Independence

The man had long and pretty fingers. Miranda glanced at his cart to find that it was filled with ready–to–eat food. Her gaze trailed upward to find that he happened to be looking down at her too.

She smiled. “Don’t tell me you’re having this for dinner.

“Heh, sometimes I get home too late and don’t want to order takeout, so I just have something simple,” Paul said indifferently.

“According to my calculations, this has enough protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates a person needs in one day.”

Miranda couldn’t help but snicker when she heard his serious explanation. “It seems like you’ve taken every factor into account based on scientific calculations and precision, Dr. Jefferson. However, between a piping hot meal and those things, which you choose?”

Que would

neat instant food over

a

Paul fell silent. The answer was obvious–who would choose to

hot meal?

Miranda smiled slyly. “Leave dinner to me. In return, you just have to do me a favor.”

Half an hour later, Paul was staring at the fish on the chopping board. “This looks

difficult to handle.‘

Miranda let out a quiet cough. “Actually, the supermarket usually has a fish cutter, but it was so busy today that he could only do a simple job. If you-” Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Paul rolled up his sleeves and took off his glasses. “I’ll try.”

Miranda nodded. “Alright.”

Garlic herb salmon tasted better when the salmon was sliced. However, it was rather troublesome to slice raw fish, so she wanted to slack off a little.

But as she gazed at Paul standing in the kitchen, she suddenly felt a little guilty. Was she wasting the talents of a physicist on slicing fish?

Five minutes later, she was staring at a row of evenly sliced fish. She had to swallow her words. She hadn’t wasted his talents. Clearly, he was a natural.

“Is this okay?” Paul asked, wiping his hands.

“It’s fine. Your knife skills are comparable to a professional’s.”

Paul laughed at her remark. “I’ve never cooked before, but I learned how to dissect when

Twas doing my undergrad in biology, so.. He chuckled.

Since Miranda had bought the salmon, Paul returned the favor by getting some meat and vegetables. The two of them then enjoyed the baked fish and vegetables.

After dinner, Paul went to do the dishes of his own volition.

After they were nearly done cleaning up, Miranda said, “It’s getting late. You should head back first. I’ll take out the trash.

Paul had the habit of going on night jogs every day, but it was already really late. Since it was nearly midnight, he didn’t stay much longer.

Miranda had taken a long nap in the evening, so she thought she would have a hard time falling asleep. Unexpectedly, after she bid Paul goodbye, she began to feel drowsy and fell into a dreamless slumber.

The next morning, she woke up before 7:00 am.

“I’m so envious. You get to study at the library every day, then go straight to bed after you get home, unlike me. I have to go on a date bright and early in the morning.”

On Miranda’s screen, Winter was doing her makeup in front of a mirror. Thinking about the guy she’d been set up with, whom she’d only met a few times, she couldn’t muster any excitement. Even her hands moved lazily.

“You’re envious of me? Why don’t you come to the library with me to study today?” Hearing the irritation in Winter’s voice, Miranda intentionally changed the subject.

Winter pouted. “Forget it. I’d rather go on this date.”

She wasn’t much of a scholar. It had been a pleasant surprise that she’d managed to get into Bedford College. Having one scholar–Paul–in her family was enough. She wasn’t going to try to be another one.

“Oh, right, I’ve finished editing the photos we took on our outing the other day. I’ll send them to you.”

“Okay.”

Miranda’s phone beeped as Winter sent her the photos over Whatsapp.

Miranda scrolled through them. In some photos, she was wearing a fox headband while Winter pinched her cheeks. Her expression looked pitiful and innocent.