Perhaps it was because she had just had a good sleep, her spirit was high, and her deep black eyes shimmered with a gentle glow, making one’s heart itch.

Shen You’an’s eyes lit up instantly, the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifted.

"You’re awake."

Liu Runxi crouched down beside her on the carpet and glanced at the scratch paper under her pen.

"Are you calculating the field intensity calibration? I’ll help you."

Shen You’an finished drinking water and nodded with a smile, "Sure, things are more efficient with you around."

"By the way, Liu Runxi." Shen You’an rummaged through a pile of scratch paper and found a stack of clean draft paper, "It turns out that under low-speed and weak fields, higher-order terms can be ignored. I mistakenly retained one more term before, causing the results to diverge. Now, this curvature scalar is twice the critical value, meeting the necessary condition for wormhole stability."

A slight smile spread in the depth of the young man’s eyes, his tone remaining calm: "Your core idea was correct, but you were too focused on expanding details and forgot that the heart of spacetime physics is simplifying effective models. This question is the basis for your medium development, and once it’s solved, there will be a theoretical foundation for subsequent modulation of medium parameters."

Shen You’an reviewed the completed derivation process over and over, still couldn’t help but exclaim: "Liu Runxi, your scratch paper is clean and neat, without any corrections, every step marked with key conditions, much clearer than the draft I spent three days on."

She stared straight into the young man’s eyes, "I really suspect that all those times before you stood as second place it was because you were giving way to me."

She had to admit, Liu Runxi was the true genius; anything he wants, he could have it. But just like how people always remember the first person to climb Everest, the second person to climb it is forgotten by the world.

He should have been radiant, yet her light overshadowed him.

Liu Runxi looked into her eyes. He was always as cold as ice and snow, indifferent and cool, with his emotions unruffled. But for the first time, Shen You’an saw a trace of blazing fire in his eyes, setting her whole being aflame.

He said, "Why would I give way to you?"

Shen You’an was taken aback; indeed, why would he give way to her?

A genius like Liu Runxi has his own pride ingrained in his bones, why would he willingly place second?

And she actually asked such a foolish question.

Shen You’an’s cheeks flushed even more, she was the first to avert her gaze, pretending to casually change the topic: "I’m hungry."

Shen You’an took out her phone to open the food delivery app, but Liu Runxi already stood up and walked towards the fridge. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Inside the fridge were eggs, vegetables, ham, and noodles—leftovers from this morning.

Apart from those, there was only water.

It showed how simple Shen You’an’s eating habits were when she lived alone.

Thinking of that particularly unpalatable bowl of noodles, a smile appeared on Liu Runxi’s lips.

He took out the ingredients, rolled up his sleeves, and walked into the kitchen.

"Don’t order delivery, I’ll cook."

Shen You’an got up and followed him into the kitchen, marveling as if she had discovered a new continent: "You can cook?"

She had never heard Liu Runxi mention it before.

Gu Xianning could cook because he was forced to, but Liu Runxi came from a privileged background, Shen You’an thought he was a young master who never even touched dishwater.

Liu Runxi expertly fried an egg, doing it all without any hint of hurry, extremely relaxed and comfortable, as if he had done it a thousand times before.

"There are cooking videos online; I watched once and learned. For me, cooking is a process of immersing and calming the mind. I never had the opportunity to practice, but now..."

The young man glanced at her, his gaze like the fire rolling on the stove—scorching.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Shen You’an cleared her throat softly, "You make me feel dumb now."

A so-called genius can handle anything with ease and skill.

Liu Runxi lightly sprayed a layer of oil on the pan and fried the ham to release its aroma.

Shen You’an stared dazedly at the thin figure standing at the stove cooking, the boy who used to be as aloof and distant as a high mountain flower had been dragged down from the snow-capped peak into the earthly life, causing the ice and snow to melt, warmth spreading to the fingertips and deep within.

Into the pan, he poured boiling hot water, his well-defined fingers holding the ladle, eyes lowered as he stirred the soup in the pot, the coldness in his features softened by the steam’s warmth, a side others never even glimpsed at, a tender moment reserved just for one person amid life’s daily cooking.

Shen You’an’s heart suddenly lost its rhythm, pounding against her chest, hotter than the boiling soup in the pot.

The ladle was brought to the lips, Liu Runxi’s eyes were blurred by the steam.

"Taste the saltiness," he said.

Shen You’an took a small sip and lifted her eyes to meet his expectant gaze.