Thousands of Heartbeats

The night was pitch black, illuminated by twinkling lights.

Yan Qiuzhi stood in the kitchen, glanced out the window, then turned her gaze back to the man not far away.

In the warm light of the kitchen, everything about the man seemed to be tinted, turning what should be a cold scene into a warm illusion.

It was as if Chen Lunan was a gentle person.

Her gaze lingered on his hand movements. The phrase beautiful hands was an understatement; they were aesthetically pleasing.

As she was lost in her thoughts, the man's voice broke in, "Did you understand?"

Yan Qiuzhi: "......."

She lifted her gaze, looked at the hangover tea that had turned into a half-finished product, and met Chen Lunan's gaze.

Chen Lunan could tell from her expression that she hadn't listened attentively. He stretched and loosened his collar.

Due to a business discussion, Chen Lunan wore formal attire today. His suit was thrown on the sofa before entering the kitchen, revealing a black shirt inside. This contrast made him appear even colder and more lonely, emitting an indescribable sense of solitude.

As she observed Chen Lunan's movements, Yan Qiuzhi's gaze followed his fingers and stopped at his neck.

Though it was an unintentional gesture, she couldn't help but find it... somewhat handsome.

As soon as this thought popped into her mind, Yan Qiuzhi tried hard to suppress it.

Is she going crazy?

Why would she think Chen Lunan is handsome? Even if he is, she shouldn't daydream.

She slapped her face to clear her mind, feeling that her exhaustion might be causing such illusions.

Yan Qiuzhi shifted her attention back to the hangover tea, "At the recording, do you think people get drunk?"

"En."

Yan Qiuzhi was surprised, "Really?"

Chen Lunan nodded.

Yan Qiuzhi blinked, realizing, "How do you know that?"

He had never participated in this kind of variety show.

To be precise, Chen Lunan had never participated in any variety show.

Ignoring her attempt to pick a fight, Chen Lunan said in a low voice, "I know Teacher Xu from before."

Yan Qiuzhi, after a moment of bewilderment, suddenly remembered. When Chen Lunan had just entered the industry, he starred in a movie, an artistic film that wasn't very popular at the time. The box office success of that movie was moderate, but it had good reviews.

In that movie, Chen Lunan acted as Teacher Xu's son.

"I remember now."

Leaning against the wall, Yan Qiuzhi said, "Father-son relationship."

"......."

The kitchen fell silent for a moment. Chen Lunan stopped his movements and said, "Come over."

Yan Qiuzhi looked at him and walked over.

Actually, making hangover tea wasn't difficult. Sometimes, simply drinking honey water could cure a hangover. Yan Qiuzhi had this small piece of common knowledge.

However, it seemed like Chen Lunan was testing her cooking skills by making the most complicated version of hangover tea, adding tea leaves, hawthorn, and other ingredients for her to cook.

Under Chen Lunan's supervision and guidance, the hangover tea was ready in no time. Yan Qiuzhi even served it herself.

She turned around, her eyes bright as she looked at him, "Did I succeed?"

Chen Lunan replied, "I don't know."

Yan Qiuzhi followed up with, "Then taste it."

She held the bowl of hangover tea in front of Chen Lunan, her eyes revealing a hint of anticipation.

"If it's successful, you'll teach me to cook tomorrow."

Chen Lunan lowered his head and looked at her earnest expression, "We'll see then."

"No."

Without thinking, Yan Qiuzhi argued, "You can't wait until then; you have to confirm it now."

She confidently and unreasonably declared, "I've made you hangover tea, yet you won't teach me to cook. Do you think it's fair?"

"......."

Seeing her like this, Chen Lunan actually wanted to remind her that, in the making of this hangover tea, she was only involved in adding water and waiting for it to boil; everything else was done by him.

But Chen Lunan never bothered with such trivial matters.

After a momentary pause, he cleared his throat, "Alright."

Yan Qiuzhi's eyes lit up, "Really? You won't need to go out tomorrow?"

"No."

Almost instantly, Yan Qiuzhi handed the bowl she was holding to Chen Lunan, urging him, "Drink, drink it quickly."

Drinking it meant he had to teach her to cook.

Chen Lunan: "........"

After drinking the hangover tea, Chen Lunan went to take a shower. When he came out, Yan Qiuzhi was still awake.

Her eyelids, tired from battling against sleepiness, were still fixed on her phone.

After Chen Lunan agreed to teach her how to cook, Yan Qiuzhi began searching on Baidu for simple home-cooked dishes that were easy to learn. She was quite self-aware; complicated dishes were definitely a no-go, so she decided to stick to something simple.

After browsing for a while, Yan Qiuzhi found that stir-fried vegetables were the simplest, but she disliked eating stir-fried vegetables the most.

After a few seconds of hesitation, she looked up at Chen Lunan, "What do you think is the simplest and easiest to learn delicious dish?"

Chen Lunan was caught off guard, "What do you want to learn?"

Yan Qiuzhi sighed as she lay on the pillow, "My ambitions are higher than the sky. I want to learn complicated dishes, but I'm sure I won't be able to learn them. I'll settle for something simple."

Chen Lunan hummed an En and said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Yan Qiuzhi pursed her lips and could only relent.

She pulled the blanket over herself and made a wish, "I hope I won't be scolded on the variety show."

After saying that, she turned over, facing away from Chen Lunan, and fell asleep.