To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Zhiyuan and Zhangzhu returned for National Day.

The couple deliberately didn't tell their families, as Zhangzhu wanted to give her parents a surprise.

And then, sure enough, I was shocked.

Their ideal home: the aroma of food filling the air. Either the food is already prepared, and Mom and Dad are clinking glasses at the table; perhaps without their presence, the two old folks would be all lovey-dovey. Or, the food isn't ready yet, and Mom and Dad are cooking together in the kitchen, as they've done for most of these past twenty-odd years, Dad's knife skills are sharp and precise, improving with each passing day…

The home they saw: no one in the living room, the stove and pots were cold, Dad wasn't home, and Mom was typing away on the keyboard in the study.

Lin Qingping was still pleasantly surprised, "Why are you two back?"

"No..." Zhangzhu looked around the house, "Mom, something's not right!"

Lin Qingping didn't respond to that. "Have you eaten yet? If not, I'll take you out to eat."

Pearl in the palm: ? ? ?

"No, Mom, why is there no food at home? Where's Dad?" Did he go on a mission? "Mom, what did you eat?"

Lin Qingping didn't want to answer these questions at all, but she couldn't resist Zhangzhu's persistent questioning. "Let's take a walk on the playground."

Zhiyuan also felt something was wrong! Why was Dad going for a walk alone, and Mom wasn't going?

"Let's go eat." Lin Qingping grabbed the car keys, preparing to take them into the city for a meal.

"Mom, we just got back and we just want to eat something at home. We don't want to go out." Zhangzhu hugged Lin Qingping's arm and acted coquettishly. "We can cook noodles ourselves. Do we have any leftovers at home? We can just mix them with the noodles."

Lin Qingping: ...

That's definitely not the case.

Her cold war with Gu Juncheng has actually turned into a real one.

Anyway, she's already on that pedestal, and she doesn't intend to, nor can she, get off anytime soon.

So, she's not going to cook anymore. What's wrong with her? She won't tolerate someone eating her cooking while criticizing her "beloved" person!

Since she was no longer in charge of cooking, Gu Juncheng, who had always been her assistant, had to take charge of the kitchen all by himself. But the food he made was so bad that even a rough guy like him found it hard to swallow, let alone Lin Qingping.

He was puzzled. When he was younger, he only cared about filling his stomach when it came to food; he wasn't so particular about it. Had he just gotten used to eating coarse grains...?

Lin Qingping was not one to skimp on her food. Since the food he made was inedible, she simply ate out. She was already so wealthy; how could she not enjoy a good meal?

Seeing this, Gu Juncheng realized there was no need for his heroism to be displayed in the kitchen, so he simply ate at the canteen himself—the cooks' skills were far superior to his own…

So even though it's the National Day holiday, Lin Qingping had dinner with her good friend Lei Sufang during the day. Lei Sufang had come to visit her during the holiday, and the two of them spent the whole day eating and shopping in the city.

Speaking of Lei Sufang, Lin Qingping even told Zhiyuan, "Your Aunt Lei mentioned Chen Lei, saying she plans to get married next year."

Zhiyuan: ...

"Mom, let's talk about whether to add an egg to the noodles later. Do we have any vegetables at home? Maybe a couple of leafy greens." Zhiyuan went into the kitchen, whether out of diligence or avoidance, it was hard to tell.

"Why are you running? I'm not rushing you," Lin Qingping said.

Zhiyuan rummaged through the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator, and good heavens, how long had it been since he'd cooked? There wasn't a single thing to eat.

"I'll go to the convenience store and buy some eggs and noodles," Zhiyuan said as he came out.

Zhangzhu was incredulous; what had happened to cause such a depletion of their family's supplies?

Zhiyuan went out as he spoke, and on his way to the convenience store, he ran into Gu Juncheng, who was returning from a walk.