You'll have the energy at night only if you eat well now.

The sky had already darkened. The shimmering water carried a chilly breeze. Although it was already winter, Li Xingya didn't feel cold.

In fact, she felt an inexplicable warmth.

Her head was spinning, and a wonderful sense of happiness spread throughout her entire body. Without realizing when it happened, she found herself leaning into Su Bai's embrace. She suddenly snapped back to reality, instinctively feeling shy, but Su Bai's arms held her tightly. Li Xingya's body gradually relaxed, letting him do as he pleased.

Oh my, to suddenly do this to her without any warning... Li Xingya was absolutely ecstatic on the inside.

How should she put it? Actually, she had always longed for a man she liked, someone dominant enough to be a little forceful with her, and then... well, pretty much exactly what Su Bai was doing right now.

However, Li Xingya was also calmly aware that a person ultimately had to rely on themselves. Relying on luck to meet the right person was simply too difficult.

That was why she had always worked hard toward getting a high-paying job. She never expected that during her journey, she would meet such a great boss like Su Bai.

Suddenly, Li Xingya thought of something. Boss, if we act like this... won't Miss Chen be angry?

Haha, how could she? Look at me and those other girls, don't we all get along perfectly fine?

Mm, that's true.

Li Xingya admitted that what Su Bai said was indeed the truth.

Su Bai was one of the very few men she had ever seen who was surrounded by several top-tier beauties and yet managed to keep everything so harmonious.

This kind of harmony was not easy to come by.

Some bosses were great at making money, but when it came to handling women, they were actually no different from broke guys—they only relied on their net worth.

Su Bai, however, possessed a special kind of magic.

But, could she really share Su Bai's love with the other senior girls?

Ultimately, Li Xingya still lacked confidence.

Su Bai saw through her insecurity and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This girl's mind was truly pure. She was the type who wouldn't even dare to pick up a blessing that fell from the sky, afraid of the karmic strings attached.

Well, to use a somewhat funny analogy, she was like a gamer who avoided taking assists when teammates came to help, just to avoid getting involved and to manipulate their match score.

Except that a gamer did it for rankings, while Li Xingya simply believed in the primitive and straightforward process of effort equals reward.

This was incredibly rare among girls nowadays.

For some girls, stepping out the door and not finding money on the ground was considered a loss.

Anyway, just relax. You don't need to worry about anything. When you're with me, just enjoy yourself. Su Bai pinched her cheek, then suddenly turned serious. This is an order from your boss, hear me?

Mmhmm...

Li Xingya nodded while clinging to Su Bai's body.

She looked as if she wanted to say something but held back.

What's wrong? Just tell me what you want. You see how generous I am with the others. I'm a very straightforward person; as long as a girl is whole-heartedly devoted to me, I'll treat her very well.

I-I know. Boss, you've already been so good to me. Actually, I was just...

Li Xingya acted shy for a moment before bringing her glossy lips to Su Bai's ear to express her request.

As it turned out, she just wanted to keep kissing him.

Experiencing it for the first time, she had instantly fallen in love with the feeling.

Naturally, Su Bai obliged.

...

After lingering together for a while, the two separated.

Mainly because Li Xingya's stomach started growling. It was only then she realized she was genuinely hungry.

She had always had a big appetite. Among girls, this didn't seem to be considered a good trait, right? Those social media influencers all promoted having a bird-like appetite, but Li Xingya had absolutely nothing in common with eating like a bird.

To be honest, her parents didn't treat her very well either. Once, when her father was drunk, he complained that she ate too much and called her a money-losing burden.

Students with timid personalities often grew up being suppressed by their parents. In this regard, it was quite similar for both boys and girls.

Sometimes, unscrupulous teachers would even exacerbate this situation during their schooling.

Li Xingya remembered that her middle school math teacher used to reprimand her constantly.

She only found out later that a lot of what that teacher taught back then was completely wrong.

Let alone comparing them to the teachers at good middle schools in Jiangcheng, they weren't even considered good teachers back in her hometown.

If you wanted to be educated by a top teacher, you had to spend money and use connections to get into the advanced classes.

That was why Li Xingya swore after coming to Jiangcheng that she would work hard to make money, at least so her future children would have the financial backing to receive a good education.

... Then again, if she followed Boss Su, wouldn't her future children... end up going to an elite aristocratic school?

Good heavens, that was too huge of a leap.

What are you thinking about so intently? Su Bai, who was fiddling with the cooking utensils, saw Li Xingya spacing out, muttering silently to herself with a colorful array of expressions on her face, and couldn't help but tease her.

It was said that introverted girls actually had the most dramatic inner monologues.

N-nothing.

Li Xingya didn't dare speak nonsense. Su Bai was only eighteen! Uh, after the New Year, he should be considered nineteen?

Being so young, he was still a long way off from wanting kids.

In Li Xingya's impression, these carefree, super-rich guys usually dragged things out until their thirties before they even started thinking about having children.

It couldn't be helped; their lives were just too exciting. There were too many fun things to do, and before they knew it, they were in their thirties.

And now, she too could share in Su Bai's wonderful life.

Thinking this, a sweet smile appeared on Li Xingya's lips as she moved closer to Su Bai to help him cook.

They were having seafood paella tonight.

Seafood paella was a dish very suited for the outdoors, easily made using a portable stove.

They also set up a grill for a little barbecue.

Having a barbecue by the reservoir was a staple activity. When locals from Jiangcheng came here to hang out, having a BBQ was an absolute must.

Su Bai was chopping the seafood using a fish fillet knife he had just snagged from their partnered fresh food warehouse.

This knife had a bit of a backstory. It was said to have been used by a Japanese guy who opened a sushi restaurant in Jiangcheng. When the guy returned to his home country, he gave the knife to the warehouse manager, since the two were friends. But the manager figured he had no use for it since he didn't know how to cook at all.

So, he simply passed it on to Su Bai.

Li Xingya had no idea how to prepare these bizarre-looking fish, but helping Su Bai chop the vegetables was no problem at all.

As a result, the scene suddenly took on the cozy vibe of a young married couple living their everyday life.

Especially with Li Xingya tying her hair up, she gave off an even stronger young wife aura.

It was a very profound feeling, perhaps an aura that only truly good girls possessed.

She also smelled wonderful, the kind of scent that made one feel secure and relaxed.

I get the feeling you really like eating fish. That bento I gave you last time was pretty good, right?

Mmhmm, I like it... it was delicious!

That's why I'm preparing a few different kinds of fish to make a seafood paella... You need to eat your fill so you'll have energy for tonight.

Mmhmm...