Superstar Assistant [GL] - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The other three regular guests on the show had already eaten the dishes prepared by Li Ziyu, so they were relatively at ease. However, these three newly arrived guests were a bit worried because the dishes truly did not look appetizing.

Bai Song enthusiastically greeted the three guests, saying, “Don’t think these dishes look bad, or that the ingredients are perfunctory, or even that the cooking process is incredibly rough. In fact, the taste of this dish is really good! Give it a try!”

Clownfish (Xiao Chouyu) took a deep breath, thinking, “Brother Bai Song, your words are not trustworthy at all!” But since another guest on the show was an actress (You Li) and the third was a young, die-hard fan of Bai Song, Clownfish proactively volunteered to try the dish first.

Although Clownfish’s goal for this trip was to encourage Li Ziyu to produce more videos, as the editor of Li Ziyu’s video clips, she was also very curious about Li Ziyu’s cooking skills.

She picked up a slightly smaller piece of the sweet and sour pork long ribs (dragon bone) and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, put it into her mouth. She was prepared to use her own admittedly poor acting skills to tell everyone the ribs tasted good. But the moment the taste of the rib touched her taste buds, she instinctively widened her pupils without needing any acting. She looked at Li Ziyu in surprise, then slowly and earnestly chewed the bone in her mouth.

The meat on the long ribs was harder to bite off than regular pork ribs, and Li Ziyu had cut the long ribs a bit large, making it slightly inconvenient to eat. But this didn’t stop her from slowly scraping the meat off the bone with her teeth and tongue.

The balance of sweet and sour in the long ribs was just right, and the meat was very chewy. Even the bones had absorbed the sweet and sour sauce. A gentle suck left her mouth filled with fragrance.

Clownfish barely had to speak. You Li and the other non-celebrity guest saw the expression on her face and knew the dish was fine. They then reached for the dish themselves.

Following this, You Li gave Li Ziyu a thumbs-up. With a large piece of long rib still in her mouth, she didn’t hesitate with her praise. “You are incredible! How can you make sweet and sour pork that tastes this good, even using long ribs?”

You Li was confused, but Li Ziyu was even more perplexed. “Long ribs are also bones with meat on them. There isn’t much difference from pork ribs, right?”

Zhang Feng looked at Li Ziyu with a wry smile. “You’re wrong about that. If professional chefs heard you say that, they would definitely criticize you. The difference between long ribs and pork ribs must be quite significant.”

Li Ziyu started speaking the truth again. “For professional chefs, the difference is certainly huge. But I’m not a professional chef. For me, sweet and sour pork is just meat on the bone cooked in a sweet and sour flavor.”

Guest You Li swallowed the sweet and sour rib in her mouth and looked at the bright red and spicy Shuizhu Yu (Sichuan Boiled Fish). “So, does that mean Shuizhu Yu to you is just fish, regardless of what kind of fish it is?”

Li Ziyu pondered for a moment, then shook her head. “There is still a difference. Some fish can’t be used for Shuizhu Yu.”

You Li’s expression immediately stiffened, and then she shook her head with a bittersweet laugh. “I think people who can cook have a different way of thinking than the rest of us. I’ve decided not to talk to you anymore, so I don’t get ridiculed and lose face by participating in your variety show.”

Li Ziyu had a faint smile on her lips. Her smile was respectful and polite, yet it made people feel that this person, who looked quite aggressive, was actually not aggressive at all.

Li Ziyu only said, “Sister Li, if you stop talking to me because of this, what a huge loss that would be for me. I should ask to be assigned other work and stop cooking.”

Chen Xiaoxiao was the first to object. “That won’t do! Although your food doesn’t look good, you are the only one here who can cook. If you don’t, we’ll be forced to eat genuinely awful food.”

Bai Song also quickly nodded. “Yes, if you don’t cook, we’ll have to eat genuinely awful food!”

…

Finally, after the shoot ended, Zhou Tiantian and Li Ziyu went home together. Zhou Tiantian walked over to help Li Ziyu carry her bag, but Li Ziyu didn’t hand it over. Instead, she smiled at her and said, “You seem even more excited about me shooting a variety show.”

This was Zhou Tiantian’s first time seeing a variety show being filmed. It was very different from filming a TV drama. In Zhou Tiantian’s eyes, the Li Ziyu in the variety show was more lively and not very different from the Li Ziyu she usually saw.

Zhou Tiantian preferred Li Ziyu the person to the characters Li Ziyu played, so she was naturally a bit excited. “I like you shooting a variety show more than when you shoot TV dramas.” As she spoke, she still reached out for the bag in Li Ziyu’s hand. Li Ziyu avoided her grasp, carrying her own bag, and smiled at her. “I’m only telling you this: my previous TV dramas weren’t well-produced. The scripts lacked charm, so you found them ordinary. If I get a good script, TV dramas will be more worth watching than variety shows.”

Zhou Tiantian nodded, then reached out to Li Ziyu again. “Let me carry your bag.”

Li Ziyu replied, “The bag isn’t heavy. I can carry it myself. If you have time to be lazy, be lazy. Why are you always looking for work to do?”

Zhou Tiantian said as a matter of course, “I’m your assistant.”

“An assistant doesn’t have to do everything. This bag isn’t heavy, and I don’t have anything else to do right now, so I can carry it myself.”

Zhou Tiantian thought she was a little strange because recently, Li Ziyu hadn’t let her do certain small things, unlike when she first started as Li Ziyu’s assistant, when these tasks were almost always delegated to Zhou Tiantian.

After the first episode aired, Li Ziyu got a new title on Weibo: The Queen of Delicious-but-Ugly Dark Cuisine.

Netizens who had watched the show or related video clips were all curious about Li Ziyu’s cooking. Some even said, “Compared to the other content of this show, I’m more excited about what kind of dish Li Ziyu will make next. I even wonder if she will suddenly have an epiphany one day and make dishes that are perfect in color, aroma, and taste, benefiting us poor viewers who can only see the appearance!”

This person’s suggestion spoke the mind of many and quickly became a hot comment.

Zhou Tiantian and Li Ziyu were sitting on the sofa, watching the first episode of the online variety show on TV while constantly refreshing the comments on Weibo.

When she saw these comments, Zhou Tiantian’s eyes curved with a smile. She then switched back to Li Ziyu’s Weibo homepage, and her smile became even sweeter. “You’ve gained more followers! You already have 5.5 million fans.”

Li Ziyu turned her head to look at Zhou Tiantian after hearing her voice. A complicated emotion flickered in her eyes. Zhou Tiantian felt a bit uneasy under her gaze, and her heart began to thump faster. She asked Li Ziyu worriedly, “Why don’t you look happy? Don’t you want to gain followers?”

Li Ziyu just stared at her, her words having no relation to the emotion in her eyes. “Of course, I’m happy. The more famous I am, the higher my pay will be, and the more money I can earn.”

Zhou Tiantian was even more confused. “Then why don’t you seem happy right now?”

Li Ziyu frowned slightly. “Because I’m thinking about something.”

Zhou Tiantian subconsciously decided not to ask what she was thinking and just gave a soft “Oh.”

Li Ziyu then fell into silence again. At this moment, her mind was constantly replaying the bits and pieces of their high school interactions.

In the beginning, Li Ziyu just felt sorry for Zhou Tiantian and bought her a few meals. Later, for some unknown reason, Zhou Tiantian slowly occupied all of her attention. She started to develop a protective instinct toward Zhou Tiantian, wanting to protect this girl.

Then, she started to become friends with Zhou Tiantian. Zhou Tiantian was also very clingy and stayed with her every day.

Li Ziyu slowly realized that although Zhou Tiantian was a relatively timid girl who dared not resist, she had a very kind and sensitive heart. In their interactions, if Li Ziyu was good to her by one measure, Zhou Tiantian would return ten, and she had unconditional trust and admiration for Li Ziyu.

Li Ziyu felt that her feelings for Zhou Tiantian were slowly changing. She seemed to no longer just regard Zhou Tiantian as her good friend. When she saw Zhou Tiantian happy, she wanted to hold her in her arms. When she saw Zhou Tiantian shy, she wanted to cup her face and kiss her.

Li Ziyu was clear that this was not the kind of feeling that should exist between friends.

Although Li Ziyu usually held the initiative when they were together, the high school Li Ziyu was still a bit uneasy and apprehensive. If Zhou Tiantian knew about her improper feelings for her, how would she react? Would she accept her, or run away?

Li Ziyu realized that she was actually a bit cowardly because she didn’t dare to ask Zhou Tiantian directly.

However, during this time, a good friend from Li Ziyu’s middle school, Li Xuan, came to visit her. When he saw Zhou Tiantian always following her like a shadow, he teased, “Ziyu, I feel like she’s like a little wife following you around, afraid you’ll cheat on me?”

The friend was just joking, but Li Ziyu had a flash of inspiration. She put her arm around Zhou Tiantian’s waist, pulled Zhou Tiantian into her embrace, and forced a smile to hide her inner panic. She told her friend, “She is my wife. Why else would I always keep her by my side and not let anyone bully her?”

Zhou Tiantian was slightly stunned when she heard her words, then her face turned red, but she didn’t say anything, as if she tacitly approved of Li Ziyu’s statement.

Not long after, Li Ziyu’s words spread to many people at school. Those who had a good relationship with Li Ziyu even jokingly called Zhou Tiantian “sister-in-law” when they saw her. When talking about Zhou Tiantian in front of Li Ziyu, they no longer called her by name but directly referred to her as “your wife.”

Zhou Tiantian initially blushed and panicked, but gradually got used to it and accepted the title.

However, she was still very shy. She would get shy when Li Ziyu kissed her. Later, every time Li Ziyu wanted to kiss her, she would run away. Li Ziyu knew she was shy and planned to wait for her for another year. Who knew that after graduating from high school, Zhou Tiantian would disappear?

Thinking of these things now, Li Ziyu was still full of emotion. Although so many years had passed, when she saw Zhou Tiantian appear again, the love she felt for her seemed to have faded. That’s why, after hiring Zhou Tiantian as her life assistant, she took it for granted that Zhou Tiantian did many things for her, because at that time, she really did only treat Zhou Tiantian as an ordinary friend and life assistant.

But as the two spent more and more time together, Li Ziyu slowly succumbed, and the feelings from the past resurfaced.

…

Li Ziyu’s thoughts returned from her memories to reality. Seeing that Zhou Tiantian was still very confused, she decided to have a serious talk with her.

She thought for a moment, turned to look into Zhou Tiantian’s eyes, and her gaze was serious and stern. “When I first saw you at the door, I was quite surprised. After all, our relationship used to be different, and our identities were quite special to each other.”

Zhou Tiantian was momentarily confused. Although she and Li Ziyu were very good friends in high school, their relationship didn’t seem to have been anything particularly special.

Seeing her confusion, Li Ziyu frowned slightly and continued, “I figured you needed money, and I felt comfortable having you take care of me, so I hired you as my assistant. At that time, I truly had no lingering feelings for you and could treat you purely as an assistant.”

Zhou Tiantian: “???”

“But feelings are truly uncontrollable, Tiantian, you know? I always thought you were just a very weak girl who needed protection, but now it seems I was too one-sided before. You’ve brought me too many surprises lately, so…” Li Ziyu blushed a little as she said this, but she took a deep breath and continued, “So, my feelings for you seem to have rekindled. What do you think we should do?”

Zhou Tiantian: “???”

She blinked, indicating that she didn’t quite understand.

Li Ziyu raised her hand and rubbed her hair. Her face was redder than before, but she finally said to Zhou Tiantian, “After the college entrance exam, I originally wanted us to both choose a university in City B so we could continue to be together, but for some reason, you suddenly disappeared. Now that we have met again, it must be fate. Are you willing to start over with me?”

“I…” Zhou Tiantian had no idea what Li Ziyu was talking about. “Start over with what?”

Li Ziyu looked at her bewildered expression, and a terrible deduction suddenly appeared in her mind. The blush on her face instantly faded, and her complexion started to become a little pale. She looked at Zhou Tiantian and said, “Of course, to continue our high school relationship. You… continue to be… in a relationship… with me…”

The three words “in a relationship” completely stunned Zhou Tiantian. Her face instantly flushed scarlet, and she began to stammer. “What relationship? Did we… date… in high school?”

Li Ziyu’s face slowly darkened. “What do you mean, you don’t admit we dated in high school? During the time we were together, everyone called you sister-in-law, and everyone said you were my wife. Are you denying it now?”

Zhou Tiantian’s face became even redder. She felt like she was about to smoke. She stammered to Li Ziyu, “Were they… weren’t they just playing around?”

Li Ziyu glared at her fiercely, grinding her teeth. “You say they were playing around? In high school, who do you think dared to play around with me?”

Zhou Tiantian opened her mouth and realized Li Ziyu was right. Many people in high school certainly wouldn’t dare to joke around with Li Ziyu casually. They would probably be even more afraid to casually assign a same-sex partner to Li Ziyu like that!

But Zhou Tiantian had always considered the whole thing a joke from those people. She always believed that her relationship with Li Ziyu was one of pure friendship. But now, Li Ziyu’s expression told her that the thing she once thought was a joke was true. Li Ziyu genuinely treated their time together as a relationship, and she was Li Ziyu’s girlfriend!!

This realization came so suddenly. Zhou Tiantian, belatedly, started to feel shy and explained incoherently, “But, but I really only saw you as a friend. I thought they were all joking.”

Li Ziyu gave a cold laugh. “Joking? They were joking with you, but when I kissed you and hugged you, was I also joking? When I invited you to my house for the weekend and we slept in the same bed, was that also a joke?”

Zhou Tiantian’s face turned even redder. She dared not look directly at Li Ziyu, looking down at her knees, and dared not speak again because Li Ziyu’s expression was truly terrifying now.

Li Ziyu felt genuinely angry and wronged. Her first love, which she had kept in her heart for so long, turned out to have been treated as a simple friendship by the other person! She thought she and Zhou Tiantian were in love, but it turned out Zhou Tiantian only considered her a good friend.

When others are hopelessly in love with someone who doesn’t love them back, it might last only a day or two, but she had been under this delusion for several years! She felt like there was a mouthful of blood she wanted to cough up because she felt so suffocated!

Zhou Tiantian secretly glanced at her. Seeing that she was still angry, she apologized softly, “I’m sorry…”

Upon hearing her apology, Li Ziyu finally understood why men on the internet complained about their girlfriends being unreasonable. Because she instinctively asked Zhou Tiantian, “Since you’re apologizing, can you tell me what you did wrong?”

Zhou Tiantian opened her mouth, truly not knowing what she had done wrong. Should she apologize to Li Ziyu and say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t treat you like a lover back then”? But she really didn’t know Li Ziyu was dating her and had never thought about it in that way. Her feelings for Li Ziyu, from then until now, have always been that of a friend.

Li Ziyu’s heart was a mix of emotions. She felt hurt, wronged, and also extremely embarrassed, feeling that she had been utterly foolish back then for not clearly confessing, leading her to have a relationship with her own fantasy for so long, while the other person only considered her a good friend.

“Forget it. Since you don’t have feelings for me, I can’t force you to start dating me again. Let’s leave it at that.” After saying this, Li Ziyu picked up her bag, opened the door, and walked out of the room, disappearing from the apartment.

Zhou Tiantian looked blankly as she left. A sudden pang of sadness hit her. She didn’t know what exactly she was sad about, but her chest felt tight and uncomfortable.

…

After leaving, Li Ziyu called her good friend. This good friend was Li Xuan, the middle school classmate who had visited her in high school and jokingly called Zhou Tiantian her little wife.

When Li Xuan received Li Ziyu’s call, he was excitedly watching Li Ziyu’s new variety show. “Ziyu, your performance in this show is fantastic! Many of our company’s employees are discussing you in the group chat. When do you have time to get me a few signed photos? I’ll use them as prizes to motivate the employees!”

Li Ziyu gave a cold laugh. “Heh, you come to the usual spot, and I’ll sign them for you.”

Li Xuan shivered and looked around, suddenly feeling a bit cold. He was about to ask Li Ziyu why she wanted him to go to the usual spot, but Li Ziyu had already hung up.

Li Xuan put on his coat and left for the club they frequently went to.

Li Xuan arrived before Li Ziyu and connected the club’s TV to the internet to continue watching Li Ziyu’s variety show.

When Li Ziyu arrived at the club, the manager immediately came forward to usher her into the private room.

Li Xuan was happily watching the show when a bag suddenly flew toward him. He quickly dodged it and looked at Li Ziyu by the door with lingering fear. “Are you trying to murder your friends and family?!”

Then, a meaningful smile appeared on his face. “When I was watching the show earlier, the guest who came over went looking for your assistant. Your assistant looks quite familiar. Is there any new development there?”

Li Ziyu rolled her eyes at him and sat on the sofa, coldly watching her own variety show.

Li Xuan finally sensed that something was wrong. He put away his smile and looked at Li Ziyu nervously. “What’s wrong? Did some viewers watch your show and start cursing you on Weibo?”

Li Ziyu glanced at him and said coldly, “Not only is there no new development, but the old development was fake too.”

Li Xuan was even more confused. “What do you mean by that?”

Li Ziyu gritted her teeth fiercely and looked at Li Xuan. “It’s all because you said she was my little wife back then, and somehow it spread. Everyone at school was saying it. I thought she admitted to this identity, but she just told me she thought everyone was joking with me, and she never dated me. She only treated me as her good friend.”

Li Xuan: “…”

A moment later, a thunderous laugh erupted in the private room. Li Xuan doubled over in his chair. “Hahahahahahaha, are you trying to laugh me to death so you can inherit my company? The high school first love you sweetly dated is actually just pure friendship! Hahahahahahaha!”

Li Ziyu clenched her fists, her voice seeping through her teeth. “Do you want to die right now? I can send you off immediately!”

Li Xuan immediately stopped laughing, but the curve of his mouth wouldn’t go down. He crossed his hands over his chest in a defensive posture and suppressed his laughter. “No, no, I don’t want to die. I just think you…” He was about to burst into laughter again.

Li Ziyu punched the sofa and finished his sentence for him. “You just think I’m pitiful and funny.”

Li Xuan immediately straightened his face. “No, no, you misunderstood me. I don’t think you’re funny, even though I laughed, but, okay, I really do think this is hilarious.”

Li Ziyu shot him a look that seemed to carry murderous intent, as if she wanted to cut him into a thousand pieces.

Li Xuan didn’t care about the murderous intent in her eyes at all. He raised his hand and waved it to calm her down. “Hey, don’t be angry. She treated you as a friend before, but now you can restart your offensive and make her treat you as a wife!”

Li Ziyu snorted. “Forget it. Maybe she likes men!”

Li Xuan raised his wine glass. “Well, what can you do? You have to admit with tears that the foolishness of your youth was your youth. At least you dated someone unilaterally, and that’s not bad either.”

Li Ziyu irritably drank the wine in her glass, then poured herself another one. Li Xuan saw that she was indeed in a bad mood, so he didn’t stop her from drinking. When he thought she had had enough, he stopped Li Ziyu and said to her, “Don’t drink anymore. Go back and sleep. Everything will be fine when you wake up tomorrow. Don’t overthink things.”

Then, Li Xuan called Zhou Tiantian.

…

When Zhou Tiantian saw Li Ziyu leave, her first thought was that it was already autumn, and Li Ziyu had gone out without wearing a coat. She needed to take one to her.

However, after finding a jacket and walking out of the room, she couldn’t see any sign of Li Ziyu.

Li Ziyu was a celebrity, and her fame was steadily rising due to the variety show. If she walked casually outside the complex, she could easily be recognized, leading to some unavoidable trouble.

As Zhou Tiantian walked out, she felt the chill of the autumn wind and also felt very sorry for Li Ziyu. Li Ziyu had gone out without a jacket and might catch a cold.

Zhou Tiantian didn’t know where she would go. She called her several times, but no one answered. So, she searched for Li Ziyu in the vicinity of the complex, thinking Li Ziyu might be sitting around sulking and she could find her and apologize.

But she searched all night and couldn’t find Li Ziyu. Finally, just as she was about to give up, a call appeared on her phone screen.

Before long, a man’s voice came through the phone. “Little assistant, your celebrity is drunk. Are you going to come and pick her up?”

Zhou Tiantian immediately became anxious. “She’s drunk? Did she go out drinking? Where are you now? I’ll be right there.”

Li Xuan gave Zhou Tiantian the address of the club, then turned to look at Li Ziyu and told Zhou Tiantian, “Hurry up and come over. She seems to be looking for you now.”

Zhou Tiantian quickly agreed and took a car to the club address.

Zhou Tiantian had been by Li Ziyu’s side for almost five months, and this was the first time she had seen Li Ziyu drink.

When she arrived at the club, she gave Li Ziyu’s name, and a waiter immediately led her to the private room.

As soon as Zhou Tiantian walked into the room, Li Xuan quickly waved to her. “Come quickly, come quickly, your Ziyu is drunk.”

A trace of guilt immediately arose in Zhou Tiantian’s heart. She sat next to Li Ziyu and reached out to touch her forehead. “Did she drink a lot? Her head feels a little hot.”

Li Xuan looked at Zhou Tiantian and Li Ziyu, and suddenly felt that the two of them shouldn’t just be good friends forever. He shook his head, throwing the thought out of his mind, and said to Zhou Tiantian, “She drank quite a bit. Take her back and give her some hangover soup.”

Then, Li Xuan drove Zhou Tiantian and Li Ziyu home. After returning home, Zhou Tiantian cooked hangover soup for Li Ziyu and fed it to her. After a flurry of activity, Zhou Tiantian saw Li Ziyu sitting on the sofa, not talking or crying, just sitting quietly and staring blankly, which made her a little worried.

She took the cup from Li Ziyu’s hand and stood up, but suddenly felt a little dizzy, and her head ached a bit.

She raised her hand to touch her forehead, feeling that it was a little hot.

Li Ziyu was indeed drunk, but her feelings couldn’t be hidden when she was drunk. She vaguely looked up at Zhou Tiantian and asked her, out of instinctual concern, “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Tiantian said, “I might have caught a bit of a chill and have a slight cold.” She had only remembered that Li Ziyu was dressed lightly when she went out, but forgot that she hadn’t worn much herself when she went out. It was already autumn, and the weather had cooled down a lot. She hadn’t expected that searching for Li Ziyu all night would lead to her catching a cold.

Li Ziyu staggered to her feet. “I’ll go find you some medicine.”

Zhou Tiantian quickly supported her arm. “No need, I can do it myself.”

Li Ziyu was very insistent. She staggered to the side of the TV cabinet, opened it, and started rummaging through the medicine box.

Zhou Tiantian crouched beside her, looking at the medicine box, and asked Li Ziyu, “Just tell me which one is for a cold, and I’ll find it myself. Why don’t you go take a bath first and get some sleep?”

Li Ziyu didn’t say much, but frowned with determination. Finally, she took out two capsules and handed them to Zhou Tiantian, saying, “Take these.”

Zhou Tiantian took the capsules. As she stood up, a wave of dizziness hit her, and she stumbled, accidentally dropping the bowl of hangover soup she was holding onto the floor, where it shattered.

She crouched down to clean up, but Li Ziyu frowned and looked at her. “Go take your medicine first!”

Zhou Tiantian could only go to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water and take the two capsules.

When she finished the medicine and walked out of the kitchen, she saw Li Ziyu cleaning up the broken pieces of the bowl on the floor. She immediately stepped forward and said to Li Ziyu, “Don’t touch this, you’ll cut your hand.” Just as she finished speaking, Li Ziyu’s right index finger was sliced by a deep cut. Blood immediately flowed down her finger.

She immediately rushed to bandage Li Ziyu, but Li Ziyu herself didn’t seem to care. She stood up and said to her, “I’m going to take a bath and go to sleep first.”

After Li Ziyu left, Zhou Tiantian cleaned up the debris on the floor, then went back to her room to take a bath.

After her bath, she felt even dizzier and slowly fell asleep in bed.

Li Ziyu felt equally dizzy after her bath, and her head was throbbing. Her mind was somewhat unclear and fuzzy.

She subconsciously came to Zhou Tiantian’s room, wanting Zhou Tiantian to help her find some medicine, but when she saw Zhou Tiantian sleeping peacefully in bed, she didn’t have the heart to wake her up.

She slowly sat down next to Zhou Tiantian, and memories of their past interactions slowly seeped out from the depths of her mind.

Li Ziyu’s parents were not home due to work. Li Ziyu and Zhou Tiantian’s “relationship” was in its intense period, so Li Ziyu invited Zhou Tiantian to spend the weekend at her house.

She begged Zhou Tiantian for a long time before Zhou Tiantian agreed. Then, she accompanied Zhou Tiantian to her house to talk to her parents. Zhou Tiantian’s stepfather knew Li Ziyu had a wealthy background from her clothes and demeanor, so he agreed to Li Ziyu’s invitation.

It was the first time Zhou Tiantian had spent the night away from home. She was excited, tossing and turning in Li Ziyu’s soft bed, finding it hard to believe she had actually escaped her family and was sleeping at Li Ziyu’s house!

Li Ziyu turned over and hugged her, her face slightly red. She whispered, “Stop moving around, or I’ll handle you later!”

Zhou Tiantian thought her “handle you” meant to hit her, so she lay still in bed. Then, Li Ziyu kissed her on the face and tried to kiss her on the mouth, but Zhou Tiantian shyly avoided her.

Li Ziyu sighed softly. Her lips suddenly touched a warm softness. She snapped back to reality and realized she had kissed Zhou Tiantian’s lips.

At this moment, Li Ziyu felt a bit lost. Was this a dream or reality? Was this high school or after graduation? Did Zhou Tiantian reject her, or was she lying obediently like this?

For some reason, Li Ziyu’s breathing quickened. She wanted to move away from Zhou Tiantian, but her inner greed made her lower her head once more!

Zhou Tiantian felt very restless that night. She woke up with a start in the middle of the night, only to find Li Ziyu on top of her!

Oh my God, what kind of dream was she having!? Zhou Tiantian’s cheeks were flushed, and her body temperature began to rise. She wanted to push away the Li Ziyu on top of her, but the Li Ziyu in her dream seemed even more aggressive than in reality. She completely ignored her, and when she saw her about to speak, she even lowered her head and sealed her lips!

This was the most embarrassing dream Zhou Tiantian had ever had in her two lifetimes.

Waking up from the dream, Zhou Tiantian slightly opened her eyes, only to find something was not right. Why was there a soft body pressed against her back?

Her pupils instantly dilated. The thing that happened last night… was it not a dream!?

She didn’t dare to look back and even wanted to escape, so she quietly tried to slip out of the embrace of the person behind her. But her movements woke the person behind her.

Li Ziyu opened her eyes and saw the back of a head. She was also a little confused, but then the memories of last night slowly resurfaced in her mind. Li Ziyu’s face also turned red. She had… after drinking, done it with Zhou Tiantian! And it seemed like she had semi-forced Zhou Tiantian!

Zhou Tiantian felt the heartbeat of the person behind her accelerating. She instinctively turned her head, and her eyes met Li Ziyu’s. Three seconds later, the temperature on both their faces rose simultaneously.

“I…” Li Ziyu’s eyes were flickering, seeming to be filled with stars. Her voice was light, but very firm. “I will take responsibility for you.”

Zhou Tiantian’s face was even redder. She didn’t know what to say for a moment. Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and finally, she said to Li Ziyu, “No, there’s no need. Anyway, it’s not like I’ll… get pregnant…”

At this moment, Li Ziyu and Zhou Tiantian finally understood why men online would complain about their girlfriends being unreasonable. Because now, she instinctively asked Zhou Tiantian, “Since you said you’re sorry, can you tell me what you did wrong?”

Zhou Tiantian opened her mouth, truly not knowing what she had done wrong. Should she apologize to Li Ziyu and say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t treat you like a lover back then”? But she really didn’t know Li Ziyu was dating her and had never thought about it in that way. Her feelings for Li Ziyu, from then until now, have always been that of a friend.

Li Ziyu’s heart was a mix of emotions. She felt hurt, wronged, and also extremely embarrassed, feeling that she had been utterly foolish back then for not clearly confessing, leading her to have a relationship with her own fantasy for so long, while the other person only considered her a good friend.

“Forget it. Since you don’t have feelings for me, I can’t force you to start dating me again. Let’s leave it at that.” After saying this, Li Ziyu picked up her bag, opened the door, and walked out of the room, disappearing from the apartment.

Zhou Tiantian looked blankly as she left. A sudden pang of sadness hit her. She didn’t know what exactly she was sad about, but her chest felt tight and uncomfortable.

…

Li Ziyu, in the bathroom of her own room, looked down at the bright cut on her right index finger. The wound was now ringed with white, a clear sign of being over-soaked.

If it weren’t for this wound, the matter might not have been so obvious, because, after a few hours of that kind of activity, the hands always return to normal. But the wound, starkly white, constantly reminded her of how crazy she had been last night.

She already didn’t know how to interact with Zhou Tiantian after that embarrassing confession yesterday. Who would have thought that drinking last night would lead to that incident? Now, she had even less idea of how to interact with her.

Remembering Zhou Tiantian’s words this morning, Li Ziyu sighed, thinking it would have been better to be pregnant. That way, she could naturally take responsibility for her, and their relationship could immediately progress, avoiding the current awkwardness.

The word “pregnant” appeared again. Li Ziyu was slightly stunned. She opened the bathroom door and rushed to the living room, opened the TV cabinet drawer, and pulled out the medicine box, then froze in place.

After a long time, she snapped back to reality and forced a smile. Mom must have used that thing to trick me, right? How can there be such a miraculous medicine in the world? If it really worked, how sensational would that be? So, it must be fake, right?

She had just finished comforting herself when the door to the downstairs bathroom opened. Zhou Tiantian walked out of the bathroom and saw Li Ziyu squatting by the TV cabinet with the medicine box open. She instantly forgot the awkward atmosphere between them and asked her worriedly, “Do you have a cold? Or are you uncomfortable from the hangover last night?”

Li Ziyu quickly closed the drawer, stood up, and looked at Zhou Tiantian with forced composure. “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me. Go back to your room and rest for a while.”

Zhou Tiantian was stunned. She had just woken up, why should she go back to her room to rest? Then she wondered if Li Ziyu hadn’t sobered up yet.

“I’ll make you breakfast first. Since you were drunk last night, it’s best to have some breakfast this morning.” Saying this, Zhou Tiantian walked toward the kitchen.

Li Ziyu saw her walking toward the kitchen and immediately called out, “Don’t make me breakfast!”

Zhou Tiantian turned back to look at Li Ziyu, even more confused. Was Li Ziyu starting to reject her because of what happened between them? Would Li Ziyu want to replace her because of this?

A wave of worry slowly emerged in Zhou Tiantian’s heart, but she saw Li Ziyu walking toward the kitchen, and as she walked, she said forcefully to Zhou Tiantian, “I’m cooking breakfast this morning! You either sit properly on the sofa or go back to your room to rest! Don’t make me say it a second time!”

Zhou Tiantian didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she always listened to Li Ziyu, so she slowly walked to the sofa and sat down.

Li Ziyu originally intended to make a simple sandwich, but when she saw the pre-made sliced bread, her mind instinctively wondered if the additives in the bread would be bad for a pregnant woman.

“…” She was speechless at herself. This was something that wasn’t even confirmed yet, and she didn’t know what she was worrying about.

But she still put down the sliced bread, turned, picked up a pot, and started washing rice to cook congee.

Half an hour later, Zhou Tiantian looked at the burnt congee on the table and didn’t mind it at all, because she knew Li Ziyu’s cooking was always like this—ugly but delicious.

But when she scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth, her smile froze at the corners of her lips.

What was going on? Why did today’s “dark cuisine” suddenly become genuinely dark? Why was this white rice congee so salty? Why was the burnt taste truly present? This was not scientific! She slowly looked at Li Ziyu, her eyes gradually filling with worry.

Li Ziyu’s heart tightened. She wondered if Zhou Tiantian had discovered the true effect of the medicine. But then she heard Zhou Tiantian say to her, full of worry, “Ziyu, what should we do? Your cooking isn’t good anymore! When the next guests come, they’ll completely make fun of us!”

Li Ziyu: “…” I’m the one who really wants to slap you right now!