Qin Jizhi was completely stunned. What did she mean by that?
This… this… this—
Yu Qiaoqiao noticed that his ears were turning red again on their own, so she leaned even closer to him.
“What, you don’t want to blow on it for me?”
Qin Jizhi looked extremely uncomfortable. “No, it’s just… um…”
“If it’s not no, then just blow on it. It hurts so much,” she said, pretending to be pitiful while sneaking glances at his expression. This man was thin-skinned—she could tease him, but not push him too far or he might actually get angry.
Qin Jizhi thought back to the kiss she had given him on the cheek earlier. His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest. Now, her faint, sweet scent kept drifting into his nose uncontrollably. His hands, hanging by his sides, were already sweating nervously.
Yu Qiaoqiao even moved her arm closer to his lips again.
“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
She pretended to pull her hand back. Seeing her look genuinely disappointed, Qin Jizhi finally reached out and gently grabbed her arm, carefully bringing it to his lips and slowly blowing on it.
Yu Qiaoqiao, who had succeeded in her little scheme, could barely suppress the smile on her face. Her lips pressed into a straight line, but the smile only grew wider in her eyes.
She looked down at the serious man in front of her, her eyes sparkling with admiration—no, “mischief”—at how good-looking he was.
This man was way too handsome!
If only he could time-travel too.
Then she would become his agent and make him debut as the center of the stage, earning tons of money.
After blowing on her arm for a moment, Qin Jizhi looked up at her and met her scheming gaze. Yu Qiaoqiao, caught red-handed in her thoughts again, immediately returned to a serious expression.
“What is it?”
“Does it still hurt?”
“It feels much better after you blew on it,” Yu Qiaoqiao said dramatically, shaking her arm and grinning at him.
Seeing her silly expression, Qin Jizhi couldn’t help but smile as well.
That smile instantly stunned Yu Qiaoqiao. Her mind suddenly flashed with a song lyric:
“Your smile looks so good…”“Like flowers in spring…”
This was the first time she had properly seen Qin Jizhi smile. Since their first meeting, and even their short time together, he had always been guarded, wary, and expressionless.
But the moment he smiled, it melted her already unstable heart completely.
How many good deeds had she done in her past life to deserve this?
“You must be hungry. I’ll go find something for you to eat.”
She needed to settle dinner first. As for everything else… tonight was clearly going to be anything but ordinary.
Looking at the single bed in the room, Yu Qiaoqiao felt… oddly excited.
“Go ask Mom if there’s any food left,” Qin Jizhi said awkwardly. He was worried she might be mistreated again.
After all, even he himself often went hungry. If it weren’t for his strong physical foundation from his military days, he might have long since wasted away.
His mother didn’t throw him out or starve him outright—probably only because of his disability benefits. If he had nothing left at all, he might already be homeless.
To him, family affection felt like a joke.
Yu Qiaoqiao noticed his discomfort and smiled gently.
“Don’t worry. With me here, you won’t go hungry.”
She turned and went to the next room.
The Qin family had just finished cooking before rushing Qin Xiaolong to the clinic, so the food was still in the pot.
Nothing fancy—just simple corn cakes, coarse grain porridge, and a small dish of green vegetables that looked like wild greens.
Yu Qiaoqiao didn’t care and carried everything back to Qin Jizhi’s room.
It looked like enough for four or five people, but realistically, it was just enough for two to eat properly.
Perfect.
Just right for the two of them.
“Come on, dinner’s ready.”
This was the first time Qin Jizhi had seen so much food at once since his injury. He looked at her in disbelief. Yu Qiaoqiao washed her hands, broke off a piece of corn cake, and brought it to his lips.
“Eat quickly.”
Seeing his face turning red again, she pushed it closer.
“It’ll get cold.”
Qin Jizhi reached out to take it himself. “I can eat on my own.”
“I like feeding you,” Yu Qiaoqiao said, giving him a look that practically sparkled.
Though it wasn’t love at first sight, facing such a handsome, shy, pure man, she couldn’t help but want to tease him until he blushed.
As expected, Qin Jizhi frowned and avoided her gaze.
“Not proper,” he finally muttered.
Yu Qiaoqiao nearly spat out her porridge.
They were already sharing a bed, and feeding each other was “not proper”?
People of this era really cared about appearances.
So they could lie in the same bed, but act like strangers outside?
“Alright, you eat yourself then.”
Qin Jizhi could move his arms, so he ate the cake himself while Yu Qiaoqiao fed him porridge and vegetables.
Just as they were finishing, movement came from the courtyard.
Qin’s mother and sister-in-law had returned with the two children.
“Brat! You’re just making trouble! Nothing’s even wrong and you’re screaming like a ghost!” Qin Dali, Qin Jizhi’s elder brother, shouted irritably as he came in.
He had just come back from a long day of work, already exhausted, and then had to run to the clinic—only to find the child perfectly fine. His temper naturally flared.
“If it weren’t for Mom protecting you, I’d have beaten you already!”
“Enough, enough, just eat,” Qin’s mother said impatiently, starving from all the running around.
But when they entered the kitchen and saw it empty—
“Where’s the food?!!” Qin’s mother shouted.
The porridge, cakes, and pickles she had clearly cooked… were gone.
“I’m hungry.”
“I’m hungry too! Hurry and make food!”
“You hungry, hungry, hungry—are you starving ghosts reincarnated?” Qin Dali snapped, grabbing a broom in anger.
The sister-in-law quickly pulled the children behind her. “Enough, why are you taking it out on the kids?”
“You’ve spoiled them!” Qin Dali threw the broom down and sat on the doorstep, smoking in frustration.
As chaos erupted, Qin’s mother suddenly remembered something, gritted her teeth, grabbed the broom again, and stormed toward Qin Jizhi’s room…