“Qianqian……”
Lu Yuan spoke the name instinctively, but immediately denied it to herself.
“No, not Qianqian… Lin Wan, I thought you’d gone home already.”
“You, you still mistake me sometimes?” Lin Wan smiled and took off her apron.
She placed the cooked dishes on the dining table.
Lu Yuan could barely recognize a few dishes she had seen while watching videos—Cola Chicken Wings, Tomato Egg Soup, and so on… In total, Lin Wan had prepared about four dishes and one soup.
All were home-style dishes.
“So much…” Lu Yuan stared at the table full of food in a daze. The last time she ate such a good meal was many years ago. “Why are you cooking at my place all of a sudden?”
“You, you probably eat takeout all the time when living alone.” Lin Wan arranged Lu Yuan’s tableware in front of her. “I noticed you barely use your stove, so since we’re teammates now, I thought I’d let you taste my cooking.”
Lu Yuan carefully sat down at the table.
“Thank you.” Lu Yuan said. “But does my kitchen really have all these ingredients?”
“Yes, the Magical Girls from the Logistics Department helped prepare them for you.” Lin Wan explained. “But it won’t last many meals—maybe about a week’s worth.”
“Want to try?” Lin Wan asked.
Lu Yuan picked up a piece of Cola Chicken Wing and took a cautious bite. The sweet and salty sauce melted on her tongue; the chicken was tender and flavorful, and the bone came off with a light nibble.
“Is it good?” Lin Wan propped her chin in her hands, eyes unblinking as she watched.
“Mm!” Lu Yuan nodded and picked up another piece. “Much better than takeout.”
“Do you cook often?” Lu Yuan asked between mouthfuls of rice.
“Yeah, I used to cook at home for…” Lin Wan’s words suddenly stopped; she stirred lightly in her bowl with her chopsticks. “…for myself.”
Lu Yuan noticed the subtle change in her expression but didn’t press further. They ate quietly, only the occasional clink of chopsticks against bowls breaking the silence.
“Um…” Lin Wan suddenly spoke up. “From tomorrow, can I come over regularly to cook for you?”
Lu Yuan almost choked on her food. “Huh?”
“Well, we live close by anyway, and…” Lin Wan’s voice grew quieter. “Eating alone is pretty boring.”
“Well…” Lu Yuan felt awkward.
Lin Wan looked hopeful, and for a moment, Lu Yuan couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
So after a pause, she rejected her.
“Better not… haha.” Lu Yuan scratched her head awkwardly.
“No good…?”
“Not really…”
Lu Yuan thought to herself that she hadn’t fully become a girl yet; she still had a boy’s heart. Lin Wan didn’t know this.
She could feel Lin Wan’s kindness, but Lu Yuan didn’t know how to accept it, or under what identity.
She wondered if Lin Wan only befriended her because she appeared as a girl. If she told Lin Wan that inside she was still a boy in a girl’s body, would Lin Wan distance herself?
Lu Yuan believed Lin Wan’s feelings were genuine friendship, and she felt the same. But getting too close made her afraid that her feelings might change, turning friendship into love—and if that pushed Lin Wan away for good, she couldn’t accept it.
Lin Wan was a great girl; Lu Yuan didn’t want to lose her. She treasured this rare friendship too much.
If they were to get that close, it had to wait until she truly became a girl in her heart—then she could maintain pure friendship with Lin Wan.
***
Besides, Lin Wan was too much like Lu Qian. If they lived together to that degree, Lu Yuan was afraid she’d really end up kneeling on the floor shouting, “I can’t tell you apart! I really can’t!”
After hearing Lu Yuan’s refusal, Lin Wan seemed a bit disappointed.
“Yeah… haha, but maybe I can come over occasionally to eat~” Lu Yuan offered, shifting the topic with a compromise.
“Huh? My place?” Lin Wan froze.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen what your home looks like yet.” Lu Yuan said. “You’re so capable; it must be very tidy.”
“Maybe another day then.” Lin Wan lowered her head.
After the meal, Lu Yuan got up and started clearing the dishes. While wiping the table, she suddenly noticed something shiny fall out of Lin Wan’s coat pocket.
“What’s this…?” Lu Yuan reached out instinctively, but Lin Wan snatched it back quickly.
“It’s nothing!” Lin Wan stuffed it back in, moving suspiciously fast. “It’s… a Fa Card! Yes, a spare Fa Card!”
Lu Yuan gave her a dubious look, noticing her ears redden. “Oh…”
When Lu Yuan saw Lin Wan off at the door, Lin Wan didn’t linger, hastily saying, “See you tomorrow,” before slipping into the next room like she was running away.
Lu Yuan scratched her head, feeling that something was off.
But she didn’t think much of it—after all, it wasn’t unusual for a girl to carry an extra Fa Card, and tomorrow she had to go to Tongmen Middle School for the event anyway.
“Uwaa…”
Lu Yuan collapsed onto her bed and exhaled deeply.
Sleepiness washed over her.
She didn’t even bother to take off her clothes… just going to sleep like this.
But just as she was about to drift off, someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Lu Yuan rubbed her eyes and tiredly got up.
“Hello, delivery!”
Delivery?
Half asleep, Lu Yuan opened the door, only to see a Delivery Guy standing right outside her room holding two cups of Strawberry Daifuku and some fried chicken.
“Huh?!”
When did I order this?!
Panicking, Lu Yuan fumbled for her phone, almost dropping it.
I definitely didn’t pay!
She hurriedly opened the delivery app, and a big “No-Password Payment Successful” message flashed on the screen.
***
No-password payment? Haji Delivery App, you sly devil.
Lu Yuan took the food from the Delivery Guy.
“Remember to give a five-star review!” he waved and left.
Lu Yuan looked at the food in her hands. She had planned to sleep right away, but if she put it in the fridge now, it wouldn’t taste good tomorrow.
Lu Yuan thought for a moment.
What to do?
Eat it, of course.
***
At this moment, in the room next to Lu Yuan’s.
Lin Wan pushed open the door. At the 玄关, two pairs of slippers stood neatly—one light blue, one black and white.
She bent down and nudged the black and white pair further inside, as if pretending someone might actually wear them.
“I’m home…” she whispered to the empty room.
The living room lights turned on, immediately revealing a wall covered with posters—fan-made Lu Yuan merchandise. Lin Wan ran her fingers along the edge of a poster; a little wet glue stuck to her fingertips. She had just put it up this morning, and the glue hadn’t dried yet.
She took out her phone and tapped twice. The wireless printer on the desk started printing a photo taken secretly of Lu Yuan during her meal.
Lin Wan picked up the photo and pasted it on the wall alongside the others.
In the bottom drawer of the wardrobe was a locked box. Lin Wan knelt on the floor and carefully entered the password.
Inside, small items were neatly arranged: a used bandage, a towel stained with blood…
She took out the spoon Lu Yuan had unknowingly brought from the table and placed it inside.
Lin Wan had already bought two identical spoons in advance, so Lu Yuan wouldn’t notice.
“Pervert…” she suddenly muttered to herself, burying her face in the bloodstained towel and inhaling deeply.
Lu Yuan’s scent…
Her phone screen lit up with an online shopping notification: [Your order of the Limited Edition Lu Yuan ‘Little Black Cat’ Life-size Pillow has shipped].
Rain began to fall outside, pattering against the window.
Lin Wan curled up on her bed, clutching the pillow printed with a chibi Lu Yuan in her arms.
“I prepared everything, so why did she reject me…” Lin Wan buried her face deeper in the soft fabric, her voice muffled.
Did I cross the line? Cooking for her without asking, then hoping for too much… Did I make her uncomfortable?
Lin Wan pondered.
She had long since stopped distinguishing between friendship and love when it came to Lu Yuan.
But now, she was certain of her feelings.
She liked Lu Yuan—not just as a friend, but as love.