She was a little dazed, Cheng Zhirang didn’t know what she was thinking, he rubbed his knuckles against her reddened eye corner and said:

"Your eyes are swollen from crying. Is your mood any better?"

"Anyone who cries can’t be in a good mood, right? My legs are numb~"

Cheng Zhirang chuckled, "Come on, let me carry you to the bathroom to freshen up."

Mu Qiu sniffled and pounced straight into his arms.

Having expressed herself seemed to make her feel better, especially because of the crying, Cheng Zhirang was gentler, speaking to her like soothing a child.

Mu Qiu liked the feeling of being pampered this way and, as a reward, she pulled him into the side bedroom.

This was where she used to stay; now the setup remained exactly the same as before.

During her stay here, Cheng Zhirang rarely stepped into this room, as he always thought of it as her private domain.

She rarely invited him in either, not liking him to see the little inspirations she jotted down on sticky notes. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Now she proactively took him into the room and suggested sleeping here.

Cheng Zhirang couldn’t refuse her, so he brought a small humidifier from the master bedroom and placed it by the window.

"Why the humidifier?" she asked.

"So you’ll feel more comfortable."

Summer nights with the air conditioner can be dry, and after crying, her nasal breathing wasn’t smooth. She’d subconsciously breathe through her mouth, which easily makes the throat itchy.

Mu Qiu raised her eyebrows, waited until he got into bed on the other side, then snuggled onto him from behind.

He tilted his head, "Hmm?"

"Before sleeping, promise me again."

"Cheng Zhirang keeps his word."

"Great, now we can sleep."

Cheng Zhirang was amused.

A gentle click, the light vanished, Mu Qiu, exhausted from crying, soon fell asleep. Cheng Zhirang kept his eyes open, watching her side profile, until his eyes felt dry, then closed them.

His palm lightly rested over her lower belly through the thin quilt.

He was a bit tired too and fell asleep not long after closing his eyes.

...

Night embraces quarrels, time smooths emotions, light fades then renews, ushering in a new day.

Mu Qiu slept until ten before getting up, Cheng Zhirang hadn’t risen either, leaning against the headboard reading a book left in the room by her.

Upon opening her eyes, Mu Qiu saw the big characters "Book of Answers."

"Why are you reading?" she asked with a drowsy, sticky tone.

Cheng Zhirang smiled gently, his eyes and voice combined with the light behind, like a spring breeze.

"It’s quite interesting. Look, I flipped to my answer."

He showed her the page he turned to.

[As you wish]

Coincidentally aligning with the words he said originally.

Mu Qiu’s eyes widened, looking at those four characters, then at him.

"That is interesting indeed. I want bell pepper egg pancakes, do you want one? I’ll make two servings."

The topic shifted so quickly and far that Cheng Zhirang almost didn’t react; two seconds later, he nodded and said, "I’d like that."

Mu Qiu pulled back the quilt, got out of bed, handled some personal hygiene, washed up, then casually bundled her hair into a bun, adeptly mixing dough and cracking eggs, then asked him, "Will you come buy bell peppers with me?"

Cheng Zhirang obeyed, "Sure."

Both of them put on masks and went downstairs; there was a supermarket within the community.

Many celebrities lived here; some got up at this time to buy some groceries, greeted each other in the supermarket.

They just nodded recognition; Cheng Zhirang courteously said one thing and then turned to lead Mu Qiu to select bell peppers.

Leaving others craning their necks behind them, showing subtle expression.

Bell peppers were in the vegetable section, while walking over, Cheng Zhirang asked Mu Qiu, "Why the sudden craving for this?"

"It’s a recipe I figured out myself, up until now only one friend has tasted it."

Even her parents hadn’t tried it, as they had breakfast at eight and went to work, keeping such a schedule even on vacation, never really colliding with her.

"I want to make it for you to taste," she added.

"Thank you for the effort," Cheng Zhirang genuinely smiled, handing a full bell pepper to her, "If I like it, can we have it often?"

Mu Qiu selected bell peppers, not raising her head, while her lips already curved upward.

"Depends on my mood."

"I’ll strive to keep you in a good mood."

Having bought several bell peppers and a stack of sticky notes, Cheng Zhirang went to checkout carrying the groceries, while Mu Qiu clung to him, looking at her phone.

The cashier was a young girl, and upon seeing them felt curious, glanced twice while ringing them up, then excitedly covered her mouth and softly exclaimed, "Brother Cheng! Mu Qiu~"

Mu Qiu smiled with crescent eyes, waving at her.

Cheng Zhirang nodded courteously, reached to take the items, she immediately called out to wait a minute.

"Brother Cheng, you’ve paid cash and here’s your change."

"No need, it’s just a few coins."

"No, no, we have rules," the girl hurriedly grabbed handfuls from the drawer to put in their tote bag, "this needs to be done."

Cheng Zhirang said no more, waiting till she finished, took the shopping bag, then led Mu Qiu outside.

The girl watched them walk away, looked back while collecting the next person’s money, realizing something seemed off in the drawer.

"...I’m screwed."

Bell pepper egg pancakes are what Mu Qiu finds to be the simplest breakfast. Oil-free, no need to wash pots or plates, and quite healthy and tasty.

Perhaps because she unrestrainedly scolded Cheng Zhirang yesterday, venting all worries through that scolding, and received his proper resolution, so today her mood was decent, she even arranged bell pepper bits on his pancakes in a heart shape.

The living room curtains were drawn open, sunshine flooded the entire space, Cheng Zhirang sat at the dining table, his gaze following her movements.

When the plate was placed before him, he glanced down and earnestly asked, "Is this mine, the heart-shaped one?"

"It’s yours. I like you, my pancakes like you too."

Cheng Zhirang lowered his eyes with a smile, "Thank you for liking me. Can I eat now?"

"Please."

Watching him start eating, Mu Qiu took a knife meant for cutting steak, slicing her pancake into four pieces, wearing disposable gloves, and then started her phone’s music.

Not having brought her tablet home, she could only listen through her phone.

Once preparations were complete, she began to eat breakfast, swinging her legs.

Cheng Zhirang watched her every move for quite a while before hesitantly taking up his knife to mimic her.

"Is there a particular reason for listening to light music in the morning?"

Mu Qiu: "No, but I like it this way. When I lived here, I did this every day. Does it conflict with your habits?"

"No. You can do whatever you wish without asking me, if I feel there’s a conflict, I’ll avoid it."

"Hmm, why do I feel like we’re... roommates discussing how to get along?"

Cheng Zhirang paused: "Seems about right."

"But I didn’t agree to cohabitation," she propped her elbow on the table, hoisting piece of bell pepper pancake to nibble,

"we just had a not-so-friendly talk about ’promises and open-heartedness,’ you promised me, but I didn’t promise you."

————

ps: For gentle and mature Brother Cheng and rational-type Qiuqiu, their relationship will always be peaceful. I keep thinking about designing some sort of scenario to let them explode once, but then I couldn’t bear to torment them, so they’ll just have small squabbles.

Especially for Qiuqiu, if she keeps being rational and doesn’t disclose her truest thoughts to Brother Cheng, their relationship will inevitably end because she doesn’t want to continue pretending one day.

She despises the rational concept instilled by her parents in her, but it’s been over twenty years, she’s already accustomed to demanding herself with this notion. However, there’s no such thing as "always being rational" in a relationship; they need a breakthrough, only then can Brother Cheng truly get close to her.

Got it? I’m not into angst, the caring author/mom sipping tea with crossed legs.jpg