Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

{TL Note: The title is a reference to the film ‘Painted Skin’.}

Opposite the bookstore was a noodle house. It was not that popular, and almost similar to Zhou Ze’s bookstore in that it was completely deserted.

The street was initially the outer part of a shopping plaza, but the place was basically abandoned. Apart from a cinema, all the businesses had moved away. As a result, the shopping plaza had become a deserted area.

Tongcheng was one of the cities having problems with overdevelopment. A few years ago, the government had been mass constructing commercial areas, but the city was nothing like Shanghai. The population was not high enough to sustain such great demand.

Luckily, the noodle house was able to sustain itself by doing deliveries, and it seemed to be doing quite well. Unfortunately, it was also quite obvious that nobody would want to ‘take away’ some books just because they were starving mentally.

Zhou Ze leaned against the chair. His head was still spinning a little. Doctor Lin sat down opposite Zhou Ze, helping him to clean a pair of chopsticks with a napkin before placing them in front of him.

She was attentive and considerate, like how she let Xu Le sleep on the bed while she slept on the mattress on the floor. At the same time, she was very cold.

Zhou Ze did not bother asking the woman if she was against the idea of a forced marriage or if she was actually homosexual. He did not think the question would make any difference. He was not interested in staying in the complicated relationship that Xu Le had left him.

“Are you sure you are alright?” Doctor Lin asked again.

“It’s nothing.” Zhou Ze was a doctor himself. He knew it was unlikely that the current level of medical science could explain why he was struggling to eat and sleep normally, let alone have a cure for him.

Luckily, he had found a solution to his sleeping. As for eating… it was still giving him a headache.

If he did not eat, he would faint just like he did a few moments ago. If he ate… he felt disgusted as soon as the thought crossed his mind.

“If you have a poor appetite, you should drink some plum juice,” the owner of the noodle restaurant seemed to be in his thirties, yet there were already wrinkles on his face. He seemed to be carrying a great burden on his shoulders.

“Plum juice, would it work?” Zhou Ze said helplessly.

“It can give you a better appetite,” the owner smiled and yelled to the back of the restaurant, “Darling, are the noodles ready yet?”

The man went into the kitchen. Zhou Ze could hear the husband and wife talking.

Zhou Ze glanced at the bowl of plum juice in front of him. He picked up the spoon, scooped the juice and took a sip. His face twisted immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Doctor Lin took a piece of napkin and placed it under Zhou Ze’s chin.

Zhou Ze placed his hand on his stomach and took a deep breath, “It’s very sour.”

Yeah, it was so sour that his entire body was convulsing, so sour that it covered his disgust.

“Here, the noodles are ready,” the owner’s wife came out from the kitchen and placed the bowl of noodles in front of Zhou Ze and said, “You should take smaller sips of our homemade plum juice.”

Doctor Lin looked at the noodles and said with a slight frown, “These noodles are way too overcooked.”

The noodles were cooked for too long, losing their chewiness. It would greatly affect the noodles’ texture.

“Well… it’s just how our noodles are,” the woman said ashamedly.

“It’s fine,” Zhou Ze waved his hand. The texture did not really matter to him. He was happy as long as he could swallow them. He needed energy. If he was still having trouble eating, he would have to visit the hospital for a dextrose injection.

Zhou Ze raised his head sternly like a soldier preparing himself to face death. He took a deep breath and emptied the bowl of extremely sour plum juice.

He gasped. The sourness was like pouring sulfuric acid into his stomach.

Zhou Ze quickly picked up the chopsticks and shoved the noodles into his mouth. He wolfed down the noodles and drank the soup in one go.

-Phew…- Zhou Ze slammed the bowl on the table.

He let out a relieved sigh. He finally ate something!

Zhou Ze reached out his hand and held his chest. The disgust returned after it was temporarily suppressed by the sourness of the plum juice. However, he had already swallowed the noodles. He barely withheld the urge to vomit after clenching his throat tightly with his hands.

It was a success as long as he did not vomit. He finally ate the food!

Zhou Ze’s forehead was covered in sweat. He picked up a napkin and wiped his face.

Meanwhile, both Doctor Lin and the owner’s wife looked utterly stunned. Zhou Ze’s way of eating the noodles was just too shocking to look at.

“Hehe, he really is hungry, should I make you another bowl?” the woman asked.

“No, I’m good,” Zhou Ze rejected immediately.

“Sure,” the owner’s wife cleaned the table and yelled at the kitchen, “Remember to prepare the noodles, there should be takeaway orders in the afternoon.”

The woman walked into the kitchen. She looked rather average, but her huge bust and her curvy lower half granted her an implicit charm.

“You… like her kind?” Doctor Lin asked.

She asked because Zhou Ze kept staring at the woman until she went into the kitchen.

“Not really,” Zhou Ze shook his head. -I actually prefer your kind, but you won’t let me sleep with you.-

Zhou Ze was startled. The thought of sleeping with Doctor Lin kept popping into his mind. It almost became an obsession. He could not help but admit that Doctor Lin was young and very beautiful.

Even though she was Xu Le’s wife, even though Zhou Ze was never married in his previous life, he had to admit that he wanted to sleep with her. Because he was not able to sleep with her, he was constantly preoccupied by the thought.

“Not going home?” Doctor Lin asked again.

“Nope,” Zhou Ze confirmed.

“Then I’m leaving,” Doctor Lin rose to her feet, “Call me if there’s anything.”

After all, he was still her legal husband, even though they were only husband and wife in name.

“Alright,” Zhou Ze nodded. If he knew she was so considerate, he would just ask her for money instead.

——

Doctor Lin left in her Porsche. Zhou Ze stayed in the restaurant. His bookstore was just across the street. He would not mind staying to chat with the owner, since they were neighbors.

The owner came out of the kitchen and gave Zhou Ze a cigarette.

“How much was it?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Don’t mind it, I can afford to shoot you a bowl of noodle,” the owner waved his hand. Their shops were located right opposite one another’s. He would not mind treating his neighbor to a bowl of noodles.

“Will your wife be displeased?” Zhou Ze asked.

“No, she’s just a woman, she won’t say anything,” the owner said chauvinistically.

Regardless of the status of a man at home, he still had to pretend to be dominant in front of others. No one would be willing to admit that they were scared of their wife, just like no one would be willing to admit that they were suffering from impotence.

“Hehe, your wife is quite pretty,” Zhou Ze said.

It was a taboo to tease someone’s wife. However, it was a normal topic if two men were teasing a woman that walked past on the street.

The owner was stunned. He smiled without saying a word. The man had a good temper. Normally, a businessman would know that amiability would bring them wealth.

“She is in good shape,” Zhou Ze added, “Firm, flavory, like the noodles I just ate.”

The owner took a huge sip of the cigarette.

“How is she in bed?” Zhou Ze crossed the line even further.

The owner slightly clenched his fists, but he answered calmly, “Her legs can clamp a man to death!”

Zhou Ze smiled. The man smiled too after seeing the smile on Zhou Ze’s face. He finally found the sign he was looking for.

“Can you take her on?” Zhou Ze asked. “You still look energetic at your age.”

The man beat his waist with his fist, “Not really, I’m not a young lad anymore.”

“Then, should I try?” Zhou Ze asked.

The owner’s face darkened. His knuckles cracked.

“If you can’t take her on, I can. I’m still young,” Zhou Ze murmured, even though the statement was untrue to his convictions. Despite Xu Le’s age, Zhou Ze strongly believed that he had taken better care of his body in his previous life.

“Isn’t that going too far?” the owner withheld his anger.

“What if your wife agrees?” Zhou Ze said.

“Was that your wife just then?” the owner switched the topic.

“Yeah,” Zhou Ze nodded.

“Are you willing to give her away?” the owner asked.

Zhou Ze hesitated slightly before shaking his head. The woman might be Xu Le’s wife, but she was currently his wife now. Zhou Ze was not willing to let some other men take her.

“Then why would you think I’m willing to?” the owner asked in return.

“Perhaps you have some unique fetish? It’s pretty normal nowadays, isn’t it?”

“Brother, it’s been a while since I last hit someone,” the man rose to his feet.

“Ask your wife to come out here, I’ll ask if she’s willing or not,” Zhou Ze leaned backward and said smilingly.

“Humph,” the owner walked closer to Zhou Ze.

“Stand here and ask her to come out,” Zhou Ze insisted.

“You’re asking for trouble!” the man lunged forward.

“Can she come out?” Zhou Ze asked suddenly.

The man halted in his tracks. He soon had a terrified look and took a few steps back.

Zhou Ze stood up and went into the kitchen. He flipped the curtain up. There was no one inside, apart from a woman’s skin hanging on a rack.

The skin was swaying in the wind that blew into the kitchen when the windows were open.

“How…h(huán)ow did you know?” The owner slowly came up to Zhou Ze. He did not sound angry.

“Isn’t there a saying… are you trying to fool a ghost?” Zhou Ze turned around and looked at the man. “You should take off the skin you’re wearing, too. I’m rather curious; how bored were you to put up a double act?”