"Would you like to have some soup tonight?" Seeing Bai Yuyou eyeing the couples around them with eager curiosity, Ye Shuang quickly changed the subject.
"Soup..."
"Yeah, what kind would you like?" Noticing the little foodie's attention shift to the mention of food, Ye Shuang smiled.
Bai Yuyou thought for a moment before lowering her eyes. "I... haven't had any before."
"Never?"
"Mmm." Bai Yuyou seemed to recall something. "I've had instant noodle broth. It was salty and spicy."
"That doesn’t count," Ye Shuang said gently. "In that case, let’s make corn and carrot pork rib soup—our province’s signature soup."
"Signature soup?"
"Yep."
"What’s a signature soup?"
"Uh..."
After buying some fresh ribs at the nearby market, Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou headed straight to the kitchen as soon as they got home.
"Bai Yuyou, slice some ginger for me," Ye Shuang said, rinsing the ribs before pulling out the soup pot they’d bought.
"Okay."
Bai Yuyou had learned how to chop vegetables by now—at least she no longer raised the knife high and hacked down with all her might. That kind of technique would’ve left her with no fingers to spare.
Ye Shuang placed the ribs in cold water, added a few slices of ginger Bai Yuyou had prepared, and turned on the heat to blanch them.
"You did a great job with the slicing," Ye Shuang praised, never missing a chance to encourage her.
Though Bai Yuyou’s expression remained neutral, the slight sway of her ahoge betrayed her delight at the compliment.
"Someone from our province should know how to make soup," Ye Shuang said, smiling at her. "Pay close attention so you can make it for yourself someday."
Bai Yuyou suddenly looked up, tilting her head. "For myself... Won’t you drink it with me, Ye Shuang?"
Ye Shuang paused, surprised by her sensitivity. "Of course I will. I just meant I’d like to taste the soup you make."
"Oh." Bai Yuyou nodded, watching as bubbles began to rise in the pot.
"The first step in making rib soup is blanching the ribs," Ye Shuang explained. "It removes impurities and scum, so you have to start with cold water."
"Why cold water?" Bai Yuyou asked.
"If you use hot water, the blood and fat will coagulate and stay trapped inside the meat. Cold water lets it release slowly as it heats up."
Ye Shuang went into detail, wanting Bai Yuyou to learn properly so she could take care of herself.
The next steps were simple—skim off the foam, then add carrots and corn for a homestyle corn and carrot pork rib soup.
"Add some salt." When the soup was nearly done, Ye Shuang seasoned it. "Oh, and always add salt just before serving. If you add it too early, the ribs will toughen up, and the flavor won’t come through as well."
Bai Yuyou nodded.
"Taste’s about right." Ye Shuang ladled some into a bowl and handed it to Bai Yuyou. "Try it."
Bai Yuyou took a small sip of the clear, fragrant broth—
"It’s delicious..." A faint blush spread across her pale cheeks as the sweet, savory warmth of the soup filled her body.
"Right?" Ye Shuang grinned.
But then Bai Yuyou held out the bowl, leaving just a sip inside. "Ye Shuang, you drink too... It’s really good."
Ye Shuang looked at the bowl in her hands and sighed. "No."
"Why?"
"Because you shouldn’t share a bowl you’ve already drunk from," he said.
Bai Yuyou didn’t understand, but she nodded anyway.
Ye Shuang stir-fried a couple of side dishes and tried teaching Bai Yuyou how to fry an egg. When she produced a charred, unidentifiable lump, he realized this girl might have zero talent for cooking.
Dinner ended around seven. This time, Bai Yuyou didn’t pester Ye Shuang to bathe with her—he’d made it clear she had to choose between bathing together or sleeping together.
After some thought, Bai Yuyou decided sleeping together was better.
Bathing only lasted a little while, but sleeping meant she could stay close to Ye Shuang for much longer.
Once Bai Yuyou headed to the shower, Ye Shuang pulled out his phone to browse the news, only to see several new messages from Chen Hai.
Chen Hai: You free? Let’s grab tea!
Ye Shuang called him right away.
The line connected after a few rings. "Hey."
"Why the sudden invite for tea?" Ye Shuang asked.
"Uh..." For some reason, Chen Hai’s voice sounded strained. After a pause, he said, "Just felt like hanging out. You free?"
Ye Shuang didn’t pick up on the odd tone and agreed. "Sure, I just finished dinner. Where?"
"You’ve eaten? Never mind then, just rest up." Chen Hai abruptly backtracked.
Now Ye Shuang sensed something off. "What’s going on with you? You’re acting weird."
"It’s nothing... I’ll send you the address."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Ye Shuang glanced toward the bathroom and called out,
"Bai Yuyou, I’m heading out to meet a friend. Once you’re done showering, stay home and behave."
The bathroom door flew open instantly—Bai Yuyou stepped out, completely naked. "Going out?"
"You dummy, don’t run around like that!" Ye Shuang immediately pushed her back inside. About a minute later, Bai Yuyou reappeared, her clothes clinging wetly to her skin.
Ye Shuang: "..."
He regretted not waiting until she’d finished showering.
"Why the rush?" Ye Shuang grabbed a large towel and started drying her hair. "Arms up."
Bai Yuyou obediently raised her hands, letting him peel off her soaked, semi-transparent clothes before wrapping her snugly in the towel.
"I don’t want to be apart from you," she murmured.
Ye Shuang suddenly realized just how clingy this girl was, despite their short time together.
But considering Bai Yuyou’s past, it made sense for someone who’d once had no one to rely on to latch onto him like this.
After a moment’s thought, Ye Shuang figured it wouldn’t hurt to bring her along—Chen Hai had met her before, and he could just give her some snacks to keep her quietly occupied.
"Fine, I’ll take you with me."
"Okay."
"Don’t hug me like that—the towel’s slipping!"
Following the address Chen Hai had sent, Ye Shuang rode his motorcycle with Bai Yuyou to their destination—one of Chen Hai’s apartments.
After reaching the 20th floor, Ye Shuang rang the doorbell.
"Chen Hai."
The door opened—but instead of Chen Hai, a tall, beautiful woman with wavy hair stood there.
"Ye Shuang!"
"Chen Qin?"
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
