ANGEL Chapter 4: The Start of Courtship

The bowl was nearly full, but the other person continued searching his body. With his fingers, which were distinct with knuckles, he lifted his clothes, revealing a solid abdomen, so white it was blinding.

Zeng Yu didn’t understand what he was looking for that it required lifting his clothes to find it. This step was completely unnecessary. With a neutral expression, he called out, “What are you trying to do?”

The handsome man’s eyes flickered, and with some reluctance, he dropped the hem of his shirt, his face flushed as he answered, “I’ll fill your bowl, so you won’t have to go begging outside.”

…What on earth is he talking about?

Zeng Yu thought in confusion. This person wasn’t just a riddle. He might not even be human.

After all, it only took a few seconds to grab a bowl, and yet, the guy had brought in two large baskets of bananas without making a sound.

Zeng Yu slightly squinted, then subtly grabbed a plastic bag from the nearby cabinet, and quickly dumped the contents of the bowl into it.

He handed the bag to the other person with his left hand while quickly closing the door with his right. It was done in one smooth motion.

The house went silent again.

As order returned from chaos, Zeng Yu’s shoulders relaxed little by little. He turned, leaned against the door, and lowered his head, staring blankly at the floor for a moment.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared on the floor.

Zeng Yu slowly lifted his eyes, his pupils contracting. His hand gripped the door handle tightly.

“Don’t you want it?”

A hand reached forward, holding the bag—exactly the one Zeng Yu had tossed outside before closing the door.

Zeng Yu took a deep breath, locking eyes with the blue-eyed stranger, who looked as innocent as if everything happening was entirely natural.

He tightened his voice and asked, “Who are you?”

The blue eyes flickered for a moment, and the other hand supported his chin as though thinking. “This… this can’t be said…”

After some hesitation, he lifted his eyelids, giving Zeng Yu a quick glance, the area beneath his eyes glistening honey-gold. “But if you ask, I can tell you.”

“Cough cough.” He dropped his hand and straightened up, his golden curls on his forehead flaring. “I’m a bad luck angel, ID number D100!”

The last note of his sentence echoed in the quiet, empty room. One second. Two seconds. No other voice responded.

D100’s smile faltered by a pixel. He took a small step forward, emphasizing, “I’m an angel!”

Zeng Yu, gripping the door handle, tried to make a quick dash for the exit to call the police.

Naturally, he didn’t believe the man’s claim of being an angel, but… how could the sudden teleportation earlier be explained?

He had been locked out, but then suddenly appeared inside his house. It didn’t make sense.

Zeng Yu looked at the two large baskets of bananas, which cast their own shadows on the floor, and he could even smell the fresh scent of them.

After processing all this alone, he took a deep breath and finally caught the key point in the stranger’s words, “…Bad luck?”

“Yes, yes!” D100’s smile returned as he tilted his toes towards Zeng Yu, “I’m the bad luck angel newly contracted by the God of Misfortune. I’m still in my probationary period—working from 10 AM to 4 PM, and 2 days off a week.”

“…” Zeng Yu, who worked year-round without a break, felt an inexplicable sting.

D100 was almost at Zeng Yu’s side. “I have the day off today, so I can go on a date with you! Want to have a candlelight dinner?”

The topic shifted so quickly that Zeng Yu asked without thinking, “Can you fly me?”

D100 naturally picked up his words, “I left my wings at the dorm. You can wait for me…”

“Stop.” Zeng Yu raised his hand to block D100, whose chest had moved too close, feeling warm and with a heartbeat—this was clearly a real body.

He could even feel the heartbeat speeding up, and D100’s face had reddened.

Zeng Yu frowned slightly, just about to lower his hand when there was a knock on the door behind him.

He jumped, and his hand, previously poised on the door handle, instinctively pressed down, making a clicking sound. The door pushed open, and because he was resting on it on his back, his body leaned back.

Zeng Yu’s expression froze for a moment, then two hands caught his waist, steadying him.

Unfortunately, his nose took the brunt of the fall, bumping into D100’s chin, causing a sharp pain.

“Xiao Yu?”

Ye Ping peeked her head around the corner and froze upon seeing Zeng Yu in a tight embrace with a handsome foreign man, shocked.

Zeng Yu’s scalp tingled as he hurriedly pushed D100 away, retreating a large step to create distance.

But D100, with no sense of boundaries, leaned closer again, cupping Zeng Yu’s face in his hands, frowning with concern. “Sorry, does it hurt? Let me blow on it…”

Zeng Yu’s pupils dilated.

Ye Ping’s pupils dilated too.

“Xiao Yu, is this… your friend?”

Before Zeng Yu could even utter a “no,” D100 eagerly replied, “I like Xiao Yu. I’m pursuing him.”

Ye Ping gasped, glanced between Zeng Yu and D100, and after some time, convinced herself that foreigners were just more open.

Reluctantly, Zeng Yu ignored them and turned to Ye Ping, “Ping-jie, is something wrong? Did Zhishu go in?”

“Oh, that girl rushed in and started crying, not even sure why. The teacher praised her in the group chat,” Ye Ping wondered, waving Zeng Yu over, “I bought some local specialties while on a business trip, and I learned a new dish. How about dinner at my place?”

Seeing her glowing pursuer beside her, Ye Ping couldn’t ignore it and invited, “Young man, have you eaten? Want to join us?”

D100, predictably, made a bold move, bowing at a ninety-degree angle with gratitude, “Thank you, Sister! I spent all my money on bananas, and was worried about not having food, so I really appreciate your generosity!”

He pointed at the two large baskets of bananas and the fruit basket in Zeng Yu’s room, rushing over to hand Ye Ping a full armful, “These are for you, can they be my payment?”

Ye Ping was stunned, but nodded, and D100 happily bounced once, turning back to Zeng Yu with a serious tone, “Xiao Yu, I’ll give 33 of them to Sister, and I’ll pay you back tomorrow after work!”

Zeng Yu, “…”

The atmosphere became awkward, and Ye Ping tried to smooth things over, “Well, stop standing around, come in.”

D100 cheerfully entered, and Zeng Yu finally spoke, “Ping-jie, I won’t eat.”

“Ah…” Ye Ping tried to keep him, “I just learned to make squirrel fish. Can you help me taste it?”

Zeng Yu, who had agreed earlier, didn’t have the heart to refuse. He pursed his lips and eventually agreed, “Alright.”

—————————————

Ye Zhishu was sitting on a small stool, still crying. Ye Ping wiped her tears while comforting her, “Oh, stop crying, look who’s here?”

Ye Zhishu didn’t look back, “I hate Xiao Yu-gege…”

D100 crouched down and tilted his head, looking at her as if speaking for Zeng Yu, “Why do you hate Xiao Yu-gege? He’s so friendly-looking.”

Zeng Yu and Ye Ping exchanged glances, both with twisted expressions. Friendly-looking? Sure, his personality might be friendly after spending time together, but appearance-wise, not so much. Zeng Yu had never been complimented like that.

Ye Zhishu stopped sobbing. As she looked up, she saw a handsome golden-haired, blue-eyed man, and suddenly fell silent.

She had always thought Xiao Yu-gege was the handsomest, but this older brother was handsome too—just a different kind of handsome!

Ye Zhishu stopped crying, her face turning red. She hesitated for a moment before standing up and hugging her mother’s leg, hiding behind her to sneak peeks.

Ye Ping patted her daughter’s head and greeted the guest to sit down, bringing the dishes to the table.

Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish was placed in the center, its fragrance wafting through the air. Before even taking a bite, D100 started praising it. “Wow, Sister, you’re amazing! This fish looks like a work of art, I can’t bear to eat it!”

He complimented its appearance, then its taste, and after praising this dish, he moved on to the next, going on for a full three minutes. Yet, it didn’t feel like empty flattery at all because his expressions were so vivid, they seemed to come from the heart.

The emotional value was maxed out, and Ye Ping smiled so wide it was almost impossible to stop. She returned the compliment by praising D100 for being handsome and sweet-tongued.

D100 sat upright on the small stool, proudly lifting his chin, casting a glance at Zeng Yu, waiting for him to praise him too.

“…” Zeng Yu calmly continued eating, unbothered.

D100 took the initiative to start a conversation, pointing at the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish and asking, “Xiao Yu, is this the fish in your name?”

Ye Ping noticed that Zeng Yu didn’t want to talk to him, feeling a little guilty for bringing him into her home, so she answered for him, “No, it’s the ‘Yu’ from the phrase ‘flawless despite a slight imperfection.”

“Ohh.” D100 nodded obediently, “Little Fish, Xiao Yu, both are so cute.”

Ye Ping gave a dry laugh, “Your Chinese is really good, where are you from originally?”

D100, “Heaven.”

Ye Ping, “Huh?”

D100 sat up straight, looking as though he was about to give an introduction, “My ID number is—”

Click, Zeng Yu’s chopsticks lightly tapped D100’s chopsticks as a warning.

D100 turned to look at him, a little regretful.

Mind your own business.

Zeng Yu clicked his tongue, confused. If this person had said he couldn’t tell anyone, then why was he revealing it here?

“Yi Bai, his Chinese name is Yi Bai. Yi as in easy, Bai as in the cypress tree. He’s from Norway.”

“…Oh, a Norwegian.” Ye Ping scratched her head, “That soup should be ready now, I’ll go get it.”

Ye Zhishu followed her mother out, leaving just the two of them at the table.

D100 stared at Zeng Yu without blinking, his knee touching the edge of the table, a slight tremor passing through him, as if he were excited about something.

“Xiao Yu,” D100 leaned in closer, his face blushing from shyness, “Did you give me the name Yi Bai?”

Zeng Yu remained silent, and D100 took his silence as consent, raising his hands high in cheer, “Great! I’m no longer an abandoned wild angel!”