Chapter 237: The Password Hasn't Changed

Sunlight swept across the blinds, carving neat light and shadows onto the kitchen's marble countertop. Chu Yi had an apron tied around his waist and skillfully twisted the stove's knob. From Ling Wu's angle, he could see the scar on Chu Yi's forearm; based on the scar, it was left by a gunshot wound.

Chu Yi's well-defined fingers turned the frying pan, butter melting across it, and he picked up bacon to place inside.

Afterward, he cracked an egg against a ceramic bowl, separated the shell with one hand, and the egg liquid fell from a low height into the pan. He focused on flipping the fried egg with a wooden spatula, then placed it onto a plate and turned off the heat.

The toaster "dinged" as the toast popped up. Chu Yi sprinkled on sea salt and black pepper, then scooped porridge out of the rice cooker.

Chu Yi set the breakfast on the table and said to Ling Wu, "Drinking porridge in the morning is good for the stomach."

He untied his apron and draped it over the back of a chair.

Ling Wu was used to being independent and strong. In life, he had always played the role of the one who took meticulous care of others—taking care of his younger brother when he was small, and doing laundry, cooking, and taking care of himself when he grew up.

In his memory, Pei Ziying held a high position and was always very busy; when he was with his teacher, it was always the family servants who cooked. Being with Xi Huaizhi was even more peculiar—breakfast was almost never eaten.

What good things had Ling Wu not seen? He was accustomed to being alone and wouldn't be bought over by a single meal, but there was a subtle feeling in the bottom of his heart.

That feeling was like something brand new and unopened, stumbling into his world just like that, wrapped in exquisite and gorgeous packaging, waiting for him to open it.

Ling Wu took a bite of toast: "Chu Yi, when did you learn to cook?"

"I've known since I was a kid." Chu Yi pulled out a chair, turned his body slightly, crossed his legs, and smiled: "Have you forgotten where I grew up?"

Ling Wu paused for a moment. Chu Yi had later become so peerless in his prominence that it made him almost forget that such a decent person had once been left to drift outside, wasted away in the Slums for twenty years.

In such a tense and oppressive environment, those who came out were either vicious and cruel or mediocre, ordinary people; there were rarely any exceptions.

After all, when you couldn't even get enough to eat, what was there to talk about regarding ideals or ambitions?

Wasn't that just nonsense?

Yet, Chu Yi happened to be that exception, though the journey had been full of many bumps.

Ling Wu looked into his eyes: "I haven't forgotten."

"I know you haven't." Chu Yi reminisced: "I haven't forgotten either."

He seemed to sigh with emotion briefly, then returned to normal and urged: "Stop chatting with me, hurry up and eat, it'll be cold in a moment."

Ling Wu: "Mm."

His movements while eating were very refined; he didn't make much noise when drinking porridge, and there were no breadcrumbs on the corners of his mouth. It was very pleasing to the eye.

Chu Yi felt that this kind of time was also quite good.

He really didn't have anything else he wanted.

Power, status—he had obtained them all, and money was inexhaustible. The only thing was that he liked Ling Wu, and he wanted to strive to win him over.

Chu Yi, like Ling Wu, was someone who knew how to take care of others, but compared to Ling Wu, Chu Yi was not so absolutely self-centered. Deep down, his childhood had a background of inferiority; even after growing up, he was more often able to consider other people's feelings.

And Ling Wu's care tended more toward: I think you need this.

Just like back when he was in the Empire, he chose to keep Jin Shaoyu completely clean, leaving the equity and a way out for him, yet he never asked what Jin Shaoyu truly wanted.

Both possessed the foundation of love; it couldn't be said who was nobler than whom.

It was just that the methods used were different.

Chu Yi washed the bowls and then handed his phone to Ling Wu. When those eyes looked over, they were scorching and hard to resist. Ling Wu inexplicably thought of that time at the sports meet, when Chu Yi rushed past the finish line, like a tropical wind before everyone's eyes, and when he embraced him, those eyes were just like this.

"What are you giving me your phone for?"

Chu Yi: "Ling Wu, let's save our contact information; it'll be convenient for me to find you in the future."

Ling Wu felt that this person was truly completely different from when he was at Sike Academy; he had more confidence and charm from the inside out, as if he had been reborn: "What's the password?"

"The password hasn't changed, it's still that one." The liking that Chu Yi was once shy to speak of was no longer a secret now: "546498."