The Scent of Trouble

The latter half of the meal concluded in an atmosphere of funereal solemnity, as if everyone were attending a wake. No one spoke, nor did anyone reach for more food. The moment the meal was finished, Gu Wei rose from her seat. “I have a meeting at the company,” she declared, her gaze sweeping over Xiang Qing’s hand. “There’s burn cream in the first-aid kit; remember to apply it yourself.” With that, she departed without a backward glance. The temporary truce had begun.

Xiang Qing surveyed the messy table, feeling utterly drained.

“Xiao Qing, let me help you.” Shen Lanzhi stood up, quietly beginning to clear the dishes. Her movements were gentle, as if she were trying to atone for something.

“No need, Sister Lanzhi, I—”

“Let me do it.” Shen Lanzhi interrupted her, picking up a stack of plates and heading towards the kitchen. “It was our fault; we shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

Xiang Qing was too weary to argue. She simply followed behind, using her uninjured hand to assist. The two women moved silently, one after the other, in the kitchen.

After clearing the remnants of the meal, Shen Lanzhi led Xiang Qing to sit on the living room sofa. The afternoon sun streamed through the French windows, warm and inviting, making one feel drowsy.

“I’m sorry, Xiao Qing.” Shen Lanzhi took Xiang Qing’s uninjured hand. “I just… seeing her treat you like that, I couldn’t quite control myself.”

Her words made it sound as if licking her own finger earlier had been an act of self-defense. Xiang Qing no longer had the energy to dwell on it; all she wanted was to collapse.

She managed a professional, if strained, smile. “It’s alright, Sister Lanzhi. I’m not angry; just a little tired.”

‘As long as I pretend to forgive, this whole thing can be over.’

Seeing Xiang Qing’s smile, Shen Lanzhi seemed to finally relax, and the apology on her face became much more genuine. “That’s good.”

A brief silence settled on the sofa. Just as Xiang Qing thought she could finally enter a state of calm reflection and ponder life, Shen Lanzhi’s nose suddenly twitched.

“Hmm? Xiao Qing, do you smell something?”

Xiang Qing sat up, instantly alert. ‘Here we go, the familiar pattern, the familiar scent. Peace never lasts more than three minutes before trouble brews.’ She tried to discern any scent in the air. “Do I? The smell of food?”

Shen Lanzhi frowned slightly. “It’s a somewhat fermented, sour smell.” As she spoke, she sniffed around her seat like a puppy. Finally, her gaze landed precisely on Xiang Qing’s bare feet.

Xiang Qing had been wearing small leather shoes with her maid outfit today but had taken them off during dinner because they were uncomfortable. Her heart lurched. A ominous premonition enveloped her.

Shen Lanzhi looked at her feet, her face etched with pure curiosity. “It seems to be coming from down here. Xiao Qing, did you walk a lot today? Are your feet sweaty?”

‘Foot odor?!’ The two words struck Xiang Qing like a bolt of lightning. She could accept being poor, she could accept being timid, but she absolutely could not accept being associated with the word ‘unclean’! This was the last shred of dignity for a refined girl!

“Impossible!” Xiang Qing blurted out. “My socks are new!”

“I didn’t mean that…” Shen Lanzhi’s tone was filled with innocence. “I’m just a little curious about the source of this smell. How about I help you sniff it to confirm?”

‘I don’t believe a word you say!’ Alarm bells blared in Xiang Qing’s mind. First, she licked blood for disinfection; now, she wants to smell feet to identify a scent? Were this woman’s fetishes becoming increasingly bizarre? But in her haste to prove her innocence, a rush of blood to her head led her to a decision she would soon regret. “Fine! Go ahead!” She indignantly lifted her left foot, directly presenting it to Shen Lanzhi. “Smell it! See if there’s really any smell! Once my innocence is proven, what more will you have to say?”

Shen Lanzhi showed no hesitation, leaning forward slightly. Then, very, very slowly, she took a breath, directing it at the sole of Xiang Qing’s foot. Xiang Qing watched her expression, which slowly shifted from indignation to confusion. There was no hint of disgust on Shen Lanzhi’s face, no sign of having smelled anything unpleasant. Instead, her cheeks were slightly flushed, her expression almost enraptured…

Xiang Qing exploded. ‘I fell for it! This isn’t foot odor at all! This isn’t about foot odor at all; this is entrapment!’ She tried to yank her foot back, but it was too late. Shen Lanzhi reached out, gently cradling her ankle, preventing her movement.

“Hmm…” Shen Lanzhi looked up, her eyes sparkling, a satisfied smile playing on her lips, her voice soft and light. “Indeed, there’s no foul smell.” Her thumb gently stroked Xiang Qing’s ankle. “Not only is it not foul, but it’s quite fragrant.”

Xiang Qing’s brain buzzed, as if it had been thrown into a high-speed tumble dryer. ‘Fragrant? Fragrant, my foot! You call this predatory, lecherous behavior ‘savoring a fragrance’?’ She abruptly pulled her foot back, moving as quickly as if fleeing the gaping maw of some prehistoric beast. However, Shen Lanzhi merely released her hand without retreating, her smiling eyes still fixed on Xiang Qing. Xiang Qing’s heart pounded, not from affection, but from sheer exasperation. She now seriously suspected that Shen Lanzhi had been reading some third-rate novel like My Overbearing Neighbor Falls for Me: A Hundred Weird Ways and was now putting it into practice with her.

“Xiao Qing, don’t be nervous.” Seeing Xiang Qing’s look of horror, Shen Lanzhi’s smile deepened. “I’m just… a little confused.”

‘I’m the one who’s confused! My whole family is confused!’

“That sour smell, since it’s not coming from your feet…” Shen Lanzhi stood up, elegantly taking a small step in front of Xiang Qing, her nose twitching slightly in the air. “Then it must still be on you.”

Xiang Qing froze in place, not daring to move. ‘Here comes the familiar plot again. Whenever the villain wants to cause trouble, a fart from an ant five hundred miles away can become an excuse for her to make a fuss.’

“Could it be… your armpit?” Shen Lanzhi tilted her head, her expression as innocent as a three-year-old child’s. “It’s easy for girls to sweat here after exercise and develop a smell.”

Xiang Qing’s pupils dilated in shock. This was a sleeveless maid outfit; her armpits were smooth and exposed. But that was no reason for her to lean in and sniff!

“Impossible!” Xiang Qing retorted again, her voice cracking. “My armpits don’t smell… I hardly ever sweat there!”

“Is that so? But what if?” Shen Lanzhi’s tone was filled with an irresistible concern. “Let me confirm it for you; it’ll be quick. Otherwise, you’ll always be worrying about it, and how uncomfortable that would be.”

‘You’re the uncomfortable one! Your whole family is uncomfortable!’ Before Xiang Qing could even formulate a refusal to this utterly preposterous suggestion, Shen Lanzhi had already stepped forward, bending slightly, her face nearing Xiang Qing’s left arm. The distance was too close. So close that Xiang Qing could clearly see her long, curled eyelashes and the faint blue veins beneath her fair skin. She wanted to dodge, but her body felt as if it had been acupunctured. Half of it was due to shock, the other half because she had to play the role of a naive girl who had a slight crush on Shen Lanzhi and allowed her to do as she pleased.

“Lift your arm, Xiao Qing.” Shen Lanzhi’s voice was soft and gentle. Xiang Qing felt like a frog being placed on a dissection table, her mind blank, with only the eight characters ‘I am the fish, she is the cleaver’ echoing within. Stiffly, humiliatingly, she slowly raised her left arm.

Shen Lanzhi’s nose almost touched her skin. Then, she closed her eyes. It wasn’t a simple sniff. It was an act of connoisseurship. Her breathing was long and steady, as if she wasn’t sniffing a smell but savoring a vintage red wine, her expression focused, even tinged with enjoyment. Xiang Qing’s scalp tingled. She was now a hundred percent certain that this woman was a seasoned predator, expertly circling her emotional minefield in an F1 race car. ‘Enough! This is truly enough! If this continues, Gu Wei won’t come back to find a little maid who was eaten alive, but a walking corpse, driven to insanity by a pervert.’

Just as Xiang Qing was about to erupt, preparing to kick this beautiful, deranged woman away at all costs, Shen Lanzhi finally concluded her appraisal ritual. She straightened up, a satisfied smile on her face, mixed with just the right touch of confusion. “Very clean.”