The air suddenly went quiet.

Luo Xiu and Su Shanyue locked eyes, and it seemed as if time froze in that moment. Her delicate body trembled, her eyes growing wider with extreme terror. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

"Um... why are you in my room?" Luo Xiu was the one to break the silence.

He scratched his head and turned to look away, feigning nonchalance. As long as I'm not embarrassed, then she'll be the one who is.

Su Shanyue stomped her feet in anger, her face flushed with shame. She clutched an armful of her intimate apparel and hurried back into the bathroom, slamming the sliding door shut. At that moment, her face was as red as a ripe apple, and her bright, beautiful eyes shimmered with tears.

Luo Xiu touched his nose and turned to walk out of the room.

But the stunning image in his mind just wouldn't fade away. He was genuinely surprised. Su Shanyue seemed so demure and shy, yet her thicket was unexpectedly lush, almost on par with Su Shenyun's.

Just then, the sound of TAP TAP TAP footsteps approached. Sun Li, wearing fluffy slippers, came bouncing up the stairs.

"Oh, right, Luo Xiu, I forgot to tell you! This room is Mute Su's now. My room is next door."

An expression of utter annoyance crossed Luo Xiu's face. "I'm supposed to be the landlord here, right? You two just went ahead and assigned the rooms without even a heads-up."

"And if that wasn't enough, you even took over my room!"

Sun Li giggled, grabbing his arm and shaking it gently. "Aww, we're girls," she cooed. "You wouldn't really have the heart to fight with us over a room, would you?"

Luo Xiu took a deep breath, deciding not to quibble over it. "Then where is my room?"

"The third floor," Sun Li said, squinting her eyes playfully, looking all sweet and adorable.

Luo Xiu couldn't help but ruffle her hair before walking toward the staircase. "Hurry up and cook. I'm starving."

"As you command, Xiu!"

A short while later, after showering and changing, Luo Xiu came downstairs to the living room.

Su Shanyue was sitting on the sofa hugging a pillow, looking deep in thought. When she saw Luo Xiu walking toward her, she quickly lowered her head. She was probably recalling the earlier incident, and her face grew so hot it felt like it was about to emit steam. She frantically prayed that he wouldn't come over.

"Um... I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't do it on purpose."

But to her surprise, Luo Xiu sat down right next to her and apologized, bringing up the incident directly.

From Luo Xiu's perspective, if they both remained silent, the situation would only become more awkward as time went on. It was better to just be upfront about it, apologize, and get it over with. After all, it wasn't a huge deal. A man has to have thick skin.

As expected, laying everything out in the open seemed to lift a weight from Su Shanyue's shoulders. She raised her head and met Luo Xiu's sincere, clear gaze. She offered a small smile and gently shook her head, signaling that he shouldn't worry about it.

"You should get some rest tonight," Luo Xiu said. "We'll start your treatment tomorrow."

Su Shanyue nodded and made a "thank you" sign with her hands.

Luo Xiu smiled. "Now I'm really looking forward to hearing your voice."

Just then, Sun Li bounced out of the kitchen, carrying a clay pot.

"Come on, come on! The feeder is here to serve dinner! Let's have you taste the culinary skills of Chef Sun!"

Having been out all afternoon, Luo Xiu was famished and eagerly took a seat at the table.

"I'm surprised a rich girl like you knows how to cook."

Sun Li lifted her chin proudly. "Of course! I'll handle your meals from now on! You should eat out less; the food outside isn't clean."

Afraid she would go back on her word, Luo Xiu quickly said, "You're the one who said it. From now on, I'm staying out of the kitchen."

Hearing this, Sun Li's smile turned sweet and suddenly very gentle. "As the saying goes, a gentleman stays away from the kitchen. You're a grown man, how could I let you in there?"

"Come on, Xiu, try my fish soup first. I'll get you a bowl."

However, after a single taste, Luo Xiu spat it right out. He whipped his head toward Su Shanyue and saw that her face was also ghastly pale, as if she had just ingested poison.

With a dark expression, Luo Xiu asked Sun Li, "Hey... can you take back what you just said? Let's just pretend none of this happened. I don't want to live the rest of my life in misery."

Hearing Luo Xiu's words, Su Shanyue almost choked, nearly spraying a mouthful of fish soup all over Sun Li's face.

Sun Li, however, looked completely bewildered, her bright eyes shining with innocence. "What's wrong with it? I followed a short-form video exactly. It was made by a professional chef!"

Luo Xiu said with a deadpan expression, "I don't know if that chef is a professional, but you are definitely a professional Poison Master."

Sun Li planted her hands on her hips, annoyed. "Are you saying I'm brewing poison? Fine, Xiu, you're disrespecting me!"

"Sigh." Luo Xiu stood up and headed for the kitchen. "Looks like I'll have to clean up this mess tonight. Let me show you a thing or two and teach you what real cooking is."

Back on the mountain, the old man was always slacking off somewhere, so Luo Xiu had always cooked for himself. Over time, he had honed his culinary skills. But having spent so long in the mountains with little contact with the outside world, he was inevitably a bit naive and unaware of the treacherous nature of the human heart. At this moment, he was blissfully unaware that he had just fallen into a trap set by Sun Li.

At the dining table, watching Luo Xiu's back as he walked to the kitchen, Sun Li said defiantly, "What kind of delicious food could someone like you possibly make? I refuse to believe it!"

Hearing this, Luo Xiu was inwardly amused and a bit disdainful, thinking to himself that he would let his skills do the talking.

After Luo Xiu entered the kitchen, Sun Li turned to Su Shanyue, tilted her head up proudly, and flashed a sly smile.

"See? He took the bait."

"I deliberately made the food taste awful. That way, he won't let me in the kitchen ever again."

"This is what 'The Art of War' calls 'advancing by retreating'."

With a strange expression, Su Shanyue gave her a thumbs-up.

High-end ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods.

After half an hour of work, Master Luo emerged into the living room carrying two home-style dishes.

Sun Li looked dismissive. "This is it? Scrambled eggs with tomato? Fish-fragrant shredded pork?"

Luo Xiu simply smiled without a word, full of confidence. He gestured for her to pick up her chopsticks.

Sun Li put on a show of reluctance, slowly picking up her chopsticks and taking a bite.

The next moment, her eyes widened in shock. She stared at Luo Xiu, her face filled with adoration.

"Oh my God!

"Hero Luo, I never knew! Not only are your medical techniques unparalleled and you're incredibly handsome, but your cooking is amazing too!

"You're my idol!

"Is there any justice in this world? How can you be so perfect?

"I've made my decision! For the rest of my life, I'm only eating food you make!"

Sun Li showered him with a torrent of praise. Luo Xiu felt so light from the flattery that he felt like he was floating up to the heavens. What he didn't realize was that he had fallen completely into her trap…

While he was basking in Sun Li's compliments, his phone rang at an inopportune moment.

Luo Xiu took it out and saw it was a call from Su Shenyun. The mere thought of that flirty vixen made his heart race. It looked like it was going to be another sleepless night.

"Baby, what are you doing?"

Hearing Su Shenyun's term of endearment, Luo Xiu shot a panicked glance at Sun Li. Relieved that she hadn't heard, he quickly got up and walked to the side. "Eating. What's up?"

"Are you free right now? Come over to Yuehuang."

"It's so late, and I have things to do tomorrow. Tonight, I have to..."

Su Shenyun cut him off. "Tonight, I'm wearing your favorite black stockings. And I'm not wearing anything underneath."

"You..."

Luo Xiu wanted to refuse, but for some reason, the words got stuck in his throat. He cursed his lack of willpower. But on second thought, this was a woman with an Innate Allure Bone, after all! In this entire world, how many men could possibly resist that?

"I'm free. I'm free."

After hanging up, Luo Xiu said goodbye to Sun Li and Su Shanyue and headed out. He hailed a taxi on the street and went straight to Yuehuang Entertainment City. He'd been here once before, when he came to discuss business with Xu Qianqing. But that was during the day, so it hadn't seemed like much. Now, at night, with all the lights blazing, the place looked like a fantasy world—as upscale as it gets.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Luo Xiu called Su Shenyun.

"Find a seat in the lobby. I'll be right down to get you."

In the lobby, Luo Xiu found a random sofa and sat down. The brief wait felt excruciatingly long. It was probably because he was so eager to see Su Shenyun.

Suddenly, a voice snarled from nearby, "You bastard! It really is a small world for enemies, isn't it?"

Luo Xiu looked toward the voice and froze. He never expected to run into Ling Feng and Wu Tianhua here.

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