This might be one of the very few dinners since Jiang Zixuan was born that left such a deep impression on him.

The side of the chicken breast facing up wasn’t too bad—golden, tender, with a bit of char, and honestly tasted pretty good. Unfortunately, the other side was already on the verge of turning into charcoal.

After all the dishes were placed on the table, Shu Yuxin tried two pieces of chicken breast, then pulled the plate of potato slices in front of herself and refused to let go. Seeing her act as if she were facing a formidable enemy, Jiang Zixuan seriously considered the difficulty of snatching food from a tiger’s jaws and ultimately gave up on that plate of potatoes.

So really, wasn’t he just asking for it? A perfectly good rich kid, ignoring all the restaurants outside and insisting on trying this kind of dark cuisine.

Jiang Zixuan was already thinking about whether he should go downstairs later to buy some late-night snacks.

“Well, um, I think this kind of charred crunch actually tastes pretty good,” Shu Yuxin glanced at Jiang Zixuan cautiously, then lowered her head to stare at the burnt meat again. “If you don’t like it, you can pick the pieces that aren’t too burnt—just pretend you’re eating crispy rice.”

With an expressionless face, Jiang Zixuan casually picked up a piece of meat and tossed it into his mouth. After a series of crack crack sounds, he slowly took a bite of rice. “You should try it too. The flavor’s actually not bad.”

“I’ll pass. I don’t feel like eating meat tonight.”

“Tsk.” Jiang Zixuan suddenly smiled. “At least you didn’t turn the rice into porridge. I’m already very grateful.”

Shu Yuxin lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth. “It’s my first time, mistakes are normal, right? Besides, you distracted me. You can’t blame everything on me.”

“…I distracted you?”

“Didn’t you?”

“Wasn’t it you who started talking to me?” Jiang Zixuan shot back. “So now it’s my fault for responding?”

“Yes,” Shu Yuxin said righteously. “If you hadn’t responded, nothing would’ve happened.”

Jiang Zixuan stared at her face for three seconds, then sighed. “Alright, alright, my fault, my fault. Eat, eat.”

In the end, that plate of roasted meat still wasn’t finished.

Jiang Zixuan forced himself to eat about a third of it. The remaining two-thirds ended up in the kitchen trash can.

The time after dinner was usually quite pleasant. Before heading home, the two of them went back to Shu Yuxin’s dorm once more to bring back the remaining items. Tidying up the room and making the bed didn’t take them much time. After this brief bit of post-meal activity, they collapsed together on the living room sofa.

The TV was playing an anime Jiang Zixuan had been watching recently. Since she hadn’t started from the first episode, Shu Yuxin didn’t know the background of the plot and wasn’t very interested.

It had been mentioned before that there was a time when Shu Yuxin’s parents suspected she might have ADHD. One of the reasons was that whenever she had nothing to do—when she was bored, didn’t want to play with her phone, couldn’t move around—she liked to make small movements. In front of unfamiliar people or outsiders, she hid these habits very well. But when she was with someone familiar… she was a textbook hyperactive girl.

About seven minutes into the episode, Shu Yuxin’s body tilted and she leaned against Jiang Zixuan’s shoulder. By the ninth minute, she restlessly placed both her legs on Jiang Zixuan’s thighs as well. It could be said that the position she was in required a high degree of difficulty and flexibility, and most importantly, it definitely wasn’t comfortable—but she didn’t care at all. Honestly, once Shu Yuxin’s hyperactivity kicked in, no matter how strange or awkward the posture was, she could pull it off.

By the fifteenth minute, Shu Yuxin once again extended her hand in boredom, pressed it against Jiang Zixuan’s shoulder, and slowly started kneading. She rested her head on the back of her hand, almost pressed against Jiang Zixuan’s head at zero distance, massaging while counting the few strands of white hair near his ear.

Her breath brushed against his ear, making him feel a bit itchy. He cautiously leaned forward a little, then turned his head slightly to glance at Shu Yuxin. “Aren’t you uncomfortable like this?”

“Nope, it’s comfy. Wanna try?” Shu Yuxin grinned.

“Tsk, you really might have ADHD,” Jiang Zixuan said, letting her do as she pleased. “Use more force with your hands. Knead deeper.”

Shu Yuxin froze for a moment, then realized he was referring to her “massage.” She lifted her head from her hand, grabbed Jiang Zixuan’s neck with both hands, and squeezed. “How about this?”

“…That’s too deep. Move it outward a bit.”

“So picky. Do it yourself.” She lightly slapped the back of Jiang Zixuan’s head, then leaned back and lay flat on the sofa, sighing softly. “Tomorrow classes start already. Real college life is about to begin.”

Jiang Zixuan nodded. “I heard the software engineering major has quite a lot of courses, but it should still be easier than high school.”

“For sure.” After a pause, Shu Yuxin suddenly asked, “What’s your major again?”

“Landscape architecture. It’s kind of design-related.”

“Landscape architecture?” Shu Yuxin repeated subconsciously. She’d never even heard of this major—though to be fair, there weren’t many majors she’d heard of in the first place. Still, that didn’t stop her from guessing what it was just from the name. But perhaps due to her peculiar way of thinking, after forming an image in her mind, the very first thing she associated with “landscape architecture” was… a cemetery.

The kind with great greenery, trees and grass, vines winding all around—public cemeteries where a small plot could cost as much as a down payment on a house.

Thinking about it carefully, it didn’t seem wrong. There was scenery, and there was landscaping, right?

So she blurted out, “Building cemeteries?”

Jiang Zixuan: “…Huh?”

“Landscape architecture. Isn’t that like building cemeteries?” Shu Yuxin asked again, very seriously.

Jiang Zixuan’s expression turned a bit strange.

This girl clearly had some misunderstanding about landscaping—and why did she think of graveyards? No matter how far off you were, wouldn’t the first thing be parks?

“Uh, the major does include that,” he thought for a moment and chose his words carefully. “But it’s definitely not comprehensive. It’s not like once you graduate, you can only build cemeteries.”

“So that means you’re planning to build cemeteries, right?!” Shu Yuxin was excited.

Jiang Zixuan: “…”

When did he ever say he planned to build cemeteries?

“That’s great! Cemeteries make money nowadays! They’re even more expensive than houses!” Shu Yuxin climbed up from the sofa and slung an arm around Jiang Zixuan’s shoulder like a bro. “If I can’t find a job in the future, I’ll rely on you, okay? I’ll be your free leg accessory.”

“If you don’t mind being tired, I do,” Jiang Zixuan said, pushing her legs away as he stood up and turned on the PS4. “Figure it out yourself when the time comes.”

Side note:
There was a power outage today, so the update was a bit late.
This month is almost over. I’ll continue updating daily with 2k words until the end of the month, then switch to 3k words per day starting next month.