Today is Chef Jiang.
Jiang Quqi was so moved she could have cried buckets. Is this what it feels like when sincerity is met with sincerity? *Wuwuwu*, her efforts had finally been seen.
Of course, she would never say any of this to Qin Jiao. Instead, she emptied her mind and proceeded to bother the System relentlessly.
“System, look! This is my kid, isn’t he so sensible and sweet?!”
「……」
“System, look at you. No one blows your hair for you. How tragic.”
「…… I am a system. I don’t have hair, so I don’t need it, dear customer.」
Jiang Quqi didn’t care whether the System had hair or not and just kept chattering away in her mind. The System was getting more annoyed by the second, and suddenly a panel popped up—it was clocking off!
It left without a moment’s hesitation, clean and efficient.
“Clocking off already?” The sound of the hairdryer drowned her voice out. Qin Jiao leaned in slightly and asked, “What did you say, Jie?”
“Ah,” she had accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud. Jiang Quqi closed her eyes comfortably, “Oh, I was just asking what time it is.”
Qin Jiao glanced at the clock. “Almost a quarter past eight.”
Just as she thought—the System had left early. She was definitely going to report this to the System’s boss, Jiang Quqi thought to herself.
Qin Jiao’s movements were gentle. The whirring of the hairdryer, which she usually found annoying, sounded like soothing white noise in the quiet night.
The drowsiness she had chased away by chatting with the System slowly began to creep back.
Jiang Quqi shifted slightly, finding a more comfortable position. She tried to stay awake for a while longer, but sleep was overpowering. Her eyelids grew heavy and fluttered uncontrollably until, eventually, they closed completely.
Her breathing evened out, and her dried, fluffy hair fell softly against her cheeks.
When her hair was mostly dry, Qin Jiao turned off the dryer and put it away. Returning, he saw Jiang Quqi sitting motionless. Thinking she was just too tired to move, he hesitated, picked up a comb, and asked softly, “Shall I brush it for you?”
Jiang Quqi didn’t answer.
Holding the comb felt like holding a hot potato—he didn’t know whether to put it down or keep holding it. He fumbled with it for a moment, then let out a sigh. He gently gathered her loose hair and began to comb it from top to bottom, moving with extreme care, afraid of pulling or hurting her.
Jiang Quqi’s hair wasn’t black; it was a beautiful shade of chestnut brown. He remembered something he had seen in the car earlier that afternoon. When the sunlight hit it, those long brown locks seemed to glow with a golden light, like fine silk absorbing the warmth of the sun.
“Jie,” After hesitating for a long time, Qin Jiao finally spoke, “Back in the office… why did you trust me?” It was the first time he had said something so vulnerable, and he felt a little embarrassed. His voice grew softer and softer until his movements came to a stop. He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
……
Qin Jiao quickly acted casual again. “Never mind, I was just asking. I don’t really need to know, you don’t have to answer.”
He kept rambling, trying to cover up his awkwardness. Then, looking down, he realized something was wrong. He walked around to face her—while he wasn’t looking, Jiang Quqi had fallen fast asleep.
She looked like she was sleeping very soundly, her cheeks rosy, with the faint trace of a smile on her lips.
Qin Jiao debated whether to wake her or not, but called her name softly anyway. As expected, there was no response.
He then chose between carrying her to bed or leaving her be. In the end, he fetched a blanket and covered her carefully, then turned off the lights and went back to his own room.
The next morning, the excited chirping of birds woke Jiang Quqi from her deep sleep. Her whole body ached as if she had been beaten up overnight. She struggled to roll off the window seat, groaning in pain. She stomped her feet on the floor and shook her limbs vigorously to chase away the numbness.
「Dear, you look terrible.」 The System sounded thoroughly amused.
“Do you have anything that can help me?”
「I can laugh at you.」
“Get lost.”
「Nope, hahahahahahahaha.」
……
Jiang Quqi waited with a cold face until it finished laughing, then said, “You left early yesterday.”
「。」
「Gomenasai~ Dear~」 The System apologized immediately.
Jiang Quqi stretched her neck and waist. “What time is it?”
「Five twelve, dear.」
“So early!” She hadn’t seen the 5 o’clock sun in ages!
Glancing at the blanket she had kicked off, she felt touched. “He even remembered to cover me up. How sweet.”
The System had no idea where this strange, motherly pride came from, but agreed blindly anyway.
「Yes yes yes, exactly.」
She had eaten Qin Jiao’s cooking so many times now. It was time to return the favor. Rolling up her sleeves, she declared, “Excellent! Today, Chef Jiang will show you what I can do! Hahahahaha!”
「Hahahaha, go get ’em, dear~」
To be fair, the System had never actually seen Jiang Quqi cook. For days now, breakfast, lunch, and dinner had either been made by Qin Jiao, eaten out, or involved dragging him along to restaurants. The shameless Jiang Quqi had even claimed this was a fair exchange.
So today was supposed to be her grand debut. The System watched as she rolled up her sleeves, looking full of confidence… and then opened Xiao Lv Shu (a recipe app).
The silence from the System was deafening. 「Dear, maybe we shouldn’t?」
I’m afraid you might poison Qin Jiao.
“Absolutely not,” Jiang Quqi waved her hand grandly. “It’s not right to keep letting the kid cook for me every day.”
「Then why don’t we just buy something outside?」
Jiang Quqi frowned, disapproving. “That lacks sincerity.”
……
Whatever makes you happy.
The System gave up trying to persuade her. Its data lines were practically throbbing with anxiety as it watched her search “What to eat for breakfast” and then close the app after browsing for ages.
「So… may I ask what you plan to make?」
“Uh… fried eggs,” Jiang Quqi scratched her head awkwardly. “I haven’t actually tried anything else yet.”
She took two eggs and tapped one gently against the edge of the bowl. Nothing happened.
“Haha, accident.”
This time she used a bit more force. Oops—the egg cracked completely, shell and all, resulting in a bowl full of a mixture of egg and fragments. Jiang Quqi’s eyebrow twitched.
She washed the bowl and tried again, focusing with all her might. *Tap.* Perfect this time—a beautiful egg slid into the bowl.
Wash the pan, turn on the heat, add oil, pour in the egg, fry on low heat. Wait until it sets, then flip it. She was busy for a while, but in the blink of an eye, the golden-yellow egg had somehow turned mostly burnt.
“My fried egg!” Jiang Quqi scrambled to rescue it, only to turn around and find Qin Jiao standing at the doorway, watching her silently.