Seeing that Mu Yao Xie Ji was also having a good appetite, Mu Yao started eating as well.
Lu Xunji was the last to sit down. When he came out carrying the last bowl of stir-fried vegetables, he found that several people had surrounded Xie Ji.
Ji Shi sat to his left, Zhou Heyu to his right, and across from him sat Mu Yao was staring intently at Xie Ji's face as he ate.
Shang Yan was sitting on the right, but hadn't started eating yet.
Lu Xunji placed the bok choy on the table.
Given Xie Ji's wealth, the ingredients they brought back were plentiful and fresh, filling a large table with ten dishes and two soups. Even the cheapest green vegetables were served in only one plate, with the rest consisting entirely of chicken, duck, fish, meat, and seafood.
Lu Xunji sat down at the head of the table and called out, " Xie Ji."
Xie Ji, who was engrossed in his meal, heard his voice and quickly looked up from his rice bowl. "Huh?"
Long, slender fingers, etched with sensual blue veins and still glistening with water droplets, tapped lightly on the edge of the table beside him. "Come here."
Xie Ji immediately stood up with his bowl, only to find himself flanked by Zhou Heyu Ji Shi on either side, so close that he almost couldn't stand up.
Lu Xunji took apart a chopstick and snapped it open with a crack.
Xie Ji quickly kicked away Ji Shi's leg Ji Shi was blocking his way, saying, "Move aside, my brother's calling me!"
Ji Shi, holding Xie Ji's hand, asked Lu Xunji with a forced smile, "He was eating perfectly fine, why did you call him?"
Lu Xunji leaned back and said dismissively, "I didn't call you."
Seeing Ji Shi Xie Ji showed no intention of making way, Xie Ji simply bypassed him, scurried over with his bowl, and sat down next to Lu Xunji, flashing a fawning smile, "I'm here, brother, what's up? What's the matter?"
"It's nothing." Lu Xunji lowered his head and used his fingertip to wipe away the grains of rice from Xie Ji's face. "Eat yours."
Xie Ji smiled with narrowed eyes, and shoved several pieces of braised pork and roast duck into Lu Xunji's bowl, saying solicitously, "Brother, you've worked hard. Eat, brother."
Lu Xunji picked up the bowl, raised an eyebrow and smiled at Ji Shi, and slowly began to eat the food Xie Ji had put on his plate.
Frustrated and disappointed, Ji Shi angrily poked at his rice bowl and muttered, "You ungrateful brat, why don't you put any food on your brother Ji Shi's plate?"
With a large mouthful of Dongpo pork in his mouth, Xie Ji asked curiously, "Don't you have hands?"
Ji Shi was furious, scrambling and demanding, "I want you to put some on my plate!"
Xie Ji picked at his chopsticks, glanced at the distance between himself and Ji Shi, and decisively said, "I won't take any."
With a clatter, a gold bead the size of a pigeon's egg was tossed onto the dining table. Ji Shi said coldly, "Give it to me!"
Xie Ji jumped up and appeared beside Ji Shi, bowing and scraping, "Young Master, how honored I am to serve you! I love serving you food, please, what would you like to eat, Young Master!"
Ji Shi glanced at the braised pork in Lu Xunji's bowl, coughed, and said, "I want that too."
Xie Ji grabbed the edge of the table, shoved his hand into the large bowl of braised pork, and, with a handful of meat and broth, tossed it into Ji Shi's bowl. "Eat!"
Ji Shi: "..."
Xie Ji grabbed another handful. "Young Master, is that enough?!"
"... That's enough."
Xie Ji shook the grease off his hands, his eyes wide with anger. "Young Master Ji, you're under my protection, understand? Let's see who dares to steal our young master's food today! Young Master, what else would you like to eat?"
Ji Shi silently supported his forehead.
Zhou Heyu sighed and said in a low voice, "Don't bother him anymore, let him go home and have a good meal."
Ji Shi waved his hand.
Xie Ji accepted the gold and pearls, and dutifully said, "If you need anything, call this old servant, Young Master Ha."
Ji Shi covered his face and nodded.
Xie Ji washed his hands and went back to eat.
Ji Shi picked up his chopsticks, looked at his bowl of greasy braised pork, and felt somewhat nauseous and wanted to vomit.
He was never one to like eating fatty meat.
Mu Yao added fuel to the fire, "Young Master Ji, this braised pork is indeed worth a fortune. It looks exceptionally delicious. Young Master Ji, you wouldn't refuse to eat it, would you?"
Ji Shi took a deep breath, picked up a piece of braised pork, and said with a forced smile, "How could that be? I love braised pork the most, and besides, Little Ji put this on my plate."
He emphasized the last sentence, even glancing at Lu Xunji sitting above him with a hint of provocation.
As a result, Lu Xunji didn't even look at him, and slowly and methodically put another piece of fish with the bones removed into Xie Ji's bowl.
Zhou Heyu glanced at Ji Shi with some pity, then looked at Lu Xunji sitting to the side, his eyes darkening.
Everyone ate their meal with their own thoughts on it, except for Xie Ji, who simply ate the rice.
Ji Shi ate most of the braised pork in the end, leaving the young master Ji ashen-faced.
Mu Yao, Zhou Heyu, and Shang Yan didn't mind that Xie Ji had caught it, and each ate some.
A whole table of dishes, but the braised pork was the only one that ended up empty.
After finishing their meal, Zhou Heyu took the initiative to clean up the dishes, with Shang Yan helping him.
Ji Shi leaned against the wall and temporarily left the courtyard.
Mu Yao set up a pot to boil water, preparing to give the two little ones a bath.
The production team didn't actually have Xie Ji invest in opening a pet hospital. Instead, they hired a veterinarian from outside to provide consultation. As for opening a pet hospital, it was directly included in the task list.
According to the veterinarian's advice, the weather is nice today, a clear, sunny day. As long as you pay attention to the water temperature and dry the puppy quickly after the bath, it shouldn't cause any major harm.
It's clean now, so I can go into the living room without having to stand outside in the cold wind every night.
After carefully inquiring, Xie Ji prepared all the necessary bathing supplies for the puppy. Mu Yao then called out to Xie Ji after boiling the water, " Little Cake, the water's ready."
Xie Ji checked the water temperature, then carried the two puppies over and carefully placed them into the water.
The clear water was quickly turned filthy by the puppies.
Mu Yao squatted down half a meter away, covering his nose, and said with disgust, "Don't you really think this one stinks terribly? It's also incredibly ugly. If you like dogs, I can have someone send over two clean and cute ones, okay?"
"No, I like them." Xie Ji carefully scrubbed the dirt off the puppy. "It's not ugly, it's very cute after it's clean."
Mu Yao moved two inches closer and glanced at the puppy.
Then, the extremely obsessive-compulsive Young Master Mu felt that his eyes had been subjected to the most severe punishment in the world.
He curled his lip and said, "You say it's not ugly? Its fur is a mixed bag, you can't even tell its breed. It looks like a little old man. I don't know what's so likable about it."
Xie Ji lathered them with pet shampoo. "But there's only one A-Gang in the whole world, and only one A-Qiang. That's enough to be loved, right, A-Qiang? Oh, let me see if you're a boy or a girl."
Mu Yao paused for a moment, then moved two inches to this side.
The puppy had clearly never been in contact with water since birth, and this unfamiliar feeling terrified it. It trembled incessantly and kept kicking its legs, trying to burrow into Xie Ji's hands.
Mu Yao glanced at Xie Ji's profile, then at the clown dog splashing in the water.
... Well, if someone as good-looking as Xie Ji likes it, then it probably isn't that ugly, right?
He slowly moved over and squatted down next to Xie Ji. The water splashed out by the puppy on his trouser legs didn't feel so bad anymore.
It's a bit ugly, but it's also kind of interesting.
Mu Yao even reached out his fingertip and touched the puppy's wet nose.
The puppy let out a weak whimper and rubbed its wet head against his palm.
Mu Yao: "!!!!"
That tactile sensation was almost too wonderful.
Mu Yao's heart softened instantly, and he reached out to imitate Xie Ji, rubbing the bubbles away from A-Qiang's body.
Although I don't know what breed it is, its fur is quite soft.
A-Qiang let out a soft cry in his palm.
It seems... not so bad after all.
It turns out that sometimes, being beautiful or ugly is not a necessary condition for being liked.
Xie Ji was diligently washing the dog when the system's familiar voice rang out.
[Unknown intrusion detected! Numerical mutation! Numerical mutation failed! In compatibility with mutated values! Compatibility successful! Initiating the progress bar for the target quest [ Mu Yao ]'s favorability, currently at 59%!]
Xie Ji: "?"
When will this system finally fix its inexplicable habit of randomly assigning values?!