Xu Wanyue woke up to dim light filling the room.
In truth, daylight had already broken outside, but Lin Cheng never drew the curtains at home. She slowly sat up in bed, pausing for a moment as she began to recall the events of the previous night. She clearly remembered watching TV in the living room, growing so drowsy that she had dozed off with her head resting on Lin Cheng’s shoulder. So why was she now lying in bed?
Lin Cheng was nowhere to be seen beside the bed. Xu Wanyue’s clothes were still neatly in place. She lifted the covers and saw her slippers arranged tidily at the bedside. Cautiously, she made her way to the living room, where Lin Cheng lay fast asleep on the sofa.
Xu Wanyue pulled out her phone to check the time: 7:32 a.m.
She slipped quietly back into Lin Cheng’s room and logged into her Alliance account. She sent a message to a specific contact, detailing everything that had happened the night before—including the kiss with Lin Cheng and the fact that it had lingered for a full ten seconds or so. After much hesitation, she decided not to hide it and glossed over it briefly.
At the end of the message, she added one more line: “Could I… spend a million to buy that vial of Evolution Blood?”
There was no reply yet—the recipient clearly wasn’t online. Xu Wanyue pocketed her phone and peeked through the door crack at Lin Cheng in the living room. He was still sleeping soundly, but a vague sense of guilt gnawed at her heart.
Infiltrating the Fruit Shop as an undercover agent was a mission assigned to her by the Alliance, classified as SS-rank. Only she and her handler knew about it, and it demanded absolute secrecy. Her handler had promised that upon completion, they would grant her any one wish. When she requested the Evolution Blood, they hadn’t refused, assuring her that as long as she gathered enough intelligence, they would hand it over.
Xu Wanyue’s reason for joining the Alliance was simple. When she turned eighteen, her fourteen-year-old sister had fallen into a coma during her Ability Awakening. Desperate to wake her, Xu Wanyue had joined the Alliance and even spent all her savings to hire healing Ability Users from within its ranks. But they had all admitted helplessness—it was a coma triggered by the awakening itself. Perhaps the Evolution Blood could help.
Xu Wanyue knew little about the Evolution Blood, only that it was the Alliance’s highest-level secret, tied to the legendary hero Si Ming. Her message had been a shot in the dark. Maybe… it wasn’t as expensive as she feared, though she knew the odds were slim.
But last night, it had been Lin Cheng who saved her… Xu Wanyue’s mind felt foggy. She glanced around his room—it wasn’t filthy, just a bit cluttered. As someone with mild OCD, the disarray made her slightly uncomfortable. Perhaps it was also her guilt as an undercover agent that spurred her on. She found an apron in the kitchen, tied it around her waist, and began tidying up the place.
Lin Cheng woke up around noon. He sat up slowly from the sofa, blinking at the suddenly spotless living room. Rubbing his eyes, he muttered, “Did I transmigrate or something?”
Xu Wanyue was out on the balcony, basking in the sun with Black Cat in her arms. She was gently brushing its fur with the comb Lin Cheng had bought earlier, and Black Cat looked utterly blissful. Xu Wanyue’s upper body was still clad only in that black strap bandeau top, with just two thin strings crossing her back. Lin Cheng’s gaze landed on the smooth, snowy skin of her back. He stood up from the sofa. “What’s going on here?”
“I saw your room was such a mess, so I cleaned it up for you…” Xu Wanyue’s voice carried a hint of smug pride.
Lin Cheng checked his room, ruffled his messy hair, and turned back. “Now I can’t find half my stuff. They were right where I always put them before… and now I’ve forgotten where anything is.”
“No way! I organized everything into sections for you.” Xu Wanyue walked over with Black Cat in her arms and explained where she’d put his things. Lin Cheng listened in a daze. At the end, with flushed cheeks, she added, “Those… items, I put them in the cabinet for you.”
“What items?”
“You know, those items…”
Lin Cheng looked at the cabinet she pointed to and opened it. Inside was a fluffy rabbit tail—definitely not his, of course—along with some contraceptives, a pair of lacy white ankle socks for women, and two little clips adorned with bows. These items painted a clear picture: a woman had once stayed in this room, sharing some ambiguous intimacy with its male owner.
“Ah, got it.” Lin Cheng glanced at Xu Wanyue’s face. “Why are you blushing?”
“I-I’m not blushing!” She turned her head away and huffed lightly. “I cleaned your kitchen too. Are you hungry?”
“A bit. You cook?”
“Mm-hmm, of course! My uncle runs a restaurant. I learned from him when I was little. What do you want to eat?”
“Braised pork belly, fried meatballs, sweet and sour ribs, cola chicken wings, preserved vegetable pork, tomato scrambled eggs, veggie tofu soup.” Lin Cheng rattled them off at machine-gun speed.
“That many? Can you even finish them?” Xu Wanyue gave him a plaintive look.
“But I really want to eat them.”
“No way—two meats and one veggie. Pick, or no wasting food.”
“Fine, braised pork belly, cola chicken wings, and tomato scrambled eggs.”
“Let’s go downstairs and buy ingredients then.” Xu Wanyue tilted her head up to look at him.
Lin Cheng blanked for a second. Then Xu Wanyue seemed to remember something. “Can I borrow a T-shirt? I wore a thick hoodie last night because it was cold, but it’s hot out now.”
Lin Cheng grabbed a white T-shirt from his closet and handed it to her. She slipped it on, grabbed the trash bags she’d packed, and they headed downstairs together. Lin Cheng’s mind was still a bit fuzzy. Was she naturally airheaded or just super friendly?
There was a supermarket not far from the building. Lin Cheng trailed after Xu Wanyue as she picked out fresh produce, proudly showing off her tips for selecting the best veggies. He listened quietly. After shopping, he carried the bags back upstairs while she headed to the kitchen. She tied on the apron, fired up the stove, and Lin Cheng settled in the living room with an iced soy milk she’d prepared that morning and stashed in the fridge. The whole scene felt surreal.
Soon, savory aromas wafted from the kitchen. Lin Cheng wandered to the doorway to watch her. Xu Wanyue, apron cinched around her waist, had her long black hair tied back in a ponytail. Her jeans hugged her perky, snow-white hips, tracing an enticing curve.
“Need any help?”
“Nope, just sit tight and wait for dinner.”
Why did her tone feel like she was coaxing a child? In a daze, Lin Cheng suddenly realized it resembled the way an older sister spoke to her little brother.
And Xu Wanyue was indeed a couple of years older than him.
Lin Cheng turned on the living room AC and waited quietly on the sofa. Forty minutes later, Xu Wanyue emerged from the kitchen carrying the dishes. Lin Cheng hurried to help serve the rice. They sat down at the table, and she shrugged off his T-shirt, revealing the black strap tank top underneath—her figure on full display.
“Wash your hands before eating.”
Lin Cheng obediently washed up and returned, even showing her his clean hands. It felt like he was a kid in daycare and she was the teacher. He dug in with chopsticks. Her cooking was genuinely excellent: the braised pork belly melted in his mouth, rich and flavorful; the cola chicken wings were perfectly tender, slipping right off the bone; and the tomato scrambled eggs were delicious, brightened with a splash of white vinegar at the end.
“Delicious.” Lin Cheng shoveled rice with gusto.
“Eat slower—it’s better for your stomach.” Xu Wanyue reminded him gently as she ate from her own bowl. The AC kept the room comfortably cool. They ate in focused silence until he was stuffed, slumping back in his chair with a satisfied belch.
“Bliss,” he sighed.
Xu Wanyue’s cooking was restaurant-quality, and his praise seemed to delight her. She stood to clear the dishes, but a chopstick slipped and clattered to the floor. She set down the bowls, bent to pick it up—her jeans stretching taut over her hips. Lin Cheng glanced over and couldn’t look away. Fortunately, she didn’t notice. In the kitchen, the sound of running water started, and when Lin Cheng offered to help, he heard her muttering, “Go watch TV. I’m fine.”
When Xu Wanyue emerged, she let her hair down. Lin Cheng watched her and couldn’t help asking, “Do you usually treat your sister like this too?”
“Yeah, but I think I’ve spoiled her rotten.”
“Having a big sister like you must be heaven.”
Xu Wanyue smiled awkwardly, unsure what to say. She picked up her hoodie and turned to Lin Cheng. “Well, I should head home?”
“Leaving already?”
“Mm, yeah… time to go.” Her expression held a touch of reluctance.
“No worries, I’ll walk you out.”
“No need, it’s just a few steps.” She shook her head, removed her hair tie, and re-pinned her hair. Lin Cheng watched quietly—the simple act of a girl tying her hair felt oddly tender.
Xu Wanyue paused as if struck by a thought. “I saw you have tons of instant noodles at home. You shouldn’t eat those all the time—they’re terrible for you. One bucket has enough toxins to take seven weeks to…”
“That’s been debunked ages ago.”
“Still unhealthy—heavy oil, heavy salt.”
“I order takeout sometimes too.” Lin Cheng felt inexplicably like a kid getting scolded, a strange guilt creeping in.
“Takeout’s bad too—kitchens are often filthy.”
“I can’t cook…” Lin Cheng fibbed quietly.
Xu Wanyue hesitated, fiddling with her hem as if debating what to say. Lin Cheng, ever perceptive, pushed his luck. “How about… when you’re free, you teach me to cook?”
She blinked, then nodded softly. “Sure… starting tomorrow, then.”
“Great. Bye, be safe on the way.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Xu Wanyue pulled on her hoodie, paused at the door to gently stroke Black Cat’s head where it lounged atop the fridge, and cooed, “Sis is heading home. Playtime next visit.”
After she left, Lin Cheng flopped onto the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling for several seconds.
…Why was he suddenly so envious of her sister? Damn it—he could live perfectly fine on his own.
