Feed Me, Husband - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The next day, Ji Xiangnan left very early, sending Gu Xiaonuan only a brief message saying he was going home.

Last night, when Lu Yichen had emerged from the bathroom after his nosebleed, his flustered, blushing face had left Gu Xiaonuan with nothing to do but sigh.

In the end, the two of them had fallen asleep in each other’s arms as usual, though the sound of his heartbeat had thundered in her ears all night.

Every time a sound came from Ji Xiangnan’s room, Lu Yichen’s heart rate would inexplicably accelerate. Eventually, Gu Xiaonuan had pulled him into her embrace and covered his ears with her hands again.

“Rest easy. Go to sleep.”

With a red face, he had buried himself in her arms and finally drifted into a deep slumber.

Since Ji Xiangnan’s return and his public declaration, the harassment from their Fellow Kin had indeed decreased significantly. Gu Xiaonuan accompanied Lu Yichen out several times, and on the occasional instances they encountered others of her kind, no one dared to approach Lu Yichen lightly.

However, they were merely observing from the sidelines. The moment they discovered that Lu Yichen’s relationship with Ji Xiangnan wasn’t what it seemed, they would swarm him without hesitation.

“Xiaonuan, do you want to try this?”

Inside the supermarket, Gu Xiaonuan walked beside him as he pushed the shopping cart. They were dressed in similar colors and wore matching baseball caps; rather than just a boyfriend and girlfriend, they looked more like a young newlywed couple.

Gu Xiaonuan glanced at the item he was holding and shook her head with little interest.

“Just buy what you like. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Lu Yichen walked over, placed the item in the cart, and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“Ah, they’re so good-looking! How sweet!”

The young women who witnessed this couldn’t help but blush, and some even took out their phones to start filming short videos in secret.

Gu Xiaonuan pulled her baseball cap lower and reached out to tug his down as well.

Lu Yichen let out a soft chuckle as they continued browsing the aisles.

Gu Xiaonuan looked at the items in the cart. He liked all sorts of snacks, but he didn’t care for sweets at all.

He liked a few specific types of drinks, yet he never bought them in bulk.

Gu Xiaonuan followed him the whole way. Through these small details, she felt as if she were seeing Lu Yichen’s life-his life as a human.

If she hadn’t appeared, he might have found a human girl to love, someone who would push a shopping cart with him like this and discuss the day’s recipes.

At that thought, Gu Xiaonuan’s hand involuntarily tightened around the handle of the cart.

Without her, the person walking by his side would have been someone else.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I bumped into you.”

A cart hit Gu Xiaonuan from behind. She turned around to see a mother holding a child. She was alone, carrying the child in one arm while pushing the cart with the other, looking quite strained.

Gu Xiaonuan caught the scent drifting from the child. Beneath the delicate skin, the fragrance of blood seemed to radiate through the air.

She looked away, said it was fine, and pushed her cart forward.

Suddenly, a gasp of alarm came from behind her.

For some reason, the mother holding the child lost her balance, and the child in her arms was about to go flying.

Cold hands caught the falling child just before they hit the ground, while a bystander narrowly managed to steady the mother.

“Thank you…” The mother stood firm and immediately reached out to take her child back, only to find that Gu Xiaonuan hadn’t let go.

“Thank you,” the mother said again. Lu Yichen reached out, took the child from Gu Xiaonuan’s arms, and handed the baby back to the mother.

He reached out to pull Gu Xiaonuan’s baseball cap lower and said with a smile, “You’re welcome. I’m just glad everyone’s okay.”

He wrapped his arm around Gu Xiaonuan’s shoulder and pushed the cart, leading her toward the exit.
“I’m fine,” Gu Xiaonuan said softly. She looked up at him, her face completely pale. “See?”

He smiled and let go of her shoulders. “I’ve realized that you like helping people. You’re not cold and cruel like the others.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m still young and haven’t experienced what true loneliness is yet,” Gu Xiaonuan replied quietly. “Perhaps as time goes on, I’ll become like the Old Man-not caring about anything because everything will have become meaningless to us.”

“You won’t.” Lu Yichen gave a light chuckle and caressed her cheek. “You won’t.”

*Because I won’t allow you to not care about me.*

At dinner time, Lu Yichen cooked for himself. Several fragrant dishes were set out, and Gu Xiaonuan sat by the bar counter, simply watching.

As he ate, Lu Yichen spoke in a low voice about his inspirations for his book. Gu Xiaonuan, acting as his editor, performed her duties diligently and offered constructive advice.

He liked this-sharing his life and discussing things with her within the context of a mundane, daily routine.

Gu Xiaonuan checked the time. It was 11:00 PM, and Lu Yichen hadn’t come to find her yet.

There was no sound of him discussing things on the phone, but there seemed to be a light coming from the dim living room.

Gu Xiaonuan walked out and found the man sitting on the sofa watching television. An overseas period drama was playing on the screen.

Noticing her approach, Lu Yichen patted the spot in front of him.

When Gu Xiaonuan sat down, he pulled her into his arms.

“What’s the story about?”

Lu Yichen rested his chin gently on the top of her head, his hand resting lightly on her waist. “It’s the story of Lucrezia.”

“Who is… she?”

“Lucrezia, the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI. In history, she was once synonymous with beauty, debauchery, and depravity.”

Gu Xiaonuan raised an eyebrow slightly. Lu Yichen’s fingers gently curled around her shoulder-length black hair, watching the silky strands slip through his fingers.

“She was in love with her biological brother, the Duke of Valentinois, but she was married off three times for the sake of her family’s interests.”

“Three times?”

Lu Yichen chuckled softly. “Her brother would send her away to be married, then use poison to kill her husband so he could take her back.”

Gu Xiaonuan couldn’t help but look back at him. Lu Yichen smiled and kissed her forehead. “The Duke of Valentinois was a man once known as ‘Poison’.”

On the television, a man and a woman were locked in a passionate embrace. The man knelt at the woman’s feet, looking up with devotion.

Lu Yichen looked at Gu Xiaonuan and whispered slowly.

His voice overlapped perfectly with the man on the screen as they spoke in unison:

“Let me love you.”
“Love you regardless of personal danger.”
“Let me love you.”
“Abandon all to love you.”
“Let me cut open my hot chest.”
“Let me give you my beating heart.”
“Let me love you.”
“Let me do it all.”
“Let me own you.”
“My queen, my lord, my everything.”

On the screen, the man pressed his lips to the woman’s body with absolute reverence.

Off-screen, Lu Yichen’s lips fell upon her cold ones.

*Xiaonuan, my Xiaonuan, you can’t escape.*