Immediately upon entering the living room, he was greeted by the sight of Su Yanyi lounging comfortably on the couch, reading a magazine. She’d already changed into casual home clothes and let her hair down; the effect was that her usual harsh image was softened considerably.

Coupled with the way she was resting, quiet and relaxed, it really did appear as though she had been waiting for him to come home. Warmth and contentment filled Qin Jiran’s heart.

However…

“Yanyi, did you need me for something?” Qin Jiran shook his head slightly to rid his mind of the wistful illusion.

This kind of warmth did not suit their relationship. Giving in to this intoxication would only bring him more despair.

Meanwhile, Su Yanyi was thinking: of course she needed him for something!

“I’m hungry.”

She had waited almost an entire hour for him. At this point, she didn’t even want to bother with the civilities anymore.

“…” Qin Jiran blanked for a moment. Again, he became concerned for his own hearing.

Why else would he have heard those words come out of Su Yanyi’s mouth?

I’m hungry? Did that mean she had been waiting for him to come home and cook?

“Then I’ll go make dinner?” He tried to feel out the situation.

“Mhm,” Su Yanyi confirmed.

Once again, he fell silent, and she patiently waited until eventually, he asked, “What do you want to eat?”

“Doesn’t matter, just be quick.” As long as it tasted good, she was fine with anything.

Qin Jiran wordlessly made his way into the kitchen, his mind in chaos as a huge question mark hovered above his head. No matter how much he pondered, he just couldn’t figure out the answer.

Over the past two days, he had experienced this state of confusion numerous times.

He finally concluded that it wasn’t him, but Su Yanyi who was acting abnormally. However, two days ago when he had people go and investigate about the things that had happened to or around her recently, the results had returned as there being nothing out of the ordinary. This had only confused him more.

Half an hour later, four aromatic dishes and two bowls of soup was placed before Su Yanyi, one for her and one for Qin Jiran. She dug in without saying anything. Although her actions could still be considered graceful, Qin Jiran found her eating speed funny.

And then she heard the System beep.

Congratulations on accomplishing the task once!

+1 Point

Progress: 2/10

Please continue working hard!

Su Yanyi’s chopsticks froze in mid-air, and she paused for a second before slowly lifting her head to look at Qin Jiran. Traces of the smile could still be seen on his face. It was very faint, but she could see it clearly.

She even caught a glint of a hard-to-place emotion in his eyes. Whether it was happiness or doting, she wasn’t sure, but she?was?sure that it was directed at her.

She, was she being made fun of by him again? Could it be that she was eating too much?

“What are you laughing at?” Instead of automatically declaring him guilty, she decided to give him a chance to explain himself.

If it was the first time, then it could still be considered tolerable, but if the second smile was also at her expense, then she definitely wouldn’t stand for it!

Why was it that she had to make fool of herself to make him laugh! Why! Was she that amusing to him?!

As a self-centered and self-confident woman, the instances of her doing anything dishonorable was probably nil. She could not recall being laughed at —not even jokingly— before either. In the eyes of her family, she represented the epitome of excellence.

And yet the outstanding Su Yanyi had been laughed at by Qin Jiran two times already, “helping” her make progress in the System mission that she’d been struggling with. This was clearly a provocation, and she would not tolerate it!

Meanwhile, Qin Jiran was visibly stunned by her accusation. What was he laughing at?

Did he laugh?

“I laughed?” He asked with uncertainty.

“Yes!” Su Yanyi gave a solemn nod. Not only did he laugh, but he laughed?at her!

Qin Jiran couldn’t understand why he had supposedly laughed and why she was treating it so seriously, but the sight of her nodding her head like that, all serious and solemn, made him melt from her cuteness again.

Then, he involuntarily released a low, obvious, and very pleasant-sounding chuckle.

Congratulations on accomplishing the task once!

+1 Point

Progress: 3/10

Please continue working hard!

Unexpected surprise? Su Yanyi blinked her eyes and thought: What a boring world! Even the unexpected surprises could render her speechless.

This time, what was Qin Jiran’s reason for laughing? Was it genuine, or was he making fun of her again?

“Why is it that every time you laugh, I feel like you’re laughing at me?” If straightforwardness was a virtue, then it was definitely one that Su Yanyi possessed.

Abruptly, Qin Jiran stopped laughing, and he looked at her with some embarrassment.

“Of course not, you misunderstood.”

He was laughing because he found her cute. He wasn’t laughing at her.

“Misunderstood? Then what are you laughing at?” Su Yanyi didn’t believe him.

Qin Jira didn’t dare openly praise her as cute, lest he elicit more of her anger. Su Yanyi would undoubtedly be displeased by the adjective.

“Silence is a tacit agreement?”

“Yanyi, how could I be laughing at you? Anyway, why did you decide to eat at home tonight? Is there something you want to discuss with me?” As clumsy as he was at covering up, he cleverly chose to change the topic and bring it to the question he’d been wanting to ask all night.

“Yes,” Su Yanyi pondered for a moment, the same solemn expression on her face. It wasn’t that Qin Jiran had succeeded in drawing her attention away from the original topic; she was just convinced that his attitude indicated tacit agreement, so she decided to move on.

“What is it?” Immediately, a very serious expression appeared on his face.

“From now on, come back and cook dinner if you have time. I’ll eat at home,” Su Yanyi was also serious in her speech. As the matter of fact, she was even more serious than when she discussed official business.

“…” Qin Jiran suddenly felt like his auditory hallucinations were beyond hopeless to cure.

Come back and cook dinner if you have time?

Come back and cook dinner if you have time!

I’ll eat at home?

I’ll eat at home!

Was he hearing her words correctly? Was he understanding her words correctly?

“Yanyi, what kind of shock did you suffer from? If you need something, then you can say it frankly. Your behavior right now is making me worry,” He paused to scrutinize her body before continuing hesitantly, “Could it be that you’re sick? Have you visited the hospital yer?”

Please forgive this man who had been neglected and treated coldly for too long. Not only did he fail at feeling the warmth, but he also held no romantic thoughts at all and could only come to this helpless conclusion.

…..