Please Don't Eat Me

Chapter 4

Di Xiaoshu felt that the 30 seconds that he spent with Ling She in the elevator every day would always be rated as "the 30 seconds in a day with the most cold sweat," "the 30 seconds in a day with the wobbliest legs," "the most gutless 30 seconds of the day," etcetera.

The ranking of these 30 seconds was irreplaceable even though he got chewed out by his boss today at the office because of a mistake.

"Go-good day, Mr. Ling."

Although Di Xiaoshu was already fairly used to these coincidences that occurred every day-honestly speaking-sometimes he just wanted to say "Screw it" and climb eighteen flights of stairs home even though Ling She could easily hunt him down by crossing the hall and knocking on his door.

"Was it crowded today too, Xiaoshu?"

Ling She still had on a mask of kindness as he closed in on Di Xiaoshu, forcing him in to the corner.

"Yeah...a little."

Di Xiaoshu rode the subway to and from work. The might of the subway rush hour should not be underestimated: his clothes were always a mess and damp from sweat by the time he got home.

"Well, I told you, if it gets too crowded...I could go pick you up every day."

His husky voice was very enticing. He gracefully wiped away the sweat on Di Xiaoshu's temples.

But this just made Di Xiaoshu even more uneasy. "O-oh, no. I couldn't make you do that, Mr. Ling. Just forget about it."

"Really, Xiaoshu, you're always so polite with me." Ling She generously stepped back after squeezing his face.

Just as Di Xiaoshu had caught his breath....

"Oh yeah. Xiaoshu, could you prepare dinner for me?"

Pre-prepare me for dinner?!?!?!
Di Xiaoshu paled and stooped down into a ball.

"N-no! Mi-mister Ling, I-I'm really not tasty....I-I'll do anything you want me to do but...waaaaahhhhhh...I'm really...not tasty...I still have lots
of...things I want to do...waaaahhhhhhh...so I'm begging you, d-don't...."

"What're you saying, Xiaoshu?" Ling She crouched down in front of him and wiped away his tears.

"I was just asking, 'Could you prepare dinner for me?' Why did you get all worked up?"

"P-prepare dinner for you?" Not prepare me for dinner?!

"Yeah...I know it might be asking for too much but there are always these wonderful smells coming from your house at night." He chuckled shyly. "I haven't had any homemade food since I left home. I'm sick of all the takeout food I've been eating, so I thought maybe...."

"You...don't know how to cook?" Di Xiaoshu said as he wiped his face embarrassingly.

"Yeah, that's right.... So could you?"

Di Xiaoshu looked at the cold-blooded animal in front of him who had a cute yet shy mask on and considered the outcomes if he were to refuse, finally nodding in acceptance.

Di Xiaoshu went home to take a shower first and changed into his Hamtaro T-shirt and indoor
cotton pants, feeling all refreshed before getting started on the tribute meal.

Ling She's request might have been more or less unreasonable for a neighbour but Di Xiaoshu wasn't about to neglect it, paying much more attention than he usually did, not a pinch more or less.

Ultimately, he was afraid of the almighty lord from across the hall slamming the table after
taking a bite of his food, exclaiming: "This tastes horrible! I'll eat you instead!"

Di Xiaoshu separated the food into two after it was done and only felt it was a worthy tribute after placing Ling She's portion on a pretty plate he had bought before.

"Thank you."

Ling She beamed as he took the plate.

If it were anyone else, they would probably go googly-eyes on him but for some reason when Di Xiaoshu saw him smiling like that he felt his leg muscles tensing up.

"Yo-you're welcome....Um, so...see you...."

Di Xiaoshu mumbled. Just when he wanted to flee back to his house, Ling She grabbed him by the arm.

Before he peed himself, however, he heard Ling She saying,

"Stay and eat with me, Xiaoshu. It's
awfully lonely by myself," and the likes.

Di Xiaoshu felt that he needed to get his ears checked....

He looked at the 6-feet tall man, tux and hair still perfectly in place. Seeing a macho + elite man acting all cute was just....

Di Xiaoshu's inner self went off on a rant but he obviously didn't have the guts, so he stayed behind like a good boy and ate dinner with him.