After that conflict earlier in the day, for the first time in the four months of the three's cohabitation the protagonist did not make dinner.

Not that the two guilty parties had expected him to.

In his place, Xue Yang nonchalantly took up the role.

He wasn't some hidden master. That would be totally unrealistic as he had been kidnapped when he was merely four, and then he was forced into prostitution for the remainder of his life until just recently. And even if he had been older when he was kidnapped, he was the only heir to the top family in A country. Where would he find the time and luxury to cook delicious meals for himself when he could have professional chefs do the job for him as they were paid to do?

It's not like they didn't have technology, though, so he made use of the notebook that Feng Xinya had provided for both of them from the first day and worked based off of detailed recipes from the internet.

Since he had higher comprehensive abilities than the protagonist, working from recipes proved to work well enough as the trio was presented with a full set of Italian dishes. There was the classic spaghetti with tomato sauce, mushrooms, and meatballs, pre-made garlic bread that only needed to be baked, chicken Alfredo topped with parmesan, and lastly pasta fagioli which was a soup to compliment the rest of the dishes.

Since he had always cleaned the dinner table and washed the dishes in the past, it took little to no time for him to navigate the kitchen. Also, Feng Xinya's kitchen was very large and there was more than enough room for him to cook multiple things at once.

As opposed to when the protagonist had taken the initiative to cook for the two, Feng Xinya actually ventured into the kitchen to occasionally help Xue Yang with the more dangerous jobs like straining the noodles and working with knives.

People might say that the biased treatment was a bit cruel and that the protagonist didn't really do anything to wrong Feng Xinya in this lifetime, but Feng Xinya actually didn't care about how the original had died. He simply disregarded those he deemed unimportant.

How could his initial mission target possibly be considered unimportant? Well, even when the protagonist had been the mission target, Feng Xinya didn't feel that he had to attach any extra attention towards him. After all, he was only a mission target.

In contrast, didn't consider Xue Yang a mission target even after he'd become one. To Feng Xinya, Xue Yang was the one he would spend the rest of this lifetime with.

Then, he would forget everything when he woke up in his original world like a sweet and impossible dream.

Only after he got rid of him would Feng Xinya dare to remember everything.

Even if it'd end up bittersweet in the end, he wanted to remember the first time he experienced something other than pain, hatred, and emptiness.

Just like a moth drawn to the flame, Feng Xinya was more than willing to burn at the very end after he finally got rid of him.

Ever since he had said his last statement to the protagonist, Xue Yang had been quieter than normal. At least, ever since he regained his memories he would speak more than he used to. But ever since Feng Xinya said those words, Xue Yang wasn't able to look him in the eyes.

That was one of the main reasons he actually went into the kitchen to help prepare their dinner. He needed to get the other boy accustomed to his presence, as well as to how he felt about him.

Feng Xinya knew Xue Yang was just feeling slightly shy. After all, those words were a bit cheesy, even for him. But they did properly convey to the protagonist his point. Only something as straightforward as that would be able to make its way into such a thick skull.

From what he understood about Xue Yang, the platinum-haired boy was certainly more knowledgeable than he was in bed matters but Feng Xinya was confident in his knowledge over emotions and feelings.

He knew of Xue Yang's largest insecurity--the boy was probably doubting whether or not Feng Xinya only wanted his body. That was the reason he was taking things slow and it's not like he was the more experienced of the two anyway. Feng Xinya had actually felt that it was probably better if Xue Yang took the initiative later on, otherwise he wouldn't mind not taking that last step even until they were on their deathbed.

After all, one who has never tried the forbidden fruit, would not desire it as much as they would after it's been tasted.

From the way Xue Yang acted around him he could tell that the youth, although with some misgivings, felt the same for him.

But just to tease him a little bit, when Feng Xinya entered the kitchen he snuck behind his little white kitten, trapping him between his arms against the counter. He took the knife from the youth's hands before lowering his head to whisper lowly into his ears,

"Yang."

That was the second time he had ever called his name, which caused Xue Yang to flinch largely as the tips of his ears flushed red and his long lashes fluttered. The small boy trapped between his arms was biting his bottom lip again as he remained silent.

Seeing that his movement was so large when he jumped, Feng Xinya found that it was indeed the right choice to retrieve the knife before teasing.

"What do you want?" He managed to squeeze out with his usual soft voice but refused to look away from the raw chicken breast on the cutting board. In fact, he tried his best not to move at all.

With a small smirk, Feng Xinya drawled on with his deep voice directly into Xue Yang's adorably flushed ear,

"I like you." My light in the seemingly endless, cruel darkness.

Inside his shirt, Xiao found himself blushing alongside Xue Yang.

Wow! Xinya is so direct, ah!

Thinking of that, he couldn't help but feel conflicted. It was a pity that his host wouldn't remember such peaceful and happy days after completing the mission.

If he didn't have to live in such a harsh and unforgiving world, wouldn't he be able to be just as unrestrained and relaxed as he was now? Xiao felt that while the first impression of his host was extremely scary and intimidating, it wasn't surprising after thinking about it just a little bit considering his environment.

In truth, his host simply never saw or experienced the warmth of the sun.

It was more surprising that he had a high enough EQ to be able to tell that the feelings he had for someone could be love ah!

If Feng Xinya could hear what Xiao was thinking, he would say that he couldn't say for sure if what he was feeling could be called love since he'd never felt nor seen it before. But he knew the difference between like and dislike, and that was enough for him because there were too many things he didn't like and only one that he did like.

Now, if Xiao knew that his host only liked one thing--or more accurately, person--he would shed tears of blood.

What about me?

Xue Yang had been with this man for the past four months and after he regained his memories, the times that they spent together only stood out more. They were often spent in silence, but those days were the most comfortable he had ever been for the past twelve years.

And the fact that Feng Xinya was the one who had taken him out of that hell was already a large part of the reason he felt so much attachment to the man. He just didn't want to confuse gratitude with other complex feelings like Ye Xia had done. It didn't help that Feng Xinya was an Adonis--peerlessly handsome, bursting with strength and confidence, and indifferent to all.

Normally one would find a man who was too indifferent to be off-putting but Xue Yang had experienced the warmth that he could provide--those nights where he was accompanied as he washed the dishes, the serious confession and following that the passionate kiss from earlier, the sound of his name being called by that deep sexy voice, and now when he was being surrounded by the strong arms as the man once again called his name and declared his feelings. Thinking about it again, Feng Xinya had only ever shown to him his warm and passionate sides and rarely, if ever, his usual cold and aloof persona.

If what he was feeling wasn't love, then even just simply liking was enough for Xue Yang to reciprocate. All he knew was that being with Feng Xinya made him happy, an emotion he hadn't been able to feel for a very long time, and he reckoned the same went for Feng Xinya. They had always understood each other even without having to speak, and it just felt right, standing so close to each other.

Worst case scenario, Xue Yang thought to himself, he'd sleep with me once then I'd never get to see him again after that.

Though the thought actually hurt him a little, he was used to that kind of exchange. If Feng Xinya did that, he would treat the man like just another customer.

But until then...

"I like you, too." He breathed out, resolute.

He turned his head and tilted it upwards to meet those piercing golden orbs.

"I like you, Xinya."