Take Your Time

On a weekend nearing June, Ye Shuang woke up early. Perhaps because he had been blowing the air conditioner a bit too much recently, his throat felt a little dry.

"Cough, hmm..." Ye Shuang picked up a bottle of water from the table, unscrewed the cap, and took a drink.

"Xiaoai, what time is it?"

"It is now six in the morning," a voice came from the speaker nearby. As for the Tmall Genie, Ye Shuang had already thrown it into the living room.

Outside the window at six o'clock, it was still gloomy, but in about half an hour, the sun would probably rise.

Ye Shuang opened the window to get some fresh air, but the blast of heat that hit his face made him silently close it again. Even though this was a coastal city, it had absolutely nothing to do with being refreshing.

"I could clearly sleep until noon in a single breath when I was twenty," Ye Shuang stretched his neck. At this time, Yuyou and the others probably weren't awake yet. However, figuring he couldn't fall back asleep anyway, he sat down at his computer to write his novel for a while.

The word count of his novel was increasing, and Ye Shuang noticed that he had accumulated a sizable number of readers, around thirty to fifty thousand. When he opened the author's dashboard, he found that he had over 99 mentions in his notifications.

"So many?" Ye Shuang briefly skimmed through them, fixing a few minor typos here and there if he spotted them.

Then, he took a look at the highly-liked comments in the comment section.

[Is the author a loli?]

Ye Shuang: "..."

He silently moved on to the next comment.

[Can't you just write a single-heroine story?]

Ye Shuang thought for a moment, then silently typed out a response:

"After the common route concludes, I will write about fifty chapters for each heroine's independent ending route."

Then he continued reading the comments below...

[Will the author write about immortal cultivation in the future? You aren't just a massive fluff writer, are you?]

Ye Shuang took a silent sip of water. "Maybe a massive fluff D instead."

...

After briefly replying to a few comments, Ye Shuang updated his novel. Having spent an hour writing two chapters, he glanced out the window. The faint morning light was already spilling across his windowsill and onto his keyboard.

"Writing novels after I retire might not be a bad idea," Ye Shuang stretched lazily as he tapped on the gleaming keyboard.

[You just finished writing two chapters of a novel.]

[Your novel has been updated with two chapters.]

Ye Shuang: "..."

Was the nonsense system starting its nonsense again?

After a quick tidy-up, Ye Shuang opened his door and went downstairs to prepare breakfast. To his surprise, a figure was already standing in the kitchen, wearing an apron and beating eggs in a bowl with chopsticks.

With the girl's movements, her waist-length hair swayed gently.

Ye Shuang stopped and watched for a moment. Perhaps sensing something, the girl turned around. "Ye Shuang?"

"Why are you up so early?" Ye Shuang walked over to Bai Yuyou, only to notice a bowl of flour on the counter and a dusting of white powder on the girl's fingertips.

"Egg pancakes," Bai Yuyou said. "I learned it online and wanted to try making them."

"Wouldn't it be easier to succeed with a flat pan?" Ye Shuang searched the kitchen and finally pulled out a non-stick pan. After all, it was definitely better than a wok for making pancakes.

"Mhm." Bai Yuyou took the pan with both hands and gave a well-behaved nod.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Ye Shuang noticed a hint of maturity in the girl's side profile. Even though not much time had passed, it seemed as if she had grown up quite a bit.

Ye Shuang slowly withdrew his gaze, only to catch a whiff of a fragrant scent. Bai Yuyou leaned in a little closer, eventually reaching out to tug at the clothes on his chest. "Ye Shuang."

"What is it?"

"I want a kiss." Bai Yuyou tilted her chin up. The early morning sunlight fell on her cheeks, adding a touch of dreaminess to her already incredibly beautiful face.

Ye Shuang lowered his head and kissed her.

After a while, Bai Yuyou opened her eyes and clutched her chest. "It's beating very fast."

"..."

"Ye Shuang, I'm in love," Bai Yuyou said softly.

"Is that so." Ye Shuang reached out and gently pinched the girl's cheek. Seeing her silently staring at him, a trace of apology appeared on Ye Shuang's face.

"Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know." Ye Shuang shook his head. It wasn't that he truly didn't know, but rather that he didn't know how to express the complex emotions in his heart to the girl before him.

The next second, Bai Yuyou reached out and hugged Ye Shuang's waist. Her soft body made Ye Shuang instinctively hold her back. Bai Yuyou simply murmured, "It's okay. Just hold me tight, Ye Shuang. I really like this..."

"As long as we hug, it feels like an endless stream of strength."

"Try it, Ye Shuang."

Ye Shuang held Bai Yuyou a little tighter, unable to help but smile. "Yeah, it really is like that. Hugging you tighter really does make it feel like strength is welling up."

Bai Yuyou's body was soft and incredibly comfortable to hold, as if it could bring peace to his heart.

"Kissing works too."

"Heh."

Inadvertently, Ye Shuang caught something from the corner of his eye. Outside the kitchen, a Little Radish was curiously peering inside.

Ye Shuang instinctively let go. Seeing Yezi, who had appeared outside at some unknown time, he spoke up.

"Yezi, when did you get here?"

"Daddy, did I come at a bad time?" Yezi asked.

"Uh, you came at the perfect time." Ye Shuang gave a soft cough, looking a bit troubled.

However, he was pretty much used to the lifestyle of having an extra child in the house. Having a kid around added a touch of liveliness to the home.

Although Ye Shuang knew that once Yezi found her parents, she would eventually leave, the short amount of time they had spent together already made him feel a hint of reluctance to let her go.

"Daddy and Mommy can hug for a little longer," Yezi suddenly said.

"Uh..."

"Later... later..." Yezi paused, looking a bit confused. "I forgot."

"Come here, Yezi, let me take a look at you."

Seeing the confusion on Yezi's face, Ye Shuang summoned his system window to check on her condition.

[Character: Yezi

Stop checking, dunno man]

It really was completely useless.

Ye Shuang decided to check on Yezi himself. However, after making sure the Little Radish didn't have a headache or a fever, he asked gently,

"Yezi, have you remembered anything more about your mommy and daddy?"

Yezi looked at Ye Shuang, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately shook her head. "Daddy, I don't remember."

"It's okay." Ye Shuang simply reached out and patted Yezi's mushroom-cut hair.

"Take your time."