A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

At 9:40 p.m., Fu Yan arrived early at the entrance of the Central Government in his understated black Audi A8.

Xu Wenshu was working the night shift today, finishing at 10 PM. He arrived 20 minutes early—not out of enthusiasm, but because the last time he picked her up on his electric scooter, the girl, who prioritized style over warmth, almost froze to death. Seeing her with snot and tears streaming down her face broke his heart. And with the temperature dropping today, he was even less inclined to pick her up on that little electric scooter again.

At 10:02, Xu Wenshu walked out of the main gate.

She was wearing that burgundy cashmere coat—yes, the one Fu Yan gave her. The collar of the coat was turned up, and she wore a gray scarf around her neck. Her gait was more composed than usual.

Fu Yan thought this dress looked a hundred times better on her than on the models. It wasn't flattery, nor was it just that beauty is in the eye of the beholder; it simply looked beautiful…

"You're here pretty early." Xu Wenshu opened the car door and got in. The warm air hit her face, and she let out a comfortable "Ah."

"I waited for twenty minutes."

"You don't need to come so early next time. It's freezing cold, and you're just waiting in the car."

"I turned on the heater."

"That would waste fuel."

"When did you start worrying about saving me fuel?"

Xu Wenshu glared at him but didn't reply.

-

The car drove back to Yandai Xiejie, and the two entered a courtyard house.

Zhou Shufen was still awake, sitting in the east wing watching TV. She came out when she heard the door open, still wearing her apron.

"Brother Fu is back! I've kept the dumplings warm, wash your hands and I'll bring them out right away!"

She looked up and saw Xu Wenshu, and was stunned for a moment.

Then, those eyes that had worked as a nanny in other people's homes for ten years blinked twice, and the corners of her mouth slowly turned up.

"This is..." She glanced at Fu Yan, then at Xu Wenshu, her smile widening. "Brother Fu, this must be your girlfriend?"

Xu Wenshu: "..."

Fu Yan: "..."

"Oh my, you're so pretty! Even better looking than on TV!" Zhou Shufen exclaimed enthusiastically, as if she were seeing her own daughter, grabbing Xu Wenshu's hand. "Girl, have you eaten yet? I made mackerel dumplings, they're so delicious!"

"Hello, elder sister." Xu Wenshu was a little embarrassed by her enthusiasm. "I haven't had dinner yet..."

"That's perfect! Come on, wash your hands first, I'll bring it to you right away!" Zhou Shufen turned and rushed into the kitchen, muttering, "Brother Fu usually eats alone and it's so hard, it's so good to have you here. I'll cook different dishes for you every day from now on!"

Standing to the side, watching Zhou Shufen holding Xu Wenshu's hand and asking her how she was doing, Fu Yan had the illusion that he had been "betrayed" by the nanny.

"Sister Zhou, stop fooling around, let her rest for a while."

"What rest?! How can you rest on an empty stomach!" Zhou Shufen rolled her eyes at Fu Yan, a look that said, "You're such a heartless man," before bringing out a large plate of steaming mackerel dumplings.

Xu Wenshu sat at the dining table, looking at the plate of steaming dumplings in front of her, and her nose tingled with emotion.

She hadn't eaten freshly made dumplings at someone else's house in a long time. She'd lived alone in Yanjing for three years, and her freezer always contained only frozen dumplings. The wrappers were sticky and the filling was mushy—completely different from the dumplings her mother made.

Now, someone made dumplings for her. Although they were filled with mackerel, a filling she had never tasted before, the hot, freshly cooked dumplings had already won her over.

"Is it delicious?" Zhou Shufen asked expectantly from the side.

Xu Wenshu took a bite. The dumpling skin was thin and the filling was generous. The mackerel meat was fresh and tender, with the fragrance of chives mixed in—it tasted about 70-80% like the flavor Fu Yan had described to him.

"It's delicious." Her voice was a little muffled. "It's especially delicious."

Zhou Shufen was overjoyed: "Eat more if it's delicious! I'll cook more if you're not full!"

Fu Yan sat opposite her, watching Xu Wenshu eat dumplings with her head down—a little soup was on the tip of her nose, but she didn't notice, and there was a slight smile on her lips.

He felt it was all worth it.

……

The next morning, Fu Yan was awakened by the noise made by Zhou Shufen.

No, it wasn't a human sound. It was Zhou Shufen turning on the TV in the east wing—she seemed to be watching the morning news, and the volume was a bit loud.

Fu Yan rolled over, and her arm bumped into the person next to her.

Xu Wenshu was still asleep, curled up in a ball, with only half of her face showing from under the blanket, breathing evenly.

He glanced at the alarm clock—6:50.

"Get up." Fu Yan nudged her shoulder.

"Hmm~" Xu Wenshu hummed and shrank her face further into the blanket.

"Weren't you going for your morning exercise?"

"I'm not going today~ I'm so sleepy!"

"You said yesterday that you ate a bit too much, and that you were going to exercise with me today."

"I said 'may,' not 'definitely'..."

Fu Yan was amused by the woman's shamelessness and reached out to yank the blanket off—

"Ah! What are you doing! It's freezing!" Xu Wenshu curled up in a ball, cursing before even opening her eyes.

"Get up. It's 6:50."

"You capitalist! You skinflint! You're even more ruthless than our station director!"

"What time does your station manager wake you up?"

"He doesn't care if I get up! I get up by myself!"

"Then you get up yourself."

Xu Wenshu dawdled for three minutes before finally sitting up, her hair a mess like a bird's nest, her eyes squinting, and her face full of morning grumpiness.

Fu Yan suppressed a laugh as he looked at her—Xu Wenshu like this was completely different from the intellectual and sharp CCTV host on screen.

"What are you laughing at?" she glared at him.

"I didn't laugh."

You're clearly smiling!

I'm smiling because you're beautiful.

Xu Wenshu was stunned for a moment, and her morning grumpiness subsided by half.

"……loquacious!"

……

After washing up, the two changed into their sportswear and went out.

The air at Houhai Lake in the early morning is so cold it could freeze your ears off, but the air is clean. Taking a deep breath, your lungs feel cool, and you feel completely awake.

The two jogged along the lakeside, with Fu Yan in front and Xu Wenshu behind, at a moderate pace.

"Now that Sister Zhou is cooking, you're officially retired as the head chef," Fu Yan said, turning around.

"So what if I'm laid off? I'm not your personal chef," Xu Wenshu said breathlessly, her voice trembling as she spoke while running.

"Then you'll be responsible for running with me from now on."

"I'm not going running with you! It's much more worthwhile to get some beauty sleep. Running is tiring and cold."

"Hehe, if you run with me, you probably won't even be able to get your beauty sleep."

"I'm going back to my own home to sleep."

"Then I'll come sleep at your place too, and I'll still wake you up at this time so we can go for a run together. We'll just run around the neighborhood, and the effect will be about the same."

"Get out! You're making things difficult for me!"

Fu Yan smiled and slowed down to wait for her to catch up.

The two ran side by side, their breaths mingling in the cold air, making it impossible to tell whose was whose.

……