I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

"I know, just tell me what happened."

"What else could it be? That's all there is to it. A homeless orphan who has never been to school. What does that tell you?"

"Hurry up and continue," Wu Yulan said, sounding impatient.

"This means she hasn't received any social assistance, which means that girl must have had a tough life before. People who have had a tough life would never be interested in something like Cospree, so it must have been this kid who instigated her. Don't you think this kid has gone astray? He's even instigating an innocent girl..."

"You're a father, and this is all you care about? Besides, are those two in your way?"

"no..."

"Am I bothering you?"

"he..."

"Am I bothering you?"

"No."

Chen Jianwen hesitated for a moment, then said, "I didn't want to say it, but you insisted on asking, and now..."

"Have a meal."

Chapter 158 You Were Really Silly When You Were Young

"The Dragon Boat Festival is actually to commemorate a person named Qu Yuan. He lived in a very distant era, more than two thousand years ago, during the Warring States period. At that time, many countries were fighting each other all the time, hence the name Warring States."

Qu Yuan was a person from the Warring States period, specifically from the state of Chu. He was a nobleman and scholar-official, which you can think of as an official. At that time, there was a very powerful state called Qin, which was always thinking about unifying the world.

However, the Qin state did not directly reveal its ambitions, and instead adopted a strategy of befriending distant states while attacking neighboring ones, thus finding excuses to attack them.

Qu Yuan had a far-sighted view. He knew that Qin would one day attack Chu, so he advocated uniting with Qi to resist Qin and thus curb Qin's expansion.

But the ruler of Chu didn't listen to him. He found it annoying that Qu Yuan kept saying that Qin was dangerous and that they should be wary of him, and that he would do this or that if Qu Yuan didn't listen to him. So he exiled him, wanting to avoid seeing him.

Later, the Qin state conquered the capital of the Chu state, and Qu Yuan sacrificed himself for his country, jumping into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

After eating a few zongzi, Chen Shuo felt full and knew he wouldn't need to eat dinner. With nothing else to do, he sat on the sofa and told Cat Girl a story.

You should at least know the origins of the festivals. Don't just be silly and think about eating all the time. You say zongzi is delicious during the Dragon Boat Festival and mooncakes are delicious during the Mid-Autumn Festival. When asked why we eat these things, you don't know, but you just say they're delicious.

"But what does this have to do with zongzi?"

Bai Xiaoqi looked at the bamboo leaves in the trash can, licked her lips, and thought, "The jujube zongzi is sweet and delicious."

"Qu Yuan was deeply loved by the people. In order to prevent the fish in the river from eating him, the local people threw zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) into the river."

The idea was that the fish would eat their fill of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and then stop eating them. This custom gradually spread, eventually leading to the tradition of eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate Qu Yuan. Do you understand?

"How can a fish peel and eat zongzi if it doesn't have hands?"

Bai Xiaoqi quickly discovered the flaw in this legend: "The rice dumplings are tied so tightly with string that the fish definitely can't peel them open, so the fish will still eat Qu Yuan."

"Uh...maybe back then there were no strings or bamboo leaves, they just rolled the glutinous rice into balls and threw them in."

"Isn't that a rice ball?"

"...Yes, you could also call it a rice ball."

"Then why do we eat zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) instead of rice balls for the Dragon Boat Festival?"

"Because... don't take it so seriously, it's just a legend. Do you understand what a legend is? It's something that's passed down by word of mouth. That's what I heard people say when I was a kid."

"Didn't you realize you've been fooled?" Bai Xiaoqi tilted her head back and looked at him with the same look she gave a stupid donkey. "This legend is false. You were really silly when you were a kid."

"Damn it..."

Chen Shuo had a headache, so he picked her up from his lap and put her aside. He got up, took an ice cream from the refrigerator, tore open the packaging, and took a bite.

This thing's intermittent wit is acting up again; it's starting to argue with itself, and it can't win the argument or refute it because there really is a bug in the logic.

Yes, fish can't peel rice dumplings by hand.

Could it be a fish spirit?

Just like his little kitten, he also sought an official title?

"I want to eat too."

Turning around, Bai Xiaoqi was leaning against the sofa, looking at him expectantly, with her hand outstretched, waiting for him to get her some ice cream.

"You've already eaten three today, you can't eat any more. These things are too cold, eating too much is not good for you."

"Then get me a carton of yogurt," Bai Xiaoqi said, settling for second best.

"Yogurt won't work either, it's cold too."

Chen Shuo pointed at her twice with the ice cream he was holding, "You little glutton, you never get enough of it. I have to keep an eye on you so you don't whine about your stomach hurting in the middle of the night."

"......"

Bai Xiaoqi pouted and looked at him without saying a word. After a moment, she got off the sofa and walked towards the bathroom in her slippers.

"I'm going to take a shower. Remember to take one later too."

"know."

"..." She stopped at the bathroom door, then turned around. "Why don't you take a shower first?"

"why?"

Bai Xiaoqi ran over and nudged Chen Shuo's back, "You go first."

"Don't push me away, I didn't say I wasn't going."

A strong push pushed him into the bathroom, and he couldn't resist at all. He glanced back at her and seriously suspected that this girl was up to something.

For example, while you're taking a shower, you might indulge in a big ice cream, and maybe even have a carton of yogurt with it.

But there's no way to point it out, because she's determined not to admit it.

After taking a shower, Bai Xiaoqi sat on the sofa, looking as if nothing had happened.

Chen Shuo glanced at the trash can; there were no extra popsicle sticks or yogurt containers inside.

Bai Xiaoqi glanced at him guiltily, "I didn't steal any food."

"I didn't say you stole food, so why did you say that? It's like you're trying to hide something."

"Anyway, I don't."

"Is there anything I need to check..." Chen Shuo was about to check the refrigerator when he stopped and went over to hug her little face.

"What are you going to do?" Bai Xiaoqi met his gaze with her big eyes, but the trembling cat ears on her head betrayed her nervousness.

"Let me kiss you."

"I don't... um..."

Chen Shuo disobeyed the girl's wishes and kissed her soft little lips before she could finish speaking.

It feels cool and refreshing to the touch, with a sweet taste. Once it enters your mouth, the layers of flavor begin to unfold, and all sorts of wonderful tastes begin to spread.

Sure enough, this little kitten is mischievous.

"Can you explain why your mouth tastes like cream, yogurt, and chocolate?"

"I...I'm going to take a shower, please move aside."

Bai Xiaoqi didn't know how to explain, so she pushed him away, jumped off the sofa, ran into the bathroom in her slippers, and slammed the door shut.

"Don't wake me up in the middle of the night tonight and then pitifully ask me to rub your belly. I'm not going to rub it for you."

"I don't have a stomachache," Bai Xiaoqi's voice came from the bathroom, full of confidence.

"And even if it hurts, I won't let you rub it."

"I won't rub it even if you beg me." Chen Shuo was particularly confident.

........

It's only June, far from the hottest time of the year. At night, you don't need a fan to sleep. Just open the window, and a cool night breeze will blow in through the screen. You won't feel hot at all when you're covered with a thin blanket; the temperature is just right.

In the middle of the night, Chen Shuo was half asleep when he felt someone shaking him. Reluctantly, he woke up, opened his blurry eyes, stared at the ceiling in the dark for a moment, and then said, "Your stomach hurts, right?"

"Um..."

Bai Xiaoqi wrinkled her nose, rolled up her nightgown to her waist, pulled his large hand into her clothes, and said pitifully in a low voice, "Can you rub it for me?"

"I knew you'd be in pain. Cold things irritate the stomach, and you had yogurt and ice cream. If you're not in pain, who is?"

As he spoke, Chen Shuo rubbed her lower abdomen with his hand, which felt icy cold. "Look how cold your abdomen is."

“…”

Bai Xiaoqi remained silent, feeling as if his warm, large hands had a magical power, relieving the pain wherever they rubbed. Her slightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and she softly promised, "I will definitely listen to you from now on and eat less cold food."

“…”

Chen Shuo gave a barely perceptible smirk, not believing her guarantee at all; this girl was a typical case of forgetting the pain once the wound had healed.

She said the same thing when I massaged her last time.

I guess it will be the same next time.

Chapter 159 Women Are the Same

The next day, Bai Xiaoqi woke up at ten o'clock in the morning. With her eyes still closed, she groggily reached out and touched nothing. When she opened her eyes, she realized that the dog had run away at some point, and she was left alone in bed.

Sunlight streamed in through the window. She rubbed her eyes, got out of bed, and went out to the living room.

The aroma of ginger and brown sugar water wafted from the kitchen. Hearing the noise, Chen Shuo leaned out and said, "I made you some ginger and brown sugar water to warm your stomach. Come and drink it while it's hot."

"I don't want to drink it. It will be too hot to drink this in the summer, and my stomach doesn't hurt anymore."

"You have to drink it even if you don't feel pain, it contains ginger which is good for dispelling cold."

Seeing that she was standing in the living room and showed no intention of coming over, Chen Shuo simply brought out a large bowl. The bowl was so big that Bai Xiaoqi couldn't help but take two steps back.

If you drink this when relatives come, but you still have to drink it even when no relatives come, then what's the point of the relatives coming?

Drinking something this hot in the summer would be really hot, especially since the bowl is so big.

Chen Shuo ignored her request, pressed her down on the sofa, and forcefully fed her spoonful by spoonful. There was still a small half bowl left in the pot, which Chen Shuo finished off himself.