Seven

 It was very hot, and as their skin touched, a faint scent of cologne and a hint of dryness emanated from the man. Su Hao’s hat fell off, and her long hair cascaded down. Under the sunlight, her skin was as smooth as jade. She lifted her head, her gaze accidentally meeting Zhou Yang’s eyes. She quickly pushed him away and barely managed to steady herself.

Su Xi saw this, stood in a daze for a second, then quickly stepped forward, pulling Su Hao with her. Su Hao adjusted her clothes and said, "Thank you."

Zhou Yang withdrew his hand, bent down to pick up the hat from the ground, and smiled, "You're welcome."

As he spoke, he casually placed the hat back on her head. His long, narrow eyes swept over her slender waist unintentionally. He then picked up two baskets of strawberries, glanced at them, and said, "Mom, you're quite fast. Did you use four hands to pick these?"

"Ugh, what are you talking about?" Su Xi said, linking arms with Su Hao and following behind. Su Hao glanced at the baskets out of the corner of her eye and saw that Su Xi had indeed picked a lot, filling one basket to the brim.

In comparison, Su Hao’s basket was pitifully sparse. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she was about to say something when a woman's voice came from not far away.

"Su Xi! You're stealing my strawberries again!!!"

Turning her head, she saw a woman in a cheongsam just getting out of a car, leaning against the door and jumping up and down angrily. Su Xi exclaimed and quickly walked a few steps forward, pushing Zhou Yang's back, "Go, hurry up, she's noticed..."

Zhou Yang snorted, speeding up slightly. Seeing he was too slow, Su Xi dragged Su Hao along to squeeze past him. Because there were strawberry fields on both sides and only a narrow path in the middle, Su Hao had no choice but to follow Su Xi. She tried to keep her distance from Zhou Yang, but in the rush, her hand brushed against his large one.

She pulled her hand back and instinctively rubbed it against her clothes as if to clean it, then linked arms with Su Xi again.

Zhou Yang noticed this and raised an eyebrow.

Two cars were parked ahead, one of which Su Xi had driven. She opened the door, and Su Hao got in. Su Xi then turned around to get into the driver's seat. Amid the shouting of Aunt Li not far away, she quickly started the car, reversed, and drove off. Outside the car window, the tall man only reached the side of the car, placed the two baskets of strawberries in the back seat, and then walked towards the driver's seat. He wasn't in a hurry to leave, looking down at his phone for a few moments before opening the door and getting in.

After a while, the car followed the BMW in front to arrive at the Zhou family home.

The temperature inside the car was vastly different from outside. After enjoying the air conditioning for a while, Su Xi took Su Hao out of the car and entered the house, which was very cool. Su Xi pulled Su Hao to sit on the sofa, lazily stretched out, and placed her hat down. Su Hao casually poured her a cup of tea.

Su Hao had heard her mother, Cheng Ling, talk about her relationship with Su Xi before. Su Xi had always been lively, and during their university years, her mother and Su Xi were complementary in temperament—one active, one quiet—becoming the best of friends despite their vastly different family backgrounds.

Over the years, the only friend her mother had kept was Su Xi.

"Hao Hao, you're as pleasant as your mom," Su Xi said, taking a sip of tea and recalling Cheng Ling because of Su Hao’s actions.

Su Hao smiled and poured herself a cup of tea. Just as she brought it to her lips, Zhou Yang came in carrying two baskets of strawberries. Feeling a bit warm, he tugged at his shirt collar, placed the baskets on the cabinet, took out a cigarette, and bit it at an angle. Glancing at the two on the sofa, he said, "I'm going to the study."

"Go ahead," Su Xi waved him off.

Su Hao quietly drank her tea.

Zhou Yang’s figure disappeared at the stairway.

Su Xi asked Su Hao, "What do you think we should make with the strawberries?"

Su Hao glanced at the beautiful baskets, hesitated, and said, "Strawberry cake?"

"Think of another one."

Su Hao thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with a new idea, "Strawberry pancakes?"

"How do you make those?" Su Xi's interest was piqued.

Su Hao looked at the time, stood up, and said, "I'll make them, and you can watch, Auntie."

"Alright."

Su Xi got up and grabbed the strawberry baskets. Since the housekeeper was on leave today, no one else was home. Su Hao went into the kitchen, listing the ingredients she needed, which Su Xi prepared for her. Su Hao put on an apron, stood at the counter, and cracked an egg, using only half of the egg yolk.

She often cooked and made various pastries, so she was quick at handling it. Su Xi stood beside her with her hands on her hips, watching intently without blinking. Su Hao knew that besides lemon chicken feet, Su Xi also liked strawberries, so she was also preparing some strawberry milkshakes. While making them, she explained the steps to Su Xi, and they chatted as they worked.

Footsteps came from the stairs. The tall man rubbed his forehead, walked to the living room, bent down to pour a cup of tea, then unbuttoned his cuffs, his fingers playing with the triangular succulent on the cabinet. The scent of tea wafted through the air. Zhou Yang glanced casually, seeing the moving figure in the kitchen, and looked a few more times before downing the strong tea in one gulp.

Just as he put the teacup down, Su Xi’s voice came from inside the kitchen: “Hey, Zhou Yang, come in and take these back.”

Turning his head, he saw Su Xi dropping all sorts of things like cake wrappers from the cabinet. Zhou Yang clicked his tongue, walked over, and headed to the kitchen.

An oil brush was missing. Su Xi rarely did any cooking, so she was searching frantically. When she opened the overhead storage cabinet, things came tumbling down. As Zhou Yang came in, he raised his arm, with his shirt sleeves rolled up, to hold the cabinet door.

Standing on tiptoe, Su Xi hurriedly stuffed things back into the cabinet, mumbling, “This is too messy.”

Su Hao, with flour-covered hands, couldn’t help, standing there with her hands raised and staring blankly. She even got cake wrappers stuck to her face. Zhou Yang saw this and mocked, “You guys are really clumsy.”

Saying this, he casually lifted the cake wrapper off Su Hao’s face. A bit of flour had stuck to the corner of her eye. She blinked, her eyes slightly watery, glanced at him once, and then turned back to continue working with the flour.

Zhou Yang: "..."

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