Wen Rou agreed.
That day, Mu Jinyu dragged her back to the rental where she had lived, packed up all her belongings, and then said goodbye to the nearby aunties.
She brought back Wen Rou's belongings and let her take them to her own room to tidy up.
By that time, it was already late, 5 P.M., and it was time for dinner.
"Knock knock knock!"
Mu Jinyu knocked on Wen Rou's door and asked through it, "Have you packed up your stuff? Get ready to go out to buy groceries. We're moving in today, so we should have a good meal."
"Oh, oh, almost ready," Wen Rou responded from her room, and after putting down the clothes she hadn't finished organizing, she went to open the door.
When the door opened, Wen Rou, still in a daze, asked, "What time is it now?"
Mu Jinyu answered, "It's 5 o'clock."
"It's so late already, then we should go buy groceries and cook," Wen Rou heard this, hurried to the kitchen to wash rice and put it in the cooker, then changed her shoes and went out to buy groceries.
Mu Jinyu watched her busily getting ready and then said, "How about we eat out tonight and you can start cooking at home tomorrow?"
"No way," Wen Rou called back from the kitchen, "Eating out is too expensive and not sanitary; it's better to eat at home."
"Suit yourself," Mu Jinyu did not insist.
Wen Rou quickly finished washing the rice and got it cooking, then changed her shoes, ready to head out to buy groceries on her own.
Mu Jinyu also went to change shoes.
Seeing this, Wen Rou looked at him with surprise and said, "You're going to buy groceries too? That's not necessary; I can go by myself…"
Mu Jinyu responded, "It's necessary. The groceries you buy might not suit my taste. I will go with you this time, so you'll know what to buy in the future."
"Well... okay then," Wen Rou still agreed.
Both of them changed their shoes and left the house, heading to a nearby supermarket to buy groceries.
In the supermarket, Wen Rou wanted to pick some cheap vegetables, feeling she could cook them well, but Mu Jinyu didn't want them. He picked expensive stuff: ribs, beef, lamb, crabs, mantis shrimp… Even for vegetables, he didn't choose cheap radishes or cabbage but the pricier options instead.
Afterward, Mu Jinyu went to the fruit section and bought a good amount of fruit: watermelon, mangosteen, durian, strawberries, papaya…
Wen Rou followed him around in a daze, feeling her previous impression of him being stingy had changed; this guy was actually quite generous.
Well, maybe he's just more generous when it comes to food…
Wen Rou smiled and followed him, carrying big and small bags of fruits and fresh meat to the checkout.
After paying, they returned home, and Mu Jinyu reported a few dish names, telling Wen Rou to start cooking them, and he didn't just lie down to rest and wait for dinner. Instead, he sorted the freshly bought meat and produce and put them in the fridge.
Soon, when Wen Rou had finished preparing the meals, Mu Jinyu had also neatly stored away the meat and produce.
Mu Jinyu stood up and helped Wen Rou bring the food to the table.
Although Wen Rou kept saying, "I can do it, you just sit and wait for the meal…" Mu Jinyu didn't listen. He continued to help set the table. He wasn't really treating Wen Rou as a maid; that was just an excuse.
Wen Rou saw the situation and, although she appeared quite helpless on the surface, she felt a surge of joy inside.
At the dinner table, Wen Rou, remembering her role as a nanny, acted rather reserved, not daring to reach for the lavish meat dishes, opting instead for some vegetables to go with her white rice.
Mu Jinyu frowned upon seeing this. As he passed her some meat, he scolded in a deep voice, "How can you only eat vegetables? How will your body hold up? No wonder you look so thin, with hardly any flesh on you."
Some look slim in clothes but have flesh on them when undressed. Though Wen Rou appeared a bit thin, some parts of her were quite fleshy. To outsiders, she might seem just a little slim, but certainly not malnourished.
But how could Mu Jinyu not understand, when he was someone who had spent considerable time with Wen Rou? He knew well whether she was truly thin or not.
Wen Rou was indeed very lean, probably because she had been unwilling to indulge in better food for years in her eagerness to pay off debts early.
That's why Mu Jinyu bought so much meat at the supermarket. His aim was not just to satisfy his appetite; he was also concerned for Wen Rou and wanted to gradually improve her health.
During dinner, Mu Jinyu kept adding food to Wen Rou's plate. She continued to gesture that it was unnecessary, claiming she couldn't eat that much, but Mu Jinyu kept placing meats onto her plate that she wouldn't dare to take herself.
"Remember, you are now my person. How will you have the strength to work for me if you don't eat well? Eat more..."
While serving Wen Rou food, Mu Jinyu instructed her somewhat domineeringly.
Wen Rou, hearing these words, couldn't help but blush, feeling quite embarrassed and shy.
'What does he mean by saying I'm his person? Honestly, he just spouts nonsense.'
Wen Rou silently scolded him in her mind.
But she also knew that Mu Jinyu might not have meant it in that way; perhaps he was just trying to say that as his nanny, she needed a full meal in order to do his laundry, right?
Wen Rou didn't dare to think too much. She hastily finished eating, began to clean up the table, and went to wash the dishes.
Fully assuming her role as the nanny, she urged Mu Jinyu to go take a shower while she washed the dishes so that she could wash his clothes afterward…
"Mm," Mu Jinyu responded lazily and drifted back to his room to fetch some clothes before heading to the bathroom for a shower.
He didn't bother to fight with Wen Rou over doing the dishes, nor did he insist on the pointless argument that whoever cooks should also wash the dishes. Wen Rou was already his nanny, and he had taken good care of her. If he were to share every little burden with her, not only would his wallet disapprove, but Wen Rou herself would likely sense something amiss and be unable to accept such charitable care.
But how could Wen Rou not realize that something was off?
Even if she hadn't noticed at first that Mu Jinyu was intentionally looking after her, with the cooking and the meals, and his insistence on serving her, she would eventually have realized that Mu Jinyu was purposefully taking care of her.
The fact that he accompanied her to buy groceries wasn't anything special, but the quality of the food he picked was exceptional. Wen Rou was not foolish enough to believe that Mu Jinyu was splurging just because he had made a lot of money that day and wanted to treat her to a feast.
Though her interaction with him was brief, just one day, she still felt that Mu Jinyu was not the kind of man whose personality would swell at the slightest increase in funds.
His frugality and stinginess were perhaps not congenital, but they had undoubtedly been deeply ingrained in his marrow and soul during his growth.
At the moment, Wen Rou was unaware of the trouble Mu Jinyu had gotten into that morning trying to return the clothes Gu Xiyan sent him. If she knew, she would certainly admire her own judgment of character.
Wen Rou thought that the reason Mu Jinyu bit the bullet and bought such extravagant meats and fish was not merely to indulge his own tastes. More likely, he felt she was too frail and needed to be nourished properly. Otherwise, if he were eating by himself, he probably wouldn't have such lavish meals.
There was also the matter of him insisting on her becoming his nanny and then moving in with him. Clearly, he was worried about her safety living alone, and so he wanted her to live with him. But fearing she would reject his kindness, he concocted a scheme to have her work for him as a nanny.
All these arrangements, all this care, Wen Rou saw with her eyes, took to heart, and how could she not be touched by them?
Having finished with the dishes, Wen Rou left the kitchen and entered the living room. She gazed at the closed bathroom door and listened to the sound of running water inside, her eyes gentle, rippling with tenderness.