After nine lifetimes of reincarnation, the yandere villainous heroine descends.

Half an hour later, Shen Shuchou frowned slightly as he stared at the dark, indistinct object in the dish on the table, and fell silent.

He stared at the thing for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what kind of dish it was.

The edges were charred and brittle, the middle was stuck together, and even the original sheen had turned into a dull dark color.

It's less like food and more like a piece of burnt charcoal.

Across from him, Chu Siqi wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead and sat down with a hint of excitement.

As a little princess who has been pampered since childhood, this was her first time cooking herself, and her face showed a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

"Try it, see if it's good?"

Her eyes sparkled as she stared at Shen Shuchou, her tone filled with eager anticipation.

Shen Shuchou shifted his gaze from the "unidentified object" to Chu Siqi's expectant face, and his lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

Regardless of whether it tastes good or not, just by looking at its color and appearance, he could almost guess what it would taste like.

"What...is this?"

He carefully considered his words before speaking.

"Braised pork!"

Chu Siqi answered without hesitation, her tone confident and assertive.

"I followed the recipe, but... the heat seemed a bit too high, and I added a bit too much sugar..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually faded, and her eyes became somewhat unfocused, clearly indicating that she had realized the gap between the finished product and her expectations.

Shen Shuchou: "..."

He looked at the lump of food on the plate that looked nothing like the words "braised pork".

He glanced at Chu Siqi's slightly embarrassed yet still expectant expression and sighed inwardly.

Oh well, it's still someone's heartfelt gesture for cooking for the first time.

He picked up his chopsticks, took a deep breath, and put a small piece into his mouth.

The first taste is overwhelmingly sweet, followed by a burnt bitterness. The meat is so tough that it's impossible to chew, like biting into a piece of sugar-soaked charcoal.

Shen Shuchou's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal and swallowed it with difficulty.

When Chu Siqi saw that he actually took a bite, her eyes instantly lit up like starlight, and she asked repeatedly, "How is it? How is it! Is it delicious?"

Shen Shuchou forced a slightly stiff smile at her, his throat bobbing slightly, and replied with a stiff upper lip, "Hmm...not bad."

"That's perfect, you can eat it all. I made this especially for you."

Chu Siqi smiled, her eyes crinkling.

Shen Shuchou's hand holding the chopsticks froze almost imperceptibly for a moment, then he calmly put them back on the chopstick rest.

Across from him, Chu Siqi, for some unknown reason, suddenly picked up her phone, took a picture of him and the "braised pork" on the table, and quickly sent it to a chat box.

As soon as the message is sent, a notification pops up on the screen saying "The other party is typing."

But after waiting for several seconds, the chat box remained empty.

After a moment, a lone question mark "?" finally appeared.

Immediately following, a message arrived: "What do you mean by this?"

"It doesn't mean anything, I just wanted to share it with you."

Chu Siqi's fingertips flew across the phone screen.

In a brightly lit rented room in Qing City.

Shao Miao was wearing loose pajamas, and her body was still surrounded by the moisture from her recent shower.

She stared at the enlarged photo in the chat box, her gaze fixed on Shen Shuchou's face in the photo, and remained silent for a long time.

A drop of water from her forehead hit the phone screen, creating a small puddle, and she finally snapped out of her daze.

Gently wiping away the water droplets on the screen, Shao Miao saw the message Chu Siqi had sent and a mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips: "Chu Siqi, are you showing off to me?"

"Aren't we allies? I'm just sharing with you, why would you think of me like that?"

On the other side, Chu Siqi looked at Shao Miao's reply and the corners of her lips slightly turned up.

She did it on purpose, of course.

After all, she still harbored resentment towards the intimate actions she had with Shen Shuchou that night.

Seeing these provocative yet sarcastic words, Shao Miao suppressed her sarcasm—what was the point of engaging in a verbal battle with Chu Siqi at this moment?

Perhaps she would never see Shen Shuchou again in this lifetime. She looked at the person in the photo, her lips twitching slightly, but her gaze suddenly fell on a dark, indistinct shape in the corner of the photo.

"Miss Chu, is this all we're having for dinner? Even dog food would be better than this."

Shao Miao typed out words with her fingertips. She clearly didn't want to argue with Chu Siqi, but her hands moved uncontrollably.

"What do you mean? This was something I carefully prepared!"

When Chu Siqi saw the message, the smile that had just appeared on her lips instantly froze.

"Oh? So Miss Chu can cook. But even a dog might not touch this stuff."

Shao Miao added a comment.

"Shen Shuchou eats."

These three short words left Shao Miao speechless for a moment.

Shao Miao: "......"

"Hmph! I'm afraid even if someone wanted to cook for him right now, they wouldn't be able to."

As Shao Miao looked at the text that popped up on the screen, her heart felt a slight clench, as if something had gently squeezed it.

She didn't reply, silently turned off her phone, and stared blankly at the deep night outside the window.

Over here, Chu Siqi was still typing rapidly on her phone screen when she heard Shen Shuchou's voice in front of her, at which point she suddenly stopped.

"I'm going back now."

Shen Shuchou stood up, his tone indifferent.

"It's so late, why don't you stay here for the night?"

Chu Siqi immediately looked up and stared straight at him.

"No."

Shen Shuchou's answer remained concise.

He knew in his heart that if he stayed here tonight, who knew what trouble might arise over there? He had to go back now.

Looking at his distant attitude, so different from when he was relaxed just now, Chu Siqi felt a sense of familiarity for a moment, but then she was overwhelmed by a wave of disappointment.

Knowing she couldn't persuade him otherwise, she forced a smile and asked, "Then... shall I take you home?"

"No need." Shen Shuchou shook his head, saying nothing more.

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

Watching Shen Shuchou's figure disappear through the door, Chu Siqi sat blankly in her chair, having lost all interest in arguing with Shao Miao.

The room fell silent, leaving only the plate of dark, charred braised pork on the table.

After a long while, her gaze fell on the plate of "results" and she suddenly remembered Shao Miao's words.

As if possessed, Chu Siqi picked up her chopsticks, took a small piece, and put it in her mouth.

next second!

The moment the food touched her tongue, a bittersweet flavor exploded, and her beautiful eyebrows instantly furrowed in distress.

Almost reflexively, he spat out the food along with his saliva.

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"

She vomited repeatedly, then grabbed the water glass on the table and gulped down several mouthfuls to suppress the strange taste.

"Why does it taste so bad..."

Chu Siqi looked at the braised pork on the plate with disgust.

The anticipation and pride I felt while cooking were completely washed away by this taste.

Only then did she realize how much exaggeration Shen Shuchou had put into his earlier comment, "It's pretty good."

It turns out he did find the food delicious; he was just trying to appease her.

Chu Siqi put down her chopsticks, looked at the empty doorway, and suddenly felt a little wronged.

She spent all her time trying to make him something delicious, so how did it turn out like this?

Especially when she recalled Shao Miao's words, "Even a dog wouldn't eat this," Chu Siqi's mood became even more depressed.

She pouted at the empty room, as if arguing with herself or making a soft protest, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum: "The dog won't eat it... Shen Shuchou will."

After saying this, she paused for a moment, then her nose tingled slightly.

Yes, he ate it.

Even though the taste was so bad it made him frown, he gritted his teeth and swallowed it down, even managing to give her a "pretty good" smile.

Chu Siqi lay on the table, her cheek pressed against the cool surface, looking at the plate of braised pork that she had previously disliked.

Suddenly, I felt that there was something else hidden in that burnt and bitter smell.

Was it his unspoken concession, or his clumsy feelings that he himself didn't realize?

She raised her hand and poked the dark, mushy piece of meat, muttering softly, "Next time... I'll definitely make it tastier next time."