Chapter 221: Breakfast

The next day, 9:00 a.m.

Luo Shaotian parked the car steadily downstairs from Lin Yu’s apartment, turned off the engine, but didn’t get out.

He had deliberately chosen this delicate time—nine o’clock.

It was a good time. Late enough to allow someone the luxury of sleeping in, yet early enough to enjoy breakfast calmly.

Based on his years of experience interacting with women, people tended to relax mentally while eating.

The words buried deep in their hearts also became easier to speak along with the steam rising from hot food.

Since that was the case, this breakfast opportunity to break the ice absolutely couldn’t be wasted.

He had already checked in advance—the bakery downstairs from Lin Yu’s building was a good choice.

Although applying social tactics meant for women onto his own brother always gave him a strange sense of guilt.

…

Still, Luo Shaotian convinced himself:

“It’s all for her health.”

Before long, a small, somewhat awkward figure appeared at the entrance of the residential complex.

It was Lin Yu.

Because the spiritual energy circuits inside her body were blocked, she couldn’t maintain her usual black-haired, black-eyed appearance using “Dress-Up Time!” like before.

So she was forced to walk around with that silver-gray long hair and those heterochromatic eyes.

It made her look like a cosplayer playing a young magical girl.

She had clearly noticed this herself and deliberately chose oversized clothes to wear.

Black jeans. A dark blue cotton coat.

She even put on a winter hat and wrapped half her face in a bright red scarf, leaving only a pair of big eyes nervously scanning her surroundings.

Luo Shaotian lightly tapped the hazard lights, the orange flashes flickering in the chilly morning air.

Lin Yu quickly shuffled over to the car and bent slightly.

Her cute face moved close to the window.

Her eyes widened until she confirmed the familiar man in the driver’s seat.

Only then did she sigh in relief and pull open the passenger door.

Click.

The door opened.

A faint, cool fragrance drifted into Luo Shaotian’s nose.

It wasn’t a strong perfume or floral scent.

Instead, it was something soft and warm.

In his memory, it was the kind of subtle scent you only noticed when you were close to the hair of girls in the prime of youth.

When he was younger, Luo Shaotian had naïvely thought it was simply the smell of a particular brand of shampoo.

He had even honestly asked girls about the brand before.

But after growing up, he realized that even with the same formula, different girls carried completely different fragrances.

His breathing stalled for a moment.

Luo Shaotian stared rigidly at the windshield ahead, feeling his hands gripping the steering wheel trembling slightly beyond his control.

“Why did you come out dressed like this? It looks… a bit ill-fitting.”

He tried to keep his voice as steady as usual.

“These are actually my own clothes.”

Lin Yu tugged at the thick red scarf and exhaled a puff of white breath, fogging the car window slightly.

“I can’t help it. My spiritual energy won’t move at all right now. I can’t even do the most basic outfit change.”

“As for the sailor uniform… I threw it in the washing machine last night. It’s still not dry.”

“My crappy rental apartment doesn’t even have a dryer. Those things are ridiculously expensive—several thousand yuan for one. No way I’d buy that.”

“No spare clothes…”

Luo Shaotian quietly noted that detail.

“Well… there’s still time.”

He coughed lightly and cautiously suggested,

“How about I take you to get some breakfast first? Replenish your energy, and then we can go see Dr. Reed afterward.”

“Huh? You haven’t had breakfast yet?!”

Lin Yu turned to him, surprised.

Luo Shaotian’s heart tightened instinctively.

“What does that mean?”

“Did she already eat?”

“No, not yet.”

He steadied himself and asked carefully,

“Have you… already eaten?”

“Not really. A single guy like me doesn’t have the habit of eating breakfast.”

Lin Yu yawned without caring about her image.

“When I don’t have morning shifts, I usually wake up near noon and just treat lunch as my first meal.”

The tension in Luo Shaotian’s chest finally eased.

“Your situation is special right now. For recovery, it’s better to eat something hot on time.”

He pointed to the warmly lit bakery by the roadside.

“That bakery downstairs looks nice. Coffee and bread—does that work for you?”

“Sure.”

Lin Yu glanced down at the time on her contract bracelet.

“Anyway, that foreign doctor scheduled us for lunchtime. No need to go there early just to hit a closed door.”

Her quick agreement made Luo Shaotian secretly sigh in relief.

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They pushed open the shop door.

The warm aroma of baked goods and strong heating greeted them instantly.

Inside the display cases were rows of delicate desserts and bread.

However, the prices looked rather “aloof”—almost every set meal started at fifty yuan.

Lin Yu lightly bit her pink lips and skillfully opened the Xianyu app, trying to see if there were any discounts.

“What do you want to eat?”

Luo Shaotian’s voice interrupted her very street-smart behavior.

Lin Yu looked up in surprise at the good brother towering over her.

“Ah… you’re treating?”

Luo Shaotian simply nodded slightly.

“No… that’s not necessary.”

Lin Yu instinctively declined.

Even though her body had become a girl’s, the pride that belonged to a man still popped up occasionally.

Letting a buddy spend money on her felt strange.

“It’s fine. No need to be polite between us.”

Luo Shaotian was unusually persistent—almost forceful—afraid Lin Yu might really insist on paying.

“…Alright then. Don’t regret it.”

Lin Yu finally couldn’t resist the temptation of the expensive set meal and pointed to a luxury combo she would normally never buy.

When the steaming food arrived, Lin Yu’s eyes instantly lit up.

She excitedly took out her bracelet and snapped a photo.

“Caesar Emperor Combo. Nice—I’ve wanted to try this for ages!”

Luo Shaotian sat across from her, barely touching his own food.

He simply watched her silently.

Watched her open her soft pink lips and eat like a little squirrel hoarding food, her cheeks puffing slightly with each bite.

“Mmm~~~”

Lin Yu happily narrowed her eyes and let out a satisfied hum.

“It really does taste a bit fancier than pork buns from the market. Guess you get what you pay for…”

Then she finally noticed the overly intense gaze from across the table.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

“Yeah, there is.”

Luo Shaotian reached out almost unconsciously.

His fingertips gently brushed the corner of her mouth.

“Here. You got some sauce.”

“Smack—!”

Lin Yu flinched like she’d been shocked and immediately slapped his hand away, rolling her eyes and turning her head aside.

“Ugh—I’ll do it myself! What are you doing, you weirdo!”

“…”

Luo Shaotian awkwardly withdrew his hand.

The palm still seemed to retain the porcelain-smooth touch.

To hide his embarrassment, he stiffly changed the subject.

“Cough… well, we still have time.”

“How about we stop by the mall and buy you some proper clothes before we meet Dr. Reed?”

Lin Yu didn’t turn around.

Her voice was filled with suspicion.

“Why buy clothes? Can’t I wear this?”

“We’re meeting senior staff from Ruikang Biotech. Your current outfit… isn’t very appropriate.”

Luo Shaotian tried to weave a reasonable explanation.

“It looks messy. What if they think we’re being disrespectful and it affects your treatment plan?”

“The mall is nearby. We’ll just pick something quickly and leave. There’s plenty of time.”

Lin Yu went silent.

She even stopped chewing.

For quite a while she didn’t say anything.

“Damn… was I too forward earlier? Did I make her angry?”

Luo Shaotian felt regret creeping in.

But unexpectedly, Lin Yu’s muffled voice came out.

“…Fine. I’ll listen to you.”

“Huh?”

“If we’re buying, we’re buying.”

She finally turned her face back.

For some reason, a faint blush had already spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.

“Besides… I really don’t have clothes to wear right now.”

“But let’s be clear!”

“When we buy clothes later, don’t pay for me.”

“That kind of thing… would feel really weird.”