Ji Liuyue woke up feeling refreshed.
She came to the dining room in her loungewear, only to find the little house completely empty.
Everyone had probably gone to work.
She opened the refrigerator and glanced at the strawberry milk. Good—there were still several bottles left.
She took out two eggs and fried them for breakfast.
She was eating slowly with her head lowered when she heard footsteps. She looked up.
It was Xu Jinsi.
“Why aren’t you at work?” she asked.
It was a weekday.
All the other guests in the house had already left and wouldn’t be back until after work that evening.
Ji Liuyue hadn’t had any new jobs recently, so she had plenty of free time. She couldn’t be bothered to pretend to leave every morning and come back at night.
She had simply given up and openly embraced the fact that she had no work to take.
She hadn’t expected Xu Jinsi to be off work too.
Xu Jinsi glanced at the fried eggs on her plate and asked, “You made those yourself?”
“Mm.”
Who else would have made them?
Xu Jinsi looked away and said casually, “I’m a partner, so I don’t have to stay at the company all the time. I only need to go in for two or three hours in the afternoon.”
That was truly enviable.
He was already financially free. To him, running a private equity firm was nothing more than a hobby.
Ji Liuyue bit into her egg viciously, then took a sip of strawberry milk.
Xu Jinsi had heard yesterday that after Lu Nanxun and Ji Liuyue finished their date, they had gone grocery shopping together.
Not only had they gone grocery shopping, but they had also bought strawberry milk, and Lu Nanxun had even made sweet-and-sour spare ribs for her.
He didn’t think much of it.
A little food and a little drink—how much could that possibly affect someone’s level of interest?
His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop. Unable to bring himself to ask directly, he said vaguely, “I haven’t had breakfast yet.”
Ji Liuyue gave an indifferent “Oh” and completely ignored the hint.
She pointed toward the refrigerator.
“There are plenty of ingredients.”
“I don’t know how to cook,” Xu Jinsi said.
Ji Liuyue rolled her eyes. “Then learn.”
She was determined not to indulge him.
Xu Jinsi puffed out his cheeks in annoyance as he stared at the two fried eggs on her plate.
He really wanted to ask, Can’t you give me one?
Just then, another set of footsteps came from behind them. They both turned their heads.
It was Liu Qingye, dressed in a white spaghetti-strap dress.
When she saw Xu Jinsi, a flash of delight crossed her face. But the moment her gaze shifted to Ji Liuyue, her smile became noticeably less genuine.
She waved and greeted them both.
“Liuyue, aren’t models usually very busy? Why didn’t you go to work?”
Ji Liuyue didn’t try to hide the truth.
“Well, I’m an unknown model, so I don’t get much work. I especially haven’t had many shoots this month.”
“Unlike you, Yezi. Don’t you have any engagements?”
Fine. If they wanted to take shots at each other, they could go ahead.
Who was afraid of whom?
Liu Qingye tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled demurely and gently.
“I just finished filming a drama last month, so my agent gave me half a month off.”
Her words subtly conveyed that she wasn’t like someone with no work at all. She had only just wrapped a drama, and her current free time was a vacation.
Ji Liuyue nodded. “Oh.”
Liu Qingye: “…”
That was it? Wasn’t she angry? Wasn’t she going to lose her temper?
Liu Qingye had originally expected Ji Liuyue to scowl at her in front of the cameras, allowing them to capture every bit of her reaction.
But she quickly composed herself.
As if she had only just noticed that Xu Jinsi hadn’t gone to work either, she asked gently, “Jinsi, you haven’t had breakfast, have you? I’ll toast some bread and make sandwiches. Would you like to eat with me?”
Xu Jinsi said nothing.
His gaze remained fixed on the fried eggs on Ji Liuyue’s plate.
Liu Qingye followed his line of sight and immediately understood. She smiled and added, “Should I fry an egg too?”
In fact, she had been standing outside the door listening to their conversation the whole time. She had simply chosen the perfect moment to appear.
Ji Liuyue had treated Xu Jinsi so rudely just now.
He must be very unhappy.
If Liu Qingye stepped in at that moment and showed off her gentle, considerate side, Xu Jinsi’s impression of her would surely improve.
Just as she was looking forward to it, Xu Jinsi gave a slight shake of his head and said flatly, “No need. I was just about to head to the office.”
Liu Qingye struggled to maintain the smile at the corners of her lips. “All right. See you tonight.”
…
After Xu Jinsi left, Liu Qingye found Ji Liuyue increasingly irritating and decided to take a walk nearby after breakfast.
She wondered whether the production team would give her a solo segment.
When she opened the refrigerator, she noticed that several more bottles of strawberry milk were gone.
She turned around and saw several empty bottles on the table in front of Ji Liuyue. Doing her best not to sound too harsh, she asked with a gentle smile, “Liuyue, do you like strawberry milk too?”
After saying that, she waited.
No matter what Ji Liuyue said, she intended to bring up the fact that she had been the one to say she liked strawberry milk, and that Lu Nanxun had specially bought it for her.
As long as every viewer knew that, they would definitely curse Ji Liuyue!
Unexpectedly, Ji Liuyue took a tissue and elegantly wiped the corner of her lips.
Then she stood up and pushed back her chair.
Turning around, she watched Liu Qingye open the refrigerator and smiled.
Then she delivered the fatal three words.
“I paid half.”
“What?” Liu Qingye wondered if she had heard correctly.
Ji Liuyue repeated, “The bill from yesterday afternoon’s grocery trip. Lu Nanxun and I split it equally.”
So half of this strawberry milk had been paid for by her.
Was there a problem?
She didn’t say the rest aloud, but the meaning was perfectly clear to both of them.
Liu Qingye’s expression stiffened. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly closed the refrigerator door.
She had no idea what to say.
Should she criticize Lu Nanxun for splitting the bill with a girl, or blame herself for bringing up a subject that had backfired so badly?
She was already planning to find her agent and ask them to contact the production team, preferably to have the entire exchange deleted.
Otherwise, once this scene aired, it would absolutely damage her reputation and public image.
…
By evening, the lights in the house had come on, and the guests began returning one after another.
The first to come back was Wang Aitian. She carried a large bag in one hand and stood by the entrance changing into slippers.
When she spotted Ji Liuyue sitting on the sofa reading, she waved enthusiastically.
“Yueyue, I’m home! I brought something tasty.”
Ji Liuyue put down her book and walked over to take the bag.
Wang Aitian proudly showed off her prize. “I made some cupcakes. We can all have them tonight.”
Ji Liuyue curved her lips into a smile and praised her. “Our Tiantian really is a little angel.”
A faint blush spread across Wang Aitian’s cheeks. She looked a little embarrassed as she said, “Try my baking. All my customers say the desserts from our studio are the best. The cream isn’t heavy, and they’re not overly sweet.”
The next person to return was Cen Yu.
He was also carrying bags full of ingredients. As soon as he entered the house, he made his way to the kitchen.
When he passed the two women, he stopped and greeted them.
“I bought a lot of ingredients. Would you like to try my version of sweet-and-sour spare ribs tonight?”
He appeared to be speaking to both of them.
But his gaze was fixed on Ji Liuyue.
