Ruan Yu spent the entire evening savoring the taste of those instant noodles. That flavor bewitched her thoughts, constantly bringing back memories of when her father was still alive, recalling those happy moments.

When Ruan Yu was little, she thought instant noodles were the best food in the world. But she rarely had the chance to eat them – only when she was sick would her father cook her a bowl of instant noodles, coaxing her to eat.

After eating the noodles, she would get better, but then she would crave them and pretend to be sick again.

But her little tricks could never escape her father’s watchful eyes…

After her father passed away, she never ate instant noodles again, because she knew that regardless of whether the taste had changed, that feeling of happiness from back then would never return.

Yet today, she had found a trace of that long-lost happiness at Teng Yi’s place.

That night, Ruan Yu had a sweet dream featuring both her father and Teng Yi.

She sensed that her feelings for Teng Yi had changed.

Initially, she had only admired him from afar, and there was a period when she tried to maintain clear boundaries, but now, she constantly wanted to get closer.

Teng Yi was a warm person.

This warmth was dangerous, yet irresistible.

She couldn’t control certain feelings growing in her heart, so she let them grow freely yet secretly.

A secret crush was like a flower in the snow – seemingly real yet illusory, no matter how beautiful or vibrant it bloomed, it could only be appreciated in solitude.

Because of Teng Yi, tutoring at the Teng house became the most anticipated part of Ruan Yu’s day. Unfortunately, Teng Yi remained elusive, rarely at home. Their next meeting wasn’t until five days after they had shared instant noodles.

That day, as soon as Ruan Yu entered, she saw Teng Yi sleeping on the living room sofa, his long legs propped up on the footstool, earbuds in his ears, and a magazine covering his face. He seemed to be sleeping deeply and hadn’t heard her footsteps.

Ruan Yu stood in the living room for a while, hoping to greet him when he woke up, but after waiting a long time without any sign of him stirring, she had to go upstairs.

Upstairs, Teng Hao was also sleeping, wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, sprawled over a pile of test papers, arms crossed and huddled, his brows furrowed as if he were cold.

Ruan Yu woke Teng Hao up.

Teng Hao opened his sleepy eyes, looked at her, grabbed his school uniform hanging on the chair back, tucked it under his arm, and closed his eyes again.

“Didn’t sleep well last night?” Ruan Yu asked.

“Don’t mention it. Last night that lunatic next door played the piano all night. It would have been fine if they played well, but it was complete chaos – just noise, like a haunted house. I nearly lost it.”

So that’s what happened.

No wonder Teng Yi hadn’t slept well either.

“Didn’t you complain?” Ruan Yu asked.

“We did, but complaints were useless. It just kept going.” Teng Hao sat up and sneezed. “Ugh, I’m freezing. Why did it suddenly get so cold?”

He rubbed his nose and put on his school uniform.

Ruan Yu thought of Teng Yi downstairs, sleeping in just a short-sleeved T-shirt. It would be terrible if he caught a cold.

She wanted to go down and cover him with a blanket but couldn’t think of a reason to do so.

“Are you thirsty?” Ruan Yu looked at Teng Hao.

“Why?”

“I could get you a glass of water. Your lips are cracked.”

Teng Hao licked his lips: “I didn’t notice.”

“Do you want it or not? One-time offer.”

“Didn’t you say ‘never again’ last time, all righteous and proper?”

“If you don’t want it, forget it.” Ruan Yu pulled out a workbook, making it as if to hand it to Teng Hao.

Teng Hao quickly nodded.

“Yes, I’ll take it. Why refuse something free?”