In Jiangcheng, at Jiangcheng University, in the family building at Block 5, Unit 4, Room 614, Su Baizhou opened the door and led Luo Ye inside.
She pointed to an empty room and said, "You can stay in there, but only for today, tomorrow, and the day after."
Hearing this, Luo Ye curiously asked, "What about after the holiday ends?"
"That depends on how you perform over these three days," Su Baizhou replied with a gentle smile.
Her smile caught Luo Ye off guard, making him feel a sense of warmth. After saying that, he realized that since the moment they were on the car, Su Baizhou had seemed much less distant than before.
But when she mentioned "performance," Luo Ye suddenly became serious. He knew that during these three days, he needed to behave like a perfect man, or else he would be kicked out.
Seeing him get so serious, Su Baizhou found it a bit amusing. He looked like a mischievous child trying to act well-behaved just to get a reward from the teacher.
"Tonight, you go buy the ingredients," Su Baizhou suddenly said.
"I'm buying?" Luo Ye asked, confused.
"Yes, you buy whatever you want to eat, and I'll cook it," Su Baizhou replied.
Luo Ye immediately understood, gave an 'okay' gesture, and left the living room to go out.
As she watched him close the door softly, Su Baizhou sat on the couch, resting her chin on her hand. She turned on the TV and absentmindedly watched a random program, but her mind seemed lost in thought.
Is this... cohabitation? No, no, this is just renting a room together. Should I set some rules like in a novel?
No, he can only stay for three days. Once the holiday ends, he must go back. Anything more would be rude. But this is my cousin's place, and I've only rented a room... do I really want him to leave?
Su Baizhou looked troubled, deep in her thoughts, when her phone rang.
She picked it up and heard the voice of a girl on the other end.
"Zhou Zhou, you haven't contacted me since the holiday started. Do you want to come over to my place for a visit?"
"No, I can't," Su Baizhou declined. "I have some things to take care of these two days."
"Things? What could be more important than me?!" came the voice on the phone, filled with suspicion.
The girl on the phone was Su Baizhou's best friend, Li Xia, who was now an intern at Jiangcheng Medical University. They had been close friends since childhood, and had even been classmates from elementary to high school.
"Right now, you are the most important. But tomorrow... tomorrow I have something to do. I'll come see you the day after," Su Baizhou almost let it slip.
Li Xia paused, then asked, "What do you mean by 'right now, you're the most important'? Does that mean you won't care about me in the future?"
Su Baizhou's voice remained calm as she answered, "I haven't changed."
But Li Xia sensed something was off. "If someone you know suddenly changes, what do you think the reason is?"
Su Baizhou frowned. "I don't know, and I don't want to know."
Li Xia's tone grew serious, and she said, "There's only one thing that makes people change quickly: falling in love."
Before Su Baizhou could respond, the call ended with the sound of a hang-up.
Love? How could she be thinking about love?
She was just helping Professor Gu take care of his younger brother, Luo Ye. Right, just helping... her cousin... Luo Ye?
Why did she think of Luo Ye when she heard the word "love"?
As she thought, Su Baizhou realized her mind was filled with the image of the young man. She might have some feelings for him, but liking someone didn't necessarily mean falling in love. Even if she did like him, it didn't mean they had to be together.
But even so...
The TV was showing an animated series where a young man used a skill and shouted, "You have chosen death."
Su Baizhou frowned, changing the channel. The next program showed a character pointing at the screen and shouting, "Stubborn duck!"
"That's not me," Su Baizhou muttered to herself, but then she stopped, staring at the TV character. The character said, "You've clearly fallen for him!"
Su Baizhou shook her head and quickly changed the channel again. But after a while, she found that nothing on TV was interesting. She turned it off and sat back on the couch, staring blankly.
Looking at the time, she muttered, "Why hasn't he come back yet?"
It had only been ten minutes since Luo Ye left, but it felt like time was moving so slowly.
On the other side, Luo Ye had arrived at the market.
Since Su Baizhou was cooking again, he needed to pick out the best ingredients for dinner.
"King crab on sale, 588 per pound, special price!"
Luo Ye went over to the seafood vendor's stall. "I'll take a king crab," he said.
"Good, good, young man with a future! At your age, you can afford king crab. Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No!" Luo Ye answered quickly, then lowered his head and added, "But I like someone."
"What a pity, I was about to introduce my daughter to you," the seafood vendor said, shaking her head.
"Ha-ha, you're joking," Luo Ye laughed nervously, wiping a cold sweat from his forehead. He must have misheard her.
The king crab was soon cut into pieces and packed in a box. Luo Ye took it, then debated whether to buy a chicken or a lamb leg, or some beef, and even a couple of lobsters—one for him and one for Su Baizhou.
Back at the family building, Su Baizhou looked at the table covered with bags of ingredients. She seemed impassive, but Luo Ye could tell that she wasn't pleased.
She said coolly, "It looks like you have no idea about ingredients, let alone cooking."
"Sorry, I didn't do well," Luo Ye said, lowering his head, looking like a child who had made a mistake.
"But with all this, it should be enough to make many things," she continued, a small smile playing at her lips as she walked into the kitchen and tied her apron.
Luo Ye thought he might be in trouble, but to his surprise, she didn't scold him. However, just then, Su Baizhou came back from the kitchen, holding a knife, her expression stern.
"Next time, don't buy such expensive things. I can cook something delicious with cheaper ingredients," she said flatly.