"Mom, what are you doing?"

"Didn't you hear what I said? I'm coming to Beikang," Fa Qing said in a slightly annoyed voice as she scoffed, "You don't need to worry about picking me up. I have a friend there who can pick me up."

"Why are you coming here?" Ren Ye was confused as to why she would suddenly come here. His injuries had almost completely healed and there was nothing to do here.

"Have you gone mentally retarded? I came here to see my granddaughter."

"…"

Ren Ye's face went dark for a second before being replaced with a complex expression, "Oh."

To say he was disappointed was an understatement but he could understand what his mother was feeling. Inside his heart, he was slightly excited to see his mother coming to visit him.

He could lend the apartment he was renting to his mother for a while while he stays at Jing Xue's place.

"Jia'er, grandmother wants to meet you."

Ren Ye slowly nudged the little girl who was dozing off, she was slightly startled and later confused. Her eyes gleamed with confusion as she stared into her Papa's eyes with curiosity.

"Grandma?"

"Mm."

Ren Ye gave the phone to Ren Jia who clumsily held the phone to her ears and spoke in an extremely innocent voice, "Hello?"

"Ah!"

Fa Qing cried out out of adoration as she replied in a tender voice, "My sweet grandchild, have your Papa mistreated you?"

"…"

Ren Ye's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Uh uh. Papa has been treating me greatly. How is Grandma doing?" Ren Jia asked her in a smiling tone.

"Oh dear. Grandma is doing alright and how are you, my girl?"

"I am doing alright, Grandma. Papa has been taking me and Mama out to eat a lot and bought lots of gifts this month."

"Good."

Ren Ye curled his lips into a soft smile as he placed his hands atop each other as he said to Old Yi, "Once I am healed and able to walk, I will straight right into the Kang household."

"Not so quick, lad. Be careful. A stranger is always dangerous especially one is acquainted with a dead member of theirs," Old Yi warned as he chuckled inwardly.

"Indeed. I am not so careless to go there without a bodyguard…"

As he was going to say more, he heard two knocks on the door and immediately his hair stood up. Ren Ye began to instinctively sit up as a slim figure came in, holding a tray of meal.

The deep hazel eyes stared back at him indifferently as she swiftly closed the door behind her and came forth with the tray. Her lips moved constantly as though she was holding a lot of what she wanted to say.

But upon laying her eyes on the deathly pale face of Ren Ye, she completely let go of her grudges and began to look at him more in a caring manner.

Her eyes waved like a tranquil lake being shaken by a drop of rock as she gently placed the tray on the desk next to her. She simply asked one question as she walked closer to him and sat down on the chair next to Ren Jia.

"How are you doing?" She asked, almost in a whisper. Ren Ye shot her a soft gaze.

"The pain is pretty bearable," Ren Ye admitted truthfully as he added, "You have been working hard these days."

It had been true that he was trying his hardest to bear the pain his body was going through. It hadn't been as hurtful as the ones he sustained back in the cave but it was enough to numb his scalp as he subsconsiouly grit his teeth once in a while.

The guilt inside his heart was not as intense before she enter the room. As soon as she enters the room, his guilt became even more intense and he could only look at her with apologetic eyes.

"It is alright. Caring for a motionless person is better than having care for a whiny person," She replied in an almost completely 'serious' face except for the slight smile in her gaze that Ren Ye was able to catch with his keen eyes.

Ren Ye inwardly heaved a relief.

"You have been lying on the bed like someone who is awaiting death to overtake him," Jing Xue pretended to yawn as though she had been extremely tired, "You do not need to worry about drooling. I cleaned those up."

"…"

Ren Ye knew she was joking with him. He didn't know whether to cry or laugh as he gazed at the serious expression she had.

"That is more," Ren Ye tried to find an appropriate word to term it, "Embarrassing that I anticipated."

Old Yi chuckled inwardly as he whispered, "What are you even trying to say?"

"Good that you know," Jing Xue's eyes shifted from his face onto the meal tray in front of him, "I asked the chef to cook something that is suitable for a sick person."

Her expression quickly turned unnatural before being replaced with a passive expression.

"Mm," Ren Ye nodded his head.

"You know you're lying," Ren Ye wanted to say to her but gave her face as he found it rather adorable that she was trying her best not to give him the joy of having her care for him.

In front of him were a bowl of rice, boiled vegetables and chicken soup that was emitting heat. The smell was extremely fragrant as he felt his saliva forming in his throat.

"It smells very good," Ren Ye commented while he picked up his spoon and scooped a spoonful of rice before putting it into his mouth, making a delightful voice.

Ren Ye didn't know but a smirk flashed across her eyes before they turned back to being stale. Her hands on her lap clenched into a fist as though as she was proud of her achievements.

She has been honing her cooking skills for many days while being tutored by her family's chef. These days, she has significantly improved her cooking as even the chef remarked that her food has been seasoned well.

A couple of failures in the beginning wasn't going to stop her from mastering the arts of cooking.

She deeply regretted not knowing and not attempting to learn how to cook when she was living with her mother; a basic life skill people should know whether they are a man or a woman.

Growing under a golden roof, she always thought she never needed to cook for anyone nor herself as a chef are always occupying her family's kitchen.

Ren Jia had the first taste of her improved cooking as she remarked to her in her immature voice, "Mama, who cooked this?"

"Mm? Why do you ask?" Jing Xue slightly turned her head to the back to look at Ren Jia who was drinking the vegetable soup she had specifically prepared for her during the cold weather.

"It is extremely tasty," Ren Jia's smile widened as her eyes gleamed with delight before devouring the bowl of rice Jing Xue scooped for her.

She was rendered speechless before a pride began to rise inside her heart. From today on, Ren Jia is always there to accompany her while she cooks.

She was also the first to try her dish whenever she was done cooking.

"Papa! I want to eat too!" The gluttonous child smelled the fragrance emitted by the chicken soup as drools began to form at the corner of her lips.

"Mm?" Ren Ye was about to finish his meal as he heard Ren Jia's cry. He swallowed the bits in his throat as he looked at his bowl before raising to look at Ren Jia with regret.

Jing Xue's face turned strange as she gently rubbed her daughter's face, "Naughty child, there is plenty downstairs. Why don't you get some and eat with your father?"

Ren Jia turned to look at Jing Xue with pitiful eyes as Jing Xue's eyebrows twitched, she patted the soft hair on her daughter's head and smiled at her.

"Let Papa regenerate first, okay?"

"No," Ren Ye stopped eating as he saved some on the bowl for Ren Jia who was going to cry for being refused by her Mama, "You can have mine."

Jing Xue quickly looked at him with a complex look before lowering her head to look at the jumping girl who quickly took a bite of the carrot in the soup.

She did it so quickly that Jing Xue was unable to stop her either way.

"…"

Jing Xue didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she looked at Ren Ye apologetically. Ren Ye slightly shook his head before his eyes gradually begin to turn serious.

"A'Xue."

"Mm?"

Ren Ye rarely referred her using this name. He only used it whenever he needs something from her or to apologize to her for his actions. Saying her name in a soft gentle tone was enough to send her heart into a spiral.

Jing Xue felt a flush creeping onto her face from her neck as her voice slightly trembled, "What is it?"

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