Jiang Ruoqiao’s appearance was striking — that was beyond dispute.

Lu Yicheng had once been dragged by his roommates to a welcome event for new students, back when Jiang Ruoqiao and Jiang Yan were not yet a couple. She had been wearing a formal dress, her makeup immaculate. He remembered she was walking toward a friend of hers and had passed right by him. Even now, at this very moment, he found himself wondering — was his memory really that good? What he had assumed was long forgotten rose silently to the surface now: she had worn her hair in waves that day as well, with colorful confetti ribbons caught in her hair.

Even then, she hadn’t noticed him.

Or rather — she hadn’t paid particular attention to anyone.

What was strange was that when Jiang Yan first mentioned her name back in the dormitory, he had recognized who she was, and remembered her face.

Jiang Ruoqiao noticed that Lu Yicheng had suddenly gone quiet and looked up at him.

He had already composed himself. After a brief pause, he continued, “I’m not entirely sure how accurate this is — but it’s better than nothing.”

He was, by nature, gentle and reserved.

But reserved was not always a virtue — it could also mean concealment. Or rather, not concealment so much as habit: the habit of keeping one’s genuine emotions tucked away. He had lost his parents early and grown up with his grandmother as his only company, which truly gave him no right to indulge in vulnerability. So very early on, he had learned to carry himself as adults do — unaccustomed to revealing his innermost likes and inclinations.

Just like right now — he could collect himself in a matter of seconds, so quickly that even Jiang Ruoqiao noticed nothing amiss.

“Let’s just try it,” Jiang Ruoqiao said.

The distance between them remained unchanged.

The agent had by now assumed the role of a bystander.

She found herself wondering again — really, truly not a family of three? Why did they seem so harmonious?

Especially the handsome young man and the beautiful young woman — they suited each other remarkably well.

The young man stood tall and slender, in white shirt and dark trousers, his short hair neatly swept, his entire bearing clean and quietly composed.

The young woman was lithe and fine-boned, dressed in a white bubble-sleeve dress — playful yet lively, her features delicate, her manner pure and open. She seemed to glow from within, radiant and eye-catching.

Really not a couple?

Jiang Ruoqiao followed Lu Yicheng into the bedroom to test for formaldehyde.

Lu Siyan stayed in the living room. He hadn’t followed them in, and neither Jiang Ruoqiao nor Lu Yicheng had noticed — both were currently most concerned with one thing: whether the apartment’s formaldehyde levels were up to standard.

Lu Siyan caught the confused and questioning look on the agent’s face, and lowered his own voice to say, “They’re well-matched, aren’t they?”

The agent gave a small nod.

Wait — who was talking?

She jolted back to reality and looked down at Lu Siyan standing beside her.

Lu Siyan grinned. “I think they’re a perfect match too. You have good taste, miss.” Then he looked at the name badge clipped to her shirt pocket. “You’re going to be great at this job — promotions and raises are coming your way~”

The agent laughed despite herself. “Really? Little one, I’ll take that as a blessing.”

The formaldehyde readings from Lu Yicheng’s borrowed detector were within safe limits in every room. The agent then added, “This neighborhood is over ten years old. The landlord lived here for several years before beginning renovations the year before last, and there have been tenants ever since. So truly, the two of you have nothing to worry about on the formaldehyde front.”

That was…

Though to be fair, it was also entirely true.

Nothing cleared formaldehyde more effectively than having people live in a space.

Lu Yicheng put away the detector and went to check the windows. Although the apartment was on the fourth floor, safety still had to be considered — particularly whether the window security bars were firmly installed.

If it were just himself, it would be another matter — he could disregard formaldehyde (to an extent…) and not care whether there were bars on the windows. But with a child in the picture, hazards lurked everywhere.

Both Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng were thorough people. One inspected everything once, the other went over it all again, making sure nothing was missed.

Finding a problem after the contract was signed would be the truly frustrating outcome.

The young agent had genuinely never encountered tenants like this, though she had also learned a great deal from them — who knew, if she ever put it to use someday, a client might think her exceptionally reliable.

After several rounds of checking with no issues found, Lu Yicheng and Jiang Ruoqiao agreed between themselves to go ahead and confirm with the agent about signing the contract.

Another big matter was settled.

They could move in before September.

Jiang Ruoqiao felt Lu Yicheng was dependable, and moreover — back at the farm restaurant, if he hadn’t stepped forward to stop Jiang Yan, she wouldn’t have gotten away so smoothly. So she suggested they have dinner together, naturally as her treat.

Lu Yicheng very much wanted to say: there’s no need to eat out, buying groceries and cooking at home would do just as well.

But the words reached the edge of his tongue and he swallowed them back. Saying that would give her the wrong impression — that he was inviting her back to his place. So he simply nodded. “Alright. Thank you.”

Jiang Ruoqiao asked Lu Siyan, “Little charmer, what do you want to eat tonight? Anything goes.”

Her employer had just settled a payment, which should be transferred in the next day or two.

She’d be a girl with money again soon.

Lu Siyan was about to say Kendeji or Bishengke, but before he could open his mouth, Lu Yicheng cut in ahead of him: “Don’t even mention Kendeji, Bishengke, or McDonald’s — you had those just the other day. You need to cut back on that sort of thing.”

Lu Siyan: “…”

Dad was getting more and more like… a dad.

Jiang Ruoqiao nodded along eagerly. “Agreed, I don’t want those either. Far too many calories.”

“Then why did you ask me?” Lu Siyan pouted. “You two just decide between yourselves — asking me is pointless. In the end, Dad always listens to Mom anyway. It’s always Mom who gets the final say.”

Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”

Lu Yicheng gave a small cough. “How about dumplings? There’s a good dumpling place nearby — the owner makes everything by hand.”

Jiang Ruoqiao had no objections.

Her job was just to pay.

Lu Siyan’s appetite was piqued. He was already craving corn, shiitake mushroom, and pork dumplings.

Lu Yicheng led the mother and son through several small side streets and alleys — and just as Jiang Ruoqiao’s patience was reaching its limit, they arrived. It was an extremely unassuming dumpling establishment — unassuming was actually an overstatement. It was a stall.

Jiang Ruoqiao: “…………”

Lu Yicheng, seeing that Jiang Ruoqiao was hesitating to sit down, assumed she found the tables and chairs less than clean.

“Wait a moment,” he said.

Then he took the napkins from the table, dampened them with water from a cup, and bent down to wipe the entire table thoroughly — especially the spot where she would sit. He went over it once with the wet cloth and twice more with a dry one, then told Jiang Ruoqiao, “You can sit now. It’s clean.”

Lu Siyan: “…”

Well. He was used to it.

Jiang Ruoqiao was a little taken aback, slow to process what had just happened, and looked at Lu Yicheng.

Lu Yicheng was standing beside her. With her flat-soled shoes, she came up to about his chin.

Seeing she still hadn’t sat down, he hesitated and said, “Perhaps… we should find somewhere else. I’m sorry — I wasn’t thinking.”

He genuinely had no instinct for this sort of thing, because he truly had never gone out for a meal alone with a woman. So it had seemed natural to him to find somewhere practical and affordable.

Especially since she was paying, and he didn’t want her spending too much.

Jiang Ruoqiao waved her hand and sat right down. “It’s fine. This is fine.”

She simply hadn’t expected Lu Yicheng to be so attentive.

Knowing he was considerate was one thing — being on the receiving end of it was another entirely.

It wasn’t as though no man had ever wiped a table for her before, but how to put it — those others had all done it with the motive of flattering and pleasing her. Lu Yicheng was different. He simply wiped the table. He simply wanted her to sit comfortably. And precisely because of that — those downcast eyes as he did it, those lean forearms revealed as his sleeves were rolled to the elbow… unexpectedly, they were rather pleasant to look at.

Lu Yicheng exhaled in relief.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man of around forty, who looked straightforward and good-natured.

They ordered three plates of dumplings.

One was the corn, shiitake, and pork filling Lu Siyan had requested.

One was the vegetarian three-fresh filling Jiang Ruoqiao chose.

Lu Yicheng ordered the cabbage and pork.

The dumplings were visibly handmade. Jiang Ruoqiao carefully picked up one with her chopsticks and tasted it.

Lu Yicheng hadn’t touched his chopsticks yet. He was simply watching her, as though waiting for her review.

Jiang Ruoqiao looked up. The table was narrow and square, and Lu Yicheng sat directly across from her — in truth, the distance between them was somewhat close. She looked at him, and he was looking back at her with quiet attention. Something shifted in her, and her eyes curved as she said, “The filling is excellent. Not too salty.”

A faint, shallow smile touched Lu Yicheng’s eyes as well. “Mm.”

Jiang Ruoqiao generally didn’t eat staple foods at dinner.

Today was an exception — especially since these were dumplings. After a few, she set down her chopsticks and simply sat sipping water.

Lu Yicheng noticed she’d stopped eating and asked, “What’s wrong? Not to your taste?”

Lu Siyan, who was inhaling his dumplings with great enthusiasm, said, mouth barely working, “Mom eating seven dumplings is already quite an honor, Dad.”

Jiang Ruoqiao corrected him with full seriousness: “Not seven. Six. When you miscalculate like that, it throws off my daily calorie count.”

Lu Yicheng hesitated. “That little?”

Lu Siyan said, “That’s already a lot. Mom usually just has a vegetable salad at dinner. Six whole big dumplings — that’s a New Year’s Day kind of occasion.”

Jiang Ruoqiao pressed a hand to her forehead. Why did this child know her so well?

It was true — for the sake of looking good on camera, she had always kept a deliberate eye on her figure.

In her daily routine she would run or play tennis, but the most important thing was controlling what she ate. She ate well in the morning, ate her fill at lunch, but in the evenings she generally avoided anything starchy.

Lu Yicheng: “…”

He found this somewhat difficult to comprehend, especially looking at Jiang Ruoqiao’s slender, pale wrists — he always felt that one firm grip might snap them.

She was this thin, and still needed to manage… calories?

Lu Yicheng had, for his part, finished every last dumpling on his own plate.

Lu Siyan had done impressive damage to his as well.

Compared to the two Lu men who had cleaned their plates, the portion left in Jiang Ruoqiao’s dish was rather conspicuous.

Lu Siyan said matter-of-factly: “Dad, aren’t you done?”

Lu Yicheng glanced at him. “I’m finished.”

“No you’re not,” Lu Siyan said, pointing at the remaining dumplings in Jiang Ruoqiao’s bowl. “Mom’s isn’t finished yet.”

It had always been like this — whatever Mom couldn’t finish, Dad would eat.

Whatever Mom didn’t like, Dad would eat too.

Lu Yicheng: “?”

Jiang Ruoqiao suppressed a laugh.

Lu Yicheng was a little flustered but said nothing.

After spending so long with this little one, he’d learned — whatever he said at this point, the child would find a way to make it more awkward.

For instance, if he said “I don’t eat other people’s leftovers,” the child would undoubtedly say “but in the future, Dad eats Mom’s leftovers all the time and finds them delicious”…

—