"Ding dong~"
The doorbell rang, and the two people inside immediately stopped what they were doing. Ji Qingyi even took off her apron, revealing a pair of slender, elegant legs clad in black stockings. Clearly, she still felt somewhat shy and embarrassed about wearing a kitchen apron.
Liu Qingyue instinctively glanced down at her own maid outfit, frowning slightly. She knew it couldn’t possibly be Su Cheng at the door—after all, this was his own home. So… who could it be?
Ji Qingyi regained her usual cold and composed demeanor, walking back to the living room to sit down and leisurely sip a cup of tea.
Soon, louder knocking came from outside, practically demanding that someone answer the door.
Liu Qingyue frowned, annoyed, as she looked toward the entrance. In her current outfit, she felt uneasy and embarrassed about meeting an outsider and had no desire to open the door.
"If only the crow were here," she sighed inwardly. If the crow were around, she could at least threaten the silly bird to peck at the idiot knocking outside.
But alas, the crow had vanished the moment Su Cheng left for school in the morning, unwilling to stay alone with her.
In the end, seeing the knocking persist, she decided to check who it was.
Ji Qingyi, seated on the sofa, glanced up at her and gave a look that clearly said, "Hurry up and open the door."
Resigned, Liu Qingyue walked to the door, leaned in, and peeked through the peephole with one eye closed.
And there—
Standing outside was a petite, golden-haired girl.
It was Cornelia.
Cornelia was holding a ceramic pot of soup, knocking on the door with her head in such a clumsy manner that it left Liu Qingyue utterly baffled.
Was it because both her hands were occupied, forcing her to resort to such an awkward method?
But why insist on carrying the heavy pot in the first place?
Couldn’t she just set it down and then knock?!
Though Liu Qingyue had plenty of sarcastic remarks swirling in her mind, she remained silent, observing the fool outside.
"I saw you come home—why won’t you open the door?" Cornelia called out loudly, mistakenly believing Su Cheng was deliberately ignoring her.
Hearing this, Liu Qingyue’s heart skipped a beat: Had Su Cheng already returned? Then why hadn’t he come straight home?
Unless…
Just then, Cornelia grew increasingly impatient. She bent down, set the pot on the ground, and began rummaging through her skirt for a key to unlock the door herself.
But with Liu Qingyue standing guard like a fortress, Cornelia had no chance of succeeding. Eventually, she gave up.
"Is the lock broken?" Cornelia muttered, her eyes reddening slightly as she turned the key fruitlessly. "Or… do you not want to see me?"
Just as Liu Qingyue thought Cornelia would finally leave, the girl instead curled up in front of the door like a dejected puppy, hugging her knees as if waiting for Su Cheng to appear.
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, a familiar male voice came from the elevator.
"I thought you were home," Cornelia said, standing up in surprise.
"Nope."
"Did you change the lock?" She pointed at the door.
"No. Maybe it’s broken," Su Cheng explained as he stepped into view of the peephole.
"Oh. Well, here—this is for you." Cornelia bent down again, picking up the pot and handing it to him.
"You brought me soup again? Thanks." Su Cheng accepted it with an awkward smile.
Behind the door, Liu Qingyue silently prayed Su Cheng would hurry up and send this golden-haired nuisance away before she caused any more trouble. After all, she and this girl already had a history of messy incidents.
Like that incident with Su Yue…
"Yesterday, I saw a cat at school that looked just like you."
"Really? Then it must’ve been very handsome."
"Don’t flatter yourself. Anyway, since the lock’s broken, where are you staying tonight?"
"I’ll call a locksmith to fix it."
"Make sure you finish the soup, then."
"Got it. But next time, you really don’t have to bring me any. I feel bad."
"My family made too much, so I brought some over. Don’t misunderstand—if you don’t like it, just throw it away."
"It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just—"
"No need to explain. My mom’s waiting for me, so I’ll head back now."
"Alright. See you."
Once their conversation ended, Su Cheng held the pot and prepared to unlock the door. Liu Qingyue quickly stepped back, smoothing out her maid outfit and forcing a sweet, practiced smile—the kind you’d see in a maid café.
Click~ The door opened, and—
"Welcome home. Would you like dinner, a bath, or perhaps… me?" Liu Qingyue asked in a saccharine voice, playing the part of a doting maid.
"Whoa!" Su Cheng stared at her in shock. "Cosplay maid?"
"I am a maid!" She rolled her eyes before resuming her sugary smile, lifting the sides of her skirt in a curtsy.
Su Cheng was momentarily entranced, even reaching for his phone to take a picture—but Liu Qingyue snatched it away and shut off the screen. "You haven’t answered my question yet."
"You didn’t finish asking it," he countered, pocketing his phone. "What was the last option?"
"Or perhaps a friendly chat with the young mistress first?"
She stepped aside, gesturing for him to look at the figure seated on the sofa in the living room.
"The club president is here?"
Su Cheng walked in, surprised, and saw Ji Qingyi sitting elegantly on the couch.
"Sorry for intruding," she said coolly, standing to give a slight bow.
"President, no need to be so formal."
Su Cheng set the pot on the coffee table and hurried to offer her a seat, with Liu Qingyue following closely behind.
"I’ll be troubling you for the next few days."
After sitting down, Ji Qingyi glanced at Liu Qingyue behind her, then back at Su Cheng—making it clear she already knew about Liu Qingyue staying at his place.
"You forgiving me is mercy enough."
Su Cheng shook his head. "I’m sorry for hiding it from you."
Ji Qingyi took a sip of tea. "There’s no need for empty pleasantries between us."
"Young mistress, the food will get cold," Liu Qingyue interjected, nudging Su Cheng toward the sink. "Everything’s ready—go wash up first."
"Right. You’ve worked hard today."
Su Cheng nodded and headed to the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Liu Qingyue walked into the kitchen, carrying a plate of scrambled eggs to the dining table. Ji Qingyi looked like she wanted to stop her, but before she could speak, Su Cheng reemerged.
"What’s wrong?"
"N-nothing."
Ji Qingyi averted her eyes guiltily and stood. "Let’s eat."
Su Cheng nodded and took his seat.
The two sat down, while Liu Qingyue remained standing behind Ji Qingyi, refusing to join them.
"Senior, eat with us," Su Cheng offered.
But she shook her head. "No need. I have my principles."
"Understood."
He didn’t press further. Then, as if remembering something, he stood and brought the ceramic pot to the table.
"This is soup someone gave me. It’s pretty good."
"Allow me."
Liu Qingyue began ladling the soup for them. "My cooking isn’t anything special, but this should at least be edible."
"Senior, don't be modest."
Su Cheng smiled and praised, "It's delicious."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Liu Qingyue nodded expressionlessly before retreating behind Ji Qingyi, silently observing the dining table.
Su Cheng focused intently on tasting each dish and offering his compliments.
Meanwhile, Ji Qingyi maintained an aloof demeanor throughout, yet carefully watched Su Cheng's every move with his chopsticks, especially anxious that he might touch the scrambled eggs.
Every time his hand moved toward the scrambled eggs, she would tense up, gripping her chopsticks tightly.
Liu Qingyue noticed this, her eyes glinting with mischief.
Finally, Su Cheng's chopsticks landed on the plate of scrambled eggs. At that moment, time seemed to freeze as the two women held their breath, waiting for his reaction.
Then, Su Cheng slowly picked up a bite of scrambled eggs and placed it in his mouth, beginning to savor it.
Ji Qingyi's heart raced with nervousness, her gaze fixed on Su Cheng, afraid to miss even the slightest detail.
Though Su Cheng had the ability to control his expressions, he couldn’t keep it up at all times, so she wanted to observe his face to gauge his true opinion of the dish.
However, at that moment, Su Cheng suddenly paused, pulling a small piece of eggshell from his mouth.
The room fell into dead silence.
Ji Qingyi stared at him in shock. "I must have left a terrible impression on you today." She turned to scold Liu Qingyue, "You started showing off before you even mastered cooking. You’ve utterly disgraced the Ji family."
Hearing this, Liu Qingyue lowered her head in apology. "I’m sorry, Young Mistress. I was too careless."
"Take this failure away at once!"
"Yes!"
"Wait!" Su Cheng suddenly called out, standing up and taking the plate of scrambled eggs. "President, please forgive my boldness. I don’t consider this scrambled eggs a failure."
As he finished speaking, an eerie atmosphere filled the room, and both women looked at him in surprise.
"Are you sure?" Ji Qingyi asked.
Su Cheng nodded, placing the scrambled eggs in front of her. "I think its flavor is truly unique—the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever tasted."
Liu Qingyue retreated behind her young mistress, a faint smile tugging at her lips, clearly understanding why.
"First, its texture is as soft as silk. When it touches the tip of my tongue, it’s like embarking on an endless culinary journey." Su Cheng took another bite, then pulled out another piece of eggshell.
This made Ji Qingyi frown. "How can scrambled eggs with eggshells be a success?"
Su Cheng shook his head. "On the contrary, the presence of a few eggshells makes this dish even more distinctive."
He then stood up and looked at Liu Qingyue. "Senior, was this your first time cooking with eggs?"
"That’s right."
Liu Qingyue nodded.
Su Cheng took a deep breath, his face lighting up with excitement as he spoke firmly. "This was your first attempt at cooking with eggs for me. Even if you weren’t skilled, you still mustered the courage to make this dish for me. That’s why, to me, it’s extraordinary."
He then turned to Ji Qingyi, speaking earnestly. "In short, this dish was prepared by Senior with care for me. It’s anything but a failure—it’s filled with love, sincerity, and it’s deeply moving!"
Su Cheng’s expression was solemn and resolute, his eyes shining with determination, as if to prove his point.
Logically, Ji Qingyi should have been furious at being lectured by Su Cheng, but instead, she felt an inexplicable joy. Still, she deliberately scoffed. "Nonsense. If you want to defend her, there’s no need to resort to such clumsy excuses."
Su Cheng remained serious, his tone unwavering as he gazed at the scrambled eggs like a devotee. "President, you don’t understand. I tasted something special in this dish—it’s absolutely not a failure!"
With that, he picked up another bite of scrambled eggs, chewing slowly. Each time he swallowed, he pulled out another piece of eggshell, yet his face radiated pure bliss.
"Without a doubt, this plate of scrambled eggs is the star of today’s meal!"