Chapter 97: Eat

At six in the evening, Liu Qiu opened the refrigerator and used the remaining ingredients to try cooking three dishes.

Stir-fried shredded potatoes, mushrooms with pork, and green peppers with pork.

The dishes were cooked until they were dark and had already lost their original colors.

[System, I really am not suited for cooking.]

The system comforted her. [Nonsense. It’s much better than last time. At least it looks somewhat decent now.]

Liu Qiu looked at the unappetizing dishes on the table and sighed.

Forget it. She would wait for Fu Jinyin to come back and order takeout together.

However, Liu Qiu waited and waited in the living room, and after dozing off on the sofa for an unknown amount of time, she was suddenly awakened by the sound of the door opening.

With a click, the living room lights were switched on, and the bright white light was a little glaring.

Liu Qiu had just opened her eyes when the sudden brightness made them sting, and tears welled up uncontrollably, making her gaze look moist and glistening.

She poked her head out from the sofa and saw Fu Jinyin changing her shoes at the entrance.

The clock on the wall showed that it was already eleven o’clock.

So late.

“Jinyin, why did you come back so late?” Liu Qiu called out.

Fu Jinyin stiffened slightly and straightened up, looking in Liu Qiu’s direction.

She met Liu Qiu’s messy hair, damp eyes, and slightly reddened eye rims.

Liu Qiu’s fair arms were draped over the back of the sofa as she propped up her head, still groggy from sleep, her expression a little dazed.

Fu Jinyin’s fingers curled slightly. Had she cried for so long because of what happened today?

She should have been pleased—she had made Liu Qiu unhappy again—but all she felt was a dull irritation.

She increasingly couldn’t understand what Liu Qiu was trying to do.

In the past, Liu Qiu would never stay in the living room past ten, wouldn’t wear short sleeves, and certainly wouldn’t cry.

It was irritating. What exactly was Liu Qiu trying to do?

For the sake of sleeping with her?

Liu Qiu slipped on her slippers and walked over with light steps, thinking Fu Jinyin hadn’t heard her.

So she repeated herself after getting closer. “Jinyin, why did you come back so late?”

As she approached, a faint scent of body wash drifted into Fu Jinyin’s nose.

She realized it was Liu Qiu’s scent, and her body tensed.

Still not receiving a response, Liu Qiu pressed her lips together and asked another question. “Jinyin, did you eat dinner?”

It was already eleven, so she must have eaten. If so, Liu Qiu wouldn’t order takeout and would just eat the dishes she had cooked herself.

“I ate,” Fu Jinyin replied in a low, subdued voice that sounded overly cold.

Liu Qiu blinked. She wasn’t someone who initiated conversation much to begin with, and after getting an answer, she didn’t know what else to say.

She nodded and turned toward the dining table, intending to reheat the dishes.

Fu Jinyin’s gaze followed her.

Why wasn’t Liu Qiu asking about Duan Fan?

Only when Liu Qiu reached the dining table did Fu Jinyin notice the dishes.

Her lashes trembled slightly as she walked behind Liu Qiu. “You cooked?”

Liu Qiu’s hand shook slightly, startled.

After recovering, she turned and nodded. “I planned to wait and eat with you.”

“But you’ve already eaten.”

As she spoke, her stomach growled loudly. This time, at home, she wasn’t embarrassed and carried the dishes into the kitchen.

“Jinyin, go to your room,” Liu Qiu said. Coming back so late, she must be tired. When reheating the food, the living room would smell smoky, so it was better to stay in the room.

That was Liu Qiu’s intention, but in Fu Jinyin’s ears, it sounded different.

Liu Qiu was driving her away.

Fu Jinyin didn’t move. Soon, a burnt smell drifted out of the kitchen, along with Liu Qiu’s coughing.

Fu Jinyin walked toward the kitchen.

Liu Qiu’s face was flushed from the smoke, and she coughed until tears streamed down.

[Host, the range hood. Turn on the range hood.]

[System, my eyes hurt a little.]

She had only wanted to reheat the food, but this domineering CEO’s body stats seemed poor. She had already been choking while cooking earlier, and now she was choking again while reheating.

Suddenly, Fu Jinyin’s cold voice sounded behind her. “Out.”

Liu Qiu turned her head, but before she could see clearly, her wrist was grabbed and the spatula taken from her hand.

She was pulled away from the smoking hot pan.

“Jinyin, I—cough, cough.”

“Out,” Fu Jinyin repeated, her tone heavier this time.

Helpless, Liu Qiu left the kitchen.

Fu Jinyin found Liu Qiu extremely irritating, always pretending to be pitiful.

She had never asked Liu Qiu to cook or wait for her. What self-moved performance was this, and now this pitiful act on top of it?

The dishes, unimpressive to begin with, didn’t improve after reheating.

The scorched smell drifted into Liu Qiu’s nose in thin wisps.

Fu Jinyin carried the dishes to the table and sat down across from Liu Qiu.

Liu Qiu pressed her lips together.

Fu Jinyin said nothing, her expression indifferent as always. Without her suit, Liu Qiu looked less rigid and serious, more like a young woman in her early twenties than someone nearing thirty.

Fu Jinyin watched as Liu Qiu put a piece of slightly blackened food into her mouth.

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, as if she regretted it.

Liu Qiu truly regretted it. She regretted wasting the ingredients. It was awful. She was clearly hungry, but the salty, burnt taste made it hard to swallow.

She stared at the dishes in confusion. She had followed the system’s instructions step by step.

Suddenly, a pair of chopsticks reached into the dish.

Liu Qiu’s eyes widened slightly as she looked up and saw Fu Jinyin expressionlessly put the food into her mouth.

“Bad,” Fu Jinyin said flatly.

Liu Qiu’s fingers curled on the table, and she lowered her head without speaking.

Fu Jinyin’s gaze slid to the red marks on Liu Qiu’s pale arm.

Her thin lips pressed together. Irritating.

The old Liu Qiu had disgusted her, and the past two days had only become more vexing.

“But it won’t kill you.”

The sound of chopsticks against porcelain rang softly. Liu Qiu looked up and saw Fu Jinyin eating the unpleasant dishes one bite after another, her eyes gradually brightening.

Fu Jinyin was comforting her, wasn’t she?

She had already eaten dinner and said the food was bad, yet she was still eating it now.

Maybe Fu Jinyin was starting to accept her a little. Though she didn’t know why, it was a good development.

Liu Qiu wanted to smile but pressed her lips tightly to suppress it.

Lowering her voice, she said, “Jinyin, you’re really kind.”

Fu Jinyin’s grip on her chopsticks tightened abruptly. Had Liu Qiu’s brain collapsed along with her company?

After that, Liu Qiu didn’t speak again. Although the food was terrible, watching Fu Jinyin eat made the meal seem tastier.

She finished a bowl of rice.

Only small portions of the three dishes remained.

Liu Qiu didn’t eat much of the dishes, taking a large mouthful of rice with every bite to mask the burnt taste.

After one bowl, she was nearly full.

“Jinyin, why did you come back so late?” she asked again.

Fu Jinyin put down her chopsticks and stood, looking at Liu Qiu. “Work.”

“Don’t wait for me in the future.”

With that, she left for the bedroom.

Liu Qiu watched her close the door, leaving her alone in the living room.

But she wasn’t angry. Fu Jinyin eating that much had already surprised her.

Fu Jinyin had always eaten only meat before.

A small smile curved Liu Qiu’s eyes.

After cleaning up, she returned to her room at half past midnight.

Instead of sleeping, she sat at her desk and continued drawing today’s events.

[At eleven, Miss Yin came back from work. Miss Qiu cooked three super terrible dishes, but Miss Yin ate them all.]

[Miss Yin is very cute, she just doesn’t like talking.]

She posted the drawing online.

After washing up, Liu Qiu lay down and quickly fell into a deep sleep. After a busy day, sleep always came heavy and sweet.

The world at night was quiet, gray clouds covering the sky.

The tranquil air spread everywhere. Liu Qiu’s pale cheeks were flushed as she slept soundly.

Her lashes cast faint shadows, her pink lips and small nose delicate, and even with her eyes closed, her deep double eyelids were distinct.

A soft squelching sound, like liquid being squeezed, echoed faintly in the room.

Liu Qiu slept deeply and heard nothing.

The clouds drifted away, and moonlight slipped in through the window, casting a clawing shadow on the white wall.

Liu Qiu felt exhausted, as if she couldn’t breathe. “Mm…”

It was uncomfortable, like her feet had stepped into empty air with nothing solid beneath them.

“Mm… it hurts…” she murmured softly.

She suddenly woke, staring at the ceiling and breathing heavily.

She reached up to touch her neck. It was clean, nothing there, just slightly slick.

Sunlight outside was dazzling. Liu Qiu pressed the bridge of her nose. She seemed to have had a nightmare, but upon waking, she couldn’t remember anything.

Her body felt weak and sticky. She lifted her shirt to check but found nothing wrong.

Maybe she had just sweated in her sleep.

Not dwelling on it, she got up and took another shower.

When she entered the living room, Fu Jinyin was nowhere to be seen. The apartment was quiet, so she must have already left.

Fu Jinyin had told her not to go to the company, and Liu Qiu didn’t plan to. She had something else to do today.

She planned to find a job. The suits she had listed online hadn’t sold.

She had priced them according to the system’s estimate: 4,800 per suit. The original price had been 50,000 each, but after multiple wears, the price had to be lowered.

Four thousand was about right.

Liu Qiu had wanted to sell them for one or two hundred. After all, a secondhand item costing several thousand probably wouldn’t sell.

But when it came to pricing, the AI system had more authority.

“Hey, why didn’t President Liu come today?” Duan Fan lounged on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling lazily.

Fu Jinyin ignored her and continued reading documents on the computer.

After waiting a while, Duan Fan spoke again. “Are you really planning to revive Liu Qiu’s crappy company?”

Fu Jinyin didn’t respond.

Duan Fan finally noticed that she had removed her hearing aid. She laughed.

“Just an upgraded version of Antique Liu,” she muttered, though Liu Qiu didn’t seem so antique anymore.

Duan Fan decided to visit Liu Qiu’s home.

She wondered if Liu Qiu was still angry.

She had never liked Liu Qiu, even hated her since childhood.

Though she wanted Liu Qiu’s company to collapse and see her live miserably, she hadn’t gone so far as to smear it.

But others weren’t as gentle as she was.

As Duan Fan sat in her sports car, she thought about Liu Qiu’s tears yesterday.

It was the first time she had seen her cry.

It hadn’t brought any pleasure—only annoyance.

The irritation lingered into today. Not seeing Liu Qiu only made it worse.

Was she pent up after twenty-eight years and in need of dating? Why else did Liu Qiu suddenly look pleasing to the eye?

Just then, her phone rang.

“Hello, sis.”

“Fu Jinyin hasn’t shown any abnormalities. Why do you want me to monitor her? It’s been months.”

“She’s like a wooden post. Even more wooden than Liu Qiu.”

Later that evening, Liu Qiu returned home and saw Duan Fan’s eye-catching purple sports car parked outside.

Standing beside it was Duan Fan and a tall woman in a white dress with delicate features.

When the woman suddenly turned, Liu Qiu felt her breath catch. She seemed familiar.

The woman smiled at her.

Soon, Duan Fan noticed her and strode over.

“President Liu, back from shopping?” she teased.

Before Liu Qiu could respond, the woman stepped forward.

“Hello, I’m Chaoyue. What’s your name?”

“I think I fell for you at first sight.”

Duan Fan’s eyes widened. “Chaoyue, weren’t you into my sister?!”

“Not anymore,” Chaoyue smiled. “I like this beauty in front of me more.”

She extended her hand. “Shall we shake hands?”

Liu Qiu hesitated but shook it politely. “Liu Qiu.”

The moment their skin touched, a notification sounded in her mind.

[Ding! Target character number two confirmed: Childhood Sweetheart.]

She finally remembered.

In the original host’s memories, there had been a photo tucked in Fu Jinyin’s diary. The person in the photo was younger but had the exact same features.

So Fu Jinyin’s first love wasn’t a man.

Lost in thought, Liu Qiu forgot to let go.

Duan Fan pulled their hands apart with a grin. “That’s not fair. If we’re holding hands, the three of us should do it together.”

She intertwined her fingers with theirs.

Liu Qiu immediately struggled. “Duan Fan, let go.”

“Why? You held hands with Chaoyue longer than this.”

After counting silently to fifteen, Liu Qiu said calmly, “You’ve held my hand five seconds longer than Miss Chaoyue now. You can let go.”

Duan Fan burst out laughing.

Chaoyue smiled as well. “Liu… Qiu,” she said slowly, almost intimately. “You’re adorable.”

Flustered, Liu Qiu pulled away. “I’m going home.”

Later that night, Duan Fan and Chaoyue followed her upstairs.

Duan Fan ordered an extravagant spread of seafood.

Liu Qiu refused.

[System, I’ve never eaten something that expensive. I really want to try it.]

The system warned her. [Be wary of sugar-coated bullets. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.]

Liu Qiu retreated to her room.

Unbeknownst to her, the system secretly sent a message from her phone to Fu Jinyin.

[Wife, I want to eat lobster. Can you buy it for me? (puppy eyes.jpg)]

Fu Jinyin saw the message. Her lips pressed thin. Disgusting.

When Fu Jinyin returned home, she handed Liu Qiu a plastic bag.

“It’s lobster,” she said hoarsely.

“Very cheap. That’s why I bought it.”

Liu Qiu nodded, though it was late to cook.

Duan Fan invited them to eat the expensive lobster she had ordered.

Fu Jinyin refused.

“You go eat,” she told Liu Qiu quietly before heading to the kitchen.

Liu Qiu watched her thin figure and followed.

In the kitchen, Fu Jinyin poured ordinary crayfish into the sink. They looked completely different from the luxurious lobsters on the table outside.

“Out,” Fu Jinyin said.

“I’ll help,” Liu Qiu insisted.

“Liu Qiu, I told you to get out.”

“I want to help. Don’t be angry, okay?”

Fu Jinyin suddenly lifted Liu Qiu’s chin.

Her damp eyes reflected in Fu Jinyin’s pale irises. Her fingertips grew wet from Liu Qiu’s tears.

Why did she keep crying?

Fu Jinyin felt irritated, her heart swelling uncomfortably.

Why couldn’t Liu Qiu stay the same as before? Why change?

It was so annoying.

Liu Qiu quickly wiped her eyes. “A bug flew into them.”

[System, am I breaking character? What kind of CEO cries so easily?]

She hadn’t meant to cry, but being scolded repeatedly made her feel wronged.

Fu Jinyin took a slow breath and, for the first time, explained softly, “Liu Qiu, they might hurt you.”

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