A god-level beauty system? But I'm already a god-level beauty!

"Let me in first."

Shen Ye forced a smile and waved his phone at her. The time on the screen jumped glaringly: 1:31 AM.

Mu Jingyan stood inside the door, her face a mixture of sleepiness and surprise.

She stepped aside and made way for her.

"Come in quickly."

Honestly, it's clearly his house, why do I have to ask him why I'm allowed in?

Shen Ye stepped into the entryway and bent down to change his shoes.

He took out the pair of gray slippers and put them on. When he straightened up, Mu Jingyan had already closed and locked the door.

The two stood in the entryway, neither of them speaking for a moment.

The dim light of the corridor lamps illuminated the girl's disheveled long hair and slightly flushed cheeks.

"Should we turn on the lights?" Mu Jingyan asked softly.

"Let's open it."

The living room lights came on, and the two sat down on the sofa.

Shen Ye leaned back, let out a long breath, and after walking for several hours, his legs were finally spared.

"Your mother isn't still here, is she?"

He turned his head and asked the first question he had asked since entering the room.

Mu Jingyan shook her head.

"After dropping Huanhuan and me off, Mom came in for a cup of tea and then left."

"Didn't she say anything?" Shen Ye stared at her face. "Like asking you to move back or something?"

"no."

Mu Jingyan lowered her eyes, her voice flat.

"She didn't say anything, just finished her tea and left."

Shen Ye nodded and didn't pursue the matter further.

That's good, at least she didn't suddenly go crazy.

Is Huanhuan sleeping upstairs?

"Yes, she's asleep," Mu Jingyan replied. "She was exhausted after the exam and fell asleep before even finishing dinner."

"oh."

Shen Ye lowered his voice.

So from then on, the two of them consciously lowered their voices when they talked, like two accomplices keeping a secret, neither of them wanting to disturb the sound sleep upstairs.

After sitting for a while, Mu Jingyan suddenly remembered something and turned to look at him.

Have you had dinner yet?

"I've eaten," Shen Ye replied casually. "Barbecue, I'm quite full."

"Gurgle~"

The next second, a muffled thud suddenly came from Shen Ye's abdomen.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the living room late at night.

Shen Ye: "..."

Mu Jingyan: "..."

The two of them lowered their heads and looked at Shen Ye's stomach.

"You ate quite a lot?" Mu Jingyan raised her eyebrows, almost laughing.

"...That's because barbecue digests quickly," Shen Ye explained without changing his expression. "I've been walking for hours and I'm hungry again. What's wrong with that?"

Mu Jingyan didn't say anything. She stood up, straightened the hem of her pajamas, and walked towards the kitchen.

"Wait."

The sound of a cabinet being opened came from the kitchen, and the rummaging continued for a while before finally making a soft "click".

She came out carrying something and stood in the center of the living room, a thin layer of embarrassment on her face.

A packet of instant noodles.

"This is all we have left at home..." She held up the bag of noodles, her ears slightly red. "If you don't want to eat it, I'll go see if there are any eggs in the fridge, or..."

"Eat, of course you're going to eat."

Shen Ye took the instant noodles.

"I'll be away for a couple of days, you two won't be eating this all the time, will you?"

"No way!"

Mu Jingyan glared at him, her voice suddenly rising, but then she remembered there were people upstairs and quickly lowered it.

"It's only occasionally...we do eat out sometimes..."

She snatched the packet of noodles back and turned to go into the kitchen.

A short while later, the kettle started to whistle.

Shen Ye leaned back on the sofa, listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen.

The sound of water, the rustling of a seasoning packet being opened, and the soft thud of dough falling into the pan.

Then came the sound of the fire in the stove.

He was slightly startled.

Boiling water to make instant noodles should only take thirty seconds, but this noise is wrong.

He propped himself up on the sofa armrest and peeked into the kitchen.

Mu Jingyan stood with her back to him in front of the stove, rolling up the sleeves of her pajamas.

The water in the pot was just bubbling when she poached eggs into it, her wrist suspended, her movements light and steady. On the cutting board next to her, chopped scallions were arranged in a small dish, ham sausages were sliced ​​thinly, and a bright green leafy vegetable was washed clean and set aside.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Cook noodles." Mu Jingyan said without turning her head.

"...Wouldn't it be faster to just pour boiling water over it?"

"Don't you like your food cooked?"

She asked a question in return, while slowly skimming off the foam with her hands.

Shen Ye leaned against the kitchen door frame without saying anything more. Looking at that figure, a part of his heart softened.

This further strengthened his resolve.

A few minutes later.

A white porcelain bowl was placed on the coffee table.

The flatbread lies in the middle, the egg is soft-boiled, the ham slices are arranged in a fan shape, the green vegetables are blanched and crisp, the scallions are sprinkled on top, and a layer of red oil floats on the soup, the aroma wafting straight into your nose.

Shen Ye picked up his chopsticks, took a sip of soup, and let it flow down his throat, smoothing away most of the fatigue and emptiness he had felt over the past few hours.

He buried his head in his food and ate with relish.

Mu Jingyan rested her cheek on one hand, her elbow propped on the coffee table, and watched quietly.

Watching him slurp down his food, and seeing how he turned what she thought would be a sloppy instant noodle dish into a feast, a smile slowly crept onto her lips.

"Am I a good cook?"

She asked softly, with a hint of barely perceptible boastfulness in her voice.

"You can't cook instant noodles, where would you get the cooking skills?"

Shen Ye didn't even look up.

"Then don't eat it."

Shen Ye fell silent.

Seeing his expression, Mu Jingyan smiled slightly but didn't say anything more.

The steam rising from the bowl blurred the light and also obscured her view.

As the night grew deeper, after a whole day of driving and three days of exams, I was woken up by the doorbell, and waves of drowsiness washed over me.

Mu Jingyan covered her mouth and yawned slightly, then suddenly looked at him seriously, her voice becoming earnest.

"What happened? Why are you here so late?"

"..."

Shen Ye slowed his chewing and did not answer.

Mu Jingyan was immediately annoyed.

But she didn't say anything, she just waited quietly until he finished eating.

After finishing the last sip of soup, Shen Ye put down his chopsticks, took out a tissue, and slowly wiped his mouth.

"Nuan Nuan confessed her feelings to me."

Shen Ye stared at the table for a while, and just as Mu Jingyan's patience was about to run out, he uttered these words.

"Um?"

Mu Jingyan was taken aback at first.

Then, her expression changed rapidly.

A mixture of shock, bewilderment, panic, and a forced calm—one emotion after another surged in his eyes.

The hands, which had been resting neatly on her thighs and crossed over each other, tightened unconsciously.

Lin Chunuan confessed her feelings to Shen Ye?

Mu Jingyan's brain was racing, first freezing up, then restarting itself bit by bit.

She was aware of Shen Ye's family situation.

Shen Ye was adopted by the Lin family and has no blood relation to Lin Chunuan.

So this is not surprising.

Moreover, during the six months that she and her sister lived in this house.

She saw Lin Chunuan's feelings for Shen Ye and knew them better than anyone else.

That's definitely not the way a younger sister looks at her older brother.

That kind of feeling had long since crossed the line; they were just one step away from breaking through the barrier.

Now that the college entrance exam is over, nothing can stop her.

She confessed her feelings, which is actually... quite normal.

If it were her who had waited for so many years, she would have confessed her feelings long ago.

"Then, then you..."

Mu Jingyan opened her mouth, but her voice was dry.

"Did you agree...?"

She looked at Shen Ye nervously, then lowered her head again.

The question that came out of my mouth was so light, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

She knew that whether Shen Ye agreed or not was beyond her control.

But she still wanted to ask, to know the answer.

Lin Chunuan and Shen Ye have been inseparable for so many years, from elementary school to high school, from one roof to another. Their relationship has long been unbreakable.

Shen Ye's agreement is... quite reasonable...

Mu Jingyan lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the turbulent emotions within them, her fingers resting on her knees curling up and down.