By the time the sun had climbed to the middle of the window lattice, Lu Zhiye glanced up at the wall clock, whose hour hand pointed precisely to eleven.
He had moved the last dining table into place. The breakfast shop, which had originally been filled with steaming bamboo baskets and tableware, had already been neatly organized.
He turned around and looked at Su Nuonuo, who was bent over sweeping the floor. His voice carried a hint of casualness: “What do you want for lunch? Buy something outside, or should I cook?”
Su Nuonuo suddenly looked up, her eyes lighting up: “You can cook?”
Lu Zhiye raised his brows slightly, casually hanging the rag over the edge of the table. His tone was light, with no discernible emotion: “Just home-style food. I know a little about simple dishes.”
“Then I’ll eat what you make!” Su Nuonuo said without hesitation, the smile at the corners of her lips impossible to hide.
Lu Zhiye gave a low “okay,” then turned and walked toward the door: “I’ll go to the backyard vegetable garden to pick some fresh vegetables.”
“Wait for me! I’ll go with you!”
Su Nuonuo quickly dropped the broom in her hands and hurried after him.
The backyard vegetable garden wasn’t large, but it was lush and full of vitality. Tender spinach stood close together with dewdrops on their leaves, crisp spring bamboo shoots had just poked halfway out of the soil, pea vines climbing the bamboo racks were dotted with pale purple blossoms, and a small patch of green shepherd’s purse spread across the side.
As soon as Su Nuonuo stepped into the garden, she moved with familiarity, heading straight to the carrot patch. She accurately grabbed the carrot tops and pulled them out in one strong motion.
Lu Zhiye followed behind carrying a bamboo basket, watching as she bent down to pull carrots with such practiced ease, as if the place belonged to her. A trace of surprise flickered in his eyes.
He squatted down and placed the green carrots into the basket, then asked casually, “You seem very familiar with this. You recognize all these vegetables—did your family grow them when you were a child?”
There was a hint of probing in his words. After all, during the years they had been neighbors as children, his family’s backyard had been planted with many vegetables by Grandpa Lu. He still remembered a little girl with twin braids who often liked to peek through the fence.
Su Nuonuo paused slightly in her movements. Lowering her eyes, she said softly, “Childhood memories… I don’t remember them very well.”
The light in Lu Zhiye’s eyes dimmed instantly, a vague bitterness spreading in his chest.
So she had really forgotten everything.
He lowered his gaze, looking at the ring on his thumb, the corner of his lips curling into a faint, self-mocking, helpless smile.
What Su Nuonuo didn’t say was that her familiarity with this vegetable garden naturally came from her past life spent accompanying Grandpa Lu.
Spring planting and autumn harvesting, watering and fertilizing—those times had been etched deep into her bones.
Even after being reborn into a new life, encountering these familiar leaves still felt instinctive and natural to her.
After gathering the vegetables, the two of them returned to the kitchen together. The kitchen in the building was not large, but it was clean and bright.
The stove was polished to a shine, with not a trace of grease. Bottles of soy sauce, vinegar, and salt were all neatly labeled and arranged in the cabinet, clearly visible at a glance.
Lu Zhiye tied on an apron, skillfully took out the cutting board and kitchen knife. Just as he was about to start cutting, a “clatter” sounded from behind him.
Su Nuonuo had stood on her tiptoes to reach a bowl on the cabinet but lost her balance. A white porcelain bowl wobbled and fell onto the cutting board.
“Ah…” Su Nuonuo stuck out her tongue and quickly steadied the bowl, her cheeks turning bright red. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Lu Zhiye turned back to look at her, a hint of amusement hidden in his eyes. He didn’t say anything, only pulled her slightly aside: “Stay away from the stove. Oil splashes can burn you.”
Su Nuonuo didn’t give up. She reached out again for the vegetables: “I’ll wash them!”
But she turned the water on too strongly. Water splashed everywhere, and vegetable leaves fell all over the floor.
She hurriedly turned off the tap in a fluster, her face turning even redder, like a little rabbit that had caused trouble.
Lu Zhiye sighed helplessly and handed her a tissue. “Clumsy.”
He said this in a low voice, but there was no trace of blame in his tone.
In both of her lives, Su Nuonuo had never been in a kitchen. In her previous life, when Grandpa Lu had been unable to move, she had once tried to cook him a bowl of hot porridge but almost set the kitchen on fire.
In the end, it was still Grandpa Lu who used all his strength to teach her how to cook porridge with an electric rice cooker.
Thinking of this, she lifted her face and said, “I can use the rice cooker. I’ll make the porridge.”
Lu Zhiye paused slightly, then smiled, unable to resist tapping her head: “Are you sure you want porridge for lunch? The dishes you chose are meant to go with rice.”
Su Nuonuo thought about the yuxiang shredded pork she planned to use as a rice topping and lowered her head: “Alright then.”
Since she couldn’t help with anything, she simply chatted instead.
She asked, “Lu Zhiye, when did you start learning how to cook?”
Without looking up, Lu Zhiye replied while preparing ingredients, “I learned when I was ten.”
“That year, my parents left,” Lu Zhiye’s voice was very soft, as if he were talking about something ordinary.
His knife never stopped moving, the blade striking the cutting board with steady “thud thud” sounds.
“Grandpa Lu was the village head. There were many things in the village to take care of, so he often couldn’t attend to the house. After school, I learned to cook noodles and fried rice. If I overcooked something, I would throw it away and start over. Slowly, I learned.”
Su Nuonuo froze, the tissue in her hand stopping midair.
It turned out that the Lu Zhiye who always wore a cold expression at school, who seemed indifferent to everything, had long since learned to carry the weight of life on his own.
Her nose suddenly felt sour. Looking at his steady back and the veins visible on the back of his hand as he held the knife, her heart felt both sore and soft.
She stopped making noise and simply stood quietly beside him.
Watching him stir-fry the vegetables until they turned a vibrant green, watching him cook the shredded pork until it glistened with rich color.
Watching sunlight pass through the window and fall across his lowered eyelashes.
Her heart felt as if it had been quietly filled with something.
When the dishes were served, the aroma filled the entire kitchen.
Lu Zhiye served a bowl of rice and handed it to her, a faint trace of anticipation hidden in his eyes: “Try it.”
Su Nuonuo picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the shredded pork. The sweet and savory flavor spread across her tongue.
Her eyes curved into a smile. “It’s delicious! Better than the cafeteria!”
Watching her eat so eagerly, Lu Zhiye’s lips lifted slightly.
He also picked up his chopsticks and ate slowly.
His gaze fell on the grains of rice at the corner of her mouth, and his heart softened completely.
He watched as she picked at the dishes, eating most of the meat while only taking a few bites of the vegetables.
The smile in his eyes deepened as he silently pushed the dish she liked closer to her.
He secretly tightened his grip on his chopsticks, quietly making a mental note—to learn more dishes in the future and fully understand her preferences.
Outside the window, the cicadas continued their noisy chorus, but the time spent in the kitchen felt unusually gentle.
Su Nuonuo suddenly looked up, gazing at Lu Zhiye’s profile as he ate with his head lowered.
It turned out he had not been naturally cold and hardened from the beginning. At the age of ten, he had already begun learning how to take care of himself at the stove.
These simple home-cooked dishes were not merely food—they were proof of the maturity and resilience he had hidden through the years.
She would stay by his side and slowly make up for all the sweetness he had lacked.
After finishing the meal, Su Nuonuo insisted on washing the dishes. Lu Zhiye did not argue with her, only stopped her by the sink: “Dish soap is harsh on the hands. We don’t have gloves at home.”
He turned on the tap, and the water flowed loudly.
Su Nuonuo still refused to give up. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached for the sponge and insisted on squeezing into the small sink beside him.
Foam clung to her hands as she awkwardly wiped the rim of a bowl. Her hand slipped, and the white porcelain bowl dropped toward the water.
Lu Zhiye reacted quickly and reached out—but instead of the bowl, he grabbed her hand.
The touch felt like an electric current surging through them, and Su Nuonuo trembled slightly.
Lu Zhiye quickly retrieved the bowl from the sink. “Stand still.”
He glanced at her helplessly, his voice slightly hoarse.
Only after the water washed away the foam from both of their hands did he turn away somewhat unnaturally, lowering his head to focus on rinsing the dishes.
Su Nuonuo withdrew her hand, pouting slightly, thinking to herself that she had only been making things worse today.