Louise crossed her legs, reached out to take one of the honey-frost fruits Velyan had brought, took a gentle bite, and asked nonchalantly, “So, what are we eating tonight?”
“Grilled fish!” Velyan blurted out without a moment's hesitation.
Chen Mian stopped in his tracks and said with a smile, “Velyan, we've had grilled fish so many times already. We're having hot pot tonight.”
“Hot pot? What's that?” she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“It's basically a pot filled with broth where we cook all kinds of meat,” Chen Mian explained, looking at Velyan. “How about it? Want to try?”
“Yes!” she nodded without a single shred of hesitation.
“Flora, I'll leave the broth to you,” Chen Mian said, turning to Flora with a smile. “I'll go out to buy some meat tonight. I'll be back by the time you're ready.”
“Okay~ Leave it to me, Chen Mian,” Flora replied gently, a warm smile on her face.
Loviki's voice drifted down from upstairs, sounding a bit lighter than before. “Flora! I've unfolded the mattress. Come up and help me make the bed!”
“Loviki, Mr. Chen Mian has already gone up. Just let him help you.”
“Okay~”
When Chen Mian walked into the second-floor bedroom, Loviki was crouching on the floor, spreading out a thick velvet rug.
She had pulled a stack of bedding from the closet, dividing it into two piles.
Seeing Chen Mian enter, Loviki looked up, a lock of her black hair sliding gently down the side of her face. “Chen Mian, come help me press down this corner. It keeps rolling back.”
Chen Mian walked over, squatted down, and pressed his hand against the edge of the other end of the rug, pulling it outward. Loviki stood up, walked to the opposite corner, and gave it a firm tug, finally flattening the bedding across the floor.
“See? As long as we sleep on the floor, the room is actually pretty big!” Loviki said proudly, hands on her hips, her expression completely restored to her usual self.
“It is quite spacious. Landlady Loviki's house isn't bad at all!” Chen Mian replied with a smile.
“Of course! And I washed and sun-dried my blankets before I left, so they're super clean! Smell them if you don't believe me! They smell great!”
“Do I need to pay extra rent then?”
“No need~” Loviki replied as she continued folding the blankets and arranging the rest of the bedding.
The room fell silent for a brief moment.
“Miss Landlady.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you feeling any better?” Chen Mian tilted his head to look at her.
Loviki froze for a second before turning her gaze away slightly, her expression softening. “Much better. Even though some unexpected, annoying things happened, I'm really happy to be in my little house with all of you. It's just a bit cramped, and having to set up floor beds for everyone is exhausting~”
“Do you regret it?”
“No,” Loviki answered without a hint of hesitation. “In the past, I probably would have thought being alone was better. It's all your fault for making me realize that being with others is much happier.”
“How come you're being so honest today?”
“I-I've always been honest!” Loviki pouted and retorted.
“Mm, indeed. Loviki is getting more and more honest,” Chen Mian replied with a soft chuckle.
“It's not 'getting more and more'... it's 'always'!”
“Then where does the miss landlady plan to sleep tonight?” Chen Mian asked as he tidied up the corners of the floor bed.
“By the window, of course!” She pointed naturally toward the spot closest to the window. “I used to sleep there.”
“Then I'll sleep next to you.”
Loviki's hands paused for a moment, but she quickly went back to adjusting the pillowcase as if nothing had happened. “Suit yourself... We're all squeezed together on the floor anyway.”
“Loviki.”
“What?” She turned her face to look at him, trying her best to maintain a calm tone, but her flushed ears completely gave her away.
“Leave the spot by the window for me,” Chen Mian said seriously.
“Why?” Loviki's ears grew even redder. “That's my spot.”
“If anyone comes tonight, it'll be more convenient for me to be there.”
Loviki was taken aback, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes as her voice dropped. “...Are you worried about danger?”
“Just in case.” Chen Mian arranged the pillows. “You sleep in the middle, Flora and Louise on the other side, and Velyan on the very inside.”
Loviki pursed her lips, clutching the corner of the blanket tightly with her fingers before finally letting go after a moment.
“Are you afraid I'll start overthinking again?” she asked.
“Yeah, I'm afraid you'll sneak out the window in the middle of the night to call off the marriage alliance,” Chen Mian said with a chuckle.
“...I-I would never!”
“That's good then.” Chen Mian withdrew his hands and stood up, stretching his wrists. “I'm going downstairs to help Flora clean up the kitchen.”
Loviki sat where she was, watching him turn and walk toward the door. Just as he was about to step out, she called out softly, “Chen Mian.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you for your 'just in case'.” Loviki buried her face in the folded pillow, her voice muffled.
Chen Mian leaned against the doorframe with a smile, watching her for a moment. “You're welcome. We're having hot pot tonight. What kind of meat do you like?”
“I want beef, dango, and mushrooms,” Loviki said, her voice relaxed despite her face still being pressed against the pillow.
“Do you want juice?”
“...Yes.”
“And candy after dinner?”
“...Yes, please.”
“Alright~ Don't worry, everything will be fine.” With that, Chen Mian walked out of the room.
Once Chen Mian's footsteps faded into the distance, Loviki slowly lifted her head. The room was completely quiet.
From downstairs, the soft clatter of dishes drifted up, accompanied by Velyan's persistent questions about what hot pot tasted like, mingled with Flora's replies and Louise's occasional teasing.
Sitting on the newly made floor bed, she looked down at the smooth, flattened velvet rug before her. She reached out and patted it gently, her voice carrying a hint of flustered panic. “What should I do... He really seems to care about me.”
Loviki touched her slightly warm cheeks. After a long moment, she took a deep breath, stood up, smoothed out her skirt, and pushed open the door to head downstairs.
Flora was standing in front of the stove preparing the hot pot broth, with Velyan watching with great interest beside her, while Louise helped chop vegetables on the side.
“Loviki! Come look!” Velyan was the first to spot her, waving her over. “Flora said she added dried slices of those long-legged mushrooms to the broth!”
Loviki walked over to Flora's side, looking at the bubbling broth in the pot. “It smells so good~”
Flora turned her head to look at her, gently ladled a spoonful of soup, blew on it, and brought it to her lips. “Taste it.”
Loviki opened her mouth slightly and took a small sip, her eyes narrowing in delight. “It's delicious~ Flora, you always make such wonderful food.”
“Flora! I want to taste it too.”
“Here~”
“So good! Flora, can we use this broth to grill fish?”
“Velyan, you can never seem to forget your grilled fish,” Louise's amused voice came from the side.
“Where's Chen Mian?” Loviki asked softly.
“He went out to buy ingredients. The ones we brought along didn't have enough variety,” Flora answered softly.
“Does he know his way around the Royal Capital on his own?”
“Loviki, you've asked a rather silly question. He's much stronger than me. If he wanted to, his perception could cover at least half of the Royal Capital. There's no way he'd get lost,” Velyan said nonchalantly, taking another sip of the broth.
Rate on N.U.
