"Don't you think you're contradicting yourself? You told me to start with Linda's family, but now, to please Grandma Lin, you're telling me to win over Linda first!"

An Wenjing glanced at her.

Qu Dudu muttered, "Can't these two lines run parallel without conflict?"

"I'd like to too, but judging from Linda's expression, she doesn't seem like the type to pay attention to me."

"At least you have some self-awareness!"

Qu Dudu drew her final conclusion.

"...Shut up, no one's going to think you're mute!"

"Fine—you want me to shut up, huh? Well then, I guess I don't need to help you with anything!"

Qu Dudu covered her face and yawned, wanting to leave, but An Wenjing dragged her out of bed early in the morning. These grandmas are so energetic, dancing in the square early in the morning!

You know, she was drawing design drafts until 3 a.m. last night before she went to sleep!

"Hey, hey, hey—don't go! You want to sleep in my new rented apartment? And while you're at it, help me think of a way!"

Qu Dudu paused, then said, "It's not impossible!"

Going back would involve walking to the entrance of the residential area, taking a taxi, and then getting off at my own doorstep—it's too complicated. It's much more convenient to just sleep at An Wenjing's place.

"Let's go then!" Qu Dudu pulled people away.

"Hey—don't go! Think of a way before you leave. Tell me how to get close to Grandma Lin, or you're not allowed to leave!" An Wenjing stood rooted to the spot, refusing to budge no matter what.

Qu Dudu wasn't in a hurry. She leaned against An Wenjing and said, "You're not leaving, huh? Then I'll just sleep here. If I catch a cold, I'll get a fever. If I do, I won't be able to finish the design on time, and I won't be able to do my job. I'll have to trouble you to take over. Thank you so much!"

An Wenjing immediately gave in when she thought about how much more work she would have.

She half-dragged, half-carried Qu Dudu, who was lying on top of her, towards the newly rented house.

As soon as she entered the house, Qu Dudu perked up, went straight to the sofa, lay down, and peacefully closed her eyes.

"If I can eat my favorite sweet and sour pork ribs when I wake up, I'll definitely be very resourceful!"

"You glutton! All you ever think about is food!"

An Wenjing opened the food delivery app while grumbling.

My fingers paused as I was about to place the order.

Just before she left, she vaguely heard Grandma Lin finish her square dancing and go to buy groceries to make sweet and sour pork ribs. She also seemed to mention that sweet and sour pork ribs were a dish that Lin Da liked to eat.

Linda also likes sweet and sour pork ribs.

"Officer An often says that to win a woman's heart, you must first win her stomach! And the same applies to the opposite gender!"

And now, when you go grocery shopping, you might just bump into Grandma Lin.

An Wenjing excitedly went out to buy ribs, completely forgetting that she was a complete novice in the kitchen with no cooking skills.

I wandered around the supermarket for a long time, but I didn't run into Grandma Lin. Instead, I bought a bunch of random things after being enthusiastically recommended by the saleswomen.

Huffing and puffing, I carried two large bags of things back to my rented room, only to find Qu Dudu lying on the sofa, fast asleep like a pig, the blanket I had given her already kicked to the floor.

"I really can't rely on you at all; in the end, I still have to rely on myself."

An Wenjing grumbled as she carried the things into the kitchen.

——

Qu Dudu wasn't woken up by the aroma of sweet and sour pork ribs; she was woken up by a pungent, burnt smell.

"Ah—Help—Fire! An Wenjing, fire! Run!"

Qu Dudu jumped up from the sofa with a start, a stark contrast to her usual slow and deliberate manner.

Qu Dudu searched the whole house for An Wenjing, and finally found her fully armed in the kitchen filled with thick smoke.

What kind of look is this?

Qu Dudu checked the kitchen and found that the gas was off and there was only smoke without any open flame. She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He covered his head with a large supermarket shopping bag, cut several holes for his nose and eyes, wore a long-sleeved windbreaker with the zipper all the way up, and most amazingly, he even took out his winter five-finger gloves and put them on.

"What are you doing?" Qu Dudu was completely speechless.

"Knock knock knock—"

Is anyone there?

"I'll go open the door. Hurry up and take off all that stuff you're wearing, or people will think we're crazy. Then hurry up and open the windows to air it out! You're such a troublesome thing!" Qu Dudu sighed and turned to open the door.

"Oh well!"

After all that, An Wenjing didn't dare to talk back. She obediently nodded and did as she was told.

"Oh dear—young lady, is your house alright? Why is there so much smoke? Is it on fire? But I can't see any flames!"

As soon as Qu Dudu opened the door, she was met with Grandma Lin's anxious and worried gaze.

The apartment buildings in the complex are U-shaped, with two units per floor. The buildings are symmetrically laid out, and you can see right from the window of Lin's kitchen that you can see into An Wenjing's kitchen.

Grandma Lin was making lunch when she saw a cloud of smoke coming from the kitchen across the room, but there was no open flame. So she quickly put down her cleaver and came over to see what was going on.

"It's alright, Grandma Lin, we just accidentally burned it while cooking, yes, it burned, hahaha!"

Qu Dudu gave an awkward but polite smile.

An Wenjing came out after tidying herself up, and was surprised to see who it was: "Grandma Lin, what brings you here?"

Grandma Lin's previously worried expression immediately turned into one of wariness: "How did you know my surname is Lin?"

Linda's surname is Lin, and everyone calls her Grandma Linda. Over time, they all think that they have the surname Lin.

Qu Dudu and An Wenjing exchanged a glance, then turned their heads away in mutual disgust: You've already been exposed? Are you even capable?