The next day, Cat woke up very early.
Cat’s routine had always been like this; she woke up early every morning.
Cat closed her eyes and turned over, the warm blanket covering her sliding down from her shoulder.
The morning wind blew the gauze curtain aside, leaving a small gap.
A cool breeze brushed against her face, causing the tips of her hair to lightly sweep across the tip of her nose.
Drowsily, she buried half of her face into the pillow, but her back was left exposed to the wind.
The sunlight, mixed with the scent of green grass, slowly crawled through the window.
As the wind passed, the shadow of the gauze curtain swayed over the arch of her foot, feeling like someone was tickling her with the tip of a feather.
Cat curled her toes and shrank back into the blanket. Her every breath was filled with the scent of dew-kissed leaves, and even the base of her ears felt tingly from the breeze.
She rubbed against her fluffy bed for a moment before perking up.
This was the most comfortable sleep she had ever had.
In the past, she had always been woken up by the noise from the corridor, but now she had slept until she woke up naturally.
Cat stretched lazily.
She lightened her footsteps and walked out of the room.
Su Li still had to go to school today.
Cat planned to prepare breakfast for Su Li in advance.
Cat looked at the tightly closed door, knowing that Su Li hadn’t woken up yet.
She was actually quite worried that Su Li wouldn’t eat well while she was out.
Or perhaps the food wouldn’t be clean.
Because she had been a waitress for a while, she knew that the hygiene in some kitchens wasn’t very good.
The thought of Su Li eating something unclean made her feel a bit sad.
Cat tiptoed into the kitchen and took out the chopped green onions she had secretly prepared while cooking lunch yesterday from the refrigerator.
As the pot heated up, she shrank back while clutching the spatula. Drops of oil leaped high in the pot.
She followed what she had learned in the videos and slid the egg in along the edge of the pot.
The egg white sizzled and bloomed into white edges in the hot oil, while the yolk wobbled and swayed.
She stared at the flame without blinking, not even noticing the smudge of soot on her nose.
When she flipped the fried egg, the spatula clinked against the edge of the pan. The clack sound made her ears perk up in a fright.
She glanced worriedly at the door of the living room, her ears twitching. Hearing that Su Li hadn’t been woken by the noise, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The white congee bubbled and boiled until the rice grains bloomed.
Cat stirred it with a spoon and lifted a scoop toward the window. The sunlight shining through the thick rice soup looked like amber syrup.
Standing on her tiptoes, she fished out a glass jar from deep within the cabinet, scooped out a spoonful of osmanthus cicada, and stirred it in. A sweet fragrance filled the entire house.
When the toaster popped with a clack, she scrambled to arrange the golden-brown bread slices on a blue and white porcelain plate before running to lift the lid of the clay pot.
The rising steam hit her face. Squinting, she placed the fried egg beside the bread, the golden yolk slowly trickling down the crispy edges.
Actually, Cat felt that she wasn’t very focused when she studied.
Sometimes when she saw a thumbnail for delicious dim sum pop up next to a study video, she would subconsciously click on it.
Listening to the explanations in the cooking videos, Cat silently memorized them, wanting to make these delicious meals for Su Li when the time came.
While preparing breakfast, Cat fell into thought. She wanted to deliver meals to Su Li.
‘If I deliver the food, Su Li won’t have to eat a cold bento!’
‘It will only take a little more of my time!’
The work Su Li gave her was very easy, and she didn’t need to spend much time to complete it.
Most of her remaining time was spent studying.
If it was to deliver food to Su Li, she was more than willing.
However, Cat didn’t know if Su Li would want her to deliver the food.
She was worried she would embarrass Su Li.
After all, she had never been to school.
‘I don’t know what it’s like inside a school…’
Cat thought to herself, looking preoccupied.
When Su Li woke up, she found a sumptuous breakfast laid out on the table.
If Cat hadn’t already made breakfast, she might have just settled for a bun on the road.
However, having a breakfast meticulously prepared by Cat was a wonderful thing.
Su Li thought to herself that wherever Cat was, that was home.
But she had never imagined that one day she would eat a meal made by Cat.
And that she could eat it every day.
However, Su Li quickly noticed that Cat seemed preoccupied.
“Cat, what’s wrong?”
Seeing that Cat was a bit distracted, Su Li stroked Cat’s little head. Cat quickly looked up at her.
“Su Li, Su Li, can I go to your school to deliver lunch to you?”
Cat guessed that Su Li would be able to come home in the evening.
So she only needed to deliver lunch to Su Li at noon.
“Deliver lunch?”
Su Li was naturally willing to eat a prepared lunch.
However, the school was some distance from home. If Cat wanted to bring her food, she would have to spend a significant amount of time every day.
Su Li had a feeling that Cat was like a mother waiting for school to let out to pick up her child.
“Delivering lunch will take up a lot of your time. You could do many other things you want to do during that time,” Su Li said.
Su Li quickly saw the watery gaze Cat directed at her, her eyes full of expectation.
Realizing Cat really wanted to deliver lunch, Su Li said, “If you’re willing, then of course you can.”
“I’ll tell you when my classes end. You can time it and bring it to me.”
“Of course, if it’s convenient for you, we can eat lunch together at the school.”
Hearing Su Li agree to her request, Cat hurriedly nodded her little head, full of anticipation for noon.
“I—I’ll prepare delicious food for Su Li!”
Cat said, already looking forward to the arrival of noon. She wanted to prepare a sumptuous lunch for Su Li.
In her mind, Cat began calculating Su Li’s appetite and the dishes she liked.
However, after trying hard to recall scenes of eating with Su Li, Cat realized Su Li seemed to eat a bit of everything.
There wasn’t anything she particularly liked.
But she would try making various dishes and strive to discover what Su Li liked best.
Of course, there was also the fruit medley she had just learned!
She could buy more fruit on the way home.
After breakfast, Su Li took out her phone and introduced Xiao Yuyu’s job to Cat.
“When you wake up later, you can give Xiao Yuyu a call to wake her up.”
“If she doesn’t wake up after five calls, you don’t need to worry about her. You can just go on with your own business.”
As Su Li spoke, she used Cat’s phone to record a message.
“Baby, baby, wake up~”