chapter 16

Where Lucy had her own troubles, thinking of cooking the meal, Eric faced his own challenge of taking a shower.The problem was - The ratio of the proportion of his height to the bathroom's size was alarmingly low. In simple terms, he felt the bathroom was too small for him. He couldn't even enter without bending a little. He glanced at the bathtub and instantly knew how he would look if he tried to fit in that cramped space.Eric stood still for just a moment before he went ahead for his bath. But when he turned the faucet on, there was no water coming out of it.Eric turned it off and then on again but it was the same. His brows ever so slightly furrowed.Apart from the bathroom size problem, there was now a water crisis as well.He came out of the bathroom to call Frank, but then his nose twitched as he smelled something burning.Eric checked his house but didn't find any source of the fire. Then he realized it was coming from outside, particularly a certain house to his left.Fire? Lucy Hale?Before he knew it, he was already in front of her door, banging on the door.A few moments later, the door slowly opened and he saw Lihua covered in black soot on her face and shoulders.She froze. Wei tilted his head and looked at her from head to toe."B-Boss? Why are you here?""Why do you look like that?"Lucy was close to bursting into her non-existent tears.Why God why? I was supposed to impress him with my meal and now he saw me like this! He saw me in my worst state possible!Eric, saw the spatula in her hand and asked, "Cooking?"She stiffened.How can I say that I was cooking a meal for you? Won't you just run away now that you saw me like a ghost?Before she could respond, Wei entered her room and immediately found the source of her hell.Kitchen.Lucy widened her eyes. "No, no Boss! Don't go in there-"But it was too late. The pathetic state of her kitchen was on full display in front of him."Boss I can explain…"Just don't deduct my favorability points, please!Eric looked at the kitchen and glanced at her. Then he looked at her and glanced back at the kitchen. Whatever there was supposed to be cooking inside that pot looked like some alien food. It was beyond recognition.Lucy nervously laughed. "Accidents happen sometimes haha…"Eric calmly said, "You can always order."That was a lethal strike to Lucy's heart. To Lucy, she mentally added a sentence.It felt like he actually wanted to say, 'If you don't know how to cook, you can always order."She utterly failed. She had already imagined a lovely meal with Wei and spending the lovely evening with him. But reality showed her how harsh the path of cooking was.Lucy's shoulder slumped. "I am sorry Boss. A-actually, I was making the dinner for you…"Eric asked, "Me?""En. To welcome you as a neighbor, it is only good manners to be friendly and offer a meal," and also for our budding romance, she silently added at the end.Eric tilted his head as he stared at her. "Is thaHe was intrigued by this new coShe nodded hard.After a long pause, he said, "Go clean yourself up.""Huh?"Eric blankly stared at her. "Bath.""Oh-oh! Of course. It must be a torture for your eyes to see me in such an ugly state.""Torture? And for me?" He seemed to be contemplating something.Lucy didn't understand what he meant but she let it go. She cleared her throat. "I will quickly come back."Eric said, "Wait."