"Achoo!" Xue Rui rubbed his nose.

He stood at Lin Ruoxi’s door, taking a moment to steel himself.

Inside was Lin Ruoxi, wearing black stockings. Full of anticipation, he knocked on the door.

"You... you’re back. I made dinner." Lin Ruoxi opened the door and gestured for Xue Rui to come in.

Xue Rui’s gaze subconsciously drifted to Lin Ruoxi’s legs.

"Why are you still in your school uniform?" Xue Rui was extremely disappointed, making no effort to hide it.

"I had to cook, and I was afraid of getting it dirty," Lin Ruoxi explained in a small voice.

’She was very nervous. Why did Xue Rui care so much about what she wore?’

’Could it be true, just like Grandma said? Does Xue Rui want to see me wear it?’

"I want to see if it fits well." Xue Rui felt his earlier expression had been a bit rude, so he deliberately added this.

"I... I tried it on. It fits very well, thank you," Lin Ruoxi said, her face red.

"It’s no use you just saying it fits. I have to see for myself," Xue Rui said brazenly.

"Oh..." Lin Ruoxi’s face turned beet red.

"Look, you’re so hot your face is red. On a day like this, you should turn on the AC. Don’t worry about the electricity bill," Xue Rui said.

Lin Ruoxi nodded. The room was indeed stuffy and hot from the recent cooking.

She didn’t mind it herself, but she couldn’t let Xue Rui be hot. She turned on the air conditioner and set out a bowl and chopsticks for him. "Let’s eat first."

’Xue Rui’s heart leaped with joy. What did she mean by "first"? Could it be that he’d get to see after dinner?’

Xue Rui sat down at the dining table, eating face-to-face with Lin Ruoxi.

The old lady didn’t like the air conditioning, so she sat by the coffee table, but her eyes were fixed on Xue Rui.

Being stared at made Xue Rui feel uncomfortable all over. He snapped, "What, you think I’m going to eat her? Eat your food. Why are you staring at me?"

"You know perfectly well what’s on your mind," the old lady snorted.

"Let’s switch seats," Xue Rui said to Lin Ruoxi, then positioned himself with his back to the old lady.

Lin Ruoxi had made dough drop soup, cold-tossed lotus root pasta, and a few cold-tossed vegetable dishes.

The meal was simple. Xue Rui picked up his bowl and started eating.

The cuisine of Jin Province was hardly considered high-class.

Because... the staple food was the main course, the vegetable dishes were the main course, the soup was the main course, the snacks were the main course, and even the damn desserts were the main course.

As a result, visitors from other regions would feel stuffed after just a few bites.

However, Xue Rui quite liked these dough-based dishes, especially when Lin Ruoxi made them. They left a warm feeling in his stomach after he ate.

"It’s a little plain," Xue Rui commented. There wasn’t a single meat dish on the table.

"I... I’m sorry," Lin Ruoxi quickly apologized.

Xue Rui frowned. "Why the hell are you apologizing to me? You cook for someone, and then you apologize to the person eating? What kind of logic is that?"

Xue Rui’s point was that Lin Ruoxi was still a growing girl and her diet was too nutritionally one-sided. But her immediate apology just irritated him.

For a girl like Lin Ruoxi, being direct was the best approach, so Xue Rui didn’t suppress his temper.

The old lady’s face darkened. She was very unhappy with Xue Rui for scolding her granddaughter.

But the old lady didn’t intervene. She knew her granddaughter had character flaws, and Xue Rui was trying to correct them. That was a good thing.

She was old and didn’t have much time left. She couldn’t even protect her granddaughter in the village, let alone in the city.

Therefore, Lin Ruoxi had to learn to protect herself.

The old lady hoped Lin Ruoxi would have her own life, instead of spending all day revolving around an old woman like her.

As for this young man, Xue Rui, although she didn’t particularly like him, she had to admit he was a benefactor in Lin Ruoxi’s life.

"From now on, if someone finds fault with you for no reason, you curse them back. Got it?" Xue Rui’s tone softened slightly.

"Oh..." Lin Ruoxi hunched her shoulders, trembling slightly.

"Try cursing at me," Xue Rui said.

Lin Ruoxi felt wronged, too. Xue Rui had just scolded her for no reason.

She wiped her tears, looked straight into Xue Rui’s eyes, and mustered up her courage to say, "You... you idiot."

"You..."

Xue Rui was momentarily stunned. Lin Ruoxi was breathtakingly beautiful in that moment, her face tear-streaked like a pear blossom in the rain. Her almond-shaped eyes held a trace of indignant anger, her brows were slightly furrowed, and although she was supposed to be cursing him, all she could manage was "idiot."

And she had even stammered.

It was as if she were playfully feigning anger at a boy she liked.

The sight of Lin Ruoxi melted Xue Rui’s heart.

He sighed. "Let’s just leave it at that... Eat more meat from now on. My family’s restaurant has leftovers sometimes. They’ll just be thrown out otherwise, so I’ll bring them over for you."

Faced with Lin Ruoxi looking like this, Xue Rui found it impossible to stay angry.

Xue Rui had to admit, this was far more effective than cursing.

A sense of helplessness, guilt, and a trace of affection rose in his heart.

"Mm... thank you," Lin Ruoxi replied. ’That was the first time I’ve ever cursed at someone. It seems... really effective.’

She wanted to refuse, but Xue Rui never gave her the chance.

’I was afraid of getting scolded again, so it’s better to just agree. Besides, I can cook that meat for Xue Rui.’

"How come you haven’t asked me about Da Huang?" Xue Rui said with a smile.

’Lin Ruoxi is just too considerate.’ He had said he’d be right back this morning but then disappeared for the whole morning.

The moment she saw him, she didn’t ask where he’d been or why Da Huang hadn’t come back. It was as if she was waiting for him to bring it up.

"Where’s Da Huang?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

Deep down, she trusted Xue Rui, but since he told her to ask, she did.

"I sold him," Xue Rui said, deciding to tease the silly girl a little more.

Lin Ruoxi froze. She slowly lowered her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "You... you didn’t sell him to a dog meat trader, did you...?"

Lin Ruoxi’s reaction sent a sharp pang through Xue Rui’s heart.

"Alright, alright, I was just teasing you! I’ll go get him back in a few days," Xue Rui hurriedly explained.

Lin Ruoxi snuck a glance at Xue Rui. ’This boy is so strange.’

’But I’m strange, too.’

Ever since she started spending time with Xue Rui, she was either crying or laughing.

’She didn’t know what was wrong with her. When Xue Rui said he "sold him," she had a feeling he was joking.’

’But then she felt she shouldn’t doubt him, so she took it seriously.’

The old lady hunched over and walked into her room, no longer paying attention to the two of them.

"Have some fruit. Grandma doesn’t eat it." Lin Ruoxi washed a few Dragon Fruits.

Water droplets clung to the Dragon Fruits, making them look especially fresh and vibrant.

"Are you supposed to wash Dragon Fruit?" Xue Rui couldn’t help but ask.

"I... don’t know," Lin Ruoxi replied.

’When you don’t know if you should do something, it’s probably best to just do it.’ So she had washed them.

"Someone who’s a stickler for hygiene would probably wash it," Xue Rui said, also a bit confused. ’Should you wash Dragon Fruit or not?’

He casually broke open a Dragon Fruit, took a big bite, and left a row of teeth marks.

He turned to look at Lin Ruoxi. She was holding a Dragon Fruit, her mouth slightly open, and was biting down on its skin.

Xue Rui’s eye twitched. Lin Ruoxi had most likely never eaten this kind of fruit before.

In fact, back in 2012, many people hadn’t.

But even if you’ve never eaten pork, you’ve at least seen a pig run, right?

’Didn’t I just show her how to do it?’

"You can’t eat the skin," Xue Rui explained.

"Mm... I know... It’s very bitter," Lin Ruoxi said, sticking out her tongue.

She had seen classmates eat Dragon Fruit before, so she knew you weren’t supposed to eat the skin.

However, she thought the skin might have some use, just like how no one really eats Orange peels, but you can use them to make tea.

"Hm?" Xue Rui’s curiosity was piqued, and he also took a bite of the Dragon Fruit’s skin.

"It really is bitter... Another piece of useless knowledge gained."

Xue Rui’s face scrunched up.

He suddenly felt as if he’d been tricked by Lin Ruoxi.