Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

At 6:30 p.m., Jiang Fan stood at the entrance of Shen Nian's apartment carrying two bags of groceries.

Zhou Yutong opened the door.

His eyes widened when he saw what was in his hand.

"Brother Fan, you can cook?"

"Yes." Jiang Fan changed his shoes and walked to the kitchen, placing the bag on the counter. He glanced back at her, "But I only bought enough for two people."

Zhou Yutong's excitement faltered halfway through.

"Two people?"

"Um."

"Which two people?"

Jiang Fan ignored her and started taking things out of the bag.

Cabbage, tofu, pork ribs, corn, and yam are all relatively light and refreshing.

Zhou Yutong leaned closer and peered through the kitchen door frame.

"Brother Fan, I haven't had dinner yet."

There's a fast food restaurant downstairs.

"No fast food meal can taste as good as yours—although I haven't tried it yet, I have a feeling."

She didn't budge; her feet were rooted to the kitchen doorway, and she refused to leave.

Shen Nian came out of the bedroom, wearing a gray loungewear set, her hair loosely tied back.

My complexion is much better than this morning, with normal rosy cheeks.

"Let her stay," Shen Nian said.

Jiang Fan turned around and glanced at Zhou Yutong.

Zhou Yutong nodded frantically, clasped her hands together, and made a gesture of worshipping Buddha.

"Okay." Jiang Fan took out another broccoli from the bag. "It's just a matter of cooking one more dish."

Zhou Yutong jumped up and down. "Yay!"

"Oh, right," Jiang Fan said, wiping his hands, "Li Cheng told me about you going to Xingcheng with me."

Zhou Yutong stood up straight immediately, folded her hands in front of her, and switched to reporting mode.

"Brother Fan, I promise I'll take good care of Sister Nian the whole time, and I won't give you any extra—"

"I agree. And I have a gift for you."

Zhou Yutong's eyes lit up.

"Thank you, Brother Fan."

Jiang Fan took something out of his pocket and placed it in her hand.

Zhou Yutong stared down at the "artifact" in her palm, her expression going through three stages: excitement, confusion, and bewilderment.

"What...what is this?"

"You'll use this phone during your trip to Changsha. Take it back and familiarize yourself with it. If you type slowly, practice more."

Zhou Yutong held up that old Nokia phone, its black and white screen reflecting the light.

Shen Nian stood in the living room and saw this scene, covering her mouth with one hand.

His shoulders twitched twice.

Finally, I couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Zhou Yutong glanced back at Shen Nian, then looked down at the old-fashioned mobile phone in her hand.

"Sister Nian, you're still laughing."

Shen Nian waved her hand and laughed so hard she bent over.

"Brother Fan, this thing probably can't even install WeChat, right?"

"It can make phone calls and send text messages. That's enough."

"But...but what about my WeChat Moments..."

"Your WeChat Moments is a ticking time bomb." Jiang Fan turned on the tap to wash the vegetables without turning his head.

Zhou Yutong opened her mouth, but swallowed her words.

He put the Nokia in his pocket and obediently went to sit in the living room.

-

Jiang Fan stood in front of the stove.

As for cooking skills, in his previous life, he was a 35-year-old bachelor who had at least mastered a few signature dishes.

I chopped the ribs into even small pieces and cut the yam into chunks with a rolling cut; the movements were fairly quick.

Heat the pan and add oil.

When the aroma wafted out, Zhou Yutong's nose twitched.

"It smells so good!"

Forty minutes later, three dishes and a soup were served.

Broccoli stir-fried with shrimp, cabbage stewed with tofu, celery stir-fried with cashews, plus a pot of pork rib, yam and corn soup.

The appearance isn't exactly stunning, but you can tell from the smell that it tastes amazing.

Zhou Yutong was the first to pick up her chopsticks, taking a piece of pork rib and stuffing it into her mouth.

Her eyes widened the moment she took the bite.

"Delicious! Brother Fan, you've been hiding your culinary skills for so long!"

She mumbled through her chewing ribs, her chopsticks already reaching for the second piece.

"Take your time." Jiang Fan put a piece of pork rib in Shen Nian's bowl. "I didn't buy your portion in the first place."

"But it's really delicious—" Zhou Yutong's mouth was stuffed with food, making it hard for her to speak clearly.

Shen Nian noticed the plate of celery stir-fried with cashews.

She picked up a cashew and put it in her mouth.

Zhou Yutong's gaze quickly flickered between Shen Nian and the dish.

She remembered that Sister Nian loved to eat cashews, a fact known only to her and Li Cheng.

She turned her head and glanced at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan was drinking his soup with his head down, his expression normal.

"Eat less." Jiang Fan frowned as he watched Zhou Yutong shovel food into her mouth.

"I took care of Sister Nian all day. Even if I didn't do anything special, I still put in a lot of effort. You can't treat me like this," Zhou Yutong said matter-of-factly.

Shen Nian ate her ribs in small bites, not joining in their bickering.

She chewed quietly, and it didn't hurt much when she swallowed.

Jiang Fan put down his chopsticks.

"Sister Nian, you're all set. You don't need to come over tomorrow. Go to work."

Zhou Yutong almost spat out the food in her mouth.

"what?"

"Her throat is basically better now, she doesn't need anyone to watch over her anymore. You still have work to finish, so don't keep coming here."

Zhou Yutong turned to look at Shen Nian.

Shen Nian nodded. "He's right, you should go back to work."

Zhou Yutong pouted but didn't refute.

They picked up food even faster—clearly indicating a "since we're not allowed to come tomorrow, we can eat as much as we want tonight" attitude.

The meal lasted until after 8 PM.

After Zhou Yutong finished cleaning up the dishes, she dawdled as she changed her shoes and stood at the door for a long time.

"Brother Fan, Sister Nian, I'm leaving now."

"Um."

"Sister Nian, you should get some rest."

"understood."

"Brother Fan, you too—"

"roll."

The door closed.

Zhou Yutong's footsteps gradually faded into the distance in the corridor.

The room fell silent.

-

Shen Nian turned on the small light in the living room and turned off the main light, making the whole room much softer.

She went to the kitchen, poured two glasses of warm water, brought them back, one for herself and the other on the coffee table in front of Jiang Fan.

The two people sat on the sofa, each holding a glass of water.

Shen Nian took a small sip of water, swallowed it, and checked her throat.

It doesn't hurt at all anymore.

What surprised her even more was something else.

Her sleep also improved.

No nightmares, no being woken up in the middle of the night by palpitations.

The persistent fatigue and helplessness I felt during the day have also faded considerably.

A year has passed, and she has almost forgotten what it feels like to feel so relaxed.

She tilted her head slightly, glancing at Jiang Fan out of the corner of her eye.

He leaned back on the sofa, drinking water in a relaxed posture, with one arm draped over the back of the sofa.

Her gaze followed his forearm down to the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist.

It paused for a second.

She had seen the watch online; it cost over a million.

Shen Nian withdrew her gaze.

"that……"

She spoke, her voice a few decibels softer than usual.

"Um?"

Shen Nian's fingers began to twist the hem of her loungewear again.

"Tonight...should we...?"

She was only halfway through her sentence when she couldn't squeeze out the rest of the words.

She grabbed the hem of her clothes with both hands and twisted it back and forth.

Jiang Fan turned his head to look at her.

"Anything else?"

Shen Nian stared at her knees, her lips moving slightly.

"Let's reinforce it a bit more."

She turned her face completely to the other side, leaving only her bright red ear facing him.

The living room was quiet for four seconds.

Jiang Fan put down the water glass.

"Are you sure it's about consolidation?"

"Of course we need to consolidate it!" Shen Nian's voice rose half a tone. "The stability in the high register isn't enough! What if you crack halfway through a song on stage—"

She bit her lip, stood up from the sofa, and grabbed Jiang Fan's wrist.

"Walk."

Jiang Fan was pulled up from the sofa by her and followed into the bedroom.

The door closed.

Shen Nian's hand touched the light switch on the wall, her fingertips just touching it.

Jiang Fan held her hand down.

"It was too dark last time. I couldn't see anything."

Shen Nian didn't speak and turned her face away.

Fingers resting on the buttons of the loungewear.

Don't look at me.

"Then where should I look?"

"Look...look at the wall."

Jiang Fan turned around and stood facing the wall.

I heard the sound of fabric falling to the floor behind me.

It's very light.

Then came the rustling sound of the bed sheet being pulled back.

"alright."

Jiang Fan turned back.

Shen Nian huddled under the covers, only her face showing.

The light shone on her profile, creating a completely different feeling from the darkness of the previous night.

She stared at him for two seconds.

When Jiang Fan reached out and pulled off the T-shirt, those eyes followed his movement and shifted downwards.

Then it closed quickly.

Jiang Fan lifted a corner of the blanket.

Shen Nian shrank back, pressing her back against the other side of the bed.

"Stop shrinking."

"I didn't shrink back."

Jiang Fan reached out and pulled her closer to him.

Her shoulder touched his chest, and she gasped the moment their skin touched.

Jiang Fan lowered his head.

Her eyes were closed, and her eyelashes were trembling violently.

"Open your eyes."

Shen Nian shook her head.

"Shen Nian."

She bit her lower lip and slowly opened her eyes a crack.

Under the lights, their eyes met.

Her fingers moved from Jiang Fan's chest and climbed onto his shoulders.

-

One hour later.

Shen Nian lay on Jiang Fan's body, her breathing not yet fully steady, her back rising and falling slightly.

Jiang Fan placed one hand on her lower back, his thumb unconsciously circling in her waist.

Shen Nian raised her head.

"That repair thing you mentioned... does it work every time?"

"Um."

"What if I catch a cold later?"

"Alright."

Shen Nian buried her face back and mumbled something.

Jiang Fan didn't hear clearly.

"What did you say?"

I said—then I might catch colds very often in the future.