Yun City was engulfed in a damp and continuous rain.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in Qin City, it was yet another hot and stifling day.

Late at night, Mr. Yang woke up from a daze to find the night light shining dimly at both the head and foot of the bed, but the quilt at his side was long empty, with no sign of his wife.

He was momentarily confused, instinctively telling himself that his wife had gone to the bathroom.

But then, accompanied by the rustling noise outside, he seemed to be electrified, his eyes instantly widening as he jumped out of bed!

It was too sudden, causing his eyes to go dark for a moment, but fortunately, he was in good enough health to manage.

As he slipped on his slippers and dashed out of the room, he saw, unsurprisingly, a long-haired woman wearing a nightdress leaning against the kitchen island near the fridge, holding half a fuzzy peach in one hand and admiring the fountain and lawn outside.

Upon seeing someone come out, she instinctively moved her hand twice, as if trying to hide the peach, but there was nowhere to put it, so she had no choice but to face him openly.

The two stared at each other.

At this moment, the couple, married for many years, fell into a strange silence.

After a moment, Mr. Yang spoke in a dry voice, "We agreed not to sneak... tonight."

President Liu responded with great composure:

"Women, you know, every month there are a few days when we become gluttons."

"And what about the child?" Mr. Yang almost jumped up.

Lowering his voice: "We promised Xiaoyang that we wouldn’t sneak food at night. If he finds out, he won’t share the good stuff with us next time."

As he spoke, he watched President Liu still munching on the peach, and Mr. Yang’s silent stomach began to rumble.

Hesitantly, he too walked towards the fridge.

President Liu momentarily reflected on the bond with her son and then took a few more bites, finally saying sternly:

"I gave birth to Xiaoyang, how could I betray him like that? If anything’s missing, I don’t know anything, it must have been you who ate it."

Mr. Yang: ???

His eyes widened: "Okay, okay, after years of marriage, this is how you treat me, huh?"

Hmph!

He didn’t hesitate anymore, stomping to the fridge and angrily swinging the door open.

If he was going to take the blame anyway, he might as well eat more tonight. Besides, does President Liu, who’s always dieting, even know how to eat?

He would quietly go to the kitchen now and bring up the leftovers from tonight’s dinner.

With the hot weather, eating something cold doesn’t matter. Pairing it with some pickles, he would make a rice ball for himself—quietly, without turning on any heat, and without getting caught!

Mr. Yang thought about this with a subtle sense of satisfaction.

Late at night, the couple racked up thousands of calories in the room.

Meanwhile, young Xiaoyang remains blissfully unaware of life’s treacheries.

Yesterday, he had accompanied Qiaoqiao in the cotton fields for several rounds, hot and tired.

After coming back in the evening, he had a big, satisfying meal, with plenty of carbs, good company, a great mood, and then slept soundly.

—And he had to sleep well, he promised Qiaoqiao to take him to pick daylilies early in the morning!

Thus, the slight nighttime noises never penetrated the soundproof room, and he slept until the alarm went off, opening his eyes to see:

Three thirty in the morning.

Thankfully, the family wasn’t torn apart right away, as Mr. Yang held the advantage with all the goods stored in his room’s fridge.

When Xiaoyang got up and opened the kitchen fridge, he snorted and quietly closed the fridge door again.

The chef, also puzzled by the fragrance from last night, sighed along when seeing the two boys with no appetite—

Honestly, what’s the difference between this and the miserly grandma who locks the cupboard?

He’s a proper chef, how come Chairman Yang didn’t bring the ingredients out last night!

If there’s really something...

He could only ask Qiaoqiao and Yang Zhengxi, "Having egg fried rice this morning? Using the rice sent from Qiaoqiao’s place?"

But the scallions weren’t the right type, and neither were the eggs, but there was no choice now, it had to do.

The chef looked out the window; Venus was still shining in the sky.

Yang Zhengxi sighed too: "Eat, eat, uncle, it’s hard work, no worries."

The chef laughed heartily.

That’s the pay for being on night duty, even if breakfast is a bit early, making two bowls of rice isn’t hard.

He said this and retreated to the kitchen, fired up the stove, prepared the ingredients, and began bustling about.

Qiaoqiao glanced at the time; it was 3:30 AM, and asked: "Will we be back in the afternoon? If so, I’ll do my homework and attend online classes in the evening."