"Hey, Yijiu, you really won't even take a bite? Their double-skin milk here is made with fresh buffalo milk. It's super soft."

Holding a small spoon, Cen Man first lightly brushed it across the surface of the dessert twice, leaving behind a few faint trails. Then she gently scooped up a spoonful that looked especially tempting under the light.

Feng Yijiu watched that milky-white "jelly" that looked delicious at a glance. It trembled its way toward Cen Man's mouth, then vanished in one bite. Cen Man even gave it a light press with her tongue, and an expression of pure bliss appeared on her face.

Then Cen Man pulled the spoon out and reached for the double-skin milk again.

And the worst part was, on the second scoop, her spoon actually went for Yijiu's bowl.

This was compensation for being forced to walk around all afternoon!

Endure for a moment, and peace follows. Endure a little longer, and the more you think about it, the madder you get. When her double-skin milk was only 0.01 centimeters away from the spoon of evil, Feng Yijiu shot out a hand and rescued it at top speed.

But Feng Yijiu still didn't eat it. She just placed the untouched dessert in front of herself, then slightly raised her smooth chin and looked at Cen Man.

At that moment, Feng Yijiu was as proud as an emperor about to carve his glory into history.

Cen Man smiled. She simply withdrew her spoon and turned her attack back to her own bowl.

Watching Cen Man eat with such relish, Feng Yijiu felt like her teeth were starting to ache.

Feng Yijiu held a little plastic spoon in her right hand and kept rubbing it over the surface of the double-skin milk to kill time. Her left hand rested on the table in bored idleness as she waited for the beef brisket rice noodles to arrive.

Nom nom...

"Mann-jie, is there anywhere around here that serves dog meat?" Feng Yijiu's left hand had clenched at some point. Looking at the still-unsatisfied Cen Man, she spoke with a smile that wasn't really a smile.

"Dog meat? Why? Dogs are so cute." Cen Man picked up the menu and waved it. "Boss, one more double-skin milk!"

With nothing handy to grind her teeth on, Feng Yijiu huffily stuffed the empty spoon into her mouth.

And honestly, it was pretty sweet. Not that cloying white-sugar kind of sweet, either. It was a light, gentle sweetness that made her smack her lips with lingering interest. But the moment Feng Yijiu looked at Cen Man, she forced her expression straight again, and it took effort. A lot of effort.

Still, Feng Yijiu quickly realized that the taste seemed to be coming from the bowl of double-skin milk in front of her.

"Hmph." Seeing the teasing look in Cen Man's eyes, Feng Yijiu pretended to stay calm and set the spoon onto the smooth surface of the dessert, then glared right back.

What are you looking at? I haven't even touched mine. Feng Yijiu used Taunt.

Cen Man smiled. She was way too weak to this side of Feng Yijiu.

But the freshly made beef brisket rice noodles seemed to be taking a while. Out of sheer boredom, Feng Yijiu took out a toothpick and gently poked it into the double-skin milk.

Then she seemed to realize that wasn't very polite. She pulled the toothpick back out and casually held it in her mouth, as if nothing had happened. Only the tiny little hole in the innocent dessert testified to her crime just now.

Cen Man lowered her head and tried hard not to laugh out loud, but her shoulders still couldn't help trembling a little.

"Yijiu, actually, a lot of guys like double-skin milk too." Cen Man finally managed to hold back her laughter before speaking. "Look, aren't there two boys over there eating it too?"

Feng Yijiu turned her head and sure enough saw two sunny-looking boys eating the same kind of double-skin milk as them. One of them was carrying a basketball, but at a glance, he looked like the serious type.

Only then did Feng Yijiu relax a little. When she looked back at Cen Man, there was a trace of grievance in her eyes. Seriously, why did you have to say something so misleading just now?

But since double-skin milk wasn't some girls-only food, Feng Yijiu stopped holding back. She gently scooped up a big spoonful and put it into her mouth.

It melted the instant it touched her tongue. That silky texture, and that special faint sweetness...

It was way too good.

But seeing Cen Man's half-smiling expression, Feng Yijiu quickly reined in her own face. Then, expressionless, she pointed at the two empty bowls on Cen Man's side.

Heh. Women.

"Yijiu, do you want another serving?" Cen Man revealed an understanding look.

"No..." Feng Yijiu parted her lips slightly, but when she saw Cen Man already raising the menu again, the words at the tip of her tongue obediently retreated.

"Hello, one more double-skin milk for us!" Cen Man waved the menu.

Watching Feng Yijiu slowly savor her second serving of double-skin milk, Cen Man's eyes gradually narrowed, just a tiny bit.

Heh, you little brat.

...

"Do-re-mi..." After getting home, Feng Yijiu started practicing breath control and running scales at the same time.

"You really shouldn't be practicing a fake voice right now. It's not good for your body." Cen Man directly turned off her tablet. "Your body's still not fully developed yet."

"But if they hear my voice, won't I be exposed right away? Then what's the point?" Feng Yijiu said gloomily.

"Not that bad. You just need to lower your voice a little. Some boys in voice change also sound kind of sharp. Follow me. Like this, ah..." Cen Man started demonstrating.

To be honest, Cen Man's method was pretty simple. It was basically sinking the breath to the dantian and making the voice a little lower. But it actually seemed fairly effective. At least to Feng Yijiu's own ears, it really did sound kind of convincing.

"So you're planning to stay at home this whole break?"

"What else would I do? I'm basically a useless wreck who starts feeling uncomfortable after walking a little too fast." Feng Yijiu replied lazily. "I don't really like shopping anyway, and with weather this hot, I'd rather just stay home with the AC."

"Then find a hobby?" Cen Man's gaze landed on an upright piano placed in the corner of the living room. It looked like it had some years on it already, one of the cheaper big-ticket items in this large apartment.

"You learned piano before?" Cen Man gently lifted the piano lid, then tested the tuning. It was still pretty accurate, so she sat down. Her fingertips touched the keys lightly, and "Summer" slowly began to flow out.

Of course, this "Summer" was also Li Yu's work. On Earth, its name was Kikujiro's Summer. Watching Cen Man's fingers dance over the piano keys, Feng Yijiu couldn't help feeling a little envious.

"No. It was my mom's." Feng Yijiu answered honestly.

When Cen Man heard that, she seemed to think of something and stopped awkwardly. "Sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's fine." Feng Yijiu said it softly. After all, she was only someone who came later. Though the diary made it clear that Feng Yijiu's mother had probably been a very good person, that kind of feeling born from words alone still wasn't enough for her to truly empathize.

But seeing Feng Yijiu like this, Cen Man thought she was missing her mother, and immediately became a little flustered. "Yijiu..."

"It's really okay." Feng Yijiu forced out a smile. "Dad's kept all of Mom's things in really good condition. That room... Dad never lets anyone go in and clean it."