"Here, eat up." Su Chen placed a piece onto the plate in front of Ling Shuyu.

"Is it ready already?"

The young woman, who had been lost in thought, turned back in surprise. ’It’s only been on the grill for such a short time!’

"It is. The meat is cut very thin, so it’ll get tough if we grill it any longer. It’s ready to eat now."

Su Chen put another slice on the grill for himself. A moment ago, while pressing down on the meat, he had intentionally focused on the fatty parts.

Now, where the fat met the lean meat, the raised edges were sizzling and slightly charred. The fatty sections had shrunk a bit, a sign that most of the grease had been rendered out.

Once dipped in Su Chen’s homemade sauce, the aroma of the grilled meat was completely transformed!

Su Chen popped an entire slice of pork belly into his mouth.

The flavor of the seasonings exploded in his mouth. The meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and with each bite, his mouth filled with savory juices.

’Having a bite like this at ten PM... who needs a new bike or a fancy watch!’

After swallowing the meat, Su Chen opened a bottle of beer with a sharp PSSHT.

"Want some?"

Ling Shuyu hesitated for a moment. "I’ll... have some!"

He poured the beer into the glasses in front of them; one bottle filled both perfectly.

"Cheers! GLUG GLUG GLUG!" Su Chen tilted his head back and downed the whole glass in one go. Ling Shuyu watched, dumbfounded, before mimicking him, tilting her head back and gulping it all down.

"Ahh~~ That really hits the spot!"

He placed a few more slices of meat in the center of the grill. "You can’t rush barbecue. You have to eat it slowly. If you cook too much at once, the pieces at the end will dry out. So, how is it?"

Ling Shuyu nodded gently. "It’s delicious."

Ling Shuyu rarely drank, so after just one glass of beer, she could already feel her face flush.

She took another bite of the grilled meat and, without thinking, picked up her glass and downed it again.

In total, she’d had three glasses.

Ling Shuyu sighed. "I’m so jealous of people who know how to cook."

"Oh?" Su Chen glanced up at her as he pressed down on the grilling meat. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, with cooking, if you do a good job, customers praise you and say it’s delicious! It’s different for us in the design world. What’s the point of doing a good job..."

’I see.’

Su Chen sighed. ’The failed project must be why she’s like this. Three glasses of beer, and she’s finally opening up.’

"That’s true," Su Chen said. "But whether you’re cooking or designing, if it’s something you truly love, then success and failure aren’t that important, right? At least you’re happy while you’re doing it. And being happy is what matters most." These words came straight from his heart.

After his inexplicable transmigration, he had gone from being utterly lost to finally having a sense of direction in his life.

On the surface, it looked like Su Chen was always scheming for ways to revive his company, but in reality, cooking itself was something he was truly passionate about.

’What could be better than being able to do what you love?’

His words sent Ling Shuyu back into a contemplative silence. She subconsciously picked at the grilled meat Su Chen had placed on her plate, occasionally raising her glass to drain it.

If Su Chen hadn’t been continuously receiving notifications like [Delicious Points +999 from Ling Shuyu], he would have thought she was completely wasted.

In reality, Ling Shuyu was mulling over a single question.

’Is being happy what matters most?’

Growing up, it seemed she had never once stopped to consider what she truly liked, or what would actually make her happy.

All she knew was that no matter what she did, she had to be the absolute best.

After a long time—so long that Su Chen had already finished all his meat—only eight button mushrooms remained on the grill, each with a small pat of light cream nestled inside its cap.

"Boss Su, if I wanted to learn how to cook, would you teach me?"

’Huh?’

Su Chen had already put away about four large bottles of beer and was feeling a bit buzzed himself. "Of course! My employees learn how to cook every day!"

"Then how about I come work at your company?"

"Whoa, a big-shot like Director Ling? I could never afford you!"

"Just pay me in food."

"Let me see... We have been a little short-staffed lately. Ah, the mushrooms are ready."

Seeing Ling Shuyu raise her chopsticks to grab one, Su Chen quickly stopped her. "With these, you’re just supposed to drink the juice inside the cap. The mushroom itself isn’t that great to eat."

"Oh..."

After five or six minutes on the grill, the cap of each mushroom had filled with savory juice. If Su Chen hadn’t said anything, Ling Shuyu would have definitely dipped one in sauce and eaten it whole.

She carefully lifted a mushroom with her chopsticks and tipped it to her lips, drinking the juice from the cap as if it were a tiny cup.

The moment the mushroom juice touched her tongue, it washed away the rich, salty aftertaste of the grilled meat, cleansing her palate completely.

Pure savoriness!

Unlike the savoriness of fish, this was like the taste of nature itself—incredibly refreshing!

As she swallowed the juice, it left behind a faint, creamy fragrance.

’So good!’

[Delicious Points +999 from Ling Shuyu]

’You’re a walking EXP farm...’

From this meal alone, Ling Shuyu had provided him with nearly ten thousand experience points!

"Alright, that was supposed to be my solo barbecue dinner, but I’ve generously shared it with you for free." Su Chen got up from his seat.

Ling Shuyu stood up as well. They stood side-by-side, gazing out the window at the nightscape. It was, admittedly, a beautiful view.

’Hm?’

Ling Shuyu was a little dizzy from the alcohol, but she wasn’t drunk. Looking out from Boss Su’s apartment, her eyes fixed on a lit room in the distance.

’Looks like I left the lights on in my office...’

Then she remembered that other night she’d worked late. She had been blissfully eating the pickled fish and eggplant Boss Su had delivered, while some "pervert" in the opposite building was sneakily taking photos of her with his phone.