Ch. 18 - A Day in the Life of the Bai Siblings
My Fake Girlfriend is Going All Out to Defend Against Their AttacksThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
"Brother, wash your hands."
Bai Lu had already changed out of her school uniform and into her usual home clothes. She wore an apron printed with the face of a large cartoon cat and carried a plate of bright red, steaming shrimp to the dining table.
"I already did."
The moment I saw the fragrant shrimp and the two seasonal vegetable dishes beside it, I sprang from the sofa—where I'd practically left a permanent body-shaped dent—and rushed to the table, rubbing my hands together as I prepared to sit down.
"Let me see."
Bai Lu untied her apron and set it aside before sitting across from me at the small square dining table. She looked at me with gentle eyes.
Hearing that, I reluctantly held out my hands for inspection.
After examining them, Bai Lu frowned slightly.
"Honestly, Brother. You're not a child. If you don't wash your hands, you don't get to eat."
I pursed my lips and glanced at the bathroom, barely a dozen steps away. Avoiding her gaze, I secretly reached toward the chopsticks while trying to argue my case.
"I've never understood why people have to wash their hands before eating. Even if your hands are dirty, they don't directly touch the food. The dirt can't magically jump into your rice, can it? And even if cleanliness is really an issue, tap water isn't exactly sterile either. Dirty hands plus dirty water should be even dirtier. So why is it suddenly okay to eat after washing them?"
My sister was the top student at Xingzhihua Middle School. Every year, she ranked first in the entire grade during final exams. Surely someone as intelligent as her would agree with my perfectly logical argument.
To my surprise, she beat me to the punch.
Slowly extending her delicate hand, she picked up the chopsticks first.
"Then you can just lick your hands and use that as your side dish."
"...Sorry."
I surrendered instantly.
Jumping to my feet, I dashed to the sink and washed my hands thoroughly three times.
This was a matter of survival. Whether my stomach would be tormented by Bai Lu's celery-and-green-pepper cuisine over the next three days depended entirely on my obedience. Only after I'd finished and solemnly presented my freshly washed hands for inspection did Bai Lu finally hand over the chopsticks.
And it turned out those extra steps had been completely worth it.
My sister's cooking was getting better every single day.
This braised shrimp dish had already surpassed anything our clueless mother could make by dozens of levels.
Armed with my chopsticks, I attacked the food like a starving dog. Before long, the entire plate of shrimp had vanished.
Among them was the one Bai Lu had almost crushed yesterday.
Poor thing.
Even after death, it ended up in my stomach.
Mr. Shrimp, in your next life, become a lobster instead. That way we won't be able to afford you.
After dinner, Bai Lu cleaned the table, put her apron back on, and washed the dishes in the kitchen.
Having a sister like her made me wonder whether I'd already used up all the luck meant for my next life.
Would I end up mining coal in Kenya in my next reincarnation?
Watching Bai Lu hum softly while washing dishes, I couldn't help but worry about my future.
Ding.
My phone chimed.
A text message.
Still sprawled on the sofa after dinner, I reached over to the table and grabbed my phone.
[Idiot Bai Qiao, why did you run away just now?!]
It was a message from Wu Yaoyao.
Do I look stupid?
How could I possibly stay in such an embarrassing situation? Running away wasn't shameful.
In fact, it worked incredibly well.
I chuckled and put the phone back without replying.
"Brother, who is it?"
Fresh out of the shower, her hair still damp and carrying the scent of body wash, Bai Lu walked over with two glasses of lemonade.
"Hmm... a classmate."
I sat up and shifted over on the sofa to make room for her.
As usual, after dinner the two of us would sit together and watch television.
"Oh..."
Bai Lu sat beside me and placed one of the glasses on the coffee table.
"A girl?"
She kept her eyes on the television.
Dressed in cat-patterned pajamas, her graceful dancer's figure was subtly outlined beneath the fabric. Her fair face still carried traces of moisture from her shower. Her expression remained neutral, and her voice was calm as always.
Yet somehow, I sensed a strange hint of vigilance in her words.
Like a cat clutching a dried fish while watching passersby suspiciously.
"Yeah. Just a regular classmate."
I nodded and found myself instinctively explaining.
"That's good."
Bai Lu nodded as well, her smooth black hair swaying gently.
Wait a second.
Why did I suddenly feel relieved?
"By the way, Bai Lu..."
Quickly changing the subject, I remembered her performance tomorrow.
"I've been wondering. Doesn't Xingzhihua Middle School have its own dance practice rooms? Why have you been going to the theater these past few days?"
"The City Youth Dance Competition starts tomorrow. We're representing the school."
As she spoke, she took out a ticket from her pocket.
"The organizers arranged for all participants to get familiar with the venue and rehearse there."
She handed me the ticket.
"Brother, you have to come tomorrow."
"Of course."
Smiling, I rubbed her head and accepted the ticket.
Tomorrow at 2 PM.
Not bad.
At least I wouldn't have to wake up early.
"Brother, your fingernails have gotten long again..."
Bai Lu murmured softly.
She took my hand and placed it on her lap, then picked up a pair of nail clippers from the table and carefully began trimming my nails.
Bai Lu was incredibly attentive.
She always took care of everything in the house—including me.
Ding.
My phone rang again.
Please don't let it be Wu Yaoyao again.
Glancing at Bai Lu, who was concentrating on trimming my nails, I picked up my phone.
[My dear Vice President, have you eaten yet?]
Not Wu Yaoyao.
It was Tang Xin.
That was even worse.
I curled my lips in annoyance and prepared to ignore her when the phone chimed again.
[My side shows that you've already read the message. Surely your phone didn't run out of battery, or you're not too busy to see it, right?]
She had instantly destroyed every excuse I had prepared in my head.
Panic struck me immediately.
Had she really thought that far ahead?!
[Haha, President, you're joking. What do you need?]
I typed back weakly.
Tang Xin was terrifying.
If she ever decided to make my life miserable, she could probably come up with a different way to tease me every day for an entire year without repeating herself.
But wait...
Since when did JuXin have a read-receipt function?
Had I forgotten to update the latest version?
I stared at the app interface in confusion.
"Bai Lu..."
"Mm?"
"What version of JuXin shows read receipts?"
"...Mine doesn't."
Without even looking up, she continued carefully trimming my nails like a small animal focused on its task.
Damn it.
That woman had tricked me again.