A Distant Niece

Song Yihe sat in his car.

He turned on the air conditioning, then pressed the button to play some music.

He didn't usually listen to music while driving. He had seen too many victims of car accidents in the emergency room.

He was very careful behind the wheel. Driving was driving; he didn't need any entertainment.

But today, he turned on the music, as if listening to the songs could ease the restlessness inside him.

Soothing music began to play.

Song Yihe suddenly laughed out loud.

He really was bewitched.

It wasn't as if he had no other place. He owned a fully furnished apartment in a mid-rise building in a nearby residential complex.

Failing that, he could have helped her find another short-term rental.

So what had possessed him to invite her to live in his home?

He admitted that, the moment she agreed, he had felt a surge of joy. It was as if his heart had been suspended high in the air and had suddenly landed on solid ground.

Ever since he was young, he had never lacked for girls who liked him.

He often wondered how any girl could like someone like him, aloof and cold, with such a high opinion of himself.

The only woman he had ever been somewhat close to was Tang Jingwen, who had grown up with him.

But he felt no differently about Tang Jingwen than he did about his younger cousins.

He knew perfectly well that he had never encountered anything like love.

When had he started noticing An Zhiwu?

Was it the moment she said, "I'll wait for you"?

Or when he ran into her at the park, diligently exercising as he had told her to?

Or when he saw her happily eating on a livestream?

As these thoughts ran wild through his head, he spotted An Zhiwu coming out of the elevator lobby, carrying a suitcase and two large bags.

Song Yihe got out of the car and walked over.

He took the suitcase from her and glanced at the two large bags in her hands. "What's in these?"

An Zhiwu tightened her grip. "Um, Dr. Song, there's something I forgot to tell you."

"What is it?"

An Zhiwu braced herself and said nervously, "Besides photography and photo editing, I actually have a side job. I'm a food streamer, and I livestream two or three times a week. I might need to use your kitchen. I know a lot of people don't like the smell of cooking fumes, so if you mind, it's not too late to change your mind. I can stay somewhere else."

Song Yihe was silent for a moment. "It's fine. I don't mind. Make yourself at home."

With that, he pulled the suitcase along with one hand, picked up her two large bags of vegetables with the other, and headed for the car.

An Zhiwu watched Song Yihe effortlessly carry the suitcase in one hand and the shopping bags in the other.

She couldn't help thinking of the boyfriends who had helped their girlfriends move out of their dorms when her school changed campuses.

At that moment, she understood a little of how those female classmates had felt.

A boyfriend might not always be useful, but he was definitely useful when it came to moving!

Wait, no. What am I thinking?

Since when did Song Yihe become my boyfriend?

Burning with embarrassment, An Zhiwu silently gave herself two resounding slaps in the face. That'll teach you to let your thoughts run wild!

Then she immediately jogged to catch up with Song Yihe.

Inside the car, An Zhiwu sat in the passenger seat.

She straightened her back of her own accord, like an elementary school student in class.

At the thought that she was about to move into Yihe Garden and "live together" with Song Yihe, she still found it unbelievable.

If she had to describe how she felt at that moment, there was no better word than: Hehe~ hehe~

Perhaps it was because of where her thoughts had wandered.

In the cramped, enclosed space of the car, she felt a little hot.

Apparently, Song Yihe felt the same way, because a few seconds later, she saw him turn the air conditioning up a notch.

An Zhiwu felt obliged to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"Dr. Song, do you usually like to cook?"

"I hardly ever have time to cook. I usually eat out or at the hospital cafeteria." After saying that, Song Yihe suddenly turned to look at her. "You said you're also a food streamer, right?"

An Zhiwu nodded. "Yes, but I'm an amateur."

Song Yihe looked as if he understood, then said, "It seems the girls in your family all enjoy cooking?"

Huh? What does he mean?

An Zhiwu didn't understand for a moment.

What did he mean, the girls in her family? Did he know another girl in her family?

That shouldn't be possible...

Seeing her bewildered expression, Song Yihe suddenly wanted to tease her. "Didn't you say your mother wanted to introduce me to her distant niece? That girl's hobby was cooking too. Don't you remember?"

Holy crap!

An Zhiwu had long since forgotten all about it. Now that Song Yihe had brought it up himself, she blushed all the way to the roots of her ears.

"Oh, that. That was the plan at first, but then I found out my cousin actually liked someone, so we dropped it."

Song Yihe sighed with feigned regret. "That's such a shame. I thought I was finally going to stop being single."

An Zhiwu rubbed her nose, not daring to make a sound.

The car fell quiet for a while, with only the soothing music flowing through it.

Suddenly, An Zhiwu's stomach let out an ill-timed rumble.

An Zhiwu practically wanted to abandon the car and flee!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the dream Barbie castle An Zhiwu has dug out with her toes.

"Hungry? Should we stop and eat first?"

Song Yihe was a little hungry too. When Ms. Zhang called him, he had just finished an operation and was about to write up the procedure in his office.

As a result, he hadn't eaten dinner yet either.

Surgery was physically demanding work, and he had been starving for some time.

An Zhiwu had bought a lot of ingredients today, intending to livestream today and tomorrow.

But the water pipe in her apartment had burst, so she couldn't livestream.

Now, hearing Song Yihe suggest stopping for food, she hurriedly waved her hands. "No need, no need. I bought lots of ingredients today. If you don't mind, I can quickly stir-fry a few dishes later."

"Okay."

How could he possibly mind? After eating so many frozen dumplings, heaven knew how much he had wanted to taste her food while watching her livestreams.

I need to find a way to eat her cooking a few more times.

Song Yihe fell into thought as he drove.

An Zhiwu discovered that Song Yihe's home was even bigger than Xia Qian's.

It had three parking spaces in the underground and aboveground lots alone.

There was also a huge yard.

Apart from two bare trees, there was nothing in the yard.

An Zhiwu couldn't help marveling that rich people really didn't know how to enjoy life. If it were hers, she would divide the yard in two and grow flowers in one half and vegetables in the other. Wouldn't that be lovely?

The front door of Song Yihe's home had a keypad lock. He entered the code, then turned to An Zhiwu. "The code is 1130, my birthday. If you can't remember it, you can register your fingerprint and use it to unlock the door next time."

1130. An Zhiwu silently committed his birthday to memory.