When Cheng Mingjiao was with Zhang Xiyue, he was always fond of talking. But at this moment, he didn’t want to say a word. He only wanted to hold on tightly to his girlfriend, whom he had finally gotten back.
Zhang Xiyue understood how he felt, so she let him hold her.
Half an hour later, she asked, “Are you done yet?”
Cheng Mingjiao gave two little hums, sounding terribly pitiful. Zhang Xiyue hurried to answer for him. “Not yet, not yet…”
Another half hour passed.
Zhang Xiyue said, “…You can stop hugging me now.”
Cheng Mingjiao said nothing and only held her tighter.
Another half hour went by.
Zhang Xiyue said, “…Can we change positions? My legs are numb.”
As if waking from a deep dream, Cheng Mingjiao finally loosened his arms a little.
Zhang Xiyue silently breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could adjust herself, however, he hugged her tightly again.
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
Zhang Xiyue truly understood how Cheng Mingjiao felt, but…
“I need to use the bathroom,” she said softly.
Cheng Mingjiao paused and lowered his head to look at her.
“I’m about to burst,” Zhang Xiyue admitted.
Cheng Mingjiao silently stared into her eyes for several seconds before handing her a cup.
Zhang Xiyue: “…Get lost. There’s no way I’m using that!”
Seeing how vehemently she resisted, Cheng Mingjiao looked disappointed for a moment. Then he spoke his first sentence since their reunion.
“Then I’ll go to the bathroom with you.”
Zhang Xiyue: “No!”
“Why?” Cheng Mingjiao frowned. “We’ve only been apart for a few days, and you’re already so distant that you won’t even let me accompany you to the bathroom?”
“…Stop talking nonsense. Even when we weren’t apart, I never let you come with me.” Zhang Xiyue refused to fall for it.
Cheng Mingjiao fell silent, but his wide eyes clearly conveyed his disbelief and hurt.
Zhang Xiyue took a deep breath. “You can stand guard outside the door.”
“Then you’ll have to leave the door open,” Cheng Mingjiao immediately said, seizing the opportunity. “If you’re embarrassed, I can wear headphones.”
Zhang Xiyue was speechless for a long moment. Then she said, “I can freely travel between the two worlds now.”
Cheng Mingjiao’s eyelid twitched. “What does that mean?”
Zhang Xiyue had only meant that she could now control when she left, and wouldn’t suddenly disappear as she had last time.
But Cheng Mingjiao had clearly misunderstood.
“You…” His voice trembled with tension. “Are you threatening me?”
Zhang Xiyue: “?”
“Do you mean that as long as I make you unhappy, you can leave whenever you want?” Cheng Mingjiao demanded.
Zhang Xiyue sighed helplessly. “Of course not. How could you possibly think that?”
“Because that’s exactly what you said!” Cheng Mingjiao grew angry and hugged her even tighter. “No! I already let you leave once. I absolutely won’t allow you to leave again!”
“I really didn’t mean that… Don’t squeeze me so hard. I really need to use the bathroom.”
Cheng Mingjiao refused to listen and only tightened his embrace further.
In the end, Zhang Xiyue managed to win the opportunity to use the bathroom alone, but she had to sing loudly the entire time to make sure Cheng Mingjiao could hear her outside the door.
…He was completely insane.
After using the bathroom, her stomach suddenly rumbled. Only then did she remember that, before she had crossed over, she had been on her way downstairs to buy something to eat.
“Let’s go out and get something to eat,” she suggested.
Cheng Mingjiao thought for a moment. “I’ll cook for you.”
Zhang Xiyue decided that sounded fine and agreed.
Cheng Mingjiao immediately took her hand and led her toward the kitchen.
Zhang Xiyue looked bewildered. “Do I have to come too?”
“You can just stand beside me and watch. You don’t need to help,” Cheng Mingjiao said.
Zhang Xiyue laughed. “Zhuangzhuang, are you being a little too clingy?”
Cheng Mingjiao pretended not to hear her and insisted that she come along.
Zhang Xiyue didn’t refuse. She followed him into the kitchen and watched him work.
They had been apart for five months, and Cheng Mingjiao seemed even more familiar with the kitchen than before. His movements as he prepared and chopped the ingredients were smooth and practiced. He had even learned how to toss a wok, as if he had secretly enrolled in a cooking class while she was gone.
Zhang Xiyue leaned against the kitchen counter and watched him for a while before suddenly asking, “Have you been cooking often during this time?”
“Mmm.” Cheng Mingjiao tasted the soup and decided it was a little bland, so he added more seasoning. “After you left, I was always unable to sleep. Whenever I had nothing to do, I studied cooking. I thought that if you ever came back, I could cook for you.”
His tone was calm, as if he were talking about something insignificant. But from those few brief sentences, Zhang Xiyue could picture a lonely figure.
Always unable to sleep.
Cheng Mingjiao, who normally slept like a baby, had actually spent so many nights unable to sleep.
Whenever he came into the kitchen in the dead of night, what had he thought about? Had he cursed her for being heartless? Had he secretly shed tears? Had he truly believed that one day she would return and be able to eat the food he cooked?
Even Zhang Xiyue herself had never known that she would one day be able to return.
Her breathing grew slow and shallow as she gently hugged him from behind.
The weather had already grown hot. Cheng Mingjiao was wearing only a sleeveless shirt, and his body was radiating warmth, lightly damp with sweat.
When Zhang Xiyue embraced him, his body tensed for an instant before gradually relaxing again.
“During this time, I worked with Gu Feng on a project,” he said in a low voice, almost blending into the sound of the food sizzling in the wok. “I saw him often, and I also saw Qing Tian often. I secretly observed them and watched what the so-called male and female leads did when they were together. Then I realized…”
He suddenly fell silent halfway through.
Zhang Xiyue smiled soundlessly and hugged him tighter. “Realized what?”
“Realized that I haven’t treated you well.” Cheng Mingjiao happened to turn off the stove as he said this. With the kitchen suddenly quiet, only his voice remained.
Zhang Xiyue froze and instinctively loosened her arms.
Cheng Mingjiao turned around. Her reflection was clearly visible in his eyes.
“Zhang Xiyue, I’ve never braved heavy rain to buy you biscuits. I’ve never carried you on my back and run desperately when you had a high fever. And I’ve never stepped forward to protect you when someone was targeting you. I really haven’t been a very good boyfriend.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…I don’t even like biscuits, I’ve never had a serious illness, and I’ve never run into any villains. Of course you’ve never had the chance to do those things for me… Our circumstances aren’t the same as theirs. How can you compare yourself to them?”
“You don’t understand what I mean.” Cheng Mingjiao shook his head. “I mean that I’ve always been too self-centered. I do whatever I want. During the time we were together, you were always the one compromising and giving in to me. Even though I eventually learned to cook and do housework, compared to everything you’ve done for me, it’s nowhere near enough.”
He pressed his lips together, his eyes filled with self-reproach. “All I ever did was give you money, a house, a car, and other cold, material things. I really haven’t treated you well.”
For a moment, Zhang Xiyue didn’t know how to respond. After thinking for a long time, she asked, “Then what have I done for you?”
“When we eat, you peel shrimp for me and hand me tissues. Every morning, you check the weather forecast and help me choose what to wear. You even make a special trip to buy prepackaged meal kits so you can stew soup for me. You’ve done so many things for me.”
As he spoke, Cheng Mingjiao’s voice began to choke with emotion.
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
If she hadn’t known him so well, she would have thought he was being sarcastic.
The more Cheng Mingjiao talked, the more carried away he became, just as he was about to continue listing all her good qualities, Zhang Xiyue lost patience, grabbed him by the collar, and kissed him.
Cheng Mingjiao froze for a moment, forgetting to respond.
Zhang Xiyue bit his lip to remind him. “Put your arms around me. Standing on tiptoe is tiring.”
Cheng Mingjiao immediately lifted her up into his arms.
After five months apart, their kiss held none of the intensity or passion of a long-awaited reunion. There was only a little warmth, a little tentativeness, and a quiet resolve that passed precisely from one heart to the other.
When the long kiss ended, both of them were slightly breathless.
Zhang Xiyue stared at Cheng Mingjiao for a moment before she could not help laughing.
“What are you laughing at?” Cheng Mingjiao asked, still feeling disgruntled.
“You.”
Cheng Mingjiao raised his eyes.
“Mr. Cheng, I still like you best when you act as though you’re second to none, so stop pretending to be pitiful.” Zhang Xiyue cupped his face in her hands.
Cheng Mingjiao was displeased. “I’m not pretending to be pitiful. I’m just…”
“And stop worrying about me so much. Who lives like this? You act as though the sky will fall if I spend a little time playing on my phone by myself.” Zhang Xiyue cut him off. “I really like you. I like everything you give me. In my heart, you’re the best. So stop comparing yourself to other people, all right?”
“If I’m the best, why did you insist on leaving back then?” Cheng Mingjiao blurted out.
Zhang Xiyue knew that was what he had been hung up on. “I told you the specific reason a long time ago. Instead of asking why I left, why don’t you ask why I came back?”
“…Then why did you come back?” Cheng Mingjiao’s words grew slower and slower, clearly because he had already guessed the answer.
Zhang Xiyue curved her lips and repeated the answer she had just given him. “Because you’re the best and the most important person to me. That’s why I came back.”
Cheng Mingjiao gave a soft snort, satisfied.
After coaxing him for so long, she had finally managed to soothe the Emperor. Zhang Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief and ventured, “So, can we eat now?”
“We can.” Cheng Mingjiao set her down and turned to serve the dishes.
Zhang Xiyue brought over the rice and chopsticks. The two of them went back and forth between the kitchen and the dining table several times before finally sitting down.
“A welcome-home feast.” Cheng Mingjiao grinned, revealing a neat row of white teeth.
Zhang Xiyue smiled too and clinked glasses with him.
“I bought these chicken wings this morning. I wasn’t planning to buy groceries today, but for some reason, I had a feeling I should get a few things. I didn’t expect you to come back tonight.”
As he spoke, Cheng Mingjiao placed food in her bowl. “And this lotus root—I picked it out at the market myself. It was the freshest piece in the whole market. Try it and see if it’s good. If you like it, I’ll go buy more tomorrow and make you lotus-root soup.”
He kept piling food into her bowl, so attentive that he hardly seemed like himself. A trace of worry flashed through Zhang Xiyue’s eyes. She was afraid he had not really taken her words to heart.
Ten minutes later—
“Zhang Xiyue, pass me a tissue.”
“Zhang Xiyue, this chicken is awful. I think I got scammed. Take a few bodyguards with you tomorrow and go yell at that shopkeeper.”
“Zhang Xiyue, why aren’t you putting food in my bowl… Yes, I did say you should hurry up and eat and not worry about me, but you can’t actually ignore me, can you? Am I not the most important person to you anymore?”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
As expected, guilt was temporary, but arrogance was eternal.
She sighed and resigned herself to serving the dog emperor.
