This is killing me! Who could withstand such a trial?

Inside the kitchen, the stove was simmering on low heat, and the iron pot gave off a pleasant gurgling sound. The rich, fragrant aroma of fish soup wafted out from the kitchen, spreading through the air—absolutely delightful...

On the table sat four cooked dishes: sour-spicy shredded potatoes, sweet-and-sour spare ribs, stir-fried kidney, and pan-fried beltfish. All of them were dishes Lin Li loved!

Well... no, actually, as long as Su Yue was the one cooking, Lin Li would eat anything she made without complaint—he loved it all.

"Gulp."

For the past couple of days, it had been nothing but Egg and Shredded Pork Noodles or self-heating rice. Lin Li was now desperately craving a proper home-cooked meal. Seeing this table full of dishes, his mouth watered, and he swallowed hard.

"What are you standing around for? Sit down! I'll go get the fish soup." Su Yue came up behind Lin Li and reached out to pat him on the shoulder.

"Oh." Lin Li nodded, quickly pulled out a chair, and sat down. Watching Su Yue's swaying figure as she walked slowly into the kitchen to ladle out the fish soup, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

"Man, Su Yue is both gorgeous and a great cook. If she were my girlfriend... eh, stop dreaming. There's a whole crowd chasing after Su Yue—what chance do I have?"

Lin Li shook his head, dismissing his unrealistic fantasy. Then he remembered he had something very important he'd forgotten to do.

"Su Yue, my phone's almost dead. Can I borrow your charger to charge it?"

"The charger's on the nightstand in my bedroom. Go grab it yourself!" Su Yue called out from the kitchen as she ladled the soup.

Lin Li got up from the dining table and headed toward Su Yue's bedroom.

"Click."

He pushed open the door to Su Yue's bedroom and stepped inside. Immediately, a faint orchid-like fragrance hit him—such a pleasant scent, definitely not perfume.

Lin Li instinctively sniffed a couple of times, then reached out to turn on the light.

As the light flicked on, the darkness in the room was quickly dispelled.

His gaze landed on the nightstand, and he spotted the charger Su Yue had mentioned. He walked over, bent down, and picked it up.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of Su Yue's bed. That one casual glance made him freeze in his tracks.

On the white bedsheet, several pieces of purple lace underwear stood out starkly.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Just as Lin Li was standing there dumbfounded, footsteps sounded from outside the door.

The footsteps were a bit hurried, which meant the person behind them was feeling anxious.

There was no one else in the house besides himself and Su Yue, so who the footsteps belonged to was obvious.

Snapped out of his daze by the hurried footsteps, Lin Li quickly averted his gaze and pretended nothing was wrong as he walked toward the door.

He had barely reached the bedroom entrance when he collided with Su Yue, who was rushing in.

"Ah!" Su Yue let out a startled cry as she bumped into Lin Li, her body tilting to one side.

Just as she was about to fall to the floor, Lin Li reacted quickly, reaching out his right hand to grab her flailing, fair, and delicate wrist.

With a slight tug, Su Yue stumbled forward and fell into Lin Li's arms.

The first collision had been sudden, and Lin Li hadn't felt much. But this close contact made him acutely aware of Su Yue's generous bosom.

A situation like this would rattle even a seasoned veteran, let alone a rookie like Lin Li, who had never had a girlfriend.

To avoid embarrassing himself in front of Su Yue, Lin Li quickly placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away from his chest.

"You scared me to death." Su Yue patted her ample chest, the dramatic rise and fall creating a scene so imposing that Lin Li couldn't bring himself to look... too fierce.

"I'm starving. I'm going to eat." He muttered a flustered reply and hurried off toward the dining room.

Standing there, Su Yue watched Lin Li's panicked retreat, then looked at her bed.

The purple underwear was lying conspicuously on the bedsheet.

Thinking about how Lin Li had just seen those pieces of clothing, Su Yue—usually so carefree around him—felt a blush creep across her fair cheeks.

At the dining table, Lin Li and Su Yue ate in silence, completely unlike their usual lively meals together.

"Ugh, so awkward. Why did I rush off like that?" Lin Li stared intently at the dishes in front of him, not daring to glance at Su Yue's expression.

"How embarrassing. I should have put the dried clothes into the wardrobe..." Though Su Yue felt a bit shy, she handled it more calmly. As she ate, she secretly observed Lin Li.

When she saw him completely absorbed in the task of eating, her embarrassment gradually faded. Why am I even embarrassed? It's not like this coward would dare to tease me.

The quiet dining atmosphere didn't last long. Once Su Yue's shyness had completely faded, she was the first to break the silence.

"Lin Li, now that you've graduated from college, what are your plans for the future?"

What plans for the future? I plan to hunt mutant beasts in the wild, feed that Miracle Small Tree on the Mysterious Small Island until it's full, and make it grow one miraculous little fruit after another. Then I'll eat those fruits, become a powerful Cultivator, earn a ton of money, marry a beautiful, rich girl, and reach the peak of life...

Ah, but I can't tell anyone about this grand ambition... I guess this is the period of restraint every strong person has to endure before achieving fame and success!

Lin Li, who had been focused on his meal, heard Su Yue's question, and a torrent of impassioned words flashed through his mind.

He swallowed the food in his mouth, turned to look at the beautiful and charming Su Yue, and replied with a look of utter lack of ambition, "Haven't figured it out yet. I'll just hang around for now. It's not like I'll starve."

Su Yue had rented Lin Li's place after graduating from college, and it had been about three years now. Over that time, various events had turned them from just landlord and tenant into very good friends.

Lin Li's mindset of staying cooped up at home, living the carefree life of a Salted Fish, was something Su Yue had known about for a long time.

However, Su Yue didn't want Lin Li to waste his prime years holed up at home like a salted fish.

"Even if you have some savings, just sitting around and depleting them isn't good either!"

Big sis! Don't talk about depleting savings—I don't even have a single cent on me right now, completely penniless...

Lin Li had a bitter taste in his mouth that he couldn't voice. If Su Yue hadn't called him over for a meal at her place just now, he wouldn't even have a place to charge his phone.