The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Ye Shu held her hand, his fingers gently stroking the back of her hand, before asking in an incredibly innocent tone:

"Sister Xia Qing, where are you trying to go with your hand? The noodles are in the bowl."

Xia Qing immediately lost her composure and tried to pull her hand back, but Ye Shu held it tightly, making it difficult for her to pull it back.

She shouted in exasperation:

Ye Shu! Let go! I'll just add a little! Just a tiny spoonful! This noodle has no flavor at all, how can we eat it!

At first glance, her words sounded perfectly reasonable, but upon closer listening, there seemed to be a hint of bargaining... almost like she was being coquettish.

Even she herself didn't realize that now, in front of Ye Shu, her originally firm demands were gradually becoming the kind that required her consent.

Looking at her face, which had broken down completely, Ye Shu thought to himself:

As expected, using the same methods Zhi Qiu used against me to deal with Xia Qing was very effective.

But seeing Xia Qing's pitiful appearance, Ye Shu's heart softened a little:

"Then... add a little?"

Xia Qing was overjoyed and immediately reached out to grab the can of chili peppers.

But Ye Shu dodged her hand, avoiding it, and opened the jar herself, taking out the small spoon:

"I'll add it for you."

Xia Qing nodded obediently, just like a child in kindergarten waiting for the teacher to give her an apple.

Ye Shu dipped the small spoon into the chili jar, then moved it to Xia Qing's bowl and flicked his wrist.

Tick.

A drop of chili oil fell into the bowl of noodles, but the chili oil didn't spread; it just floated on the surface of the bowl.

Then Ye Shu's wrist twitched again.

Tick.

Another drop.

Then Ye Shu put the spoon back into the jar and pushed the chili jar back to its original position. He then clapped his hands and gestured "please" to Xia Qing.

"Alright, eat up, Sister Xia Qing."

Xia Qing stared blankly at the bowl of noodles in front of her. The broth was still clear, the noodles were still snow-white, and the scallions were still bright green. The only change was that there were two drops of chili oil on the broth.

Then he suddenly stood up, pointed at his own bowl of noodles, then at Ye Shu's innocent face, and was so angry he was almost panting:

"Ye Shu! You! You! You've gone too far! This is what you call a little bit?! You can't even taste the flavor!"

Ye Shu ignored her, simply picked up his chopsticks and started slurping his noodles, then winked at Xia Qing as he chewed:

"Yes, it's just a little. If you want more, I've added two. That's more than enough for you."

Looking at Ye Shu's innocent smile, Xia Qing now saw it as a devil.

She glanced at the two drops of chili oil in her bowl and felt her stomach start to hurt again from anger.

In front of Ye Shu, that bit of childishness that had been brought out of control always tended to surface.

"I...I..."

She hesitated for a while, her face turning slightly red, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell. Finally, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it up high, as if wielding a royal sword.

"I'll tell my mom! You're bullying me!"

This was her ultimate move. She poked at the screen with a wronged expression, but the phone screen remained completely black, and no matter how she poked, there was no response.

The power is out.

Ye Shu watched this scene from the side. From the moment she shouted "Tell my mom," her eyebrows twitched. It wasn't until she saw her phone screen go black that she couldn't help but smile.

He finally understood that Xia Qing, who was usually so strong-willed, would resort to the most powerful tactic when pushed to the limit: she would act like a child and look for her mother.

Xia Qing slammed her phone on the table, then held out her hand to Ye Shu, speaking with an air of righteous indignation:

"Let me use your phone!"

Xia Qing's eyes crinkled as he watched her act like a child throwing a tantrum. He didn't say anything, nor did he ask questions like "Will tattling do any good?" He simply took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it over.

His reaction was so natural, so calm. He didn't even show the slightest hint of nervousness; he just smiled and handed over the phone with a "let's see what you can do about it" look on his face.

Xia Qing didn't expect him to actually give it to her. She had imagined that Ye Shu would at least appear nervous and try to reason with her to stop her, so that she could take advantage of the situation and gain the upper hand.

But his fearless attitude was like pouring oil on her anger, making it burn even brighter.

"snort!"

She snatched the phone, swiped the screen, found the number saved as "Aunt Shen," hesitated for a moment, glared at Ye Shu who was still slurping noodles on the other end, and then pressed the call button.

The phone rang a few times, and then Shen Jingwan's voice came through:

"Hey? Xiao Shu, why are you calling at this hour? What's up?"

Upon hearing her mother's voice, Xia Qing's grievances were amplified. She sniffed and, in what she considered her most pitiful voice, began to complain into the microphone:

"Mom! It's me, Xiaoqing. Ye Shu bullied me!"

Xia Qing, as if she had found a powerful backer, immediately began to enumerate all of Luo Yeshu's crimes:

"He wouldn't let me eat properly at lunchtime! He forced me to eat plain noodles! I wanted to add a little chili, but he wouldn't let me! He only added two drops! Two drops! Mom, tell me, isn't that going too far! My stomach doesn't even hurt anymore! And he's still controlling me! He's doing it on purpose! He's bullying me!"

She spoke very quickly and emphasized key points, such as two drops of chili oil. She wanted to gain her mother's sympathy and support, and ideally, her mother would scold Ye Shu severely, and then he would take her out for a good meal.

The important thing is to have a good meal!

Ye Shu sat opposite her, unable to hear exactly what Shen Jingwan said. He could only see Xia Qing's expression change from indignation and passion at the beginning to a little... insecurity, then disbelief, and then she became even angrier.

"No, Mom! Why are you taking Ye Shu's side too?! I'm your daughter! He's stricter with me than he's a child now! ...What do you mean by 'for my own good'? He's clearly bullying me! ...I'm not being unreasonable! I..."

Her words seemed to have been interrupted by Shen Jingwan. As she listened, her lips pouted so high that she looked like she was about to kiss the sky.

"Alright, alright! I know! I'm not talking to you anymore! You're just siding with the outsiders!"

Xia Qing gritted her teeth and muttered something to her phone before angrily hanging up.

He put his phone on the table and glared at Ye Shu, who had already finished her noodles and was happily sipping her soup across from her.

Seeing Xia Qing, who was as angry as a pufferfish, he reached out and beckoned with his finger:

"How was it? What did Aunt Shen say? Did she stand up for you and severely criticize me, the bad guy who 'bullied' you?"

Xia Qing was so angry at his despicable victorious face, and at her mother's last words, "Don't be willful, listen to Xiao Shu, and eat properly," she was practically fuming.

"snort!!"

All his anger turned into a particularly forceful "humph," which he dedicated to Ye Shu on the other side!

"Traitor! You're all in cahoots!"

Xia Qing grabbed her chopsticks and viciously poked at the two drops of chili oil, as if they were Ye Shu.

The noodles were a mess, but in the end, she still ate them in small bites while sulking.