Chapter 7

When her mother told her to go on a blind date, she said over the phone, "You're twenty-eight and you've never been in a relationship. Don't you feel like you're missing out? I'm not asking you to go on blind dates so you can get married. I'm finding you someone you can date, so you won't have to keep looking one step at a time and hesitating. Hesitate any longer and you'll be thirty."

So she agreed to go on a blind date.

It would also spare her heart from going up and down.

"What's going on? The more coffee I drink, the sleepier I get." Jiang Zao licked the coffee from the corner of her lips, put down her phone, and snuggled up against Lin Yu again. Lin Yu had no choice but to let her lean on her and share some of her scarf with her. Plenty of customers came in for afternoon tea, and the manager didn't complain. After all, Lin Yu was the owner, and she had given him a share in the business. He treated it as his own venture.

He had a staff member make Lin Yu a cup of red date milk to warm her up.

Lin Yu pressed her lips together slightly and thanked him.

The manager blushed. His boss was so beautiful that no matter how many times he saw her, she still made him blush.

The sunlight through the thin mist lasted only half an hour. As soon as it faded, the sky grew dark. Jiang Zao stayed at the shop all afternoon and had dinner there before heading back to livestream.

It happened to be raining when she left. The night rain was bitingly cold in the depths of winter. Lin Yu gave her an umbrella and told her to be careful not to catch a cold.

Jiang Zao nodded and hurried off to get her car.

The shop was in the old part of town, where there were lots of pedestrians and few parking lots. Jiang Zao's car was parked in an old residential complex several kilometers away, and she had to go fetch it.

After seeing Jiang Zao off, Lin Yu watched the sky turn completely dark. Rain like wisps of cotton drifted down from the sky and brushed past the treetops. It was beautiful, but cold.

When rain came suddenly, many people forgot their umbrellas, and some simply came into the shop seeking a little warmth.

So there were more customers than usual that evening. Lin Yu got busy and began to sweat, so she took off her scarf. Just before it was time to clean up and close the shop, she remembered Xiao Diu.

She picked up her phone, intending to message Chen Lüli and ask whether she needed to go over and feed Xiao Diu that evening.

Before she finished typing, a message came in first.

Chen Lüli ordered a coffee and a black truffle and ham sandwich to be delivered to his place. He said, "I didn't place the order through the app because I figured you'd be coming back and could bring it to me on your way."

Lin Yu replied: "You're not working overtime tonight?"

Chen Lüli: "I brought my work home."

Lin Yu: "Oh, okay."

She glanced at the kitchen, where they were cleaning up, wrote out an order, and handed it to the kitchen, asking them to rush it. The head chef was very patient, and when he saw that it was for President Chen, he took even more care, reopening the refrigerator to get the ingredients. The barista had already gone home, so the manager put down what he was doing and made the coffee.

By the time Lin Yu had finished settling the accounts, the coffee and sandwich were ready. She shut down the system. The manager and head chef finished cleaning up, said goodbye to her, and left first.

Lin Yu looked around the shop and checked everything, pulled the cup rack door shut, put on her scarf, and took the meal outside. A fine rain was falling, and more than half the shops along the street had closed. She locked the door, picked up her transparent umbrella and opened it, then stepped into the curtain of rain.

Winter rain was the coldest of all. Before long, Lin Yu's nose was bright red from the cold.

She closed her umbrella and, thinking that Chen Lüli was home, rang the doorbell.

A second later, the door opened.

Xiao Diu ran toward her and happily planted both front paws on her leg. In the spacious living room, Chen Lüli sat on the black sofa, his eyes lowered as he typed.

Lin Yu rubbed Xiao Diu's fur. The cat bowls beside her had plenty of water and food in them. It seemed he had already fed her.

After spending a little time with Xiao Diu, Lin Yu straightened up and set the coffee and sandwich on the cabinet by the entrance. A few odds and ends had been tossed on top, including a set of car keys.

She said, "I've put the coffee and sandwich on the cabinet."

"There are disposable slippers in the cabinet," he said at the same time. Lin Yu paused, and he looked up. Their eyes met.

His long, narrow eyes betrayed no emotion and still held a trace of coldness, but he asked, "Aren't you coming in?"

Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat.

A saying suddenly came to mind: the harder you tried to hide something, the more obvious the traces became.

"Meow, meow, meow~~" Xiao Diu rubbed against her calf.

Lin Yu lowered her eyes, crouched partway, and stroked Xiao Diu. In a calm voice, she said, "You looked busy. I didn't want to disturb you."

"Come in. It's cold outside." When he finished speaking, the sound of typing resumed. Lin Yu had no choice but to open the cabinet. The disposable slippers inside were all men's sizes, neatly arranged, which suited his mildly fastidious habits.

Lin Yu took out a pair, unwrapped them, and put them on, closing the door as she did.

With the door blocking out the cold from the hallway, it was instantly much warmer. Lin Yu picked up the coffee and sandwich she had just put down, scooped up Xiao Diu, and walked in.

It wasn't as though she had never been to his place before.

She had been in a few times. Once or twice it had been because of Xiao Diu, to wash her paws. Once or twice, he had happened to come home and invited her in for water. The remaining times were when Ming Yu had come back and they had gathered at his place. Once, Ming Yu had quarreled with her family and fled here for refuge, even spending the night. When Ming Yu wasn't around, though, basically no one dared arrange a gathering at his home, not even when Jiang Yan'an came back.

He had the heat on low, and a humidifier silently gave off wisps of mist. A faint, crisp cedar scent hung in the air, cool and austere to the extreme.

Ordinarily, Lin Yu avoided going into his home whenever possible.

When she reached his side, Xiao Diu climbed down from her arms and circled her feet. Lin Yu put the bag on the obsidian coffee table in front of him.

Seeing that he was still typing, she unwrapped the outer packaging and took out the sandwich and coffee.

Without looking up, he asked, "Is it still raining outside?"

His voice was a little hoarse.

Lin Yu was close enough to hear him clearly. She replied, "Mm, it's still raining."

"Give me the coffee." Chen Lüli looked up from his computer. Lin Yu turned and handed him the coffee. He took it and tapped something on the computer.

A short, squat robot trundled over with a cup of hot water, looking endearingly clumsy.

Xiao Diu meowed twice when she saw the robot and circled around it. Lin Yu took the cup of hot water. This robot, called Tray, was something he had made in college. After several upgrades over the years, it could now bring people water. Lin Yu sat down on the sofa, and Xiao Diu jumped onto her lap. She rubbed the cat's fur and watched him pick up the sandwich, unwrap it, and eat.

Lin Yu asked, "You didn't eat dinner?"

Chen Lüli murmured an acknowledgment and drank his coffee. His collar was slightly open, and there were marks from his tie on his neck. He finished the sandwich in a few bites and tossed away the wrapper.

Up close, Lin Yu saw that his neck and face were somewhat red-more than was normal.

Lin Yu paused, then asked, "Do you have a fever?"

Chen Lüli paused and looked up, seeming not to have quite registered what she said.

Lin Yu pointed. "Your face and neck are a little red."

He raised a hand and touched his forehead.

Perhaps he had been running a fever for some time and couldn't tell how hot he was. Lin Yu immediately stood up and asked, "Your medicine box is still under the TV cabinet, right?"

Chen Lüli had already confirmed that he had a fever. He undid another button, leaned back, and replied, "It's still in the cabinet."

Lin Yu pulled open the cabinet, took out the medicine box, and put it on the coffee table. She took an infrared thermometer from it, adjusted it, and aimed it at his forehead. The display quickly turned red. "38.9 degrees."

The temperature startled Lin Yu. She turned to rummage through the medicine box. "Do you have any fever medicine at home? If not, we'll have to order some for delivery."

Chen Lüli watched her search. His voice was very hoarse now as he said, "There should be some."

As soon as he spoke, Lin Yu spotted a box of ibuprofen at the very bottom. She took out a pill and handed it to him, then went to the water dispenser and got a cup of warm water.

Tray tilted its head as it watched her do its job, looking puzzled.

When Lin Yu came back, he had already tucked the pill under his tongue and reached for the coffee. Lin Yu snatched it away, and Chen Lüli lifted his eyes to look at her.

She hadn't taken off her scarf. The room was warm, and heat rose from inside the scarf, lending her fair skin a rosy glow.

There was a touch of stubbornness in Lin Yu's eyes. "Drink this."

She held the cup of water out to him.

Chen Lüli raised a brow slightly and reached out to take the cup from her. His fingers were long, with prominent knuckles. As he took it, they brushed her fingertips unconsciously for just a second, like a goose passing without a trace.

Lin Yu lowered her hand, but that patch of skin felt as though it were burning.

"You should have some congee. A sandwich won't do much good."

"It's fine." Chen Lüli finished the water and rubbed the cup, beginning to feel somewhat tired. Lin Yu picked up Xiao Diu, who was still meowing, and said to Chen Lüli, "You've taken your medicine. Go to your room and sleep."

"Mm."

He glanced at his wristwatch, then looked up at her. "It's late. You should head home too."

Lin Yu nodded.

"Go to bed first."

His voice was very hoarse, and it was clear he was forcing himself to hold on.

Chen Lüli looked at Xiao Diu lying in her arms, a warm and comfortable cat, and knew she would keep Xiao Diu company a little longer. She had the code to his home and could leave whenever she liked.

He put down the cup, stood up, and said, "I'll go in first, then. Lock the door when you leave."

"Okay."

Lin Yu answered.

Here it is.

Another 100 red packets for this chapter. See you tomorrow.

Chapter 7

After watching him go into the master bedroom, Lin Yu turned to look at the kitchen and carried Xiao Diu over. His kitchen was very clean, but the housekeeper kept grains such as millet on hand in case they were needed. Lin Yu set Xiao Diu on the counter, and she obediently crouched there and watched.

Lin Yu opened the cabinet underneath. Sure enough, there were grains inside, portioned into separate packages: rice, millet, yam powder, and the like.

Lin Yu took out the millet.

She also got a pot. The protective film hadn't even been peeled off his pot, leaving Lin Yu at a loss. She washed it first, then rinsed the millet and set the timer for five thirty. It would be done at six and could be kept warm for three hours, which was about right for the time he got up.

Chen Lüli returned to the master bedroom, unbuttoned his shirt, and went straight into the bathroom. No matter how tired and uncomfortable he was, he still had to take a shower. Water began rushing, as though answering the sound of millet being rinsed in the kitchen outside.