Shen Mianyin took a deep breath, her hands unconsciously gripping the edge of the kitchen counter. Her fingers dug into the cool surface, turning white, before she finally looked up at Gu Huai-zhi. "Gu Huaizhi, I... I don't like you."
After saying this, she didn't dare look at Gu Huaizhi any longer. She quickly ran away from him.
Her figure fled from Gu Huaizhi's home in a hurry.
Upon returning home, the moment she closed the door, Shen Mianyin lost all support and slid down against it.
She didn't know when, but her face was full of tears.
Shen Mianyin lowered her head and buried her face in her palms.
Gu Huaizhi was so good, but she couldn't...
Shen Mianyin felt a surge of resentment, a hatred for the timing of her rebirth.
If only it had been earlier, before she got engaged to Gu Luoan.
If she had never been Gu Luoan's fiancée, she would have agreed to Gu Huaizhi without hesitation.
Even without knowing the outcome, she would have taken the gamble.
Shen Mianyin didn't know how long she had been sitting at the door. When she finally got up, her vision was blurred for a while before gradually returning to normal.
After she washed her face and felt somewhat more awake, she suddenly remembered that her bag and coat were still at Gu Huaizhi's place.
Shen Mianyin: "..."
She didn't have the courage to go back and get her things right now.
Shen Mianyin sighed. Her phone buzzed with a message from Gu Huaizhi.
She opened WeChat and saw Gu Huaizhi asking, "Have you eaten?"
Shen Mianyin rubbed her empty stomach. How could she have thought about eating?
Shen Mianyin didn't know how to reply to him. Immediately, Gu Huaizhi sent another message: "I haven't eaten either."
Shen Mianyin: "..."
Gu Huaizhi: "I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"
Shen Mianyin glanced at the time. It was already 10:32 PM.
Unknowingly, so much time had passed.
And Gu Huaizhi hadn't eaten anything until now.
Then, Gu Huaizhi sent over a picture of his messy kitchen counter.
It was exactly the same as when she left the kitchen.
The ingredients were still there, half-washed, half-cut, and not yet put into the pot.
Shen Mianyin finally couldn't help but reply, "Aren't you good at cooking?"
Gu Huaizhi replied, "If I cook, will you come down and eat?"
Shen Mianyin hesitated and said, "I'm not hungry."
Gu Huaizhi said, "If you don't come down, I'll bring it up to you."
Shen Mianyin: "..."
"Your bag and coat are still at my place," Gu Huaizhi said again, "Do you want to come down, or shall I go up?"
Clearly, the two of them hadn’t parted on good terms earlier; she could even say she had fled in panic.
So why was Gu Huaizhi acting as if nothing had happened?
Just as Shen Mianyin hesitated and didn’t reply to his message, the doorbell rang.
Shen Mianyin opened her mouth in surprise. When she opened the door, she saw Gu Huaizhi standing there, carrying a bag of groceries in one hand, her bag in the other, and her coat draped over his arm.
"You didn't reply, so I came up," Gu Huaizhi raised his arms, which were full of stuff. "Won't you invite me in?"
Shen Mianyin could only step aside and let Gu Huai-zhi in.
She took her bag and coat first, placing them temporarily on the sofa, and then went to take the bag of groceries from Gu Huaizhi.
Unexpectedly, Gu Huaizhi went straight to the kitchen with it.
Shen Mianyin watched as he took the groceries out of the bag.
She couldn't figure out how he had managed to pack all these ingredients into storage containers in such a short amount of time.
And to her surprise, the ingredients were already washed and prepared, ready to be cooked.
Shen Mianyin was baffled by the current situation.
Just a moment ago, their conversation at his place had been far from pleasant. How could Gu Huaizhi be acting as if nothing had happened, coming over with groceries in hand?
But Shen Mianyin couldn't bear to watch Gu Huaizhi cook alone, so she rolled up her sleeves, tied on an apron, and followed him into the kitchen. "Let me do it."
Gu Huaizhi glanced at Shen Mianyin. Her eyes were a little red, as if she had been crying.
Holding a kitchen knife in one hand, Gu Huaizhi looked at the apron on Shen Mianyin and asked, "Is there another one?"
"Yes," Shen Mianyin replied. She had two aprons at home and used them interchangeably.
She went to get a new one and handed it to Gu Huai-zhi. Gu Huaizhi looked at the kitchen knife in his hand and the tomato.
Half of the tomato was cut open, and a bit of light red juice was on his finger.
Without him having to say anything, Shen Mianyin understood what he meant.
She helped him tie the apron.
Shen Mianyin sighed softly. She stepped forward, leaned closer to Gu Huaizhi, and tiptoed to put the apron over his neck.
Her height only reached Gu Huaizhi's shoulders, so he purposely bent down and lowered his head, bringing his face very close to Shen Mianyin's.
Just as their noses were about to touch, Gu Huaizhi suddenly leaned to the side.
His cheek brushed against Shen Mianyin's, stopping near her ear.
Shen Mianyin could feel his breath on her ear.
She couldn't help but tremble slightly and involuntarily called out, "Gu Huaizhi!"
However, her voice was incredibly weak, soft, and trembling, sounding more like a whine than anything else.
"Hm?" Gu Huaizhi's low, husky voice brushed against her ear.
"Flustered by his voice, Shen Mianyin's legs felt weak, and she almost lost her balance."
"Steady yourself," Gu Huaizhi said firmly, his hands gripping her waist.
Shen Mianyin thought to herself, How can I stand steady when he's like this?
His breath was not only on her ear but also on her neck.
That part of her was especially sensitive, and she couldn't calm down at all.
Gu Huaizhi looked down and could see her delicate, fair neck. He barely managed to resist the urge to kiss it.
This girl was so alluring, yet she was completely unaware of it. It was incredibly enticing.
Shen Mianyin whispered, "Let go."
"Can you stand steady?"
"Mm," Shen Mianyin replied softly, not daring to look at Gu Huaizhi.
Unexpectedly, she heard Gu Huaizhi chuckle softly, his laughter as warm and soothing as a spring.
Gu Huaizhi released her, and Shen Mianyin almost stumbled.
This man was too much!
He was doing this on purpose.
Shen Mianyin subconsciously held onto Gu Huaizhi's arm, her scalp tingling with embarrassment. She blushed, and went around behind him to tie the apron, "There."
This late-night meal was so embarrassing for Shen Mianyin.
After dinner, Gu Huaizhi put all the dishes into the dishwasher.
Having finished cleaning up, he prepared to leave.
Shen Mianyin saw him off to the door when Gu Huaizhi suddenly stopped, catching her off guard.
He bent down, leaning in abruptly towards Shen Mianyin, their faces inches apart.
Shen Mianyin could only hear her own heart pounding. Then, she heard Gu Huaizhi say, "Goodnight."
Long after Gu Huaizhi left, the lingering warmth of his goodnight lingered on her lips.
What on earth was this man up to?
The next day, Shen Mianyin intentionally left for work forty minutes earlier than usual to avoid Gu Huaizhi.
However, to her surprise, early that morning, the Su family gave her a shock, and she found herself trending on the hot search.