Chapter 27

At 6:30 a.m., Li Ye woke up on time. She was still getting used to the bedroom. She stared at the unfamiliar ceiling and her brain gradually realized that she was in the room she rented with Zhou Yuan after it had completely restarted.

At seven o'clock, Li Ye, all dressed and ready, appeared in the kitchen on time. These past few days, the focus of her appliance shopping has been on the kitchen, the main place of use. The kettle, pressure cooker, microwave, steamer, induction cooker, and refrigerator are all electric and easy to carry. She even bought two pressure cookers.

However, instead of buying a dishwasher, the two decided to try washing the dishes by hand for the first six months. Unlike a washing machine, it doesn't free up their hands, and the main issue is the frequency of cooking.

The dilemma of whether or not to buy a dishwasher stems from not having bought one yet, not wanting to wash dishes, and cooking at home primarily once a day, occasionally twice a day, for breakfast or dinner. Since the frequency of going into the kitchen is low, there aren't many dishes to wash, significantly reducing the necessity of a dishwasher, thus creating a vicious cycle.

This morning, we communicated with the designer online, so we didn't have to go out. Li Ye prepared a simple breakfast for the two of them: steamed dumplings with milk and oatmeal porridge.

When it was Li Ye's turn to make breakfast, he also realized how hard Ms. Li usually worked. This had nothing to do with when she got up, but the key point was that the first thing she did every day was work in the kitchen, which made it very easy for her to lose enthusiasm for the rest of the day.

Anyway, Li Ye had been eating the same combination for several days in a row. Regardless of whether Zhou Yuan was tired of it or not, she was about to lose her patience. She entrusted Zhou Yuan with the breakfast arrangements as soon as he got up.

While thinking this, she didn't stop cooking the porridge. The oatmeal porridge was of course made from semi-finished oatmeal, and the dumplings in the steamer were ones that the two of them had made themselves to celebrate their successful move-in.

After adding milk, the porridge boiled again. Li Ye turned off the induction cooker, took out the newly bought bowl, ladled a bowl of porridge for himself, and placed it on the dining table. The two baskets of steamed dumplings were also ready, so he took one basket to the dining table as well.

The rule we set up these past few days is that when we eat together, the person who finishes breakfast last cleans up the kitchen, which is usually Zhou Yuan. For dinner, the person who didn't cook cleans up the kitchen, which is usually also Zhou Yuan.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Li Ye finished the last mouthful of porridge in his bowl, put the tableware on the table into the sink to soak in water, and finished his breakfast.

At 8:30 a.m., Li Ye took out his laptop and sat down at the desk in the living room. The sunlight was just right, shining on the ends of Li Ye's hair and giving it a golden glow. Zhou Yuan, who had just gotten up, mistook it for Li Ye's hair and thought he had dyed it a shiny blonde.

"Good morning."

Zhou Yuan greeted Li Ye first. A dozen minutes later, the neat and sophisticated man appeared at the dining table. He spent half an hour efficiently finishing breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen before sitting down on the sofa closest to Li Ye.

"Li, you'll be going to work tomorrow." Zhou Yuan examined Li Ye's long ponytail hanging down her back. It wasn't braided today; it was just tied in sections with a few colorful hair ties. He knew it was because he didn't want her hair to be all over the place, as it would be uncomfortable when the weather got hot.

Li Ye stopped looking at the second draft of the design that the designer had just sent, turned around and faced Zhou Yuan. Zhou Yuan's hair looked a bit golden in the sunlight, and he wanted to touch it, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a head of thick, black, medium-length hair.

"Work hours are relatively fixed, so what time do you need to get up? Let's check the schedule."

Zhou Yuan took out the schedule his senior had sent him, "Taking the subway, including peak hours, takes about forty minutes in total."

"This commute isn't during the subway rush hour at all, but it is during the off-hours." Li Ye's plans were interrupted by the flexible commute. "I have lunch and dinner at the company, so we only have breakfast together in the morning."

"Late-night snack." Zhou Yuan also wanted to have dinner with Li Ye, but the working hours were already quite generous, 10 am to 7 pm, including lunch break and dinner time, overtime pay was extra.

Letting go of the phone Zhou Yuan handed him, Li Ye touched his chin, which didn't have a very defined jawline. "We can't eat late-night snacks every day. We've been eating out a lot lately, and we're not getting enough exercise. Plus, the temperature is rising fast. I feel like I don't even need to go back to get clothes. It's easier to just buy them here."

“Although we don’t need to get up that early, we still need to have breakfast together, except for today’s.” Li Ye hadn’t forgotten her plan.

Zhou Yuan was also about to say that he wanted to get up early, but when he thought about the almost identical breakfasts these past few days, his focus was on the fact that Li Ye was doing them, while Li Ye's focus was probably on the fact that she had been doing these things recently.

“I’ll also get up early starting tomorrow. I’ll make breakfast this week and next week. It won’t be complicated. Li can teach me.” Zhou Yuan answered the question that Li Ye hadn’t asked.

Li Ye was not surprised. After all, people who knew her well knew that her thoughts were very fickle, especially when she couldn't find something of interest in daily life. Making breakfast was one of them. "Just like we agreed to take turns cleaning the common areas, we also set a schedule for making breakfast."

"But you don't have to eat breakfast at home every day. You can go out for a walk together occasionally, since you already have to get up so early."

Zhou Yuan still wanted to struggle with the timing of getting up. "Li, getting up an hour later is still considered getting up early, and it's easier for me to do that."

Even the first-person perspective is being used, so it's clear that I really want to sleep a little longer. Li Ye carefully looked around Zhou Yuan's eyes, the smooth skin around his eyes highlighting their clear and bright appearance. "If I get up at 7:30, I can't leave until 8:00, which means I'll be running into the breakfast shop rush. Oh well, I'll just eat at home and not worry about that."

“But you,” Li Ye’s fingertips gently touched Zhou Yuan’s eyelids, “can you get up an hour earlier than today?”

Zhou Yuan was tense all over, not daring to breathe loudly, not daring to make any move that would cause Li Ye to withdraw his fingertips from his face. He liked this light and airy touch. "If I can't get up tomorrow, Li can just knock on the door to wake me up."

"I remember you don't usually play on your phone at night, right? Why do you always get up so late in the morning?" This was something Li Ye had been wondering about.

Her delicate pink fingertips slid from Zhou Yuan's eyelids along his face to his ears, then down his jawline to his dangerous Adam's apple, finally stopping at the carotid artery in his neck. The pressure changed from pressing against it to gently pressing.

"I saw a lie detection method in a comic book and wanted to try it out."

Zhou Yuan had no intention of lying and remained tense. His vital points were suppressed, and he was also close to Li Ye's body. Perhaps he wanted to observe Li Ye's expression at the same time. Their faces were very close, and their breaths seemed to be mingling.

"Go to bed before midnight to catch up on composition and arrangement knowledge." There's also theoretical knowledge for other instruments; Zhou Yuan has a lot more to learn.

Li Ye released her fingers from Zhou Yuan's neck, but it was just a formality. She hadn't learned how to tell if someone was lying, and it wasn't mentioned in the comics. She wasn't a detective novelist either.

"Then we should get up even earlier. During the day, especially in the morning, we can use the time to study, and we can also stay in the living room together."

Li Ye sometimes felt that Zhou Yuan was stubborn because he said, "Have you forgotten that we live together now and don't need to hide it from others?"

When Li Ye suddenly pulled away and brought him back to his senses, Zhou Yuan's feeling of unreality about living together began to settle down, and his eyes shone brightly as if they were glowing. "I'll definitely get up early tomorrow."

Li Ye looked out at the bright sun on the balcony, which gave her the illusion that Zhou Yuan's eyes were glowing. She needed to add curtains to the living room and buy two fans in a few days. Although they had air conditioning, they didn't dare to use it casually, even though they had plenty of money.

As soon as the topic ended, Li Ye's computer started beeping. It was a message from the designer, so she simply asked Zhou Yuan to bring over a chair so they could look at it together.

"This is the revised second draft. The first draft was based on my ideas. Now you can see what's different from what you expected. After the final draft is completed, we'll go to the renovation company."

Zhou Yuan took the mouse from Li Ye, his gaze sliding across the 3D demo. His first focus was on the changes to the bedroom: "The hidden door is gone?"

"This is what I changed. The hidden door was moved to the study and music room. The bedroom side is now concealed. See the wardrobe? The door panel against the wall is empty. The wardrobe can be moved and can be reassembled into a normal wardrobe later, so it won't be easily discovered."

Li Ye pointed to the hidden door, which had been moved, with his pen. "I'm still not quite satisfied with its design, but I don't have any better ideas."

Zhou Yuan's demonstration of the gatekeeping activity: "The range of pushing and pulling?"

“Indeed, it needs to be able to be pushed open from both sides. Make a note first.” Li Ye squeezed Zhou Yuan’s arm, gesturing for the person using the computer to write a note.

"The common area connects to the study and music room?" Zhou Yuan frowned unconsciously, worried that this would easily make the two rooms, which were meant to be quiet, cluttered.

“But the bedroom is a more private area, so it’s impossible to walk through here.” Li Ye rotated the view of the demonstration diagram. “The study and music room are both raised a bit, and the three doors are in a line to make as much division as possible. The cost is that the actual usable area of ​​the two rooms is reduced.”

Zhou Yuan nodded, then continued looking at the design of Li Ye's house, "The bathroom is bigger, is the master bedroom big enough?"

"You've already allocated space for a bed, wardrobe, and dressing table. Isn't that enough?" Li Ye asked curiously. "So how do you plan to decorate your bedroom? It's still the basic setup for now."

"We'll arrange it later." Zhou Yuan avoided the topic, shifting the focus to the design of his home. "Eating on the balcony?"

"The dining table is in the living and dining room, and that's a small tea table on the balcony for afternoon tea. Didn't you see the lounge chairs next to it?" Li Ye said, somewhat displeased. This was her opinion. "They're not blocking the way to the kitchen, are they?"

"Move it a little towards the bedroom?" Zhou Yuan realized whose idea it was and began to indulge him: "It doesn't need to be perfectly symmetrical, the two rooms are not symmetrical."

“With such a small area, and you’re making the rooms symmetrical, no one will live here.” Li Ye relaxed. “Any other questions? Let’s get ready. We’re going to pick out materials with the designer this afternoon.”

"Cherish this last chance to participate in the renovation." Li Ye stretched comfortably like a cat. "The license plate will be ready soon too, and the day when you have a car is coming soon."

Zhou Yuan agreed halfway: "We have a car, so we can go check on the renovation progress together after get off work."

Li Ye took the computer that Zhou Yuan handed back, his hands still warm from Zhou Yuan's touch on the mouse, and opened the chat box with the designer.