CHAPTER 123: SHE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND

Master Keir and Saeki greeted Shin as the latter sat down right beside Yeri, earning himself another frosty glare from her.

"This is odd. Why is stone-face not here yet?" Saeki muttered, spooning jam onto his toast. "Shouldn’t he be looking for his wife since she wasn’t home last night?"

Yeri sneered inwardly. Lianna had said it herself, she lived with her mother-in-law. As for Dr. Zahn Neri, he rarely went home, preferring to stay at the hospital.

If anything, it would be a miracle if he came searching for his wife personally.

Master Keir calmly sipped his coffee before replying to Saeki, "Wait for her to wake up and let her decide herself what she wants. Don’t interfere."

Saeki nodded slowly, then brightened with an idea. "Do you think she’ll divorce him or not? I’m guessing no."

Yeri frowned, setting down her cup. "Why do you think so, Brother Saeki?"

"Well..." Saeki puffed up proudly, as if someone had just invited him to a lecture stage. He even steepled his fingers like a psychologist.

"Those two are childhood sweethearts. If not for that time...well, anyway. I’m saying, the times they’ve spent together can’t just be erased by one or two arguments. And I’m not saying women are emotionally weak," he added with a knowing nod, "but rather patient, and the most understanding."

Yeri raised a brow. "What if it wasn’t just some simple arguments?"

Saeki stroked his chin, eyes glinting with curiosity. "Now you’ve got me even more curious. Should we investigate?"

Yeri pursed her lips, biting back a sigh. It was clear none of them were aware of Lianna’s depression. That alone gave her a better understanding of their dynamic with Dr. Neri.

Shin, Tristan, and Saeki could be considered close friends, but Zahn? He was probably on the level of business-associate-slash-friend, but not close enough to share personal or family matters.

"Kiddo, don’t you have other matters to focus on?" Master Keir said, exhaling.

Saeki blinked, tilting his head innocently. Then he suddenly turned to Shin. "Oh, yeah! Big bro, aren’t you supposed to be at work? Why are you still here?"

The dining table went quiet for a beat.

Yeri: "..."

Master Keir: "..."

Wasn’t he also a CEO? What was he doing here freeloading breakfast like a college student visiting his rich uncle’s villa?

Shin, as always, ignored him. He leaned toward Yeri instead, voice smooth. "Don’t you like pancakes for breakfast? Why didn’t you tell the kitchen what you wanted?"

"I’m full," Yeri replied expressionlessly, pushing back her chair. "I’ll check on Sister Lianna."

But Shin’s hand shot out, catching her wrist before she could leave. His grip was firm, not enough to hurt but enough to make her pulse spike with irritation.

"She won’t run away. You barely ate anything. I’ll ask the kitchen to make you pancakes. What else do you want?"

Yeri’s jaw clenched. She really wanted to kick him under the table. Unfortunately, Master Keir and Saeki were right there, so she had to keep her composure.

"Then I’ll help make it," she said stiffly, tugging her hand free. "I also want to learn."

Shin tilted his head, considering her, then finally gave a slow nod. "While you’re at it, can you make me a black coffee? You still owe me that."

Yeri’s scalp prickled. It was so frustrating not being able to vent her irritation. She just wanted to stay away from him, but instead he had to take advantage of every little thing, still clinging to that cup of coffee he couldn’t drink back at Café Zhillion.

"Right! We have the daughter of Zhi Corporation here!" Saeki clapped happily, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Sister-in-law, do you also know how to make a caramel macchiato?"

"Go buy one or make it yourself," Shin said flatly, not even looking at him.

Saeki pouted dramatically, pointing a finger at Shin. "Why not? I’m a professional critic I can help sister-in-law improve her skills!"

Shin finally glanced at him with a deadpan look. "Her skills are mine. Don’t touch."

The whole table went silent.

Master Keir coughed lightly into his cup, as if he hadn’t heard that. Saeki looked scandalized. Yeri’s face twitched dangerously, she really was going to grind her molars into powder at this rate.

Shin, however, seemed utterly pleased with himself.

---

In the end, Saeki was kicked out by Shin right after breakfast.

Meanwhile, Yeri stayed behind in the kitchen, listening carefully as one of the cooks explained how to make pancakes.

For reasons beyond her understanding, cooking seemed to hold a personal grudge against her. Math and science? Manageable. Cooking? A nightmare.

The cook must have noticed her struggle too. Yeri had already mistaken salt for sugar once, and the poor cook nearly fainted. In the end, the only task they trusted her with was flipping the pancake. Surely even she couldn’t mess that up.

Just then, Shin strutted into the kitchen, sending the staff into silent panic. Their young master rarely, if ever, ventured into the back kitchen. For such a large villa, there were three kitchens: the formal one for show, the butler’s pantry for preparation, and the back kitchen where the real work was done. And here came the storm himself.

"How’s it going?" Shin asked casually, eyeing the pan. He spotted an almost blackened pancake, picked it up, and took a bite.

Charcoal flavor? he thought grimly.

Meanwhile, Yeri was still frowning at the pan, flipping another pancake with deep concentration as though she were solving an algebra equation.

Shin’s eyes wandered around, looking for his coffee, but he didn’t see any.

"Where’s my black coffee?" he demanded.

Yeri "..."

Since she clearly had no intention of answering, Shin leaned over and poked her lightly in the waist.

"Ah!" Yeri yelped, dropping the pancake she had just scooped. She spun to glare at him. "Go away!"

Every single person in the room almost dropped their knives and ladles.

Go away?

Who in their right mind told their bad-tempered, unreasonable, tyrant-like young master to go away? Was this girl suicidal?

Naturally, the staff assumed what they always assumed. To them, Yeri was just another woman aiming for the title of Mrs. After all, most of them had worked here for years and knew all about his reputation.

But what shocked them even more was that Shin wasn’t angry. Instead, he calmly took the spatula from her hands. "I’ll do it. Go make me my black coffee."

Yeri rolled her eyes but obediently went to the coffee machine. She almost complained that it looked different from the one she was used to but then she noticed it was exactly the same as the one they had back at Café Zhillion. So she kept quiet and made the coffee.

When she returned, Shin was already working at the stove. Yeri blinked in surprise. The man who supposedly had no patience for anything other than making people miserable was flipping perfect, golden, round pancakes like a professional chef.

"Try it," he said without looking up. "Do you want it salted or with fruit?"

"Fruit... strawberry, mango, with butter and honey," she muttered without thinking.

Shin nodded, clearly in a good mood. He pulled fresh fruit from the refrigerator and sliced it with swift, practiced hands.

A nearby staff member rushed to provide the honey and butter, looking as though they might collapse from shock at any moment.

Because no matter how unbelievable it seemed, their young master was really, truly making breakfast for a woman.

When Yeri finally tasted the pancake, it was heavenly. Of course, that wasn’t surprising, after all, both she and Shin had only flipped them.

The cook had prepared the batter. Still, she had to admit, Shin’s pancake was far from her charcoal disaster.

"I thought you’d add salt to it just to mess with me." Shin sipped the coffee she had made. Normally, he was ridiculously picky about temperature, brewing method, and timing. But since Yeri had made it, he didn’t complain.

Yeri carried her plate to the dining table, ignoring him completely.

Shin, however, simply followed her.

The kitchen staff couldn’t be more dumbfounded. That Shin Keir must be a fake, right?

How could the real one looked nonchalant after being ignored?

After breakfast, Yeri went to check on Lianna. He followed. She paused to admire Butler Hong’s careful process of drying rose petals for tea. Shin stood there too.

By now, it was nearly lunchtime, but Mrs. Neri was still asleep. Since Yeri had online classes in the afternoon, she had to go home. She left a short note in case Mrs. Neri woke up and wondered where she had gone.

But when Yeri went to the guest room to pick up her phone, Shin followed her there as well.

Finally, she snapped. "Young Master Keir, do you think this is funny? What do you want?"

Shin gave a small shrug. "Oh? You finally decided to talk to me?"

Yeri clenched her fists. Indeed, she had been trying her best to treat him as if he were invisible. But somehow, he’d realized it and developed a brand-new tactic to irritate her: tailing her everywhere like an oversized shadow.

Taking a deep breath, she glared at him. "Are you seriously going to pretend you don’t know what you’ve done? Yes, I know this is your home, but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. Or are you going to comfort me again with that nonsense about ’no one will talk about it’? How could you be so sure? People have ears and mouths. I’m not being paranoid, I have a family reputation to protect. Or am I just not worthy of your respect?"

Her words made Shin’s expression shift. For once, he looked serious.

He was confident no one would talk. After all, this villa was his domain. If he wished, he could spread his consciousness throughout every corner and know exactly who was doing what, and who was whispering to whom. But obviously, he couldn’t tell her that.

And besides, she didn’t understand. She had no idea of the agony of waiting, the madness of despair, the hunger that gnawed at him whenever she was near.