Would you like to see my room

The lingering exhaustion of the daily grind clinging to Jiang Chengyue, mixed with the unconventional flair typical of media professionals, formed a stark contrast to the exquisite style of the villa.

She kicked off her high heels casually, the two heels striking the foyer tiles with a crisp, not-so-elegant clatter. Barefoot, she dug a pair of powder-blue cartoon slippers out of the shoe cabinet and slipped them on haphazardly.

She greeted Aunt Joan, then shuffled along in her slippers, flip-flopping her way toward the dining room, following the scent.

"I smell something good."

She pushed the dining room door open, but her boisterous voice cut off abruptly a second later.

The look of gluttonous anticipation on Jiang Chengyue's face solidified as she stared straight at the two people standing at the kitchen entrance.

Jiang Chengyue saw Jiang Yunlu and Lin Mo standing there.

"Auntie!" Seeing her aunt in such a whirlwind state, Jiang Yunlu immediately shot her a meaningful look.

One look, and Jiang Chengyue knew she had been too impetuous.

Instantly, she reined in her laziness. Her back straightened, her chin lifted slightly, and in the span of a single breath, she transformed back into the meticulous top reporter seen on camera.

"Little Yunlu, you brought a classmate home," her voice turned dignified. "I thought you two would be stuck in traffic and wouldn't arrive so soon."

This speed of changing faces was truly unparalleled.

It was Lin Mo who chuckled at her performance, breaking the slightly comical silence.

"You must be the aunt. Hello, I am Lin Mo."

He paused, his gaze circling Jiang Chengyue's face, before adding slowly, "Auntie, you look a bit familiar."

Jiang Yunlu paused for a moment, but remembering Jiang Chengyue's job, she immediately said, "My aunt is a famous reporter, so it's definitely possible you've seen her."

Jiang Chengyue's heart skipped a beat. This is bad, she thought.

"Ahem, hello, Student Lin Mo. I am Yunlu's aunt, Jiang Chengyue. Yunlu is still young, and the family is very protective of her, so I hope you understand."

There was subtext to her words. She was telling Lin Mo that their previous encounter was an act of a concerned elder looking out for a junior.

Put that way, it was understandable. If he kept pursuing the matter, it would be in poor taste.

Just then, the sizzling sound of frying came from the kitchen.

The rich aroma of garlic instantly dominated everyone's sense of smell.

Jiang Chengyue felt as if she had been granted amnesty. She immediately seized the opportunity to change the subject and walked into the kitchen.

"Brother, are you making garlic spare ribs today? It smells authentic!"

"I'm making garlic spare ribs, not Peking ribs. Authentic to where?"

Lin Mo's gaze followed hers.

He watched Jiang Chengshan's fluid movements, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

Whether it was the rhythm of the knife, the force of the wok toss, or the precise control of the oil temperature, everything revealed the steadiness and professionalism found only in a master chef.

It was hard to imagine that a group chairman controlling a vast business empire possessed such skill in the kitchen.

Although deep-frying required watching the temperature, it was relatively relaxing.

Jiang Chengshan turned his head to look at Lin Mo.

"Yunlu, take Student Lin Mo to rest for a bit. I'll ask Aunt Joan to call you when dinner is ready."

Hearing this, Jiang Yunlu's face heated up slightly. She realized belatedly that Lin Mo was a guest and shouldn't be left standing in the dining room.

She quickly agreed and reached out to grab Lin Mo's wrist. The cool touch of his fingertips surprised him slightly.

"Let's go, we can sit in the living room."

Lin Mo let her pull him along, his gaze subtly sweeping the surroundings.

The villa's decoration leaned towards a European style, which had indeed been popular in Yangcheng a decade ago.

This contrasted sharply with the Chinese style of the silver arowana tank inside the villa.

It was evident that Jiang Chengshan had likely studied abroad and had a high acceptance of Western culture.

The living room lacked the rosewood furniture that often intimidated young people; instead, there was a set of heavy, dark brown genuine leather sofas.

As soon as Lin Mo sat down, he sank into the soft leather; the texture was indeed quite comfortable.

Just as he sat, Aunt Joan silently approached with a tea tray.

She placed two cups of clear tea on the coffee table in front of them, her movements gentle, making not a single sound of porcelain clinking.

With hot tea, drinking it at too high a temperature can cause oral cancer.

Waiting for it to cool down takes a long time.

But using his spiritual sense, Lin Mo could see that when Aunt Joan was preparing the tea, there was a bowl of ice water beside her.

She had placed the teacups in the ice water first, then poured the hot tea before picking the cups up again.

The residual chill of the cup neutralized the heat of the tea, achieving the perfect temperature for drinking.

One could only say that there were indeed many ingenious details in the art of serving others.

Lin Mo picked up the teacup and took a sip; it was indeed in a state perfectly suitable for drinking.

After the tea was finished, the warmth lingered in the cup, but Jiang Yunlu's fair fingers were somewhat cold.

She gripped the hem of her clothes, finally unable to hold back, and raised her eyes to look at Lin Mo. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum: "Do you want to... go see my room?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, her face flushed red with embarrassment.

"Huh?!"

Going to see the room already? Wasn't that a bit inappropriate?

Then Lin Mo nodded decisively. "Sure, let's see what the boudoir of Guangba High's number one school beauty looks like."

"You're annoying!"

Jiang Yunlu said, both shy and angry, raising her hand to punch him. The force was as light as a cat scratching an itch.

But she stood up, ears blushing, and led Lin Mo upstairs.

As their figures disappeared around the corner of the stairs, Aunt Joan, who had kept her eyes lowered, slowly raised her head. Her gaze sharpened for an instant before she turned and walked quickly toward the dining room.

She went around the dining table and leaned close to Jiang Chengyue's ear—who was holding chopsticks and sneakily preparing to attack a plate of cold fish skin—and lowered her voice:

"Miss, the Young Miss took her classmate upstairs."

Clatter.

Jiang Chengyue's chopsticks fell onto the table.

Forgetting all about sneaking food, she sat up straight abruptly. "What? Upstairs? To Little Yunlu's room?"

"Yes."

"That won't do! I have to go up and keep watch!" Jiang Chengyue said indignantly.

Saying this, she kicked off her slippers. Barefoot and bent at the waist, she crept toward the stairs, looking back every step of the way. Her movements were comical yet filled with a sense of mission.

Aunt Joan watched the sneaky retreating figure of her family's young aunt and shook her head helplessly before turning to walk into the kitchen.

"Sir, do you need any help?"

"No need, Sister Joan." Jiang Chengshan didn't look up, his hands never stopping. "What do you think of this Lin Mo?"

"That kid is sharp as a tack. He has the seasoned feel of an adult. Perhaps, as you said, Sir, it's just because he matured early."

Aunt Joan's evaluation did not exceed Jiang Chengshan's expectations.

After all, he had felt the same way the first time he met Lin Mo.

Then Aunt Joan added, "But the way he looks at the Young Miss is quite clean. It doesn't have any of those messy things."

"I felt the same way the first time I saw him. Terrifyingly steady. But sometimes, he reveals a specific aggression typical of youth. That edge... it's very sharp."

Jiang Chengshan sighed. The more this was the case, the more worried he became.