Let's Get Married on the First Day of Rebirth - Chapter 4

“Oh no, I messed up.”

Despite her positive mindset, Qu Ange’s heart still skipped a beat.

After all, this wasn’t like messing up during their sweet, harmonious days. This was messing up when tensions were already high. When a relationship was strained, the impact of any negative event could multiply a hundredfold. Qu Ange swallowed hard, her mind racing for three seconds before she blurted out, “I can explain.”

Xu Mi crossed her arms and looked at her, chin slightly raised, as if to say, “Go on, I’m listening.” Qu Ange said, “I wanted to start a new life.”

Xu Mi rolled her eyes. “Throw all this stuff away.”

She paused, then hesitated and asked, “Wait, how much did you spend?”

Qu Ange didn’t dare answer. She only had about a thousand yuan in cash on her, and she’d spent most of it. She stammered, unable to get the words out. Xu Mi could guess and, after a moment’s hesitation, said, “Don’t throw it away yet. Take it out.”

Qu Ange didn’t dare argue. She quickly pulled out the flowers. Xu Mi grabbed two water bottles to arrange them, but after filling two, she realized there were too many flowers and this would take forever. So she simply grabbed a basin, added some water, and dumped all the flowers in haphazardly.

For a brief moment after arranging them, Xu Mi was stunned. The cluster of colorful flowers was undeniably beautiful, instantly brightening up the otherwise plain rental apartment. She guessed Qu Ange had done this to surprise her, but the absurdity and shock outweighed any joy. This just wasn’t something Qu Ange would normally do. She had always been impatient with planning surprises.

Their first holiday together as a couple had been Christmas. Qu Ange had given her an apple and said, “I really couldn’t think of a good gift. Let’s just stick to surprises for birthdays, okay? For other holidays, we can just meet up and have a meal together. How does that sound?”

Xu Mi had nodded and quietly tucked away the necklace she’d prepared, only giving it to Qu Ange a week later under the pretense of having seen it on the street and thought it looked nice.

Qu Ange hadn’t thought much of it.

She never thought much of anything.

Back then, Xu Mi hadn’t minded. Maybe because she’d been so unwilling to lose Qu Ange that she’d always been the one to compromise. But now that she’d made up her mind to let go, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. And with the fridge left in complete disarray, Xu Mi didn’t even want to speak to Qu Ange. She walked into the kitchen, shut the door, and started tidying up.

The kitchen door was made of frosted glass, transparent enough to see through. Qu Ange didn’t dare go in and annoy her further, so she just stood outside, watching longingly. Xu Mi swiftly chopped vegetables, her arm moving so fast it blurred. Qu Ange couldn’t help but wonder if Xu Mi was imagining her head on the chopping block. She shivered but couldn’t resist her curiosity, pressing her face against the glass door and squinting to see what Xu Mi was doing.

Xu Mi, glancing over in the kitchen, saw a pale face smushed against the door, the nose flattened against the glass. Her lips twitched, but she turned away, pretending not to notice. Qu Ange knocked on the door from outside, saying, “#$%#$%&…”

The door’s soundproofing was too good. All that came through was muffled noise, the words indistinguishable.

This only piqued Xu Mi’s curiosity even more, stirring up an intense urge to know what the other person was saying. Damn her curiosity.It was like a flea jumping around incessantly in her heart, making her restless. She couldn’t even focus on cooking properly. On impulse, she opened the door, and Qu Ange’s voice immediately flooded her ears:

“Baby, open the window a bit, or the kitchen’s gonna get too smoky later.”

Xu Mi: “…” Regretted opening the door instantly.

Seeing Xu Mi open the door, Qu Ange immediately looked up, delighted. But when she noticed Xu Mi frowning at her with an expression that practically screamed “pervert,” Qu Ange took a moment to reflect. She had thought calling her “baby” was just trendy and harmless, but clearly, Xu Mi found it disgusting. Deciding to tone it down, she coughed awkwardly and said, “I-I mean, I wanna help.”

Xu Mi replied, “Come in and wash the scallions, then peel the asparagus.”

Qu Ange quickly agreed and hurried inside, only to freeze in confusion the moment she stepped in. It had been a solid decade since she last cooked, meals were either prepared by the housekeeper or eaten out. She couldn’t even remember what scallions looked like. But to make a good impression on Xu Mi, she couldn’t afford to show weakness. She pulled out all the vegetables from the plastic bag. Luckily, only one of them resembled scallions. She grabbed them and started rinsing them in the sink, sneaking glances at Xu Mi, who was focused on cleaning a crucian carp, her head slightly bowed in concentration.

A few loose strands of hair fell from Xu Mi’s temples, brushing the tip of her nose. Her nose wasn’t particularly high-bridged, but it was delicate and refined. Her double eyelids were the tapered kind, sometimes barely visible when her eyes were open, but today, perhaps because they were a bit swollen, they stood out more than usual. Her lashes were so thick they looked almost damp. Her face was small, with a jawline so subtly tapered it was nearly invisible. If not for her perpetually serious, composed demeanor, she could easily be mistaken for a young girl. In later years, this face would be described as “innocent yet alluring,” but for now, friends often urged her to get more pronounced double eyelids.

Qu Ange later realized that she had always been drawn to Xu Mi’s face otherwise, she wouldn’t have pushed through a crowd just to ask for her name the first time they met.

Her staring grew increasingly brazen, but Xu Mi didn’t seem to notice. She was always serious when cooking, and Qu Ange had long since realized that Xu Mi genuinely loved and excelled at it. She seemed to have an uncanny talent able to identify every seasoning in a dish after just one taste at a restaurant and even recreate it effortlessly. When she cooked, her entire being seemed to glow with focus.

Once, Qu Ange had jokingly suggested Xu Mi open a restaurant, and Xu Mi had replied earnestly that her dream was actually to run a private kitchen.

But she had majored in business administration in college, interned in related fields during her senior year, and never had the chance to pursue that dream.

Qu Ange silently vowed that this time, she would help her make it happen.

Lost in thought, she was abruptly pulled back by Xu Mi’s annoyed voice: “Why are you rinsing them for so long? Water isn’t free, you know?”

Qu Ange quickly turned off the valve but then forgot what she was supposed to do next. Xu Mi tossed two cloves of garlic at her and said, “Peel these first.”

Qu Ange obediently caught them and squatted next to the trash bin to start peeling. The garlic was dry, its skin brittle and thin. She picked at it with her nails for a while, only to find bits of garlic flesh stuck under them while the skin remained largely intact. Growing impatient, she pressed harder, but this only resulted in more garlic flesh being gouged out. Just as she was wrestling with it, the garlic was snatched from her hands. Xu Mi said, “Forget it, this is painful to watch. I’ll do it myself.”

Xu Mi thought to herself that after just a few months apart, Qu Ange had somehow turned completely useless. But Qu Ange widened her eyes and looked at her with delight, asking, “Have you been keeping an eye on me all this time?”

Her pretty face tilted upward, a faint sheen of sweat on the tip of her nose, her cheeks a tender pink. Her fluffy hair was tied into a messy bun on top of her head. Even in this mundane act of peeling garlic, she looked like a photoshoot model, heart-stoppingly beautiful. Xu Mi felt momentarily dazed, wondering who exactly was squatting in front of her.

Was this really Qu Ange? It felt like her, yet somehow not.

The pan was already hot, so Xu Mi hurriedly poured in the oil, and the fleeting thoughts in her mind quietly faded away. After all, she was still a staunch Marxist. Once the oil was hot, she placed the simply marinated crucian carp into the pan, frying it until both sides turned a light golden brown, then set it aside. On the cutting board, she crushed the garlic with the flat side of the knife, then chopped green and red chili peppers and scallions.

Absorbed in cooking, those chaotic thoughts temporarily slipped her mind until the dish was done. When she looked up, Qu Ange was staring at her with eager anticipation again.

“I peeled the asparagus and the yam. Are we making stir-fried asparagus with yam? Yay, I love that.”

The thought “Has she lost her mind?” resurfaced in Xu Mi’s head.

She still remembered how, half a year ago, Qu Ange had landed her first supporting role with significant screen time. To maintain her figure, she had claimed that Xu Mi’s cooking was too heavy on salt and oil. Back then, Xu Mi had thought Qu Ange had a point and even went out of her way to learn diet recipes. Now, looking back screw those diet recipes.

So…

Was this because of that contract? Was she giving up on the entertainment industry?

Her once stagnant heart began to simmer. If Qu Ange wasn’t planning to pursue the entertainment industry anymore, maybe they really could go back to how things used to be?

Though Qu Ange felt she had been carefully observing Xu Mi’s expression, Xu Mi remained unreadable, making it impossible for her to discern the other’s thoughts. She simply stood by obediently as Xu Mi made a bowl of tomato egg drop soup, then eagerly carried all the dishes to the table. By then, the rice in the electric cooker was ready, its aroma wafting through the air. Qu Ange was hungry. She enthusiastically went to serve the rice but froze in the kitchen, unsure where the bowls and chopsticks were. Just as she hesitated, Xu Mi brushed past her from behind, pulled open a drawer, and revealed their tableware.

Qu Ange reached for them but heard Xu Mi say, “Have you forgotten where the bowls and chopsticks are too?”

Her sharp gaze made it clear she was displeased again.