My Most Beautiful Fiancée

Mu Lin felt rather awkward. ’If this keeps up, I’m going to be a laughingstock.’

For such a significant matter to be handled this way was truly beyond anyone’s imagination.

If he could figure a few things out from this situation, it would be both interesting and worthwhile.

”Zhengzheng, please be a little more polite to Mu Lin. He saved my life. Even if only out of respect for that, don’t give him the cold shoulder.”

He Zheng looked Mu Lin up and down again. She simply couldn’t believe this man was her aunt’s savior.

Madam Qiao nodded earnestly, her expression serious. He Zheng bit her lip. To save face, she didn’t say anything offensive, but her mind was already cooking up a few mischievous schemes.

”His medical skills are that good?”

Madam Qiao said, ”Of course. I’ve never seen anyone with medical skills superior to Mu Lin’s.”

He Zheng could only purse her lips. ’My aunt is trying way too hard to set me up with Mu Lin. Who knows what she’s thinking.’

’If he really had any skill, would my aunt have to try so hard to hype him up?’

’It’s all just so over the top.’

He Zheng looked at Mu Lin and said, ”You’re Mu Lin, right? My aunt speaks so highly of you. Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong with me, then!”

Mu Lin glanced at Madam Qiao. ’This isn’t a good idea,’ he thought. ’He Zheng is obviously just trying to pick a fight.’

But Madam Qiao pretended not to notice, looking at Mu Lin with a serene expression.

She clearly wanted to see how Mu Lin would handle her niece.

With a helpless expression, Mu Lin walked over to He Zheng and reached for her hand.

He Zheng tensed up, yanking her hand back and covering it protectively.

”What do you think you’re doing?! Trying to get fresh with me? In your dreams!”

Mu Lin said, ”You asked me to diagnose you. Don’t I need to check your pulse?”

He Zheng put her hands behind her back, her expression defiant. ”Oh, so you’re a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner? If you’re so amazing, why can’t you just look at me and see what’s wrong? The diagnostic arts are supposed to be so mystical. Go on then, diagnose me by just looking!”

Mu Lin was getting annoyed. His precious cultivation time wasn’t meant to be wasted like this.

This was a critical time, right after he had just condensed his Yin Spirit. Every second needed to be spent consolidating his cultivation realm, not playing house with some twenty-year-old girl.

He found himself missing Lin Shishi. She wasn’t this difficult. Though she was almost too cooperative, creating a sense of distance, it was still far better than He Zheng’s antics.

He Zheng shot Mu Lin a contemptuous look, her hands still tucked behind her back, refusing to let him take her pulse.

Mu Lin’s head was starting to ache.

Seeing his frustrated expression, He Zheng felt a surge of smug satisfaction.

She just wanted to see what Mu Lin was really made of. She wasn’t afraid of him making a fool of himself. In fact, if he was humiliated, he would leave the Qiao Family on his own.

She had heard too many stories about swindlers from the Jianghu who had ruined wealthy families. These charlatans would call themselves Physicians or Physiognomists, then squeeze every last penny from their rich patrons. They might not cure any illnesses, but their fees were always exorbitant.

Mu Lin said, ”Miss He, have you been trying to lose weight?”

He Zheng snorted. ”What girl isn’t trying to lose weight? Is that supposed to be a revelation?”

Mu Lin chuckled. ”And recently, have you found that you don’t even have to suppress your appetite, you just have no desire to eat at all? You also have trouble sleeping, and at night you even break out in a sweat, have nightmares, and wake up suddenly in a panic?”

He Zheng’s jaw dropped. Mu Lin had hit the nail on the head with every single symptom. ’How does he know?’

’Could he actually have some real skill?’

’But I can’t admit that. It’s probably just a lucky guess.’

”Of course not! I eat well, I sleep well, I sleep like a log all night! I don’t have any of the problems you’re talking about!”

Mu Lin smiled. ”Well, that’s for the best. I must have been mistaken!”

He Zheng was stunned. She had expected him to argue his point desperately to save face, but he didn’t.

Madam Qiao knew her niece all too well. She went over and gave her shoulder a little shake.

”Zhengzheng, having Mu Lin diagnose you is a rare opportunity. Don’t be so stubborn. Just tell him what’s wrong, and I’m sure he can fix it for you.”

He Zheng said earnestly, ”Aunt, I told you, I’m not sick. Why are you so eager for me to have something wrong?”

Madam Qiao sighed. ”Fine, you’re not sick. It’s best that you’re not. I’m just your aunt, not your mother. I can’t meddle in your affairs too much.”

He Zheng wasn’t happy to hear her aunt say that.

In truth, Mu Lin had been right about everything. Her current condition was probably even worse than he’d described, but to put him in his place, she decided to keep her mouth shut.

Madam Qiao smiled at Mu Lin. ”I’m so sorry, Mu Lin. She’s been headstrong since she was a child, and we adults can’t do a thing about it. Tell me, what do you like to eat? I’ll let the kitchen staff know to prepare the ingredients, and I’ll cook for you myself!”

He Zheng was dumbfounded. ”Aunt, the sun must be rising in the west! I beg you to cook for me and you’re always making excuses, but the moment he shows up, you’re heading to the kitchen yourself! Am I not your real niece?”

Madam Qiao smiled faintly. ”You’re here too, aren’t you? Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it for you at the same time!”

He Zheng was indignant. ”That’s not the same at all! Still... I want your Lion’s Head Meatballs!”

Even while angry, she didn’t forget to place her order. Madam Qiao pursed her lips in a smile. ”Alright, alright, I’ve got it. Come on, Mu Lin. What do you like? I’ll take you to the kitchen, and you can pick from the fridge.”

Mu Lin glanced over the contents and casually picked out a few meat and vegetable dishes, creating a balanced, nutritious meal with some health benefits.

’The results should be quite good.’

Madam Qiao said, ”Feel free to help yourself to any fruit you’d like. Please, make yourself at home; there’s no need to be so formal. You’ve saved my life twice. If you wanted to take this entire house, I wouldn’t even bat an eye.”

Mu Lin replied, ”Madam, you’re being too kind. A healer’s duty is to be benevolent. As long as you’re well, everything else is secondary.”

Madam Qiao laughed. ”I knew you were a good kid, but I didn’t realize just how good.”

Mu Lin turned and sat down on the sofa. He Zheng sat with her arms and legs crossed, staring out the window, clearly still sulking.

He Zheng remained seated, looking very displeased. ”I’ll have you know, my aunt is a master chef. You’re incredibly lucky. Getting to eat her food is something you can brag about for the rest of your life.”

Mu Lin was surprised. ’Madam Qiao is a master chef? I never would have guessed.’

Madam Qiao always seemed so unassuming next to Qiao Canhua; who knew she had a hidden talent like this.

’That explains a few things,’ he thought. ’Still, I’ll need to gather more information on this later.’

”If that’s the case, then I’m really looking forward to it. The skills of a master chef deserve to be savored.”

Hearing this, He Zheng immediately thought Mu Lin was just being pretentious. ”You haven’t even tasted it, and you’re already talking about savoring it? Do you even know what that means?”

Mu Lin smiled. ”Of course I have. The master chef at Songyang’s Celestial Phoenix Hotel is incredible. The flavors left a lasting impression on me.”

He Zheng scoffed. ”So you know the name of the Celestial Phoenix Hotel. I guess that’s something. But you picked the wrong thing to brag about. The head chef there doesn’t cook for regular customers. He only cooks for the guests in the Heaven and Earth private dining rooms. Bet you didn’t know that, huh?”

”You might have eaten at the Celestial Phoenix Hotel, and sure, the food is good. But it’s a shame that what you had wasn’t prepared by the master chef.”

Mu Lin frowned slightly. He genuinely hadn’t known any of this. After all, he had only ever eaten in those two specific rooms, so it was perfectly normal for him to be unaware of the distinction.

”I stand corrected,” he said, nodding humbly. But in He Zheng’s eyes, his humility looked more like a hasty retreat after a failed attempt at posturing.

She shot him a disdainful glance and turned back to the window.

After a while, a tantalizing aroma began to waft from the kitchen. This was just the smell of the food as it cooked; one could only imagine how incredible the finished dishes would be.

Qiao Canhua returned, and the moment he smelled the food, he exclaimed, ”Mu Lin, your aunt is in the kitchen herself!”

Mu Lin said, ”I just found out Madam Qiao is a master chef. I never would have imagined. Uncle Qiao, you’re a lucky man.”

Qiao Canhua gave a wry smile. ”Hardly. She rarely ever cooks. The last time I had her food was over a year ago.”