Chapter 91: Stella’s Gift

At that moment, the hot spring door opened.

Derek Su turned back, hope rising in his chest.

He thought Stella had arrived—but instead, a towering woman walked in. She was nearly six feet tall, dark-skinned, broad-shouldered, and powerfully built, carrying an iron bucket. She wore heavy black boots, and the bucket was filled with professional scrubbing tools, sea salt, essential oils, and the like. She looked more like a butcher from a slaughterhouse than anything else.

“That’s my sister,” the first matron said happily.
“Sis, hurry over! The boss is here!”

The burly woman turned her head, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw Derek Su. A ferocious grin spread across her face.

This boss was a big spender. One hour of scrubbing paid two thousand each for her and her sister.

No matter what, they had to scrub him thoroughly and leave a good impression today. Who knew—there might be future opportunities to serve him.

“Hello, boss! Don’t worry, I’ll scrub you squeaky clean!” she said loudly.
“No need to be shy—we do this for a living! We won’t miss a single corner or crack!”

Derek Su’s face turned green.

He didn’t even have time to wonder why these two sisters looked so different in build and appearance.

He just wanted to escape.

With one burst of speed, he sprinted for the door, his slippers flying off behind him. Ignoring the two matrons shouting “Boss! Boss!”, he was about to bolt out of the hot spring—

Just then, the small wooden door opened.

Stella walked in, wearing a one-piece swimsuit, humming a cheerful tune. The first thing she saw was Derek Su, frozen in terror.

“Ah! Master, you’re here already?”

The instant he saw Stella, Derek Su felt like he’d gone straight from hell to heaven.

He was so moved he almost cried. In one swift motion, he darted over and hid behind Stella.

“Stella! If you hadn’t come, my life would’ve ended right here! Wuwuwu QAQ!”

Stella looked at the two matrons, then at Derek Su.

Her high-functioning brain immediately pieced together what had happened.

She held Derek Su’s hand and stuck out her tongue apologetically.
“Master, these two are the massage and scrubbing specialists I hired for you. Lumina said this kind of thing should be left to professionals. Don’t let their age fool you—they’re very well-known scrubbing experts around here. Everyone they’ve worked on says they’re amazing.”

“That’s right, boss! We’re really good at scrubbing!”
“Boss, give us a chance! We guarantee you’ll be howling!”

So… the two matrons had been hired by Stella to scrub him.

Derek Su finally came back to his senses, feeling both helpless and close to tears.

He had thought Stella invited him to a private hot spring for a date.
Something romantic. Just the two of them.

Turned out he’d completely overthought it?

Stella had simply felt he was tired and wanted him to relax?

It was a surprise…
Just not quite the one he had imagined.

He was touched—but still, a little disappointed compared to his expectations.

“Um, Stella… we don’t need the scrubbing service,” Derek Su said weakly, rubbing his forehead, still shaken.
“No massage either. I’m in great shape—no soreness or aches.”

He glanced at the two matrons. He really couldn’t imagine their hands roaming over his body. Add in those tools, and he’d feel like a pig waiting to be butchered.

He just couldn’t accept this kind of service.

To him, bathing and soaking in hot springs were private matters.
At most—at most—he could accept Stella being there with him. Outsiders were far too uncomfortable.

“Oh… okay.”
Seeing that hiring the matrons had actually upset Derek Su, Stella smiled apologetically.

“I’m sorry, aunties. We won’t need the scrubbing service today, but we’ll still pay you half the fee. We won’t let you make the trip for nothing.”

The two matrons exchanged glances.

There was such a good deal?

No work, free money?

As expected of a big boss!

“That’s no problem at all. We’re in the service industry—everything follows the boss’s wishes.”
“Right, right. Since you don’t need us, we’ll head out and won’t disturb your soak.”

Both matrons looked delighted as they picked up their buckets and tools and hurriedly left.

Once they were gone, the private bath—which had felt cramped before—immediately seemed much more spacious.

It grew quiet. Only the gentle sound of flowing spring water remained.

Just Derek Su and Stella.

Neither spoke, and the atmosphere slowly turned subtle and intimate.

Stella stood in front of Derek Su with her head lowered, the tips of her ears red, lost in thought.

Derek Su stole glances at her from behind. His gaze traced her exposed, delicate shoulder, followed the smooth S-curve of her waist, then moved down to her slender, elegant legs. Droplets slid down her snow-white skin, gathering at her pink ankles before merging with the water on the floor—an irresistibly alluring sight.

He quickly looked away, his heartbeat accelerating.

Derek Su swallowed hard.

“M-Master… I—I prepared a gift for you…”

After a long pause, Stella finally broke the silence. She took a few small steps and practically fled to the table.

Away from Derek Su’s intense gaze, she seemed able to breathe again.
Blushing, she waved him over.

Derek Su walked up. Stella lifted the lid of the pot.

Inside was a thick, rich pot of fish soup.

She snuck a glance at him, her voice soft with nervousness and anticipation.
“I remember Master really likes Grandpa Liang’s fish soup. So I spent the whole morning with Lumina trying to figure it out. I don’t know exactly how Grandpa Liang made it, but I remembered the taste. This pot is really close—I simmered it myself.”

She ladled out a bowl and offered it to Derek Su with both hands.

The aroma of the fish soup blended with the steam of the hot spring, making the golden broth look even more tempting.

Derek Su stared at Stella’s slightly pink fingers and felt an overwhelming urge to slap himself.

Stella always thought about how to be good to him.

And him? His head had been full of filthy thoughts.

To many people, giving fish soup as a gift might seem strange.
But Stella was just that pure—and to Derek Su, it was perfect.

And he truly loved Grandpa Liang’s fish soup.

Ever since Grandpa Liang was taken away, he hadn’t tasted it again.

Taking a sip, warmth flowed through Derek Su’s chest.

It felt like the night he first arrived in this world. Wrapped in Grandpa Liang’s clothes, he had huddled at the table, shivering from the cold, until that aged, stooped figure emerged from the kitchen. A large, calloused hand had placed a bowl of fish soup before him, accompanied by a deep, gentle voice:

“Have some fish soup, kid. Once you drink it, you won’t feel cold anymore.”

Back then, Grandpa Liang had taken such good care of him.

Now, Stella did the same.

It seemed like Stella relied on him more—but in reality, she handled almost all the household chores except cooking.

Not because she couldn’t cook.

A Mecha Girl’s learning ability was terrifying. Humans needed to memorize recipes; a Mecha Girl’s only needed to see them once. She could measure ingredients precisely to the gram without any tools.

But Stella said she wanted to eat food he made.
That alone made her feel happy.

That was all.

Without Stella, given his previous life’s complete dependence on hired staff, his ability to take care of himself would probably have collapsed into chaos.

“Stella…”

Derek Su’s face was full of emotion.

From his expression alone, Stella knew the fish soup had passed the test.
Delight surged through her, and she quickly pulled out her second gift.

“Ta-da!”

She lifted it high, standing on her tiptoes, trying to raise it above Derek Su’s head.

Unfortunately, height was a hard limitation.

Derek Su’s pupils shrank slightly.

In Stella’s hands was—

A surprisingly well-made… pineapple helmet.

“Master! This is a helmet made especially for you by the Pineapple King!”
The fish soup wasn’t Stella’s proudest gift—this helmet was. She beamed as she explained,
“Its defense is way better than a racing helmet! And more importantly, it directly shows off your noble status!”

Staring at the pineapple crown, Derek Su was speechless.

“……”

Give me back my emotional moment already!