Starting with taking in female college students

Ni Youlin sat obediently on the sofa, her legs together, her hands on her knees, her back as straight as possible, and her eyes looking forward.

She unconsciously adopted this posture, but her face was expressionless, and her eyes were even vacant.

Grandpa Silver tilted his head back, utterly puzzled by the human's strange appearance; he curiously walked over, tail wagging, and slipped through the gap between Ni Youlin's thighs and arms, then turned and slipped back. Having fun, he spun around and did it again…

The heavy toes that stepped on Ni Youlin's leg quickly brought her back to her senses.

The feeling of the cat's paw pressing on her thigh was a little strange, but it also made Ni Youlin realize that she wasn't actually at home. She was now in a safe enough place, and there was no need for her to maintain that difficult but necessary pose anymore.

She went limp as if she had no bones left, and scooped up the old man in her arms. She pressed her face against his furry body, her eyes curving into crescents with contentment.

She glanced at the other cats around her. The big blue cat was perched at the kitchen doorway, but blocked by the glass door; the little Munchkin was always full of energy, even with a slight limp in its hind leg, it was always swaying around; DouDou had somehow climbed onto the cabinet against the wall in the dining room, looking down like a majestic lion king. The American Shorthair tabby had hidden itself in a gap in the corner of the sofa, while the little Ragdoll had just returned from the litter box, its tail held high, looking completely content.

Behind the kitchen glass door, a figure of modest build was bustling about. The hum of the range hood and the rising steam in the kitchen brought a warmth she had never experienced before.

"This... feels like... home?"

Ni Youlin looked down at her knees and toes and suddenly felt an urge to do something no matter what.

"The dumplings are ready!"

Chen Rang came out carrying a large plate of dumplings.

He placed the plate on the table, then brought over two bowls and two small plates.

Looking up and seeing Ni Youlin staring blankly at him, Chen Rang sneered, "What are you still standing there for? Come and make the dipping sauce yourself! If you like it spicy, add more Lao Gan Ma chili sauce; if you don't, add less. There's only soy sauce, vinegar, and Lao Gan Ma chili sauce; nothing else."

"oh oh!"

Ni Youlin quickly abandoned Grandpa Yin and ran over.

Taking the chopsticks Chen Rang handed her, she looked somewhat at the condiment bottle in front of her, feeling a little lost. In her limited understanding, she had never known that dipping sauces had to be made by oneself; she had always just obediently eaten whatever was handed to her.

So... how should I prepare the dipping sauce? This is soy sauce, and this is vinegar. How much of each should I use?

"I'm really impressed by you."

Seeing Ni Youlin like this, Chen Rang sighed.

Putting aside the dipping sauce for now, he picked up a bowl and a spoon in his other hand. "How many dumplings do you want? Just so you know, handmade dumplings are much bigger than regular dumplings. Take only what you can eat, understand?"

"I...I'll eat five!"

Ni Youlin nodded vigorously, her excitement and anticipation barely concealed. She had no time to think about the dipping sauce; the plump, white dumplings in front of her were already making her mouth water.

"Then let's eat five first."

Chen Rang deftly scooped five dumplings for Ni Youlin, pushed the bowl towards her, and helped her prepare the dipping sauce. The ratio of soy sauce to vinegar was roughly one to three, with a small spoonful of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce added—a relatively mild but flavorful recipe.

Fortunately, he didn't need to teach him how to eat dumplings, otherwise he would have really thought he was taking care of a mentally challenged child.

So how exactly does Ni Youlin live with her father? It seems like she's living like a puppet!

Chen Rang's mind was filled with random thoughts.

He had no intention of chatting with Ni Youlin. While watching the girl clumsily pick up dumplings, dip them in sauce, and shove them into her mouth, only to be burned and panting, he leisurely enjoyed his own meal.

To be honest, he hadn't eaten dumplings for many days!

Ever since his father took his mother away, he's become too lazy to cook complicated meals like dumplings. He sometimes feels lonely at home, and he just eats whatever's convenient.

"Even though he's a bit simple-minded, having someone to eat with always feels different."

Chen Rang glanced at Ni Youlin again, then lowered his head and loudly boasted.

A dumpling only takes two bites, and a bowl of dumplings only takes five minutes. Under Ni Youlin's dumbfounded gaze, and amidst the drooling cries of Dou Dou and the big blue cat at his feet, Chen Rang quickly devoured most of the plate of dumplings.

"Does it smell that good?"

Ni Youlin looked at her bowl; she had only eaten three out of five dumplings. Then she looked at Chen Rang's bowl; only a little sauce remained. However, he hadn't finished all the dumplings on the large plate; he had left three on it, looking rather lonely.

"The rest is all yours, eat it all. I'll go upstairs and make your bed; you can sleep in the second bedroom on the third floor tonight."

Chen Rang wiped his mouth briefly and arbitrarily decided on Ni Youlin's resting place.

"..."

Ni Youlin kept her head down and remained silent.

Chen Rang was already used to her style, so he simply yawned and turned to leave.

The restaurant, which had been bustling just moments before, has now fallen silent.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, the cats looked around, ignored the troublesome humans, and ran off to find their own fun. Ni Youlin, after a long silence, resumed slowly eating her dumplings, taking each small bite with great care.

Her eyes glistened with tears, yet held a resolute quality that no one could fathom. Even though the dumplings in her bowl had grown slightly cold, she ate them with gusto, completely oblivious.

Suddenly, a cell phone rang from the handbag on the sofa.

Ni Youlin paused for a moment, then slowly walked over and took out her phone. Seeing the concerned looks from the little rag doll and the American Shorthair tabby beside her, she lowered her head and quietly looked at the contents of the message, her face showing no emotion.

After a long pause, she typed a single word as a reply, then put her phone back in her bag and went to the restaurant to continue eating dumplings.

When Chen Rang came down, what he saw was this silly girl struggling with her last dumpling. She looked like she couldn't eat anymore, but she was still trying her best to chew and swallow, as if she was determined to finish the food in her bowl no matter what.

When she saw Chen Rang coming over, she was a little scared and carefully covered the rim of the bowl with her hand so that he wouldn't see it.

"If you can't finish it, that's fine. I didn't expect you to eat it all! Eating is for filling your stomach. Forcing yourself to swallow is just torture. Eat as much as you can, and throw away what you can't finish. What's the big deal about wasting one or two?"

Chen Rang shook his head speechlessly.

Seeing that Ni Youlin seemed to have completely relaxed, her back slumped down, he couldn't help but be very curious about what kind of life this girl had lived at home in the past.

Eating is like torture for her. She's never even eaten fast food like hamburgers. Is she really a rich family's young lady?

Or even if she was an illegitimate child, her status at home shouldn't be this low, right?

In any case, Chen Rang simply couldn't understand this kind of thing.

After seeing Ni Youlin put all the bowls and plates into the sink, she came out and looked at him timidly, seemingly at a loss. To be honest, Chen Rang was also a little unsure of what to do.

In an adult film or a Japanese adult film, there would be ample time to do those unspeakable things. In a domestic film, going with the flow wouldn't be out of the question either. But... Chen Rang simply couldn't bring himself to harm a fool.

He sighed and led Ni Youlin to the third floor.

With the same layout and similar decor, he said to the curious Ni Youlin, "You'll be sleeping in this second bedroom. The sheets and blankets are all ready for you. This is the bathroom, and this is my parents' bedroom. I've put my mom's pajamas on your bed; you can wear them if you want, or not if you don't. Anyway, I won't be coming up to this third floor again, so you can relax and get ready. Oh, I'll call you before I come tomorrow morning, so remember not to turn off your phone."

With that, Chen Rang waved his hand, turned around, and went downstairs, leaving all the freedom upstairs to Ni Youlin alone.

"Meow?"

Silver Grandpa, who had secretly followed the two to the third floor, was very curious about everything upstairs. However, being a cautious creature, it insisted that Ni Youlin scout ahead before daring to follow. So when it saw Ni Youlin standing there dumbly, it quickly urged her on.

"That's great!"

Ni Youlin murmured, her eyes filled with emotion.

She had never received such genuine trust before. Even in that house, people looked at her like a thief, as if she were a villain trying to steal something.

It doesn't look like it's here.

Chen Rang's trust and care for her touched her heart at that moment.