Another ordinary day. After breakfast, Dongdong went outside to play with the neighbor’s kids, while Zhong Xintian settled into the kitchen to prepare a meal.

Today’s special was curry beef, and as time passed, the rich aroma of curry gradually filled the kitchen.

Next, she prepared to bake a cake. After blending the egg yolk batter with the whipped egg whites, she poured the mixture into a chiffon cake mold and placed it in the oven, setting the timer.

She planned to make Dongdong’s favorite mango cream cake and had already bought several fresh mangoes. Just as she was about to take one out to cut, her phone suddenly chimed with a text message.

She pulled her phone from her apron pocket to check it; it was a junk message. After deleting it with a flick, she absentmindedly opened her photo album.

Her gaze fixed on one of the photos, and she selected it to enlarge.

In the photo, she looked young, having just graduated from college, sitting on a park rocking chair next to a man a few years older than her. She remembered holding an ice cream cone in one hand and raising her phone high for a selfie with the other.

The cone had been bought for her by Lu Zongyue as an apology gift after he accidentally bumped into her while riding his bike. They had fallen to the ground in a tangle, and although he used his body to cushion her fall, she still got hurt.

It was a hot summer day. She had pretended to be unable to walk due to her injury and insisted that he buy her ice cream.

He had looked reluctant but still went to buy it and sat with her to eat, capturing this photo together.

That was their first meeting. Later, she learned that their fathers had known each other for years as old friends.

On that day, her heart, which had never stirred for anyone, began to blossom with love.

She was not his first love, but he was undeniably her first love.

Even though she had tasted the bitterness of love afterwards, she never forgot that sweetest day in her memory—an instant that felt eternal.

Should she delete this photo?

She had hesitated more than once but had chosen to keep it each time. Since she would never love someone like that again in her lifetime, why not let this precious memory be the only one?

She stared blankly at the photo on the screen until a series of urgent rings jolted her back to reality.

“Xintian! Xintian! Come out quickly!” Someone shouted anxiously from outside the house.

Startled, she put her phone back in her pocket, turned off the gas stove, and rushed outside to see a middle-aged woman from the neighborhood.

“What happened, Meili? Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Quick, come with me!” He Meili grabbed her and pulled her outside. “Your Dongdong is in trouble!”

Zhong Xintian was horrified by her words. Forgetting that she was still wearing an apron, she quickly followed He Meili as they ran toward a large pond in town where water had accumulated. It turned out Dongdong had gone fishing there with a few kids and accidentally fell into the water.

He could swim and should have been fine, but when he fell, his foot got tangled in some water plants. In a moment of panic, he cramped up, causing the other kids to shout for help.

When Zhong Xintian arrived on the scene, Dongdong had already been rescued. A tall man was carrying him horizontally, both of them drenched and looking quite disheveled.

Seeing that Dongdong was okay, she felt a wave of relief, but when her gaze landed on the man, her heart couldn’t help but race.

What a coincidence—it was Lu Zongyue who saved the child!

“Yuan Yuan!” He made eye contact with her, a slight grin on his face that showed a bit of awkwardness and silliness. “I’m here again.”

Due to Dongdong’s accident, Zhong Xintian decided to take a day off from the shop.

After returning home, she urged the two men to take a hot shower first, then sat them down at the dining table for a hearty lunch. Of course, Dongdong didn’t miss out on his favorite mango cake, devouring two pieces before patting his round belly and half-reclining in his chair like a little lord.

Zhong Xintian noticed his eyes were starting to droop and knew he was tired, so she encouraged him to go take a nap.

He didn’t resist, obediently nodding his head, but not before making a special request to Lu Zongyue. “Uncle, thank you for saving me! You have to stay for dinner tonight! I want to repay your kindness properly.”

What could a little kid repay with?

Zhong Xintian put on a serious face, fully aware that Dongdong was using this as an excuse to keep Lu Zongyue around. She could only watch helplessly as the big man winked at the little boy, both sharing an unspoken understanding.

After Dongdong left, only Zhong Xintian and Lu Zongyue remained in the kitchen. She was silent, and he couldn’t find anything to say either, leaving the atmosphere awkward and stiff.

After a long while, he seemed to suddenly remember something and broke the silence. “By the way, I have something for you in my car.”

Without waiting for her response, he went outside to dig through the large blue sports car parked by the roadside, returning with a big bundle of items in his arms.

She watched him pull out various items from the bags—ginseng, bird’s nest, shark fin, chicken essence, two fresh whole chickens, and a large piece of lamb…

“These are all supplements I bought in Hualien,” he said with a smile. “You’re too thin; you need to take good care of yourself.”

Shouldn’t he be the one needing supplements? Look at his pale complexion; he had just woken up from a long coma and still didn’t know how to take care of himself.