Ling Cage, pick up Lu Mingfei at the start.

As dawn broke, a pale golden hue enveloped Longgu Village. Lu Mingfei pushed open the door, took a deep breath of the moist air, fragrant with the scent of grass and trees, and felt as if the heavy nightmare that had weighed on his heart the previous night had been somewhat dispelled.

He woke up exceptionally early today, perhaps subconsciously unwilling to dwell on those bloody memories any longer.

In the distance, the "Food is Steel" restaurant had already lit up its warm lights, with people moving around in front of the door, and the aroma of food wafting in, awakening the sleeping village and also awakening Lu Mingfei's empty stomach.

"Open so early..." he muttered to himself, then remembered that the restaurant also served breakfast. The steaming hot buns that Bai Yuekui Tuomao had given him before came to mind, and a warm feeling rose in his heart.

A series of light and familiar footsteps came from the stairs, growing louder as they approached. Lu Mingfei turned his head, and the first thing that caught his eye was a striking white hair, followed by Bai Yuekui's face, which seemed to have been forgotten by time. She was carrying a vegetable basket filled with fresh vegetables.

"Oh," Bai Yuekui saw him standing at the door, a genuine surprise flashing in his icy blue eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Did the sun rise in the west today? Our Comrade Xiao Lu is already standing guard so energetically at this hour?"

"Hehe," Lu Mingfei scratched his head a little embarrassedly, then naturally jogged over and reached out to take the shopping basket. "Good morning, Boss Bai! You must be tired from grocery shopping, let me help you carry it!"

Bai Yuekui chuckled, letting him take the not-too-heavy basket of vegetables. He then took out his key and opened the door himself. "I bet you're not on guard duty, but rather woke up hungry and came out to keep watch, waiting for your cook to come back, aren't you?"

The two entered the house one after the other.

"How could that be!" Lu Mingfei followed behind, habitually spouting nonsense, "It's mainly because Boss Bai's cooking is just too good, comparable to... no, far surpassing a five-star chef! It's a hundred times better than my aunt's! Every time, I wish I could lick the bowl clean!"

He tried to use an exaggerated tone to cover up the turmoil in his heart that had not yet completely subsided.

Bai Yuekui put down the key, turned around and glanced at him indifferently, his eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny that was barely perceptible.

On the surface, the young man seemed to be joking around and had recovered from yesterday's shock, but she could see the lingering fear and confusion deep in his eyes, which were trying so hard to appear bright.

He simply buried those emotions even deeper inside.

"Since you're already here, don't just stand there saying nice things." Bai Yuekui gestured with his chin toward the kitchen. "Come here and lend a hand."

"Me?" Lu Mingfei pointed to himself. Although he was always treated like a beast of burden at his aunt's house, and was called to buy groceries or novels for his younger cousin every day, his aunt had never actually asked him to go into the kitchen.

"You're such a grown-up, you can't possibly be completely unable to cook, can you? Be careful what you do later..."

Bai Yuekui paused deliberately, picked up an apple from the table, took a bite, and then slowly added, "...I can't even find a wife."

"I...I've only just come of age! Finding, finding a wife and all that..." Lu Mingfei's face instantly turned bright red, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

However, Bai Yuekui's words were like a key, inadvertently unlocking a box in his memory—a blurry image of Chen Wenwen in a pure white wedding dress flashed by, but then, like a reflection in water, the image was scattered by the ripples of reality, leaving only emptiness.

His eyes darkened, and his voice lowered, "...It's still a long way off."

Bai Yuekui chewed on her apple, keenly noticing his momentary blush and subsequent dejection. She raised an eyebrow, her mind racing, and immediately understood seven or eight tenths of what was going on.

"What?" she asked with a hint of teasing, taking another bite of her apple, her tone undisguisedly inquisitive. "In your original world, did you have a sweetheart you couldn't let go of?"

"He's not some lover." Lu Mingfei's body stiffened. He hadn't expected Bai Yuekui to have such a sharp eye. He could only nod mechanically and admit the truth.

Just then, a clear and lively knocking sound came from next door.

Bai Yuekui gestured to Lu Mingfei with his eyes to go and take a look.

Lu Mingfei, wanting to change the subject, quickly got up and opened the door. Standing outside were Maiduo, Xiadou, and Shanshihui, who looked excited.

"Lu Mingfei, you..." Mai Duo had just opened her mouth when she saw him peeking out of Bai Yuekui's room. She paused for a moment, then realized, "Oh right, you're here to freeload breakfast!" Her tone was tinged with a sense of entitlement and teasing.

"Oh, it's you guys," Bai Yuekui's voice came from inside the house. "Perfect timing, want to grab something to eat?"

The three of them quickly waved their hands: "No need, Boss Bai, we've already eaten!" They came specifically to check on Lu Mingfei's condition, since the way he looked when he came back yesterday was really worrying.

Bai Yuekui didn't press the matter, his gaze returning to Hui Lumingfei with a hint of persistent amusement: "Hey, you haven't finished answering the question yet. Did you answer it or not?"

She seemed quite pleased to see Lu Mingfei in such a predicament.

Boss Bai, your persona is supposed to be a cold and aloof strongman, how come you've suddenly become so gossipy! Lu Mingfei wailed inwardly, stammering, not knowing how to describe that unrequited love that ended without a trace.

"What? Do you have it or not?" Mai Duo, Xia Dou, and Shan Shi Hui all looked at them with curiosity.

Bai Yuekui explained succinctly, then said, "Ask him if he had a girl he liked in his original world."

Three pairs of eyes instantly focused on Lu Mingfei like searchlights, filled with a thirst for knowledge.

"Hey boss!" Shan Huishi was the most outspoken, "What's the name of that girl you like? Is she pretty?"

Lu Mingfei felt a chill run down his spine from her gaze. Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, he decided to give up and sighed, his tone deliberately nonchalant: "What she's called... it doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, I can't go back, why bring her up?"

He was trying to use this sentence to put an end to that period of his youthful memories.

Upon hearing this, Mai Duo and Xia Dou felt a sense of relief for some reason.

"Oh, let's not dwell on old stories!" Lu Mingfei abruptly changed the subject, rolling up non-existent sleeves as if ready to get to work. "Boss Bai, weren't you supposed to be an assistant? Let's get started! I'm starving!"

"Alright," Bai Yuekui said, seeing that he had changed the subject and knew that he didn't want to talk about it, since it was a private matter, so he didn't press the matter further. "Go and pick those vegetables, then crack a few eggs. Keep it simple for breakfast, have noodles."

"Let's help too," Mai Duo and Xia Dou said in unison, following Lu Mingfei into the kitchen.

Bai Yuekui's gaze swept over the backs of the three busy figures in the kitchen. He looked at Mai Duo, who was efficiently washing vegetables, then at Lu Mingfei, who was standing to the side looking a little lost, and then at Xia Dou, who had already skillfully found a bowl to crack eggs. A very faint, meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

"Boss Bai, what are you looking at them for? What's so interesting about picking vegetables?" Shan Huishi came over and asked, puzzled.

Bai Yuekui withdrew her gaze, thinking to herself that this kid was indeed still a blockhead. Of course, she wasn't watching them work; even if Lu Mingfei was a kitchen novice, with Maiduo and Xiadou around, nothing would go wrong.

"Come on, Little Limestone," she said, no longer pondering those girlish thoughts, and turned on the game console. Familiar lights and shadows appeared on the screen. "Play a couple of rounds with me and see if you've improved."

Shan Shihui's attention was immediately drawn to it, and he happily took the handle: "Hehe, Boss Bai is the best!" He instantly forgot about Lu Mingfei and the others.

Meanwhile, Lu Mingfei in the kitchen was momentarily lost in thought. Over there, Mai Duo was quickly sorting and removing the roots from the vegetables, her movements so skillful they seemed like a performance; over there, Xia Dou was stirring the eggs evenly in a large bowl, the chopsticks tapping the rim of the bowl with a crisp, rhythmic sound.

What... what am I here for? Lu Mingfei stood there, feeling like a superfluous decoration. You guys have done all the work, so what am I supposed to do?

The two girls tacitly took care of all the technical work, leaving him nowhere to intervene.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally found something he could do—to start boiling water. This was the only step he could be sure wouldn't make things worse.

Maiduo and Xiadou looked at Lu Mingfei's somewhat clumsy yet earnest demeanor and couldn't help but smile at each other, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes.

"Alright, our young master," Maido said with a smile, her tone teasing in a friendly tone, "You can leave this to us. Please go to the living room and wait to enjoy your meal."

Xia Dou nodded in agreement.

Without saying a word, the two "invited" Lu Mingfei out of the kitchen.

Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, wanting to refute that he was not some young master. In that distant home, his cousin was the real Prince Ze, and he was more like a transparent person living under someone else's roof, a beast of burden running errands. But he swallowed the words back down.

Thinking about it carefully, although he was still living under someone else's roof after arriving in Dragonbone Village, it was much better here. He seemed to have really lived the ideal life of "being waited on hand and foot". If it weren't for the threat of the Devouring Beasts, this place would be paradise. Money was given to him and food was delivered to him. This made him feel a little complicated. He felt warm but also a little unreal.

He walked somewhat awkwardly into the living room and saw Bai Yuekui and Shan Shihui engrossed in a fierce game battle.

Bai Yuekui's movements were fluid and skillful, showing no mercy despite her opponent being a child. On the screen, her character was driving Shan Shihui's character into a complete rout.

"Boss! Help!" Seeing Lu Mingfei was like seeing a savior for him. He immediately dropped the controller, ran over, and pushed him into his seat. "Boss, you've saved our dignity!"

Lu Mingfei reluctantly took the handle, sat on his throne, and looked at Bai Yuekui.

Bai Yuekui happened to be looking over as well, his eyes blazing with a competitive spirit: "Perfect timing! Let's settle our score from last time!"

The moment Lu Mingfei gripped the game controller, his entire demeanor seemed to change. His previous embarrassment and confusion vanished, his eyes became focused and sharp, and his fingers danced across the buttons with an almost instinctive precision and composure.

On the screen, the two characters clashed fiercely, their moves collided, and the light and shadow were dazzling. For a time, they were evenly matched.

Bai Yuekui went all out this time, giving it his all. However, Lu Mingfei seemed to have a natural dominance in the gaming field, always managing to defuse crises with incredible reactions and predictions.

In the end, the countdown ended, and neither of them managed to knock out the other, but Lu Mingfei's character secured the victory with a very slight advantage in health.

"Boss, the noodles are ready." Mai Duo's voice came from the kitchen, soft and gentle.

She and Xia Dou carried out two steaming bowls of noodles and carefully placed them on the dining table.

However, when Xia Dou's gaze fell on Lu Mingfei, who was still gripping the controller tightly and had a serious expression after the battle, her little mouth immediately pouted.

This guy not only can't help, but he's also playing games without a care in the world! I should have let him cause trouble so I could go up and spar with Boss Bai myself!

Lu Mingfei saw Xia Dou's angry look, as if she hadn't called him while playing games. He quickly put down the controller, smiled sheepishly, and sat down at the dining table with Bai Yuekui.

His gaze fell on the fragrant bowl of noodles in front of him, and he suddenly paused—in the center of the bowl, a fried egg lay quietly, and that fried egg was surprisingly shaped like a heart!

He subconsciously looked up at Maiduo and Xiadou, but one was setting out chopsticks and the other was holding a vinegar bottle, their eyes darting around, avoiding his gaze. He then quickly glanced at Bai Yuekui's bowl of noodles and noticed that her fried egg was also heart-shaped.

Oh, so it's a uniform design.

Lu Mingfei's nascent, unrealistic conjecture was instantly dispelled, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while also feeling a vague sense of loss.

He picked up his chopsticks, ready to feast.

Bai Yuekui also noticed the shape of the fried egg, and his hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly.

Her gaze swept between Maiduo and Xiadou again. These two girls... she understood and couldn't help but chuckle.

Is this some kind of unspoken declaration, or an unconscious expression of a young girl's thoughts?

She slowly and deliberately picked up the noodles while observing them discreetly.

Maiduo seemed focused on feeding Chagai, but her ears were faintly pink; Xiadou glared angrily at Lu Mingfei, but her eyes seemed to hold something else besides resentment.

Meanwhile, Lu Mingfei, the person involved, was engrossed in eating, completely oblivious to the subtle atmosphere around him, utterly absorbed in the delicious and visually appealing bowl of noodles.

Bai Yuekui gently blew on the rising steam from the noodles, silently shaking his head in his heart.

This kid's luck with women has come out of nowhere, while he's still a clueless blockhead. The days ahead are going to be quite a spectacle; hopefully, his legs are strong enough not to get broken.

She lowered her head and began to enjoy the breakfast prepared with a girl's heart, a faint, knowing smile playing on her lips.

This peaceful morning seemed to become exceptionally lively because of this little incident.