I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

"Honey, try this soup."

"Hmm...it's really good, much better than what our chef makes."

Even though Mu Bai didn't want to agree to the marriage so easily, he couldn't find any fault with the taste, and his praise just slipped out unconsciously.

Mu Mu secretly made a nice gesture to Yan Ziming.

Yan Ziming also revealed a genuine smile.

This soup was her proud creation. After all, as the first appetizer, Yan Ziming wanted to make it as good as possible to leave a good impression on her father-in-law.

This is the lotus seed soup she made.

To be honest, Mu Bai's feelings were very complicated.

When his wife called him back today to eat the New Year's Eve dinner prepared by Yan Ziming and the others, he knew that this day was inevitable.

To put it bluntly, whether Yan Ziming and Mu Mu can be together is something he, as their father, has absolutely no idea.

But Yan Ziming and the others gave him a lot of face today.

To win his approval, Yan Ziming, who should have been detached from worldly affairs, willingly became involved in the mundane world and cooked their New Year's Eve dinner. Moreover, the taste was impeccable, absolutely perfect. He had never eaten anything so delicious in his life.

Would anyone believe it if I told them that a ninth-level supreme expert was personally cooking?

It's just a New Year's Eve dinner, yet there are two level-nine companions. Would anyone believe it if I told them?

There are already enough steps available; if he doesn't take advantage of this opportunity to go down, he might fall very hard later.

The final answer was already brewing in his mind...

On the other side, Liu Mengxian also took a bite, swallowing two lotus seeds along with it.

A few seconds later, Liu Mengxian's movements stiffened slightly, her eyes gleaming, and she immediately turned her gaze to Yan Ziming.

If one had to describe him, Yan Ziming was now full of worldly charm, completely lacking the transcendence one would expect from a ninth-tier powerhouse and a Thunder Spirit. He even still had his hair in a single ponytail and his apron was still untied.

However, Liu Mengxian had to admit—

Yan Ziming looks incredibly beautiful at this moment.

Although her beauty was already breathtaking, at this moment, there was no subtle enhancement to her appearance. Instead, her spiritual level had decreased slightly due to a busy afternoon, yet she was still beautiful in a real and tangible way.

Looking at Yan Ziming like this, Liu Mengxian was momentarily stunned.

Every frown and smile was so captivating.

"Is it delicious?"

A soft call brought her back to reality. Before her eyes was Yan Ziming, his face full of anticipation, staring at her with great trepidation.

Liu Mengxian revealed a smile that made even the stars and moon sway:

"Hey~ It's delicious."

The lotus seed in my mouth is like this, and so is the person before me...

11. Before we met

Under the relentless pressure from Yan Ziming, Mu Mu, and Ye Qianxue, Mu Bai finally relented.

The process was actually quite simple: Yan Zimo unilaterally got him drunk with alcohol. When people are in a drunken state, they are more likely to speak freely, and some true feelings will be said without hesitation.

"You all go out first, I want to talk to her alone."

Mu Bai was drunk, but still relatively lucid. He seemed to have something to say to Yan Ziming and asked the others to leave for a while.

In just a few seconds, only she and Mu Bai remained in the entire living room.

The air was quiet, eerily quiet, yet possessed a unique ethereal quality.

This is the best environment for heart-to-heart talks.

After a moment of silence, Mu Bai looked up at the window, feeling deeply moved, and said drunkenly, "Tell me about how you met."

Yan Ziming paused slightly, also looking out the window. Memories surfaced before his eyes, and a smile curved his lips.

"...That was a long time ago."

------

Eight years ago, in the Jiangning Military Administrative Region.

"Hey, is some important person here today? Why is it so lively?"

Seeing the bustling traffic on the street, and the signs of a stirring in the usually stagnant social atmosphere, Yan Ziming couldn't help but feel curious.

It looked just like a fan meeting.

Could it be that some important person has arrived?

"Oh no, what am I watching for? I have things to do."

She was busy going to the military region to complete some procedures, and the other party would be off work in half an hour, so there was no time for her to watch the commotion here.

After glancing at the crowd a few more times, Yan Ziming turned and left in the opposite direction of the flow of people.

In another corner.

"This is so annoying! Which bastard leaked my whereabouts?!"

A woman, as radiant as the Milky Way, appeared on the rooftop of a building, looking down at the ant-like crowd below with considerable annoyance.

It was dusk.

She originally came to the Jiangning Military Administrative District to take care of some business and wanted to take a look at the local customs and culture, but she didn't expect to be surrounded by a large group of people taking pictures of her as soon as she stepped onto the street.

"Although I am indeed stunningly beautiful, with a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, and all women bow down to me, being surrounded by so many people is still..."

Mu Mu, rather narcissistically, smoothed her long hair that hung down to her chest, completely oblivious to the fact that it was her flowing silver hair that gave away her whereabouts.

Fame, power, status, wealth—she had it all, plus a perfect face. All of these things elevated her to an extremely high position.

So even if someone is narcissistic, they have the right to be so.

"Sigh... In this way, I've lost the chance to see the local customs and culture. Everything is going smoothly."

"Just finish what you need to do and then go home..."

Mu Mu sighed, and the direction she left in was exactly the same as Yan Ziming's—the location of the military region.

..............

"Hello, is anyone there...? I'm here to complete some paperwork..."

Yan Ziming knocked on the door weakly, in an extremely humble manner.

She got the time wrong.

Today is Sunday, and the other party will leave work half an hour early, which means that she has been doing useless work from the beginning.

As she expected, there was no response from inside.

"Oh no! How could this happen! Two thousand yuan a month in subsidies!!! Today was the deadline! And it's all gone just like that?!"

Yan Zimo was in tears.

Although two thousand yuan isn't a lot for her, every little bit helps, and it's enough to cover her and her sister's food expenses for two or three days.

This means that she used to have two or three extra days of vacation each month to relax, but now that's gone, and her vacation is over.

"Sigh... Let's go back..." Yan Ziming walked back dejectedly, and everyone cast all sorts of glances at her along the way.

Because such a beautiful girl is truly rare in this generation.

No, rather, even before the apocalypse, no one had ever heard of such a stunningly beautiful woman.

Therefore, wherever Yan Ziming goes, he becomes a beautiful sight, and even the atmosphere inside the military region, which is characterized by seriousness, becomes a little more lively.

"Huh? Huh? What's that?"

Yan Ziming suddenly stopped.

One hundred meters ahead, there was a huge banner that read: "The Third Military Camp Cooking Competition".

Due to the invasion of mutated species, morale across China was extremely low, and the country remained shrouded in the shadow of defeat for a long time.

Realizing that this situation was not sustainable, some military regions came up with creative ideas to try and lighten the mood, so they organized this event.

"A cooking competition... well, I'm bored anyway, might as well go check it out, maybe I can learn something..."

With a learning mindset, Yan Ziming went to that place to observe. The format was as follows: several people from the cooking team participated, and others who were confident in their cooking skills could also participate. It hadn't officially started yet, and they were still recruiting people.

The winner can receive a prize and also make a reasonable request to the organizers.

"How about... I go up too?"

Yan Ziming didn't care much about the prizes, but the fact that she could ask the organizers for a reasonable wish was something she valued.

A cooking competition held in a military region—isn't the organizer obviously the military?

If I win, there might be a chance to get back the two thousand yuan monthly subsidy that I lost.

Yan Ziming arrived at the registration desk and said to the sergeant in charge of taking notes, "Um, I'm here to register."

"Hmm... Ah?" The sergeant looked up and froze.