"I can cook, but probably just noodles, there are a few eggs left. Ivan, haven't you eaten yet?" Lia Aiken asked with concern, "Let me make you a bowl of noodles now."
She was hungry too.
"I'm not really hungry; I just thought you must not have eaten. You can cook the noodles, and we can eat together. Or, I can cook." Ivan Horne made a move to stand up, but Lia Aiken quickly stopped him.
In the end, Lia went to cook the noodles, and Ivan followed her to the small kitchen doorway with an apple in his hand. As he peeled the apple, he watched her cook the noodles.
"Lia."
"Hmm."
"What am I to you?"
Lia turned her head to glance at him and replied, "My boyfriend."
Ivan nodded, "Do you trust me?"
"I do."
Ivan finished peeling the apple, walked over, washed it again, and then cut it into four pieces. Lia saw that he was using his palm as a cutting board and warned him, "Be careful not to cut your hand."
"If I cut my hand, let's see if you'd feel sorry."
Lia glared at him.
But she heard him accusing her of being "heartless," "I am your boyfriend, and you trust me, yet you left me and ran back to River City by yourself, without considering my feelings or whether I'd be too worried to eat or sleep well. I was worried sick about you. I knew you were feeling troubled and needed peace, so I gave you space, but you left me. You don't care about me at all."
Lia: ...
She turned to face him, opening her mouth several times to explain herself, but she didn't know what to say.
His accusations seemed to be true.
Ivan, still holding the knife, continued to cut the apple into smaller pieces, saying, "You're my girlfriend, yet you cried in front of another man. Your vulnerable look could evoke a protective instinct in any man, but you are my girlfriend; I should be the one to protect you, not another man. I don't allow anyone to replace me."
"Ivan, I... I wasn't trying to evoke Ethan Aibileen's protection. I was in a bad mood, and he suddenly came to bother me. I wanted to hit him with a broom. You saw what happened later." Lia finally organized her words to defend herself.
Ivan didn't blame her.
He cut the apple into smaller pieces and fed them to Lia, one by one. "This is the last time!" he said warmly.
Lia ate the small piece of apple before she could speak.
"Alright, I promise there won't be a next time."
This man was uniquely jealous.
Ivan fed her another piece of apple, "In the future, if you encounter anything that upsets you, tell me first, come to me, let me comfort you, protect you, accompany you. The one to see your laughter and your tears should be me."
Lia nodded vigorously, still chewing on the apple.
"Do you love me?"
When Lia finished the second small piece of apple, Ivan fed her the third piece.
Lia nodded again and quickly finished the apple before saying, "Ivan, I love you!"
At last, Ivan was satisfied. He handed her the remaining three large pieces of apple, switched places with her, so he could cook the noodles, and she ate the apple.
Lia, led by his series of accusations, realized only after he had already cooked two large bowls of noodles.
He carried the cooked noodles to the small round table she used for guests, put them down, and turned to her, who had followed him out, saying, "Taste the noodles your boyfriend cooked for you."
No matter how bad her mood, encountering a warm man like Ivan could turn Lia's rain into sunshine. With Ivan, she could ignore the negative things.
"You can cook noodles too?"
Lia sat down and started eating unceremoniously; she was genuinely hungry.
When she was in a bad mood, she didn't feel hungry, but as her mood improved, she suddenly felt ravenous.
Ivan laughed, "There are still many aspects of myself that you don't know, waiting for you to discover, and only you."
Lia laughed.
Seeing her smile, Ivan's expression softened even more.
As long as she returned to being the Lia she used to be, he was at ease.
After the two of them finished the noodles, Ivan washed the dishes. When Lia tried to help, he shot her a look, and she sheepishly let him wash the dishes, internally thinking she'd never seen a young master fighting to wash dishes.
Ivan truly had many sides. As he said, he was waiting for her to discover those unknown aspects of him, and only she was allowed to uncover them.
Lia liked this about him; in his heart, she was unique. Regardless of her background, she was unique. And in her heart, he was also unique.
After washing the dishes, Ivan came out to help Lia tidy up the easel.
Seeing her discarded paintings of her mother, although unfinished, and her outlines resembling her, he could make out their likeness.
As he helped her clean up, Lia stood silently watching.
Her heart was in turmoil.
Before Ivan's arrival, she felt she had lost her inspiration and would never paint with soul again. But watching Ivan quietly help her clean up the wreckage, she suddenly felt the urge to paint him!
Years ago, when she was devoid of inspiration, she encountered him at the airport. Just seeing his back had an overwhelming impact on her, prompting her to create a painting of his silhouette. That moment was when her dried-up inspiration was suddenly revitalized, overflowing.
As her paintings improved over time, those who appreciated her work said her later paintings had more soul. The soul in her paintings was all brought by Ivan.
The feeling was exactly the same as back then.
He was her source of inspiration!
Lia walked up and hugged Ivan from behind. Ivan paused briefly before turning to face her, gently asking, "What's wrong?"
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