"Alright, don't rush me, I'm coming."

Chu Ge responded, carrying the items Qin Ruoying had asked him to bring, and approached the bathroom door. "Xiao Ying, can I come in?"

"Mhm, come in quickly, I've been waiting so long the flowers are about to wilt."

Chu Ge chuckled, thinking how much that sounded like a line from the card game Dou Dizhu.

With Qin Ruoying's permission, Chu Ge opened the bathroom door, turned his head, walked in a few steps, and handed over the items.

Although he only glanced quickly and immediately looked away, Chu Ge still saw Qin Ruoying's current state.

She was sitting confidently on the toilet, with private areas covered by a large towel, holding a mobile phone, eyes fixed on the screen as if playing some mobile game.

Judging by the game's background music, it seemed to be a game from Tianqing Company. Chu Ge couldn't help but feel proud, even though he hadn't contributed much to the company.

Sighing in relief, Chu Ge realized that Qin Ruoying hadn't exposed anything she shouldn't have, which explained her nonchalance. It's awkward, but really not a big deal.

"Thanks, bro-in-law!"

Accepting the items Chu Ge handed over, Qin Ruoying looked up and smiled openly, with no hint of shyness, as if it was just a normal occurrence.

"Here, next time, remember to prepare in advance."

Chu Ge handed over the items with a hint of exasperation, then turned around. Just as he took a step, he heard Qin Ruoying muttering behind him, "I wasn't doing it on purpose, you know. I only realized it after sitting here."

Chu Ge was even more speechless. Still, as Qin Ruoying said, these things can be urgent, somewhat like forgetting toilet paper or finding out there's none in the bathroom—a sudden situation.

Without saying more, Chu Ge left the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Leaving the bathroom, he shook his head, slightly confused by Qin Ruoying's demeanor. She really doesn't consider herself an outsider, does she?

Then again, they aren't outsiders. They've known each other and lived in the same house for so long; of course, they're not outsiders.

Chu Ge sighed and went to open the fridge, took out some vegetables, and began preparing lunch, pondering what Qin Ruoying wanted from him.

Woosh...

Just as Chu Ge was thinking, the sound of flushing came from the bathroom. A moment later, Qin Ruoying emerged, teasingly approaching Chu Ge's side.

"Bro-in-law, I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable. You found it right away; I thought you'd ask me again. Have you seen those things before? Bought them for my sister? Hmm... Must not be, you're not real couples anyway, she'd definitely be embarrassed."

Chu Ge broke out in a sweat. Even if he didn't have to pretend to be Qin Ruoying's brother-in-law now, conversations like these surely weren't meant for a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, right?

Still, considering Qin Ruoying's straightforward personality, having discussed even more private topics before, Chu Ge just laughed wryly, neither confirming nor denying.

"Hehe, it's my first time using it. I heard it's lightweight and doesn't affect clothing or exercise, so I bought it to try. If I hadn't checked specifically and known it wouldn't damage the membrane, I wouldn't have dared to use it."

As she spoke, Qin Ruoying walked back and forth a few steps, as if eagerly experiencing the product's effectiveness.

Watching Qin Ruoying excitedly pacing, Chu Ge couldn't help but feel amused. Did the girl see it as some new toy?

Initially considering if he should inform her of some precautions, Chu Ge figured there was no need since she'd already researched it.

"By the way, earlier you said you had something to discuss. Can we talk about it now?"

Feeling a bit awkward, Chu Ge didn't want to continue the current conversation with Qin Ruoying, so he changed the subject.

Qin Ruoying stopped walking, turned her head, giggling, "Since you're with my sister earlier, she probably told you already—I'm going to pursue you. So, how about it?"

Chu Ge rolled his eyes, feeling like Qin Ruoying was joking.

"Come on, that joke isn't funny at all. What are you really thinking?"

"Bro-in-law, I'm not joking; that's exactly what I think."

Though Qin Ruoying sounded earnest, Chu Ge thought her smile seemed a bit sly, shaking his head in amusement.

"Xiao Ying, with just us here, you don't have to keep a straight face, right? Just tell the truth, okay?"

"Brother-in-law, why don't you believe me? I'm telling the truth. Since my sister doesn't want to be with you, and I don't want such a good man to be taken by other women, I have no choice but to try hard myself."

At this point, Chu Ge was completely speechless. Even after he laid it all out, Qin Ruoying still wouldn't relent. It seemed no matter how he asked, it was all in vain.

However, although Qin Ruoying repeatedly insisted she wasn't joking, considering her usual behavior, Chu Ge still felt there was something fishy about it and didn't quite believe her.

Facing Chu Ge's skeptical gaze, Qin Ruoying pouted and said with an aggrieved expression, "Brother-in-law, don't look at me like that. It's like me chasing you is such an unreliable thing?"

Chu Ge chuckled and glanced at Qin Ruoying, "This whole thing is unreliable, alright? But since you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask. Go wait in the room, and I'll call you when the food's ready."

"Hee hee, I'd feel so bad, leaving you to cook all alone while I wait to eat. How unruly of me. If there's anything I can do to help, just say the word, no need to be polite."

Hearing Qin Ruoying's words, Chu Ge chuckled even more, "Come on, back when I was pretending to be your brother-in-law here, I cooked quite a bit and never saw you lend a hand. How come you've learned to be polite now?"

"That was then. A brother-in-law taking care of a sister-in-law is only natural, isn't it? Since I now want to be your girlfriend, I must perform well in front of you and try to make you like me sooner."

Chu Ge grinned, "Alright, why not leave today's lunch to you then?"

"Sure, no problem. Brother-in-law, just watch."

Qin Ruoying patted her chest and took on the responsibility, then came to Chu Ge's side, took the knife from his hand, and started chopping vegetables on the cutting board with a "ding ding ding" sound.

Chu Ge was stunned for a moment. He had just said that offhandedly and didn't expect Qin Ruoying to actually start cooking.

If it were Ye Li cooking, Chu Ge would have been happy to take a break and relax, but with Qin Ruoying, he was truly a hundred times uneasy.

After all, he hadn't forgotten the time when Qin Ruojing had just brought him home and Qin Ruoying wanted to learn how to fry fish from him.

That time, Qin Ruoying barely got the fish into the pan before such a big accident happened. If he hadn't been there to hold her in his arms and shield her from the splattering hot oil, her pretty face might have been ruined.

He thought about replacing Qin Ruoying, but when Chu Ge glanced sideways, he found that watching Qin Ruoying chop vegetables was quite pleasing to the eye, so he swallowed his words and said something else instead.

"I'll just watch here. If there's anything you're unsure about, feel free to ask me anytime."

"Alright!"

As the knife continued to fall on the cutting board, it wasn't just Qin Ruoying's wrist that was shaking, but the cutting board shuddered along with it.

However, the appearance of the potatoes on the board was nothing to brag about. While Chu Ge's potato shreds looked almost uniformly toothpick-thin, Qin Ruoying's looked more like French fries, and very uneven ones at that.

Of course, Chu Ge didn't expect Qin Ruoying to make anything decent. As long as she didn't cause any danger and managed to put together something edible, he'd consider it a blessing.

Chu Ge didn't care, but Qin Ruoying felt a bit frustrated. How could there be such a huge difference when they were using the same knife on the same cutting board to cut potato shreds?

She just couldn't accept it, as if she had a deep grudge with the potatoes on the board, speeding up her chopping and moving her wrist faster, chopping her "fries" into smaller bits for a second round of cutting.

Ding ding ding, ding ding ding...

Ding!

Suddenly, who knows how Qin Ruoying did it, a potato fell off the board, and she stopped the knife there, blinked her eyes, clamped her legs tightly together, and her face instantly showed a look of distress.

Seeing Qin Ruoying suddenly stop, Chu Ge was slightly puzzled, "What's wrong?"

With her back to Chu Ge, Qin Ruoying said awkwardly, "Um... it dropped."

Chu Ge didn't think much and simply thought Qin Ruoying was upset about not being able to slice a potato properly. He looked at the fallen potato on the ground and smiled, "Just pick it up and wash it before putting it back. I'll wash it for you."

"Brother-in-law, you're so annoying. This... isn't quite appropriate, is it? Besides, can you even bring yourself to do it?"

Chu Ge bent down to pick up the potato, took it to the faucet, and said with a slight laugh, "Isn't it just a potato? What's so inappropriate about that? Just use your hands and wash it with water, what's wrong?"

As he spoke, Chu Ge turned on the faucet and saw Qin Ruoying awkwardly start to turn around bit by bit.

"Who said anything about the potato? I mean, that... dropped, you... seriously..."

Only then did Chu Ge notice Qin Ruoying's distressed expression and realized what she was referring to and where she meant. His hands paused, and his expression became awkward too.

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