Free from worldly desires and cravings~

Xia Muzhu had never seen such a beautiful bouquet before.

The color of the petals was actually a gradient of blue and white.

Near the receptacle, the petals were cloud-white, suffused with a hint of illusory sky blue.

Further up, the blue in the petals gradually deepened.

Until the tips where the petals bloomed, the color finally turned into a refreshing, clear sky blue.

Looking at the beautiful colors, it was as if someone had roughly kneaded an entire summer sky and stuffed it right into this bouquet.

Its beauty was truly eye-catching.

Although the bouquet was gorgeous, Xia Muzhu did not let her gaze linger on it for too long.

After taking the flowers, she raised her eyes to look at the man behind the bouquet. Her expression was both touched and pleasantly surprised, and with a slight tone of playful reproach, she asked:

"Didn't you say you weren't coming back?"

Lin Yu grinned, showing his teeth, and said gently:

"I read online that this is called lowering the customer's expectations."

"The greater the disappointment, the bigger the surprise."

Xia Muzhu looked at Lin Yu, her azure eyes carrying a hint of insignificant reproach.

However, compared to the tenderness and smiles filling her eyes, that bit of reproach felt more like an alternative form of affection.

"Aren't we supposed to be celebrating Xia Yueshan's recovery?"

Lin Yu recalled what Xia Muzhu had mentioned on the phone earlier and asked curiously:

"Where are we going to eat later?"

"We're not going out to eat, we'll eat at home."

"I'll cook for you myself."

Xia Muzhu said softly.

"Ah?"

"You're cooking?"

Lin Yu asked in surprise.

"Yes."

Xia Muzhu nodded. Seeing Lin Yu's shocked expression, she was a bit puzzled but didn't mind, smiling as she asked in return:

"What?"

"Do you mind?"

"No, not at all."

Lin Yu shook his head like a rattle drum and said:

"But isn't doing that a bit too much trouble?"

"You still have to do all the work. It would be much easier to just eat out."

It was already past five in the afternoon.

The winter sun was always especially lazy. At this time, it had almost buried its entire round body below the horizon.

If they started cooking now, who knew when they would actually get to eat.

"But I've already bought the groceries."

"They won't be fresh if left overnight."

Xia Muzhu had the final say.

Hearing her say this, Lin Yu had no choice but to give up the idea of eating out.

"Alright then."

Lin Yu shrugged in compromise, then turned and walked into the kitchen.

Only after the person she liked even more had left her sight did Xia Muzhu have the mind to look at the flowers she really liked in her arms.

She lowered her head slightly and gently sniffed the top of the bouquet.

The fragrant scent was refreshing, and Xia Muzhu liked it exceptionally well.

After carefully putting away the uniquely colored and beautiful bouquet, Xia Muzhu turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Just as she reached the kitchen door, she looked at Lin Yu inside, who was clumsily putting on an apron. She felt both surprised and amused.

"What are you doing?"

Xia Muzhu couldn't help but laugh as she walked over to help him.

"Helping you cook."

Lin Yu said as a matter of course:

"I can't just let you work hard while I sit outside waiting to eat, right?"

Lin Yu's words sounded very nice, but they also sounded a bit strange.

After all, in the year or so he and Xia Muzhu had been together, he had very, very, very rarely cooked.

It was almost always Xia Muzhu who handled the cooking alone.

Even when he occasionally felt guilty about his laziness, Lin Yu would just lightly kick Xia Yueshan's butt, telling him to go help his sister, in order to ease his own deep-seated guilt for eating, drinking, and having fun for free.

But perhaps women in love are all like this.

Xia Muzhu had completely forgotten about those glaring facts in her memory.

The radiance of love overshadowed everything.

At this moment, she only felt touched.

She felt that she was the happiest person in the world.

Perhaps as long as there is companionship.

All kinds of hardships can no longer be called hard.

What was originally the dull and tedious process of washing vegetables, stir-frying, and cooking rice.

But with Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu together, these boring tasks unexpectedly became warm and interesting.

In the beginning, Lin Yu was only responsible for chopping and washing vegetables.

The cooking was entirely left to Xia Muzhu.

Later, Lin Yu's hands got itchy watching her, and he wanted to try stir-frying a dish.

Xia Muzhu then assigned him a simple stir-fried yellow beef dish, while she stood by to guide and supervise.

When they tasted it later, the flavor was actually quite good.

Actually, the biggest credit for this dinner's preparation going so smoothly had to go to Tang Manman.

Otherwise, Lin Yu felt that playing and joking around with Sister Zhuzi, there was a huge possibility they would end up taking it to bed.

It was also thanks to the fact that they hadn't been idle these past few days.

Lin Yu felt that his current state, while not exactly calm like still water, was at least no longer suppressed.

He could hold back!

In Xia Muzhu's original plan, preparing six dishes and one soup, even if she worked fast, would take two hours.

But now with Lin Yu's help, the cooking time was shortened by more than half an hour.

And this was even considering the fact that she kept getting distracted and playing around with Lin Yu.

Otherwise, they could have been even faster.

After placing the last dish on the table, the two sat down, ready to eat.

Just as Xia Muzhu picked up her chopsticks, she suddenly remembered something, put the chopsticks down, and left the dining table.

When she returned, she was holding a transparent glass bottle filled with a crystal-clear, deep red liquid.

"This is the cherry wine I brewed a while ago."

"Taste it and see if it's good."

Lin Yu took the wine bottle and, while examining the fruity red liquid inside, asked curiously:

"What made you think of brewing wine?"

Xia Muzhu sat back in her chair and said with a smile:

"I saw a wine-making tutorial online before, so I thought I'd try brewing some myself."

Lin Yu nodded, opened the bottle, poured some for himself, and poured some for Xia Muzhu as well.

Xia Muzhu didn't really know how to drink, but tasting a little bit would be fine.

The two raised their glasses for a light toast and began their dinner for the day...

...

After dinner, neither of them had eaten or drunk in small amounts.

The wine Xia Muzhu brewed was sweet and sour. When it first entered the mouth, it didn't feel like much, tasting more like fruit juice with a hint of alcohol. It felt soft and non-irritating.

But a little while later, when the alcohol kicked in, it became somewhat hard to handle.

It was unknown what the alcohol content of Xia Muzhu's wine was, but based on his current top-heavy feeling, Lin Yu estimated that it was probably close to thirty percent.

And the terrifying thing about this fruit wine was still its soft taste.

People who usually drink are always afraid of this kind of liquor.

When you drink it, it feels plain and ordinary, like a simple beverage, but the aftereffect is incredibly potent, making it impossible to withstand.