single look back.

“Whoa, that smells incredible! Is that chicken soup?” Li Gangjiao’s mouth was practically watering at the rich, savory scent of meat.

“It’s stewed squab. It’s delicious—quick, try some.” Auntie Wu blew on a spoonful of broth and held it to Li Gangjiao’s lips.

Starving, Li Gangjiao gulped it down. Even though it was scalding, she swallowed it greedily.

“Ugh, I don’t believe in this ‘light eating’ weight loss nonsense,” Auntie Wu grumbled, ladling a massive portion into a bowl for Li Gangjiao, specifically fishing out two drumsticks. “How can a salad compare to the nutrition of a slow-cooked soup? I don’t know why Jiaoyue is so obsessed with that tasteless grass…”

Auntie Wu took a sip herself, continuing, “You’re her classmate. Tell me, does she actually eat properly at school? I feel like she’s been getting thinner lately…”

“I don’t know,” Li Gangjiao replied between bites of tender meat, not even pausing to wipe the grease from her lips. “She barely eats anything when I’m with her, but I have a huge appetite, so I’m probably not the best reference.”

Is this better than that fermented bean milk? This is ten thousand times better!

“You’re a good, growing girl,” Auntie Wu said, her middle-aged features softening with motherly kindness. “From now on, sneak into the kitchen for breakfast with me. Jiaoyue is strict about her figure; we can’t let her see you eating like this.” If she gains a pound, she’ll go back to those imported diet pills. Sigh.

“Auntie Wu, you’re the best! Your cooking is absolute perfection!” The rich, savory broth coated Li Gangjiao’s palate, and she savored every drop.

“Do you know about that ‘God of Cooking’ competition? I was the runner-up in the first year! Back in the day, people paid a fortune to hire me!” Auntie Wu boasted, her face glowing with pride.

“Mhm!” Li Gangjiao finished the bowl and nodded in total agreement. This cooking was definitely worth a fortune.

The two were so busy chatting that they didn’t notice Lu Jiaoyue had come downstairs. She stood there, watching Li Gangjiao grin like an idiot.

Silly dog, Lu Jiaoyue thought. Then she added mentally: Her tail is wagging so hard it’s practically a propeller.

Since being with Li Gangjiao, Lu Jiaoyue felt like her life was being “thrown off track” more and more often. But she didn’t hate it; in fact, she quite liked it.

“I’m here! I’m coming!” Spotting Lu Jiaoyue, Li Gangjiao waved goodbye to Auntie Wu and bolted toward her girlfriend.

Caught off guard by the sudden charge, Lu Jiaoyue found herself gathered into a warm embrace. The scent of body wash mixed with the lingering aroma of squab soup; strangely, she didn’t find the smell unpleasant.

“Let’s go, puppy,” Lu Jiaoyue said, patting her shoulder. She felt a bit self-conscious with Auntie Wu watching from the kitchen door.

“Puppy?” Li Gangjiao looked confused, pointing at herself.

“Mhm.” Lu Jiaoyue let out a light laugh and nodded at her bewildered expression.

However, this “puppy” apparently didn’t understand human commands. Li Gangjiao leaned in, her tongue tracing a path from Lu Jiaoyue’s ear down to her collarbone. She began to suck and nip at the delicate skin—Lu Jiaoyue’s pale complexion marked easily, and her collarbone soon bloomed with a bright, pink hickey. It tickled so much that Lu Jiaoyue tried to push her away, but Li Gangjiao was an immovable wall.

“I just checked. Auntie Wu went back to the stove,” Li Gangjiao whispered, her voice low and husky. “Now this is how a puppy behaves…”

She followed the words with two sharp nips on Lu Jiaoyue’s collarbone, like she was marking her territory.

The bite caused Lu Jiaoyue to lose her cool, her back arching slightly. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a series of ragged, breathless gasps.

This girl…

Teasing Li Gangjiao yesterday had been fun, but it turned out that while her grades were terrible, she was a terrifyingly fast learner in other departments. Today was officially “Payback Day.”

Lu Jiaoyue couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you… finished yet?” she rasped.

“Finished.” Li Gangjiao blinked innocently and let go of her waist, looking as well-behaved as ever.

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