32: Instant noodles - 1

As the two walked into the elevator lobby, they happened to run into the yellow-haired Girl from the "Private Cinema" again. She seemed to be waiting for customers at the entrance once more.

Ye Cheng greeted her familiarly, "Xiao An, not off work yet? Taking another job?"

Xiao An saw Jiang Ye beside her and was slightly stunned. "Sister Juzi, is this... your friend?"

Ye Cheng chuckled and patted Jiang Ye's arm, acting like they were best bros. "Yeah, this sucker is my friend. We're heading out!"

Without waiting for Xiao An's response, she pulled the dark-faced Jiang Ye toward the nearby fire escape.

"Hey, why are we taking the stairs? Didn't the elevator just arrive?" Jiang Ye asked, confused.

"Just follow me. It's not like I'm going to sell you off."

Ye Cheng led him down one floor through the dimly lit fire escape. They exited through the security door on the 11th floor and walked straight to the entrance of Room 1103.

Jiang Ye looked at the quiet surroundings and then at Ye Cheng before finally realizing, "Is this... your place?"

The latter nodded while digging her keys out of her bag. "Yeah, I rented it to make my part-time jobs more convenient."

As she inserted the key into the lock, her movements paused. She glanced back at Jiang Ye and gave a soft huff. "Buddy, let's get this straight beforehand. This room... has surveillance installed, with full coverage and no blind spots. You... better behave yourself."

Jiang Ye immediately scoffed with a look of disdain. "Tch! What kind of person do you take this Buddy for? You think I'm going to pounce on you the moment I walk in? Am I that kind of guy?"

Ye Cheng scanned him up and down with a peculiar expression. While turning the key to open the door, she muttered under her breath, "I'm fucking afraid you'll steal my bras, panties, and socks..."

Jiang Ye: "..."

The door opened, and Ye Cheng stepped aside to let Jiang Ye in.

The apartment had a layout of one bedroom, one living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It wasn't large, but it felt quite cozy.

It was a typical single Girl's residence. The living room was slightly messy, with a few jackets draped casually over the sofa, snacks and books scattered on the coffee table, and several pairs of different shoes lying haphazardly on the rug by the door.

Jiang Ye's gaze swept across the room and unconsciously landed on the scattered clothes—especially a few pairs of stockings tossed carelessly on the sofa armrest.

If this Girl just picked up a few items and gave them to him, wouldn't that be thousands or even tens of thousands in cashback?

Damn, this isn't just a rental; this is a fucking gold mine!

Ye Cheng finished changing into her slippers and turned around to see Jiang Ye staring blankly at the small garments on the sofa armrest. She immediately waved her hand in front of his eyes in annoyance.

"Hey! A couple of glances is enough! I'm warning you, don't you dare pretend to trip later just so you can pounce on them and sniff! You hear me? Have some dignity!"

Jiang Ye was practically speechless, explaining with a mix of laughter and frustration, "No, Ye Cheng, what kind of image do I even have in your eyes? Do I really look like..."

Before he could finish, Ye Cheng had already walked to a small cardboard box in the corner of the living room. She pulled out several packs of instant noodles and turned back to ask him, "Red Braised Beef, Spicy Beef, or Old Pickled Cabbage? Which one?"

Looking at those three familiar packs of cheap instant noodles, Jiang Ye's anticipation instantly plummeted to rock bottom. "You're treating me to a meal... and we're eating this?"

"Be glad you have anything to eat at all!"

Ye Cheng shook the bags again. "I'm personally going into the kitchen to cook noodles for you. What more do you want? You eating or not? If not, I'll eat them myself!"

Jiang Ye sighed silently.

Fine, every little bit counts; it's better than nothing.

A pack of instant noodles costs two-fifty, so two packs are five yuan. That's 50 in cashback, which is just enough for taxi fare home.

"Alright, two packs of Old Pickled Cabbage."

Ye Cheng showed an 'I knew it' expression. "I figured you'd like that flavor."

With that, she took the three packs of noodles into the cramped kitchen.

The kitchen was truly tiny. With Ye Cheng standing inside, there probably wouldn't even be room to turn around if Jiang Ye followed her in.

Jiang Ye leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching Ye Cheng skillfully tie on an apron with a bear print and start boiling water.

While waiting for the water to boil, she gathered her long hair and swept it to one side, revealing her fair neck.

Under the warm yellow light, she focused on the bubbles in the pot. Her side profile had soft lines, and she occasionally raised a hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Watching Ye Cheng's slender back busy in the kitchen, hearing the bubbling of the water, and smelling the aroma gradually released by the seasoning packets, Jiang Ye suddenly felt a very strange sensation.

It was abrupt and inexplicable, yet very real—a faint sense of warmth and happiness, similar to the feeling of 'home'.

It allowed his heart, which had been restless all day, to quiet down a little.

Just as Jiang Ye was immersed in this warmth, Ye Cheng suddenly turned around and gave him a light punch. "...Hey! Why are you staring at my butt so creepily?"

"..."

Jiang Ye rolled his eyes speechlessly and shook his head to cast aside that bizarre thought.

Damn it, I must be having hallucinations because I got scammed so badly tonight.

Five minutes later, the noodles were ready. Ye Cheng brought out two large bowls, evenly distributing the noodles and broth, and even placed half a sausage on top of each bowl.

Jiang Ye took the initiative to carry the bowls over to the small coffee table in the living room.

Ye Cheng turned on the TV, casually opened Tencent Video, and projected a variety show called 'Now Go' onto the screen. She slurped her noodles while giggling at the show.

The hot noodles warmed his stomach, dispelling the night's chill and alleviating Jiang Ye's frustration from being crushed at pool for three hours.

As he was slurping his noodles, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Opening it, he saw it was a WeChat message from Yaoyao.

Yaoyao: [What are you doing, Big Brother? Have you eaten yet? I miss you~ (cute.jpg)]

Jiang Ye casually snapped a photo of the bowl of instant noodles and sent it over, typing a reply: [Eating. If you have something to say, just say it.]

Just as he sent it, he felt a gaze sweep over from beside him.

Ye Cheng's head poked over, glancing at his phone screen. Her tone was a bit curious. "Oh? Who is it? Checking up on you? Your girlfriend?"

Jiang Ye tossed the phone aside and replied casually, "No, just a Female Streamer."

Ye Cheng curled her lip, rolled her eyes, and turned back to continue watching her variety show, clearly not believing a single word.

Two minutes later, another WeChat message from Yaoyao arrived.

Yaoyao: [Big Brother is only eating instant noodles? That's so hard on you~]

Yaoyao: [Um... Big Brother, there's something I want to tell you...]

Yaoyao: [On the 5th of next month, our room is going to have a Hall Battle. The room set a 5,000 yuan revenue target for me... Brother, my task is a bit too high, and I'm panicking. I don't know what to do. Can you help me...]

Just reading this text, one could feel that cautious, lost, and helpless emotion from the other side of the screen. It was indeed easy to trigger a protective instinct and make someone feel sorry for her.

Jiang Ye rubbed his chin and began to ponder how best to reply.

Should he play hard to get first? Stimulate her "initiative" and see if he could get her to transfer three or five thousand over first.

Or he could... "Holy crap! Buddy! You're really giving gifts to a Female Streamer?!"

Ye Cheng seemed to have discovered a new world. She leaned over to look closely at that WeChat message, her eyes instantly widening.

"5,000 yuan?! Just for some stupid 'Hall Battle'? You're over here huffing and puffing over instant noodles while using your phone to generously help a Female Streamer buy a house or a car? Is there something seriously wrong with your brain?"

Jiang Ye was startled by her reaction and speechlessly rubbed his ear.

"Didn't I just say she's a Female Streamer? It's only 5,000, small change. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

Seeing Jiang Ye's indifferent attitude, Ye Cheng looked at his ordinary clothes and then down at the instant noodles in front of him. She immediately became upset.

"Small change? If it's small change, then give it to me! Didn't you keep saying you wanted to save up to 'sponsor' me? So this is how you're squandering your money? Exactly how much have you saved? Has it all been saved onto some Female Streamer? All that 'Giegie~ Giegie~' stuff, does it sound that good? To think I was kind enough to cook noodles for you! I even added an egg and a sausage! Jiang Ye, you big fat liar!"