Shu woke up in a state of extreme exhaustion.
It was as if yesterday's fatigue had grown legs and chased him all the way into today.
He forced his eyelids open, only for exhaustion to slam them back down with even greater force.
In the quiet room, Shu finally won his internal struggle and managed to peel his eyes open.
His first reaction was realizing the spot next to him under the covers was empty.
Shu's heart gave a panicked lurch, and he hurriedly turned his head.
On Kiana's half of the bed, her blanket was folded neatly, and her pillow was placed perfectly straight. It looked as if no one had slept there at all.
Hm?
Shu felt like something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
His brain was still stuck in dreamland; he hadn't brought it back to reality with him yet.
Moreover, his lower back was sore, his upper back ached, and every single bone in his body was protesting. Yesterday's level of physical activity was simply way too much for him to handle.
He didn't want to move. He wanted to die.
He just wanted to lie here. Lie here, lie here, lie here until the end of time. Lie here until the neighbors couldn't stand the smell and came up to complain, only to discover he had already suddenly passed...
Uh...
Did he even have neighbors?
Helplessly, Shu rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.
The scent on the pillow was a bit off. There was a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Shu finally pushed himself up, distancing himself from the pillow.
Great. It took him exactly one second to figure out why he felt something was wrong.
That Kiana... she kicked her blanket off again, didn't she...
Shu propped himself up for a moment, but his aching arms gave out, sending him crashing back onto the bed. He let out a deep sigh and rolled over again.
Whatever... better than yesterday.
Shu thought optimistically.
Right at that moment, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.
Shu looked up blankly, looking as though he hadn't even slept yet.
A head poked out from behind the door with a rustle, accompanied by a gleaming spatula.
Shu's drooping eyelids shot up, his gaze gradually filling with horror.
"Shu," Kiana called out softly, looking a little embarrassed.
"How do you use the induction cooker in your house? Why can't I turn it on?"
At that exact moment, Shu's life began flashing before his eyes.
The raw, blood-dripping meat at yesterday's buffet. That perfectly charred lump of coal... He practically saw his late grandmother waving at him from the other side, and holding her hand was...
Shu's pupils contracted.
In the next second, Shu felt his back ache vanish and his leg pain disappear. He suddenly felt so energized he could cook a hundred dishes in one breath.
After all, if he didn't cook right this second, his kitchen was definitely going to explode. And if that happened, even if he didn't have neighbors, someone was going to come complaining.
The speed at which Shu got out of bed left even Kiana dumbfounded.
Throwing off the covers, sitting up, putting on his slippers, grabbing his clothes—the entire sequence was as smooth as flowing water, completed in one seamless motion.
"You sit down." He closed the distance to the bedroom door in two strides, effortlessly snatching the spatula from Kiana's hand. Kiana tried to grab it back, but in the next second, Shu had placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her toward the sofa, forcing her to sit.
Having averted a literal disaster, Shu took a deep breath.
"Kiana."
"Hmm?"
"From now on, you can just call me whenever it's time to cook." He delivered this earnest instruction. Seeing that Kiana still looked like she wanted to try again, Shu took another deep breath and turned on the computer for her.
"I'll be in charge of providing, and you'll be in charge of playing, okay?" Shu said to Kiana, his voice bordering on a plea.
"...Sigh... fine..." Kiana looked as heartbroken as a child whose favorite toy had just been snatched away, her head hanging in dejection.
Relieved, Shu returned to the kitchen—only to be greeted by a scene of utter devastation.
Egg yolks, egg whites, and eggshells were all mixed together in a small bowl. Crushed noodles were scattered all over the stove. Minced ginger, garlic, and scallions were mashed into an unrecognizable pulp. It was truly a feast for Shu's eyes.
Was Kiana trying to make luncheon meat and egg noodles?
Shu thought that was the most likely answer, but the presence of ginger made him reconsider.
He sighed helplessly, turned off the induction cooker—which was flashing an error code because the wrong mode had been selected—rolled up his sleeves, and began cleaning up the chaotic kitchen.
In the living room.
Kiana sat quietly on the sofa, not daring to look toward the kitchen. The sharp intakes of breath coming from that direction told her she had definitely messed something up again.
Feeling guilty, she shifted her gaze to a little white furball by her feet.
Rice Cake was crouching beside her, tilting its head and looking up at her with those mismatched eyes.
"Meow."
"Rice Cake!" Kiana bent down, scooped the kitten up, and placed it on her lap. "We haven't seen each other all night! Did you miss me?"
Rice Cake nuzzled its cheek against Kiana's palm.
"Meow~"
Its voice was soft and sweet. Compared to the cat that had hissed at Shu yesterday, it was like a completely different animal, perfectly illustrating the concept of "differential treatment."
Kiana scratched Rice Cake beneath the chin, gently petting the kitten until it let out a contented purr.
After absentmindedly petting the cat for a while, Kiana finally mustered the courage to look at the busy figure in the kitchen.
"Rice Cake." Once she confirmed Shu was fully occupied, Kiana leaned down and spoke to Rice Cake in a hushed, secretive tone.
"Meow?"
"I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to get scared!"
Rice Cake perked up its ears and puffed out its tiny chest, as if stating that it was a professionally trained cat and absolutely would not get scared.
Kiana lowered her voice, as if afraid of being overheard.
"I had a dream last night."
"Meow?"
"In the dream, someone thought really, really terrible things about Shu."
Her voice was muffled, carrying a hint of resentment.
"They thought he would be jealous, that he would be hateful, that he'd be bitter. They thought he would be in agony, that he'd become twisted, that he'd be swallowed up by black mud."
Rice Cake tilted its head.
"But how could Shu ever be like that?!"
Kiana ran her fingers through Rice Cake's soft fur, stroke by stroke.
"That person doesn't understand Shu at all... or rather, they don't understand him enough! If they just spent a little time with him, talked to him a little more, they'd know he's a good person..."
She paused.
"How could he possibly hate anyone else?"
"He'd only ever blame himself."
"Meow~"
"You think so too, right?" Kiana's eyes lit up as if she had found a kindred spirit, gazing at Rice Cake. "Right, right?! You think Shu is a good person too!"
Rice Cake let out another "Meow."
Kiana's expression froze for a moment, then she frowned at the kitten.
"What do you mean 'but'?! There are no 'buts' when it comes to Shu, okay?!"
"Meow."
"Ugh... those were enemies! And they provoked us first! They wanted to hurt us, that's why Shu got so mad!"
"Meow~"
"That doesn't count either! That was... that was just normal banter between friends! Shu doesn't have a bad personality! We were just teasing each other... I've never been mad at him! Not once!"
"Meow..."
"Rice Cake!"
Kiana was getting desperate. She lifted Rice Cake up from her lap so they were face-to-face.
Rice Cake stared back at her innocently with those mismatched eyes.
"Shu is a good person!" Kiana couldn't be bothered to explain that the only time she got mad was because Shu didn't value his own life enough. She simply made a solemn declaration to the cat.
Rice Cake blinked.
"An incredibly good person!"
Rice Cake's ears twitched.
"The best person in the whole wide world!"
Rice Cake swished its tail lazily.
It was being so perfunctory!
This was what a bad personality looked like! Honestly, who did it learn that attitude from?
Puffing her cheeks out in frustration, Kiana turned Rice Cake around so it was facing the kitchen.
"Look."
Rice Cake was stretched out into a long noodle, forced to stare into the kitchen.
Inside, Shu was standing in front of the induction cooker, intensely focused on the fresh batch of noodles cooking in the pot.
Kiana brought her mouth close to Rice Cake's ear and began whispering like a demonic entity channeling voices from the Warp.
"Shu is a good person."
"Meow."
"An incredibly good person."
"Meow..."
"The best person in the whole wide world!"
"Meow..."
"Right?"
Rice Cake fell silent for a second.
"Meow~" It compromised.
What else could it do? It was just a helpless little kitten.
Kiana was satisfied.
She pulled Rice Cake back into her embrace and gave its head a vigorous rub.
"That's more like it."
Rice Cake nestled in her arms, squeezing its eyes shut and letting out a helpless purr.