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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grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
