“Gu Lai,”
Gu Lai recognized the person approaching her. It was the short-haired girl from yesterday, Zhang Sifang.
“Since you’re a newcomer, you might not know everyone well,” Zhang Sifang said, glancing sideways at Cang Wei’s desk. “You should still be cautious when making friends. Getting too close to certain people is hardly a good thing.”
“Watch out she doesn’t borrow money from you to suck up to others.” Her tone carried a sharp, sarcastic edge. Afterward, she added, “Gu, I speak my mind, but it’s for your own good.”
Gu Lai’s expression remained calm and her demeanor unruffled. “Judging by that tone, has she ever borrowed from you?”
Zhang Sifang froze.
“If not, it’s best not to go around talking nonsense.” Gu Lai looked at Zhang Sifang. This person really was strange. Yesterday she hadn’t even bothered to put on an act, and today she was taking the initiative to approach her just to crowd Cang Wei out.
It was truly a scene of her left brain fighting her right brain.
Zhang Sifang choked on the retort, clearly not expecting Gu Lai to reply like that. With an indignant expression and a scoff, she turned and walked away.
[System Prompt: Task Progress 5%]
Gu Lai blinked. Why had the progress gone up? Then she looked toward the doorway. The volume of her conversation with Zhang Sifang hadn’t been low; if anyone was by the door, they should have been able to hear it.
Gu Lai smiled in sudden realization.
Two minutes later, Cang Wei walked back in. Her face was still a bit pale, but her expression looked much better.
“You’re back,” Gu Lai said gently.
“Mhm.” Cang Wei sat back down at her desk and looked at the clock above. “It’s time for lunch break.”
Gu Lai told her to get some rest and obediently lowered her head onto her desk. The consecutive advances in task progress made Gu Lai completely firm in her understanding of the assignment: warm Cang Wei, accompany her, and make her happy.
As for the matter with Huo Heya, Gu Lai wasn’t particularly concerned.
The current task progress had nothing to do with Huo Heya, which clearly showed he didn’t have much impact on her objective.
In just two days, she had already reached 5%. Gu Lai happily counted the zeros behind the reward panel bonus, her mood exceptionally good.
The exams continued. Gu Lai sat in the exam room; while others were still working on their answers, she had already finished and simply twirled her pen in boredom.
The physics paper was finished the moment it was handed out, her strength needing no doubt. Growing tired of twirling her pen, Gu Lai sighed. She originally intended to enter a state of meditation and discuss the grand strategy of physics with the God of Dreams, but the moment she closed her eyes, she received a yellow card warning from the proctor.
The proctors at No. 7 High School were actually this strict.
Hard-fudging her way through two exam subjects, Gu Lai felt as though all her life energy had been completely drained.
The moment the end-of-class bell rang, a profound sense of relief washed over Gu Lai. She wasted no time in walking out of the classroom door, needing to head home immediately to eat and recover her vitality.
Stepping outside the school gates before many people had gathered, Gu Lai instantly felt full of spirit, humming a little tune as she walked another couple of steps.
For some inexplicable reason, Gu Lai’s train of thought stalled. It felt as though… she had forgotten something?
Sensing something amiss, Gu Lai turned her head back to look. Just two steps away, Cang Wei was watching her without the slightest bit of concealment.
Their gazes met.
Gu Lai seemed to catch a fleeting glimpse of something in Cang Wei’s eyes.
Disappointment?
Gu Lai felt a pang of guilt. Those two exams had truly exhausted her mind and body to the point that she had actually forgotten about walking home with Cang Wei.
Gu Lai stopped in her tracks. “Cang Wei, want to walk home together?”
Cang Wei didn’t make a sound, simply stepping forward in silence to walk alongside Gu Lai.
“Well, look at that,” Gu Lai chuckled, and the two of them returned side by side.
[302]
Gu Lai lying on the sofa, throwing aside any thoughts of cooking; there were simply no utensils in the kitchen, making it impossible for her to whip up anything to eat.
She remembered there was a grocery store downstairs. She should go down there and buy a bunch of food to bring back. There seemed to be a few restaurants too.
The moment Gu Lai pushed open her door, a rich aroma of home-cooked food drifted through the hallway. She sniffed the air: the scent of tomato and beef stew, which happened to be one of her favorite dishes.
Having gone hungry for two days, Gu Lai swallowed hard and hurried downstairs.
After grabbing a random pile of toiletries, she walked over to the instant noodle aisle and resolutely picked up two packs of tomato beef noodles. “They’re both tomato beef anyway. There’s no real difference.”
Spiritual victory was still victory.
Carrying her bags upstairs, Gu Lai had just reached the stairway landing when with a creak, the door to 301 was pushed open from the inside.
Cang Wei dropped a bag by the doorstep, and the moment she raised her head, her gaze locked with Gu Lai’s.
The aroma in the hallway grew even richer.
So it was Cang Wei cooking, Gu Lai thought with a soft hum.
“Have you eaten?” Cang Wei asked politely.
“Just about to,” Gu Lai replied. Even though it smelled amazing, she wasn’t about to be easily tempted by food.
Lowering her gaze, Cang Wei caught sight of the instant noodles in Gu Lai’s bag. “I made too much. Want to share some?”
Before Gu Lai could manage a refusal, a loud rumble echoed out—her stomach answering a bit faster than its owner.
Cang Wei didn’t say anything more. Instead, she pulled the door all the way open and turned sideways to signal for Gu Lai to enter.
“Sorry to intrude.” Gu Lai dropped all further politeness. At this point, she had already lost face in front of her, so one more meal wouldn’t hurt.
Seeing Cang Wei head into the kitchen, Gu Lai figured she ought to do something to help and turned to follow her.
The warm glow of the kitchen’s incandescent bulb cast a soft light across the room.
Cang Wei was wearing light-colored loungewear, her loose strands of hair hanging down before being tucked behind her ear by her slender fingers, revealing a clean, well-defined jawline.
Scooping up a spoonful of soup, Cang Wei blew on it gently and offered it toward Gu Lai. “Try it.”
Gu Lai reached out to take the spoon, only to find that the hand held out right in front of her didn’t budge an inch. With no other choice, she leaned forward and took a sip straight from Cang Wei’s spoon.
!
“Delicious.”
“Cang Wei, you’re full of hidden talents.” Gu Lai was practically mesmerized by the flavor. She hadn’t expected Cang Wei’s cooking skills to be this exceptional.
“I’m glad you like it.” Cang Wei ladled out the soup and carried it over to the dining table.
After setting out the bowls and chopsticks, the two of them began eating without any further formalities. In no time at all, Gu Lai had finished an entire bowl of soup.
“Cang Wei, if I have another bowl, would that be a bit too much?” Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke.
Gu Lai felt she might be acting a bit impolite. Showing up uninvited to eat with someone was one thing—by all rights, she should have just taken a polite sip or two and left it at that—but she couldn’t resist how incredible Cang Wei’s cooking was. A single bowl of soup had already completely conquered her stomach.
“Not at all.” Cang Wei picked up the ladle and filled another full bowl for Gu Lai.
[System Prompt: Task Progress 7%]
As Gu Lai sipped her soup, she heard the prompt chime and glanced at Cang Wei. She thought to herself that perhaps Cang Wei was happy in secret, feeling that her culinary skills had received genuine recognition.
Gu Lai felt even more certain she had made the right choice.
Some people who are great at cooking are just like this: they are passionate about making food, and they feel deeply satisfied when others express high praise for their dishes.
Could Cang Wei be that kind of person?
Gu Lai looked at Cang Wei again. The other girl was holding her bowl, her fingers long and slender, her knuckles clearly defined. Just by looking at her, she seemed like someone who never ate properly on a regular basis.
Gu Lai’s thoughts drifted off for a moment.
After eating her fill, operating on the principle that she couldn’t just freeload a meal, Gu Lai prepared to help Cang Wei wash the dishes.
Cang Wei waved a hand in refusal, signaling for her to just sit back down and relax.
Sitting idly at the table, Gu Lai watched Cang Wei busy at work in the kitchen, suddenly struck by a quiet, peaceful sense of satisfaction.
Buzz. A vibration came from the table beside her. It was Cang Wei’s phone. But since Cang Wei was currently busy cleaning plates, she didn’t notice it.
Gu Lai picked up the phone and walked toward the kitchen. Giving an inadvertent glance at the screen, her steps froze right in her tracks.