Su Wanqing lunged toward the kitchen island like a starving leopard, staggering forward with reckless ferocity! She had only one target—the white mug in Ling Ye's hand, radiating chaotic starry light and an intoxicating fragrance!
What executive poise? What fear and reverence? What shattered worldview? At that moment, all of them were thrown beyond the ninth heaven! That bowl of God-tier Instant Noodles, empowered by Chaos Origin Qi, was the only salvation for her famished body and soul! It was a sweet spring in the desert, a light in the depths of despair!
Ling Ye was holding the mug and preparing to continue enjoying it when a gust carrying an intense aura of longing rushed into his face. He slightly turned his head, his calm, undisturbed gaze sweeping toward the charging Su Wanqing.
He did not block her or rebuke her.
There was not even the slightest trace of surprise or displeasure at being disturbed in his deep eyes. It was as if the one rushing at him was not a beautiful billionaire CEO, but a stray cat... coming to beg for food because it was hungry?
Just as Su Wanqing's fingers were about to touch the mug's scalding-hot side—
The hand Ling Ye held the mug with shifted casually to the side... a few centimeters.
The movement was neither large nor fast, yet it seemed to have calculated every inch of space, avoiding Su Wanqing's "pounce" with precise, effortless ease.
"Thud!"
Su Wanqing had used too much force and could not stop herself in time. Her upper body slammed heavily into the cold marble countertop of the kitchen island! The hard edge dug painfully into her breastbone, and tears nearly shot from her eyes.
"Ugh!" she cried out in pain, sprawled awkwardly across the counter. Her arm was still stretching forward futilely, only a hair's breadth away from the mug!
Inside the mug, the amber, glasslike broth rippled slightly as chaotic starlight swirled within it. The noodles gleamed like jade, the beef shone brilliantly, and the fragrance burrowed even more aggressively into her nostrils, making all her internal organs wail!
"My..." Su Wanqing raised her head, tears glistening in her eyes—half from pain and half from craving. Her voice was thick with sobs and desperate accusation. "Let me have one bite... just one! Please!"
Ling Ye looked down at Su Wanqing, who was baring her teeth from the pain while her eyes remained glued to the mug. Then he looked at the half-serving of noodles and broth still left inside. On his eternally expressionless face, his brows shifted almost imperceptibly, as if he were... thinking?
A moment later, under Su Wanqing's desperate yet yearning gaze, Ling Ye made his decision.
He did not hand the mug over.
Instead... he casually picked up the disposable plastic fork inside it.
Unhurriedly, he stirred the contents, then precisely speared... a single noodle.
One noodle.
Only one translucent noodle, its jade-like luster flowing along its surface, wrapped in wisps of chaotic starry light!
Then he raised his wrist. With the casualness of feeding koi in a pond, he brought the solitary noodle on the fork to Su Wanqing's lips.
"Here." His voice remained as flat as ever.
Su Wanqing: "..."
She looked at the noodle before her, radiating a fatal temptation as though it contained the essence of heaven and earth. Then she looked at Ling Ye's calm expression, as if he were saying, "I'll reward you with one to taste." A tremendous sense of grievance and absurdity instantly overwhelmed her reason!
But... her body's instincts were faster than her thoughts!
"Omph!"
With a fierce determination, she opened her mouth and snapped up the noodle in one bite! Her movement was as swift as a crocodile seizing its prey!
The instant the noodle entered her mouth—
"Boom—!"
An indescribable, exquisite freshness and gentle power, seemingly born from the very origin of life, exploded inside her mouth! The noodle seemed to possess a life of its own, melting the instant it entered! It transformed into a warm current carrying the purest wheat fragrance, an indescribably rich meaty aroma—despite there being only one noodle—and the Chaos Origin Qi that cleansed the soul and nourished all things. It slid down her throat and surged through every limb and bone!
Her exhaustion melted away in an instant like snow beneath the sun! The headache caused by staying up late and the palpitations left by fear were gently soothed by the warm current! Every cell in her body cried out in satisfaction, cheering almost like it was moaning! A warm, powerful sensation filled her from head to toe, making her feel as if she had instantly become ten years younger! Her mind was clearer and sharper than ever before, as though her brain had been thoroughly cleansed by the purest spiritual spring!
This... this was no noodle! This was clearly an immortal pill! No! It was a hundred times more miraculous than an immortal pill!
After swallowing one noodle, the soul-stirring craving not only failed to ease, but became even more turbulent after she had tasted such supreme delicacy! It was as if Pandora's box had been opened!
"More!" Su Wanqing abruptly raised her head. Her eyes gleamed frighteningly brightly, containing nothing but greed and longing for the ultimate delicacy. Her earlier fear and restraint had been cast to the ends of the earth! She even subconsciously licked her lips, savoring the incomparable flavor.
Ling Ye, however, had already withdrawn the fork. Without even looking at Su Wanqing's green-eyed, desperate gaze, he picked up the mug and poured the remaining broth, along with several pieces of top-grade "braised beef" glowing with chaotic radiance, straight into his mouth.
"Slurp—gulp!"
A satisfied swallowing sound.
Then he set down the empty mug.
Su Wanqing's gaze was instantly drawn to the empty mug as if by a magnet, pinning itself firmly to it! Several drops of amber-colored broth remained on the inner wall, with chaotic starry light not yet completely faded from them...
Her reason told her: That was someone else's leftovers! She was licking the bottom of the bowl! It was an extremely improper thing to do!
But her body and soul, crazily tempted by the lingering aftertaste and residual fragrance of that exquisite delicacy, issued an earth-shaking command: Lick it! She had to lick it! Not a single drop could be wasted!
Under Ling Ye's calm gaze, Su Wanqing's pretty face instantly flushed crimson, the result of an intense battle between shame and desire. Her body trembled slightly from the effort of restraining herself, and her eyes wavered as she struggled inwardly.
In the end...
Her longing for the remaining essence of God-tier Instant Noodles crushed the last shred of shame belonging to the president of the Su Corporation with an overwhelming advantage!
She abruptly reached out and snatched up the white mug, which still retained a trace of warmth!
Under Ling Ye's gaze, which seemed to see through everything yet remained utterly emotionless, Su Wanqing closed her eyes as if she were carrying out some kind of sacred ritual. With the tragic determination of someone who had decided to throw caution to the wind, she buried her face... in the mouth of the mug!
"Slurp... slurp..."
Clear, greedy licking sounds rang out in the morning living room.
She extended her delicate little tongue and, with utmost seriousness and utmost reverence, licked every drop of amber broth clinging to the mug's inner wall, every wisp of chaotic starlight attached to it, and even the nearly invisible bits of vegetable. She cleaned them all meticulously, without missing a thing... by licking them away!
She looked so focused, as if she were performing a salvation ritual concerning life itself.
Ling Ye watched in silence, his gaze still calm. It was as if this sight—enough to leave anyone who knew Su Wanqing utterly dumbfounded—was no more remarkable than a leaf falling in a morning garden.
Only after Su Wanqing had licked the mug inside and out until it shone as brightly as if it had been washed—indeed, even cleaner than that—did she finally lift her head reluctantly, still unsatisfied. Her face carried a satisfied flush from the licking, along with a trace of... impossible-to-hide embarrassment? She looked at Ling Ye and moved her lips, seemingly wanting to say something, yet not knowing how to begin.
Ling Ye's gaze shifted from her face to the mug, which had been licked until it gleamed brilliantly.
"Hmm." As if he had finally completed a task, he nodded and calmly concluded, "The bowl... was washed fairly well."
Su Wanqing: "..."
She felt hot blood rush straight to the top of her head! Washed fairly well?! Had she been washing a bowl just now?! That had been a sacred act of worship! Bastard!
The overwhelming shame and grievance at being misunderstood instantly drowned her, making her want to dig a hole and crawl into it. Yet the warm comfort and abundant strength deep within her, brought by the nourishment of Chaos Origin Qi, made it impossible for her to truly become angry with this man.
Just as she was dying of shame and outrage, with no idea how to conduct herself, Ling Ye's voice rang out again. It carried a hint of laziness after breakfast, yet the question he threw out made Su Wanqing feel as if she had fallen into an ice cavern:
"All right." He clapped his hands and finally turned a serious gaze on Su Wanqing, as if assessing the value of an object. "You've eaten the noodles and stayed here... Now, it's time to discuss the 'rent.'"
The word "rent" was like two icicles, stabbing viciously into Su Wanqing's heart, which had only just been wrapped in warmth!
She abruptly raised her head and met Ling Ye's calm, undisturbed eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything. The pitch-black short rod from last night that could crush the ages, the chaotic little basin that seemed to be the entrance to the annihilation of all things, the pressure that had frozen the vegetation and souls in an instant... Every terrifying memory came rushing back!
What would this "immortal" demand as rent...? Her soul? Her company? Or... something buried beneath this house that she knew nothing about?
Overwhelming fear seized her once more, instantly freezing the warmth brought by God-tier Instant Noodles! Her complexion turned even paler than it had when she was licking the bottom of the mug! Her body began to tremble slightly, completely beyond her control.
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