Yan Tai wore an excited grin, practically devouring Bai Su with his eyes.

Afraid his older brother would offend Miss Bai, Yan Jiu quickly pulled him back. "Miss Bai, my sister is having a birthday party in a few days, and we’d be honored if you could attend. Would you be available?"

Bai Su thought for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. "I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it..."

Fearing he was putting her in a difficult position, Yan Jiu quickly added, "No problem. I’ll leave the invitation with you anyway. Come if you’re free, but don’t worry if you’re not. Whatever works for your schedule is fine."

Only then did Bai Su smile, nod, and accept the invitation. "Alright."

After seeing everyone off, she closed up the shop for the day.

She let out a sigh of relief and had Bablo and the others clean up the mess outside before turning and heading into the kitchen to start cooking.

Yelias sat in the adjacent living room, watching her bustle about. "Those people from before... they seemed like they were up to no good, right?"

Her figure was petite, but she wasn’t rail-thin. Instead, she had a naturally delicate frame, with a soft fleshiness that didn’t make her seem plump.

The shape of her head was also perfectly rounded and full—a classic, well-proportioned form.

Bai Su turned her head and gave him a smile. "It was fine. I’ve basically never run into anyone too difficult to handle."

Yelias said, "If you’re feeling tired, you could take a break for a while."

Although, he knew she loved running her restaurant.

Back when he was visiting the restaurant in disguise, she had told him countless times that she wanted to run a restaurant that made everyone happy, where people would come to eat her cooking and love her food.

But she was just so petite and delicate. Even though her daily work had sculpted the lines of her arms, shoulders, and neck into something fluid and beautiful, he still couldn’t bear to see such a beautiful female toiling away like this every day.

Bai Su’s hand, which had been chopping vegetables, paused. She took the opportunity to say, "I am planning to take a break for a while. Once it starts snowing next month, the restaurant will close. I’ll reopen next year when it warms up in the spring."

"You’re closing?" A flash of surprise crossed Yelias’s eyes.

’I didn’t want her to be so tired, but if she closes the restaurant, what excuse will I have to come and see her?’

Noticing the reluctance in his own heart, Yelias’s brow tightened. He quickly found an excuse for his feelings.

’Grandfather’s death still hasn’t been solved. All I know is that he came here before he died and placed the ring in her hands...’

Bai Su nodded, speaking as she worked. "Exactly. So, it might not be so easy for Grandpa to eat my cooking anymore. After it snows, the mountain path will be slippery, and I’d worry about him coming over every day."

Yelias frowned. "I... I mean, Grandpa will probably miss you a lot. You know how he likes being here where it’s lively. And he loves your cooking."

Bai Su said, "I know, which is why I thought of a solution."

Yelias looked into her large, shimmering eyes. "What solution?"

Her eyes were so clear. When she smiled, they looked like two crescent moons steeped in water, so pure and bright they could lift anyone’s spirits.

He subconsciously recalled how, when she spoke with "Grandpa" before, she would blush and grow shy and nervous whenever the conversation turned to him.

’Does she really like me?’

As she stared at him with those clear eyes, Yelias felt a strange pang of guilt.

’I just want to get the ring back and find out the cause of Grandfather’s death. I never meant to get involved with her.’

And yet, alongside the guilt, there was a strange, secret flicker of joy.

Bai Su said with a smile, "Grandpa loves my cooking the most. Once winter sets in, you probably won’t be so busy, right? You could come here and learn to cook, then go back and make meals for him."

"Learn to cook?" Yelias froze.

Bai Su nodded with a smile, setting a plate of fried silkworm pupae on the table. "Cooking is actually very simple. With hands as skillful as yours, you’re sure to learn in no time!"

"Once you learn, you can cook for Grandpa at home. The winter is long, and you’ll be able to make him whatever he wants to eat. Wouldn’t that be great?"

What Yelias was thinking, however, was that this would give him even more of a legitimate reason to meet and interact with her.

’It wasn’t a bad idea at all.’

After only a moment’s thought, he nodded. "Alright."

And just like that, it was settled.

Bai Su waved the knife in her hand. "Want to come over and try now?"

Yelias smiled faintly. "So, your real reason for inviting me over today was to take on an apprentice, wasn’t it?"

Bai Su rubbed her nose. "Of course not. How could I dare ask a hand that wields a scalpel to help me by wielding a kitchen knife?"

Yelias’s gaze was gentle. "There’s no such thing as a noble or lowly profession."

Bai Su looked at him. "So, do you want to come over and try now? I’m just about to chop some radishes."

Yelias’s hand came to rest on the knife in her hand. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Bai Su laughed again. "Don’t worry, it’s really simple. Neither of us is busy today, so just give it a try."

She walked over, took Yelias by the hand, and led him to the kitchen counter.

Yelias’s gaze fell on the small hand that was holding his wrist.

Her fingers were slender and even, her knuckles and fingertips flushed red. The fine capillaries under her skin showed as faint traces of blue and purple. ’They were the kind of hands that were easy to find a vein in.’

’Very beautiful. A textbook bone structure.’

’The flesh and skin were evenly and thinly distributed, though the palm itself was quite soft.’

’It didn’t make sense, though.’

’Logically, a hand that performed manual labor so often shouldn’t have a palm that was this delicate, plump, and soft.’

Yelias’s eyelids lowered slightly, his thick lashes casting a shadow over his silver-gray eyes and concealing his expression.

She was always like this. At first glance, she was just a pretty little bunny, soft and plump. But a closer look revealed an indescribable, carnal beauty about her entire being.

It was a sense of extreme health and vitality.

It was different from the delicate, almost sickly aesthetic deliberately pursued by the noble females.

Her vitality and plumpness were like a fruit, full and bursting with juice.

As a doctor, he understood this better than anyone.

This little rabbit’s body was far more tender and succulent than it appeared on the surface.

Only a body that was sufficiently succulent could nurture such incredibly limpid eyes.

And only with that succulence would her hair be so soft and thick, her complexion so fair and tinged with a rosy blush.

This was an effect that no amount of external treatments could ever hope to achieve.

It was a healthy Life Force, radiating from within.

’No wonder Lu Tingyan and Li Chenlin became addicted the moment they touched her body... ’

"Yelias?" A small, fair hand waved gently in front of his face.

By the time Yelias snapped back to his senses, a short, narrow German-style utility knife had been placed in his hand.

Bai Su leaned in closer, tilting her head as she stared into his eyes, puzzled. "What were you thinking about? You were completely lost in thought."

Yelias met her shimmering eyes, his own gaze flickering. "Nothing. What is it?"

He subtly took a step back to put some distance between them, allowing the sweet scent of peach that filled his senses to dissipate slightly. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

’For a female whose body held such a fatal attraction, she was utterly defenseless.’

’Was she just incredibly naive, or simply foolish?’

’She didn’t even have the basic wariness of a Beastman.’