Peninsula: A Max-Level Forward's Leisurely Life

When Li Chixun came downstairs, he first smelled a very complicated smell.

It has the aroma of burnt butter, the fragrance of fried eggs, and a hint of indescribable sweetness. The combination isn't unpleasant, but it's certainly not reassuring either.

He stood at the top of the stairs, glanced at the bar, and slowed his pace.

The small round table by the window had been cleaned up and covered with a beige tablecloth. Next to it was a small flower that had somehow appeared, its stem crooked, like a hastily recruited extra. It was good for the occasion, but upon closer inspection, it was full of flaws.

Choi Sulli was setting the table with her back to him, still wearing that oversized white T-shirt, the cuffs rolled up twice to reveal her slender white wrists, her hair loosely tied up with a few strands hanging down by her ears. She was a completely different person from the one who was soaking wet and huddled by the bar last night.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around, her eyes lighting up instantly.

"You've finally come up with something."

She raised her chin, her tone slightly smug, "Sit down, I'll show you my cooking skills today."

Lee Chi-hoon pulled out a chair and sat down, his gaze falling on the plate with the silver lid, and his lips twitched slightly.

It was all very mysterious, but the sense of ritual was definitely there.

He leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the edge of the table twice, mentally preparing himself for the worst.

To be honest, in both his past and present lives, he had never heard of Choi Sulli being able to cook, let alone make breakfast. This girl was used to being waited on, and the fact that she was able to get herself ready last night was already an exceptional performance.

As long as you can eat it.

I ask for nothing else.

Choi Sulli placed her hands on the table, bent down to look at him, and smiled like a cat about to cause trouble.

"Guess what's inside."

Lee Chi-hoon glanced at her. "German sausage platter."

"wrong."

"Fried potatoes with bacon."

"That's not right either."

"Bavarian sausage, or you went above and beyond and made me a French toast."

Sulli's smile began to falter.

"Is there nowhere else in your mind besides Germany?"

Lee Ji-hoon shrugged. "Occupational hazard, a side effect of the off-season."

"Guess again."

Eggs Benedict.

"wrong."

"A croissant, plus a decent cup of coffee."

"It's still not right."

As she said this, her lips pursed and her eyebrows drooped, clearly indicating that she had gone from expecting praise to running out of patience.

Seeing her barely concealed expression, Li Chixun knew that if they continued guessing this question today, it could easily lead to someone's death.

He simply stopped, leaned back, and spoke in a lazy tone.

"Alright, I'll stop guessing. The things you make should all be pretty good; I can eat them all."

As soon as she said that, the gloom on Choi Sulli's face immediately dissipated.

Her eyes crinkled into a smile, an irrepressible grin, as if she had just won first place in a kindergarten craft competition and wanted to applaud herself on the spot.

"That's more like it."

She reached out and grasped the edge of the lid, pausing deliberately for a second. "Ready?"

A bad feeling suddenly arose in Li Chixun's heart.

But it was too late.

The lid was lifted, and the breakfast on the table was finally revealed.

A plate of scrambled eggs with an interesting color scheme, yellowish-brown with charred edges, its shape somewhere between a cloud and an accident scene. Next to it are two slices of toast, one overcooked and the other innocently white, as if it had never been burned. In the very center are several sausages cut to varying lengths, one of which is even split open, its opening facing upwards.

The glass of milk next to it has a more spiritual quality.

A layer of fine powder floated on top; it was unclear whether it was cocoa or some mysterious ingredient she had sprinkled in on a whim.

Lee Chi-hoon stared at the plate of food and swallowed hard.

The escape route flashed through my mind in an instant.

It's less than eight yards from this table to the door. If he really wanted to leave, not even Choi Sulli, let alone those three paparazzi from last night, could stop him.

But when he looked up, he met her bright, sparkling eyes.

Attentive, expectant, and a little cautious.

It looks just like a cat that puts its paws on your trouser leg and waits for you to nod.

They can't escape.

Lee Chi-hoon resignedly picked up his knife and fork, and casually asked, "Is this your first time making breakfast?"

Choi Sulli nodded confidently, "This is the first time I've made it for someone else."

Lee Chi-hoon paused for a moment, "The first half of the sentence is the key point, isn't it?"

She coughed lightly, pretending not to hear, "You eat first."

He cut off a small piece of scrambled eggs, his movements steady and his expression calm, as if he were signing a high-risk merger and acquisition contract.

The moment he put it in his mouth, his eyebrows twitched.

The taste was indeed very strange.

There was too little salt, and the sugar was a bit too much. The texture was loose yet chewy. I couldn't figure out which direction this dish should grow into.

The good news is, it's not really bad.

Even amidst the chaos, there was a simple sincerity.

This is already a huge positive development.

Lee Chi-hoon swallowed the mouthful of food and nodded. "He's actually alive."

Choi Sulli was taken aback at first, then glared at him, "What do you mean by 'actually still alive'?"

"What I mean is," he said, taking his second bite, his tone serious, "is much better than I expected."

"real?"

"real."

She stared at his face for two seconds, confirming that he didn't seem to be just going through the motions, and immediately relaxed, her shoulders feeling lighter.

"I told you, I do have talent."

Lee Chi-hoon looked at the plate of black and white toast but didn't expose her.

I'll reserve the word "talent" for now.

He buried his head and continued eating, quite quickly, even to the point of being polite. Scrambled eggs, toast, sausage, and he even drank most of that cup of hot milk with questionable ingredients.

Choi Sulli sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him, her eyes overflowing with satisfaction.

"You seem to be enjoying your food."

"Um."

"It seems I'm well-suited for the role of a virtuous wife and loving mother."

Li Chixun looked up and slowly replied, "Don't rush into a transformation. Let's bake the bread to the same color on both sides first."

She was so angry she wanted to kick him, but halfway through, she laughed at herself.

By the time breakfast was over, the sunlight outside the window had fully spread out, and the dampness left by last night's rain had not yet dissipated, but the back alleys of Itaewon were unusually quiet.

Li Chixun pushed the empty plate forward, then took the tableware away, put it in the sink, turned on the water, and washed it.

Sulli wanted to help, but as soon as she leaned over, he disdainfully pushed her away.

"Stay away from the kitchen, it's a good deed."

"Feed".

"My sincere advice."

She stood to one side with her arms crossed, verbally defiant, but her face showed little anger.

After finishing their meal, the two of them suddenly found themselves with some free time.

The new Bundesliga season is still a long way off. Aside from maintaining his training and physical condition, Lee Ji-hoon doesn't have anything urgent to deal with. The system can't be rushed either; once it's not in an official match, it's just a quiet green board.

Choi Sulli was even more direct, curling up on the sofa and hugging a cushion while spacing out.

"I don't want to go back to the company for the time being."

She stared at the ceiling, her voice lowered, "I don't want to go to work either. Let those people outside write whatever they want. We'll talk about it when things calm down."

Lee Chi-hoon sat behind the bar, poured himself half a glass of water, and hummed in agreement that he had heard.

Light jazz music played in the room, and the sun shone through the glass windows, warming the wooden floor. Time seemed to slow down, as if someone had stopped it.

Shirley stared blankly for a while, then took out the TV remote and turned it on mute.

The screen switched to sports news, the red and white Bayern Munich logo flashed briefly, followed by footage of their Champions League victory last season.

Li Chixun glanced over, but didn't react.

Choi Sulli sat up straight, stared at the figure in the number 27 jersey on the screen for a few seconds, and then turned her head to ask him.

"Are you this annoying on the court too?"

Lee Chi-hoon chuckled, "You only live longer if you hate someone."

"Your teammates must be really annoyed with you."

"Wrong, they usually get annoyed first, and then they beg me."

Choi Sulli scoffed, about to retort, when her phone, which was lying on the coffee table, suddenly vibrated.

The buzzing sound was particularly clear in the quiet room.

Their eyes fell on it at the same time.

She reached for her phone, glanced at it, and her expression changed instantly. The lazy relaxation she had just shown vanished, and her brows furrowed.

Lee Chi-hoon leaned back in his chair, not urging her, but simply nodding his chin at her.

"Hurry up and answer it."

Choi Sulli gripped her phone tighter and tighter, the name on the screen still lighting up intermittently.

She bit her lip, glanced at Li Chixun, and finally pressed the call button.