Xiao Yu smiled as he prepared dinner for his family that evening. He had alot of time on his hands after doing research with Tian Mo Xiong and he decided to surprise his wife with dinner.

"She should be home soon," he muttered to himself as he laid the table. Once he was done, he looked up at the clock that read 10 past 8pm then frowned. "Why isn't she back yet? She's normally at home by now," he whispered, turning to stare at the door. Sighing, he then walked over to the living room and sat down, waiting patiently for her. 'Maybe she's changing Yu Er's nappy or something, Yu Yan will be fine,' he reassured himself and then sat down quietly.

...

"Qiu Qiu, let me walk you home," Gu Zhan offered as they parted ways with Zhi Ge, Yan Yan, Shen Ling and Han Ying.
She nodded with a smile and hooked her arm around his, "Zhan, it's been so long since we were last alone!" she whined playfully earning a small poke to the forehead.
Zhan chuckled, "We spent the whole summer together!" he exclaimed, "And it hasn't even been a full week of school yet."
Pouting, Qiu Qiu looked up at him, "What? Can't I miss you?" she asked with puffed up cheeks.
"Of course you can," Zhan responded with a smile as he squished both her cheeks, "But I miss you more," he added, "Now that you're working at Yu Yan Jie's bakery, we spend less time together."

"Then join me, I'm sure Yu Yan Jie would love an extra pair of hands," Qiu Qiu replied, "Besides, we both need money and working at the bakery will be a stable job for both of us," she explained, as Zhan held her hand.
Zhan nodded in agreement, "You're right, I don't know why I didn't join you in the first place," he laughed while his girlfriend cheered in excitement.
"Yes! Zhan, we're going to be coworkers!" she bubbled before running in front of him and pulling him with her, "Come on! Let's go see Yu Yan Jie and Yu Er, I'm craving their cookies right now!"

Rolling his eyes, Zhan let out another smile, "But you ate so many cookies at lunch time," he pointed out but Qiu Qiu shrugged and hurried towards Yu Yan's bakery.

When the young couple arrived at the bakery, they were welcomed by an explosion within the shop and a bright flash which caused all the glass windows to shatter and spray outwards.

"Qiu Qiu!" Zhan cried out, pulling her towards him to shield her from the falling glass. When the glass stopped falling, they looked at each other in horror.

"Yu Yan Jie!" they exclaimed as they rushed in to see the bakery in a complete mess. The noise of a crying baby filled their ears and they became washed over with worry.

They saw a figure locked in a fighting stance with Yu Yan who had Yu Er crying in her free arm. The intruder had their fist against Yu Yan's palm, who had just blocked the punch with her bare hand.

"Yu Yan Jie!" Qiu Qiu called as she and Zhan hurried over to them.
The moment the intruder saw them, they their heel and retreated out of the shop.

"Stop right there!" Zhan barked, chasing them out of the shop.

Xiao Yu was heading towards Yu Yan's bakery to see where she was as it was getting late. When he saw the destroyed shop, his heart pounded in his chest violently. "Yu Yan?" he whispered as he quickly ran in, only to be knocked to the side by the intruder who ran out. He stared in shock as the intruder before Zhan rushed out behind them.

"Xiao Yu Ge! Don't let them escape!" he yelled, hot on the tail of the intruder. Xiao Yu nodded and instantly joined the chase.

Despite the two males giving chase, they lost the intruder within seconds but despite this, Xiao Yu rushed back to the bakery to check on Yu Yan. He saw her at the counter where Qiu Qiu was bandading up her hand.

"Yu Yan!" he exclaimed, hurrying over to her, "Are you okay? What happened?" he asked.
Yu Yan couldn't see him clearly but knew where he was. She faced him and smiled, "I'm alright. I just got a scratch from the flying glass, that's all," she explained casually with a shrug.
"Just a scratch? Yu Yan Jie, there's a complete open gash on the back of your hand!" Qiu Qiu retorted, gawking.
"It was to protect mydaughter so it's nothing," Yu Yan responded.

"What happened and who was that?" Gu Zhan inquired as he watched Xiao Yu carry a frightened Yu Er in his arms.
Again, Yu Yan shrugged, "Probably some new enemy or something," she replied without a care in the world, "They just randomly burst in here."
"How can you stay so calm about this?" Xiao Yu asked, "Your shop is wrecked and you and Yu Er nearly got hurt."
"There's no use in being frantic," Yu Yan responded, "Besides, I can't even see the mess. My vision is declining and that stupid intruder made me drop all my pills," she explained.

Xiao Yu sighed, "Yu Yan, let's go home for now, okay? There are some spare pills at home and you can worry about your shop tomorrow," he said and Yu Yan scoffed.
"Who's worried about the shop?" she laughed, "Nothing will happen to it," she added. Yu Yan then faced Qiu Qiu and Gu Zhan, "Thanks for your help. You should head on home now, it should be getting dark now," he said and Qiu Qiu nodded.
"Take care, Yu Yan Jie, Xiao Yu Ge," Qiu Qiu replied as she and Zhan left the shop.

Xiao Yu held onto Yu Yan's hand and turned to her, "We should get going now too. I made dinner," he told her, earning a smile from his wife.
"Eh? You made dinner?" she laughed, teasingly, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Of course," he replied, "It's my day to do the cooking, remember?"
Yu Yan hit him lightly, "Hey! I wanted to make the readers think that you don't cook at all," she pouted.
Xiao Yu ruffled her hair, "But they know that you love my cooking," he reminded her, "Remember I cooked for you when you lived with me in KO One Re-Live," he added to his argument.

"Okay then, Chef Little Fish, let's see how good your food is today!" Yu Yan said with a smile, walking out with her husband and child.

...

The intruder stood in front of a tall and majestic clock tower. They listened to the deep clang of the bell that signalled the start of a new hour and stared at their hand. They touched the wall of the tower, causing it to glow before walking right through it and disappearing.

...

"Qiu Qiu, what's wrong?" Yan Yan asked Qiu Qiu who was dragging her feet up the hill the next morning.
Qiu Qiu responded in a muffled and indecipherable mumble, crying out in defeaning whines.
Yan Yan turned to Zhan for an answer.

Zhan sighed, "Yu Yan Jie's shop was destroyed yesterday so is closed today for repairs so she wasn't able to buy any bagels or cookies," he explained, put an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders warmly.
Shen Ling chuckled, "Aww, Qiu Qiu, maybe you can go visit her at home today and ask if she has any?" she suggested, lighting up her face.
"That's a great idea!" she exclaimed.
"Qiu Qiu, we shouldn't bother Yu Yan Jie today," Zhi Ge spoke up, "She and her friends are busy dealing with the recent dimension quake," he explained.
Han Ying nodded in understanding, "So she has connections to Meng Zhu?" she asked as Gu Zhan nodded, which sparked interest in the two ex Black Pudding students.

"Ah, Qiu Qiu!" Yan Yan suddenly exclaimed, "I saw Duan Chang Ren selling some cookies today," she explained.
"Duan Chang Ren selling cookies?" Zhi Ge asked, "Since when did he sell cookies?"
Qiu Qiu's eyes glittered, "Do you think they're made by Yu Yan Jie?!"she asked excitedly.
"If they're being sold by Duan Chang Ren then I doubt it," Gu Zhan scoffed, "They're probably made from balls of earwax," he laughed.
"Earwax?" Han Ying echoed, "This Duan Chang Ren sounds interesting," she laughed.

"I'll go to him now then," Qiu Qiu spoke up, checking the time on her phone before frowning, "But I have class in 10 minutes," she whined.
"I can go get you some," Yan Yan offered, "I still have an hour until my class," she explained.
"Really? Could you really do that, Yan Yan?" Qiu Qiu asked and Yan Yan nodded. Qiu Qiu grinned widely and hugged her, "Ah Yan Yan! You treat me the best~!" she gushed, causing Gu Zhan to fold his arms over his chest.
"Hey! Don't I treat you well?" he questioned.
"Don't worry, Zhan," Zhi Ge replied before hugging him, "You treat me the best~!" he smiled.
Rolling her eyes, Qiu Qiu smiled, "This is why volume 34 of that Zhan x Xiao Ge fanfic will come out," she commented, immediately making Zhan push Zhi Ge away.

Shen Ling giggled, "Yan Yan, I have a free period, I'll go with you," she said and Yan Yan nodded.
"Then we'll go off to class?" Han Ying replied and Shen Ling nodded.
"Then we'll see you later," Zhan told them and they all nodded before parting ways.