The living room lights are a cool-toned white.

The steamed egg custard, however, was a warm, clear yellow.

Cheng Ji ate quietly. The steamed egg custard was a little cold, but it was still soft and smooth.

Across from him, Jiang Fei sat on the sofa wearing a coat, looking at him resentfully, her head nodding occasionally due to drowsiness.

One last time, he leaned to one side, and the coat draped over his shoulders drooped down.

Cheng Jiqing coughed.

Jiang Fei suddenly sat up, opened her eyes, and couldn't help but frown and complain in a low voice, "You haven't finished eating yet?"

Cheng Ji hummed in agreement, looked up at her, but paused when he saw her shoulders, which were only covered by a sundress, and lowered his head: "Put on your coat."

Cover up that red mark on your collarbone, it's too unsightly.

"Huh?" Jiang Fei was confused.

Cheng Ji looked up: "I said..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

What does that red mark have to do with him?

Thinking of this, Cheng Ji frowned, quickly finished the rest of the steamed egg custard, stood up and walked towards the stairs: "Go to sleep."

Jiang Fei's eyes lit up, and she picked up her coat to cover herself before lying down on the sofa.

Cheng Ji stopped at the top of the stairs, turned around and looked at her, his brows furrowed: "Not here," he said, then, meeting her surprised gaze, pointed to an inconspicuous door to the side, "Guest room."

Jiang Fei's eyes were still sleepy. She glanced blankly at the door and nodded again, "Oh."

Clutching his coat, he headed towards the guest room, but as he reached the door, something occurred to him, and he suddenly said, "Cheng Ji."

Cheng Ji paused in his steps upstairs and turned around irritably.

Jiang Fei stood at the door of the guest room, her eyes still sleepy, a hazy smile on her face: "Thank you." Then she quickly closed the door.

Cheng Ji paused, cursed under his breath after a long while, and turned to go back to his room.

Jiang Fei lay down on the bed, her smile gradually fading.

Just now, when Cheng Ji was eating steamed egg custard, his favorability rating increased very slowly.

After she said "thank you," his favorability rating reached 30.

The next morning, the sky was somewhat overcast.

Cheng Ji was awakened by noises coming from the kitchen downstairs.

At first, I thought a thief had broken into the apartment, but then I realized that there was an extra person in the apartment last night.

He frowned and rubbed his temples. He hadn't drunk much at the bar last night, so unusually, his head didn't hurt; he was just a little dizzy.

After washing up, Cheng Ji casually ran his fingers through his hair and went downstairs.

But he stopped when he saw the figure in the kitchen.

Jiang Fei was standing in front of the stove, where pumpkin porridge was simmering in a pot, making soft bubbling sounds, emitting a fragrant aroma, and steam rising upwards.

She stood in the morning light and mist.

Cheng Ji lowered his eyes in a flustered manner, only to see that she was wearing large men's slippers, her snow-white toes hidden in the dark blue slippers, occasionally twitching slightly.

"You're awake?" Jiang Fei turned around and smiled when she heard the noise at the door.

Cheng Ji's gaze froze, his heart pounding, and his head spinning even more.

He quickly turned his head, opened the refrigerator, and grumbled, "So noisy this early in the morning."

After saying that, he poured himself a glass of ice water and was about to drink it all in one gulp.

But before he could even drink it, the ice water was taken away from him.

“Drinking ice water in the morning is bad for your stomach,” Jiang Fei said, pouring the ice water into the sink and then handing the cup back to him with a smile. “There’s warm water in the water dispenser.”

Cheng Ji stood there, frowning, staring intently at her.

The glass in my hand still retained the coldness of ice water, yet it also carried a strange heat.

Jiang Fei looked at him with a puzzled expression, then leaned closer to him, as if she were leaning into his arms, with only a hand's width between them: "What's wrong with you?"

Cheng Ji quickly took a step back, his ears gradually turning red, but the sweet fragrance lingered in his nose.

He paused for a moment, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Jiang Fei chuckled, feeling genuinely guilty.

The consequence of teasing a child was that Cheng Ji didn't say a word during the entire breakfast, silently finished his pumpkin porridge, and then left.

With nothing to do in her apartment, Jiang Fei decided to study recipes.

No matter how skilled someone else is at cooking, you can't rely on them. If you're not careful, you might get fed a cup of god-killing wine and your life will be in danger.

Unexpectedly, when she started researching, she became quite interested in food and studied it until dark, eagerly preparing to put it into practice.

But opening the refrigerator dampened my enthusiasm somewhat.

She retracted her statement from yesterday that "the kitchen has everything she needs," because she didn't have what she wanted.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Fei raised an eyebrow, returned to the living room, picked up the apartment phone, and dialed Cheng Ji.

...

Cheng Ji was at a bar when he received the call.

He hadn't been drinking, but had a cigarette dangling from his lips. He sat lazily in the corner, watching the crowd swaying to the music on the dance floor, his eyes somewhat vacant.

"Ah Ji, are you in a bad mood?" Xu Chuan patted his shoulder.

Cheng Ji snapped out of his daze and noticed the stares directed at him from those around him. He scoffed, "Is that even possible?"

Several people burst out laughing.

It was at this moment that the phone screen suddenly lit up, the loud music drowning out the ringtone, but he could still make out the apartment's landline number displayed on the screen.

His apartment is usually empty, but now only Jiang Fei is there.

Cheng Ji paused, picked up his phone to answer, glanced around, and got up to walk out.

He only answered the phone after the music faded behind the door: "What's up?"

Jiang Fei's voice came through the receiver: "Where are you?"

Cheng Ji tightened his grip on his phone, and the words involuntarily slipped out: "What? Checking up on me again?"

"..." Jiang Fei remained silent.

Cheng Ji frowned, then realized what he meant and turned to look behind him: "'Wine Spot' Bar".

Jiang Fei responded softly, and after a while asked in a low voice, "Are you coming back for dinner tonight?"

Cheng Ji's breath hitched, and something seemed to be expanding in his mind, squeezing him so that he couldn't think straight.

"Cheng Ji?" Jiang Fei asked, puzzled.

Cheng Ji barely managed to come to his senses and squeezed out a reluctant "um" from his throat, before quickly adding, "That's my home, of course I have to go back."

Jiang Fei's laughter came through the receiver to his ears, accompanied by a lighthearted remark: "Then remember to buy tofu and fish."

He hung up the phone immediately after saying that.

Cheng Ji tightened his grip on his phone, and after a long while, he let out a sneer.

What did you mean by asking him to buy tofu and fish?

Him? Is that even possible?

Cheng Ji turned around and went back to his seat in the bar, picked up his car keys, and prepared to leave.

Someone behind him teased, "Ah Ji always stays up the latest, why is he home so early today? Is someone home with him?"

Someone immediately responded, "He even has to go outside to answer the phone. It's not that he has family at home; he probably has someone else on his mind!"

Cheng Ji's steps froze.

Xu Chuan, who was on good terms with him, smiled and asked, "Are you really pregnant? When are you going to bring her out so we can all meet her?"

Cheng Ji frowned. What do you mean, "serious"? Serious with whom?

He just... wanted to deal with Luo Shi.

He reached out and touched the wound on his chest. The next second, his face darkened, and he slammed the keys on the table with a "bang": "What nonsense are you talking about? There's no one here."

Those around them looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.

Cheng Ji took out a cigarette, lit it, and, still seemingly unsatisfied, took a deep drag.

Time passed second by second.

Cheng Ji smoked one cigarette after another, his expression becoming increasingly absent-minded. He would occasionally glance at his phone, and occasionally press the wound on his chest, without uttering a word.

The people around me were talking much quieter.

There was some unusual commotion ahead.

Cheng Ji glanced impatiently in that direction, then quickly looked back at the woman walking towards them through the crowd, her eyes narrowed.

She was still wearing that white dress, her eyes and brows were bright, her skin was as white as snow, her slightly curled black hair was draped over her shoulders, and she was wearing a coat. She was being jostled by the occasional passerby and looked completely bewildered.

On the other side...

"Where is Cheng Ji?" Jiang Fei frowned and asked the system in his mind.

While at the apartment, the system said that Cheng Ji's favorability was fluctuating. In addition, it was only a half-hour distance from the bar to the apartment, but Cheng Ji hadn't gone back for an hour. He must be feeling depressed about how he agreed to go home for dinner.

So when he didn't reply, she had no choice but to come.

[System: According to the map, the target is five meters to your right.]

Jiang Fei turned her head and immediately spotted Cheng Ji in the corner through the dim lights of the bar.

Cheng Ji was also looking at her.

Then, he subconsciously took the cigarette out of his mouth.

By the time he realized what was happening, the cigarette had already gone out in the ashtray.

Jiang Fei looked at him, her eyes lit up, and she took two steps toward him.

Cheng Ji suddenly stood up, annoyed, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

The light in Jiang Fei's eyes froze. She stood there for a long time, then smiled apologetically: "I thought something had happened to you on the way."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Those around them watched in astonishment; it all happened so fast.

Cheng Ji stared intently at the woman's retreating figure as she gradually disappeared into the crowd, his heart growing increasingly agitated.

After a long while, he scratched his head, cursed under his breath, picked up his keys, and went out.

Behind him, Xu Chuan frowned as he watched the two figures leave one after the other.

I feel like I know that woman very well.

The next second, he suddenly remembered that the woman seemed to be the one who had gotten engaged to Luo Shi a while ago but was abandoned at the engagement ceremony.

...

Jiang Fei walked slowly along the roadside, silently counting in her mind.

When she counted to 18, there was a hum of a car behind her, and then it came to a steady stop beside her.

Jiang Fei turned around, and a helmet was thrown into her hand.

Cheng Ji, riding a Niman motorcycle, stared at her and said, "Put it on and get on."

Jiang Fei pursed her lips, glanced at the helmet, and didn't move.

Cheng Ji frowned: "What?"

Jiang Fei shook her head and returned the helmet to him.

Cheng Ji glanced at the helmet but didn't take it: "Why?"

Jiang Fei remained silent.

Cheng Ji laughed angrily, then twisted the accelerator: "Don't want to talk to me anymore?"

“Okay,” he nodded, “then we’ll just wait.” He then turned to turn off the engine.

Jiang Fei glared at him and took two steps forward.

Cheng Ji's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and he hummed softly, "Put on your helmet."

Jiang Fei eventually sat in the back seat of the car, the angle of which meant she could only put her arm around Cheng Ji's waist.

After thinking for a moment, she reached out and pressed her hand precisely on the wound on Cheng Ji's chest.

The price of breaking one's word.

Cheng Ji gasped softly in pain, his waist trembling slightly.

Jiang Fei quickly moved her hand away, asking innocently, "What happened? You have a wound on your chest too?"

Cheng Ji paused for a moment: "Also?"

Jiang Fei smiled and said, "Luo Shi also has a wound on his chest, in the exact same spot as yours. It's a pity he won't let me apply medicine to it."

At this point, her eyes darkened slightly, and she said no more.

Cheng Ji was slightly taken aback, and his grip on the handle tightened involuntarily.

No wonder Luo Shi never looked for him.

No wonder Jiang Fei never suspected anything that night.

Luo Shi wouldn't let her apply the medicine because he wasn't injured at all!

Cheng Ji let out a soft breath, his mind still in turmoil. He suddenly stepped on the gas, and the car sped away into the night.

It was already 10 o'clock when I got back to the apartment.

Jiang Fei quietly returned to her guest room without mentioning cooking again.

Cheng Ji frowned as he looked at the closed door of the guest room, feeling a surge of frustration.

The sound of her soft laughter as she asked him to buy things for her still lingered in my ears that evening, as if... she was waiting for him to come home.

With a "click," the guest room door opened again from the inside.

Cheng Ji suddenly looked up.

Jiang Fei walked up to him, holding a bank card in her hand: "Here's the money."

Cheng Ji was stunned: "What?"

Jiang Fei smiled and said, "This is your home, this is the money for your lodging."

Cheng Ji stared intently at the bank card.

He did say that, telling her to pay according to the standards of a five-star hotel.

But when she actually took out the money, she felt a burning anger inside her, and her mind was in complete turmoil.

"Cheng Ji?"

“I’m hungry,” Cheng Ji said abruptly.

Jiang Fei asked, puzzled, "What?"

“I’m hungry,” Cheng Ji said stubbornly, pursing his lips. “Dinner will be on the bill.”

Ten minutes later.

Jiang Fei rummaged through the refrigerator, took out two tomatoes, and handed them to Cheng Ji, who was standing next to her: "Wash them."

Cheng Ji glared at her, but ultimately took it.

Jiang Fei continued, "Peel it."

Cheng Ji took a deep breath and clumsily followed Jiang Fei's instructions, making a cross shape, pouring hot water on it, and peeling off the skin.

Jiang Fei: "Cut it into small cubes."

Cheng Ji turned his head: "Then what are you doing?"

Jiang Fei blinked: "You prepare the ingredients, I'll cook dinner."

Cheng Ji: "..." In the end, he silently took the kitchen knife and struggled to press down on the tomato, but ended up cutting it into pieces.

Jiang Fei rubbed her temples, but finally couldn't stand it anymore. She walked over to him, pressed down on the back of his hand, and took the knife from him: "Cut it like this."

As he spoke, he held a tomato in one hand and gently chopped it into small pieces with the other.

Cheng Ji paused, looking at her serious profile, and at her fair fingers holding a bright red tomato, the deep red juice sliding down her fingers to the back of her hand, a scene of both beauty and vibrancy.

"You were like this when you were in Luo..." The words slipped out without thinking, and he suddenly realized what he had said halfway through.

"Hmm?" Jiang Fei paused, then laughed. "He and I rarely do this."

As she spoke, she frowned: "He's so close to me, but I always feel like he's so far away."

That's rare.

Cheng Ji's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

On her engagement night, she let another man into her room. How could that not be considered a serious matter? In Luo Shi's heart, there was only his "sister."

But he wanted to ask, what about him?

But then he realized that he had only brought her here to see Luo Shi make a fool of himself.

He had actually deceived her as well.

After a moment of silence, Cheng Jifu spoke again: "I am not Luo Shi's friend."

Jiang Fei showed no surprise and nodded: "I know."

Cheng Ji stared blankly at her: "Then why did you come back with me..."

Jiang Fei turned her head and smiled gently at him: "I told you, I feel a sense of familiarity and warmth towards you." As she said this, she frowned and looked him over carefully, "Have we met before?"

Cheng Ji's throat tightened, and a wave of panic washed over him. He almost immediately said, "No."

"Oh," Jiang Fei replied casually, ladled out the tomato sauce noodles, and smiled at him, "Dinner's ready."

Cheng Ji watched her back. The restaurant was brightly lit, and she was walking towards the light.

He pursed his lips and silently followed.

“Oh, right,” Jiang Fei suddenly turned her head and winked at him, “get the bowls and chopsticks.”

Cheng Ji stared into her eyes, and after a long while, he hummed softly, "Troublesome."

He turned around and picked up the bowl and chopsticks.

...

villa.

The air conditioner in the study was set to a very high temperature.

Luo Shi looked at the documents, glancing at his phone on his right for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

For a whole day and night, not a single call was made to his private number.

Frustrated, he threw the documents aside, picked up his phone, and, with his wheelchair in hand, went to the window.

The weather is a bit gloomy tonight, and my legs are aching slightly.

There wasn't a single star in the night sky, let alone that ridiculous morning star.

My phone suddenly rang.

Luo Shi suddenly looked down, but his eyes darkened when he saw the name on the screen.

He answered quietly: "Sister."

"Xiaoshi, are you asleep?" Luo Wan's voice was muffled.

Luo Shi lowered her eyes: "No."

"I shouldn't have said that about that day, I'm sorry, Xiao Shi..." Luo Wan was still saying something, nothing more than words of apology.

Luo Shi couldn't listen to anything anymore, her gaze fixed on his reflection in the window.

— He held his phone in one hand, his face deathly pale and expressionless.

When did you become so calm towards Luo Wan?

Luo Shi's expression changed slightly. He felt a sudden, sharp pain in his leg, which lasted only half a second, but the pain made him break out in a cold sweat.

He reached out and pressed down hard on the mutilated limbs.

That day, Jiang Fei gently stroked the leg that he himself disliked and loathed.

Only her.

My grip on the phone tightened.

"Hour?" Luo Wan called to him in confusion.

Luo Shi abruptly hung up the phone, her pale fingers unconsciously touching the ring around her neck. After a long silence, she dialed a number, her heart clenching and her breathing becoming cautious.

A faint sound came through the receiver.

He moved his lips, then froze the next second.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off..."

A cold, automated system sound.

Luo Shi calmly hung up the phone, stared at her reflection in the mirror, and after a long while, tilted her head and smiled at "it".

The woman who told him "I like you" just a few days ago is now refusing to answer his calls.

After thinking for a moment, Luo Shi dialed his assistant's number.

"Mr. Luo?" the assistant answered quickly.

Luo Shi asked, "Where is Jiang Fei?"

The assistant hesitated for a second: "Mr. Luo, I was just about to tell you that I heard from the Xu family that they saw Miss Jiang at the bar."

Luo frowned. A bar?

The assistant spoke again: "...She's with the young master of the Cheng family."