Ji Yunhuai scoffed and switched screens, with no intention of replying.
Of course he hadn't forgotten that today was Cui Anhe's birthday. Precisely because he remembered, he had come to this apartment he rarely used to hide out and enjoy some peace.
Back when his mother was alive, she would take Ji Yunhuai along to celebrate Cui Anhe's birthday every year.
After his mother passed away, Cui Anhe would come pestering him herself on this day every year, annoying him to no end.
Ji Yunhuai had never been a patient man. The only reason he had put up with Cui Anhe for so long was his mother's dying wish.
Cui Anhe's mother and Ji Yunhuai's mother had been close friends, and Cui Anhe's mother had died saving Ji Yunhuai's mother in a car accident.
Out of guilt, Ji Yunhuai's mother had always treated Cui Anhe exceptionally well, loving her like her own daughter. She had even verbally promised that she and Ji Yunhuai would marry when they grew up.
Although it had been a joke at the time, Cui Anhe had taken it seriously, and it became one of her reasons for clinging to Ji Yunhuai.
Later, Ji Yunhuai's mother died of illness. Her very last words had been a request for him to take good care of Cui Anhe and ensure that she lived a smooth, trouble-free life in her stead.
Ji Yunhuai had always been wild and unconventional, showing no regard even for his father, Ji Cheng, but his mother had always mattered immensely to him.
That was precisely why Cui Anhe had been able to throw tantrums in front of Ji Yunhuai with impunity for so many years. Had anyone else dared act that way, the grass on their grave would probably have grown waist-high by now.
Still, Ji Yunhuai had never had any patience for Cui Anhe. Although he generally let her behavior slide for his mother's sake, he had never been particularly pleasant to her.
As for that verbal childhood betrothal, he took it even less seriously.
About an hour later, Lu Xiaoxiao completed her "masterpiece."
Looking at the dishes, which seemed colorful and fragrant at first glance, the system couldn't help asking, "Host, putting all these dishes together... won't this give someone explosive diarrhea?"
There was a plate of shredded ginger stir-fried with shredded potatoes on the left, tofu stewed in iced Americano on the right, greens stir-fried with honey at the front, and bitter melon tossed with chocolate at the back. In the middle, there was even a plate of eggs scrambled with toothpaste!
As for the dessert waiting off to the side, it was a huge serving of ice cream that looked like matcha but was actually wasabi!
Although the system had never experienced eating human food, it could tell from the ingredients that these were the legendary culinary abominations.
They didn't even look particularly ominous. On the contrary, their colors were lovely and their aromas enticing. Without actually taking a bite, it would be hard to discover what lurked beneath the surface.
Lu Xiaoxiao gave a sinister little laugh. "I'm more worried he won't get diarrhea! One bite of any of these dishes, and I guarantee Ji Yunhuai will remember it for the rest of his life!"
They wouldn't kill him anyway, so she wished him all the best in eating himself half to death!
Hearing Lu Xiaoxiao's tone, the system felt a chill. Unfortunately, it had no physical body, or it would surely have shrunk back.
Oh my god, the host is terrifying! Her ideas for tormenting people are so vicious and impossible to guard against. Whatever happens, I must never get on her bad side!
Lu Xiaoxiao carried the finished dishes to the dining table one by one, wiped away her sweat with a triumphant air, and called out cheerfully, "Young Master Ji, I'm done! Come and try it, Young Master Ji!"
Ji Yunhuai rose from the sofa and walked over. The moment his eyes met Lu Xiaoxiao's, he noticed how unusually eager and ingratiating she looked. Her eyes were practically sparkling, as though she could hardly wait for him to taste the dishes.
Something was off. Very, very off.
Ji Yunhuai's right eyelid twitched, and he felt something wasn't right. But after glancing over the table, he couldn't immediately spot any obvious problems beyond the dishes looking rather homey.
After inspecting the food, he turned his gaze back to Lu Xiaoxiao and began slowly, "You..."
He had barely gotten that one word out when a beep suddenly sounded at the front door, followed by a cold, mechanical female voice. "Fingerprint recognized. Door unlocked."
The next second, the door slammed into the wall behind it with a bang. A woman in a red dress stormed in, her face icy. Her entrance was positively ferocious, yet when she spoke, there was a faint sob in her voice:
"Ji Yunhuai! It's my birthday today! Have you forgotten even that?"
"I'm really disappointed in you! So disappointed! My mom is gone, and no one at home will celebrate my birthday with me. Are you going to brush me off now, too?"
Cui Anhe stared fixedly at the man before her. The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, and tears welled up in an instant, rolling down her cheeks.
She was actually very beautiful, with bold, striking features. Any normal man would have softened a little at the sight of her tears.
Unfortunately, Ji Yunhuai didn't fall into the category of normal. He clicked his tongue impatiently, then turned his head away to avoid Cui Anhe's gaze. His reply was cool. "I didn't forget. Didn't I already have someone send you a gift?"
"A gift isn't enough! You know perfectly well that I wanted you to spend time with me!" Cui Anhe stamped her foot in anger, her tears falling even faster. "Last year, you even watched the fireworks show with me! If I hadn't come looking for you today, were you planning to hide until tomorrow?"
...Wrong. Not just until tomorrow. If he could, he would gladly hide from her for the rest of his life.
The thought only made Ji Yunhuai more irritated. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a faint noise beside him.
In such a tense atmosphere, even the slightest sound drew attention. Both he and Cui Anhe instinctively looked in the same direction.
Lu Xiaoxiao, who had been trying to retreat into the kitchen and escape the conflict but had accidentally kicked a chair leg, fell silent. "..."
Crap. Not only had her escape failed, she was now right in the eye of the storm!
Only now did the furious Cui Anhe notice that there was a third person in the apartment-and a rather pretty woman, at that!
Her sobbing stopped short. She raised a hand and pointed at Ji Yunhuai in disbelief. "You... it's bad enough that you won't spend my birthday with me! But you're actually spending it with another woman behind my back?!"
After confronting Ji Yunhuai, Cui Anhe glared furiously at Lu Xiaoxiao and demanded, "Who gave you permission to seduce Brother Yun Huai? Tell me! How long have you been with him? Answer me!"
Uh... well... wasn't this only her third time meeting Ji Yunhuai?
Dragged into their dispute out of nowhere, Lu Xiaoxiao felt her CPU overheating. She recognized this as the woman who had argued with Ji Yunhuai at Lu Jiaoyue's family reunion banquet, but she still wasn't sure exactly what their relationship was.
Embarrassing as it was, although she had sworn last time to investigate Ji Yunhuai and get revenge, her points were limited, and she had spent them on other things. She still hadn't started.
The original novel hadn't devoted much detail to Ji Yunhuai's subplot, so Lu Xiaoxiao knew absolutely nothing about this woman.
But judging by the way she acted like a wife catching her husband cheating, along with Ji Yunhuai's relatively high tolerance for her... Lu Xiaoxiao reasonably suspected that this was a romantic storyline the original novel hadn't explicitly described.
In that case, she could use this woman to make her escape!
Before you continue