Mama's Princess is Daddy's Beloved

On the other side, it was night for Shufen when suddenly his phone dinged a message. For the whole day, he was busy with work and even the night looked like another addition to the yarn of his sleepless tale. 

Though the sudden ding of the message didn't break his concentration from work, he still looked displeased with the interruption. Reaching his phone, he glanced at the text message before giving a call at the number. 

"Did you find something?" He asked as the call got connected. And a puffy whine came from the other side, showing an equal disappointment. 

"Hey, can you ever talk like a friend? Why every time I call you, you always get to the point instead of greeting me properly?" Qi Shuai said and with his voice once could hear the shivering grit of the teeth. "Sometimes you can even ask me how I am feeling? If I am feeling right? Or like I am sad?"

"…" No reply came from the other side and for a moment Qi Shuai even felt like the connection was lost or the phone got disconnected. 

"Hey, Shufen! Are you even hearing me? Hello? Hello?" He asked, pulling the phone away to check if the call was even still ongoing or not. But when saw that the line was still on, he asked again, "Shufen, did your phone break?" 

"If there is nothing important, I will hang up the call." Finally, the voice came but it was at its peak of disinterest that clearly warned, 'don't poke if not prepared for the consequences '. 

Qi Shuai paused, feeling the terror coming. He could sense it but who told that he was the person to ever take the warnings seriously? As always for every situation, he has got his ways. Pausing for a few seconds, he cried, "Shufen, why do you always treat me this way? Is it fun? I am here dying from cold yet you are there being so insensitive towards me. Do you really not value a good friend like me?" 

"…"

"Fine, I have called you to let you know the things here. Don't give me silent treatment like this. I am not your girlfriend to take care of that." Qi Shuai said, accepting defeat. 

"Speak!"

"Aish, even after having Sister–in–law in your life you have not learned to love this world. You only care to get praise from her. Anyway, let me tell you the reason I called." Qi Shuai whined again but restrained his whining before Shufen could explode. 

"The things here don't seem simple. You might also remember this place. It's the same place where you got admitted five years back. Though nothing seems confirmed, yet there is one thing I am sure of. The low-stooped things that happened with Xiao Xue here were not related to Wen Sying. Neither did she have such high resources nor brains to execute such a dangerous thing". He informed, his voice suddenly taking the curve of seriousness that was nothing like his playfulness from before. 

Feng Shufen on the other side of the call heard everything. But until the end didn't bother to give even a word. Only when he heard his friend taking a long pause did he say, "Anything else?" 

"Yep, a very interesting thing is left for me to say. There are some rats around me these days. Just not yet sure which house they belong to." Qi Shuai said, walking to the window to look out in between density of the bushy trees. Nothing around looked out of the picture yet, a rustle or two would always come in the meantime. 

"Rats are not that hard to trap." Feng Shufen said before disconnecting the call. His eyes, showing some darkness that held another mystery to unfold. 

*** 

Back in the Royal Palace, the air sounded silent. Li Xue has already prepped a dish out of her taste and skills, and has asked the maid to bring it out to serve. 

"Umm … I have tried something out of my skill. Have a taste and let me know if it can go according to your preference, Your Majesty", Li Xue said as she gestured to the maid to serve the dish on the plate. 

At the side, Shin You Jun was sitting with childish smugness over his face. "Wait! How can you even serve that to my father? Has it been tested before? What if you have poisoned it just to get back on me?" He said, deliberately trying to get on Li Xue's nerves. 

"That's enough! Don't blabber nonsense here." Shin Tinming rebuked before gesturing to the maid to continue. "Since she has cooked, don't judge it before having a taste". 

Li Xue smiled. "Crown Prince, don't worry whatever I have cooked, it was under the supervision of Mr. Cao. There is no way I could poison it. Furthermore, I won't think of getting back at you with poison. I have many other better ways for you". She said, laughing out lightly to make her words come out like a joke. 

"You …" The young prince's nerves twitched but when heard his parents chuckling, he could not help but purse his lips. 

"Xiao Xue, you know how to cook these?" Chen Rui asked suddenly. Her eyes, looking at the platting of the dish. "This dish looks like it came out from some hotel chain of Feng Internationals. I heard that you have worked there for some years". 

Li Xue shook her head. "Not really. My specialization has been desserts for the last five years so I am not any great in savory tastes." At that information, the young prince at once felt at a loss. His eyes widened as he got up from his seat, pointing his fingers accusingly at her. 

"You … you have cheated me." He accused, making Li Xue raise her brows in confusion. 

"How so?"

"You never told me that you were a chef before". 

"You never asked me, Crown Prince. But there is a correction. I am not a chef exactly, I am a dessert chef who rarely tries her hands on savory dishes like this professionally. So, I doubt that I have cheated you in any way". Li Xue replied back with a smile.