Mrs. Fu, please be mindful of the appropriate boundaries.

If his child is born, he'll be almost two years old by now.

It could be a handsome young man, or it could be a beautiful baby girl.

but……

There's no possibility anymore.

Fu Jingting chuckled and looked up at the lights in the villa. He knew who was inside.

There are only two sets of keys to Jingshan No. 1, and they are both with him. Only by using fingerprints can one enter.

Only his and her fingerprints were recorded here.

When Fu Jingting pushed open the door, he suddenly heard a woman scream, accompanied by the sound of something jumping on the ground.

Xu Qingcheng, wearing rubber gloves, stared at a struggling Qingjiang fish on the ground, feeling utterly remorseful.

Why listen to what the vendors say and clean the fish yourself at home for the freshest result?

She had been battling this Qingjiang fish for several minutes now. First, it was in the kitchen sink, twitching and slippery on her hands. Xu Qingcheng was a little scared, and with a tremor, she jumped out of the sink, splashing water all over her body and face.

She boldly reached out to grab it, and the fish struggled desperately on the kitchen floor. She caught it, but it slipped through her fingers again.

Then, surprisingly, he jumped directly from the kitchen door to the outside.

Xu Qingcheng broke out in a sweat.

She went to the market to buy ingredients. When they were together, she never paid much attention to what he liked to eat, only knowing that he didn't like Western food and preferred Chinese food.

Song Chang downloaded a cooking app for her last time. It has many recipes shared by various people, with very detailed steps.

Xu Qingcheng didn't put in much effort when she was in school. She didn't aim to be number one or two, so being in the top ten was fine. She studied relatively easily and passed the exams with ease.

Therefore, she believes that her learning ability is not bad. She just hadn't put much effort into it before. If she studied it properly, it wouldn't be a problem.

Xu Qingcheng felt that she was fine, so she bought a lot of ingredients and filled the refrigerator to the brim.

She hadn't contacted him beforehand, so she didn't know if Fu Jingting would come back.

She didn't want to contact him, and didn't want to make herself look more pitiful, like a submissive wife, eagerly waiting for him to return and visit her.

If he comes back, then they can enjoy the meal she cooked together.

If he doesn't come back, she'll eat by herself; it's just like she's temporarily using his kitchen.

Even when she's alone, she still makes delicious and visually appealing food to warm her own stomach.

But ideals are beautiful, while reality is harsh.

Xu Qingcheng was so angry at the fish that was struggling to survive and was on its last legs that she almost cried.

She was afraid that something slippery would bounce around in her hands; the feeling was terrifying. She closed her eyes and steeled herself to grab the fish with both hands.

"What are you doing?"

The sudden sound startled Xu Qingcheng, especially since it was right next to her, and the fish she had just grabbed slipped from her hand.

"Catch fish," she replied dejectedly.

Fu Jingting's gaze fell on her. She was wearing the same shirt and skirt as when he saw her that morning, but now she was wearing an apron, her hair was casually tied into a low ponytail, she was wearing plastic gloves and slippers. Her whole demeanor had changed completely.

However, she was hardly a pretty girl right now, and looked rather disheveled, with strands of hair hanging down her face and almost reaching the corners of her mouth.

"You're back just in time. Help me catch this fish." Xu Qingcheng didn't care that he was still wearing a suit and hadn't changed his clothes. She took off the plastic gloves in her hand and was about to hand them to him.

Fu Jingting's gaze passed over her head, landing on the messy kitchen and the billowing steam. A barely perceptible twitch appeared on his forehead as he asked, "What did you put in the wok?"

Xu Qingcheng glanced at him for a second, then suddenly darted into the kitchen. Oh no, oh no, the hot oil she was making...

He reached out to grab the handle of the wok, but just as his hand was about to touch it, his wrist was grabbed and pulled away.

Fu Jingting deftly turned off the stove, turned up the range hood's airflow, and stared at her, asking, "Trying to burn this kitchen down?"

"..." She even wanted to burn the house down.

"I wanted to make tofu skin; the recipe says to fry the oil and then pour it over." But I was interrupted by that wretched fish, and my brain just wouldn't work, so I forgot.

Xu Qingcheng pulled her wrist away from his grasp. "Where's the fish?"

Having followed along without catching any fish, Fu Jingting turned around, effortlessly picked up the fish from the ground, walked back, and threw it directly into the pool.

Turn on the tap and wash your hands.

Xu Qingcheng's gaze fell on the man. His bending over made his shirt very tight, and his muscles were smooth and sexy. It was hard to imagine what he looked like when he was at his weakest in the past two years.

That was a past she couldn't glimpse, yet it was something she experienced because of her.

As he stood up, Xu Qingcheng hurriedly turned around. She took a damp towel and draped it over the handle of the wok to pour out the cooked oil. She then cut the tofu skin into strips and sprinkled scallion and chili strips on top.

The wok in his kitchen was a solid iron wok, which was quite heavy, making it difficult for her to flip it over.

Hot oil was poured into the dish, sizzling as it was poured. Her eyes were fixed on it, watching the tofu skin curl up the moment the hot oil was poured on it, its surface glistening with oil, its color bright.

She actually felt a sense of accomplishment, thinking it was really good. She picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and her eyes lit up with a smile. "Would you like to try some?"

She picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and held it to his lips, but the man didn't move; he just stared at her intently.

Xu Qingcheng chuckled and put her chopsticks away.

"Have you eaten?" she asked, her eyelashes fluttering slightly. She then asked him, "I bought a lot. Is there anything you particularly like to eat?"

"You came here to cook for me?" Fu Jingting stared at her, a smile playing on his lips.

She put down her chopsticks, bit her lip lightly, and said, "I haven't eaten yet."

This was a denial of his claim; she was simply cooking for herself, and it had nothing to do with him.

The man smiled, showing no mercy. "Miss Xu, do you think I can't do math? Even if I hired a chef from a five-star hotel, it would cost me many times less than you. With your skills, what's wrong with me spending a fortune to have you cook for me? Your value isn't in the kitchen."

Xu Qingcheng glared at him, her temples throbbing.

He meant that he wanted her to sleep with him, and that she was only worth money in bed.

Xu Qingcheng reached out and took off her apron, angrily throwing it aside. She picked up the bowl of tofu skin and dumped it directly into the trash can, then took the inner pot out of the rice cooker.

Before the inner pot had cooled down, her hand was scalded red, but Xu Qingcheng didn't notice and poured out the porridge inside right in front of him.

She shoved all the food off the kitchen counter into the trash can, her brow furrowed. She grabbed her wrist. "Are you throwing a tantrum at me?"

"Why am I throwing a tantrum? I bought these vegetables, I'm throwing them away. Is there a problem?" Xu Qingcheng retorted, shaking her hand without pulling it out.

Fu Jingting stared at a burn mark on her palm, unable to articulate his feelings.

Xu Qingcheng forcefully pulled her hand back and went straight to the second floor.

The man watched her retreating figure, his back teeth clenched tightly, and his jaw muscles clenched particularly hard.

There's a two-headed beast in my heart, sometimes leaning left and sometimes right, as if I'm being torn in two.

He stared at the messy kitchen, made a phone call, and ordered food to be delivered to Jingshan No. 1.

Xu Qingcheng took a shower and came out wearing only a thin, strappy silk nightgown.

When I came down, he was standing by the kitchen sink, his sleeves rolled up, cleaning up the mess.

That figure was particularly silent, silent and lonely.

Xu Qingcheng looked at it, pursed her lips, and felt a strange, dull pain in her heart.

She walked over and hugged him from behind. "Fu Jingting, let's make up."