Love Across the Light Years -The Devil CEO Indulges My Lies.-Chapter 21: Second career.

The next evening —

After putting in hours of work, Adelyn was finally satisfied. Letting her eyes roam around the apartment, she hummed in contentment.

"Now, this is what looks like a perfect cozy place. Minimal and exactly how I prefer. What do you think?" she said, turning to look for Nigel.

But catching the sight of him next only left her dumbfounded.

Nigel was sprawled on the carpet, limbs spread out as if he had just finished moving a mountain.

"Nye?"

He didn’t move. "Let me catch a breath. If I had known helping you move would exhaust me like this, I wouldn’t have dared."

Adelyn pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "Oh, is that so? Because I clearly remembered asking you to reconsider before we started."

Nigel’s eyes flew open. He stared at her in disbelief. "You—is that how you are going to thank me?"

He sat up and jabbed a finger at the sofa. "You made me move that thing for at least twenty times just to make it angle right." His fingers shifted to the bookshelf, "And that shelf for eight times."

"And in your room —"

Before he could continue, Adelyn cut him off. "Don’t tell me you actually counted for every piece of furniture?"

Nigel pressed his lips together. "You think I didn’t?"

She shook her head and extended a hand toward him. "I just know I didn’t give you enough time to record everything properly."

"So, you know that?" Nigel stood up, dusting off his trousers. "Then tell me —how are you planning to thank me?"

Adelyn turned away and removed her bouffant cap. "Well, at first, I thought there was no need to respond to your silly demands. But —" she turned back to him, "considering you cooked for me yesterday, I changed my mind."

He nodded, clearly pleased. "Great. I knew you weren’t ungrateful. So —what is it?"

"We will go out and —"

"Perfect," Nigel interrupted smoothly. "Early dinner. You pay, I enjoy."

With that, he turned towards the door.

Just as he took a step, Adelyn grabbed his collar and yanked him back.

"We are going out," she said after a brief pause, "but I never said it was to dine out."

He frowned. "Not to dine out? Then what are we going out for?"

"To buy groceries," she replied calmly. "My kitchen doesn’t even have the basics. And without them, how am I supposed to cook to thank you?"

Nigel blinked, as slowly the understanding dawned upon him. And the more it settled in, the stiffer his expression became.

"Are you ... going to cook?" he asked, almost horrified.

Adelyn narrowed her eyes. "What else do you think?" she said coolly. "I am not some wealthy heiress who can spend money like it’s nothing. Dining out is an extravagance, and I can’t afford it. I am about to kickstart my career so I can live a little more comfortably. Of course, I would rather cook than dine out."

Nigel gave a dry chuckle. "How is that different from dying early?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, her gaze sharpening.

He forced a smile. "I mean —there is no need to work so hard. The harder you push yourself, the tougher your life becomes. Why stress yourself like this? Let’s just dine out tonight. We will think about everything else another day. Okay?"

Adelyn stared at him for a moment before crossing her arms again. "Did you not hear what I just explained, Nigel Smith?"

"I—I did! Of course, I did. But —"

"But, what?"

"But I can’t —I can’t bear to see you working so hard in the kitchen." He exhaled as though he had finally found a lifeline.

When Adelyn continued to scrutinize him, he straightened and nodded more firmly.

"Yes, I can’t bear to see you growing haggard in the kitchen when you are meant to shine with glamour in front of cameras. It will just break my heart."

"Is that so?" There was a tone of suspicion lacing her words.

Nigel nodded as if his life depended on it. "Of course! W–What else could it be?"

"If that’s the case," Adelyn said thoughtfully, "then this is easy to solve."

His eyes lit up. "Yes. All we have to do is —"

"You cook," she finished calmly.

Nigel froze.

Then, slowly, he pointed at himself. "I ... cook?"

Adelyn nodded nonchalantly. "Yes, you don’t cook badly. So, if I can’t do it, you surely can. After all, together, we are family. And you stay just a house away."

"But —"

"You got a problem?" she asked. "If you do, we can split the days. You cook for three days; I cook for four. Next week, we switch."

It sounded reasonable.

Yet Nigel felt as though he had just been sentenced.

He looked at her —really looked at her. The determined set of her expression. The way she always shouldered things without complaint.

With quiet sigh, he shook his head.

"There is no need," he said softly. "You don’t have to trouble yourself."

Then, with resignation tugging at his voice —and a hint of fondness he didn’t bother hiding, he added through the grit of his teeth, "I will cook all seven days, you enjoy."

"For the entire week?" Adelyn asked, slightly taken aback. "Are you sure?"

He wanted to shake his head, and say no.

Instead, he nodded. "Yes, I am sure." After a pause, he forced a smile. "Why won’t I be? I love cooking. Sometimes I even think of it as my second career. It’s just that I am not too confident about my skills."

She studied him for a second longer than usual.

"That’s feasible," she said quietly. "You cook good enough to succeed."

Then she paused, as if another thought struck her. "Okay, I have decided."

She placed a reassuring hand over his shoulder —steady, sincere. "I will help you train."

"Help me ... train?" Nigel echoed blankly.

Adelyn nodded. "Yes. I will help you excel. I will taste whatever you cook and give you proper critique so that you can improve every day." Her lips curved slightly. "With me risking my life like this, success is guaranteed."

There it was again...

Nigel felt utterly defeated.

Can this girl for once give him a break?

Why does she every time makes him realize his suffering was endless —and that with her around, it will always be?

Adelyn patted his back, snapping him out of it. "Don’t daydream now. Before success, there is always endless hard work. Come —we will go and buy you the weapons."

With that, she headed straight for the door.

Nigel stared after her, regret washing him over.

If he had known that asking her to repay him would lead to this, he would have never asked. Not even when it cost him his life.

"Nye," Adelyn called from the doorway. "We don’t have the whole evening."

"Coming, Grandma," Nigel replied, resisting the urge to slam his head against the nearest wall. He then followed her out.

As there were exiting the house, from a faraway corner, a pair of eyes were staring their direction —dark, cold.