"Lu Zhengting, what are you doing? Don't do anything rash—Xiaohan is still outside. Don't come any closer." Xia Yan dared not meet Lu Zhengting's eyes, but watched him steadily approach, her heart growing uneasy. What was she supposed to do now? She had only fragmented memories of what happened last night, and even piecing them together, she couldn't recall the details.
Lu Zhengting pressed his lips together in a light smile, his eyes as if infused with starlight, shimmering brightly. With his high-bridged nose, sensual mouth, and sharply defined features, Xia Yan's face flushed as a thought crossed her mind. She raised her hands to cover her cheeks.
"Last night..." Lu Zhengting let the two words slip, then paused, watching Xia Yan stare at him nervously. He suddenly spoke, "You really don't remember anything? Are you saying you've forgotten how you clung tightly to my hand, and you even—"
"Shut up!" Xia Yan stared in disbelief at Lu Zhengting's moving lips, shaking her head violently. "No, no, you're lying. How could I have done that?"
How could she have been so deranged as to grab Lu Zhengting's hand? It made no sense to her.
Lu Zhengting glanced sidelong at Xia Yan. Well-rested and in a good mood after changing clothes, he found her inexpressible expression amusing. A low chuckle slowly filled the room, then his demeanor turned serious and earnest. "What's your response?"
"Response? What response?" Xia Yan's round eyes darted around. Logically, if something indescribable had happened last night, she should have woken up with aches all over her body. Yet aside from a slight headache, she felt nothing else. Besides, even if she hadn't eaten pork, she'd seen pigs run—and with the internet so advanced, a quick search would yield countless answers.
In truth, she considered herself not easily swayed by physical allure.
After a moment's thought, Xia Yan eyed Lu Zhengting suspiciously. "Is this fun for you? Nothing happened between us last night!"
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting pondered briefly, then chuckled without a word. He simply rolled up his sleeve to his elbow, revealing several scratches of varying depths on his arm. Xia Yan froze, staring at his hand in shock.
"Did I do that?"
Lu Zhengting narrowed his eyes, casting a look at Xia Yan that seemed to confirm the intensity of last night, or perhaps to imply she had taken advantage of him. Xia Yan was stunned, starting to doubt whether she really had forced herself on him—after all, online answers weren't always reliable. She furrowed her brow, silent.
Lu Zhengting shifted the topic. "I'm hungry."
Snapping back to reality, Xia Yan was about to say it wasn't her problem, but when she saw Lu Zhengting adjust his sleeve, revealing his scarred arm plainly before her, she swallowed her words. Pouting, she asked, "What do you want to eat?"
"Meat."
At his curt reply, Xia Yan rolled her eyes and moved past him to leave the room, but Lu Zhengting suddenly grabbed her. She lost her footing, spun around, and fell onto the bed. Seizing the moment, he smirked wickedly, pouncing on her and bracing himself with one hand on the mattress.
Xia Yan screamed in fright, instinctively thrashing her limbs. Blinking, she stared at the man pressing down on her, unmoving, her heart racing with fear and panic. "Aren't you hungry? I'll go cook."
"I am hungry."
"Since you're hungry, I'll make food right now."
"Has it ever occurred to you that, to me, you're more appetizing than food?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan's face went pale. Back in college, she'd loved reading novels, and whenever the male lead said that to the female lead, it meant he wanted her. Was Lu Zhengting the same? Terrified, she dared not move.
Just as Xia Yan was at a loss, a childish voice came from outside the door. "Sister Yan, you've got a phone call."
Seizing the opportunity, Xia Yan mustered all her strength to shove Lu Zhengting off, nimbly rolling away and escaping. Opening the door, she saw Xiaohan holding her phone at the doorway, and a wave of warmth washed over her. She crouched down, hugged him, and couldn't resist planting a loud kiss on his cheek.
Xiaohan's face turned bright red. Seeing this, Xia Yan pinched his cheek. "Embarrassed, huh?"
A clear cough sounded from behind. Xia Yan jolted, remembering the predator still in the room.
Her phone kept ringing. She glanced at it—it was Ye Yunchen calling. Her brow furrowed instantly. Xiaohan leaned in and asked, "Sister Yan, who's Brother Ye? He's called so many times."
"Brother Ye is my senior from school."
Xiaohan looked up with big, sparkling eyes and asked in a soft voice, "Sister Yan, is he chasing you?"
"...No."
Xia Yan hesitated before denying it, but Xiaohan blinked and said matter-of-factly, "Sister Yan, you're lying. You hesitated."
"I'm not lying to you, Xiaohan. Let me take the call, okay?"
"Go ahead, go ahead." Xiaohan waved his hand, then noticed Lu Zhengting walking out and added, "Sister Yan, don't say yes to your senior."
Xia Yan wanted to ask why, but Ye Yunchen kept calling, so she had to answer first.
She took the phone to the balcony. Lu Zhengting's discarded clothes were still in the bathroom. Now he lounged on the sofa, while Xiaohan sat beside him, munching on chips and watching TV. Lu Zhengting's gaze was fixed on the balcony, where the person who'd been on the phone for ten minutes still hadn't come in. His expression gradually soured.
When Xia Yan hung up and returned to the living room, she felt the chill in the air had dropped further. She checked the air conditioner's temperature—no change. Setting her phone on the coffee table, she found Lu Zhengting's stare unsettling.
"I'll cook now." Xia Yan naturally attributed his reaction to hunger.
Tying on an apron, she started prepping ingredients. Suddenly recalling what Ye Yunchen had said on the phone, she felt a vague unease. Lost in thought, she accidentally cut her finger with the knife. Bright red blood was stark against her skin, carrying a faint metallic scent.
Xia Yan snapped back to reality, a wave of dizziness washing over her.
Lu Zhengting, who'd been watching the kitchen, immediately got up and strode over. Before Xia Yan could react, he took her injured hand in his, his gaze reproachful as he asked in a low voice, "Where's the first aid kit?"
Xia Yan squinted, shifting her gaze aside. "In that cabinet over there."
He fetched the kit, returning with gauze and disinfectant. Spotting a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao underneath, he grabbed it too. The disinfectant stung the wound, making Xia Yan wince. She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly.
"Easy, will you?"
Lu Zhengting glanced at her resentful, pleading look and softened his touch. His bandaging technique was a mess in Xia Yan's eyes—her injured finger now resembled a swollen dumpling.
"It's kind of ugly," she muttered.
Lu Zhengting shot her a look, leaving her to interpret it herself.
Xia Yan pouted. "Now I can't cook."
She was frustrated because she was hungry too, but her situation made it difficult. A thought struck her, and she instinctively looked at Lu Zhengting, wondering what it would be like to eat food he'd made.
As if reading her mind, Lu Zhengting cut her off with a stern face. "No way!"
Smiling, Xia Yan waved her hand in front of his eyes, a sly glint in hers. "Lu Zhengting, I'm hurt, and we're all hungry. Look at my hand—it's like a dumpling, I can't move it. The only one who can cook here is you. I can't send Xiaohan, can I?"
"Enough said."
"Lu Zhengting, haven't you heard that a man cooking is at his most handsome?"
"I'm handsome even without cooking," he said flatly.
A line of sweat slid down Xia Yan's forehead. "Inner charm, inner charm..." she said, gesturing with her hand.
Xiaohan peeked from the doorway, giggling. "Dad's cooking is super delicious."
"..."
Xia Yan teamed up with Xiaohan, using every trick to get Lu Zhengting to cook. Seeing his cold expression, she gleefully untied her cartoon apron and tied it around him. Despite his resistance, she insisted, and the two of them—one big, one small—snuck back to the living room, grinning mischievously.
Settling on the sofa with Xiaohan, Xia Yan felt at ease watching the man in the kitchen. She munched on snacks, barely paying attention to the TV, her gaze drawn to the handsome figure cooking.
After a moment, she pulled out her phone, curled up on the sofa, and stealthily aimed it at Lu Zhengting. She snapped a photo of his profile. The shutter sound made her yank the phone back. Catching Xiaohan's puzzled look, she pursed her lips. "Just watching TV."
Lying back, Xia Yan looked at the stolen photo on her phone and couldn't help chuckling. Lu Zhengting in an apron was hilarious, especially with his murderous expression. She opened Weibo, browsed Xi Xi's page, then checked Ning Nan's. Seeing Ning Nan's latest post, she burst out laughing.
Ning Nan wrote about caring for a friend's love life only to be locked out. Xia Yan checked the likes—Ning Nan was more popular than she'd imagined. Scrolling through the comments, the netizens' wild imaginations had her laughing uncontrollably.