Chapter 28 Biting His Adam’s Apple

Lin Suisui was both surprised and delighted. “Where did you find this?”

Although the oven looked very similar to Fang Qianqian’s, it was clearly newer and larger.

“Dad made it for you,” Doubao answered proudly before anyone else could speak.

Lin Suisui turned to look at Huo Changzheng in astonishment. He stood to the side with a faint smile on his face, but his eyes burned with excitement, as if showing off how capable he was—subtly asking for praise at the same time.

She remembered asking Fang Weiguo to help find the materials. So many days had passed and he never delivered anything, so she assumed the materials weren’t available and didn’t want to trouble him again. But now it was obvious—the materials had been found and delivered straight to Huo Changzheng. As for her idea about making an oven, Fang Weiguo must’ve “leaked” the information.

She hadn’t expected him to remember what she said, let alone take it to heart and do such a good job. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t moved.

“Thank you,” Lin Suisui said, looking at him.

She thought she sounded sincere, but he didn’t seem satisfied and responded with a hint of teasing, “Just a thank-you with words?”

His tone held a trace of dissatisfaction and playful challenge. Lin Suisui felt like he was acting a little different tonight, but just as a thought began to form in her mind, she quickly pushed it away.

Someone who had “died once” should always remain clear-headed and rational.

She smiled and said, “Of course not. I’ll bake you a cake tomorrow to show my thanks.”

It wasn’t exactly the answer he wanted, but a cake was better than an empty “thank you.” Besides, he didn’t particularly like her being so formal with him—it felt too distant.

Doubao, ever the little foodie, lit up at the mention of cake. He clapped his hands and bounced with excitement. “Mama, will I get some cake too?”

“Of course you will.” Lin Suisui stroked the top of his head. “You can have some after school tomorrow. But for now, let’s eat dinner.”

With the new oven added to the household, everyone was in high spirits—it even made the meal taste better.

After dinner, Huo Changzheng went to wash the dishes while Lin Suisui prepared a bath for Doubao. But the little guy promptly kicked her out of the bathroom, citing the rule: “Men and women shouldn’t touch.”

As she was heading back to the bedroom, Huo Changzheng called from the kitchen, “Do you know how to use the oven?”

She turned right around and walked in. “I’ve watched Qianqian use hers a couple of times. I know a little, but not everything.”

As she spoke, she moved toward the oven and began fiddling with it. She knew which button turned it on, but there was also a dial she didn’t recognize.

“What’s this one for?” she muttered to herself.

Just then, the light around her dimmed slightly. She looked up and found that Huo Changzheng had somehow moved behind her.

He was standing so close that she felt if she shifted even slightly, her back would touch his.

Her instinct was to back away, but there was no room behind her, so she looked for an exit to the side. Just as she turned her head, his left hand planted itself firmly on the counter. His right hand reached over and adjusted the oven.

In an instant, she was trapped between him and the oven, surrounded as if by an immovable wall.

“This button controls the power. The dial adjusts the temperature—it has four settings. I followed what Cheng Hao told me. He said the lowest is 100°C, and each level adds 50 degrees. So the max is 250°C.”

His voice was low and deep, echoing softly through the quiet kitchen. It felt like a large, warm hand had reached into her chest and gently strummed her heartstrings.

She had come back to life determined to be heartless and unloving—and so far, she felt she’d done pretty well. But she was only human, not a god, and this kind of situation was proving hard to handle.

So if she couldn’t handle it, she’d escape.

“I got it. I’ll try it tomorrow.”

With that, she suddenly crouched down and ducked under his arm, scrambling away.

She didn’t need a mirror to know how ridiculous her move must’ve looked, so once she’d successfully escaped, she didn’t even turn back and just walked away. “I’ll go check if Doubao is done with his bath.”

Watching her flee, Huo Changzheng let out a soft sigh and curled his lips in self-mockery.

Lin Suisui couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different about Huo Changzheng tonight—but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what. Whatever it was, it made her feel a little… unsafe.

So once Doubao finished his bath, she quickly bathed too and curled up in bed with her sweet, soft little boy.

—

“Brother Zheng, I picked this fruit from behind the mountain—it’s really sweet. Try it!”

Lin Suisui offered him a fruit like it was a treasure.

He didn’t say anything, just took it and bit into it.

“Is it sweet?” she asked, resting her chin on her knees and staring at him intently.

“Sweet.” He glanced at her, then went back to eating.

He ate quietly, and as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple moved up and down.

She thought it looked incredibly attractive, almost hypnotizing. It was like something was pulling her into the abyss.

Without thinking, she leaned forward slightly, opened her mouth, and bit his Adam’s apple.

“Mm.” He let out a soft sound.

The next thing she knew, she was being shoved away. Her eyes snapped open.

She’d been dreaming.

Her mind went blank for a moment. Once she realized what had happened, she felt embarrassed and annoyed.

She ruffled her hair in frustration. That was all ancient history—some of her most cringe-worthy memories, in fact. Why was she dreaming about them again?

If she was going to dream, she’d rather dream about useful things from her past life.

Because of that inappropriate dream, her mood was thrown off and she didn’t sleep well for the rest of the night. Plus, she was anxious about work the next day, so she got up at 5:30 a.m.

When she walked out of the bedroom, she saw Huo Changzheng standing at the table, head tilted back, drinking water.

Even though it was still dark and the lights were off, a faint light from outside came through, and she could clearly see the way his Adam’s apple moved up and down with each gulp.

“You’re up,” he said quietly, turning his head.

“…Mm.”

Thinking of that shameful dream, she suddenly felt guilty. If the light weren’t so dim, her bright red face would’ve given her away.

She didn’t dare stay in the same room with him any longer and rushed out. “I’m going to brush my teeth.”

Huo Changzheng didn’t notice anything odd and followed her out—but not to brush his teeth. He went to water the vegetable garden.

Fortunately, the compound had running water now. Otherwise, between daily chores and watering the garden, they’d have to haul dozens of buckets of water a day.

She quietly brushed her teeth while he methodically watered the plants.

“When the potatoes are ready, make me some potato pancakes,” he suddenly said.

“…Okay.”

She quickly spat out the foam and nodded, but that cursed memory came rushing back again.

Back then, the first thing she’d ever secretly made for him was—potato pancakes.