In the kitchen, Zheng Yixu imagined these vegetables as Zhao Louqin and Lin Ninghua, chopping them fiercely and thoroughly, deciding it would be best to just make soup out of them ╭(╯^╰)╮.

With the kitchen knife constantly in motion, Zheng Yixu’s face occasionally showed a ferocious expression, resembling a typical psychopathic killer in a movie! Washing the vegetables, putting them in the pot, stir-frying, and serving the dish—Zheng Yixu did it all with incredible ease.

The two people outside were used to eating exotic delicacies, which Zheng Yixu couldn’t make. So, he decided to prepare a simple meal with four dishes and one soup: two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. Since Zheng Yixu was from the south in his previous life and loved spicy food, he intentionally added several extremely spicy chili peppers while cooking!

Hmph, let’s see if they can handle this spiciness (￣ヘ￣o#)!

When Zheng Yixu finished preparing the meal and brought it out of the kitchen, he saw Zhao Louqin and Lin Ninghua happily and sweetly playing a game of Gomoku.

Yes, Zheng Yixu was sure he wasn’t mistaken. That wasn’t Go, it was Gomoku—Gomoku! Shouldn’t wealthy people’s hobbies be something grand like chess or Go? Why were these two playing Gomoku together?

Zheng Yixu, who only knew how to play Gomoku, silently covered his face.

So, it turns out he had a common hobby with rich people. This realization… left him utterly speechless.

“Little Sunshine~, have you finished cooking?” Zhao Louqin’s face lit up instantly. He really didn’t want to play Gomoku with Lin Ninghua at all. Playing Gomoku with Yixu was much more interesting, and he could even place some bets. But to keep Lin Ninghua away from Yixu, he had gone all out, enduring over an hour of Gomoku with Lin Ninghua.

“It’s ready, come and eat. I can only make some home-cooked dishes, sorry about that,” Zheng Yixu said with a smile, looking at Lin Ninghua. Then he changed the topic, “I wonder if I’ll have the honor of tasting Mr. Lin’s cooking?” Someone like Lin Ninghua, who seemed so detached from everyday life, surely wouldn’t know how to cook.

“Sure. I hope Mr. Zheng will grace us with his presence at the next invitation,” Lin Ninghua said with a pleased smile, nodding.

What the heck, he can even cook! Is there no way for me to catch a break?

How on earth did the original owner manage to snatch Zhao Louqin away from Lin Ninghua? Was it really just by throwing money around?

Suppressing his curiosity, Zheng Yixu took a deep breath and sat down with Zhao Louqin and Lin Ninghua. However, Zhao Louqin’s face didn’t look particularly good; Lin Ninghua had just tried to show off to him. Heh, Lin Ninghua was thinking too simply. Wouldn’t he also be joining Yixu in “tasting” Lin Ninghua’s cooking?

Three people eating four dishes was just about right.

Zheng Yixu made a spicy chicken dish, pork ribs with green peppers, stir-fried shredded potatoes, hand-torn spinach, and a mixed soup. It was decent enough.

When Lin Ninghua and Zhao Louqin saw the spicy chicken, they both felt overwhelmed. It wasn’t like they had never tasted Zheng Yixu’s specially made spicy chicken before; they were just not used to such spiciness and could barely handle it. After eating, they’d end up with lips as red as sausages!

But, well, Yixu liked it.

Who would have guessed that while Yixu’s whole family didn’t eat spicy food, Zheng Yixu himself was obsessed with it! This spicy chicken was only made when Yixu was in a bad mood, so they couldn’t dare to refuse it QAQ.

“This is just one of my signature dishes,” Zheng Yixu said with a “shy” smile, using serving chopsticks to heap a large portion onto Zhao Louqin’s and Lin Ninghua’s plates. “Please don’t dislike it.” He thought to himself, it would be great if it was so spicy it made them suffer; let’s see if they dare to show off their affection in front of him again!

Zhao Louqin’s face turned a bit pale as he hesitantly took a bite, quickly chugging water to cool down. Yixu’s cooking skills had definitely improved.

“Linghua, the flavor is quite good. You should try it too,” Zhao Louqin said, dabbing his eyes from the spiciness while gently encouraging.

Lin Ninghua, maintaining his composure, took a bite, and after finishing, smiled and said, “Mr. Zheng has great skills.”

Zhao Louqin instantly felt that he had been outdone.

Unbeknownst to them, Lin Ninghua also desperately wanted to chug a few glasses of water. However, since it was a rare opportunity to one-up Zhao Louqin, he wasn’t about to show weakness. “Louqin, you’re even crying. You should wipe your tears,” Lin Ninghua said in a “gentle as water” tone, almost wishing he could personally help Zhao Louqin wipe his face!

“No… it’s fine,” Zhao Louqin shook his head. “The spicier, the better.”

Zheng Yixu ignored them and continued eating his own meal, to avoid being dazzled by the scene.

“Speaking of which, Little Sunshine, you made spicy chicken for me before too,” Zhao Louqin reminisced. “I really miss it. Although you’ve lost your memory, your cooking skills haven’t changed at all.”

“Yes, they’re even better than before,” Lin Ninghua added. “I never would have guessed that Mr. Zheng enjoyed cooking.”

Zheng Yixu was taken aback; he hadn’t expected to have a shared trait with the original owner.

However, it’s not unusual for people who like spicy food to have a particular fondness for spicy chicken. What Zheng Yixu didn’t expect was that, according to Lin Ninghua, he had known him for a long time?

“Hmm, Mr. Lin knew me before?” Zheng Yixu asked curiously. Although he knew the original owner and Lin Ninghua must have had a major clash, he didn’t expect Lin Ninghua to bring it up so casually.

“Mm, we used to get along very well,” Lin Ninghua said, sounding a bit nostalgic. “Back then, I often had the chance to eat the meals you made.”

Oh, really?

So, he was an acquaintance?

Zheng Yixu thought for a moment. Since Zhao Louqin didn’t refute Lin Ninghua’s statement, it must be true. It seemed that Lin Ninghua and the original owner had a good relationship, which complicated things.

Zhao Louqin was indeed a troublemaker, managing to make the original owner and Lin Ninghua compete over him?

Zheng Yixu looked up at Zhao Louqin, who gave him a smile.

Hmph, it really seems like he has the potential to be a troublemaker!

Although Lin Ninghua was also very attractive, it seemed… that Zhao Louqin better matched Zheng Yixu’s tastes.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Lin went abroad later, and the relationship faded,” Zhao Louqin said, giving Lin Ninghua a dismissive glance and sneering. “Now that Little Sunshine has lost all memories, it’s a chance to start over.”

Lin Ninghua paused and said nothing further.

Hmm? Was Zhao Louqin’s tone off?

Zheng Yixu noticed something. Looking up, he saw Zhao Louqin’s expression full of disdain, while Lin Ninghua looked somewhat remorseful…

Why the remorse? Was it for the original owner or for Zhao Louqin?

Wait, let’s sort this out.

The original owner and Lin Ninghua used to be good friends, and both of them liked Zhao Louqin. However, Zhao Louqin clearly had feelings for Lin Ninghua too, yet he married the original owner and had a child with her. And there was mention of going abroad…

Zheng Yixu quickly understood. It turns out that Lin Ninghua went abroad when he and Zhao Louqin had deep feelings for each other, and since the original owner was deeply in love with Zhao Louqin, they ended up together. That’s why Zhao Louqin chose the original owner over Lin Ninghua.

Now that Lin Ninghua sees that he’s lost his memory and regrets it, he wants to get back together. However, Zhao Louqin hasn’t forgotten the past, which is why his comments feel so off.

Zheng Yixu felt he had pieced together the entire situation. This must be the way their relationships work. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain it.

With this in mind, Zheng Yixu couldn’t help but have some reservations about Lin Ninghua. Using the words from a song in his past life: “You wanted to break up back then, and now you want to use true love to win me back.” Things aren’t that simple!

For Zheng Yixu, this was undoubtedly good news.

Lin Ninghua’s threat wasn’t as significant to him; it seemed like the likelihood of being kicked out could be postponed. However, the bad news was that Zhao Louqin clearly hadn’t let go of Lin Ninghua. Otherwise, why would he still be angry about Lin Ninghua going abroad after all these years?

As the saying goes, “Where there is no love, where does the hatred come from?”

It really was pitiful for the original owner.