Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: How Did I End Up Owing This Ancestor?

Ning Yu looked up at him, unable to discern any unusual emotion in his eyes, nor could she fathom what this ancestor was up to now.

Lin Haoyu blinked, finally reacting: "Right, right, you can't eat fish or shrimp. Seafood is likely off-limits too. You'll have to wait until your allergy clears up."

As he spoke, he scanned the table. Most of the dishes had been ordered by Lin Fangfei and Ning Yunyun, who were partial to seafood. Lin Haoyu pursed his lips and placed two pieces of beef into her bowl. "Little Yu, have this. It tastes pretty good too."

"No beef or mutton," Li Shiyan said, tapping the edge of the table unhurriedly.

"Ah..." Lin Haoyu didn't suspect a thing. "If beef and mutton are out, too... then there are only these two dishes left..."

The man spoke again, slow and languid: "Anything containing scallions, garlic, ginger, or spicy, irritating ingredients is also forbidden."

"Then... how about some fruit?" Lin Haoyu pushed a plate of watermelon toward her. "Watermelon, Little Yu, you love this."

"Raw, cold, or cooling foods are even more forbidden," he said, without even blinking.

"Uncle..." Lin Haoyu was at a loss, wondering if Ning Yu had somehow offended Li Shiyan, so he kept quiet.

Ning Yu looked up at him. The man wore a grave expression, looking for all the world like a responsible doctor solely concerned with his patient’s health. He rattled off that list of restrictions without a hint of guilt. Her grip on her chopsticks tightened.

Good grief, if he couldn't kill her, was he planning to starve her to death instead? How could someone be just as childish as he was eight years ago?

"Well, I really must thank you, Uncle. You are so responsible; I don't even know how to express my gratitude." Ning Yu looked up at Li Shiyan, smiling sweetly as she pushed the plate of mutton toward him. "Uncle, have some mutton. This place always makes it quite well. I just don't know if it suits your palate?"

Li Shiyan stared straight ahead, his expression unmoved.

"Uncle, go ahead and eat," Ning Yu said, dropping a piece of mutton into his bowl. She raised an eyebrow at him, looking as cunning as a little fox harboring a belly full of mischief.

The atmosphere turned strange. Li Shiyan didn't touch his chopsticks, so no one else at the table dared to move either. Lin Fangfei and Ning Yunyun observed the situation in silence. Lin Haoyu was stunned to see Ning Yu dare to put food directly into Li Shiyan's bowl. Just as he was about to speak up, he noticed Li Shiyan showed no signs of anger. He found the whole situation increasingly bizarre.

The difference was that Lin Fangfei's attention was fixed on Ning Yu, while Ning Yunyun’s eyes were locked on Li Shiyan, practically glowing. Hearing Ning Yu’s words and assuming Li Shiyan must love mutton, Ning Yunyun used the serving chopsticks to pile more onto his individual side plate. "Uncle, if you like it, please have plenty."

The man’s slender fingers gripped his chopsticks, and he lifted the piece of mutton into his mouth. Once he moved, the others dared to follow suit—though, apart from Ning Yunyun, no one else ate.

Lin Fangfei’s gaze darted between Ning Yu and Li Shiyan, her expression becoming increasingly unreadable. Intuition told her there was something unknown happening between the two.

What could it possibly be? She had no answer for now.

Lin Haoyu was even more bewildered. If he had only found it strange before, he was now truly starting to suspect something. When he had called Ning Yu earlier, her voice had been shaky, and he hadn't heard Li Shiyan in the background at all. In the nearly thirty minutes they spent in the car together, was it possible something had happened?

Lin Haoyu’s scrutinizing gaze landed on Ning Yu, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Who was his uncle? He could have any woman he wanted; why would he steal his own nephew's wife? Besides, Ning Yu came from a humble background, and her personality was... to put it kindly, gentle and tolerant; to put it bluntly, dull and uninteresting. Few men would find such a woman attractive in bed. Aside from her face, she had no redeeming qualities. Why would his uncle be interested in her? It was only because he himself had fallen for her at first sight that he married her; no one else in the Lin family would have chosen a girl from the Ning family.

Ning Yu didn't touch her food. First, because her menu had been restricted to almost nothing. Second, watching Li Shiyan eat that piece of mutton left her with mixed feelings. She had only wanted to vent her anger, knowing he wouldn't eat it and that Ning Yunyun would surely dote on him—she just wanted to irritate him.

He was crazy. He was absolutely crazy.

Less than ten minutes later, seeing the red rash blooming on the back of Li Shiyan’s hand, Ning Yu felt a tight knot of discomfort in her chest. She excused herself to the restroom. Not daring to look at him, she turned and fled.

"What's wrong with Little Yu today? Why is she acting so strange?" Lin Haoyu asked casually, assuming she was just upset about her sudden dietary restrictions. After all, with nothing on the table she could eat and her own order not yet arrived, it was awkward for her to sit there.

A moment later, Li Shiyan set down his chopsticks and tapped the table edge. "Going for a smoke." With that, he rose and left the dining room.

Lin Fangfei watched his departing back, becoming more certain that if these two weren't up to something, they had definitely known each other beforehand.

"Fangfei, what are you thinking about? Eat something," Ning Yunyun said, busy serving her food, which forced Lin Fangfei to pull her focus back.

In the restroom, Ning Yu splashed cold water on her face, waiting until she was calm before heading back to the dining room. As she stepped out of the women's restroom, she was blocked at the entrance to the communal washroom.

The man leaned against the pure white wall, a cigarette held between his slender, reddened fingers. "What are you running from? Are you so afraid I’ll eat you?"

Ning Yu looked at his arms and neck, where the skin, originally fair and slightly pale, was now dotted with pink welts. A breath caught in her throat. She couldn't be bothered to hide anymore. "If I'm afraid, will you let me off the hook?"

The tip of his cigarette glowed a deep red, making his flushed skin stand out even more. "You’re pretty, but don't get your hopes up."

"Then what is there to be afraid of?" Ning Yu said, her face expressionless as she dried her hands under the hand dryer. "Afraid or not, Uncle won't let me go anyway."

His remark earned a laugh from him. "You’re quite self-aware."

The conversation always ended in such a stalemate. Ning Yu left the restroom first, and when she returned to the table, Li Shiyan was nowhere to be seen. By the time they left, he still hadn't returned, but someone was bound to ask for her.

"Brother Haoyu, where is Uncle? Aren't we waiting for him?" Ning Yunyun asked, her eyes constantly scanning the direction Li Shiyan had gone to smoke.

"Uncle had something come up, he went back to the old mansion first," Lin Fangfei interjected, observing Ning Yu’s reaction as she spoke. To her disappointment, Ning Yu didn't show a hint of surprise.

There were many things that couldn't be discussed easily at the Lin house. First, it wasn't the Ning house. Second, the Lin mansion was watched by countless eyes, and any small disturbance was hard to hide from those lurking in the shadows.

Back at the Lin mansion, Ning Yu’s parents hadn't come over, giving her a rare moment of peace. Less than an hour later, Lin Haoyu said he had to go out. Seeing the eager way he gripped his phone, Ning Yu played the part of the virtuous wife and helped him put on his coat as usual.

Once Lin Haoyu left, he wouldn't be back for half a day. It wasn't until evening that Ning Yu received a message from him saying he might not be back tonight. Ning Yu was relieved. Remembering the lesson from yesterday, she hurried to pour two glasses of water, terrified of being dragged into a "dark room" again.

While pouring the water, she happened to overhear the servants talking. "The North Garden just sent word asking if we have allergy medicine. The Fifth Master seems to have broken out in a fever from an allergic reaction!"

"We have some, but none of the masters in the West Garden have allergies, so we don't use it often. We'll have to look for it." The servant went off to search.

Ning Yu returned to her room, paused for two seconds as she looked at the allergy medicine she habitually kept in her bag, and then went to take a shower. The hot water pouring over her head helped clear her mind.

He was the high-and-mighty Fifth Master Li now, a man favored by fortune, not the fool who had waited eight years ago for her to bring him medicine. With a flick of his finger, people would line up to bring him medicine that could circle the globe twice.

After her shower, Ning Yu lay in bed and closed her eyes, but she tossed and turned for over an hour without falling asleep. The image of the man calmly putting that piece of mutton into his mouth kept flashing in her mind.

She checked the time: 11:30 PM.

Unbelievable. He was truly something else. How did she end up owing him?

Ning Yu didn't think twice. She got out of bed, grabbed the allergy medicine from her bag with her bare feet, and rushed out of the room.