I'll eat a little less from now on

The two slipped away from the crowd without a sound and got into a taxi home.

In the car, Lin Yu wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead and let out a breath of relief.

"Good thing we got away fast. It would've been bad if we'd been spotted."

Seeing how nervous Lin Yu was, Firefly wondered if she had done something wrong.

Her gaze darted around as she asked timidly.

"Lin Yu... did I do something wrong?"

Firefly's apologetic manner swept away all of Lin Yu's earlier nervousness.

So cute~

Lin Yu smiled and patted Firefly's head to reassure her.

After he explained everything, Firefly's earlier nervousness eased as well.

"That's a relief. I thought I'd caused trouble."

"You didn't, but it still caused quite a stir online. Most of those people just now were probably drawn there by that video."

"Luckily, your face wasn't shown. Otherwise, we really would've been in trouble."

They had been lucky not to get exposed this time, but that might not be the case next time. He would have to be more careful from now on.

And...

Lin Yu looked at the adorably clueless Firefly, a trace of determination flashing in his eyes.

I absolutely can't let Firefly see any videos about this!

The video itself is fine, but those comments are absolutely off-limits!

Reading the comments had nearly made Lin Yu black out. Though most expressed surprise and doubt, there were quite a few disparaging ones.

Lin Yu felt that this batch of netizens was far too vicious. Even he could hardly bear to look, let alone Firefly, who was only just being introduced to all this.

He only wanted Firefly to live happily. He couldn't let this affect her.

So Lin Yu quietly reported every one of those malicious commenters.

Just then, Yang Chenyu sent a worried message. After reading it, Lin Yu confirmed that they had already seen the video online.

He sent a reassuring message, and Yang Chenyu was relieved.

Afterward, Lin Yu also told Yang Chenyu to ask Su Qingxiao not to mention this to Firefly. Since she still didn't know about it, they should try not to let her come across it.

Once he received an "OK" in response, Lin Yu was completely reassured.

Before long, the two arrived home. As soon as they got in, Firefly returned to her room and changed back into her pajamas.

After all, these were still the most comfortable clothes to wear at home.

Having changed, she had just stepped out of her room when she saw Lin Yu getting ready to leave, so she went over curiously to ask.

"Lin Yu, are you going out?"

Hearing her voice, Lin Yu turned around, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward those snow-white thighs.

What gorgeous legs!!!

Firefly noticed Lin Yu's gaze as well. She tilted her head and looked at him in confusion.

Noticing her rather piercing gaze, Lin Yu discreetly looked away and scratched his head awkwardly as he answered.

"Ah... yeah, I'm going to pick up a package. I'll be right back."

"Firefly, get the ingredients ready for lunch and wait for me to come back!"

With that, he ran out, leaving Firefly alone.

Firefly puffed out one cheek, looking clearly a little annoyed.

"Honestly, are my legs really that scary?"

Firefly looked down at her thighs. They looked perfectly normal, but every time Lin Yu looked at her legs, he immediately averted his gaze, not daring to look anymore.

Yet she had seen Lin Yu staring foolishly at girls on his phone screen before. Their legs were showing too, but Lin Yu kept staring, saying that he was studying human anatomy and that it was very helpful for drawing.

No matter how much she thought about it, Firefly's innocent mind would never understand, so she simply stopped thinking about it.

She opened the fridge and began picking out ingredients for today's lunch.

After looking through it, she found only some leftover pork tenderloin, bean sprouts, and a few miscellaneous ingredients.

Only then did Firefly remember that Lin Yu usually bought the groceries, but since they had gone camping yesterday and only just returned today, he hadn't gone shopping.

This left Firefly stumped. What could she make with these?

Lin Yu had taught her before, but she only knew what he had taught her. Her cooking skills hadn't reached the point where she could improvise.

So she decided to call for outside help!

She took out her phone and called Lin Yu directly. After she explained the situation, Lin Yu was silent for a moment before telling her what to do.

Having memorized the steps, Firefly hung up and took all the ingredients out of the fridge.

She went into the kitchen, took an apron from a hook nearby, put it on, and rolled up her sleeves to keep them from getting wet.

"OK, let's get started!"

She put the bean sprouts and scallions in a colander and rinsed them clean with water.

Firefly picked up the kitchen knife and held it before her eyes, her gaze serious. After these past few days of practice, her knife skills, while not masterful, had made some progress.

She cut the scallions into lengths and set them aside with the bean sprouts, then peeled and washed the garlic before mincing it with the knife.

Then she picked up the leftover tenderloin, placed it on the cutting board, and cut it into evenly thick slices before washing and draining them.

Finally, she put the rice on to cook. All that remained was to wait for Lin Yu to return and cook the dish.

Before long, Lin Yu returned with a box tucked under his left arm and a bag in his right hand.

After setting down the box, Lin Yu carried the bag into the kitchen.

Lin Yu said, "Thanks for your hard work. Let me take over from here."

Firefly said, "It's nothing. I only prepared the ingredients. It wasn't any trouble."

Firefly looked at the bag in Lin Yu's hand and asked curiously.

"Lin Yu, what did you buy?"

Lin Yu lifted the bag and gave it a shake.

"Oh, some seasonings and extra ingredients we'll need next."

"All right, Firefly, give me the apron. It's time to start making lunch."

"Oh, okay."

As she spoke, Firefly took off the apron and handed it to Lin Yu.

After putting it on, Lin Yu began making today's lunch.

Watching from the side, Firefly was very curious about what Lin Yu was going to make, because she had just spotted a block of instant noodles!

Was he making instant noodles? Surely he didn't need to prepare this much stuff for that?

In the end, Firefly couldn't contain her curiosity and asked.

"Lin Yu, what are you making?"

Lin Yu said, "This dish is called 'water-boiled pork slices.' It's a specialty from Sichuan and Chongqing."

"It's really delicious."

After finishing the preliminary steps, he added the all-important minced garlic and poured hot oil over it. Listening to the pleasant sizzling and smelling the appetite-whetting aroma, Lin Yu felt it was perfect!

Now he felt he could eat three bowls of rice! This dish went wonderfully with rice. Everyone who had tried it said it was good!

The two sat across from each other at the table and began enjoying the delicious food before them.

Lin Yu was full after two bowls of rice. Since he often stayed up late, he paid particular attention to his diet to stay healthy, so he didn't eat much.

However, he was very curious about just how much Firefly could eat. She had already eaten two bowls of rice, along with two bowls of the instant noodles he had added.

He had bought the instant noodle blocks especially because he knew Firefly liked them.

As Firefly enjoyed the delicious instant noodles, she noticed Lin Yu watching her, which made her feel a little uncomfortable.

She glanced at him, looked away, then glanced at him again.

After some hesitation, she asked Lin Yu in confusion.

"What's wrong? You keep looking at me..."

Resting his chin on one hand, Lin Yu looked at the slightly shy Firefly with a hint of a smile and spoke.

"Nothing. I was just wondering, aren't you afraid of getting fat, eating so much?"

Firefly shook her head to indicate that she wasn't. After all, she didn't care about her weight, though she still couldn't understand why he was asking about this.

At that, Lin Yu joked, "I'm afraid I won't be able to afford to feed you in the future."

At his answer, Firefly stopped what she was doing and fell silent for a moment before replying.

"...Then I'll eat a little less from now on."