Chapter 24: Inexperienced Yet Fond of Play

"Then just call me when you're ready," Bai Renzong said, intending to return to his editing.

"Hey! You..." Han Jiayi called after him, hesitating, her expression torn between protest and silence, as if she was begging him to stay downstairs with her but was too embarrassed to voice it.

"All right, all right..." Seeing how adorable she looked, Bai Renzong sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'll stay downstairs with you."

What could he do? When someone is this charming, they can do whatever they please.

"It's not that I want you to keep me company! It's, um..." Han Jiayi pondered, her beautiful eyes flickering mischievously. "It's... well, this way, you get to eat the midnight snack the moment it comes out of the oven. So... that's it!"

"At the end of the day, you can't even be bothered to come up with an excuse, can you?" Bai Renzong thought to himself, his brow furrowing.

Actually, deep down, one voice urged him to expose her and watch her flustered, embarrassed reaction—a cuteness all its own—while another simply cheered, "Go for it!" In the end, Bai Renzong's innate kindness convinced him to let it go.

The two of them went downstairs, and Han Jiayi began preparing the midnight snack.

"Tsk, this girl..." Sitting in the living room, Bai Renzong watched Han Jiayi bustling around the kitchen and couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation.

To be honest, Han Jiayi was truly adorable, and her stubborn streak made her even more so.

Now that she had company, her courage grew; she flitted about the kitchen like a lively little sparrow.

"So, which one did you watch?" Bai Renzong asked, resting his chin in his hand.

"The Grudge..." Han Jiayi's movements faltered for a moment, then she muttered in a small voice.

Bai Renzong simply nodded, saying nothing.

"I'm not scared," Han Jiayi insisted, her gaze darting about, still putting up a front. But inwardly she cursed her own bad judgment: In the past, the house had always been lively with family around—her cousins, everyone together—so watching horror movies never felt so daunting.

But now?

Bai Renzong would shut himself away in his room for hours, and with this being a duplex penthouse, one glance outside revealed only darkness. In this three-hundred-square-meter apartment, it felt as if she were the only soul left, silence weighing heavily...

Not to mention watching a horror movie—this atmosphere was unsettling even without one.

Soon, Han Jiayi brought up a plate of pizza, using the last of the pineapple as toppings.

"Did you know? Only Hawaiian pizza comes with pineapple," Han Jiayi explained with a smile as she sliced the pizza. "If you ask for pineapple on pizza in Italy, it's considered quite rude—almost like flipping someone the middle finger."

"Is it really that serious?" Bai Renzong asked, skeptical.

"Of course it is! They're very particular about these things," Han Jiayi replied with a giggle. "That's why pineapple-topped pizza is called 'Hawaiian pizza.' Although, funnily enough, Hawaiian pizza wasn't invented in Hawaii but in Canada. They just used canned pineapple called 'Hawaiian.' In reality, pizza itself is a knock-off of our ancient scallion pancakes. Isn't that interesting?"

"That's what you call cultural export," Bai Renzong lamented. "If our country had realized the importance of cultural export sooner, French cuisine wouldn't be the only internationally recognized cuisine now."

"Exactly. When it comes to affordable ingredients, we have frying, stir-frying, steaming, pan-searing, braising, stewing—dozens of cooking techniques. For luxury ingredients, we have specialized methods for everything that flies, swims, or crawls. Take Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, for example, with its rich combination of luxury ingredients—Western cuisine can't compare in that regard. It's just that we lack the publicity," Han Jiayi agreed.

"Ah," Bai Renzong sighed. "It's been three or four days since I met you, and this is finally our first proper conversation—all thanks to a horror movie."

"Well, if you speak to me properly, I'll naturally respond in kind," Han Jiayi muttered defensively, biting into her pizza. As the cheese stretched into a long string, she suddenly snapped back to herself, exclaiming, "It's not because of the horror movie!"

"Of course, you're not scared at all," Bai Renzong said with mock pity. "Anyway, I can't stay with you tonight."

Han Jiayi's heart skipped a beat: her bedroom was on the first floor, and once Bai Renzong returned upstairs, she'd be alone down there.

"I remember when I was little and got scared by horror movies, I would hide under my blanket—it felt so safe..." Bai Renzong mused aloud. "Too bad it's summer; no blankets for me now."

That comment shattered Han Jiayi's last defense. The thought of being alone in her room later filled her with dread.

"Well then! Now that I'm full, time to get back to work and then sleep," Bai Renzong said contentedly. But Han Jiayi quickly grabbed his wrist. "Wait a minute! How can I stop being scared so quickly?"

Bai Renzong glanced back at her, an expression that clearly said, "So you admit it now?"

"You..." Han Jiayi started, a bit annoyed, but then a bright idea suddenly struck her. The look of inspiration was positively endearing—her brows arched, and her big, beautiful eyes sparkled with light.

Bai Renzong was utterly charmed by her sudden inspiration and couldn't bear to interrupt.

"I haven't watched Dead Silence yet. How about we watch it together?" Han Jiayi asked enthusiastically.

"What kind of logic is that?" Bai Renzong frowned, baffled. "It's like soothing your mouth after eating something super spicy by eating something mildly spicy?"

"Oh, come on! It's unhealthy to go to sleep right after eating a midnight snack!" Han Jiayi replied. "Besides, if we watch another movie, maybe it'll overwrite the memory of the last one!"

"I refuse," Bai Renzong said sternly. "It's already after eleven. If we watch another movie, when will we ever finish?"

"But..." Han Jiayi frowned prettily, her mind working furiously for an excuse. After a while, she finally found one: "Aren't we on a blind date? Watching a movie together is part of the process, isn't it?"

Now she remembers the blind date, Bai Renzong thought, folding his arms and frowning.

Han Jiayi's reasoning was simple: if they watched a horror movie together, they'd both be scared, and that would solve her problem.

She hadn't considered that both of them being frightened wouldn't actually make her feel safer. She just thought that if they were scared together, at least she wouldn't be left alone—she could always seek comfort from him.

"Fine," Bai Renzong relented with a sigh. Although his sleep schedule had been fixed recently, staying up late once in a while wouldn't hurt. If they finished the movie after one in the morning, he could always finish his video work the next day.

"Hehe, come on, come on!" Han Jiayi said happily, plopping down on the sofa, queuing up the pre-downloaded movie on the TV, and turning off the lights.

"Honestly, you say you’re scared but you insist on watching with the lights off! You're hopeless," Bai Renzong scolded, exasperated.

"Watching a horror movie with the lights on ruins the atmosphere!" Han Jiayi retorted, waving her hand impatiently to silence him. "Enough, enough, the movie's starting!"