They really were having hotpot that night.

Su Ci had never been able to eat spicy food before, and she hadn’t expected that even with a different body now, she still couldn’t.

She dipped a little from the spicy side of the yuan yang pot, and it already felt unbearably hot. Beside her, Lu Zhe ate the vegetables she placed in his bowl with an expressionless face, the pieces coated with plenty of red chili oil.

“Not spicy?” Su Ci originally thought she could handle spicy food and Lu Zhe couldn’t — she hadn’t expected it to be the complete opposite.

Lu Zhe remained unmoved. “It’s fine.”

The broth was boiling hot. Through the rising steam, Su Ci stared fixedly at Lu Zhe’s lips. Because of the spice, his lip color was a deep, vivid red, and the hard, cold lines of his face softened slightly in the mist.

A man’s beauty was tempting too.

“Lu Zhe, I want to eat spicy again.” Propping her chin with one hand, Su Ci gazed at him with shimmering eyes.

Lu Zhe picked out some food from the clear broth side and placed it in her bowl. “Are you sure you can eat it?”

Just a small taste earlier had already made her cough until her eyes were red.

Su Ci glanced at the pot’s rolling red oil. She shook her head, her gaze bright as she looked at him. “I’m not eating from the pot. I want to taste the spice on your lips.”

The hand holding his chopsticks tightened, and Lu Zhe shot her a faint sidelong glance.

Even though Lu Zhe knew Su Ci was wicked and troublesome, every time she opened her mouth to say something shocking, she always managed to test the limits of his patience anew.

Lu Zhe coughed once, his voice cold. “We have to board the plane tomorrow.”

Su Ci nodded. Of course she knew.

“It’s six o’clock right now. Our flight is at ten tomorrow morning. If you kiss me once and it lasts until one hour before boarding, I’ll turn back into a rabbit right on time.” Su Ci started counting for him.

A kiss was a big deal, after all — she kept track of the timing, so he shouldn’t think about tricking her!

Watching the girl count so seriously, a faint smile flickered in Lu Zhe’s pitch-black eyes, but it quickly dissipated into the steam.

“Mm.” He did owe her one.

Hearing Lu Zhe agree, Su Ci’s eyes lifted with a hint of smug delight. She glanced around — a potted plant in front of them served as cover, the seat beside them was empty. It was actually quite suitable for some small mischief.

Seeing the server walk away, Su Ci urged Lu Zhe, “You can kiss me now.”

The girl leaned closer, and perhaps it was because of the heavy mist rising from the pot, but he saw her dark eyes glistening with moisture, her small mouth flushed and pretty. He averted his gaze slightly, his stiff face solemn. “Wait until we get back.”

Su Ci shot him a sideways glance, originally intending to argue, but her eyes inadvertently landed on Lu Zhe’s ear — the tip was red.

Leaning in with surprise, she found that half his ear was completely flushed.

Lu Zhe was shy?

Su Ci was a little delighted, like a mischievous thief who had discovered treasure and wanted to unwrap it and claim it all for herself.

She leaned closer to him.

Su Ci reached out and lightly touched the boy’s ear. “Lu Zhe, your ear is red.”

His hand suddenly tightened, the chopsticks in his grip were nearly bent in half. He lowered his gaze, refusing to look at the little enchantress beside him whose eyes were curved in laughter.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

By the time they returned to their lodging, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

Su Ci lay sprawled on Lu Zhe’s palm, her pair of ruby-like eyes gazing up at him pitifully. She wanted Lu Zhe to hurry up and kiss her!

Lu Zhe looked at the little rabbit in his hand, so anxious she was almost hopping in place. Snow-white like a little dumpling, very cute — yet once this adorable dumpling turned into a person, she became terribly mischievous.

Not getting a response, Su Ci grew even more anxious. She rubbed her head against Lu Zhe’s palm — hurry up and kiss her.

Unhurriedly, Lu Zhe set the rabbit down on the bed. He recalled how the girl, in the hotpot restaurant yesterday, had pinched his ear, leaned close to him, and laughed softly at how red his ears were — that little troublemaker. He rubbed the rabbit’s head, then lightly pinched one of its ears.

In the next moment, the rabbit collapsed weakly onto the bed.

Lu Zhe’s lips curved slightly. He leaned close to the red-eyed, soft little bundle, amusement flickering in his pitch-black eyes.

Under its pitiful, pleading gaze, Lu Zhe finally lowered his head and kissed it.

The door closed.

After a long moment, Su Ci pulled the bedsheet beside her to cover her bare body. Lu Zhe was so hateful, he pinched her ear again.

By the time Su Ci regained her strength and came out, she saw Lu Zhe with a backpack slung over his shoulder, his lips pressed together.

“You’re going out?” she asked.

Lu Zhe looked at Su Ci. “I have something to do. I’ll be away for two days.”

“What happened?” They had just returned from City B and hadn’t even had a proper rest.

“The orphanage director is gravely ill. I’m going to see her.” Lu Zhe had received a message from an old friend from the orphanage saying the director was in critical condition and he should come back.

Su Ci stared straight at him with her dark eyes for a moment, then without a sound, turned around and went back to her room.

Lu Zhe lowered his gaze and headed toward the door. His friend’s car was already waiting outside.

Just as he opened the door, the sound of a suitcase being dragged came from behind him.

Su Ci pulled out the suitcase she had just put away. “Why didn’t you wait for me?” She looked at Lu Zhe with small, accusing eyes.

“You don’t need to come. It takes more than two hours to drive there. You’ll get tired on the way.” And the orphanage was in a remote area, she wouldn’t like it.

Su Ci directly placed the suitcase handle into Lu Zhe’s hand. “It’s so heavy. Hurry up and hold it for me. Let’s go, let’s go — are we taking the car?”

Lu Zhe reminded her, “The trip will be very tiring.”

Su Ci didn’t mind at all. “I’m someone who can endure hardship.”

Lu Zhe’s lips curved. “Mm.”

Hopefully the little delicate one wouldn’t cry.

Lu Zhe’s friend Fat Fu was two years older than him. He hadn’t gone to college; instead, he opened a small restaurant on his own, and the business was doing fairly well.

Because the restaurant had good food, his previously lean figure had long changed — he had already begun to put on weight even before reaching middle age.

He and Lu Zhe had both received the orphanage director’s kindness when they were young. Hearing that she was gravely ill, they immediately wanted to go back and see her.

Fat Fu checked the time — Lu Zhe still hadn’t come down.

Just as he was about to call him, a tall youth walked out of the old residential complex, dragging a suitcase behind him.

Fat Fu opened the trunk and lowered the car window. “We’re only going for two or three days. You brought a backpack and a suitcase? That’s not your style at all, kid.”

Just then, a girl peeked her head out from behind Lu Zhe. “The suitcase is mine.”

Fat Fu stared at the stunning girl in front of him, completely dumbfounded.

Lu Zhe placed the suitcase in the trunk, then opened the car door and let the girl get in first.

“A’Zhe, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Fat Fu had never seen such a beautiful girl before. He was a little stiff, grateful that he had washed the car before coming and even sprayed some air freshener inside. Otherwise, he would’ve been embarrassed to let such an exquisite girl sit in his car.

“Her name is Su Ci.” Lu Zhe introduced Fat Fu to Su Ci. “He’s my friend from the orphanage, Qi Fu.”

“You can also call me Fat Fu,” Fat Fu said, not daring to look straight at Su Ci.

Su Ci found not only his appearance pleasing but even his name. She leaned forward and glanced at his wrist — his life value showed six yellow bars, meaning at least sixty years left. He really was someone blessed with fortune.

Along the way, Su Ci discovered that Lu Zhe’s friend was the complete opposite of him.

You could beat Lu Zhe to death and barely squeeze out a word, while Fat Fu talked nonstop the entire way. As the owner of a small restaurant, he greeted different customers every day, met all kinds of people, and naturally had plenty of interesting stories to share.

Su Ci leaned back against the seat, listening quite attentively, occasionally adding a comment or two.

Once the car entered the highway, Fat Fu stopped talking and focused on driving.

Su Ci felt a little sleepy. She had spent the whole morning on a plane and hadn’t had time to rest, and now she was in the car again.

She reached out and touched the boy beside her, who had his eyes closed and was resting.

Lu Zhe looked at her.

“I’m sleepy.” Su Ci gazed at him pitifully.

“It’ll be another two hours. Sleep for a bit.” The harsh lines of Lu Zhe’s face softened slightly under the flickering tunnel lights.

He had originally intended to let the girl rest against his shoulder, but unexpectedly, Su Ci patted his thigh. “I’m sleeping here.”

Lu Zhe: …

Su Ci lay down immediately, resting her head on Lu Zhe’s thigh.

Looking up from below, Su Ci could only see his strong, defined jawline. She blinked. “Lu Zhe, your leg is too hard. It’s not comfortable at all.”

Lu Zhe kept up regular training; the muscles in his legs were taut — nothing like hers, soft and tender.

Lu Zhe lowered his head. “Sit up.”

There was no way Su Ci was listening. She closed her eyes to show her refusal.

Lu Zhe’s body slowly relaxed as he tried to soften the muscle in his leg. He opened the backpack at his side, took out a clean shirt, folded it, and with one hand lifted the back of the girl’s head so she could rest on it.

The air conditioning in the car was a bit cold, so he took out another clean shirt and draped it over Su Ci’s legs.

Feeling the warmth over her, Su Ci opened her eyes and shot Lu Zhe a small, approving glance, then continued sleeping.

Fat Fu glanced into the rearview mirror from time to time, naturally noticing everything Lu Zhe was doing.

Although Lu Zhe hadn’t said what his relationship with Su Ci was, in Fat Fu’s view, the two were definitely not just friends.

Su Ci truly was exhausted. Not long after closing her eyes, she fell asleep.

Unconsciously, she turned over, her head shifting toward Lu Zhe.

Her fair face ended up right next to him. Lu Zhe’s whole body went rigid, and he immediately reached out to move her head away.

The next second, Su Ci, feeling uncomfortable, leaned back over again — even nuzzling against him.

Clenching his teeth hard, Lu Zhe pushed her away once more.

Su Ci was awakened by Lu Zhe’s pushing. She opened her eyes and looked upward, meeting the boy’s overly dark eyes. “Are we there?”

Lu Zhe’s face was tense, appearing even colder. He pushed her away. “No. Sit up and sleep.”

Su Ci sat up. Thinking she had made his leg go numb, she reached out of her own accord to massage his thigh. “Did I make it numb?”

The girl’s hand was soft and weak, with no strength at all. The muscles in Lu Zhe’s leg were drawn taut. Before he lost his composure, he pushed her hand away. “No need.”

Su Ci didn’t insist. She narrowed her eyes, still very sleepy.