After a long pause, he finally managed to groan.

Having received his reply, she drifted off to sleep.

Ji Bei ran around asking the doctor about the situation, helped Chen Ningsheng see the doctor off, and returned to the front desk, only to find it empty, without a single person in sight.

"Where did he run off to again?" He frowned, put his hands in his pockets, and climbed the steps.

To his surprise, the room was empty, so he went to the dining room on the first floor. He smelled the aroma of food wafting through the air, and as soon as he entered, he saw Xu Xinchen wearing an apron, busily working in the kitchen.

Xu Xinchen was carrying dishes. When she saw him, she had no expression and said calmly, "Sit down and eat. The food is ready."

During the meal, the only sound was the two of them chewing their food. Ji Bei picked up some food and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't look at him and her face showed no clue, but she also ignored his gaze.

They hadn't spoken for days. In reality, Ji Bei appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was seething with frustration. Today, she had finally been quite nice to him and even cooked his favorite dishes. He thought that a grown man shouldn't stoop to a woman's level, so he went along with it and gave her face. But after calling the doctor and returning, she was back to her cold, aloof, and unapproachable self, barely acknowledging him.

Ji Bei both loved and hated her. He admitted that she was fatally attractive to him, but sometimes he hated her from the bottom of his heart, as if no one could catch her eye and no one could shake her emotions.

He took a bite of his food, determined to stick with her to the death; he would never admit defeat.

"The doctor has been seen off?"

When Ji Bei heard her suddenly ask the question, his heart softened. She had already tried to find a topic to talk about, so he would give her a way out.

"Um."

He answered, his voice still stiff.

"Is that girl alright?"

"It's just a cold; a few days of medicine will do the trick."

"That's good."

The two remained silent for a while before Xu Xinchen spoke again.

"What's the relationship between that man and that girl? He seems quite nervous today."

Ji Bei paused for a moment, then looked up at her.

He finally realized something was wrong. She was never one to gossip about other people's business, so why was she acting so strangely today?

He carefully observed her expression, but found nothing amiss. However, a sense of unease crept into his heart. He pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "Why are you asking about this? Do you know her?"

"No, just chatting." Xu Xinchen denied quickly.

Before Ji Bei could dispel his doubts, there was a knock on the door.

He put down his chopsticks, pushed open the door, and stood outside the door the man who had just asked him to call a doctor.

He turned around and closed the door tightly, leaving no gap, before looking at the person who had entered. "What is it?"

Chen Ningsheng looked a little embarrassed, seemingly finding it difficult to speak. After a long pause, he finally managed to ask, "Excuse me, do you have any extra food? Can I buy some?"

Chen Bailing was sick, and as a grown man, he couldn't cook. He always felt that restaurants outside weren't clean enough. He happened to be passing by and smelled the aroma of the food, so he thought he'd stop by and ask around.

Seeing his expression, Ji Bei instantly understood. "Yes, I'll go get you some."

When Ji Bei entered the restaurant, he saw Xu Xinchen carrying a meal, looking absent-minded and lost in thought.

He explained the man's purpose, and Xu Xinchen scooped two bowls from the kitchen, added some vegetables, packaged them, and handed them to him.

A moment later, Ji Bei returned with two banknotes in his hand, which he placed on the table. "Take them, he gave them to me."

Xu Xinchen frowned and pushed the money back, saying, "Why are you asking for money?"

"I didn't want it." Ji Bei looked at her aggrievedly. "I didn't want it, but he insisted on giving it to me. What could I do? Besides, the money was for you, not for me. If you want it back, go and return it."

......

In the room, Chen Bailing leaned against the headboard, while Chen Ningsheng sat beside her, feeding her bite by bite.

Chen Bailing obediently opened her mouth, her eyes fixed on the handsome face so close to hers.

She felt like it was a beautiful dream.

"Ah Sheng, where did you buy this food? It smells so good, even better than what my chef makes."

"The hotel owner made it himself, so I went over and asked for some."

"Do you have a cook on hand? Could you ask her for me? If you do, can we take her with us when we leave?"

"Hmm." Chen Ningsheng responded absentmindedly, holding the spoon to her lips.

Chen Bailing carefully observed his expression and tentatively asked, "Asheng, about the train tickets for the day after tomorrow? Are we going back on time?"

His eyelashes drooped, and his face was pale under the lamplight.

"Um."

After a long pause, he responded softly.

Two days later, Chen Ningsheng came out first carrying a large suitcase, followed by Chen Bailing, whose face was completely covered.

Upon arriving at the front desk, Ji Bei, who was dozing off, was startled awake by the noise and found two people standing in front of him.

"check out."

Ji Bei was handling the formalities with practiced ease when Chen Bailing peeked out from behind Chen Ningsheng and asked, "Young boss, may I meet your cook?"

"A cook?" Ji Bei glanced at her briefly as he continued working. "We don't have a cook in our family."

Who cooked that meal?

Chen Bailing wondered, she thought that such a good taste meant that the person had received professional training, and that no matter how good an ordinary person's cooking skills were, they could not make that kind of taste.

Ji Bei suddenly realized that they had mistaken Lu Minshi for the cook.

He felt slightly annoyed. Lu Minshi was his person, but this person had misunderstood her as a servant.

He can't let others bully his people for nothing.

His expression turned cold, and his voice was as hard as iron. "That's my girlfriend, not some cook."

Chen Bailing was taken aback and was about to ask another question when Chen Ningsheng tugged at her sleeve to stop her. He took back the deposit and put it in his pocket, his face apologetic. "I'm sorry, young man, I was abrupt just now."

Ji Bei gave a low hum.

"Also, thank you for calling the doctor the other day."

After the two left, Ji Bei slightly lifted his eyelids to take a look.

These rich people are quite the show-offs; they even want Lu Minshi to cook for them.

Lu Minshi only cooks for him.

On the street, the weather was bright and sunny, a gentle breeze was blowing, the sky was blue and the clouds were white, and the streets were bustling with people.

Chen Bailing's illness has been completely cured. Now that she has recovered, she feels full of energy and always wants to take a look at the little trinkets she sees on the street.

The craftsmanship of small towns, though not comparable to that of big cities, has its own unique charm.

Passing by a shop selling specialty products, Chen Bailing stopped, pushed open the door and went inside. "Asheng, wait a moment, I'll bring my sister some osmanthus cake from Qingyuan."

Chen Ningsheng found a quiet, shady spot and squatted down. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and brought it closer.

Wisps of smoke drifted from his lungs through his mouth; his deep-set eyes were lowered, devoid of any life.

"Ah Sheng, pay up!"

Chen Bailing came out of the store carrying her things; she had left all her pocket money with Asheng.

Chen Ningsheng opened his suit jacket, revealing a white shirt underneath, a cigarette between his fingers, and reached inside to feel around.

He touched it, then stopped.

He looked up at Chen Bailing, whose face was beaming with smiles, and patted her head. "I left my wallet at the hotel. You go on the train first, I'll get it and come right away."

He was about to leave when he said that.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her cuff.

Chen Bailing held onto him tightly, her voice unsteady, "Asheng, please don't go back, okay? The train is about to leave, and we don't have much money in our wallets. I won't buy the osmanthus cake, and we can forget about the money, okay?"

Her eyes were brimming with tears, mixed with a hint of pleading.

Chen Ningsheng turned around, stared at her for a moment, and then raised his hand to pull his sleeve away from her hand.

"Honey, get in the car first. I'll be right back."

After saying that, he strode away without looking back.

When Xu Xinchen came downstairs, she saw Ji Bei fast asleep at the front desk, with a guest logbook under him and a comic book covering half of his face, revealing his handsome eyebrows and eyes.

Her gaze settled on those two lines of text: Chen Bailing and Chen Ningsheng, check-out this morning.

They've finally left...?

I suddenly felt a sense of relief, as if I no longer needed to hide, and it also felt like a piece of my heart had been emptied out.

Ji Bei closed his eyes, his long eyelashes visible. His delicate face lost its mischievousness in his sleep, and even looked somewhat docile. As a tall boy with long legs, his curled-up posture looked uncomfortable.

She watched for a while, then gently patted his shoulder.

Ji Bei groggily opened his eyes and saw Xu Xinchen's face magnified in front of him.

The lingering consciousness in the dream has not yet fully awakened.

He lazily stretched out his arm, gave her a quick pat, and chuckled affectionately in her ear, "Wife, you finally paid attention to me."

Xu Xinchen touched the man's hard body, her body trembled, and she immediately pushed him forward with her hands against his chest, saying, "What are you doing? Let me go."

"Let me kiss you." Ji Bei relentlessly followed after him, wanting to steal a kiss.