XG 51 - Stop looking at me like a lingering ghost

They did not stay up and went to sleep right after their short discussion that has no right answers to their questions. There was a long couch, so Wong Xue Guo picked it as her bed, ignoring Chen Yibo’s offer to let her take the bed.

Chen Yibo does not dare carry her to the bed, so he could only reluctantly sleep on the bed where he would once in a while glance at the couch worriedly.

“Just sleep and stop looking at me like a lingering ghost!” She finally could not stand the peeping and scolded him, which then he finally stopped.

She did not know whether he continued peeping after that because she had fallen asleep quickly with the feeling of safety as there was someone in the same room with her. There were occasional dreams that scared her but were quickly forgotten once she woke up.

It was the punctual Chen Yibo that woke Wong Xue Guo up for the morning exercise. Most people were still resting or patrolling around the villa. Thus, it saved her from being caught coming out of Chen Yibo’s room and being misunderstood.

One night of a decent rest allowed Wong Xue Guo’s body to recover rather well, much to her surprise. Her tolerance level also increased somewhat after a day, which was proven after she successfully finished running three laps without feeling like a dying fish out of the water. After the run, she started doing a hundred swings of her sword without complaint. Feeling that she still had the energy to spare, she added sit-up exercise to her list to push her limit.

It took the whole morning to complete everything. Despite being covered with sweat and aching muscles, Wong Xue Guo felt a great sense of accomplishment. If she continues doing this every day, her days of survival would increase.

If her luck did not choose to abandon her halfway.

Today must be a good day because her mother said she will be reaching Penang Island soon, either by tonight or tomorrow morning. The road trip was quite unpredictable when it comes to accidents. Suzie Yap had announced it at the family group chat, so Wong Xue Guo does not need to search for her father to see if he got the news or not.

Under her calm smile, Wong Xue Guo was actually very excited. She had long waited for the moment of witnessing her parent’s reunion for the first time since the apocalypse outbreak. She was curious how her mother would act, especially towards her.

Will her mother still call her baby or hug her as before? Or will she once again treat her daughter as a spare tire and cling to her husband dearest?

If Suzie Yap returns to her usual self, Wong Xue Guo will be hurt by it, no matter how small she keeps her expectation to be. The short time of experiencing her mother’s love had healed some of her old wounds, but if her mother reverted back to her old attitude, it would reopen her old wounds, or even create new injuries on her battered heart.

Whenever she thinks about it, it would give her a sadistic thrill that stabs onto her heart like tiny needles.

Even knowing that she will continue exercising later, Wong Xue Guo could not stand her own stench and went to take a quick shower before lunch. Standing in front of the mirror while rubbing her face slowly with a towel, it was unknown what she was thinking. There was a small tremble on her shoulder, but it was gone a moment before she stopped rubbing her face.

The mirror showed her eyes that had lost most of their previous luster that creepily resembled a doll, especially when it was on her expressionless face. Only after she rubs the fogged mirror did her expression went back to normal, as if the doll was given the breath of life.

“It does not matter,” Wong Xue Guo whispered to her own reflection and went to dress.

She followed the smell of food coming from the kitchen, letting her stomach take charge. Eying a large number of sandwiches, three whole roasted chicken, and a rice cooker filled with rice, she glanced at the busy househusband Chen Yibo.

“Thank you for the lunch. You could have asked one of the bodyguards to buy food.” Did Chen Yibo forget his own young master identity?

“I have time, so I don’t mind doing it. I only made simple food, so please don’t mind it.”

At Chen Yibo’s modesty, Kang Xunsu said, “Why would anyone mind edible food? Thank you, young master Yibo.”

“Miss Lan Yan helped with the sandwiches,” Chen Yibo revealed. “I’ve tried one and it tastes good.”

Curious, Wong Xue Guo grabbed a ham sandwich. She knew Chen Yibo was the type to praise people, even if the result does not deserve his praise. Thus, she had no expectation of the taste, but the first bite had her eyes brighten, telling everyone that the taste was alright.

If the picky eater Wong Xue Guo could have that expression, they could eat with no worries.

Standing at the side and watching the happily eating Wong Xue Guo, Lan Yan was spotted with a rare bright smile that would have her gang members surprised. The only food she could make was sandwiches, one of the most time-saving preparation food, and could be eaten anywhere while working. Because of that, she had nearly perfected the art of making a sandwich after years of hard work to avoid getting bored of eating her own craft.

“There’s also scrambled egg sandwich,” Lan Yan introduced with a mild tone to avoid scaring off the young miss.

“Thank you. It’s delicious.”

Wong Xue Guo’s first impression of Lan Yan was a cool older sister with blue hair. She and her red-haired brother would have great difficulty in hiding if they were chased due to their flashy hair color.

She already knew that as gangsters, they would be used to fights and violence. But it was still a shock to see how lethal Lan Yan was with strings. The leather gloves on her hands were now understandable despite the warm weather.

Someone went to call Charles Wong because he soon appeared to dine lunch together with them. He was dressed as he usually did, minus his suit coat and tie. His rolled-up sleeves and vest had him look even more manly and dangerous than his version that was decked out in a full suit.

But his daughter had a different thought of his current look than other impressed women. She got the impression that he would soon swing his fist at someone with his ‘casual’ look. After all, the bad guys from the movies always ditch their coats, roll up their sleeves and loosen their ties before trashing their pitiful captive.

Wong Xue Guo subconsciously straightens her back when she sees her father. Her previous posture that was already good suddenly became a model textbook example.

Hong Yan had followed behind Charles Wong, and his eyes immediately flew to the food served on the table. “Food is here! I’m starving!”

“Then you should have gone out and bought it instead of waiting for Young Master Chen to cook,” Kang Xunsu retorted the younger man.

From the long, rectangular dining table, Charles Wong chooses the center seat, which happened to be directly facing Wong Xue Guo. Their distance was quite far apart, but their view of each other was not hindered. She lowered her gaze, careful to avoid meeting her father’s eye.

When she was much younger and ignorant, she always longed for her parent’s attention and tried to speak to them whenever she got the chance to, even injecting herself into their conversation. Once, she made a mistake by speaking during meal times and got scolded by her displeased father.

Since then, she never spoke during mealtimes whenever her parents were around.

Hong Yan grabbed a seat beside his boss. “How can both of them be compared? Home cooking always wins!”

With one careless glance from their big boss, the two stopped quibbling and lowered their heads to eat their chicken. Today’s chicken was tender and well-cooked, but without any seasoning again. Yet the simple cooking still brings out its natural flavor that goes well with the rice. They could not help but have another bowl of rice.

What about those that have yet to eat their meal? Those currently eating just thought the rest can find their own food later!

Unlike the males, Wong Xue Guo favored the sandwich and did not touch other food. Her action was noticed by Charles Wong and a slight crease appeared between his eyebrows. She was busy eating and did not look up, hence missed his gaze.

But the attentive Chen Yibo noticed it and his chewing paused.

Thinking for a moment, Chen Yibo moved a clean pair of utensils and placed some sliced chicken onto Wong Xue Guo’s plate. Puzzled at his sudden actions, she raised her gaze to look at him with questioning eyes.

“You should eat more meat to build up more muscle.”

Resisting her instinct to hunch her back, Wong Xue Guo raised her half-eaten sandwich and spoke in a low voice. “There’s meat in this.”

Lan Yan had made two versions of sandwiches. A ham sandwich and scrambled egg sandwich. Both versions of the sandwich were delicious and packed with thick fillings. Surprisingly, the scrambled egg sandwich also had some minced meat in it. After taking a few more bites, the egg sandwich became Wong Xue Guo’s new favorite sandwich.

“It won’t be enough.”

“...Okay, I will eat it.” Wong Xue Guo hurriedly gave in before her father caught them talking.

With Chen Yibo taking action and Wong Xue Guo heeding his advice, Charles Wong retrieved his gaze and his forehead smoothed back. As if nothing had happened.

Kang Xunsu and Lan Yan noticed their big boss’ change, but both did not mention anything. Kang Xunsu could guess the real reason behind his boss’s frown. Lan Yan, who had assumed she had seen enough to judge, thinks that Charles Wong was a father that fulfills his responsibility in providing his daughter’s basic needs but not emotional needs, especially with his usual cold personality.

It makes Lan Yan even more impressed on how Wong Xue Guo could grow up as a normal girl. She was not rebellious or introverted and had grown up as if she was from an ordinary family.