"Any flavor is fine. Just use as little spice as possible. That stuff isn't good for the body."
Li Yang nodded without taking another look. Speaking as he walked, he entered his small room. Looking at the cramped space, he suddenly felt a wave of emotion.
This little room, which had kept him company for such a long time, was finally going to be left behind today.
After hearing Li Yang's preferences, Lin Shiyu immediately committed them to memory. While pondering how to make the food without adding spice, she proactively began helping Li Yang pack his things.
She opened the wardrobe to find a pile of clothes tossed in haphazardly. Lin Shiyu found a large bag and began packing Li Yang's clothes one by one. She showed no embarrassment even when she occasionally came across his underwear, calmly folding it away.
"Those clothes are already worn out anyway. Just take them out and throw them in the old-clothes recycling bin. There's no need to fold them so carefully."
When his underwear was pulled out, Li Yang became a little embarrassed instead. He couldn't help speaking up, but Lin Shiyu naturally believed that even things being thrown away should be tidied up first. He immediately shrugged and could only let her do as she pleased.
He soon began helping as well. Phone chargers, power banks, shoes, his laptop, and various other small things he had bought before—he packed the items he wanted to keep separately and put them aside, while stuffing everything he didn't want into the suitcases.
The two of them worked quickly, especially since Li Yang didn't have many belongings. By ten forty, they had cleaned everything out.
"You can go downstairs and throw away the things you don't want. I'll go pick the vegetables and cook first."
The air conditioner had been turned down to its lowest setting when they entered. Lin Shiyu had been busy for forty minutes and was a little tired, but fortunately she hadn't sweated much. After finishing up, she turned to Li Yang and said with a smile.
She had done quite a lot of the work while they were tidying the room today.
"Sure. I'll make two trips downstairs. You go ahead."
Li Yang nodded with a smile. Lin Shiyu beamed, tugged up her sleeves, and turned into the kitchen to pick the vegetables. Li Yang glanced at the chicken, ribs, and pigeon already simmering in three different pots, along with the various vegetables outside...
The rice in the cooker had already begun giving off a fragrant aroma.
"You really prepared quite a lot."
Li Yang chuckled. Seeing Lin Shiyu's long legs in black stockings as she busied herself with her back to him, the corners of his mouth lifted again. He then turned around, picked up two large bags of trash, and carried them out.
"Slow down. Don't bump into anything."
As he left, Lin Shiyu's reminder came from the kitchen. Carrying the bags into the elevator, Li Yang soon went from their floor to the old-item recycling area downstairs. He put the things that belonged there inside, then stuck notes on the items that were still somewhat useful but that he no longer wanted and left them by the roadside for anyone to take.
He ran back up for another load of trash, and the things in the rented apartment were basically dealt with. Li Yang washed his hands and went into the kitchen, intending to help Lin Shiyu pick the vegetables, only to find that she had already started the fire and was stir-frying.
"I picked the troublesome vegetables when I bought them. Just now, I was only peeling the scallions, ginger, and garlic."
Seeing Li Yang's troubled expression, Lin Shiyu smiled. "Go sit down and rest for a bit. Everything here is almost done."
"It's just the two of us. You don't need to make so much."
Seeing the food filling the kitchen, Li Yang couldn't help saying something. Although he had money now, he still preferred to follow the principle of making full use of everything. He didn't want to see anything wasted for no reason.
"It's fine. We can put whatever we don't finish in the refrigerator and eat it later."
Lin Shiyu smiled, showing her white teeth. Li Yang shook his head and said no more. He returned to the living room, stretched out on the sofa beneath the air conditioner, opened a home-buying app, and began browsing.
Aside from houses in Heyang City, he also wanted to look at houses in the county where his hometown was. After all, he would always have to return home eventually, and his hometown's county was some distance from Heyang City. Having a house in the county would make things more convenient.
Besides... even the most expensive house in the county only cost a little over five hundred thousand yuan. Easy peasy.
Thinking this, Li Yang looked through several houses and found them all fairly good. He would take a look when he went home.
Once he had nearly finished looking at the houses, the food happened to be ready as well. Lin Shiyu went to the bathroom to touch up her light makeup, then came over to call Li Yang to eat. Only then did Li Yang put away his phone and join her in carrying the dishes to the table.
"Three soups and three dishes? This is way too lavish."
The food had a home-cooked flavor once it was ready. Lin Shiyu served Li Yang a bowl of rice and brought it over, then handed him his chopsticks. Looking at the tableful of dishes, Li Yang couldn't help praising her.
"It's good as long as you like it. Hurry up and eat, hurry up."
Seeing his expression, Lin Shiyu couldn't help smiling. She carried her own rice over and sat beside him, proactively serving him a spoonful of pigeon soup.
Li Yang took a sip and was surprised to find that it really tasted quite good. He couldn't help asking whether she had studied cooking. Lin Shiyu shook her head. "I just cooked a lot in the past, and I always followed recipes. I suppose it came naturally."
The food was delicious and their moods were good, so the two of them chatted as they ate, following the subject wherever it led.
As they talked, the conversation gradually turned to relationships...
Once they started talking about relationships, their stomachs somehow became full before they realized it. Lin Shiyu's cheeks were flushed as she turned to look at Li Yang sitting beside her. "Li Yang, I'm actually quite willing to..."
"Knock, knock, knock..."
Lin Shiyu's cheeks were bright red as she tried to say something, but a series of sudden, urgent knocks came from the door. She looked at the entrance in surprise. "Who could it be at this hour?"
"I don't know. I'll go open the door and take a look."
Li Yang was also a little startled and had just begun to stand when Lin Shiyu rose first. "I'll go."
Seeing this, Li Yang left the dining table as well. He wiped his mouth, wondering what Lin Shiyu had been about to say, and sat down on the living-room sofa. Lin Shiyu opened the door and immediately froze. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, to come see you."
A familiar, ingratiating voice came from the doorway. Li Yang's brow furrowed, and immediately afterward he heard Lin Shiyu's cold voice. "We have nothing to do with each other anymore. I don't need you to come see me."
"Hey, don't rush to close the door. Let's go inside and talk, inside. It won't look good if the neighbors see this."
The ingratiating male voice followed. Lin Shiyu's attempt to close the door was forcibly stopped, and a somewhat familiar-looking man squeezed inside. Seeing this, Lin Shiyu turned angrily and walked straight toward the living room.
"Oh, this little brother is here too? I have something to discuss with my ex-wife, so why don't you step outside for a moment?"
The man approached the living room with a face full of smiles. When he saw Li Yang sitting on the sofa, his eyebrows twitched as he spoke.
"Sister Lin, who is this?"
Li Yang ignored the man in the suit who had walked in and instead turned to Lin Shiyu, who had come to stand beside him, asking softly.
"Don't know him. He's a stranger. I have no idea what's wrong with him—he insisted on barging in."
Lin Shiyu stood beside Li Yang without even looking at the man who had entered.
Li Yang suddenly understood. It seemed her man was refusing to stop pestering her...
Oh, no. Her ex-husband...
"After being husband and wife for a day, there's still a hundred days of affection. How can you say you don't know me?"
Zhang Qiang smiled at Lin Shiyu. Then, seeing that Li Yang still had no intention of leaving, he sat down beside Lin Shiyu and reached for her hand, as though declaring his sovereignty. At the same time, he gave Li Yang a half-smile. "This is a matter between husband and wife. It's inconvenient to have an outsider here. Brother, why don't you step out for a moment?"
By the end, Zhang Qiang's tone had grown slightly heavier, and a faint, ambiguous smile flickered in his eyes.
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