Skadi, My Wife

Swire spoke with a cold face, but as she went on, she suddenly got worked up and started cursing Chen, who was not even there.

Exusiai, on the other hand, did not hold anything against Chen. She put on a heartbroken expression. "Skadi! Skadi! You have Skadi, yet you still went out fooling around with another woman—fooling around so long you did not come home all night. Did you ever spare a thought for Skadi's feelings?!"

Chen An: "..."

Speechless, he said, "I told Skadi before I left, okay? And I was only gone for a day. I had something to take care of outside. Why are you two getting so worked up?"

Something to take care of?!

Exusiai caught onto a key detail and looked even more grief-stricken. "You have not even done that with Skadi, yet you went out to do it with that fierce policewoman. Does your conscience not hurt?!"

"..."

Chen An opened his mouth, then decided to ignore Exusiai, that shameless old pervert, for the time being. He looked at Swire, hesitated for a moment, and finally offered her some tactful advice.

"Cats are pretty cute, but I do not think your current sitting posture is very ladylike. If you really find sitting like that comfortable, then I think you should go put on some safety shorts first, rich girl. Whatever you want to say can wait."

C-Cat?!

Swire's body stiffened, then...

"—Pervert! Creep! Peeping Tom! Go die!"

Her face instantly turned scarlet. Swire leaped to her feet with a furious curse, grabbed a cushion beside her and hurled it viciously at Chen An, then fled in mortified embarrassment.

Chen An got hit square in the head by the cushion... No, Exusiai was the one who got hit square in the head by the cushion—Swire threw the cushion, Chen An caught it, Chen An threw it backhandedly, Exusiai was caught off guard, Exusiai took a cushion to the face, Exusiai became dizzy, and Exusiai lost the ability to speak.

Seizing the opportunity, Chen An turned and ran.

Texas, who had been sipping tea while planning to watch the show, blinked and calmly set down her cup.

She silently walked over to Exusiai and picked up the cushion that had plastered itself across Exusiai's face and left her spinning.

Testing its weight and finding the feel quite good, Texas nodded. Then she raised the cushion and smashed it into Exusiai's face three times. That was not all. After the last cushion strike, she did not pull it away, instead using it as padding while punching Exusiai in the face three more times.

Afterward, she left Miss Exusiai, who had not yet recovered before being beaten senseless again, behind. Clapping her hands, Texas picked up the cup of tea she had set down earlier and strolled off in high spirits.

As she walked away, she thought, A gentleman's revenge can wait ten years, but I'm not a gentleman. I'm a woman. I'll hit you a few times this time, and I won't hold it against you anymore for being an idiot and dragging me into starving with you for an entire day last time.

In an instant, the previously lively room was left with only Exusiai, dazed and sprawled on the sofa, looking so miserable she might as well have had the word "miserable" written across her face.

Skadi was swimming in the pool. The moment Chen An entered the courtyard, he saw her.

Though she sometimes seemed a little slow-witted, Skadi had always possessed sharp senses. The instant Chen An saw her, she noticed him too.

She quickly looked up, spotted Chen An by the pool, and smiled happily. "Chen An, you're back."

"Just got back."

Chen An sat down by the pool and smiled at Skadi as she swam over, climbed ashore, and sat beside him. "Did Exusiai cause any trouble while I was gone for the day?"

Water dripped from Skadi's body. Sunlight fell over her, making her glistening skin seem as though it were glowing.

"No."

She said, "But Exusiai dragged me into playing games with her all night yesterday. She also told me not to be angry with you, saying you must have had something important to do if you did not come back at night. Why did she say that? Why did she think I would be angry?"

Before Chen An and Ch'en left yesterday, he had told her, and he had also said he would come back once they were done. Though she had been a little unhappy that he would not agree to let her come along, why did Exusiai think she would get angry?

It was not as if he had left without saying anything. So why?

Skadi did not quite understand.

After pondering briefly, Chen An gave his own interpretation. "Maybe because you're kind of dumb and like wrecking things, so she was worried that without me keeping an eye on you, you would get mad and tear down the house."

Skadi: "..."

Her cheeks slowly puffed up like balloons as she glared at Chen An angrily.

Angry Orca—Cute Version.jpg

Finding her expression amusing, a certain mischievous person could not help bursting into laughter.

Skadi huffily turned her face away and decided she would not speak to Chen An for one whole minute.

1, 2, 3... 30.

After silently counting to thirty, Skadi turned back and happily asked, "Chen An, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

Huh? A minute should be sixty seconds? Details. Do not fuss over such minor details.

"What do you want to eat? I can make anything for you."

Skadi's eyes shifted around as she tentatively asked in a small voice, "Um, I want to eat something easy to make. Something I can make. Can you teach me?"

Chen An: "..."

He said nothing and stared at Skadi.

His gaze traveled from her head to her chest, from her chest to her legs, then from her legs to her bare feet. There were only three words he could see on Skadi—white... Pah, no, that was wrong. Kitchen Killer!

She had destroyed their kitchen only a few days ago. How long had it been? And now she wanted to sacrifice another kitchen to the heavens?

Could Chen An let Skadi do something like that?

Impossible! Their own kitchen had already suffered enough. He would never let Skadi ruin someone else's kitchen, especially not the kitchen in this luxury villa that the rich girl had kindly loaned them. If she blew up this kitchen too, selling Skadi might not be enough to cover the damages. He would really have to sell himself to pay off the debt.

Selling his skills was fine. Selling his body was not.

So Chen An decisively refused. "Easy or difficult, whatever you want to eat, I can make it for you. But letting you make it? No!"

Skadi let out an "ah." Even though she had known from the start that Chen An probably would not agree, her mood still sank.

Childishly kicking the water with her feet, she sulked for a while before suddenly asking, "Chen An, when can we go home?"

"In a few days. The renovations are almost done. What, are you unhappy living here?"

"No. It's just that this house is so big. Even if we are both inside, I often cannot find you. I'm not used to it."

Skadi said, "Home is different. As long as I leave my room, if you're home, I can see you. The bathtub is small and not very comfortable to soak in, but I still want to go home."

"I see... Then we'll move back in a few days once the renovations are done. I think home is better too. When there are too few people in a house that is too big, it always feels empty."

"It's a promise?"

"It's a promise."

"Great!"

Skadi smiled happily, then opened her arms and pounced onto Chen An, rubbing her face against his clothes—Chen An had been gone for over a day, and he no longer smelled like her. Now that he was back, she had to quickly rub her scent all over him.

"???"

A question mark appeared above Chen An's head. Then he realized something and cried out, "Stop right there! You're soaked! If my clothes get wet, are you going to wash them?!"

"Hehe~"

Skadi pretended not to hear and continued rubbing against Chen An like a puppy, utterly delighted.

This would not do!

By the courtyard, Chen An hung the clothes Skadi had soaked on a drying rack. After standing beside them and pondering for a long while, he came to that conclusion.

After seriously reflecting on the matter, he made up his mind. From now on, he would change his attitude toward Skadi. He could not keep letting her push her luck and give her chances to ruin his clothes.

But what exactly should he do?

Chen An fell into deep thought.

He raised his head at a forty-five-degree angle and stared at the sky for a while. When he failed to think of an answer and his neck started feeling a little sore, he changed positions, lowering his head at a forty-five-degree angle to stare at the sky instead.

During the change in posture, Exusiai appeared from who knew where and curiously stood beside him, looking him over. She even poked him with a finger, trying to get handsy with him. So he casually plucked off her Halo, used it as a weapon to smack her on the forehead, and made her squat down while clutching her head. She could go play somewhere else and stop interrupting his thinking.

After that, he continued pondering.

How could he stop Skadi from ruining his clothes in the future?

After thinking for three minutes, Chen An gave up.

Skadi listened to him very well, but only when it came to serious matters—things he had earnestly told her to do.

Like this time. He and Ch'en had gone out for an entire day and had not returned all night. Though Skadi had been reluctant after learning that, she had still agreed.

But when it came to little everyday matters, she was completely carefree and did not listen at all.

Rubbing against him was one such matter, so even if he wasted time and effort thinking up a solution, it definitely would not work in the end.

Otherwise, she would not have wrecked so many kitchens.

So he might as well not waste the effort.

He casually pushed Exusiai, who was rubbing her head and trying to stand up, back down into a head-clutching squat. Then he put her Halo back on and could not help sighing deeply.

Even that silly little Skadi can bully me. When will I ever be able to stand tall again?~~

Exusiai: "..."

Miss Exusiai, squatting defensively while clutching her head, now wanted to hit someone.

Commercial Genius

The next day arrived.

Chen, whom he had not seen for only one full day, suddenly stormed up to the door in a rage. She was not there to pick a fight with Chen An, but to ask him to make her a figurine.

Do not misunderstand. Ch'en had no hobby of collecting figurines. She had not in the past, and she did not now. The reason she had suddenly come over and made such a request today was Swire.

Swire cared greatly about where Chen An and Ch'en had gone and what they had done during that full day away. After Chen An returned, she had kept trying to get specific information out of him. But since it involved Ch'en's past and privacy, Chen An did not give her a direct answer, only saying it had been something important.

Unwilling to accept that, she went to the Lungmen Guard Department for work and sought out the other person involved—Ch'en.

If Ch'en had been someone else, Swire's doubts might have been answered somewhat. Unfortunately, Ch'en was not someone else.

Ch'en had long found Swire annoying. The tiniest spark could make them argue. Did she seem like the sort of person who would tell Swire about important private matters?

Of course not!

Especially when Swire had approached her with a questioning attitude that Ch'en found particularly irritating.

Therefore, not only did she refuse to answer Swire's questions, she also gave her a harsh scolding, accusing her of being distracted at work and neglecting her proper duties.

And who was Swire?

The young mistress of the Swire family, whose businesses spread throughout Lungmen and even distant Victoria. She came to ask a question and got scolded instead. Was she supposed to put up with that?!

No!

So she decisively began arguing with Ch'en.

During the argument, the insults they used included, but were not limited to, "Street Dragon," "Char Siu Cat," and all kinds of Lungmen profanity.

If they had not been in the Lungmen Guard Department, with people nearby holding them back, the two of them probably would have already started fighting.

And the final result of the argument...

"If you can't beat me in an argument, you go get someone to draw little comics about me? How childish. Are you a kid?"

"I have money, and I want to. If you have the guts, go get someone to draw some too!"

Ch'en came off slightly worse.

Unable to swallow that indignity, Ch'en left the Lungmen Guard Department full of rage during today's lunch break and stormed to the villa. She wanted Chen An to make a figurine of her fiercely scolding Swire, saying she would put it in her office and see whether that Char Siu Cat dared act so arrogant again.

Chen An was utterly speechless about this.

And she had the nerve to call the rich girl childish? Was she not exactly the same?

He thought Ch'en's childish revenge was not a very good idea, but he did not try to persuade her otherwise. He merely attempted to tactfully refuse.

After all, she and Swire had been friends since childhood. Making a figurine of such a humiliating scene and displaying it in her office was really...

"—I'll pay extra. This much!"

Seeing that Chen An wanted to refuse, Ch'en held out her hand and spread open her palm, giving him absolutely no chance to say no. Her brazen "I have money!" attitude was slapped directly into Chen An's face.

Though she was not as wealthy as Swire, Ch'en was still the head of the Lungmen Guard Department's Inspector Group. She was a rich woman too!

Chen An: "..."

Chen An fell silent...