Chapter 7 - Hot & Cold

Qiao Nuo was aware that Yi Chien stayed at his grandparents place for seven years while his parents were abroad for graduate school. Despite visiting his grandparents home almost every weekend, she never took an interest to open his old room. Song Yi Chien never took the initiative to show her around as well. "What are you staring at?"Yi Chien asked as he started setting up the bed. Qiao Nuo look around the room. "Song Yi Chien, why is your old room smaller compare to the other ones in this house?"she asked.

Yi Chien wasn't in the mood to tell the whole story, so he tried his best to keep it as short as possible. "This used to be a storage room, my grandpa got ill while I stayed here. He's a light sleeper. I was told to help the worker at 4am before school."Yi Chien said. "I didn't want to disturb him by staying upstairs."He added.

Qiao Nuo then set her attention at the pictures nicely arranged next to his study table. "Song Yi Chien played soccer before?"she asked "I was wearing the jersey so go figured"Yi Chien said. "Hey, what's with this pencil?"Qiao Nuo asked it was different from the rest of his pencils. It was a little bit feminine. "It's a good brand of pencil. I used it a lot when I did my sketches...good grip"Yi Chien lied, but it was a good enough excuse. Qiao Nuo didn't give him a suspicious look.

"Hey, I have a bunch of this brand stock in my study room. I started using them as a law student."Qiao Nuo said proudly. " I can give you some when we get home."she offered. "No need, I found a better brand"Yi Chien said grabbing the pencil away from her and putting it back inside his organizer. "Traitor"she pouted. Qiao Nuo then left him to freshen up. "Don't even try"Qiao Nuo threatened before closing the bathroom. "What do you take me for?"Yi Chien yelled after shutting the bathroom door.

Yi Chien stare at that pencil once again. "Silly girl"he said as he looked at the fading initials on the pencil 'QN'.

"What are you smiling at?"Qiao Nuo asked with a towel on her head. "Nothing"Yi Chien said. Qiao Nuo started putting pillows in between the bed. "Dare to break this, and I'll kick you"she warned. "You better not, the floor quality sucks"Yi Chien warned.

Morning soon came, Yi Chien gave Qiao Nuo a slight tap around 4am. "If you want to get on everyone's good side you should get up now."he said "Mhmm"she grumpily replied as she slowly open her eyes. "Ugh"Qiao Nuo said while Yi Chien replied with a slight smile.

Maids waiting inside the kitchen politely greeted her. "Traditional like always"the head maid said. Qiao Nuo nod as she put on her apron. She meticulously picked the ingredients, and precisely chopped everything. She then later supervised the maids setting up the table. Grandma Song is known to be picky with food setup.

Wang Mei yawned as she took the empty spot next to Yi Chien. "looks good"she said as she took a bite of the food. "I'm glad Young Miss like it"Qiao Nuo winked. "You"she calmly said. "I prepared it"Qiao Nuo said while removing her apron.

"Your getting better Nuo"Grandpa Song said giving his thumbs up. "Thank you Grandpa"Qiao Nuo replied. " my daughter in law is amazing"Mother Song said. Song Yi Chien kept his head the whole time while everyone gave Qiao Nuo a compliment. "Look at you, say something"Mother Song said. "Not bad"Yi Chien replied back.