“Hey~ Pretty Lady, are you coming or not? Give me a response.”
Jiang Heng didn't have many thoughts, he really just wanted to invite Lucy to dinner.
“I'll come! But are you really going to cook?” Ultimately, Lucy didn't choose to refuse.
However, after agreeing, Lucy felt a little uneasy. How could she so easily agree to go to a man's place whom she had only met for less than a day?
Could it be that she's been living too comfortably in Night City, causing her vigilance to decline?
Lucy couldn't figure it out, but she just didn't want to reject Jiang Heng. Maybe she was truly craving a friend deep down.
…
Jiang Heng: “Of course, just wait and see. This chef's skills are top-notch!”
“Heh, don't tell me you'll end up with something inedible and have to order takeout.”
Jiang Heng: “That's impossible!”
Lucy: “Who knows?”
“Alright, I'm not going to banter with you anymore. Get over here quickly, you should know where my place is, right?” It was almost noon, Jiang Heng didn't intend to haggle with Lucy any longer.
“I know.” Lucy didn't deny, she answered.
Why would Jiang Heng assume Lucy knew his address? Because since she could hack his phone, it was naturally not difficult to figure out where his phone was.
“Good, hurry up. If you come too late, I won't save you any.”
“…”
The two chatted for a few more sentences and then ended the call.
After hanging up, Jiang Heng went to wash up and get dressed.
…
At noon, Jiang Heng was busy in the kitchen when the top floor elevator door suddenly opened, revealing Lucy.
As soon as she got off the elevator, Lucy saw the open apartment door.
Because Jiang Heng's apartment was a penthouse on the top floor, there were no other residents on this floor besides him. Knowing that Lucy was coming, Jiang Heng didn't lock the door.
Lucy walked to the door, looked at the open door, and couldn't help but mutter, "This guy is so careless, he doesn't even lock his door?"
After hesitating at the door for a moment, Lucy stepped inside, then reached out and closed the door, locking it as well.
As soon as she entered, Lucy heard a "da da da" sound of chopping, following the sound towards the kitchen. Before she even reached the kitchen door, she smelled a very alluring aroma of food.
Just by smelling this scent, Lucy's appetite was already aroused. “This guy didn’t lie.”
With that thought, Lucy quickened her pace. When she reached the kitchen door and saw the scene inside, she was completely stunned.
Inside the kitchen, Jiang Heng, wearing an apron, was busy. He was washing vegetables one moment, chopping vegetables the next, and then checking the meat soup simmering in the pot.
It was a simple, everyday scene, yet it touched Lucy deeply. She had never imagined that there would be a man in this world who would cook for her, like a husband waiting for his wife to come home.
Not to mention imagining, she hadn't even fantasized about it.
Lucy's childhood was spent in the dark Arasaka Corporation. Every day, besides tedious and grueling training, there was nothing else.
After escaping from the Arasaka Corporation, Lucy traveled around the world, visiting many cities, but she never stayed for too long, because the longer she stayed, the greater the risk of being discovered by the Arasaka Corporation.
With such experiences, Lucy never fantasized about family, friends, or love. She had always been alone.
…
Lucy looked at Jiang Heng busying himself in the kitchen, her gaze lost in thought. Jiang Heng seemed to sense it and turned his head to see Lucy. A smile spread across his face as he said, “You're here? Go sit down for a while. You can watch TV. The food will be ready soon, at most half an hour.”
This ordinary smile, however, was like the sunshine of March, dispelling the lingering coldness of early spring and bringing a touch of warmth to the bare trees about to sprout.
“Okay, okay.”
After a while, Lucy hurriedly responded and quickly turned around, walking to the living room. She sat down on the sofa like a puppet.
Lucy didn't know what was wrong with her. Her heart was beating so fast!
Jiang Heng didn't notice Lucy's unusual behavior. He continued to focus on his food.
To capture this girl's stomach, Jiang Heng pulled out his signature dishes today!
Of course, they weren't fancy dishes, just some simple home-cooked meals.
After a while, the main dishes were almost ready, so he immediately brought the dishes to the dining table.
Seeing Lucy sitting on the sofa, Jiang Heng immediately called out, “Lucy, come help me bring the dishes.”
“Oh, oh, I'm coming.” Lucy quickly stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
“Wow, what are these dishes, they smell so good. Wait, are these really fresh vegetables and animal meat?”
Lucy, who had been lost in her own thoughts, immediately put them aside when she saw the food. But then she realized a new problem, and looked at Jiang Heng with surprise.
The reason Lucy asked that was because it was rare to find fresh vegetables and freshly slaughtered animal meat in Night City. Let alone freshly slaughtered meat, even frozen meat was hard to come by because Night City began popularizing synthetic food back in 2020.