Even without an alarm, Rudolf still woke up at dawn—pure habit, drilled into her day after day.
Her ears lay slightly to either side atop her head, twitching faintly as she slipped into her slippers with sleepy eyes, ready to head to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. But the moment she caught a scent in the air, she snapped fully awake.
She sniffed twice.
The rich aroma of butter filled the entire apartment—so strong it was as if someone were cooking…
Cooking?
She didn't even need to think. It was obvious where that smell was coming from. Rudolf immediately strode toward the kitchen.
From experience, Eternal Meteor was not the type to sit obediently in a wheelchair and cook. And with the wheelchair height plus her own height, reaching the countertop would be difficult—never mind actually making food.
And she couldn't possibly cook while leaning on crutches at the same time.
Which meant… whatever posture she was in right now was practically self-explanatory.
"Meteor! You—"
"You're up? The bread just finished pan-frying. Come eat."
Rudolf's words were cut off—though not by the bread in the pan that had just been turned off.
It was the wheelchair.
Specifically, the wheelchair that was clearly raised by a whole notch, and Eternal Meteor sitting on it, turned sideways, using one hand to lift the bread out of the pan.
For a split second, Rudolf felt like the world had left her behind.
Wheelchairs these days… could raise their suspension?
No. No—that wasn't the point.
Wheelchairs could go to hell.
The point was: Eternal Meteor was actually taking her injury seriously.
Was Rudolf still half-asleep?
She secretly pinched her thigh. The pain came through crystal clear—she wasn't dreaming.
Joy flooded her chest.
Finally. Finally. The "make Eternal Meteor normal" plan had taken a massive step forward.
After the psychologist's furious yelling last time, they'd regained composure, apologized to Rudolf, and then—gritting their teeth—spat out each word like a warning:
"You need to be stricter day to day, or just prepare to collect her body."
Clearly, they had no idea how far Rudolf had already gone. She'd practically reached the point of changing locks and bombarding Eternal Meteor with texts 24/7.
Because in everyone's mind, Rudolf was upright, serious, and dignified—how could anyone possibly connect her to "crippling possessiveness" or anything even remotely yandere-adjacent?
The psychologist had even wondered if Rudolf simply couldn't bring herself to get closer, that she wasn't doing anything to deepen their bond.
And since Rudolf knew her "concern" was… questionable, every time the psychologist asked what she'd done, she'd fumbled and brushed it off.
But now?
Now it looked like being stricter really was a good thing. They'd only lived together for a short while and it had already become like this. After winter break, Eternal Meteor would definitely be totally normal.
Right?
"Then I'll go brush my teeth first."
Rudolf practically bounced back to the bathroom in her room, convinced today was going to be a wonderful day.
Meanwhile, Eternal Meteor watched Rudolf perform a full Sichuan-opera face change—ending in that softened, almost relieved expression—and the curve of her own lips lifted a little higher.
She bought it. She totally bought it. Hehahahahahaha!
This whole thing was an act—performed solely to lower Rudolf's guard, so Eternal Meteor could go to the outpost without fighting with her.
As if she'd ever obediently sit in that piece of—ahem, that precious wheelchair—to cook. Just sitting in it while twisting her torso was uncomfortable enough, let alone trying to make breakfast.
It was all perfectly timed camouflage.
After all, Rudolf's wake-up time was absurdly consistent—never a minute early, never a minute late. It was basically handing her an opportunity.
Ten minutes before Rudolf usually woke up, Eternal Meteor dragged the wheelchair over and moved anything that would be out of reach while sitting down—rearranging everything according to what she could reach.
Three minutes before, she put the bread in the pan.
That way Rudolf would catch the sight of her "obediently cooking," and the bread would come out at the perfect moment.
I mean—who doesn't like waking up to hot food already waiting on the table?
She'd even waited until Rudolf was asleep and then secretly paid a ridiculous premium to have ingredients delivered—especially that outrageous delivery fee. Just thinking about the bill still made her heart ache.
But it was worth it. Consider it rent.
Because Rudolf definitely wouldn't accept money, and Eternal Meteor didn't want to live here feeling like she was taking advantage.
This way was fine.
More importantly, it would ease Rudolf's constantly strained nerves.
Eternal Meteor planned to use this entire winter break to drag Rudolf's mental state back to "normal."
If Rudolf kept being that paranoid, sure—Eternal Meteor could endure it.
But she couldn't anymore.
It had to be corrected, fast.
When Rudolf finished washing up and sat down at the table, the two of them locked eyes—
—and at the exact same time, each of them burst into silent laughter in their own head.
And so, the curtain rose on their cohabitation: a life together where both sides were determined to "fix" the other.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
Uma Musume: I Want All 35
I Can Copy Unique Skills 36
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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