Sang Zhi's summer vacation was uneventful, passing by in extreme leisure. Occasionally, she would be invited out by friends, but most of the remaining time was spent alone at home drawing.
Once in a while, she would see Duan Jiaxu.
Unlike her, Duan Jiaxu was busy with work, working overtime until eleven or twelve every night, squeezing out rest time like toothpaste. Apart from the occasional single day off, he basically had no free time on weekdays.
Normally, Sang Zhi could only visit him during meal breaks. But compared to when they were in a long-distance relationship while she was in Yihe, this was already much better.
Knowing that starting a business was inherently exhausting, and that Duan Jiaxu was doing his best to make time for her, Sang Zhi didn’t feel angry—just that life was excessively boring.
A week passed like this.
Sang Zhi began to find something else to do on top of her usual activities.
After stumbling upon a video online, Sang Zhi inexplicably developed an interest in cooking. With plenty of ingredients at home, she didn’t need to go out and buy any. Whenever inspiration struck, she would jump up and head straight to the kitchen.
Following the video step by step, Sang Zhi carefully carried out each instruction. She felt every move she made was perfectly executed—until it came to putting the ingredients in the pan and stir-frying.
Sang Zhi had one major principle in life: it didn’t matter if she embarrassed herself, as long as she didn’t suffer even the slightest physical harm.
On weekdays, she was the only one at home.
So no matter how much she messed around, no one would know.
She stood still for a moment, washed her hands, and returned to her room. Sang Zhi dug out an ankle-length coat, put it on, and then wrapped a scarf around her neck.
After some thought, she also put on gloves, a face mask, and a pair of non-prescription glasses. She took an eye mask from the drawer, covered her forehead, and only then left the room.
Just as she reached the dining area, there was a noise from the entrance.
Sang Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up and met Sang Yan’s gaze, which was filled with the kind of look one gives an idiot. Feeling slightly awkward, she froze in place and asked, “Brother, why are you back?”
“To get something.” Sang Yan looked her up and down, at a loss for words. “Are you planning to go out dressed like that?”
Sang Zhi replied honestly, “I’m planning to fry an egg.”
Sang Yan: “...”
After a few seconds of silence.
Sang Yan suddenly took out his phone and snapped a photo of her.
Sang Zhi was stunned. “What are you doing?”
Sang Yan said casually, “Posting it on Moments.”
Sang Zhi’s eyes widened. She rushed over to snatch his phone. “Are you that bored!”
Sang Yan raised his arm high, tilting his head back as his fingers flew across the screen. With his other hand, he pressed Sang Zhi’s head, pushing her away.
After sending it, Sang Yan turned off his screen. “Alright, go fry your egg.”
“...” Sang Zhi stared straight at him, suppressing the urge to beat him to death. She held back her temper, pulled out her phone from her pocket, and checked Moments.
No new posts.
She looked up suspiciously. “Did you block me?”
Sang Yan was heading to his room but paused at her question. He lazily replied, “Ah, my mistake.”
Sang Zhi: “?”
“I sent it to Duan Jiaxu.”
“...”
Sang Zhi pursed her lips and opened her chat window with Duan Jiaxu. He was probably still busy and hadn’t checked WeChat, as he hadn’t messaged her.Having already lost face in front of these two before, Sang Zhi decided not to care anymore. But she still felt annoyed, so she scrolled through her phone gallery for a long time, found an unflattering photo of Sang Yan, and sent it to Wen Yifan.
Sang Zhi went back into the kitchen.
She turned on the stove, waited for the oil to heat up, then poured in the beaten egg mixture. She heard the sizzling sound, but the oil didn’t splatter as she had expected.
Just then, Sang Yan entered the kitchen and took the spatula from her hand. "Move aside."
"..." Sang Zhi wasn’t too pleased. "I want to do it myself."
"I’m afraid the kitchen might explode."
Sang Zhi stood to the side, peering into the pan, muttering, "You’re exaggerating. I think I’m doing just fine."
"Do you usually cook for yourself?" Sang Yan asked casually. "Are you trying to harm yourself?"
"..." Sang Zhi swallowed her anger. "I don’t usually cook for myself; I order takeout. Today, I just wanted to make a bento. If it turns out tasty, I’ll bring it to Brother Ji Xu for lunch."
"Oh." Sang Yan understood. "You want to change boyfriends."
"..."
This time, Sang Zhi couldn’t hold back. "My cooking isn’t that bad."
Sang Yan had just finished scrambling the eggs and transferred them to a bowl. He lowered his eyes, his tone particularly irritating. "Duan Jiaxu treats you pretty well. There’s no need to harm him like this."
Sang Zhi couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Noticing the vegetables and meat she had chopped and set aside, Sang Yan reached out, tilted his chin, and simply helped her stir-fry them. "Hand it over."
Sang Zhi parted her lips, wanting to say something, but in the end, she compromised and passed him the plate.
Taking advantage of the time, Sang Zhi went back to her room to change clothes. Afterward, she returned to the kitchen, took out two lunch boxes, filled them with rice, and carefully arranged the food into two bentos.
Sang Yan washed his hands. "I’m leaving."
Sang Zhi asked, "Brother, did you drive here?"
"Yeah."
"Then can you drop me off at my boyfriend’s place on your way?"
"..."
Sang Zhi closed the lunch boxes, packed them in a bag, and her expression turned a bit odd. "I was planning to slowly make him a love bento, but half of it was done by you. What kind of love bento is this?"
Sang Yan’s eyebrow twitched.
"It’s kind of weird to say out loud," Sang Zhi mumbled. "My brother and I made a love bento together for my boyfriend."
"..." Sang Yan said expressionlessly, "Take a taxi yourself."
Sang Zhi sent Duan Jiaxu a message on WeChat, letting him know she was coming. She had never been to his studio before, only passing by the area when visiting him.
As she approached the office building, Sang Zhi happened to spot Duan Jiaxu.
Duan Jiaxu walked over, took the bag from her, and casually asked, "Did you make this yourself?"
Sang Zhi completely ignored Sang Yan’s contribution and nodded. "Yeah."
Duan Jiaxu chuckled. "Dressed like that while cooking?"
Sang Zhi frowned. "Are you making fun of me too?"
"No." Duan Jiaxu took her hand, his brow lifting. "It’s quite cute. You should dress like this every time you cook. Just don’t get hurt."
Sang Zhi volunteered, "I’ll probably make you lunch tomorrow too."
Duan Jiaxu laughed again. "Okay."
After a moment, he asked, "What made you suddenly want to cook?"
"Nothing else to do," Sang Zhi said. "Cooking seems kind of fun."
The two took the elevator upstairs and entered the studio.The space wasn't large, accommodating about a dozen people who were all eating takeout. Hearing the commotion, the group chatting turned their heads in unison to look over.
Duan Jiaxu introduced casually, "My girlfriend. You can call her sister-in-law."
As soon as he finished speaking, a synchronized and loud greeting followed: "Hello, sister-in-law!"
Sang Zhi: "..."
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she forced herself to stay calm and greeted them. Turning back, she was pulled by Duan Jiaxu to his desk. "Sit here," he said.
Then, Duan Jiaxu dragged a nearby chair next to hers and sat down. He opened the lunchbox and asked with interest, "You can cook now?"
Sang Zhi explained, "I followed an online guide."
Duan Jiaxu seemed in a good mood but still cautioned, "Be careful. If you're not confident, don't force it. I can eat takeout too."
"It's fine," Sang Zhi said. "It's kind of fun."
Over the next few days, Sang Zhi spent her mornings as usual preparing two lunchboxes. Though the taste wasn't as good as Sang Yan's cooking, it was still acceptable.
Sang Zhi often visited Duan Jiaxu's studio and naturally chatted with his colleagues. She learned that they all knew about her but had never met her in person.
This enthusiasm lasted less than a week before Sang Zhi started finding cooking particularly boring and lost motivation. One morning, she lazed in bed for a while and told Duan Jiaxu in advance that she probably wouldn't come over today.
Thinking she'd go tomorrow, she spent the whole day in bed with her tablet.
The next day was the same.
Day after day, Sang Zhi never stepped into the kitchen again.
After Sang Zhi stopped delivering lunch at noon, Duan Jiaxu returned to eating takeout with his colleagues. He didn't mind much and was even worried she might get hurt spending too much time in the kitchen.
But strangely enough.
His colleagues didn't see it that way.
One noon, Duan Jiaxu overheard them chatting in the break room.
"I always thought the boss was just boasting about having a girlfriend—like an excuse to avoid dating."
"Right, me too, because he never brought her around."
"No way, he's either on the phone or checking his phone during breaks. That's totally someone in a relationship."
"Exactly! I heard him on the phone once. Can you believe it? Someone as intimidating as the boss was actually whining." A guy started imitating his tone in an exaggerated way, "Little one, why are you so fierce?"
Duan Jiaxu's eyelids twitched.
"And don't you think the boss has been a bit scary lately?"
"A bit."
"Right? I feel like ever since sister-in-law stopped coming, even when he smiles, it feels like there's a hidden threat."
"Do you think the boss got dumped? Otherwise, why would sister-in-law suddenly stop coming?"
"Maybe. I overheard that sister-in-law seems to think the boss is old. I only found out by accident—the boss is actually born in 1980."
"Holy shit."
"Holy shit."
"36 years old?"
"The boss has good conditions, but sister-in-law looks like she's still in college. The age gap is a bit big. I think he really likes her; besides work, he's always looking for her. He comes off as a bit clingy."
"Let's drop it.""Yeah, the boss probably doesn't want others to know. He's just putting on a brave face in front of us."
"Alright, let's all pretend we don't know."
Duan Jiaxu: "..."
He twitched the corner of his mouth, didn't enter the break room, turned back to his seat, and called Sang Zhi.
Sang Zhi answered quickly: "Hello?"
Duan Jiaxu said casually: "What are you doing?"
Sang Zhi: "Drawing."
"Free tomorrow?"
"Yes."
Duan Jiaxu fell silent for a few seconds, then said as if casually: "Come bring me some food."
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