My Wife, So Fierce! - Chapter 23

There wasn’t much sun today, and it was already late. These clothes were needed for the evening, so air-drying them naturally wasn’t an option. Zheng Yao tossed a few small garments into the dryer.

After a lot of effort, she finally finished.

Turning around, she saw Shen Baiyi sitting upright on the sofa. When their eyes met, Shen Baiyi smiled at her.

Even at home, she acted like a model student ready to be called on by the teacher at any moment.

The thought made Zheng Yao inexplicably want to laugh.

Of course, she suppressed the urge in the end.

She always wore a stern expression, yet Shen Baiyi still shamelessly clung to her. If she were any friendlier, wouldn’t Shen Baiyi just take advantage even more?

But she really wasn’t used to sharing a space with a girl of this age especially one who kept staring at her with shining eyes.

After sitting on the sofa for just a few minutes, Zheng Yao grew restless and stood up.

Shen Baiyi immediately followed suit.

Zheng Yao glared at her and turned on the TV without hesitation. “Today, your only task is to watch TV. Nothing else is allowed.”

Remembering how the girl always sneaked into the kitchen, she added, “We’re ordering takeout for dinner. You’re not allowed in the kitchen.”

At the first sentence, Shen Baiyi showed no reaction, but upon hearing the last part, she frowned and couldn’t help protesting, “Sister, takeout isn’t healthy.”

She knew her sister cared about her, but that didn’t mean they should eat unhealthy takeout.

“You, with a head injury, still know takeout isn’t healthy?” Zheng Yao was surprised, her expression flickering with hope. “Did you remember something?”

Seeing her sister’s eagerness to kick her out the moment she recalled anything, Shen Baiyi quickly denied it. “No.”

She might have lost her memory, but not her common sense. Takeout meals weren’t prepared under her watch, so naturally, they couldn’t be as healthy or hygienic as home-cooked food.

She tried to persuade Zheng Yao. “Sister, I’m not feeling unwell anymore. Since I have nothing else to do, why not let me prepare dinner?”

Of course, aside from the health concerns, Shen Baiyi had another motive.

She didn’t know how she and her sister had interacted before, but she understood that to settle into a household, one needed to find their place.

From what she’d observed these past few days, her sister mostly ordered takeout and wasn’t skilled in cooking.

The perfect role for her was right there, she just had to seize it.

Unfortunately, her sister dismissed her suggestion outright. “If you haven’t remembered anything, then sit quietly on the sofa. Otherwise, the door’s to the right. Don’t let it hit you on the way out.”

Shen Baiyi didn’t dare say another word.

The bedroom door closed again.

Watching her sister disappear behind it, Shen Baiyi rubbed her forehead. For some reason, this scene felt familiar as if she’d seen something similar before.

She sighed and lightly knocked her own head. How could she have forgotten her sister, of all things?

–

After finishing the takeout, Shen Baiyi efficiently helped clear the table.

Then, cautiously studying her sister’s expression, she ventured, “Sister, I didn’t shower last night. I’m starting to smell.”

Zheng Yao paused slightly.

Seeing no displeasure on her face, Shen Baiyi continued, “I’m feeling much better now. Can I take a bath today? I promise to be quick and won’t let myself get sick again.”

Shen Baiyi genuinely wanted to bathe. The guest room where she slept at night was just as fragrant as her sister’s, especially the bed, the blankets smelled wonderful. She didn’t want to lie on that bed covered in sweat.

If she didn’t bathe soon, the sour smell would start wafting out and bother her sister.

Her plea grew increasingly earnest: “Please, sister, just a quick one. I’ll be fast.”

Zheng Yao pondered.

She didn’t approve of Shen Baiyi bathing. Now that her fever had finally subsided, if she took a bath and got sick again, Zheng Yao didn’t have the energy to deal with it.

But Shen Baiyi sounded so pitiful.

Her sleeve was tugged, and Shen Baiyi looked at her cautiously. “Sister?”

“…”

Here she goes again with the physical contact!

Zheng Yao pressed her lips together, yanked her sleeve back, and said sternly, “Then let me be clear upfront, if you catch a cold and get a fever again, I’ll throw you out and won’t take care of you anymore.”

Understanding her meaning, Shen Baiyi immediately nodded eagerly, her dizziness forgotten, her face already lit up with a smile. “Okay!”

Then, unable to resist, she added, “Sister is the best!”

Zheng Yao: ???

Was her expression not stern enough? Were her words not harsh enough?

If she remembered correctly, she had just delivered a threat.

Zheng Yao’s face darkened, then paled, and she stumbled back to her room in a daze, still making a few stern expressions at the mirror.

She looked plenty fierce, so why did Shen Baiyi think she was nice?

She tried a few more menacing expressions in the mirror, growing more convinced that the problem wasn’t on her end, she looked plenty intimidating!

It definitely wasn’t her fault.

Besides, she always spoke harshly to Shen Baiyi and never showed her a friendly face. Yet, Shen Baiyi still thought she was being kind. Could Shen Baiyi’s brain be malfunctioning?

Wait! Shen Baiyi’s brain was already broken.

At this thought, Zheng Yao’s eyes flickered slightly.

Right, Shen Baiyi’s brain wasn’t working properly. So of course, she had issues.

Therefore, it wasn’t that Zheng Yao wasn’t fierce enough, it was entirely because Shen Baiyi was mentally unwell. Having figured this out, Zheng Yao let out a long sigh of relief and finally put the matter to rest.

She rubbed her stiffened face, lay down on the bed, and exhaled heavily. It had been another exhausting day, and she was already worn out. Now, sprawled out, she just wanted to empty her mind.

Just as she was drifting off, there was a sudden knock at the door.

Zheng Yao’s face darkened again.

Troublesome. So troublesome.

Why did Shen Baiyi have so many issues?

Grumbling, she punched the bed and reluctantly got up, opening the door with a scowl. Her irritation seeped into her tone. “What now?”

The sheer annoyance in her voice was impossible to ignore.

Shen Baiyi instinctively took two steps back, too afraid to speak.

Sister was so scary.

She bit her lip, torn between fear and hurt, and swallowed the words she had prepared. Hurriedly, she shook her head. “N-nothing.”

Zheng Yao: “…”

Now she’s scared?

Seeing her about to leave, Zheng Yao unceremoniously reached out, grabbed the back of Shen Baiyi’s collar, and yanked her back.

Unable to control her momentum, Shen Baiyi crashed straight into her arms. She was a slender, petite figure with hardly any flesh on her, and those hard bones colliding with her actually hurt Zheng Yao’s chest, nearly making her cry out in pain.

She swallowed the groan with great effort, then took a step back to put some distance between them.

“Last time I’m asking you.” This time, Zheng Yao’s tone wasn’t as sharp as before, but it still wasn’t exactly pleasant. “What is it?”

Sensing her sister’s patience was wearing thin, Shen Baiyi didn’t hesitate this time and quickly said, “Sister, can the hot water be put in a bucket?”

“What?”

Zheng Yao didn’t immediately understand what she meant.

“At your place, the shower sprays from above.” Shen Baiyi didn’t know how to describe it properly and could only clumsily mimic the motion of water falling from above. “Like this.”

Zheng Yao quickly realized her bathroom had a ceiling-mounted showerhead, which was indeed inconvenient for Shen Baiyi to use.

Shen Baiyi continued explaining:

“If I shower like that, my wounds might get wet, so it’s not very convenient. I wanted to fill a bucket with hot water to wash, but I don’t know how to do it. Can you help me, Sister?”

Zheng Yao didn’t respond, but she was already heading toward the bathroom. How the tables had turned before, it was Shen Baiyi preparing bathwater for her, and now it was her turn to fuss over this for Shen Baiyi.

Next to the ceiling-mounted showerhead was a handheld one, but Shen Baiyi probably didn’t know how to switch between them.

She took down the handheld showerhead and demonstrated for Shen Baiyi before looking up. “Got it?”

“Got it.” Shen Baiyi nodded softly.

Zheng Yao stared at her for a few seconds, then narrowed her eyes. “If you didn’t know how to use the shower, how did you manage to bathe on the first day?”

Shen Baiyi was caught off guard. She didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t dare admit she had taken a cold shower, so she dodged the question. “I just washed like that.”

“I remember your wounds weren’t infected, so they must not have gotten wet.” Zheng Yao wasn’t so easily fooled. Suspicious, she guessed, “You didn’t skip bathing that day, did you?”

“I did bathe!” Afraid Zheng Yao would think she was someone who avoided washing, Shen Baiyi immediately defended herself.

Zheng Yao frowned.

Right, Shen Baiyi had bathed because she suddenly remembered that night when Shen Baiyi had forgotten to dry off after her shower, her clothes clinging damply to her body, her curves faintly visible.

Abruptly recalling the chill that had rushed out when Shen Baiyi opened the bathroom door, a suspicion formed in her mind, and her expression darkened. “You didn’t take a cold shower, did you?”

Caught, Shen Baiyi instinctively lowered her head. She didn’t dare look at Zheng Yao’s face and mumbled softly, “Just for a little while.”

Zheng Yao’s face turned stormy.

She actually took a cold shower?!

No wonder Shen Baiyi had been shivering when she first stepped out of the bathroom. No wonder she had developed a high fever the next day.

And here Zheng Yao had thought it was because she made Shen Baiyi sleep on the sofa that she caught a chill, even feeling guilty about it for a while.

Turns out Shen Baiyi brought it on herself.

And here she had been running around taking care of Shen Baiyi during her fever, even enduring the doctor’s reproachful looks.

The bathroom fell into silence, their breaths the only sound. Shen Baiyi didn’t dare breathe too loudly, while Zheng Yao was panting from sheer anger.

“Sis, sis, I was wrong.” Sensing that her sister was genuinely very angry this time, Shen Baiyi quickly apologized, “Please don’t be mad at me, okay?”

Zheng Yao’s face darkened as she was about to speak, but her phone suddenly rang. She paused slightly, deciding to leave Shen Baiyi hanging for a moment, and took the phone out of her pocket.

When her eyes fell on the caller ID, she froze for a second, it was the police officer investigating Shen Baiyi?

It was already late at night, yet he was calling her proactively?

Had there finally been a breakthrough in Shen Baiyi’s case?

At that thought, Zheng Yao’s breath hitched. Immediately forgetting her anger toward Shen Baiyi, she hurriedly answered the call.

“Miss Zheng.”

The officer’s voice echoed in the bathroom. “About that Shen Baiyi, we’ve figured things out here.”

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