Gu Susu closed her eyes in resignation, then opened them again. She had thought Qin Tianyi had already gone to sleep in another room, but he had reappeared.
She turned to face him and gave a sheepish smile. "I didn't eat dinner. I realized I was starving after being knocked out and waking up."
Qin Tianyi snorted. He stretched out his arm, reaching past her to get a large carton of milk from the refrigerator. "Eating too much at night is bad for your health."
"Oh," Gu Susu thought. She decided to just drink the porridge and go to bed. Although she felt something was missing, it was inconvenient to use the stove to cook in a place she was unfamiliar with.
She watched Qin Tianyi pour the freshly retrieved milk into a cup, preparing to drink it cold. She quickly said, "Drinking cold milk at night will hurt your stomach. Heat it up before you drink it."
Without waiting for Qin Tianyi's reaction, she took the cup from his hand and put it into the microwave, setting the timer for one minute.
Qin Tianyi, however, did not appreciate her gesture. "I'm used to drinking cold milk. Why did you heat it up for me?"
"If you keep drinking it cold like this, can your stomach handle it?" Gu Susu retorted. "Has your stomach never felt uncomfortable?"
Qin Tianyi paused. In truth, his stomach had been quite poor since he was a teenager. In high school, he had suffered a severe gastric ulcer. At the time, he was abroad and had no one to look after him. The pain became unbearable, and Xiao Anjing discovered him and took him to the hospital.
When he was discharged, the doctor had advised him to take stomach medication long-term and to be careful about protecting his stomach. However, he had only paid attention for a year or two. Once he felt his stomach was fine, he stopped caring.
Seeing his silence, Gu Susu knew she had guessed correctly. She pointed at him, "I was right, wasn't I?"
Just then, the microwave beeped and stopped. Qin Tianyi ignored her, took the warmed milk from the microwave, and was about to drink it when he heard his stomach growl.
In the quiet kitchen late at night, with no other sounds, Gu Susu heard it clearly and couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, your stomach is hungry too. Would you like a snack?"
Qin Tianyi thought to himself that he hadn't eaten anything since the afternoon because he had gone to the factory to find her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to the kitchen for milk. "No."
Knowing he didn't like sweets, Gu Susu opened the refrigerator door, took out two eggs, and said, "Then I'll make you an egg sandwich. Paired with this warm milk, it's guaranteed to fill your stomach and be good for your digestion."
"You can cook?" Qin Tianyi asked skeptically.
"Of course. As long as I have the ingredients, I can cook anything," Gu Susu said, already finding a frying pan in the kitchen and taking out a few slices of whole wheat bread.
Qin Tianyi watched her. He saw her turn on the gas stove, heat the pan, and add oil... her movements were all very skilled.
He leaned against the kitchen cabinet and said leisurely, "That's great. Next time, I'll tell Aunt Chen to take a day off, and you can cook a full meal for me to taste your skills."
"No problem," Gu Susu replied, focused on the egg frying in the pan. Just as it was almost cooked, she remembered to drizzle soy sauce on the egg. This way, the fried egg would be savory and delicious, and Little Star loved it the most.
Seeing her domestic side, Qin Tianyi felt an indescribable emotion.
Xiao Anjing had already found out that the old residential area Gu Susu had visited was a place where she, or rather she and that man, had rented. They had also lived there with a child.
However, it was unclear where Gu Susu had placed the child now. She didn't have the child with her, nor was the man seen with the child.
Gu Susu and that man were truly heartless. To marry into the Qin family, they had abandoned their own child. Qin Tianyi couldn't understand her at all. What kind of woman was she?
She appeared kind, virtuous, and considerate. What was her true nature deep down? Were all these displays in front of him just an act?
He never expected that the woman the old madam had so carefully chosen for him would be someone who had been with another man and had a child long ago.
Gu Susu placed the fried egg between two slices of whole wheat bread. She then used ketchup to draw a simple cat face on the bread and placed it on a plate, handing it to him. "Try it."
Qin Tianyi came back to his senses. He picked up the sandwich from the plate, thinking he wouldn't expose her for now and would see what her intentions were in the Qin family.
He took a bite of the sandwich, and the taste indeed whetted his appetite. "It's alright."
He drank his milk and ate the sandwich she had made, watching her continue to busy herself. She lowered her head, her face slightly turned, methodically making egg sandwiches. Each time she finished one, she would smile and use ketchup to draw simple, cute patterns.
She looked incredibly captivating like this. Qin Tianyi couldn't remember how long it had been since he had seen such a scene.
When he was little, his mother had also made him special sandwiches like this when she cooked. At that time, their kitchen had sandwich molds that could easily cut them into various cute shapes like bears, bunnies, and puppies.
Back then, he would drink milk and look at the cute animal-shaped sandwiches on the plate, constantly wondering which one to eat first and which one to save for last, reluctant to finish them.
Gu Susu didn't notice the change in Qin Tianyi's expression. She carefully drew the last pattern, a little sun, and asked, "How many can you eat? I'll eat this little sun myself, and the rest are all yours."
Qin Tianyi put down the empty milk cup and couldn't help but step forward, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.
When she was held, Gu Susu froze instantly. Soon, she instinctively tried to push him away with her elbow, smiling and saying, "Can you please eat properly?"
"Alright," Qin Tianyi replied, his arm still around her waist. He picked up a sandwich with his other hand and took a bite.
Gu Susu said helplessly, "But with you like this, I can't eat properly."
"You can still eat? A bowl of porridge, a snack, and then a sandwich?" Qin Tianyi turned her around to face him. "You're showing off your cooking skills in front of me late at night, just to seduce me, aren't you? Mature women are different."
Gu Susu looked at him and gasped. She didn't know what madness had taken hold of him this time.
Ever since she wasn't a virgin on their wedding night, he had always assumed she was a promiscuous woman who would be intimate with anyone.
"You saved me from the warehouse... I'm just doing this to thank you. I don't have any other intentions..."
Before she could finish, Qin Tianyi reached out and gently lifted her chin. He felt even more uncomfortable. Yes, her heart wasn't with him. Warming his milk and making him food was just a thank you.
"You can thank me in a better way," Qin Tianyi said, staring into her eyes. He saw his own clear reflection in them.
Damn it! Her eyes were so clear, unlike those of a bad woman or a con artist.