Volume One, Chapter 76: She’d Sooner Blow Up the Kitchen Than Cook

The phone nearly slipped from Yu Mo’s hand.

Without time for farewells, she drove straight to the hospital.

All the way there, she struggled to keep her hands from trembling.

A journey that usually took forty minutes, she completed in just twenty.

When she arrived at the ward, she found her mother speaking with Mu Shaozhou.

Relief swept through her as she hurried to her mother's side, grasping her hand tightly.

“Mom, how are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

Seeing her daughter's worry, Xiao Lin felt a pang of guilt and squeezed her hand in return.

“Mo Mo, I’m fine. I just felt a little uneasy. Xiao Mu happened to come visit and brought me to the hospital. I’ve already had the tests done—the results are out, and there’s nothing wrong.”

Yu Mo glanced at Mu Shaozhou but said nothing to him. Instead, she spoke to Xiao Lin.

“Mom, I’ll go speak with the doctor.”

With that, she left the room. Mu Shaozhou followed.

Outside the ward, Mu Shaozhou caught her hand and pulled her to his side.

He gazed at her intently.

Yu Mo pressed her lips together, her tone less than friendly.

“Mu Shaozhou, thank you for bringing my mother to the hospital. I’ll take care of her now. You can go.”

He continued to look at her silently.

Yu Mo realized why she had been called so suddenly to the hospital.

“You had the nurse call me, making me rush here like this—what exactly are you hoping to achieve?”

Mu Shaozhou lowered his long lashes.

“Your mother’s illness is of the heart. The doctor said she’s troubled by people and matters she worries about. You should know what’s weighing on her mind.”

Yu Mo fell silent.

She knew her mother was worried about her brother and father.

But now was not the time to let her mother know the truth.

Her tone was cold. “I understand.”

A fleeting loneliness passed through Mu Shaozhou’s eyes. He stepped forward, embracing her lightly before quickly letting go.

Sensing her resistance, he let a barely perceptible bitter smile touch his lips.

His voice remained low and magnetic.

“I’ll go now. Take good care of your mother—and of yourself.”

With those words, he turned and left.

Watching his somewhat desolate figure retreat, a pang of sorrow twisted in Yu Mo’s heart.

She returned to the ward. Seeing Mu Shaozhou gone, Xiao Lin asked,

“Where’s Xiao Mu?”

Yu Mo forced a smile.

“Mom, he’s been very busy with work lately and had to leave on a business trip.”

“Is that so? Xiao Mu is a good young man. Don’t let him slip away. Get along with him, all right?”

Xiao Lin spoke with heartfelt earnestness.

Yu Mo nodded. “I will, Mom. Just focus on getting better.”

That afternoon, Yu Mo went to Mu Shaozhou’s apartment to collect her belongings.

Entering, she paused in surprise.

She hadn’t expected him to be home at this hour.

Mu Shaozhou saw her, surprise and delight flickering in his eyes. He rose from the sofa and walked straight toward her.

Yu Mo instinctively backed away until she was pressed into a corner, with nowhere left to retreat.

The strong smell of alcohol hung about him—he had clearly been drinking.

She noticed the many empty bottles on the table and floor, and frowned.

“How much have you had to drink, Mu Shaozhou?”

Before her, Mu Shaozhou reverted to that spoiled, boyish persona.

He half-closed his eyes, his flushed lips brushing tentatively against her fair, delicate cheek.

His voice was husky, low, and tinged with intoxication.

“Yu Mo, please don’t leave me, will you?”

He slipped his arm around her waist, pinning her against the wall.

Yu Mo stiffened, hardly daring to breathe.

After a long moment, her voice came out cold and hard.

“You’re drunk.”

She tried to break free, but his lips found hers.

Mu Shaozhou seemed not to hear her, kissing her lips with single-minded fervor.

Yu Mo struggled, her hand groping at her side until she found something—she brought it down hard on his head.

With a muffled groan, Mu Shaozhou released her lips and looked at her.

A thick crimson trickle slid down from his brow.

The sharp scent of blood displaced the previous air of intimacy. Yu Mo’s heart gave a jolt, but she hardened herself and pushed him away.

Once she’d put a safe distance between them, she wiped the moisture from her lips.

“Mu Shaozhou, I came to get my things. We’ve already broken up. I hope you can be sober about this.”

With that, she turned to pack her belongings.

The drunken haze in Mu Shaozhou’s eyes seemed to clear. He watched her back, utterly ignoring the blood on his head, as if the wound belonged to someone else.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The knocking pulled Mu Shaozhou from his daze. He opened the door woodenly.

Tang Xinyan stood outside, holding a large food box.

Eager to see the one she liked, she smiled sweetly and, as soon as the door opened, began,

“Brother Mu, I brought you something to eat… Brother Mu, what happened to your head?”

Tang Xinyan hurried into the apartment, setting down the food box and frantically searching for the first-aid kit.

Mu Shaozhou stood there indifferently, seemingly oblivious to his injury.

Tang Xinyan found the kit and carefully cleaned and bandaged his wound, nearly in tears as she worked.

“How could this happen, Brother Mu?”

Mu Shaozhou’s gaze was unfocused, his reply cold and distant.

“I bumped it by accident.”

Yu Mo emerged from the room, catching Mu Shaozhou’s upturned, peach-blossom eyes. Hearing him claim he’d bumped his head, she felt a twinge of guilt as she passed him toward the door.

“Sister Yu, are you leaving? I brought food—I made it myself. Won’t you stay and eat with us?”

Tang Xinyan rose, looping her arm through Yu Mo’s and gently pulling her back, her manner genuinely warm.

Yu Mo tried to refuse, but Tang Xinyan insisted, and she had no choice but to sit down.

Tang Xinyan set out the dishes, and the three of them ate together.

Yu Mo ate in silence, intending to remain invisible and slip away as soon as the meal was done.

Mu Shaozhou ate quietly, head bowed.

Only Tang Xinyan kept up a lively conversation.

“Brother Mu, I made your favorite steamed stone frog. Please have some more. I haven’t seen you in a while—you look thinner.”

“Sister Yu, do you like Wensi tofu? I can make it for you next time—I love cooking.”

Yu Mo smiled. “I like it.”

Tang Xinyan beamed with delight at the affirmation, her eyes crinkling with joy.

“Sister Yu, I’m going to be in a food variety show soon—would you like to join me?”

Yu Mo’s own skills in the kitchen were well known to herself; she’d be more likely to blow up the kitchen than make a meal.

She replied awkwardly, “I think I’ll pass. Cooking isn’t really my strong suit.”

“But I heard you’re great at medicinal cuisine! That’s an amazing skill. I know the director—come on the show with me! It’ll add something new and unique to the program.”

Tang Xinyan didn’t give Yu Mo a chance to protest, making the decision herself. She took out her phone and called the show’s director.

“Director Zhang, I have a friend who’s really skilled at medicinal cuisine. I think she’d be perfect for the show. If the dishes are both delicious and healthy, wouldn’t that make for a great segment?”

A few words later, she hung up, turning to Yu Mo with a happy wink.

“The director agreed! Sister Yu, you have to come. The show is being filmed at Modu TV. I’m only participating because of Brother Mu. Since he doesn’t have time, you can accompany me, can’t you?”