Jian Shuning pouted dejectedly. “Actually, our company also has a branch in Taipei. I’m very good at making tea, and I just got my tea art certification, so I should be able to find a job quickly.”

“If you have a tea art certification, why did your store manager fire you?”

Indeed, why?

Jian Shuning sighed silently to herself.

Ever since graduating from college, she had been working at a chain tea shop in Tainan. After years of hard work, she had earned the appreciation of her supervisor. She thought that with her tea art certification, a raise and promotion were within reach, but who would have thought that something like that would happen…

“Because… um… there were some reasons.” She murmured evasively.

Zheng Yuanshi raised an eyebrow. “Still not willing to tell the truth?”

She pitifully lowered her face, as if wanting to bury herself in a hole.

Zheng Yuanshi looked at her, feeling both angry and annoyed, but also a bit of tough love. His heart was a mix of emotions.

After a while, he suddenly slammed the table. “Fine, you don’t have to say it. But I won’t support a freeloader. If you want to stay here temporarily, you can, but you have to work for your food and lodging!”

“Work for food and lodging?” She asked, momentarily confused, unable to understand what he meant.

“Our company just had an administrative assistant go on maternity leave, and we were considering hiring a part-time student to help out…”

Oh, she understood! Her brother was going to give her that part-time student position.

“I can do it!” She immediately agreed. “I’ll take the part-time job! Brother, give me the opportunity, I’m willing to work for my food and lodging!”

After saying that, she smiled happily, her chubby little hand tugging at Zheng Yuanshi’s sleeve, looking cute and pleading.

Zheng Yuanshi glared at her angrily. “Hurry up and sit down to eat!”

“Yessir!”

Finally, she successfully managed to stay here.

In the middle of the night, Jian Shuning lay on the bed in the guest room, rolling around in the soft blankets, feeling very happy.

This was her brother’s home! The sheets, the pillow, the quilt were all bought by him. Maybe he had even slept here before!

Thinking about it, she suddenly buried her face in the soft pillow and took a deep breath.

There was a clean, minty scent. Was this the scent her brother liked?

Tonight, when she took a shower, she found that the shampoo and body wash in the bathroom were also mint-scented, light and refreshing.

But whenever she got too close to her brother, her heart would beat chaotically, as if it weren’t her own, so she always tried to keep a safe distance from him. She couldn’t seriously smell him to confirm what he smelled like…

Thinking about this, Jian Shuning suddenly felt her cheeks flush, and she hurriedly threw the pillow aside.

“Jian Shuning, stop thinking about it! You’re such a weirdo!”

She really was a weirdo. If her brother knew she was secretly paying attention to him, he would definitely be angry.

“Stop thinking, stop thinking! Jian Shuning, you can’t think about it anymore!” She slapped her face hard, as if trying to wake herself up.

After hitting herself a few times, her soft cheeks started to hurt, and she stopped in a daze.

Before she could mourn her hopeless crush for a few minutes, her stomach started rumbling, ruining the melancholic atmosphere.

“Grrr! This stupid stomach.” She patted her belly in annoyance.

But what could she do? She was really hungry! Tonight, eating with her brother, she inexplicably felt she should be reserved and didn’t dare to eat freely, so she only ate half of what she usually would.

So hungry, hungry to the point of not being able to sleep.

Hugging her little belly and rolling around in bed a few times, Jian Shuning decided she couldn’t ignore her hunger any longer. She quietly got out of bed, opened the door, and tiptoed towards the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, besides a few bottles of beer and a few eggs, it was empty.

Jian Shuning closed the fridge door in frustration, looking around the kitchen.

She wondered if her brother had any cookies or instant noodles at home. Should she reheat the leftover curry on the stove?

But that would make too much noise and might wake her brother.

Shaking her head to dismiss the idea, Jian Shuning decided to search the cabinets for something to eat. Finally, she found a small pack of soda crackers.

Her eyes lit up, and she tore open the packet, squatting in a corner of the kitchen to start munching…

Suddenly, the light turned on, revealing a tall male figure.

She froze, looking up blankly, with crumbs still stuck to the corner of her mouth.

The man seemed to be smiling yet not smiling. “I thought it was a thief! Turns out it’s just a little squirrel stealing crackers.”

Seeing her plump figure curled up in the corner, holding the crackers with both hands and taking bite after bite, she really did look like a little squirrel stealing food, cute and adorable.

Jian Shuning’s cheeks instantly turned bright red.

This was so embarrassing! Really, really, really embarrassing!

She felt so humiliated she wanted to cry.

She thought Zheng Yuanshi would sarcastically mock her some more, but unexpectedly, he just took a storage container from the upper cabinet and handed it to her.

She took it in a daze and opened the lid to find various flavors of cereal packets inside.

He explained casually, “From now on, if you want a midnight snack, eat this. It’s light, easy to digest, and filling.”

He didn’t mock her and even gave her something better to eat than crackers.

Jian Shuning hugged the storage container, feeling incredibly touched.

She remembered a long, long time ago, when she was so hungry she couldn’t stand it, this man had shared his lunch with her…