Dai Chengfeng was extremely close, his warm breath brushing against Liu Erlong's cheek. His voice, still carrying the lazy magnetism of someone who had just woken up, seeped into her ears.
Liu Erlong was momentarily stunned by his sudden proximity and the "old account" he brought up. The floodgates of her memory opened.
She vaguely recalled that there had indeed been such an occasion…
She had been troubled by thoughts of Yu Xiaogang and drank herself into a stupor. When she woke up with a splitting headache, Dai Chengfeng had been by her side, bringing her a perfectly tempered hangover soup and a simple yet warming bowl of noodles.
At the time, her emotions were complex, and she hadn't said much. But that warmth had briefly dispelled the chill in her heart.
Now, with Dai Chengfeng bringing up the past and pairing it with an expression that seemed to say, "I've done so much for you, and yet you refuse to reciprocate," Liu Erlong found herself at a loss for words. Her previously aggressive demeanor began to weaken involuntarily.
At her core, she wasn't an unreasonable person—just hot-tempered, soft to kindness but resistant to force.
Dai Chengfeng's tactful retreat had struck precisely at the softer aspects of her personality.
"You… That was so long ago…"
Liu Erlong averted her gaze, her voice dropping slightly as she muttered uncomfortably, "I… I'm not a good cook…"
Hearing the slight give in her tone, a flicker of triumph flashed in Dai Chengfeng's eyes, though his face remained earnest:
"It doesn't matter; I'm not picky. Anything made by the teacher is fine."
With that, he straightened up and extended his hand toward Liu Erlong, offering an inviting gesture,
"Come on, Teacher, consider it… repaying your disciple's previous care?"
Liu Erlong looked at the large, well-defined hand stretched out before her, then glanced up at Dai Chengfeng's handsome face filled with "anticipation." She struggled internally for a moment.
Ultimately, the emptiness in her stomach, a trace of guilt, and an impulse she didn't want to delve into—perhaps a desire to break the awkward atmosphere—
Compelled her, almost unconsciously, to slowly extend her hand from under the blanket and lightly place it in Dai Chengfeng's palm.
Her fingertips were cool, and when they touched Dai Chengfeng's warm palm, both of them seemed to pause slightly.
Dai Chengfeng immediately closed his hand, enveloping her cool fingers in his palm. With a slight tug, he pulled the still somewhat limp Liu Erlong off the bed.
"Go freshen up a bit; I'll check what ingredients are in the kitchen."
Dai Chengfeng naturally released her hand, as if the earlier hand-holding had been nothing more than an ordinary assistive gesture. He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Liu Erlong some space to process the current situation.
Liu Erlong watched his figure disappear through the doorway and finally exhaled slowly, feeling her face still somewhat warm.
She raised her hand to touch her lips and quickly dropped it, inwardly cursing herself for being weak.
She shook her head forcefully, trying to dispel those jumbled thoughts. She lifted the blanket, got out of bed, and walked unsteadily toward the washroom.
After splashing cold water on her face for a while, Liu Erlong felt much clearer-headed, and her hangover-induced headache eased somewhat.
Looking at the beautiful yet clearly weary and slightly flustered woman in the mirror, she took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
It's just one meal; we'll eat, and then he can leave!
She told herself this in her mind.
When she tidied her slightly wrinkled dress and walked to the small kitchen entrance, she saw Dai Chengfeng already rolling up his sleeves, checking the pantry's contents.
The afternoon sunlight illuminated the kitchen brightly. His tall figure moved about busily, oddly giving off a sense of… domestic warmth?
Liu Erlong was startled by this thought and quickly coughed to alert him of her presence.
Hearing the sound, Dai Chengfeng turned around. Seeing Liu Erlong standing at the door, her hair slightly combed but still carrying a hint of laziness, he smiled:
"Teacher, you really don't have much here.
Some rice, a bit of dried meat and vegetables—it looks like we'll have to make do with something simple."
Liu Erlong came over and examined the ingredients, which indeed left much to be desired.
She rarely cooked herself; these were probably leftovers from a long time ago.
"Let's make some porridge and slice some dried meat to go with it."
She reached for the bag of rice as she spoke.
However, Dai Chengfeng beat her to it, lifting the rice bag first: "I'll rinse the rice and cook the porridge; Teacher, you handle the dried meat and vegetables—just slice them."
His movements were natural, as if dividing the tasks was the most obvious thing to do.
Liu Erlong glanced at him but said nothing, silently picking up the dried meat and the slightly wilted greens nearby.
The kitchen space was limited, and with two people inside, minor physical contact during their movements was inevitable.
The first time was when Liu Erlong bent down to get a basin from under the cutting board. As she stood up without noticing, the back of her head lightly brushed against Dai Chengfeng's chin, who was standing behind her checking the rice quantity.
"Sorry,"
Dai Chengfeng murmured softly, his voice close to her ear.
Liu Erlong's body stiffened. Without turning her head, she mumbled indistinctly:
"It's okay."
The second time was when Dai Chengfeng, holding the rinsed rice pot, turned to go to the stove, and his arm inadvertently grazed Liu Erlong's back.
Through the thin fabric, the fleeting sensation made Liu Erlong's spine tingle slightly, causing her chopping motion to pause.
Dai Chengfeng, however, seemed completely oblivious, walking straight to the stove to light the fire.
Liu Erlong stole a glance at him, seeing his normal, focused expression as he gazed at the flames, as if the earlier touch had truly been accidental.
Her unease slightly eased, but a subtle, deliberately created sense of "normalcy" began to erode her defenses unnoticed.
She realized that she… didn't seem to mind these occasional, seemingly unintentional touches as much as she had imagined.
The porridge bubbled in the pot, and the fragrance of rice gradually filled the small kitchen.
Liu Erlong placed the sliced dried meat and vegetables on a plate for later use. The atmosphere became temporarily quiet, with only the crackling of burning firewood and the sound of the porridge bubbling away.
"Teacher," Dai Chengfeng suddenly spoke, breaking the silence, "now that you're no longer the Dean, what are your plans for the future?"
Liu Erlong was pouring the vegetable slices into the porridge when she heard this. Her movements paused briefly, her eyes dimmed for a moment, then regained their usual nonchalant appearance. She stirred the porridge in the pot with a spoon, saying indifferently:
"What plans? The world is vast; surely there's a place for me, Liu Erlong. If I get tired of Spirit City, I'll just go somewhere else."
"Isn't it nice to stay in Spirit City?"
Dai Chengfeng walked over to her and naturally took the spoon from her hand, "Let me stir for a while; Teacher, take a break."
With the spoon taken away, Liu Erlong's hand felt empty.
She watched Dai Chengfeng skillfully stirring the porridge, her profile silent for a moment.
Stay in Spirit City? It did have a good training environment. Although Bibi Dong's intentions were hard to fathom, she treated strong individuals with respect, and…
She instinctively glanced at the young man beside her, a ripple forming in her heart.
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