Ye Yubai stared at her, looking a little clueless.

For a moment, Gan Lan seemed like a stranger to him.

The old Gan Lan might not have approved of him going to an internet café, but she’d never brought up “Mom and Dad” to lecture him.

But what was going on with her today?

Their eyes met.

Gan Lan clutched the hem of her shirt. “We’ve got a pop quiz tomorrow. It’s history, and that’s not your strongest subject. You should head back early and get some studying in.”

Why couldn’t she stop herself from lecturing him?!

He could get over ninety without studying at all!

Gan Lan felt like she was meddling.

Her voice immediately softened again. “Well, if you really don’t want to go back, then go have fun. I’ll head off first.”

With that, she started walking, quickly striding ahead.

Ye Yubai sighed and spread his hands.

Watching her act so awkwardly made him feel awkward too.

Why was this Gan Lan acting so much like a clingy little wife?

He didn’t dislike it, exactly. It just felt weird.

“Wait up. I’ll go back with you.”

……

Click—

The key slid into the lock.

The door swung open.

Gan Lan stepped inside and changed her shoes.

Ye Yubai followed her in and changed his shoes too.

Gan Lan went straight to the kitchen to make dinner.

Ye Yubai sat on the sofa, fiddling with his phone.

Gan Lan took out the vegetables and meat they’d bought earlier, washed them, and cut them into chunks. She planned to make a simple bowl of noodles, just enough to tide them over.

Ye Yubai liked his eggs soft-boiled, with runny yolks. He wanted one every time he had noodles.

Gan Lan remembered, of course, and casually boiled one for him.

Then she remembered that Ye Yubai didn’t like scallions, so she left them out of his bowl too.

As for the meat, they both liked it coated in breadcrumbs and fried into crispy strips, so half a portion each would do.

When she brought the bowl of noodles over and set it in front of Ye Yubai, he was stunned.

What a perfect bowl of noodles!

It looked, smelled, and tasted amazing!

Most importantly, it was exactly what he’d imagined.

Gan Lan wasn’t just his childhood friend—she could practically read his mind.

“Gan Lan, how’d you know I wanted this?”

He poked the soft-boiled egg on top of the noodles.

He watched it wobble.

The tip of his chopsticks pierced it, releasing the still-runny yolk.

He watched the yolk spill over the noodles, stirred it into the broth, twirled up a mouthful, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Mmm…

That was the taste. He was in heaven.

The noodles weren’t too soft or too firm—they were just right. The broth wasn’t too salty or too bland, either. Everything was just right!

The fried meat strips were especially good: crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. They were every bit as good as the ones sold by the school!

Ye Yubai was so moved he almost cried. “I’ve wanted to eat this for ages.”

Only his mom’s soft-boiled eggs could compare.

Unfortunately, his mom was always busy at work and hardly ever had time to cook for him.

He could cook a little himself, but all he could really do was make food edible. It certainly didn’t taste good, and it was nowhere near as good as this bowl of noodles.

“I had no idea you could cook this. Looks like I’m in for a treat from now on!” Ye Yubai said casually.

Gan Lan’s lips twitched, and her expression immediately turned awkward.

She suddenly remembered that she’d only learned to make noodles and boil eggs after leaving school.

Back in high school, she’d been terrible at cooking too!

In fact, she’d been even worse at it than Ye Yubai!

Had she just given herself away?

Gan Lan snuck a glance at Ye Yubai’s expression.

But the guy was too busy slurping his noodles to notice the inconsistency at all.

Gan Lan breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness the seventeen-year-old boy was such a goof.

……

After dinner, Ye Yubai volunteered to do the dishes.

Gan Lan didn’t stop him. After washing up, she went back to her room.

She opened her textbook and started preparing for the pop quiz tomorrow.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Ding-dong.

“Coming!”

Ye Yubai dried his hands and went to answer the door.

Gan Lan stood up at once.

Her instincts told her it was probably her mom coming to see her.

“Oh, Xiaobai! Is our Xiaolan home?”

Hearing the voice outside, Gan Lan was sure of it. It really was her mom.

She quickly got up and went out to greet her.

Her mom, eight years younger than Gan Lan remembered, still looked full of energy. She wore a professional suit and looked every bit the career woman.

Looking at her mom, Gan Lan felt a strange ache in her heart.

Since being reborn, she hadn’t called home once. Truthfully, she just didn’t know how to face her family.

In her previous life, after the college entrance exams, she’d chosen a major her parents disapproved of and stubbornly gone to a city far away.

It had nearly driven her to cut ties with her family.

Back then, Gan Lan had been young and headstrong. During her four years at university, she’d only gone home twice.

As he realized how far he’d drifted from his parents, he’d regretted his decision in the final moments of his life.

Now, of course, he was overwhelmed by conflicting emotions.

“Xiaolan, I brought you some food. You and Xiaobai can share it later.”

“Oh, and I bought you a new tracksuit, plus those sneakers you’ve wanted for so long.”

“And this—your dad asked me to bring it for you.”

Before long, Gan Lan’s arms were full.

Gan Lan stared blankly at her mom and found herself saying, “Thank you.”

Gan Lan’s mom looked up at her. “Xiaolan, what’s wrong?”

Gan Lan said, “Uh…”

She sheepishly scratched her head.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Just then, her mom patted her on the shoulder.

“Why’re you being so formal with your own mom? Did you do something bad and want me to cover for you?”

Gan Lan shook her head.

“Or did you bomb an exam and hope I’ll forgive you?”

Gan Lan shook her head again.

“If nothing’s wrong, then come home more often during the holidays. Don’t stay cooped up here all the time.”

As she spoke, her mom took a fifty-yuan bill from her wallet and pressed it into Gan Lan’s hand.

“The company car’s waiting downstairs, so I’d better go.”

Her mom was always like that—she arrived in a rush and left in a rush.

The warmth that had just welled up in Gan Lan’s heart slowly faded.

She walked out onto the balcony and watched the headlights and shadow of the car that had come to pick up her mom disappear into the distance. Her fingers tightened around the railing.

Ye Yubai followed her out onto the balcony.

He reached out and patted Gan Lan on the shoulder.

With a hint of sympathy, he said, “All right, let’s head back inside. It’s chilly tonight.”

Gan Lan closed her eyes, rubbed her temples out of habit, and let out a faint sigh.

The throbbing pain in her head was awful.

But even worse than the headache was not knowing what to do with this family affection.

His parents had always expected a lot from him, but given him very little.

To outsiders, his family seemed well-off enough, but he’d always lived on a very tight budget.

That whole idea of “raising boys on a tight budget” had seriously messed him up.

“Get some sleep. Good night.”

“Good night.”

After they said good night to each other,

Gan Lan went back to her room.

She shut the windows and door, then hid under the covers.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Her coughing grew worse and worse.

But her body felt lighter and lighter.

Her head was spinning, and her whole body felt cold.

It seemed the fever medicine hadn’t fully worked.

Her fever had gotten even worse.