Lin Qianyi walked over and opened the main door of the house, then pulled aside the rolled-up cloth curtain hanging by the entrance to block it.
This way, the room stayed cool, and even with the door open, people wouldn’t gossip too much. Otherwise, even if the two of them were resting inside—though not in the same room—who knew what others might think.
Fortunately, the layout of their building was decent; it wasn’t the kind where doors faced each other directly. Her place wasn’t tightly next to the neighbors.
Her room faced a corridor and a window, making it relatively private.
There were only three households per floor in their building, and the other two were separated from hers by the stairwell. The closest neighbor, Sister Lanxiang, wasn’t someone who liked to meddle.
Lin Qianyi gave Meng Junchuan a pillow, then went inside to take a nap.
When she woke up and came out, Meng Junchuan was sitting on the sofa reading a book.
“Awake?” he asked, putting the book down.
“Mm. Did you sleep?” Lin Qianyi looked at him—he didn’t seem like someone who had just woken up.
“I dozed for a bit,” Meng Junchuan said. A short nap was enough for him to feel refreshed.
Lin Qianyi sat down, and Meng Junchuan poured her a glass of water.
Fresh from her nap, her eyes were still a little hazy, her cheeks faintly pink, and her lips soft and rosy.
Meng Junchuan’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her—but he didn’t dare.
Lin Qianyi leaned on the sofa for a while before fully waking up.
Meanwhile, Meng Junchuan suffered in silence, tormented by how adorable she looked. She was his girlfriend, so cute and tempting—but he still couldn’t hug her. Who could be more miserable than him?
“Want some fruit?” Meng Junchuan’s voice had gone a little hoarse.
“Mm.” She nodded slightly.
He quickly brought the fruit over.
“Drink more water. It’s hot out,” Lin Qianyi said, noticing his slightly hoarse voice and assuming it was from the weather.
Meng Junchuan had no choice but to keep drinking water in silence.
Forget it—before leaving today, he had to hug his girlfriend.
Dinner that evening was still cooked by Meng Junchuan, with Lin Qianyi guiding him from the side.
They had eaten a rich lunch and hadn’t finished the dishes, so dinner was simple. No need to make meat dishes again—just reheated leftovers, plus stir-fried chili peppers with eggs and a vegetable dish.
After they finished eating and cleaned up, Meng Junchuan carefully tidied the kitchen for her.
He had also bought quite a lot of preserved meats like cured pork and sausages from the supply station earlier that day.
He stored everything properly, including the leftover dishes.
After finishing, they sat in the living room again, drinking tea, eating fruit, and chatting.
Time passed quickly as they talked, and soon it was about time for Meng Junchuan to leave again.
He felt quite frustrated—why did time always pass so fast? It felt like he had barely stayed at all.
Lin Qianyi noticed him starting to hesitate again and couldn’t help but feel a warm sweetness in her heart.
Meanwhile, Meng Junchuan was struggling with himself: Should he hug her or not? Would she get angry?
But he really wanted to hug her. Hugging his girlfriend should be fine, right?
“It’s time to go,” Lin Qianyi reminded him again.
He stood up, and she also stood up.
Meng Junchuan walked over to her, reached out, and pulled her into his arms.
Lin Qianyi was startled and instinctively pushed him away—only to feel him stiffen instantly.
“Is it not allowed?” Meng Junchuan’s voice was muffled and low, clearly disappointed.
Realizing she had overreacted, Lin Qianyi felt a bit guilty and soft-hearted.
She lowered her resisting hands and relaxed her body.
Sensing her change, Meng Junchuan carefully held her tighter.
This time she didn’t push him away, softly leaning into his chest.
He finally relaxed and held her firmly, resting his face against her hair.
Lin Qianyi obediently leaned in. Wow… this guy’s arms are really comfortable.
For a twenty-five-year-old who had never dated before, this was her first time being held like this.
Meng Junchuan was completely satisfied—finally holding his girlfriend. Soft, warm, and fragrant.
After a long while, he reluctantly let go. Her cheeks were flushed pink again.
“Go on,” she said, shyly pushing him toward the door.
They went downstairs together, and he drove off slowly, still reluctant to leave.
Back upstairs, Lin Qianyi’s face was still warm. She realized her heart had quietly fallen for him without her noticing.
But this natural feeling… was actually quite nice.
She hugged a pillow on the sofa, smiling faintly.
However, there was still business to handle. That young master had bought too many things in this heat.
Luckily, she had a space storage ability—otherwise there would be no way to keep everything.
She organized the items, storing what needed to be kept in her space.
Looking at all the fruit, she couldn’t help but think there was too much. One watermelon, plus apples and peaches—those were fine—but the plums and apricots were a bit too sour for her taste.
So she decided to make dried apricots and dried plums, something she had seen in videos before.
She found a tutorial on her tablet and followed it step by step.
It was actually simple, just a bit of sugar needed. She didn’t even need to enter her space to do it.
She sliced the fruits, coated them in sugar, let them marinate, then briefly boiled them.
After that, she wrapped them in cling film and let them soak overnight to absorb flavor, planning to sun-dry them the next morning.
With the weather so sunny, it was perfect for drying.
After finishing, she cleaned up, went into her space to shower, and went to sleep.
…
The next morning, she placed the soaked apricots and plums onto large round bamboo trays lined with white cotton cloth.
One tray wasn’t enough, so she used two.
Then she took them to the balcony to sun-dry.
After that, she had breakfast and went downstairs to work.
As soon as she reached the ground floor, she was met with warm greetings from neighbors again.
It seemed her popularity had been steadily rising.
Everywhere she went, people greeted her with friendly smiles.
“Qianyi, off to work?”
“You look really energetic today.”
“That outfit looks great on you.”
…
She smiled politely in response and rode her bicycle slowly toward the office building.
At the office entrance, she was greeted warmly again.
Finally pushing through the crowd, she entered the office.
“Good morning, Qianyi.”
“You’re here.”
“You look especially beautiful today.”
“We’ve already filled your thermos with hot water.”
…
The office was even more enthusiastic.
The sharp-eyed female colleagues noticed her new outfit and immediately gathered around.
“Did you make this outfit yourself? It looks great.”
“It really flatters your figure.”
“You were already tall—it makes you look even taller.”
“How did you do this part?”
“How is this pocket made like that?”
“The collar looks tricky.”
Women were always enthusiastic about clothing.
Lin Qianyi didn’t feel impatient at all. She patiently answered their questions and generously explained how the outfit was made.