Ziye scurried to the kitchen, which was spotless and empty. She suddenly remembered: since An Junlie was here, hehe, maybe she could scrounge some food from him?

She looked towards the guest room where An Junlie was staying; the light was still on. She walked to the door, raised her hand, and was about to knock when she suddenly felt it was too presumptuous. She turned back to her own room and dialed his comms.

“Alien, I’m hungry…”

On the screen, she was wearing fuzzy bear pajamas, complete with little ears on the hood, clutching the equally fuzzy Little Sprout. She exuded a wonderfully soft aura.

An Junlie felt the most delicate string in his heart plucked; his expression softened considerably, and he chuckled, "What would you like to eat?"

Ziye gestured with her hand: "I want that huge, huge cup of jelly you made before."

An Junlie paused slightly.

Blackbeard had already bought the roses, but because he had been busy helping Ziye test the equipment, he hadn't had time to make them yet. The roses were still chilling in the cold storage.

If he made them now...

Seeing his silence, Ziye felt a tiny bit unhappy. Every girl wants her requests fulfilled, and Ziye was no exception.

She mumbled glumly, "Maybe forget it then, it's pretty late anyway."

An Junlie hated seeing disappointment cloud her face and quickly said, "No trouble, I'll make it now."

Ziye's eyes instantly lit up, fixed on him with pure expectation. However, she quickly realized how late it was and reluctantly conceded, "It really is too late. Maybe tomorrow."

An Junlie didn't argue further, leaving only two words before hanging up: "Wait for me."

Ziye stared at the screen as it dimmed. After a moment’s thought, she walked to her door, opened it a crack, and peered out. Sure enough, she saw An Junlie heading toward the kitchen.

He actually went!

Ziye happily ran back to the sofa to wait.

But she was a bit sleepy.

Ziye propped her chin in her hand and idly stroked Little Sprout with the other.

Little Sprout was sleepy too. When she touched it, it moved; when she didn't, it stayed still. Time quietly slipped by—one minute, two minutes, three minutes... Ziye's head nodded onto Little Sprout’s, which shifted slightly, jolting her awake. She glanced at the time, covered her mouth, and let out a big yawn.

Maybe I should just go to sleep.

But if An Junlie came out with the jelly and found her asleep, would he refuse to make it for her in the future?

Ziye wrestled internally until she slowly drifted off again... Finally, the door clicked. She sprang up, rushed to open it. Little Sprout, sound asleep in her arms, hadn't expected the sudden leap and couldn't hold onto her clothes, tumbling onto the floor with a soft gulu.

It mistook the thick carpet for Ziye’s plush pajamas, burrowed its little head into the fibers, and continued sleeping.

Ziye opened the door to see An Junlie standing there, holding two enormous cups of jelly. The jelly was fresh, steaming gently. Eagerly, she reached out to take them.

An Junlie pulled his hands back. "Go put your shoes on first."

Ziye had rushed out a bit too quickly and hadn't put on shoes, leaving her barefoot. Fortunately, the carpet was thick; otherwise, the icy chill of the metal floor would have been severely biting.

She waved it off, "It's fine."

An Junlie’s expression hardened, and his tone sharpened, "Go put them on!"

Ziye glared at him, feeling wronged, but he ignored it. "Otherwise, no jelly."

Ziye snorted and trotted back to the sofa, quickly slipping her shoes on with a couple of shuffles. "Is that acceptable now?" she grumbled.

An Junlie followed her inside, set the jellies on the coffee table, and turned to gently rub her head. "Good girl, eat up."

Ziye rolled her eyes in dissatisfaction. "Don't treat me like a child!"

An Junlie really wanted to say, Isn't only a child crying for snacks in the middle of the night? But he guessed that saying it would earn him a beating, so he wisely kept quiet.

Ziye was pleased with his "obedience." She picked up her spoon and scooped a serving of jelly. It was exquisitely beautiful, a translucent pale yellow, dotted with white rose petals—elegant, delicate, and emitting a subtle, soul-soothing fragrance.

She had never eaten warm jelly before; it was always chilled. This time, she tentatively licked the tip of her tongue over it. Instantly, her taste buds were conquered. It turned out warm jelly tasted even better!

She eagerly ate the whole spoonful, the scent of rose blooming between her teeth. Ziye felt so content that the complaints she was about to make vanished.

She devoured it swiftly; in no time, half of the large cup was gone. While eating, she silently resolved to buy more roses tomorrow and have An Junlie turn them all into jelly, freezing them for a cup a day in the future.

She stole a glance at An Junlie through the corner of her eye. Seeing him leaning comfortably on the sofa, watching her eat, she couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you eating?"

An Junlie’s eyes and brows were filled with warm amusement. "Didn't you ask for huge cup after huge cup? That makes two huge cups combined."

Ziye was speechless. She licked her spoon. The jelly wasn't very filling; she could easily handle another cup. But sharing wasn't ideal! She debated briefly, "I’m full after one cup. You eat the other."

An Junlie didn't move and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Though reluctant, Ziye nodded.

An Junlie patted her head. "Good girl." He shifted slightly closer to the coffee table, picked up a spoon, and began eating, one bite at a time.

He had originally made both cups for Ziye, so they were different flavors. The cup Ziye ate was yellow rose mixed with white rose. His was purple rose mixed with pink rose. As for the red rose, they both had a tacit understanding—neither bought nor used it.

After finishing hers, Ziye turned her head to watch him eat a little over half of his cup, licking her lips. "How is this flavor? Is it good?"

An Junlie was very confident in his cooking. "Naturally."

Ziye held up her enamel spoon, pleading, "Let me have one bite. Just one small bite."

Seeing her expression, so reminiscent of a nineteen-year-old begging her mother for a hug, An Junlie felt his heart soften so much he almost wanted to lift her onto his lap and watch her eat slowly. Considering she wasn't five, he reached out halfway, felt it was inappropriate, and retracted his hand, pushing the cup towards her. "Here, eat."

Ziye took the spoon and, precisely in a spot he hadn't scooped from, took the largest spoonful she could manage, quickly popped it into her mouth, swallowed it down with a slurp, and only then looked up at An Junlie.

An Junlie chuckled helplessly. "Eat slowly, I’m not fighting you for it."

Ziye savored the flavor in her mouth; this one was also delicious. Happy, she asked, "How about giving it all to me?"

An Junlie was about to nod when he remembered something and pulled the cup back. "Don't eat too much; be careful you won't be able to sleep later."

Ziye’s spoon, halfway to her mouth, froze. She shot him a wounded look. Seeing he was unmoved, she dejectedly slapped the spoon onto the table with a sharp pa. "If I can’t eat any more, then I don’t want it!"

This...

The change was too fast.

Her mood shifted more suddenly and unexpectedly than a Void Storm.

An Junlie stared at her, astonished. She scooped up Little Sprout and scurried toward the bedroom. Entering the room, she slammed the door shut, flopped onto the bed, and went to sleep.

Little Sprout shot up into the air. "Ziye, Ziye! You haven't rinsed! Careful of cavities!"

Ziye threw a pillow at it, angrily saying, "You little menace." But she obediently got up. The bedroom had attached facilities, so she didn't need to go back to the living room to clean up.

Having just eaten, she wasn't sleepy at all. She slowly finished her ablutions, opened her bedroom door a crack, and peeked out. It was pitch black; the lights were off. An Junlie was already gone.

"Hmph, stingy!" Ziye muttered in dissatisfaction, closed the door again, and went back to sleep.

She would never admit that all night long, she dreamed of countless jellies of every flavor imaginable, scooping a spoonful from each one, then looking triumphantly at An Junlie, refusing to let him have any!

Drool quietly leaked from the corner of her lips, glistening brightly...

Little Sprout woke up relatively early. Its shriveled body gradually swelled back up. It suddenly spotted Ziye’s drool and cried out, "Ziye, how could you drip your saliva on me?"

It had been sleeping right next to her neck; it must have gotten wet.

No, it needed to be clean!

It frantically poked Ziye. "I want a bath! I want a bath..." Ziye was woken by the fuss. She checked the time—two minutes shy of six o'clock.

I can sleep a little longer... Ziye promptly closed her eyes. Before she could drift off, the comms rang. Ziye tossed it onto the dressing table. Too lazy to move, she poked Little Sprout. "Go, answer it for me."

Little Sprout floated lazily to the table, extending the tiny sprout on its head. It tapped once, and the virtual screen lit up, showing An Junlie’s face.

"Hello, Mr. Alien, long time no see," Little Sprout chirped cheerfully.

An Junlie smiled faintly. "Hello, Little Sprout. Help me wake Ziye up."

Little Sprout looked back at Ziye. Ziye immediately covered her head with the quilt, pretending to be asleep. Little Sprout understood perfectly and instantly replied to An Junlie, "Hello, Alien. Ziye says she is very sleepy."

An Junlie frowned. "Children need to wake up early to exercise."

Without needing Ziye to relay the message, she heard him. She threw off the quilt, sat up in bed, and shouted, "I! Am! Not! A! Child!"

Little Sprout was running a one-way video call; they could see An Junlie, but he couldn't see Ziye's situation. He could only guess her current state from the sound of her voice and threatened, "You have five minutes, or I'm coming in."

"Bastard!" Ziye hurled her pillow at the virtual screen, leaped out of bed, and finished washing, dressing, and combing her hair at top speed. Five minutes later, she stood perfectly assembled before An Junlie.

Except for a slightly sour expression, nothing was faulty.

An Junlie checked the time and nodded with relief. "Improvement."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ziye's fist shot toward him!