Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 188: Mom, Your Daughter-in-Law Asked Me to Wash Her Hair
"...Alright." He sighed regretfully and added a reminder, "The bath is ready. I’ll be right outside, so if you need any help, just call me. Don’t try to be tough."
The water in the tub was the perfect temperature. Xu Su struggled out of her long dress and stepped in.
Carefully avoiding her bandaged wound, she thoroughly washed herself clean, got dressed, and then prepared to wash her hair.
Only then did she realize she couldn’t lift her left arm at all. The moment she tried, it tugged on her wound, causing it to ache...
After one difficult attempt, Xu Su finally decided to give up...
’But not washing my hair is out of the question. Not in this muggy summer, after sweating so much...’
The bathroom door slid open a crack. Xu Su poked her head out and immediately spotted the man on the phone, sitting on the room’s sofa. She ordered him without ceremony, "Zhou Mochen, can you help me wash my hair? I can’t lift my arm."
The man on the sofa was in the middle of a call. He froze when he heard the girl’s sudden voice, his gaze snapping over to her. Seeing the girl standing obediently at the bathroom door asking for help, his heart softened uncontrollably.
He walked over without hesitation, phone still in hand. A woman’s surprised voice came from the other end, having clearly heard the girl. Zhou Mochen chuckled softly and said, "Mom, your daughter-in-law is calling for me to help wash her hair. Talk to you later."
Xu Su heard him loud and clear.
She froze for a moment, then her eyes went wide. "Zhou Mochen!"
"Right here." After hanging up, Zhou Mochen tossed his phone aside and good-naturedly placated the bristling girl. "Don’t worry, I’m not forcing you to marry me. You’re still young, I know."
"..." ’Is that the point?’
Xu Su glared at him indignantly, unable to tell if he was genuinely clueless or just playing dumb.
"My mom heard you, Susu. You don’t think just anyone would dare ask me to wash their hair, do you?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, led her into the bathroom, and coaxed patiently, "You’ll be her daughter-in-law sooner or later. It’s fine that she knows now. No one will give you a hard time, so don’t feel pressured."
...He’d said everything so perfectly, what could Xu Su even say?
Xu Su was a little annoyed, blaming herself for not waiting until he’d finished his call before shouting.
In the bathroom, for the first time in his life, Zhou Mochen was washing someone else’s hair. His fingers gently massaged the girl’s scalp. "Is this pressure okay?"
"...You’ve asked three times already... It’s fine, really. I just washed my hair yesterday; you don’t need to wash it for so long."
She gave his stomach a little push. "Hurry up. My neck hurts from being bent over like this."
Nothing he could have said would have been as effective as that.
The moment he heard her wound was hurting, Zhou Mochen forgot all about his careful research into hair washing. He quickly rinsed out the suds, wrapped her hair in a towel, and helped her out of the bathroom.
Seeing how nervous he was, Xu Su felt a little exasperated. "I’m not an old lady, Zhou Mochen. You don’t have to be like this."
"The bathroom floor is slippery. I was just worried you’d fall."
Xu Su let him help her sit down, but she really couldn’t stand him making such a big deal out of everything. Just as she was about to stand up again, Zhou Mochen gently held the back of her head. "Don’t move," he soothed. "I’m drying your hair."
"..." ’I get it now,’ she realized. ’He just likes the feeling of treating me like a doll to be cared for.’
’He’d probably love to manage every single aspect of my life.’
Xu Su shuddered at the thought.
By the time her hair was dry, night had fallen. Xu Su stood up, pushing away Zhou Mochen’s face as he leaned in to be affectionate, and clutched her stomach, crying out that she was hungry.
"All I’ve had to eat today was half a bowl of congee this morning and a few bites of vegetables at lunch. I’m about to pass out from hunger." She was genuinely trying to fend off his clinginess, so she exaggerated a little.
It wasn’t that far from the truth, though, just that she hadn’t quite reached the point of fainting.
Sure enough, at her words, the man—who had been about to lean in for another kiss—stopped. He looked at her with complete disapproval. "Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you didn’t eat lunch? You need to eat on time from now on. You’re too young to be developing stomach problems."
He looked dead serious, as if he were lecturing a child.
The corner of Xu Su’s lip twitched. "So... is there any food to eat now?"
"As if I’d let you go hungry." Zhou Mochen produced a hair tie from somewhere and clumsily tied the girl’s hair back.
He looked at the young woman’s reflection in the vanity mirror, his tone indulgent. "I knew you were coming. I’ve already taken care of everything."
Sure enough, when Xu Su made her way to the dining room—a path she knew well—she saw the table was covered with a lavish spread.
Shen Chen was already seated. Seeing them approach, he cracked a smile and remarked tepidly, "Well now, are you two done being all lovey-dovey?"
"..." Xu Su shot him an embarrassed glare, not knowing what to say in response.
Zhou Mochen, on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. He calmly pulled out a chair for Xu Su, and only after she was seated did he glance at Shen Chen. "You could always find a girlfriend yourself, save you from messing around all the time."
"Hey, don’t slander me like that," Shen Chen said, raising his eyebrows in a quick explanation. "Since I took over the company, when have I had time to mess around? I haven’t so much as touched a woman’s hand this whole time."
’!!’ Xu Su couldn’t believe her ears. How could he dare lie so brazenly right in front of her?
If she hadn’t been the victim of his advances just this afternoon, she might have actually believed his nonsense, seeing how earnestly he was speaking.
Seeing her look his way, Shen Chen didn’t seem the least bit guilty. He even added with a grin, "I’ve forgotten what it even feels like to hold a young lady’s hand."
"..."
...Xu Su got it. He was playing word games.
’He’d kissed her and held her, but he was right... he hadn’t actually held her hand.’
Too incensed to let it go, Xu Su viciously took a bite of rice. Looking at the table full of bland dishes, she found she had no appetite.
Zhou Mochen knew about her "can’t-live-without-spice" eating habits. He ladled a bowl of squab soup for her and explained, "Be good, Susu. You’re injured, so you have to eat light. For the next few days, you can’t have anything rich, spicy, or otherwise irritating."
"...I know. I wasn’t complaining," Xu Su mumbled, a little sullen. "Did the doctor say how long it’ll take for this wound to heal?"
Her senior year of high school started tomorrow. If you fall behind once, you’ll always be behind, and Xu Su didn’t want the hard work of the past two years to be affected by this injury.
Having witnessed how serious the girl was about her studies, Zhou Mochen understood her feelings completely. He had no intention of selfishly forcing her to stay and disrupting her schoolwork.
After a moment of thought, Zhou Mochen said gently, "Rest here for three days. After that, I’ll take you back to school. But Susu, until your wound is fully healed, you have to watch what you eat at school, too. Don’t make me worry."
As he spoke, he still seemed worried. "No, that’s not good enough. I’ll bring your meals to you. I’ll do it until your wound has completely healed."
"...Bring her meals? You really think you’re her dad..." Shen Chen had long been accustomed to Zhou Mochen’s clinginess with Xu Su, but he was still stunned by this. "Brother Zhou, are you trying to raise a daughter?"
Even if delivering meals was necessary, did he really have to go himself?
It wasn’t just Shen Chen who was surprised; Xu Su was utterly shocked as well.
