Jiang Shuyi opened her eyes and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table, momentarily confused to see the hour hand pointing to five.

For a moment, she wondered if she hadn't slept at all, but after a while, she remembered that it was the first day of winter break, and she and Wen Yao had slept until evening.

No wonder it felt a bit dark outside the window.

Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao, who was sound asleep in her arms, looking utterly exhausted.

A sense of unease crept into Jiang Shuyi's heart.

Wen Yao rarely stayed in bed this late. She was a disciplined person, and as soon as she looked at the clock, she would know she had slept until the afternoon, might possibly feel quite upset.

But looking at her, Jiang Shuyi couldn't bring herself to wake her up. After all, they had stayed up too late the previous night, and it was her fault that Wen Yao was still asleep...

Thinking about what had happened yesterday made Jiang Shuyi bury her face in the pillow.

—It's a bit embarrassing.

Although Jiang Shuyi's experience was mostly theoretical, limited to study materials and popular science books, she was still older than Wen Yao. Deep down, she had sworn to leave a lasting impression on Wen Yao.

But yesterday, Wen Yao had guided her calmly throughout, leaving Jiang Shuyi deeply shaken.

Wen Yao's attitude was so gentle and encouraging that it made Jiang Shuyi feel as if Wen Yao had many untold experiences. In the end, Jiang Shuyi even thought that perhaps it was she who had left a lasting impression...

Or maybe Wen Yao had read a lot of books, making her knowledgeable in this area?

". . ."

"What time is it?"

It seemed that Wen Yao sensed Jiang Shuyi's movement and opened her eyes. Looking at the pressed-down alarm clock, she asked in a low voice.

Jiang Shuyi mumbled, "It's afternoon."

Actually, it should be about dinner time.

Just thinking about it made Jiang Shuyi's stomach grumble noisily.

"Are you hungry?" Wen Yao asked.

". . ." Jiang Shuyi nodded sheepishly.

Wen Yao reached out and checked the alarm clock.

What surprised Jiang Shuyi was that even after seeing the time, Wen Yao merely paused for a moment and didn't say anything.

"Get up," Wen Yao said calmly as she reached for her shirt, which still had traces of mango juice on it. She set it down and effortlessly grabbed one of Jiang Shuyi's shirts to put on. "I'll go make dinner."

As she got up, Wen Yao's body paused for a moment, and after a while, she watched Jiang Shuyi turn away to pull the curtains before she leaned against the wall and walked out.

---

The cook at home had just welcomed a grandchild and wanted to go back to be with family, so Jiang Shuyi had arranged for her to take an early leave.

In a few days, Jiang Shuyi and Wen Yao were going to Haishi, so Jiang Shuyi didn't bother finding someone else to cook, especially since it was just the two of them at home now.

Glancing at the fridge, they still had a lot of vegetables left—onions, carrots, eggplants, potatoes, corn...

Wen Yao quietly took out all the vegetables, seemingly intending to use up all these ingredients before leaving.

Jiang Shuyi looked at these vegetables, already having an ideal recipe in mind.

"Wen Yao, can we make spicy curry rice with these vegetables, or maybe hot pot?"

Wen Yao didn't respond, slowly chopping garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms, boiling and mashing tomatoes, and finally taking out minced beef for seasoning.

Wen Yao's speed in chopping and cooking had become much more skilled compared to last time.

Then Wen Yao started making the pasta sauce.

Spicy curry...

Not anymore.

Jiang Shuyi sighed inwardly. She actually wanted to eat spicy curry and hot pot, but unfortunately, she was someone without hands.

After a while, the aroma of the meat sauce filled the air, and Jiang Shuyi's stomach responded to the scent of what Wen Yao was cooking.

She looked like a boneless sea cucumber, resting her head on Wen Yao's shoulder. "Wen Yao, can I taste it?"

Wen Yao glanced at Jiang Shuyi's face and used a small spoon to scoop up some sauce, feeding it to Jiang Shuyi.

"Delicious." Jiang Shuyi licked the corner of her mouth.

Wen Yao also scooped some and brought the spoon to her own mouth. "..."

After tasting the pasta sauce, Jiang Shuyi's mood instantly brightened. She hugged Wen Yao's waist one moment and then started humming a tune, contributing nothing but compliments of "delicious."

Along the way, because she kept reaching out with her 'claws' due to her constant craving, when the potato salad was served, only half was left, and the pasta sauce that could have been saved was nearly emptied by her alone.

Throughout the process, Wen Yao just looked at her and didn't say anything.

---

In the end, Wen Yao made pasta, potato salad, and creamy mushroom soup.

After Jiang Shuyi took a bite, she praised Wen Yao, her face beaming with a happy smile.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to eat?" Wen Yao looked at her.

"......What do you mean? I feel like I could eat this for the rest of my life."

Jiang Shuyi smacked her lips, swaying her shoulders like a dancing parrot.

". . ."

Wen Yao lowered her gaze and slowly brought the pasta to her mouth, seemingly not taking it very seriously.

Jiang Shuyi suddenly felt Wen Yao's dismissive attitude, and she said discontentedly, "I'm serious."

Wen Yao nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay."

That "okay" sounded extremely dismissive, as if no matter what Jiang Shuyi said, Wen Yao simply wouldn't believe her.

Wen Yao silently continued eating her pasta.

Jiang Shuyi felt an inexplicable sense of gloom settle over her.

---

In the evening, Wen Yao and Jiang Shuyi began working on their winter break homework. As Wen Yao had said, she wanted to finish all the assignments before they went to Haishi.

Jiang Shuyi looked at the piles of homework they had received and felt it was unlikely they could finish it all.

"Wen Yao, you don't hate me, do you?"

Jiang Shuyi suddenly asked as they were halfway through their assignments.

"Why do you ask that?"

Wen Yao shifted her gaze from the book in her hands to Jiang Shuyi.

Her tone was as calm as ever, without a hint of disturbance.

"It's about yesterday..."

"No." Wen Yao seemed reluctant to discuss this issue and answered bluntly.

"Really?" Jiang Shuyi's eyes lit up, immediately wanting to pester Wen Yao, like a child who can't stop after tasting something sweet once.

"Then tonight, can we also..."

". . ." Wen Yao frowned and didn't respond, lightly rubbing her waist with her hand.

After some coaxing from Jiang Shuyi, Wen Yao finally agreed to her request.

---

The two of them shared several tender moments until the day before their trip to Haishi. Jiang Shuyi felt a warmth enveloping her.

The body and soul are closely connected. In this warmth, she felt herself drawing closer to Wen Yao, experiencing a gentle happiness.

Wen Yao leaned in Jiang Shuyi's arms, motionless as if exhausted.

After a while, Wen Yao gradually got up, the blanket slipping off her shoulder.

As soon as she stood, Jiang Shuyi reached out and pulled her back, wrapping her up tightly like a polar bear, "Just sleep a little longer."

"Pack your bags, we're going to Haishi tomorrow." Wen Yao said quietly.

"Don't want to go..."

She had clearly said she wanted to go, but now she was saying she didn't.

Wen Yao remained silent, allowing Jiang Shuyi to bind her arms and legs.

Jiang Shuyi kissed her and whispered softly, "I really like you."

Jiang Shuyi squeezed Wen Yao's smooth arm, seeming particularly fond of her soft, mochi-like arm, playing with it without getting tired of it.

At first, Wen Yao had frowned and glared at her when Jiang Shuyi did this, but Jiang Shuyi never learned her lesson.

Wen Yao was held in her arms, motionless, "...Is it because you've marked me that you like me?"

"No."

Wen Yao turned to face Jiang Shuyi, looking at her seriously. "Then why?"

"You're beautiful..." After a long silence, Jiang Shuyi spoke softly, feeling a bit shy.

She fell in love with Wen Yao at first sight.

The two fell into a moment of silence.

"Your reasons for liking someone are as simple as your brain." Wen Yao evaluated without hesitation.

". . ."

Jiang Shuyi also knew that her reasons were very shallow, shallow enough to disappoint people. But she couldn't help it because this was the truth, these were her genuine thoughts.

She liked Wen Yao's appearance, her eyes, eyelashes, her delicate nose and soft lips, Wen Yao's smooth neck line and her smooth skin. Every part of her was captivating.

Wen Yao's voice and the scent of her pheromones...

Jiang Shuyi loved them all, captivated to the point of being unable to help herself, wanting nothing more than to hold her and kiss her right now.

"But I just like you." Jiang Shuyi immediately kissed Wen Yao.

"Just like."

Wen Yao obviously expected this shallow answer. She understood her own personality very well, even she found it difficult to like someone like herself, let alone others.

"So, Wen Yao, what do you like about me?"

Jiang Shuyi looked at Wen Yao hopefully, wanting to hear a passionate confession from this seemingly cold person.

". . ." Wen Yao didn't speak, she seemed to close her eyes to think, but didn't voice her answer.

"Are you also thinking that I'm beautiful? That I have a certain charm that makes you like me?" Jiang Shuyi smiled proudly.

"In the past, I often had juniors confessing to me, saying I had a good presence." Jiang Shuyi raised her head, recalling a time in college when she had a lot of admirers.

—Is it the charm of a fool?

Wen Yao looked at her without saying anything.

Jiang Shuyi smiled at Wen Yao, "Don't be jealous, I only like you."

"Do you only like me too?" Jiang Shuyi continued to ask with a smile.

Not hearing a response from Wen Yao, Jiang Shuyi immediately leaned closer, persisting, "Is it? Is it?"

Wen Yao remained silent.

Seeing that Wen Yao still wouldn't answer, Jiang Shuyi felt a bit dissatisfied. "Then I must be very important to you, right?"

Jiang Shuyi replaced "like" with a more subtle "important."

She wasn't particularly concerned whether Wen Yao said she liked her or not, as long as she heard that Wen Yao cared about her.

But Wen Yao remained as unresponsive as a dead duck, stubbornly keeping her mouth shut.

Jiang Shuyi became extremely frustrated. Every day, she would tell Wen Yao that she liked her, yet Wen Yao truly didn't say a word in response.

She knew she might be a bit greedy, but human desires are never truly satisfied. Once you have something, you want even more. Even though Wen Yao had been so indulgent with her, something that would have been impossible in the past, she still wanted to hear Wen Yao say she liked her. She didn't know why, but she just wanted to hear it.

Today, she was going to hear it!

"Wen Yao, if you don't say it, I'm going to get mad." Jiang Shuyi called out.

Wen Yao still remained silent.

"I'll give you three seconds."

Jiang Shuyi felt like this was something she never would have imagined saying in the past.

Back in her school days, she had sworn to herself that she would never become the kind of person who threatened others with numbers like Professor Wen.

"Three, two, one..."

"Zero."

Jiang Shuyi looked at the unresponsive Wen Yao, her voice low and disappointed.

"Negative one..." Jiang Shuyi gazed at Wen Yao pitifully, adding another count.

Despite observing Wen Yao's various behaviors, Jiang Shuyi felt that Wen Yao quite liked her, accommodating and fulfilling, but she couldn't understand why this person could be as stubborn as those stone lions placed at the entrance of an old mansion, with a mouth harder than bone.

"Is it really that hard to say just a few words?"

". . ."

Jiang Shuyi angrily thought about grabbing Wen Yao and biting her.

That night, she was even more persistent than usual.

However, in the end, Wen Yao still didn't say the words she wanted to hear.

---

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆Charvinovel ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆