His physiological preference

On the first day of her period, Yang Zhiyan felt a slight heaviness in her stomach. It wasn't painful, but it made her not want to move.

Yang Zhiyan replied, "My stomach hurts, I don't want to go out."

Then Yang Zhiyan brought the breakfast back; the bag was insulated, and the breakfast was still warm.

Steamed dumplings, xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), and congee with preserved egg and lean pork are all her favorites.

She recognized the thermos container used for porridge; she thought it was pretty and decided to buy one for herself so she could occasionally bring lunch to her studio.

A quick search revealed it cost almost half a month's salary. Forget it, she didn't deserve it. Later, Qin Yuzheng noticed she liked it and bought another one for her.

Yang Zhiyan carried breakfast back to her room, poured the porridge into a bowl, and arranged the steamed dumplings and xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). She sat down at the table, picked up her chopsticks, and took a xiaolongbao.

When you bite into it, the broth bursts in your mouth—fresh and piping hot.

When Yang Zhiyan arrived at the studio, Teacher Mu had not yet arrived. She sat down at the worktable and took out a pen and paper to draw the design draft for her competition entry.

Yang Zhiyan picked up a pencil, drew a few strokes on the paper, was not satisfied, erased them, and then drew a few more strokes.

The phone rang. The screen displayed the three characters "Qin Yuzheng".

Yang Zhiyan answered the phone, and his voice came through the receiver with a nervousness she had never heard before.

"Baby, what's wrong? Why does your tummy suddenly feel uncomfortable?"

He spoke quickly, with a hint of tension and anxiety, "Shall I take you to the hospital for a checkup when I have some time at noon?"

Before Yang Zhiyan could speak, Qin Yuzheng's voice came again.

"I was in a meeting just now, and I only saw your message during the break. If I weren't so busy right now, I would have come to see you. I'll definitely make time to come at noon."

Hearing his rapid breathing through the microphone, Yang Zhiyan felt a sense of peace she had never felt before.

"No need to go to the hospital," she said softly, "it's just a special time."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Qin Yuzheng thought about the phrase "special period" for a moment, and then he remembered.

Last time he had a cold, she said, "I just happened to have made some ginger tea," because she was in her "special period."

He didn't understand at the time, but he looked it up later.

"Would drinking brown sugar ginger tea make you feel better?" Qin Yuzheng asked. "Wait here, I'll have someone deliver it to you."

Yang Zhiyan wanted to say "No need," but before she could speak, the call was already disconnected.

She looked at the darkened screen, feeling a mix of helplessness and warmth.

After hanging up the phone, Qin Yuzheng didn't return to the conference room. He stood in the corridor and dialed Fang Yibin's number.

"How's Aunt Li doing lately?"

Fang Yibin was taken aback. Aunt Li? Why was the leader suddenly asking about Aunt Li?

Aunt Li is the aunt who takes care of Qin Yuzheng's daily life; she has worked for his family for five or six years.

A while ago, Aunt Li's daughter-in-law gave birth, and she took leave to go back and take care of her during her postpartum period.

Qin Yuzheng said at the time, "Take good care of the family, don't rush back."

Later, Qin Yuzheng discovered that Yang Zhiyan lived in Shengshi Tianxi, so he moved there as well.

Aunt Li called him a while ago to ask when he could come back to work, and he said, "You should rest for a while longer."

Fang Yibin found it strange at the time. Now he seems to understand a little.

"Aunt Li said things are almost settled at home, and we can come back anytime," Fang Yibin said.

"Have her come back today," Qin Yuzheng said with certainty.

"Have her make brown sugar ginger tea and deliver it to Mufei Studio, then give the ginger tea to Miss Yang. From now on, her daily meals will also be prepared there. You don't need to ask me what I'm cooking; just ask her what she likes to eat."

Fang Yibin held his phone, taking notes diligently. "Yes, sir."

So, are the boss and Ms. Yang planning to live together now? This morning he went to pick up the boss, and the boss asked him to bring breakfast? Something's up, but the boss has been quite amiable lately; the power of love.

Qin Yuzheng paused for a moment. "Also, calculate Aunt Li's commuting expenses; she lives quite far from Shengshi Tianxi."

He hung up the phone, pushed open the door, and went back to the conference room. Everyone in the conference room was waiting for him. He sat down in his seat, picked up the documents on the table, and turned a page.

Fang Yibin was very efficient. At 10:30, Yang Zhiyan received a call from Aunt Li.

Aunt Li said she had arrived.

When Yang Zhiyan came out, she saw a white SUV parked on the side of the road. A woman in her fifties got out of the car. She was wearing a dark blue cotton jacket, her hair was tied up at the back of her head, and she had a round face with her eyes crinkling when she smiled.

She was carrying an insulated bag, the zipper zipped up tightly.

"Miss Yang, Mr. Qin asked me to deliver this."

Aunt Li handed over the insulated bag; you could feel the temperature inside even through the bag.

Yang Zhiyan took it and thanked her. Aunt Li didn't leave; she stood by the car and asked Yang Zhiyan.

"Miss Yang, I'll cook for you and Mr. Qin from now on. What would you like to eat? Are there any dietary restrictions?"

Yang Zhiyan was taken aback. She looked at Aunt Li, whose eyes held the loving gaze of an elder towards a younger generation.

"I'm not a picky eater," Yang Zhiyan said. "Aunt Li, I'll eat whatever you cook."

Aunt Li smiled, her eyes curving into crescent shapes.

"Okay, I'll see how it goes."

"Ms. Yang, I'll be cooking dinner at Mr. Qin's place tonight. You can come right over after get off work. Mr. Qin said you shouldn't touch cold water these next few days."

Aunt Li said, "Then you go ahead with your work, I'll head back now."

Then she got into the car.

The car drove away. Yang Zhiyan carried the insulated bag back to the studio, opened it in the lounge, and found a thermos inside. She unscrewed the lid, and the aroma of brown sugar ginger tea wafted out, spicy and sweet, with steam rising onto her face.

She held the cup in her hands, her palms warm from the heat.

Teacher Mu came out of the inner room with a teacup in her hand. She saw the thermos in Yang Zhiyan's hand and then looked at her slightly reddened eyes.

"Oh, brown sugar ginger tea," Teacher Mu walked over to her and glanced into the cup.

"Hmm, there's plenty of ginger, and the brown sugar is good too."

She placed the teacup on the table and sat down opposite Yang Zhiyan. "Did your boyfriend give this to you?"

Yang Zhiyan held her cup and nodded. In her heart, she had already accepted Qin Yuzheng as her boyfriend.

He's so irresistible, it's impossible to refuse him. If he confesses his feelings to her again, she'll agree.

Yang Zhiyan sent a shy WeChat message. Looking at her expression, Teacher Mu's smile was full of relief; her most beloved student finally had someone who cared for her.

"Hmm, this boyfriend is not bad," Teacher Mu said, then picked up her teacup and left.

Yang Zhiyan took out her phone and took a picture of the thermos. It had a dark blue body, a white lid, and next to it was her design draft, covered in dense pencil lines.

She sent the photo to Qin Yuzheng and typed two words: "Received".

Then she added a kissing emoji. After sending it, she stared at the kissing emoji on the screen for two seconds, feeling a little shy.

I was just about to back out when I thought it wasn't a big deal. They were so nice to me, I had to give them something in return.

Yang Zhiyan placed her phone face down on the table, picked up her brown sugar ginger tea, and took a sip. Spicy, sweet, and hot. It warmed her from her throat all the way to her stomach.

Qin Yuzheng was presiding over the afternoon's preparatory meeting.

He glanced at the screen, saw the official notification, saw the kissing emoji, slowly ran his fingers along the edge of the phone, then expressionlessly flipped the phone over and placed it face down on the table.

His expression remained unchanged. The deputy director sitting next to him was reporting on his work, and his gaze was fixed on the report materials, nodding occasionally.

But his hands remained under the table, his fingers tapping slowly and deliberately on his knees.

He was thinking that when he got home that night, he would have an excuse to ask for benefits.