Xinrong Bakery only opens in the morning. By noon, after the employees finished cleaning, they gradually clocked out.

At this time, Grandma had already cooked lunch on the second floor and shouted from the balcony, “Ranran, it’s time to eat!”

Jing Ran walked out of the street and looked up, responding, “Got it!”
Jing Ran held a few boxes of pastries and walked out of the shop with Jing Li. They locked the door and went upstairs to have lunch.

Grandma’s cooking smelled delicious, and the aroma could be sensed from the staircase.

Grandma prepared four dishes and a soup: lotus root stewed with pig’s trotters, ginger and scallion chicken, sweet and sour spare ribs, stir-fried vegetables, and a soup with Chinese yam and pork ribs. After Jing Ran and Jing Li washed their hands, they sat down at the dining table to eat.

Jing Li pays more attention to her appearance and usually eats less meat. Seeing the table full of greasy meat, she thought that it wouldn’t be easy for the elderly to digest. Kindly, she reminded, “Grandma, nutrition experts say that the elderly shouldn’t eat so much meat as it can cause indigestion. They should have a lighter diet.”
Grandma smiled and said, “Alright, alright, Lili is really caring. You’re so concerned about Grandma.”

Jing Ran leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Grandma usually eats very lightly. She just added more dishes because she saw you coming.” Then, he switched to a slightly pitiful tone, “Every time I come to Grandma’s house, she only adds one meat dish.”
Jing Li looked at Jing Ran’s pitiful expression and used her chopsticks to pick up a greasy pig’s trotter from her own plate and put it into Jing Ran’s bowl. She said softly, “Eat more.”
Jing Ran was as happy as a child receiving candy and said, “Thank you, Lili.”

The experience of eating together for two weeks allowed Jing Ran to fully understand Jing Li’s taste. She prefers more vegetables than meat and has a preference for sweet flavors. He picked up a piece of lotus root and placed it in her bowl, then chose a piece of sweet and sour spare ribs without any fat and placed it in her bowl.

Grandma smiled as she watched the two of them getting along so well. She wondered if she should tell Ah Xia and her husband later. They would probably be happy, right?

After the meal, Jing Li washed the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, while Jing Ran repaired the faucet in the bathroom. The faucet had been dripping all night. Jing Li thought that sometimes Jing Ran didn’t speak in a pleasing manner, but he wasn’t a bookworm either. He could make Chinese snacks and repair things in the house, which made him more impressive than many people his age.

Grandma took out a few pears from the refrigerator, washed them, and then cut them on the countertop next to Jing Li.

Jing Li remembered that Jing Ran had mentioned that Grandma liked his mushroom-like hairstyle, so she asked directly, “Grandma, do you think Ran Ran’s hairstyle looks good?”

Grandma answered with a disgusted expression, “Not good-looking.”

Jing Li: “…”

Grandma continued, “That silly boy, when he was a child, he got a mushroom-like hairstyle and said it looked cute, so he kept that hairstyle for over ten years. His parents told him to change it, but he refused. So stubborn!”

“Oh…” Jing Li also knew that Jing Ran, the top student, was really persistent in certain aspects. He had to be called “Ran Ran,” he had to have a balanced diet, and he had to go to the library to study every night…

After washing the dishes, Jing Li sat on the wooden chair in the living room, eating pears and watching TV. Jing Ran had just finished fixing the faucet and came out of the bathroom.

“Ran Ran, the pears are deliciously sweet.” Jing Li held a piece of pear in one hand and pointed to the already cut pears on the coffee table with the other hand.

Jing Ran walked over and sat next to Jing Li, leaning in particularly close. Perhaps Jing Li had gotten used to Jing Ran being around, and this level of intimacy no longer felt awkward. She treated him as if he were a familiar acquaintance.

Jing Ran picked up a slice of pear and took a bite, saying, “Mmm, it’s sweet.”

The TV in the living room was replaying a variety show from last weekend, which Jing Li hadn’t seen before, so she was catching up on it.

“Hahaha… cough cough…”

Jing Li got too excited while watching and accidentally choked. Jing Ran quickly grabbed a tissue and caught the pear residue and saliva that she coughed up, disposing them in the trash bin on the coffee table. He then handed her a few more tissues to wipe her mouth clean.

Jing Li felt a bit embarrassed and said, “I’m sorry.”

Jing Ran was puzzled and asked, “Why are you apologizing?”

“For getting your hands dirty.” Although Jing Ran used tissues to catch the pear residue and saliva she coughed up, his hands still got dirty. Jing Li herself found it a bit disgusting to look at, let alone the fact that Jing Ran caught it.

“Just wash them, and it’ll be fine.” Jing Ran stood up and walked to the kitchen.

Grandma was soaking some medicinal herbs in the kitchen, preparing to make soup. Jing Ran entered the kitchen to wash his hands, and Grandma said, “Ranran, both you and Lili stay for dinner, I’ll make soup for you.”

“Okay.” Jing Ran agreed and came out to tell Jing Li, “Lili, Grandma said we should stay for dinner.”

Jing Li asked worriedly, “But… won’t it be too late to go back to school then?”

“On Sundays, we always have dinner early at home, just so we can get back to school sooner.”

“Okay.”

“Then let’s go to the pedestrian street in front first.” Jing Ran had mentioned taking her shopping in the morning, and as soon as he finished speaking, he walked towards the entrance, preparing to put on his shoes.

Jing Li looked at Jing Ran, pointing at the television. “I want to finish watching this variety show first. I missed it last week.”

“Okay.” Jing Ran nodded and sat down next to Jing Li again.

Jing Li had a habit of taking a nap after lunch, and she would feel sleepy after eating, even if the variety show was funny, it couldn’t keep her alert. Her eyelids gradually closed, and she ended up leaning on Jing Ran’s thigh.

When Jing Li woke up again, she found herself sleeping on Jing Ran’s bed, covered with his blanket. How did she end up on Jing Ran’s bed? Although she was the only one in the room, the whole room was filled with Jing Ran’s scent, especially the blanket, which was full of a masculine smell.

She got out of bed, walked to the dressing table in the room, and looked in the mirror to tidy up her hair and dress. It was a bit unconventional for a dressing table to appear in a boy’s room, but this dressing table seemed to be quite old, probably over thirty years old? It was probably a room that Jing Ran’s mother used when she was young, so there were many vintage furniture items in the room, except for the bed, which was new.

She glanced at the small clock on the dressing table, and the hour hand pointed to 4 o’clock. Oh no, she had agreed to go shopping in the pedestrian street with Jing Ran, but she slept until this hour.

She opened the door and heard the sound of “rustling” coming from the kitchen. She could also smell the aroma of food being cooked. Her grandmother had started cooking. She walked to the living room and saw Jing Ran curled up, sleeping on a long wooden chair. A person who was 185 cm tall sleeping on a 155 cm long chair looked cramped no matter who saw it.

Jing Li walked to his side, crouched down, and looked at Jing Ran’s sleeping face. Even when he slept, the top student wore his glasses, and there was a bit of drool at the corner of his mouth, which made Jing Li can’t help but chuckle. She raised her hand and poked Jing Ran’s cheek. “Ranran, wake up, it’s time to eat.”

Jing Li poked Jing Ran a few more times, but he still didn’t wake up. Finally, after a few more pokes, Jing Ran woke up, sat up, and stretched lazily.

Jing Li asked, “Why didn’t you go back to your room to sleep?”

Jing Ran raised his eyes, rubbing his sleepy eyes, and asked, “Can I sleep with you?” When Jing Ran carried Jing Li back to the room, he had initially intended to sleep on the same bed with her, but he didn’t have the courage, so he ended up sleeping on the long chair in the living room.

Jing Li’s mouth twitched slightly. Who said you could sleep together!

“You can let me sleep in Grandma’s room, and you can sleep in your room.”

“But you said Grandma’s bed is too hard, and you can’t sleep well at night, right?”

Grandma’s bed was made of wood, and Jing Li had complained to Jing Ran in the morning about how hard the bed was, and that she could only sleep late at night. Jing Ran was afraid that she wouldn’t sleep well, so he gave his soft bed to Jing Li.

Jing Li’s heart inexplicably fluttered. The top student actually had a caring side.