The Only Choice - 20

The two of them spent nearly an hour in the supermarket before they had everything they needed.

As they reached the checkout counter, Guan Yuanbai suddenly stopped.

Zhou Fanfan: "What's wrong? Is there something else you'd like?"

Guan Yuanbai glanced at her feet and said, "Wait for me a moment."

Puzzled, Zhou Fanfan could only wait where she was.

Two minutes later, Guan Yuanbai returned, holding a pair of slippers.

They were pink, with a fuzzy surface and two little ears.

Pink was Zhou Fanfan's favorite color. Her eyes lit up slightly. "So cute! Are these for me?"

Guan Yuanbai gave a casual "Hmm" and said, "There aren't any other slippers at home that fit you properly. You can use these."

Zhou Fanfan hadn't expected him to remember this. "Okay, thanks."

She took them, smiling as she touched the two little ears.

A hint of a smile appeared in Guan Yuanbai's eyes. Of course, only a kid would like such childish slippers.

"Don't mention it. I just didn't want you to trip and fall in those oversized slippers at my place."

Zhou Fanfan: "Oh!"

---

Back home, Zhou Fanfan changed into the new slippers and went into the kitchen.

She took out the ingredients for tonight's meal and put the extras in the refrigerator.

In the past, her time in the kitchen was mostly about enjoying the fun of cooking, so she tended to be very meticulous, which often took longer. Old habits died hard, and this time was no exception.

Meanwhile, Guan Yuanbai read for a while in the living room before a video call came in on his phone, so he went to his study for a meeting.

After the meeting ended, he had thought Zhou Fanfan might have been waiting for him for a while. But when he walked into the dining area, the table was still empty.

"What are you doing now?"

Hearing the voice from behind, Zhou Fanfan put the lid back on the pot and turned around.

Guan Yuanbai stood in the light at the kitchen doorway. Since he hadn't gone to the office, his hair wasn't specially styled and fell casually, lessening the air of a sharp, decisive executive and adding a bit of a sunny, gentle youthful vibe.

Zhou Fanfan's gaze lingered on his face for a moment involuntarily. "Braising pork belly. It takes some time."

"How much longer?"

"Are you very hungry?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned, her eyes slightly wide, appearing both charmingly naive and lively, which was somewhat amusing.

Guan Yuanbai couldn't help the slight upturn of his lips. "It's alright, I'm not in a hurry."

"I'm usually a bit slow when cooking; it's the same at home. But it's almost done, Mr. Guan. You can wait another ten minutes."

Guan Yuanbai's smile faded quickly. "Hmm."

Soon after, Zhou Fanfan brought out the three dishes and one soup she had prepared.

Garlic vermicelli with prawns, stir-fried shredded cabbage with vinegar, red-braised pork belly, and lotus root soup—all very homely dishes, but made with great care.

After sitting down, Guan Yuanbai picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of the braised pork belly. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he noticed the person standing before him staring at him intently.

Guan Yuanbai said, "Aren't you eating?"

Zhou Fanfan was taken aback. "I'm eating here?"

Guan Yuanbai ate the piece of pork belly and said, "You're treating me to a meal... but you're not eating yourself?"

By now, Zhou Fanfan was actually quite hungry herself.

Hearing this, it made sense, and besides, he couldn't possibly finish all this food alone. So, she quickly went inside to scoop a bowl of rice. Now that she didn't have to pretend in front of Guan Yuanbai, she didn't hold back, sitting down and digging in heartily.

But after a few bites, she still remembered to ask, "How is it? Does it taste good?"

Guan Yuanbai had always known her cooking was good, so he didn't put on airs and directly said, "Not bad."

Delight showed on Zhou Fanfan's face, not for any other reason, but simply because she was happy that someone enjoyed the food she made.

"Then eat more. You busy people have the most irregular meal times, right? Not eating properly will lead to stomach problems. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're still relatively young."

Guan Yuanbai paused slightly and looked up at her again.

The young woman with a baby face was speaking like a wise old soul.

She looked utterly sincere, but given past experience, he didn't know if she was truly being sincere.

In reality, Zhou Fanfan was speaking from the heart.

Although she was a bit afraid of Guan Yuanbai now, no matter what, he was still the biological brother of her beloved Yiyi, and she still felt there was a tiny resemblance in some of their facial features.

So, when facing Guan Yuanbai, she couldn't help but feel a certain softness and always had a bit more patience with him than with others.

---

After dinner, Zhou Fanfan went home.

Her family happened to be eating dinner at home. Her grandmother asked if she wanted to eat, and she said she already had, which led to further questioning about where she ate.

Zhou Fanfan didn't dare say she had eaten at Guan Yuanbai's place, and that she had cooked the meal herself, because her grandmother would definitely misunderstand and think her relationship with Guan Yuanbai had reached an ‘inseparable’ stage.

So, after hastily saying she ate with Xu Xiaoqian, she quickly retreated to her room.

By now, the online discussion about her and Guan Yuanbai had died down. Apart from a few netizens in her Weibo messages persistently asking about her relationship with Guan Yuanbai, there was nothing else.

Zhou Fanfan ignored these questions, posted a video of Guan Zhiyi she had edited over the past few days, and went to bed.

---

Over the next few days, whenever she had no classes, Zhou Fanfan would go to Guan Yuanbai's place.

Guan Yuanbai mostly returned on time. Once, when he was in a meeting and couldn't make it back, she simply cooked the meal and left it for him. Whether he ate it or not wasn't her concern.

She treated it as her task and also as a chance to experiment with new recipes.

Anyway, each meal cooked counted, each meal cooked was one less to go!

One day, Wednesday.

Zhou Fanfan had no afternoon classes. She stayed home until 4 p.m., then used meeting friends as an excuse and went to Guan Yuanbai's place.

After coming here for several days, she was already familiar with the routine. She let herself in, first checked the refrigerator, found the ingredients were running low, then sat on the sofa and ordered groceries for delivery from the supermarket they had visited last time.

It was only a couple of days ago she found out that the supermarket had its own delivery app, but it only delivered to residents living here.

After ordering the groceries, Zhou Fanfan sent a text to Guan Yuanbai asking what time he would be back.

Guan Yuanbai didn't reply, but his assistant, He Zhi, called her instead, saying he was in a meeting and would be home by 6 p.m.

Zhou Fanfan figured there was still plenty of time, so she turned on the TV and watched a variety show until 5 p.m. Then she got up to start preparing dinner. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"He's back early?" Zhou Fanfan muttered to herself as she went to open the door.

"How did you—" The words caught in her throat as the door opened. She stared at the person in front of her, her mind going completely blank.

"Huh?" Guan Zhiyi, standing at the door, was also stunned. She exchanged a look with Qi Chengyan beside her, then looked back at Zhou Fanfan, her eyes full of surprise and astonishment. "Fanfan, you're at brother's place today."

Fan... Fanfan?!

Zhou Fanfan swore she had never thought her name could sound so wonderful!

Zhou Fanfan opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. In the end, she could only blush and nod.

After the initial surprise, Guan Zhiyi was now delighted. She said, "I just came to drop something off for brother; Grandma sent it. Is it... convenient to come in now?"

"Convenient, convenient, of course! He's not home!"

Guan Zhiyi and Qi Chengyan exchanged another look. Given Guan Yuanbai's personality, letting someone in when he wasn't even home... seemed like their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds!

Zhou Fanfan had no idea what these two were thinking. Her brain was completely shut down. Although she had fantasized about possibly running into Guan Zhiyi, she never expected it to happen so soon, and so suddenly!

"W-would you like some juice?"

Qi Chengyan had gone to the kitchen to put away the food they brought from home, leaving just the two of them in the living room. Zhou Fanfan asked nervously.

"It's fine, water is okay for me."

Guan Zhiyi poured herself a glass of water. Only then did Zhou Fanfan remember that this was her brother's house; she was much more familiar with it! Strictly speaking, she was the outsider here!

Zhou Fanfan felt a bit embarrassed, but watching Guan Zhiyi drink water reminded her of something more important.

"I bought Willow Brand orange juice," she mentioned.

Willow Brand was Guan Zhiyi's favorite orange juice, as her fans had discovered from a certain reality show before.

Guan Zhiyi quickly realized this too, and her look towards Zhou Fanfan held sincere gratitude. "I need to watch my weight recently, so I'll skip the sugary drinks. But thank you."

"Watch your weight?" Zhou Fanfan frowned. "You're so slim already. Your health is more important."

Guan Zhiyi smiled and said, "I'm joining a new production team next month. The role requires a leaner look, so I still need to control my weight."

Zhou Fanfan knew which production she was joining next month, a period drama with a very good team.

But she still felt heartache for her baby girl, already so slender, having to watch her diet!!!

"But... this orange juice, you bought it and keep it here?" Guan Zhiyi asked.

"Yeah, I ordered it last time. But Mr. Guan doesn't seem to like it much... Well, it doesn't matter. You can have it when you come over later," Zhou Fanfan said earnestly.

Last time.

Guan Zhiyi caught the keyword. It seemed their relationship had gotten close quite early on. She smiled. "Okay."

Zhou Fanfan forcibly suppressed her excitement. She was just about to say something more when Qi Chengyan came out from the kitchen after putting the things away, so she didn't speak further.

"Did my Brother say when he'd be back?"

Zhou Fanfan checked the time and replied, "Earlier, he said 6 p.m."

Guan Zhiyi nodded and said, "I didn't expect your progress to be so fast. I thought—"

"What progress? No, no!" Zhou Fanfan realized the misunderstanding and quickly shook her head. "We're not together! I'm just here today to make dinner for him!"

Guan Zhiyi paused, her smile becoming even more knowing.

Zhou Fanfan swallowed and said, "It's really just making dinner. I... I owe him an apology for something, so I promised to treat him to meals."

Although stated vaguely, both Guan Zhiyi and Qi Chengyan understood immediately.

They were both aware of the previous misunderstanding between them.

But it was strange. Based on their understanding of Guan Yuanbai, he wasn't the type to be so petty, nor would he use such a peculiar method to make someone apologize.

Guan Zhiyi asked suspiciously, "He asked you to cook him one meal as an apology?"

Zhou Fanfan shook her head. "Not one."

"?"

"It's a hundred meals," Zhou Fanfan said seriously. "But there are only ninety-five left now, today is the fifth."

"…………"

---

Guan Yuanbai finished his meeting a little after 5 p.m., earlier than expected. So after leaving the conference room, he drove straight home.

On the way, Yan Chenghuai and Song Li called to ask if he wanted to go out for dinner. He refused. After a busy day, he just wanted to go home and rest. Besides, there was food at home; why would he go out?

When he opened the door at home, he had already imagined Zhou Fanfan hearing the noise and coming out of the kitchen, as had been the case the past few days.

But today, as soon as he pushed the door open, he spotted two other pairs of shoes in the entryway.

"You're back." Qi Chengyan was sitting there drinking tea, a faint, knowing smile on his face.

Next to him was Guan Zhiyi, looking at him with a strange expression.

And next to her was Zhou Fanfan, sitting alone on a single armchair. When he entered, she had been talking to his sister, her eyes sparkling, looking extremely nervous.

She hadn't even noticed him come in until Qi Chengyan spoke, and only then did she seem to spare a moment to turn her head.

Seeing it was him, she suddenly remembered something and stood up. "Oh no, I forgot to cook."

With Guan Zhiyi here, Guan Yuanbai had already anticipated this outcome and didn't mind. He looked at the other two. "What are you two doing here?"

Dissatisfaction was evident in his tone.

Qi Chengyan raised an eyebrow and said with a laugh, "You seem rather unhappy to see us here."

Guan Yuanbai's hands paused slightly as he was loosening his tie, then continued, taking it off and casually placing it aside. "I was just asking. Do you need something?"

Qi Chengyan said, "Nothing urgent. We just came from Grandma's and brought you some food. It's already in the fridge."

"Oh. Thanks."

Guan Zhiyi said, "We didn't know Fanfan was here when we arrived earlier, so we sat and chatted with her for a bit. Since you're back, we'll get going."

Guan Zhiyi stood up.

Zhou Fanfan also stood up. "Okay, Zhiyi, bye then."

"Mhm, see you next time." Guan Zhiyi took two steps, then suddenly turned back. "Fanfan, how about we exchange WeChat?"

"Ah?"

"If you ever have any problems here that you can't solve, you can ask me. I'm right next door... Well, I'm here when I'm not working."

Zhou Fanfan was stunned. This was so overwhelmingly exciting that she didn't know how to react at the moment.

It wasn't until Guan Zhiyi asked again if they could exchange WeChat that she stiffly, numbly, took out her phone. "Sure..."

Guan Zhiyi scanned her WeChat QR code, said goodbye again, and then left with Qi Chengyan.

Zhou Fanfan slowly looked down at her phone, still on the QR code interface. She pressed the back button and saw a '+1' in the new friends list.

Guan Yuanbai saw Guan Zhiyi and Qi Chengyan out, shutting the door firmly in the face of their meaningful looks.

He turned back to the living room and found Zhou Fanfan still standing there, staring motionlessly at her phone.

"What are you spacing out for?"

Zhou Fanfan slowly turned to look at him. "She... she, she asked to add me on WeChat."

Guan Yuanbai let out a breath, not wanting to engage with that statement. He asked, "What do you want to eat tonight?"

But Zhou Fanfan completely filtered out his words, her face a mix of disbelief and extreme excitement. "Yiyi added me on WeChat! Is that appropriate? Is it okay? Can I add her?"

Then her expression turned conflicted. "But shouldn't fans and idols maintain some distance?... But if I add her and don't bother her, it should be fine, right?! Besides, she's the one who asked me to add her; it would be rude not to!"

She frowned one moment and grinned the next, talking to herself. "I'll just add her. I won't tell anyone anyway."

Guan Yuanbai watched her soliloquy with an expressionless face, then watched her cautiously tap 'Accept'.

Immediately, a little cat avatar appeared in her WeChat contacts—it was Guan Zhiyi's.

"I added her! Mr. Guan, I added her! It's really Yiyi's WeChat! This avatar is so cute!"

She was overjoyed, so excited that she even grabbed the sleeve of his arm, as if eager to share this amazing news with someone.

Guan Yuanbai had initially been unmoved, even finding it baffling. But seeing her look up at him, her face full of smiles, he found himself unconsciously smiling slightly too.

"Is it really that happy of an event?" he asked, amused.

Zhou Fanfan nodded vigorously. "Yes! So happy!"

"It's just adding a WeChat contact."

"But WeChat is more private! Adding it means we can be considered friends!"

Due to work, Guan Yuanbai had added too many people on Wechat; he never considered adding someone on WeChat meant they were friends.

He glanced down at Zhou Fanfan's hand clutching his sleeve and suddenly remembered something. "Zhou Fanfan, have you never actually added me on WeChat?"

---

Author's Note:

Yes, they've been communicating via text all along…

---

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