18. Breakfast with love.

It wasn’t until the distant horizon began to glow with a faint fish-belly white that Qin Zhaoyi could finally fall asleep.

Before sleeping, she couldn’t help but marvel at the beautiful coastal scenery. Looking out of Luo Yue’s room window, she could see the sunrise.

However, Qin Zhaoyi wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it; she was exhausted, but her thoughts were still racing.

Eventually, drowsiness overcame her restless mind, and she managed to fall asleep, albeit briefly.

However, she couldn’t sleep for long.

She felt a light touch, and the noise in the house woke her up.

Hearing the sound of running water, she got up, squinting as she stood at the door, just in time to see Luo Yue coming out of the bathroom after washing her face.

“Good morning,” greeted Luo Yue, full of energy after a night of good dreams when she saw her.

Qin Zhaoyi stared at her for a while, then, two seconds later, she slammed the door shut.

Suddenly, she was wide awake.

Why!

Luo Yue in the morning still looked so beautiful!

And she must look disheveled right now…

This was terrible.

“Do you want breakfast?” Luo Yue asked her through the closed door.

Qin Zhaoyi’s voice was a bit dull. When she didn’t sleep well, she naturally had a bit of a morning moodiness, but she managed to control it and didn’t snap at Luo Yue. “Not hungry.”

“You didn’t eat much last night,” Luo Yue said. “Have breakfast and then go back to sleep.”

Qin Zhaoyi, “…”

This sounded too familiar. Whenever she came back home to visit, she would hear this sentence from her mother every day.

Qin Zhaoyi wasn’t particularly interested in food. She might have been considered a “bookworm” by others from childhood to adulthood.

Once she started writing, she would be at it day and night.

Her family knew this, so whenever she came back home, no one would disturb her on the second floor.

If, on rare occasions, she happened to run into her mother on her way to the bathroom in the morning, she would undoubtedly hear this sentence.

Her mother could accurately judge whether she had slept or not based on her complexion. Usually, her mother would make her eat breakfast and then go back to sleep.

If she refused, she would be bombarded with countless nagging.

In the end, her mother always won, and she would eat breakfast expressionlessly.

“Not hungry,” Qin Zhaoyi said.

Luo Yue didn’t nag like her mother; she said straightforwardly, “I’ve placed breakfast on the table. Remember to eat.”

“What about you?” Qin Zhaoyi asked.

From Luo Yue’s side came the sound of the door closing. “I have my first class this morning, and I’m running late.”

“Alright,” Qin Zhaoyi replied.

As she was leaving, Luo Yue reminded her, “If you want to leave, you can take the afternoon boat and arrive in Jiayi tonight.”

“Why are you trying to rush me away again?” Qin Zhaoyi sounded annoyed.

Luo Yue hesitated for a moment and then said gently, “I’m not trying to make you leave. I just don’t recommend going to my school.”

Qin Zhaoyi, in a bad mood from lack of sleep, realized she might have been a bit unreasonable.

So she fell silent.

After hearing the door close, she quietly went to the window and pulled the curtains open to watch Luo Yue leave.

Darn it.

Clearly, she had intentionally teased Luo Yue by calling her jiejie last night, but Luo Yue didn’t react at all and looked radiant after her sleep.

On the other hand, she tossed and turned all night and woke up in a bad mood.

Qin Zhaoyi lost all desire to sleep and decided to take her laptop for a walk by the seaside in search of inspiration. Of course, before that, she needed a cup of coffee.

Qin Zhaoyi was a bit particular about coffee; she never drank instant coffee. If possible, she preferred freshly ground coffee, and if not, she would settle for Starbucks.

But it was impossible to find a Starbucks on this island.

Qin Zhaoyi started to plan haphazardly. First, she went to the bathroom to wash her face. When she saw herself in the mirror, she was lost in thought for a few seconds.

Her long hair was messy, and she had a pimple on her forehead.

She couldn’t even compare to Luo Yue, who looked unbelievably beautiful without makeup in the morning.

---

Despite her dislike for breakfast, Qin Zhaoyi still went to the kitchen to take a look.

The breakfast on the table was simple: fried eggs, egg pancakes, and milk.

The fried eggs were golden brown on both sides, shaped like hearts.

The egg pancakes had a beautiful color and emitted a tempting fragrance.

The milk was hot, with a slightly savory taste, unlike the kind sold in supermarkets; it was more like fresh milk.

It was a breakfast that seemed to be made with love.

Qin Zhaoyi stood in front of the table, deep in thought for more than ten seconds. She then turned and walked back to her room. As she walked, she casually tied up her long hair with a hairband. After grabbing her phone from her room, she stood in front of the table again. She took several photos from different angles, applying various filters, and took more than ten shots in total.

Then she selected the most attractive one and sent it to Zhong Ling.

The result showed that she had accidentally added Zhong Ling to her block list.

Qin Zhaoyi skillfully removed her from the block list; this kind of thing happened frequently between the two of them.

Sometimes when she annoyed Zhong Ling, she also experienced a blocklist set meal.

However, Zhong Ling had a good temper and rarely resorted to such measures.

After unblocking Zhong Ling, Qin Zhaoyi couldn’t wait to send the photo. It was a simple Chinese-style breakfast but Qin Zhaoyi managed to make it look like a high-end French meal.

Qin Zhaoyi sent a message to Zhong Ling with a hint of self-satisfaction: [Look!]

Qin Zhaoyi: [She even made me a heart-shaped breakfast.]

Qin Zhaoyi: [Do you think she likes me?]

Qin Zhaoyi: [I’m sure she does.]

Eating breakfast after an all-nighter was a form of torture for Qin Zhaoyi, which is why she usually avoided going home during her work periods. However, today she voluntarily sat at the dining table.

Well, to be precise, she sat down at the dining table after returning from the bathroom and washing her hands.

She then picked up her chopsticks.

The egg pancake tasted great, not greasy or fishy, and it didn’t upset her stomach in the morning.

After trying a piece of the egg pancake, she also tasted the fried egg. Her mother usually made fried eggs without oil or salt, but Qin Zhaoyi sprinkled a little salt and pepper on it. It had a good texture and a fresh taste, which was almost like the sea.

Especially on this small island, eating this piece of fried egg felt like sitting on the beach, enjoying the sea breeze.

The only thing Qin Zhaoyi found unappealing was the milk. It had a slightly fishy smell, which made her doubt how it would taste. However, Luo Yue had prepared it, and she didn’t want to disappoint her. So she wrinkled her nose and took a sip.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad at all.

She didn’t know what technique was used, but it went down smoothly, caressing her taste buds, throat, and stomach with a warm and pleasant sensation. There was no trace of the fishy taste she had expected.

Qin Zhaoyi decided to try another sip with her nose unplugged this time, and she even detected a hint of sweetness.

Luo Yue had added sugar to it.

This new discovery brought even more joy to Qin Zhaoyi, prompting her to message Zhong Ling once again.

Qin Zhaoyi: [Have you ever had milk with added sugar?]

Qin Zhaoyi: [The milk here is really good. Even I, someone who doesn’t like milk, find it delicious.]

Qin Zhaoyi: [If I could send it via vacuum delivery, I’d send you some to taste.]

Qin Zhaoyi: [No need to thank me.]

After bragging to Zhong Ling, Qin Zhaoyi felt like a new person. There was no lingering fatigue in her body, unlike the aftermath of her previous all-nighters.

She leisurely finished her breakfast, feeling slightly full.

Finally, she took a photo of the empty plate and updated her almost-overgrown friend circle with a message: [Don’t worry, I’m eating well.]

—

This friend circle post seemed like it was specifically meant for her mother.

As expected, while Qin Zhaoyi was idly wandering around the small island looking for a café with her laptop in tow, her mother called.

“Baobei, where are you? Who are you with?” Her mother, like her grandmother, was from Guangdong and spoke with a slight accent, but it wasn’t very heavy.

Qin Zhaoyi gazed around at the azure sea meeting the horizon, the sea breeze creating foamy waves that continuously washed up on the beach. All around her were houses of various heights, mostly red and white, looking similar except for their sizes.

Finding a café in these buildings was indeed challenging.

While searching for a café, Qin Zhaoyi casually replied, “I came to visit grandma, but she stood me up, so now I’m stranded on a deserted island by myself.”

“Is it Moon Island?” her mother asked.

Qin Zhaoyi raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You know about it?”

“Your dad said that your grandparents spent their honeymoon there,” her mother explained. “It’s a beautiful little island.”

Qin Zhaoyi nodded in understanding and asked, “What about Professor Qin? Is he still busy with his quantum mechanics research?”

Her mother was taken aback for a moment, considering explaining how quantum mechanics was related to the grand universe, and that her father, a top physicist in the country, was working on such an important project. However, she remembered that her daughter had studied literature in high school, foreign languages in college, and pursued a literary career after graduation.

So, she gave up and simply replied, “Yes, baobei.”

The affectionate term of endearment was sweeter than the cup of milk Qin Zhaoyi had drunk earlier.

Qin Zhaoyi was used to it by now and calmly asked, “How are you both? Are you feeling well?”

“We’re doing fine,” her mother sighed. “It’s just been a while since we’ve seen you, and I miss you. I miss having meals with you.”

Qin Zhaoyi replied, “Why don’t you just have meals with Professor Qin? What’s the matter? Is he too busy to eat with you again?”

Her mother immediately became alert. “No! It’s not like that!”

Qin Zhaoyi teased her, “Well, that’s settled then. What’s going on? Is Old Qin taking advantage of my absence to bully our Mrs. Lin? When I have the time, I’ll call and reprimand him.”

Mrs. Lin knew that the conversation was heading in this direction, so she quickly said, “Forget it, your father has been incredibly busy lately with his experimental research. If you call to scold him, you two will start quarreling.”

Qin Zhaoyi retorted, “He won’t do anything to me. Well, I’ve just found a café. The name is pretty unique: [Resign].”

While joking with Mrs. Lin, she ordered a latte at the front counter.

Qin Zhaoyi finally found a window seat and sat down.

She was quite patient with her family, so after chatting with Mrs. Lin for a while and inquiring about her work, she reminded them to strike a balance between work and rest.

Then, she hung up the phone.

Right after ending the call, she received a text message from her long-lost grandmother.

After sending so many unanswered messages, she finally got a response.

It was very brief.

Grandmother: “At 63 Taoyuan Lane, you can stay.”

Seizing the opportunity, Qin Zhaoyi dialed her grandmother’s number, but no one answered.

Grandmother: “I’m at sea and can’t take the call.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “You have to let me confirm your safety, right?”

Otherwise, who knows if it’s a kidnapper using your phone to send messages?

Her grandmother sent a short video, and all that could be heard was the sound of crashing waves. She was standing on the deck, wearing a life jacket. Although her hair was white, her spirits seemed high.

Grandmother: “I’ll be back in a while. You stay and rest for now.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “How long?”

Once again, there was no reply.

Qin Zhaoyi felt a bit helpless but decided to go with the flow.

When she turned off her phone and took out her laptop, her coffee arrived, filling the air with its rich aroma.

Sitting nearby was a large yellow dog, seemingly attracted by the coffee, inching closer to Qin Zhaoyi. She turned her head slightly, and their eyes met…

Startled, she accidentally knocked over her coffee, spilling it everywhere. She shrunk back in surprise but quickly regained her composure and asked in a cold tone, “Why is there a dog in the café?”

Just as she had finished asking, someone at the next table slammed their hand on the table and exclaimed, “Damn! There’s dog hair in this coffee! How can you run a place like this?”

The café owner hurried over from Qin Zhaoyi’s table to the next, saying, “I’m very sorry, sir. I can get you a new cup.”

The man, a burly fellow, rolled up his sleeves and glanced at the café owner. After a brief silence, he said, “How about this? You accompany me for a day of fun outside, and I’ll let this dog off.”

Qin Zhaoyi initially didn’t want to get involved in this matter, as she wasn’t particularly fond of dogs. However, she saw the dog looking at her with keen interest, probably ready to rush over to protect its owner, and that piqued her curiosity. Most importantly, the way the man spoke was repugnant.

“Sorry,” the café owner was polite, declining with an unhurried tone, “I still have to run the café.”

The unspoken implication was that she didn’t leave to play.

The man’s expression immediately changed. He called his two brothers and walked toward the dog, saying, “I’ll take this dog with me then. Today’s a perfect day for a full dog feast.”

“This is my friend’s dog,” the café owner interjected, walking over as well and positioning herself to shield the dog and Qin Zhaoyi. “I’m just taking care of it for a few days. How about you name a fair price, and I’ll compensate you appropriately.”

The man glanced at her face, smirked, and said, “How about this, since you have to run your shop during the day, come and keep me company at night. Accompany me for one night, and I’ll spare your dog.”

Before the café owner could respond, Qin Zhaoyi couldn’t help but sneer, “Some people are living worse than a dog.”

After saying this, the dog inexplicably moved closer to her side.

Qin Zhaoyi furrowed her brows and shifted away to the other side, but then she noticed the collar around the dog’s neck, with two words engraved on it: “Luo Yue.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…”

This seemed to be Luo Yue’s family dog.