No Puppy Love

Xia Yanchun was actually quite looking forward to eating the breakfast Shen Nian made.

Having gotten used to Shen Nian bringing her breakfast, if he didn't, she simply planned to skip it.

Making congee or anything herself was really something she didn't want to do; ordering takeout seemed more worthwhile. Anyway, she was just staying home reading, so eating breakfast or not didn't matter.

But since Shen Nian had cooked breakfast and even sent her a message, he definitely wanted her to go over and eat. Fine, she'd be magnanimous and grace him with her presence.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she checked her phone and saw Shen Nian's utterly bewildering message.

'Love potion'? Really? Hah, Shen Nian is still such a weirdo.

She wasn't scared at all. Shen Nian had always been a smooth-talker and a total oddball; nothing he said would surprise her.

Casually throwing on a jacket, Xia Yanchun trotted out the door and lightly knocked on the opposite one.

"Who is it?" Shen Nian's voice came from inside.

"Your big sister."

"Uh, my sister's name is Shen Yue."

"Just open the door!" Xia Yanchun huffed and gave the door a slap.

The door opened shortly after. Shen Nian was a whole head taller than her, and standing close, she had to tilt her head up a bit to look at him.

"Well, look who it is," Shen Nian grinned, showing his teeth. "Sorry, you're too short; I couldn't see you through the peephole just now."

"How could you not see me?!" Xia Yanchun took a deep breath. Good thing it wasn't that time of the month, or Shen Nian would really have pissed her off to death.

Shen Nian let her in and turned back towards the kitchen. "I saw you cursed me out and then ignored me, thought you weren't coming. Should've said something sooner, I could've reheated the congee earlier."

Following him into the kitchen, Xia Yanchun peeked at the pork and rice congee in the pot. It had been sitting for who knows how long and had congealed a bit. Shen Nian had to add a little extra water while reheating it.

"You should look at what you said yourself! Don't you know why I cursed you out? 'Love potion'..."

"Do you want some chicken? It's guaranteed delicious. If you do, I'll heat it up for you," Shen Nian changed the subject.

"No need. Just reheat the congee, and I'll put a little in there to warm up with it later."

After saying that, Xia Yanchun ran off to sit on the sofa, acting entirely like she expected Shen Nian to serve her.

Shen Nian didn't mind. He brought her a small bowl, with a chicken wing buried underneath.

"Try it, see if it's good. Your buddy here was thinking of you the whole time while cooking breakfast, that's why I said I put a love potion in it."

Xia Yanchun shuddered, feeling a bit nauseated. "You're so cringe."

"Damn!"

Shen Nian was both annoyed and amused. Allergic to sweet talk?

Folks, is my sweet talk really that cringey?

The reheated congee steamed faintly. Xia Yanchun carefully took it, blew on it, picked up a spoon with refined grace, and took a sip.

Shen Nian plopped down right next to her, squeezing in. "Well?"

"You didn't use a pre-made meal kit to make this, did you?"

"......"

Shen Nian felt tears of despair welling up.

Not cool, man. I'm proficient in cooking! I'm not asking you to magically find it delicious, but don't make it sound like I used a pre-made kit, okay?

He wouldn't say anything about pre-made kits for breakfast shop staples like century egg congee, seafood congee, or millet congee, but this pot here was made entirely by his own hands.

"Just say I cooked it badly, please! I'm begging you!" Shen Nian felt like getting on his knees.

"I never said you used a pre-made kit for the congee, I was just asking... since I don't usually see you make congee."

"You scared me. Can you not say such frightening things in the future?"

"Hehe..." Xia Yanchun's eyes curved into smiles. "What's the big deal? Supermarkets sell pre-made congee kits. Even if you really used one, I wouldn't say anything."

"So, is it good?"

"It's okay, I guess. Tastes about the same as what my mom makes. Pork congee always tastes pretty much the same anyway. But my family likes to add minced ginger; eating ginger helps drive away the cold. Yours has whole chunks, can't eat those."

Shen Nian breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as it's edible, that's fine. If you can't eat the ginger, don't. If you feel cold, I'll just warm you up myself."

Xia Yanchun looked at him like he was a pervert. "Your ulterior motives are written all over your face!"

While talking, she kept glancing towards Shen Yue's room, wondering if she was awake yet.

She could no longer deny the ambiguous relationship between her and Shen Nian, but still... she didn't want others to find out so quickly, especially not acquaintances.

Puppy love or anything like that... absolutely does not exist! Absolutely impossible! Absolutely not admitting to it!

It's just a bit of ambiguity, that's all! Not puppy love!

"Actually, I'm not that keen on helping you either."

"Pfft, saving face. Being rejected isn't embarrassing; being afraid to face it is."

"I didn't even take it to heart, okay?"

Shen Nian immediately changed his expression, putting on a careless demeanor. He propped his legs up on the coffee table, picked up the TV remote, and pretended to look for a movie to watch. But his hand had already stealthily crept from the back of the sofa over to Xia Yanchun's side.

His arm rested on Xia Yanchun's shoulder, but Shen Nian's face remained expressionless.

Xia Yanchun rolled her eyes to herself, figuring Shen Yue probably wouldn't be awake at this hour. Anyway, it was just an arm around the shoulder, so she let him be.

If Shen Yue were in the living room, she'd win if Shen Nian dared to touch her even once.

"Want to watch something? I'll turn it on for you."

"I'm going back after I finish breakfast."

"Going back to study?" Shen Nian glanced at her.

"What else? Aren't you studying?"

"I already did. Studied after cooking the congee. Got bored after studying, that's why I messaged you."

(Actually, I was playing Sanguosha. Lying to you.)

Xia Yanchun took another sip of congee and asked, "Did you work out today?"

"Yep, yep. Have you ever seen the park at 5 AM? I have."

"What do you even do when you work out? Jogging or what?"

"Jogging, using the park equipment for pull-ups and stuff. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." Xia Yanchun really was just curious. Although she knew Shen Nian exercised every day, and his muscles were proof, she never had a chance to actually see him do it.

She couldn't get up that early.

"What's there to be curious about..."

"Curious is just curious. I'm finished."

Xia Yanchun got up to wash the bowl. The cold water made her hands red and itchy, and she wanted to put on some hand cream quickly.

"Do you have 'Dabao' at your place?"

"Yeah, we do." Shen Nian fetched the family's Dabao cream for her.

Xia Yanchun immediately applied it to her little hands. She should've been lazier and made Shen Nian wash the bowl. His hands were always warm.

But then she suddenly realized... she didn't actually feel that cold? Even her hands, just washed in cold water, only felt cold for a moment and were already warm again...

When the weather was cold, her hands and feet easily turned icy when sleeping, and it was the same during class at school. Even after a hot shower, her limbs would uncontrollably become cold again not long after.

Now, not just her hands, but even her feet didn't have that icy feeling. She was even wearing slippers, and her whole body felt somewhat warm and cozy.

"What's wrong?" Shen Nian noticed her suddenly holding the Dabao cream in a daze and asked, puzzled, "Did my time-stop technique actually work?"

"What the heck..."

Shen Nian looked disappointed. "So it didn't stop time after all..."

"Get lost!"

What on earth are you disappointed about?!

Xia Yanchun, both angry and embarrassed, reached up to pinch his pig ear.

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