Eventually, after paying for each item, she found an empty table and sat down. The table with peeled off coverings, paired with the same colored chairs, gave off a slightly rustic impression.
Eun Chae waited a few minutes before opening the lid of her cup ramen. The wellcooked noodles were visible through the rising steam.
The moment when Ki Joo placed the cup ramen on the table was when Eun Chae was separating her chopsticks. She looked up while holding a pair of chopsticks in each hand.
He had accompanied her to school countless times, but it was their first time sitting facetoface in the campus snack shop.
Ki Joo, unperturbed, sat down on the chair and asked a question.
“Do you know how to eat this?”
He shook the triangular rice wrapped in seaweed he was holding. Not that it wasn’t true, Eun Chae had only been eating food cooked with carefully selected ingredients, following the nutritionfocused diet of an expert.
Upon being pointed out by him, Eun Chae was strangely flustered.
“There’s nothing I can’t eat.”
She said as she chewed on the noodles she picked up with her chopsticks. Given it was during vacation and past time, it was a bit awkward just the two of them. If someone were to see, they might seem like a couple struggling with their finances.
It was amusing and also absurd.
Eun Chae didn’t hate this unfamiliar situation. As a result, she made a teasing remark as if playing a pointless joke.
“I like ramen and triangle rice. Do you, Mr. Kwon Ki Joo, dislike it?”
While watching Eun Chae’s confident expression, Ki Joo separated his wooden chopsticks.
“Yes.”
After simply replying, Ki Joo held the cup ramen in one hand. It was an alltoofamiliar posture for someone who claimed to dislike it.
“I feel nauseous just smelling it.”
“……”
“I ate it until I was sick of it.”
As he said that, he put a large amount of noodles into his mouth without making a mess and chewed. While his sleek chin moved subtly.
Eun Chae was taken aback.
His words, “I ate it until I was sick of it”, implied a prolonged period of destitution.
She felt as if she had been struck by his words.
“When I was young.”
As he sneakily looked at the stiff Eun Chae, he added to his statement. He even raised the corners of his mouth as if to ask why she was making such a serious face.
Eun Chae opened her hesitating lips.
“……You didn’t like talking about yourself.”
“……”
“Even if I asked, you’d dodge it.”
“……”
“No matter how trivial.”
Eun Chae had thought he lacked seriousness. He always managed to dodge any question, making her feel as if she was prying, and it was still vivid in her memory, how annoying it was.
And yet.
Ki Joo casually answered while stirring his cup ramen with chopsticks.
“……I see.”
After saying that, he dropped his chopsticks as if bored and looked up.
“Then ask now. What you were curious about.”
Surprised by the unexpected eye contact and the proposal she had never imagined, Eun Chae turned away.
She began tearing the packaging of the triangle rice she wasn’t ready to eat yet. As it didn’t tear easily, she forcibly ripped it apart, peeling off the seaweed and leaving only bare rice.
Ki Joo looked at her blushing in embarrassment and said,
“I’ve told you the food I hate.”
“……”
“The food I like is jelly, chocolate, candy.”
Soon after, he skilfully removed the packaging of his portion of the triangle rice and placed it in front of Eun Chae. In exchange, he took the tragic triangle rice from her hand.
“My hobbies are kickboxing, jiujitsu.”
“……”
“My skills are reverse engineering, hacking.”
“……”
“……Should I continue?”
He asked, stretching out on the chair, and then added as if something suddenly came to mind.
“Oh, I have a cat allergy.”
Eun Chae’s pupils, which had remained unresponsive, moved. Her body reacted first due to memories of suffering from crustacean allergy.
“There’s some reaction here.”
Following words reminded Eun Chae of her dating friends’ complaints. Men would do anything to win a woman’s heart. Playing along as if everything is the same is nothing but laughable.
“It’s not like your throat is swelling or life is in danger. Just a bit of coughing.”
Was this an ordinary pretense? Or just pure information dissemination?
Eun Chae sank deep into her thoughts over a sudden question.
((())) ((())) ((()))
Sunlight broke through Eun Chae’s frowning face. Even when she raised her arm to block it, it came through the gaps between her fingers.
Eun Chae, who thoughtlessly let the idea that it was a nice day pass, looked at a young plant she had moved with her own hands.
To transplant a plant, she dug up soil with a garden spade, found the right spot, and then covered it up again. She had broken a sweat just doing that.
From a Bluetooth speaker she’d grabbed first thing in the morning, Chopin’s Nocturne was playing.
Her mother had loved Chopin in her lifetime. Back then, Eun Chae was so engrossed in Beethoven that she couldn’t understand her mother’s preference.
Like a tree, always the same.
Like a leaf, always cheerful.
Like a flower, always fragrant.
Her mother had habitually advised her to live like that. Even now, her voice seemed vividly audible, carried on the melody of the Nocturne.
Eun Chae began to press down the soil with her bare hands after hanging the garden spade back in its place.
There was not a single facet that resembled her.
Her mother had been romantic until the moment of her death, but for the lone Eun Chae, life was nothing more than a desperate survival.
How long had she been pressing?
“Heh, heh.”
Breathing heavily, Eun Chae suddenly got up.
She looked around the greenhouse.
Surely, Ki Joo Kwon did have an eye for details. It looked quite similar to before it was demolished. It was hard to believe that it was restored in such a short time.
However, it couldn’t be perfectly restored to its former state.
Wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, Eun Chae thought to herself.
Like the sun, burning hot.
Like the wind, free.
Like the sea, passionate.
She would live like that.
Eun Chae walked back to the house with a relieved face. As she entered the front door and ascended to the living room, the door to Chairman Song Myung Hwan’s study creaked open, and Kwon Ki Joo emerged.
As their eyes met, he gave her a light nod. She returned the nod with her eyes and headed towards the stairs, while Ki Joo remained standing, watching her.
Eun Chae stopped in her tracks and looked at him as if asking if he had something to say.
“Did you fall?”
Ki Joo Kwon asked abruptly and stared at her persistently.
Eun Chae, who didn’t understand the question, tilted her head and hesitated. Ki Joo cocked his head to the side, signaling he was waiting for an answer. In response to the nonchalant pressure, Eun Chae hurriedly answered with a tightened lip.
“No, why?”
Regretting her reflexive question in curiosity about the contextless Ki Joo Kwon, she saw him faintly smile.
“I asked because…dirt.”
Eun Chae reflexively hid her hands behind her back. It was as if she’d advertised how much she’d been mucking around in the greenhouse as soon as she got it back.
Soon after, Ki Joo’s voice laced with laughter rang out.
“You should go to school.”
“……”
“Get ready and come down.”
As he pointed his chin towards the stairs and spoke, he turned to leave, but paused and glanced back.
“And clean up properly.”
His tone was like that of an adult warning a mischievous child. Stunned, Eun Chae immediately turned to look back, but he had already disappeared into the entranceway.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
