Host! I told you to do a task! I didn't tell you to bbb.

in the apartment.

After seeing Lu Yan off, Liu Yunshu rubbed her sore waist and leaned back on the sofa, savoring the tenderness of the day. The crisp scent of cedar mixed with hot spring steam seemed to linger on her nose.

"I'm so lucky to have encountered such an amazing person on my first cooking experience!"

Xiao Ba rolled her eyes in her mind as she looked at Liu Yunshu, who had a smug expression on her face: "I've never seen anyone do a mission like this before."

Liu Yunshu pinched the corner of the cushion with her fingertips, her eyes curving into crescents with a smile: "What's more important than enjoying yourself when you're doing a mission? Besides, my emotional value is perfect, and I've exceeded my mission targets. Is there a problem?"

"Besides, food and sex are human nature. What I'm doing is called balancing work and rest, understand?" Liu Yunshu stretched, her waist curving into an alluring arc.

"Look, the mission is accomplished, I feel relieved, and Lu Yan is also enjoying himself. This is a win-win-win situation."

"I have a question?" Xiao Ba raised his hand to indicate.

"Since you've made me feel comfortable here, feel free to ask anything." Liu Yunshu rested her chin on her hand and glanced lazily at Xiao Ba.

Xiao Ba was stunned by her coquettish gaze and it took him a long time to regain his electronic voice.

"I'm very curious about what happened in your original world that led you to be the way you are now..."

"Hunger? Lust?" Liu Yunshu narrowed her eyes, her fingers, painted with red nail polish, lightly brushing her red lips. "Humans are inherently lustful, but there are always those who want to uphold morality and extinguish human desires."

Liu Yunshu shrugged. "I grew up hearing things like 'girls should be dignified' and 'desire is the original sin.' Tsk, if a man is lustful, it's called being charming, but if a woman is lustful, it's called shameless. Why is that?"

Liu Yunshu tapped the sofa armrest with her fingertips, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes.

"Later I realized that desires aren't shameful. If you like something, pursue it; if you feel comfortable, enjoy it. Why wait until you're buried to regret not having lived life to the fullest?"

Xiao Ba: "...What you said makes so much sense, I can't even refute it."

"So," Liu Yunshu curled up her legs, her toes rubbing against the soft carpet, "now I can do whatever I want. A mission is a mission, and enjoyment is enjoyment, I can do both."

Liu Yunshu yawned, got up and walked towards the bathroom, casually draping her cheongsam over the back of the chair, revealing her back covered in red marks.

"And also," she said, as she untied her hair in front of the mirror, the loose strands carrying a light fragrance.

"Lu Yan is not only 'delicious,' but also willing to be 'eaten' by me. This kind of mutual 'lust' is so rare."

As the bathtub filled with warm water, Liu Yun sighed comfortably and slowly sat down in the water.

The foam dissolved on the skin, covering most of the ambiguous red marks.

"What do you think Lu Yan is doing right now?" she asked the air, her fingertips playing with the bubbles on the water's surface.

Xiao Ba pulled up the footage she had just captured: "What else could it be? Just grinning like an idiot at your picture on the phone."

Liu Yunshu couldn't help but laugh out loud, splashing water onto the tiles. "This person looks shrewd, but he's like a little puppy."

Though she said that, the smile in her eyes was as soft as melted honey.

She was soaking in the bath and felt warm all over. Just as she was about to get up, her phone rang outside the bathroom.

It was a video call from Lu Yan. His half-wet hair was reflected on the screen, suggesting he'd just taken a shower. Two buttons of his collar were undone, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he spoke: "Taking a bath? Is your back still sore?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking." Liu Yunshu glared at the camera, but didn't notice that her cheeks were still damp, and her eyes were so soft that they had no intimidation whatsoever.

Lu Yan felt a tickle in his heart from her glare, his fingertips tracing patterns on the screen as if trying to reach her face through the electric current: "I asked Zhang Ma to make pigeon soup, I'll send it to you this morning."

"Don't you have to go to work?" Liu Yunshu grabbed a bath sponge and rubbed it on her arm, some foam getting on the tip of her nose, making her look like a cat that had secretly drunk milk.

"Being with you is more important," he said frankly, but his gaze remained fixed on her shoulders and neck that were above the water. His Adam's apple bobbed again. "Don't soak for too long, or you'll catch a cold if the water gets cold."

"Understood, Butler Lu." Liu Yunshu smiled and hung up the call. Just as she put her phone down by the bathtub, she heard Xiao Ba click her tongue and say, "I just detected that his heart rate soared to 120. Host, your destructive power is quite strong."

She wiped the foam from her nose in front of the mirror, a smile playing in her eyes: "Same here. His energy today left me unable to straighten my back either."

Xiao Ba: "...I take back what I just said. You two are hurting each other."

Liu Yunshu ignored it and slowly soaked until she was done before getting up. As she came out wrapped in a bath towel, her phone vibrated again.

It was a message from Lu Yan, containing only a photo. On his bedside table was a small glass jar with a dried white rose inside, the edges of the petals still tinged with light pink.

She had casually stuck it in his car; she never expected him to put it away.

"This person..." She tapped the screen with her fingertip and smiled, replying with a cat emoji with its paws in its pocket, then turned and walked towards the bedroom.

The next morning, Liu Yunshu was woken up by the doorbell.

She opened the door, still wrapped in her pajamas, and saw Lu Yan standing there with a thermos in his hand. He still carried the chill of the morning air, but his eyes were bright: "Awake? The soup is just warmed up."

He casually changed his shoes and came in, placing the thermos on the dining table. His gaze swept over her slightly swollen eyes, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "Go back to sleep for a while? I'll ladle out the soup and let it cool."

"I'm not going to sleep." Liu Yunshu yawned, leaning against the kitchen door frame and watching his busy figure. "President Lu is becoming more and more like a stay-at-home husband."

Lu Yan turned to look at her, the morning light falling on his profile, softening his features: "It's nice to be your cook."

These words were too blunt, and Liu Yunshu's ears burned a little. She turned around to go wash up, but he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

His chin rested on the top of her head, his voice muffled: "I didn't hug you enough last night."

"Lu Yan!" She tried to break free, but he held her waist even tighter. Her nose brushed against his shirt, and she smelled that familiar cedar scent again, mixed with a faint smell of smoke, probably from the kitchen that morning.

"Don't move, just hold me for five minutes." He nuzzled against her neck like a clingy large dog.

Liu Yunshu was so annoyed by his rubbing that she could only raise her hand and pat his back: "The soup is getting cold."

"I'll reheat it when it gets cold." He stubbornly refused to let go until he heard her stomach rumble, then he chuckled and released her, handing her the soup he had prepared. "Drink it quickly, it'll nourish you."

Liu Yunshu sipped her soup, watching him sit opposite her, his chin resting on his hand, looking at her with such focused attention, as if he were examining some rare treasure.

Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, she scooped up a spoonful of soup and held it to his lips: "You drink some too."

Lu Yan's eyes lit up instantly. He lowered his head slightly and drank the soup from her hand. The warm soup slid down his throat, but his heart felt even warmer than the soup.

He took her hand that was holding the spoon and gently stroked her fingertips with his fingertips: "It tastes better than Zhang Ma's stew. The way you feed me is different."

Liu Yunshu's cheeks flushed from his words. She pulled her hand back and glared at him: "You smooth talker."

Despite saying that, he scooped up another spoonful, didn't drink it himself, and instead handed it over.

Lu Yan laughed even harder, obediently drank it, his gaze fixed on her face.

"Yunshu, come home with me this weekend?"

She nearly spat out the soup she had just swallowed: "So fast?"

"I'm not happy anymore." He took her hand on the table, his fingertips tracing her knuckles. "I want Mom and Dad to know that I've found someone I want to spend my life with."

Looking into his earnest eyes, Liu Yunshu's heart suddenly melted.

She pulled her hand back, scooped up a large spoonful of soup and put it in her mouth, saying indistinctly, "Since the soup is delicious, I'll reluctantly go back with you."

Lu Yan smiled so hard his eyes crinkled, and he reached out to wipe the soup from the corner of her mouth. The warmth of his fingertips made her heart race even faster.

Xiao Ba rolled over in his mind: "Tsk, I can eat this dog food until the mission is over."

Liu Yunshu ignored it. This was her first love in two lifetimes, so she had to shower everyone with affection.