Why are you looking for me when you’re hungry!
What do you take me for... What should I cook for him?
Kawashima Miki lay on the carpet, hooked out the slipper that had slipped under the sofa, and trotted into the kitchen with a cheerful step.
She took a yellow apron full of life off the hook at the kitchen entrance, gently wrapped it around, and patiently tied a pretty bow knot on her waist with its straps.
♪ I want to fall asleep by your side
♪ No matter where it is
Humming a song, Kawashima Miki patrolled her fridge like surveying her territory, arranging the cooking sequence in her mind.
Plain rice or fried rice?
Fried rice tastes better... So, she made fried rice with ham, mushrooms, and brown rice.
She made teriyaki ribs, fried a sturgeon, boiled broccoli with curry, and of course, didn’t forget a bowl of delicious miso soup with tofu and seaweed.
As the sound of gas stove flames burned, the light shining through the window gradually dimmed; evening was approaching.
Staring at the steaming pot lid, Kawashima Miki felt a bit strange.
Why... does cooking make me so happy, it’s so unusual, things are starting to get out of hand...
Her phone in the pocket buzzed again.
Kawashima Miki quickly took it out, and upon seeing an unfamiliar number, the smile that was just forming on her face instantly disappeared.
"Hello?" she asked formally.
"Is this Ms. Kawashima?"
"There are flowers for you, please come down to receive them."
"Yes, Mr. Fujiwara..."
"Please help me, ahem."
Swallowing back the words "throw them away," Kawashima Miki’s tone softened: "I’ll be down right away, please wait a moment."
Putting away her phone, she threw on a light sweater and put on her shoes to go to the first floor.
In the luxurious lobby of the Empress, a delivery man stood long at the reception counter, with a large box on his back. The receptionist was chatting with him.
"Are those flowers for Miki?"
"The name on the address is Kawashima Miki."
"Impossible!" a girl said incredulously, turning to confirm with a colleague, "When did Miki start dating?"
"Maybe they’re from a pursuer," the colleague uncertainly replied.
"Hey hey, have you forgotten..." another colleague leaned over gossipy and said, "During Golden Week, Miki personally served a young boy, and afterward, she couldn’t even walk and had to be princess-carried from the third floor to the ninth."
Kawashima Miki’s face turned red in an instant.
When did I ever have an afterward with him!!!
"Ahem," she lightly cleared her throat, feigning sternness, scolding toward the reception desk, "No chatting during work hours!"
The girls who were eagerly gossiping moments ago were now too frightened to breathe. Even the delivery man was stunned by her aura, dumbstruck, hesitating to confirm this suddenly cold and glamorous woman’s identity.
"The flowers are mine," Kawashima Miki said to him.
At this moment, she returned to her pre-Fujiwara Lin Ye demeanor, the kind of stern, high-cold woman boss style.
"Alright, alright," the delivery man hurriedly opened the box, taking out a bouquet, "Please sign for them, it’s 33 red roses with white baby’s breath."
A large bunch of vibrant red roses came into view, accented with white baby’s breath.
The girls at the reception desk exclaimed first.
Kawashima Miki’s heart raced as she tried to maintain her composure while accepting the bouquet.
In the ten years in Tokyo, she’s been quite popular with men, receiving as many proposals as the lights on the Sky Tree, but this is the first time she’s actually accepted flowers from a man.
The girls at the reception desk stretched their necks to see her better.
"Are you in love..." someone asked.
"No, no, ahem..." Kawashima Miki blushing, signed the delivery slip quickly, then turned to the girls at the reception desk, "Stop discussing this matter!"
"Oh! Miki is blushing!"
Perhaps seeing her slightly bashful expression now, the girls laughed.
At times like these, a woman won’t hold a grudge over others’ envious words, so they seized this rare opportunity to tease their usually stern boss.
"It must be from a boyfriend!"
"So nice, I wish I could get roses from a boyfriend too!"
"Wake up, you don’t even have a boyfriend."
The girls at the reception desk laughed collectively.
"Ah... this is so embarrassing!" Kawashima Miki thought as she smelled the flowers, that little devil is so nasty, he must have wanted to embarrass me in front of so many people by sending the flowers to the lobby.
Otherwise, why didn’t he bring them himself!
Standing at the entrance for a moment, Fujiwara Reya started walking toward her.
Under the bright and splendid lobby lights, her smooth and beautiful oval face became even more vivid and radiant against the red petals.
Smelling the fragrance, Kawashima Miki didn’t notice him approaching.
At this moment, she was tangled in a strange, mixed emotion, one side warning herself not to easily give in, the other genuinely feeling happy.
Suddenly, Kawashima Miki was startled, her body stiffened.
Her voice trembled, tongue-tied.
"Ah—" the reception desk erupted.
Watching their high-and-mighty boss held in the embrace of a young man as beautiful as if he walked out of a painting, the young girls’ eyes glowed with pink admiration.