It seems that the villain is targeting me.

Xiao Niao tilted her head to look over, her delicate eyebrows drooping as she looked helpless: "Ah, I didn't notice when I was counting, the vinegar is all used up."

Speaking of which, this is Xiaoniao's first New Year after returning to reality. She started preparing the menu for this New Year's Eve dinner two weeks ago, ordered some seafood and dried goods, and was ready to prepare a table of delicious dishes.

Tonight's New Year's Eve dinner will be very sumptuous. Xiao Niao fried meatballs and steamed fish according to the customs of his hometown, cut open the backs of tiger prawns and poured freshly prepared garlic sauce on them, and cooked a pot of delicious and nutritious hot soup that he would definitely not be able to finish.

In her childhood memories, the table at home would always be fully decorated on New Year's Eve. Her grandmother and mother would gather in the kitchen, and by the evening, they would magically prepare a large table of dishes, with hot soup in the middle always in a casserole.

The misty water vapor cannot help but entangle those returning from a distance, making them trapped in the smell called "home".

This is her first New Year's Eve after returning to reality, and Xiao Niao cherishes this hard-earned peace.

She could hardly imagine that after going through all this, she could still be alive and well, surrounded by the people she loved - this was the ultimate imagination of happiness she had fantasized about as a child.

Xiao Niao thought: Everyone is usually very busy. Xiaoya has to go to work in the hospital, Gwen has company matters to deal with, and Hongyue also has to rush to attend to announcements from all over the place... We don't have a chance to rest until the end of the year.

This is the first time they have gathered together to celebrate the New Year, so they should make good preparations.

As a result, she only remembered to buy vegetables and didn't pay attention to the stock of seasonings at home. The menu process got stuck shortly after it started.

"Both sweet and sour spareribs and sweet and sour pork require vinegar," Xiao Niao shook the vinegar bottle, which was only empty at the bottom, "I've already blanched the spareribs..."

Both of these are sweet dishes for children. According to Chen Xiaoyue, they are both "used to deceive stupid foreigners."

At this precise moment, the silly foreigner took a step forward and reached out to the bird. Gwyneth gently wiped the flour off the bird's cheek with her thumb and whispered, "Can I use another seasoning instead? The New Year's goods I bought include black vinegar."

The balsamic vinegar here refers to the Italian balsamic vinegar made from grapes, which is aged for more than 20 years by Italians using a special process like red wine. It is packed in a small bottle with exquisite packaging and fashionable labels, and can be given as a gift.

Xiao Niao's hands were covered in powder, so he stood and let her apply it. "It shouldn't work. The kind you brought back, Gwen, is not suitable for cooking."

The two spoke in the language they had used in the first small world. This ancient language, which had been used hundreds of years ago, had a sweet vibrato at the end, which made it sound like the bird was whispering something secret and charming when it spoke to Gwyneth.

Gwyneth looked at her quietly for a moment, not knowing what she was thinking. "How about changing the menu? You can make other dishes."

As she said this, she did not move her hand away from Xiaoniao's face. Instead, she used her knuckles to fiddle with the other's earlobe and playfully pinched the ear with her fingertips.

Xiao Niao felt itchy, but because her hands were still stained with seasoning, she could only shrink her neck and rub it: "...Yeah, but I'm afraid you won't be used to other dishes. Sweet and sour ones should be easier to accept."

"I'll send a WeChat message to Xiaoya," Xiaoniao suggested. "She just called and said she just got out of the hospital and should be able to pick up a bottle of vinegar on her way."

The 'xiaoya' here refers to Dr. Chen Xiaoyue - until now, Xiaoniao still unconsciously calls Dr. Chen by his nickname.

Speaking of which, the hospital had originally planned to give Dr. Chen a day off two days before New Year's Eve, but he was called out again last night due to an emergency call.

Xiao Niao has truly experienced how busy the daily life of an emergency doctor is. They have to be on duty as soon as the phone rings... Fortunately, the hospital affairs have been almost dealt with. Xiaoya just called her and said that he will be back soon.

At this time, the larger supermarkets should still be open, and it is a must-go for those returning home from the hospital.

There is one on the way. Since Dr. Chen is rushing back, it would be most convenient to bring him along.

Thinking of this, Xiao Niao put his hand under the faucet to wash it, then ran to the living room to get his phone. There were two unread messages in the 'Loving Family' group. They were photos of high-speed rail tickets uploaded by Red Moon Knight Luna, with a note saying that she would probably be able to make it in time for dinner.

Xiao Niao replied "Be careful on the road", and tagged Dr. Chen, sent a voice message, and asked him to bring back a bottle of vinegar.

About five seconds later, Dr. Chen replied: "Okay, teacher."

Xiao Niao put down his phone and went back to the kitchen to cook other dishes.

When she returned to the kitchen, she happened to see Gwyneth also looking at her phone.

At the beginning, Xiao Niao always felt a sense of absurdity and unreality when she saw Gwen fiddling with modern electronic equipment, but now she has basically gotten used to it.

In short, Xiaoniao didn't care much. She quickly turned her face away and focused on the dishes, and didn't notice the WeChat group interface on Gwyneth's mobile phone screen.

It was a small group of only three people. The background picture set in the group was bright red and festive, just like the Spring Festival couplets during the festival. On the left side was written "Fair, Just and Open", and on the right side was written "Rotation 1, 3, 5, 7", and the group name "No Cheating" was written at the top.

Gwyneth silently scrolled through the messages in the small group, but she had no intention of typing or sending a message from beginning to end.

After a while, she put the phone back into her pocket as if she had confirmed something.

Xiao Niao was watching over the pot in front of the stove when she suddenly found a pair of hands around her waist from behind. The girl's soft body pressed against her back and her warm breath penetrated into her collar.

"...Levi."

Gwyneth called softly, burying her head in Xiaoniao's neck.

Xiao Niao's gaze shifted slightly, and he immediately discovered that Gwen was resting quietly on his shoulder, her palm loosely wrapped around her fragile belly, rising and falling slowly with her breathing.

For no reason, she felt as if a warm kitten was lying on her shoulder, gently scratching at her collar with its sharp but soft claws.

Xiao Niao subconsciously grasped the back of Gwyneth's hand. The latter's warm palm was placed on her lower abdomen through the fabric. The familiar touch made her body tremble involuntarily, "Gwen, what's wrong..."

The person behind him just shook his head.

Xiao Niao could clearly feel the person behind her approaching her, but she did not dodge. In fact, Xiao Niao noticed that her heartbeat was starting to become a little too loud.

"Levi." The girl repeated.

The next second, a pure kiss fell on her neck.

Some scholars point out that the festive atmosphere will stimulate the secretion of dopamine in people, making their nerves relax and leading them to do many things that they would not normally do.

Gwyneth was neither a scholar nor a poet, so it was difficult for her to accurately describe what was in her mind at that moment. She kissed the bird with mixed feelings, and her arms around her waist were tightly clasped, with an almost uncontrollable longing.

I don't know whose hand reached out and randomly turned off the gas valve. The casserole that was still bubbling was left pitifully aside, no one paid any attention to it anymore.

Xiao Niao gently stroked her hair, running his fingers through it. Gwyneth's hair was as smooth as silk.

Xiao Niao quickly realized that kissing would become more and more aggressive. Her lower back was pressed against the stove, and she passively smelled the faint fragrance on Gwen's body. Their breaths were entangled with each other intimately.

Her heartbeat began to become a little erratic, and her head was swelling. She felt Gwen leaning against her neck, her hand slipping under the hem of her clothes.

She took a shallow breath.

"Wait, um, no," Xiaoniao murmured vaguely, "Gwen, this is in the kitchen..."

She was obviously nervous about this, and standing in the brightly lit room in dishevel made Xiaoniao feel ashamed. She trembled, and finally, she couldn't help hugging the person in front of her, her fingers twitching and pulling the fabric of her coat tightly, and she cried out softly like crying.

Liquid overflowed from between the fingers.

Gwen couldn't see Xiao Niao's expression, but she felt that the other's suddenly tense torso became soft again, and the body in her arms was gradually warming up. She had no intention of letting go.

Gwyneth then leaned close to the bird's ear and greedily asked it for some time alone: The kitchen is too dangerous, Levi, we should go to a safer place.

She was referring to the big, soft bed in the bedroom, but in reality, the two of them stumbled into the living room and fell dizzy on the sofa.

Xiao Niao had to admit that he was tricked. The intimacy that he had not experienced for a long time aroused the desire that had been quietly lying in his heart.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but she regained a little bit of her senses in the midst of her daze. When she turned her head, she saw that her coat was casually thrown on the back of the sofa.

"...Gwen," she clasped Gwyneth's head tightly in her limp arms, humming accusingly, her voice hoarse and her consciousness almost blurred, "Gwyneth."

She was so engrossed that she didn't even hear the door open.

The girl in his arms suddenly exerted force between her teeth, causing Xiao Niao to raise her head in excitement.

Her misty eyes immediately caught sight of Chen Xiaoyue, who was standing in front of the sofa and was dressed neatly.

The doctor was holding a transparent plastic bag and looking down at himself.

, his eyes were calm.

It's over.

Xiao Niao thought desperately.

Chapter 34 Missing

At seven o'clock in the morning, He County was still shrouded in a quiet mist.

Unlike the bustling and noisy cities, the mornings in small towns always come later.

It was summer vacation at that time, and students were all staying at home and sleeping. Except for a few who got up early to go to work, the only people on the street could be seen were vendors selling things at stalls.

Chen Xiaoya was counting the days in his mind: Xiaoniao had been gone for three days.

I don’t know if it’s because she’s the only one at home, but she always wakes up extra early these days.

She had had similar experiences before, but now when she woke up and saw the empty house and the cold stove, she inexplicably felt unbearable.

They had only lived together for a short time, Chen Xiaoya thought, less than a month.

When will she come back?

Chen Xiaoya cooked breakfast for herself, a simple bowl of plain noodles with some vegetables. The cat was still sleeping soundly in its nest, but the food bowl that she had just filled last night had been licked clean.

While cooking the noodles, she stirred the pot with the rigor of an experiment, humming a tune in her mouth.

This was all due to Xiaoniao. She would hum at home whenever she had nothing to do. In a song with thirty words, only two were in tune. Unknowingly, this had a profound influence on Chen Xiaoya's artistic aesthetics.

...This has caused the child to develop the habit of singing out of tune for the rest of his life.

The room was a little quiet, and she sat at the table and finished her simple breakfast.

The cat remained asleep until she finished washing the dishes.

Chen Xiaoya walked over to the nest, rubbed No. 4's round head with his hands, and said to himself, "You're still the best. You don't have to worry about anything."

The cat was sleeping soundly like a pig, sprawled out in its nest, not even responding to her touch.

Chen Xiaoya lowered his head and smiled softly.

"I'm going out." She said to Number Four.

Cat number four purred and turned around in the nest, pointing its butt at her.

------

-

"Um...you are Chen Xiaoya, right?"

The man in front of him pulled his hood, handed over the item in his hand, and subconsciously lowered his voice, "Brother Wang introduced me here."

Chen Xiaoya kept moving his hands and said without looking up: "I am, put the things down."

The visitor looked at her and couldn't help but hesitate: "With so much, can you hand it in on time?"

Chen Xiaoya raised his head and looked at him calmly: "Of course I can, but you have to pay in advance."

She has already gained a certain reputation for doing this in the area, so it is reasonable for her to collect a deposit in advance.

The other party gritted his teeth, as if making a painful decision: "Okay, money is not a problem, but you have to make sure you catch up..."

"I guarantee I'll catch up," Chen Xiaoya nodded. "Three yuan per subject, and the composition fee is extra."

"Why is it so expensive?" the other party said distressedly, "Can it be cheaper?"

"You said before that you were introduced by an acquaintance?" Chen Xiaoya thought for a moment, "Then I'll give you a discount on the total price."

"I've always charged this price for homework writing," she added.

The hooded boy, with a face full of pimples and looking no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, reluctantly pulled out a handful of change from his pocket and counted out six dollars at a fifty-cent note.

Chen Xiaoya skillfully put the money into his pocket, and while writing the questions, he casually said, "Go ahead, I'll go to the old place to get it when the time comes..." It seemed that he did similar things often.

Yes, this girl usually does this kind of work of helping people write homework. They are all the test questions that don't have answers at the end. She accepts all kinds of papers, exercise books, and problem sets, and charges by quantity.

Junior high school questions were not difficult for her. She could basically answer all the questions on the test paper. For the few that she couldn't answer, she could write a rough idea after thinking about them a little at night.

Once, she even received summer homework from high school students in the city. The second-year high school test paper made Chen Xiaoya very excited for a while.

She ran to the largest Xinhua Bookstore in the county, and read the summary formulas in the teaching materials despite the murderous gaze of the clerk. After two weeks of hard work, she finished writing them.

It must be said that Chen Xiaoya's grades did not drop much even though he was obsessed with making money during his studies, and this was largely due to the efforts of these "clients".

In the middle school where she studied, Chen Xiaoya even gained a reputation for ghostwriting and cultivated a stable user base...

If she hadn't been caught by her teacher once and hadn't become more restrained, she wouldn't have been able to continue this business forever.

Therefore, Xiaoniao's previous behavior of bringing a bundle of junior high and high school exercise books was actually somewhat redundant - Chen Xiaoya didn't need her to urge her at all. She had been thinking about taking the order before Xiaoniao left home.

This is actually not easy, because there are no answers to the test questions to copy and no internet to answer questions. You can only rely on yourself to do it, and you can only earn a few dozen dollars in one summer vacation.

In fact, Chen Xiaoya doesn't have to work so hard. She just needs to save the pocket money Xiaoniao gives her every week, and she can earn more than she would from doing homework for others during the summer vacation.

But she said she would never give up this hard job.

For Chen Xiaoya, doing two more sets of exercises and flipping through the supplementary textbooks cannot even be called

To endure hardship.

This is her 'earning power'.

Chen Xiaoya has always been apprehensive about the fact that someone is supporting him - Xiaoniao's gentleness and patience only turned this apprehension into a more subtle sense of guilt.

So far, fate has never been kind to her. Chen Xiaoya is used to being treated so cruelly and used to the fact that everything she wants will eventually be taken away ruthlessly.

From the moment Xiao Niao brought her back into the house, Chen Xiaoya began to imagine that this person would also ruthlessly abandon her one day, just like her father, mother and other adults.