Peninsula: I run a bed and breakfast on Jeju Island

Chapter 71 Happy April Fool's Day

Li Ran leaned back on the sofa armrest, watching Li Zhi'en put things to this point, and suddenly felt that if she refused again, it would make her seem guilty.

"OK."

He stood up and stretched his stiff neck. "But let me make this clear beforehand: if you wake up in the morning and feel that this is not right, it has nothing to do with me."

"Sure!" Lee Ji-eun nodded with a smile.

"Let's go then." He put his hands in his pockets.

Li Ran deliberately slowed his pace, letting her walk ahead.

Lee Ji-eun's pajamas had the pant legs dragging on her insteps, and she would lightly sweep the floor with each step.

She walked slowly and leisurely.

Li Ran followed behind her, keeping a distance of two steps.

He mentally went through the process, patted his arm, waited until he fell asleep, and then left.

Just like in the afternoon, nothing special.

Upon arriving at the room door, Lee Ji-eun pushed it open, her hand still on the doorknob.

Li Ran waited for her to go in first, and then followed her in.

But she didn't move.

She turned around, held the doorknob, and stood in the middle of the door frame.

The motion-activated lights in the corridor just went out.

Half of her face was illuminated by the bedside lamp in the bedroom, while the other half was bathed in the darkness of the hallway.

The curve of Lee Ji-eun's lips slowly widened.

Happy April Fool's Day.

After she finished speaking those five words, the door closed gently in front of Li Ran.

"Click~"

The door appeared to be locked from the inside.

Li Ran was thus locked out of the room.

He looked down at his right hand, which was hanging in mid-air.

He was just about to go in and follow the usual routine of "patting arms, waiting for someone to fall asleep, and then leaving."

Now it's all good, it saves us the trouble.

Fine.

He pursed his lips and put his hands in his pockets.

Her laughter came from the other side of the door.

"Hehehahaha————"

"What are you laughing at?" he asked, leaning closer to the door.

"you guess?"

"Ugh!" He rolled his eyes and tapped the door lightly with his knuckles.

The laughter finally stopped.

She seemed to have come back behind the door.

Happy April Fool's Day again, Li Ran!

I will apologize properly tomorrow.

"I'm so sleepy, goodnight." Her voice came from behind the door, still carrying a lingering smile.

Li Ran pursed her lips.

April 1st, 3:57 AM. April Fool's Day.

He was deceived by a woman who was clearly exhausted but pretending to be okay.

It seems her acting skills are indeed quite good.

He recalled that in the living room earlier, Lee Ji-eun tilted her head and said, "I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"

I recall her earnest analysis that "rules are used to restrict behavior."

I remember her blinking and saying, "Anyway, I don't want to sleep on the sofa anymore."

I was completely fooled, only to find out it was all a setup to deceive myself.

He went to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it all in one gulp.

To say he was that angry wouldn't be an exaggeration.

He glanced at the time: 4:08.

Why does it feel like she's killing eight thousand enemies while losing ten thousand of her own?

Li Ran already had trouble sleeping, so she was bound to stay up all night, and inexplicably, she ended up staying up all night too.

She stayed up so late, only to lock him out?

It seems like a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.

"childish."

He shook his head, and suddenly a word popped out of his mouth.

Well, he wasn't completely unangry.

"Awoo~"

He yawned, something he hadn't done in a long time, as sleepiness washed over him.

Li Ran rubbed her eyes.

What happened?

Wasn't he just incredibly energetic thanks to the cheat system? Why is he suddenly sleepy again?

He glanced at the time again: 4:11.

By the way, what time did he hypnotize Lee Ji-eun this afternoon?

Around 4:10 PM?

It seems exactly twelve hours have passed.

Does that mean there are no side effects after twelve hours?

He yawned and walked back to his bedroom in a daze.

He was afraid that if he didn't lie down to sleep soon, he would fall asleep standing up.

"Awoo~"

He stretched.

Li Ran is still the man awakened by the light.

The curtains weren't drawn properly last night, and sunlight streamed through the gaps, hitting his eyes directly.

He was about to turn over and go back to sleep when he heard noises coming from the kitchen.

"Bang!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

"duang~"

The sounds of the refrigerator door being opened and closed, the sound of water running from the faucet, and the sound of a kitchen knife hitting the cutting board—

The sound was intermittent.

He rubbed his eyes and walked towards the kitchen in his slippers.

Lee Ji-eun, wearing a dark blue apron, was struggling with a tomato.

Hearing footsteps, she turned her head, her eyes immediately curving into a smile.

"You're awake?"

She put down the knife, wiped her hands, and said, "I'm making breakfast, scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

"Try it later. It might not look as appealing, but the taste is absolutely amazing!"

Li Ran raised an eyebrow. "Getting up so early to cook? Did you suddenly have a change of heart?"

"That's fine if you want to think that way." Lee Ji-eun pulled her apron down a bit. "Didn't I say last night that I would apologize to you? Just consider this meal an apology meal."

"Go wash your face first, I'll be done in a minute."

"Can you do it?" Li Ran looked at her with some suspicion.

"It's just scrambled eggs with tomatoes, who do you think you are!"

She pouted. "Besides, even if it wasn't done well, it's still my effort. For the sake of my sincerity, shouldn't you finish it?"

Li Ran glanced at the pile of tomato chunks of varying sizes on the cutting board, pursed her lips, and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

When he returned, the pot was already sizzling.

He stood at the kitchen doorway for a while.

Lee Ji-eun cracked the eggs into a bowl, stirred them a few times with chopsticks, and then poured the egg mixture into the oil pan.

The heat was a bit too high the moment the egg was poured in, and the edges immediately started to burn. She quickly turned the heat down and used a spatula to push the egg towards the center.

"Keep the fire down," Li Ran said from behind.

"I know, it was just adjusted."

She scrambled the eggs into pieces, then poured in the tomatoes. The juice splattered and popped a few times in the pan, and she dodged back a little, but a few drops of red still got on her apron.

"Did you add salt?"

"not yet."

"Add a little sugar first."

She found the sugar on the spice rack, shook it a couple of times, then added the salt and stirred it with a spatula.

Li Ran stood by and watched for a while, then said, "That's about enough, turn off the heat."

"It's not evenly cooked yet."

"The residual heat will cook it through; if you leave the fire on for too long, the tomatoes will all melt."

She turned off the heat, swished the spatula around the bottom of the pan twice, and then ladled the food onto a plate.

The presentation was indeed a bit lacking; the tomato chunks were of varying sizes, and the eggs were unevenly broken, but the color was a normal orange-red.

Lee Ji-eun placed the plate on the table, rubbed her hands on her apron, took a step back, and glanced at it.

"It's alright." She tilted her head and looked at Li Ran.

"It's alright." He went and ladled out two bowls of porridge.

The two sat down at the table.

Li Ran picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, chewed it, and swallowed it.

"How is it?"

'

Lee Ji-eun stared at him.