Chapter 64: Living the Good Life

Gu Mian looked at her, unmoving.

"Don’t make me beg you..." Wen Qian whined, on the verge of tears.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted Wen Qian onto the table. A faint smile played in his eyes. After a moment, he finally relented, "Call me Professor, and I’ll let you go."

’She really is timid, so easily scared.’

A strange emotion flickered in his eyes. Wen Qian swore that today, he had smiled more than on any other day since she’d known him.

Not his usual perfunctory, distant smile, but a truly happy one that came from the heart...

"Professor, Professor, Professor..." Wen Qian rattled off, trying to get it over with. ’It’s not like I’m calling him ’hubby.’ This should be a piece of cake.’

"Softer." Gu Mian’s eyes darkened. He smoothly wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned in closer.

"Didn’t you say you like it when I call you by your name..." Wen Qian tried to protest.

’He was clearly angry when I called him Professor before, so why is he pestering me to say it now? I wouldn’t mind saying it normally, but having to deliberately soften my voice... that’s just mortifying.’

He smoothly took off his glasses and slipped them into his pocket, bracing one hand on the table beside her. His voice was laced with innuendo. "It’s nice to hear it once in a while..."

’It sounded... quite suggestive.’

"Professor... Mph." The last syllable had barely left her lips before his mouth captured hers.

He let her go after only a couple of seconds. Face flushed beet-red, Wen Qian tried to escape, but he pressed her back down onto the table.

One hand gripped her waist while the other held her chin. Gu Mian’s eyes darkened. "Close your eyes."

His voice was clear and firm, leaving no room for argument. Wen Qian blinked twice, then squeezed her eyes shut.

The next second, she felt a sudden heat at her waist as he lowered his head and kissed her again...

Wen Qian didn’t know how she made it out of the kitchen.

All she knew was that her cheeks were burning, and her waist felt like it was on fire.

"Did a bug bite your lips again, Sister?" Li Jiu asked, blinking in confusion. He was curled up on the sofa, munching on an apple.

At those words, Chi Heng looked over as well. He froze the instant he saw her.

Their eyes met, and a flicker of awkwardness crossed Wen Qian’s face. She quickly looked away, stammering out an explanation, "I... I bumped it..."

Without waiting for Li Jiu or Chi Heng to react, she turned and bolted for the restroom.

She splashed cool water on her lips, trying to soothe the strange sensation. She examined them closely, checking to see if the skin was broken...

’Gu Mian is from the Snake Clan. I won’t faint again after we kissed, will I?’

The memory of him biting her neck in the lab still sent a shiver of fear through her...

’Wait, is that really the point?!’

’Shouldn’t the point be that he just kissed me in the kitchen...?’

At the thought, Wen Qian’s cheeks began to burn again.

「Back in the kitchen.」

Gu Mian pulled an apron from the wall and tied it matter-of-factly around his waist.

His well-defined fingers gripped the spatula firmly. His expression was serene, but a satisfied smirk played on his lips.

’The Snake Clan don’t just secrete their paralyzing venom whenever they please. The dosage—and whether to secrete it at all—is entirely under their control.’

’But Qianqian, apparently, has no idea...’

Holed up back in her bedroom, Wen Qian was in a complete panic.

She didn’t look up until a knock sounded at the door. "Come in."

Wen Qian had locked herself in the bedroom ever since washing her face. For one, she didn’t know how to face Gu Mian. For another, Chi Heng’s gaze had been far too piercing... It made her feel inexplicably guilty.

She was snapped back to reality by Li Jiu’s knock, which came just after Gu Mian emerged from the kitchen with the food and sent the boy to get her.

"Sister says she’s not hungry." After a few seconds, Li Jiu poked his head out of the bedroom.

At this, Gu Mian raised an eyebrow. "I’ll go get her."

Wen Qian, who had been eavesdropping from inside, instantly stiffened. She scrambled to her feet and shot out of the bedroom just a second before Gu Mian could get up.

She flashed Gu Mian a brilliant smile. "Suddenly, I’m hungry."

A knowing look crossed the man’s face as he nodded. He then dished up a bowl of rice for her. "In that case, Qianqian, you must eat up."

Their intimate interaction, as if no one else existed, was a jarring sight for Chi Heng. He looked away, his hand subconsciously reaching for the cigarettes in his pocket, only to freeze the moment he touched the pack.

He recalled Wen Qian’s reaction from yesterday, and his expression grew solemn. ’She obviously doesn’t like men who smoke.’

A wave of irritation washed over him. He clenched the pack—from which he’d only smoked two cigarettes—and tossed it straight into the trash.

"Chi Heng, come and eat," a clear, bright female voice said from beside him.

The man froze for a second. When he turned, his gaze met a pair of bright, shining eyes.

Something subtle shifted within him. He hesitated for only a moment before getting up and sitting beside Wen Qian.

With Chi Heng on her left and Gu Mian on her right, Wen Qian’s gaze darted between them. ’So much eye candy!’ she thought.

Then she looked at the lavish spread on the table. They were made from simple ingredients, yet the presentation was absolutely beautiful.

She suddenly felt an urge to cry. ’So this is the good life... I’m finally living it...’

"I thought you weren’t hungry, Sister? So why do you look like you’re about to drool?" Li Jiu said, emerging from the restroom. He peeked over at Wen Qian, a puzzled look on his face.

The smile on her face froze. A moment later, Wen Qian shot back defensively, "Hunger is a fleeting thing!"

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she added, "Girls are fickle. You’ll understand someday."

The three of them ate in silence.

Gu Mian kept placing food on Wen Qian’s plate, waiting on her attentively. His cool gaze swept over Chi Heng, a provocative smirk on his lips.

Wen Qian enjoyed the meal immensely. Even calling it a ’feast for the senses’ wouldn’t be enough to describe how delicious the food was.

Wen Qian had no talent for cooking. When she first started living alone, she survived on instant noodles for an entire school break. She even discovered a strange piece of trivia: if you eat nothing but instant noodles, you really do lose weight...

It wasn’t until three months later when her period stopped that she realized how serious the situation was.

That was when Wen Qian forced herself to practice cooking, desperate to save her already delicate stomach.

But she was no match for a natural talent. It took her a very long time just to learn how to make a decent meal.

’And here she thought she’d become a master chef...’

But now, Wen Qian realized that all her hard-earned culinary skills were nothing compared to Gu Mian’s!

"A Mian, are you a chef on the side?" Wen Qian couldn’t help but ask after swallowing a bite of chicken wing.

His long fingers brushed against his lips as he watched her adorable expression while she ate. A smile bloomed in his eyes. "So, Qianqian, you really like my cooking?"

"Mhm, mhm!" Wen Qian nodded emphatically, like a little chick pecking at grain.

’Anyone would love food this good, right?’

"Then how about I cook for Qianqian every day?" The man’s lips curved into a slight smile, his deep eyes full of temptation. ’As expected,’ he thought, ’her tastes haven’t changed a bit.’

Wen Qian instinctively wanted to say yes, but she caught the word on the tip of her tongue and swallowed it back down.

But her body was faster than her brain; she had already nodded before she could stop herself.