After being dumped by the diva, I was picked up by her arch-enemy.

Jiang Yichen was woken up by his stomach.

To be precise, I was dragged out of my sleep by a sudden, intense feeling of hunger.

He opened his eyes; the sky outside the French windows was just beginning to lighten, the morning light not yet fully spread.

His stomach growled again, so loudly that he felt embarrassed.

Thinking back carefully, I realized I hadn't eaten anything properly since leaving the apartment yesterday.

Aside from grabbing a sandwich at the convenience store downstairs on the way to the company with Gu Ruanxing at noon, the rest of the time was spent on that iced Americano that Xu Zhiyou gave me.

Eating coffee like it's food, no wonder my stomach feels like it's on fire now.

Jiang Yichen got out of bed, quickly washed up, and went downstairs wearing an oversized nightgown.

The first floor was quiet.

The door to the master bedroom at the end of the corridor was closed, and there was no sound coming from inside.

This young lady is probably still dreaming of being a princess.

Jiang Yichen walked into the open kitchen and opened the double-door refrigerator.

The refrigerator was more stocked than he had expected. There were fresh eggs, bacon, toast, several cartons of milk, and some fruits and vegetables.

The expiration dates are still far off, but most of the packaging hasn't been opened.

It's obvious that these items were purchased and left untouched by the owner.

Jiang Yichen took out eggs, bacon, and toast.

I rummaged through the cupboard again and found a frying pan and seasonings.

He rolled up his sleeves and started heating the pan.

The sizzling sound of the bacon hitting the pan was particularly clear in the quiet kitchen.

Oil splattered, carrying a burnt aroma, and quickly spread throughout the area.

The original owner's cooking skills were not bad.

Although I'm not a professional chef, I can cook home-style dishes skillfully, and making a simple breakfast is a piece of cake for me.

After all, when he was with Lin Qinghe, he basically took care of all three meals a day. That big star never lifted a finger; he could even overcook instant noodles.

Jiang Yichen cracked two eggs into the pan and fried them until the edges were slightly browned, while the yolks were still runny.

Place the toast slices into the toaster and set it to medium speed.

I poured another glass of hot milk.

The portion size is just right for one person.

When the plate was served, Jiang Yichen was fairly satisfied with his cooking skills.

The bacon was fried until crispy, the eggs had golden-brown bottoms, and the toast was toasted to perfection.

The hot milk was steaming.

He had just pulled out a chair to sit down.

The door at the end of the corridor creaked open.

Gu Ruanxing came out wearing slippers.

Her hair was still messy, like a bird's nest.

Her face still looked sleepy, and her eyes weren't fully open.

She was wearing a black silk slip dress with thin straps hanging on her shoulders, exposing a large expanse of snow-white skin below her collarbone.

The hem of the nightgown barely covered the mid-thighs, leaving her two dazzlingly white legs exposed in a blatant display.

She rubbed her eyes as she walked towards the living room, yawning widely as she did so.

Then I smelled it.

Gu Ruanxing's nose twitched.

The hand that was rubbing its eyes stopped.

Her gaze slowly focused on the dining table—fried eggs, bacon, toast, and hot milk.

Then the focus shifted to the man next to the dining table who was about to sit down and start eating.

"Yo."

Gu Ruanxing instantly regained her senses.

She strode to the dining table, bent down to approach the plate of breakfast, her eyes bright. The neckline of her slip dress drooped down, revealing glimpses of her snow-white skin underneath.

"Did you cook this?"

Jiang Yichen's eyelids twitched, and he said with a hint of helplessness, "Could you please put your clothes on first?"

"This is my home, and I am free to wear whatever I want."

Gu Ruanxing didn't care at all. Instead, she took out her phone and snapped several pictures of the breakfast on the table.

Then she adjusted the angle to include Jiang Yichen in the frame as well.

"Don't move, this angle is good."

Click.

Jiang Yichen watched as she skillfully opened the WeChat Moments editing interface and typed rapidly with her fingers.

As she typed, she muttered, "I'll use this picture for the caption, hmm, add a warm tone with a filter... perfect. Click send!"

Jiang Yichen picked up the milk and took a sip.

"Finished sending?"

"Um."

"Can I eat now?"

Gu Ruanxing put down her phone, pulled out the chair opposite her, sat down, picked up the fork on the table, forked a piece of bacon, and stuffed it directly into her mouth.

"Mmm—delicious!"

Jiang Yichen's face darkened: "I didn't make any for you."

"I saw it," Gu Ruanxing said matter-of-factly, forking away another piece of bacon. "That's why I'm eating yours."

She blinked and argued confidently, "You live in my room, use my refrigerator, and eat my food. It's not unreasonable for me to try a couple of bites, is it?"

Jiang Yichen opened his mouth, but was speechless.

Fine, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

Gu Ruanxing didn't overeat.

After taking a few bites, she pushed the chair away contentedly.

I'm full.

Jiang Yichen looked down at the "endgame" on the table.

Two slices of bacon were missing, a corner of the toast was bitten off, and there were still lip prints outlined by water vapor on the inside of the milk cup.

Feel your stomach growling with hunger.

Forget it, why bother arguing with a woman?

Jiang Yichen quickly finished the remaining bacon and the whole fried egg, then picked up the toast that Gu Ruanxing had taken a bite out of and looked at it.

A row of neat teeth marks on the white bread.

It's a waste to throw it away.

Eating it... doesn't seem quite right.

Jiang Yichen's stomach growled again.

Well, poor people have no right to be pretentious.

He flipped the toast over and ate it, avoiding the teeth marks.

He picked up the milk cup with the lip print on it again, turned it around, and drank it all in one gulp from the other side.

……

Lin Qinghe's apartment in the east of the city.

The alarm clock rang three times before she struggled to wake up from her hazy sleep.

I tossed and turned until three or four in the morning last night before finally falling asleep, and I was still feeling groggy.

Fortunately, the body aches and pains have lessened somewhat.

She leaned against the headboard, picked up her phone, and habitually scrolled through her messages.

The agent sent me today's schedule.

Chen Yu sent another good morning greeting.

Instead of replying immediately, she subconsciously opened her Moments.

Then she saw Gu Ruanxing's new post.

The photo shows a dining table.

A refined breakfast was laid out on the wooden tabletop—fried eggs, bacon, toast, and hot milk.

The edge of the photo captures half of a man's profile.

He had a well-defined profile, a sharp jawline, and wore a loose gray top.

She could recognize Jiang Yichen at a glance.

The caption reads: "What do I do if the man I picked up is such a good cook? I need help urgently!"

This was followed by a playful tongue-out emoji.

Lin Qinghe stared at the photo, her fingers involuntarily zooming in on the image.

Sun-dried egg, slightly browned at the edges, with a runny yolk.

The bacon was fried until crispy and then neatly arranged around the edge of the plate.

Toast the bread until golden brown on both sides.

The milk had been heated, and a thin layer of milk film clung to the inside of the cup.

She was intimately familiar with every single detail.

Three years.

Three whole years.

Jiang Yichen gets up at six o'clock every morning to prepare breakfast before she wakes up.

In summer, I'll cut an extra plate of fruit; in winter, I'll scald the bowls and plates with hot water first.

Her fried eggs are always runny, simply because she once casually remarked that "runny eggs are delicious."

Since then, he has never cooked anything fully done.

She used to take these things for granted.

Now it's on someone else's dinner table.

Lin Qinghe locked the screen and threw the phone onto the blanket.

But her hands unconsciously clenched tighter.

She told herself she shouldn't care.

But the feeling of tightness in my chest was even more pronounced than yesterday.