Chapter Four: Cohabitation at the Three-Meter Line

The attic had two bedrooms and a narrow corridor. Xu Zhi marked three-meter intervals across the floor with yellow tape and replaced every connected appliance with a mechanical one. Gu Yanchen studied the old oven, which had only a timer and a bell, more gravely than he studied billion-yuan acquisitions. "Know how to use it?" she asked. "Where is the manual?" "Gone." Twenty minutes later, smoke poured from the oven. Gu Yanchen removed two blackened slices of toast without changing expression. Xu Zhi lasted three seconds before laughing. "Is that breakfast or Yaochuan's new energy project?" He put the least burnt corner on her plate. "The landlord may cook for herself."