Chapter 251
Chapter 251
She had been a little unable to stay put at home.
How strange. Clearly, she had often stayed at home before; once she started a game, an entire afternoon would pass in a flash. Her computer was packed full of games, and in this world, new games popped up every single day, so there was never any fear of running out of things to play.
There were also plenty of long single-player games worth savoring again and again, digging up the differences in different playthroughs.
She had never needed to worry about the company’s affairs. As long as it belonged to her, there would be no problem with its operations.
But that morning, after Xie Shiqing left, Zhong Ning inexplicably felt that the bed felt a little empty, as though it was missing something soft, fragrant, something she could hold in her arms and casually kiss all over, touch all over... a person.
She had originally planned to laze in bed until noon, but after the person left, she tossed and turned, rolled back and forth, rolled from the head of the bed to the foot, then from the foot back to the head, yet still failed to fall back asleep. In the end, she could only resign herself to getting up for breakfast.
That made no sense.
She had slept by herself for so long already. Could she really have developed skin hunger in just a few short days?
She ate breakfast absentmindedly.
As usual, she turned on her computer and logged into her games. She casually scrolled through the endlessly long purchased library page, picked out a single-player puzzle game, played for two minutes, then quit.
Then she switched to a home-building game, and quit.
An RPG, quit.
A team competitive game, quit.
An MMO, quit.
A MOBA, quit.
Zhong Ning clicked her tongue, feeling irritated and unsettled. She kicked at the floor and spun her gaming chair to the other side to grab the VR headset.
She put it on, then took it off.
Took it off, then put it on again.
In the end, she tossed it onto the desk, let out a long breath, got to her feet, her brows and eyes dark and gloomy, then went to the wardrobe, yanked out a random set of clothes, pulled them on, and went out with the dog.
Pine Mushroom had its own designated seat in the front passenger seat, along with its own exclusive seat belt.
Only after Zhong Ning roughly rubbed the dog’s head several times did the stifling feeling in her chest ease a little.
What she felt even more was disbelief.
Ha! What a joke, she would care about Xie Shiqing? What a joke. Impossible. No way. It made no sense. It should not be. Absolutely not.
She muttered under her breath while pressing harder and harder on the accelerator.
It had to be because her curiosity had not faded yet. She was still hooked.
When she liked something, at the very beginning she would become so absorbed that she forgot food and sleep, playing with it day and night.
It was just that the thing had been replaced by a person, but that was simply her personality, so it still made sense.
Zhong Ning even made a special trip to the pizza shop and ordered the largest pizza, two portions of fried chicken, and happy water. One portion of fried chicken, with no seasoning and only chicken breast, had been prepared for Pine Mushroom.
Although she controlled the dog’s diet, she would still occasionally let it eat this kind of “junk food”.
She ate it too. She said staying up late was unhealthy, yet she still stayed up late; drinking hurt the body, yet she still drank. It made no sense that only she was allowed to do things that were a little harmful to her health, while the dog was not allowed to do the same.
You only lived one life. For the sake of happiness, sacrificing a bit of health was worth it in her opinion. Otherwise, she might as well go become an ascetic.
Pine Mushroom also had thoughts of her own.
Zhong Ning felt that the two of them had always been able to talk things over. They were friends, not master and pet.
Every time she ate fried food, it brought an enormous sense of satisfaction, a happiness that welled up from the inside out. Add some ice-cold sparkling soda, and it was simply peerless deliciousness.
When she was in a bad mood, eating some of it relieved stress the best.
She happily enjoyed a full meal, and Pine Mushroom ate until her mouth was shiny with grease too.
As for why this shop allowed her to bring a dog inside, the answer was very simple: this was one of Zhong Ning’s own stores. The owner, let alone bringing in a dog, could even drive a car inside if she wanted.
After eating and drinking her fill, the urgency in her chest finally eased. Zhong Ning ordered another black pepper steak pizza, her personal favorite, along with some other snacks, then carried them to Xie Corporation’s entertainment division.
“Shiqing, guess what I brought you again today?”
Xie Shiqing’s heart gave a sudden leap, but nothing showed on her face. Instead, she put on a curious look. “What is it?”
“It’s pizza!”
Zhong Ning did not keep her guessing. “I just went to the shop to eat, so I brought one for you too. It’s really delicious. I poached the head chef from abroad, so the taste is absolutely authentic.”
She dragged Xie Shiqing into the lounge, and on the way, she put a collar engraved with “The Chairwoman’s Dog” on Pine Mushroom, then let her go off to play by herself.
“Come on, try it.”
She eagerly unpacked the insulated bag. The pizza was still piping hot, and so were the fried chicken and snacks. Zhong Ning pulled out a french fry and popped it into her mouth. It was still crispy, tasting exactly the same as it had in the store.
The cola with ice in it had been packed separately.
Zhong Ning opened a pair of disposable gloves and put them on, then helped Xie Shiqing put on a pair too. After that, she pulled off a stretchy slice of pizza and placed it into her hand.
“Use your other hand to support the front, don’t let it drop. There are lots of toppings.”
Since the boss was eating it, of course it had to have deluxe toppings.
Xie Shiqing held the edge of the pizza a little awkwardly, while her free hand supported the front. She felt its shape, then hesitantly brought it to her mouth.
The salty, fragrant sweetness of the cheese mixed with the salty spiciness of the black pepper beef, along with the delicate sweetness of shredded onion, the saltiness of the ham, the sweetness of the bell peppers, and all the other toppings. Combined in a single bite and softened by the tender crust, they blended together in her mouth into a marvelous flavor.
Zhong Ning looked at her with a face full of expectation. The moment she saw her swallow, she hurriedly pressed, “Is it good? Do you like it?”
Xie Shiqing smiled faintly. “It’s good. I’d never eaten pizza before.”
The taste was indeed good, but it was not the type she liked.
Still, she would not dampen Zhong Ning’s spirits, so she ate the entire slice.
Zhong Ning said, “There’s fried chicken too! Squid rings! French fries! Sparkling soda!”
Zhong Ning even took the initiative to dip food into ketchup for her and feed it to her mouth. Naturally, Xie Shiqing accepted everything that came, eating whatever was fed to her.
After the meal, Zhong Ning turned out to be the happier one.
But less than half an hour after they finished eating, while the two of them had been sitting close together on the sofa just fine, Xie Shiqing suddenly covered her mouth and rushed into the bathroom. Less than two seconds after her figure disappeared, the sound of vomiting came from inside.