Xu Ke nodded. "I know my limits."

Wong Qifu frowned.

Xu Ke then said, "I promise you, even if Ouyang Shuang can beat me, she won't be able to kill me."

Wong Qifu shook her head. "Alright, I've already agreed to let you participate, so I won't oppose you."

"Don't worry," Xu Ke said.

Wong Qifu looked at Xu Ke and suddenly said, "I had Uncle Wu ask a master to lend you a piece of Inner Armor. You should wear it during the fight."

Hearing this, Xu Ke was startled. "That must be pretty valuable, right?"

An Inner Armor that required Wang Wu to personally go and borrow it must be incredibly expensive.

"You don't need to worry about that."

Wong Qifu continued, "Also, do you need any other herbs for your medicinal bath? I can help you gather them."

Xu Ke waved a hand. "I've already prepared the herbs that suit me best. A medicinal bath doesn't necessarily work better with higher-quality herbs."

The older a potent herb is, the fiercer its medicinal strength. Right now, I can handle twenty-year-old herbs at most. If I bought a hundred-year-old one... I'd probably bleed from all seven orifices.

"Alright then," Wong Qifu said helplessly.

At that moment, a knock came from the door. "KNOCK, KNOCK." A voice called out, "Your takeout has arrived."

Xu Ke stood up, walked over, and opened the door. "Thank you."

"Please leave me a good review, thank you!" the delivery guy said with a bow.

Xu Ke nodded and smiled. "Sure."

The delivery guy left. After leaving a good review on his phone, Xu Ke peeked around to confirm Lin Qinghua and Wang Wu's location. The two of them were nowhere to be seen. He could vaguely sense them, but they were too far away to see clearly.

Then, he closed the door and sat down with the takeout opposite Wong Qifu.

As he started unpacking the food containers and placed an opened drink in front of Wong Qifu, she spoke up. "Did you have to do that when you delivered takeout?"

Xu Ke's hands paused. "More or less."

He knew she was talking about the delivery guy bowing and asking for a good review. When I used to make deliveries, I did the same thing. I was even more humble and cautious. Life is hard. It's always trying to force you to submit.

"Was it upsetting?" Wong Qifu asked.

Xu Ke let out a small laugh. "What's there to be upset about? When faced with difficulties, you just grit your teeth and get through them."

But I won't yield. I never will!

"Good," Wong Qifu said, not elaborating further.

"Come on, try this. I think this place's crawfish are pretty good," Xu Ke said, changing the subject. He put on a pair of disposable gloves, peeled a crawfish, and held the meat up to Wong Qifu, intending to feed her.

Seeing this, Wong Qifu looked a bit uncomfortable. "I can do it myself."

Xu Ke's eyes lit up. This is the first time I've ever seen her make that kind of expression.

Xu Ke chuckled. "Let me feed you. It would be a pain if the sauce dripped on your dress."

Truthfully, I was worried that someone as pampered as her wouldn't know how to peel crawfish. If she got embarrassed and then angry... I'd be screwed.

Hearing this, Wong Qifu bit her lip, awkwardly leaned forward, and opened her mouth. "Ah..."

Xu Ke fed it to her and couldn't help but smile. This is the first time I've seen her look so adorable.

"What are you laughing at?" Wong Qifu asked, her fair cheeks puffed out with the crawfish meat.

"Nothing. I just think you're cute, that's all," Xu Ke said, suppressing a laugh.

Wong Qifu shot him a cold glare, and he fell silent.

Seeing Wong Qifu still looking uncomfortable and chewing very slowly, Xu Ke couldn't help but ask, "Is it not tasty?"

"No," Wong Qifu shook her head. "I'm just not used to having someone feed me."

Xu Ke had a moment of realization. So that's why she was acting so unnatural.

"Besides," Wong Qifu added, changing the subject as she watched his sluggish movements, "you're peeling that crawfish too slowly. Do you not eat them often?"

Xu Ke: "..."

I can't believe I'm being looked down on by Wong Qifu.

"Young people these days are so clumsy," she said, taking a pair of gloves for herself and putting them on. "When I was young, I was always out catching fish and shrimp. Not pampered like your generation. Moreover, the restaurant already breaks the crawfish apart for you, right? Yet you're still peeling so slowly... You can't even eat a simple crawfish."

Then, with her gloves on, Wong Qifu peeled a crawfish with incredible speed. She held up the meat, smiled at Xu Ke, and asked, "What do you think?"

Xu Ke stared silently at the piece of crawfish. I'm starting to question my life choices. Maybe ordering crawfish was a mistake. And... even though she's so fast, her movements are still elegant. There's not even a chance of a single drop of sauce spilling. It feels less like I'm watching her peel crawfish and more like I'm watching her create a piece of art.

"Why are you spacing out?" Wong Qifu suddenly asked.

Xu Ke snapped back to reality. "What is it?"

"Eat!" Wong Qifu brought the peeled crawfish to Xu Ke's mouth.

Xu Ke was startled. "I can peel it myself..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wong Qifu stuffed it into his mouth.

"Just eat when I tell you to," Wong Qifu said, rolling her eyes at him.

Chewing on the crawfish meat, Xu Ke felt a strange sensation. This is the first time Wong Qifu has ever fed me. Before I ordered, I'd imagined myself thoughtfully peeling crawfish for her, and her being deeply moved... I think I got the script wrong.

Wong Qifu picked up her drink and turned toward the balcony. "Let's eat out there."

Xu Ke's bed was right next to the floor-to-ceiling window, which opened onto a small balcony he usually used for drying clothes. Sometimes, he'd bring a chair out there to stare at the starry sky and space out.

"Okay," Xu Ke nodded.

They moved the small table out to the balcony. Since Xu Ke only had one folding chair and the bed was close to the balcony, Wong Qifu simply sat on Xu Ke's bed.

Looking up at the sparse night sky, only a few faint stars shone.

Wong Qifu's expression suddenly grew melancholic as she said abruptly, "You're the second man to ever feed me."

Xu Ke, who was in the middle of peeling a crawfish, felt his heart clench. "Who was the first?"

Wong Qifu rolled her eyes at him. "My dad. What were you thinking?"

Xu Ke gave an awkward laugh, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Sorry."

At the same time, Xu Ke grew quiet. She's thinking about her dad.

"Before my dad made the company successful, Tianhai was just a small fishing village," she began, her tone unreadable. "My sister, my dad, and I used to play by the sea and the lake all the time when we were little. Mom would be at home, waiting for us to return... But then came the skyscrapers, everything changing day by day. My dad passed away, my mom left too, and my sister went abroad to study. I was the only one left."

Xu Ke remained silent, watching her. Though her expression was calm, he saw a fleeting sadness in her eyes.

Suddenly, Xu Ke said, "But you still have Uncle Wu, Aunt Lin, and your sister, right? And besides... you also have me, don't you?"

At his words, Wong Qifu stared at him, stunned. His gaze was firm.

Seeing his earnest expression, Wong Qifu suddenly laughed. "You look so silly when you try to say sweet things."

Xu Ke: "..."

"I think I'll just stick to peeling crawfish," Xu Ke muttered, feeling completely shut down. He lowered his head and went back to peeling.

Just then, as his head was still lowered, he heard Wong Qifu add with a soft chuckle, "But I like it."

Xu Ke's hands froze. A flicker of a smile touched his eyes.

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