Yannis lowered his gaze, his eyes lingering on Zinnia’s lips. Her lips looked pale, as if all the color had suddenly drained from them, and her eyes weren’t right either–there was a hint of moisture in them.

Yannis' gaze darkened slightly.

Zinnia felt a bit nervous as Yannis' searching gaze lingered on her for too long. She lowered her head and whispered, “Yannis, I’m hungry.”

“Here you go,” Yannis said, placing the bowl in front of her. He had made a creamy sweet corn soup that was not only delicious but also good for her health.

Zinnia wrapped one hand around the bowl and gently stirred the steaming soup with a spoon in the other.

Yannis took a seat beside her.

Zinnia blew on the soup to cool it down, then scooped some corn and popped it into her mouth.

“Yannis, why do you keep staring at me like that?” Zinnia couldn’t ignore his intense gaze, no matter how hard she tried. She spoke as she chewed the corn slowly, taking her time.

Yannis smiled and said, “Because you’re my precious girl.”

He looked at her, his gaze shifting to the hand holding the bowl. The style of the bow on her wrist had changed.

Yannis remembered tying it for her. The right loop had been bigger than the left, but now the left was bigger than the right.

‘She’s retied it, and the medicinal scent on her hand has grown stronger,’ he mused.

“Don’t say it like that–as if you’ll never see me again.” Swallowing the bite in her mouth, Zinnia scooped up another spoonful of sweet soup and met Yannis' gaze.

Yannis didn’t want to hear her talk like that. He said firmly, “Don’t say things like that.”

“Alright, I won’t say it,” Zinnia murmured. She ducked her head and focused on her food.

Having drained some blood, Zinnia felt unwell.

She had no idea how much more blood it’d take to get the seed to sprout. ‘For now, I need to take care of myself; I can’t let my health fail,’ she thought.

Zinnia had barely eaten anything at lunch today, her appetite completely gone.

But now, as she saw the first signs of progress after such a long standstill, Zinnia felt she could finally breathe a little easier.

Yannis almost instantly sensed the shift in Zinnia’s mood. The tension between her brows had visibly eased.

Yannis glanced at Zinnia and said, “Zinnia, about that seed–the research institute just developed a new growth accelerator. I was thinking of letting them test it.”

There was only one seed–unique and priceless–and Zinnia always kept it with her. If anyone from the research institute or any of the experts needed it, they had to request it directly from her.

Zinnia couldn’t bring herself to trust anyone else with the seed. Only when it was in her own hands did she feel secure.

Even in her sleep, she would clutch it tightly, waking up in the middle of the night just to make sure it was still there.

“Yannis, I’m trying a new method with the seed, so I can’t give it to them for now.” Zinnia lowered her lashes, her fingers pausing slightly on the spoon.

She was still nurturing the seed, so she couldn’t hand it over. And now that the seed was showing changes, Zinnia didn’t need their growth accelerator anymore.

Yannis asked, “What kind of experiment is it, Zinnia? Can you tell me about it?”

Yannis frowned slightly as he glanced again at Zinnia’s bandaged hand, catching a faint metallic scent of blood in the air.

Because of his childhood trauma, he was especially sensitive to the smell of blood.

‘Zinnia must be hiding something from us,’ Yannis thought to himself.

“Not yet, Yannis. I’ll tell you once I confirm this method actually works.” Zinnia couldn’t bring herself to meet Yannis' eyes. She quickly averted her gaze.

He was too sharp; Zinnia was afraid Yannis would notice something was off.

Watching Yannis' eyes drift to her hand, Zinnia instinctively pressed her palm against the side of the bowl, trying to hide it.

Yannis acted as if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss. “Mm,” he replied casually.

“Does it taste good?” Yannis asked again.

“It’s delicious,” Zinnia mumbled as she popped some more corn into her mouth, her voice soft and sweet.

Yannis really was an amazing cook. He’d been the one making all her meals these past few days.

Yannis asked gently, “Anything else you’re craving? I’ll make it for you tonight.”

Yannis' heart skipped a beat at the sound of Zinnia’s soft, sweet voice. It had been ages since they’d had a real conversation like this.

Ever since Nathan’s incident, she’d been weighed down by worry. She spoke little, rarely smiled, and seemed to have no energy for anything, not even meals or daily tasks.

Zinnia took a sip of soup, her thoughts moving sluggishly. “I want… some meat,” she murmured as she looked up at Yannis, blinking her big, dewy eyes.

“What kind of meat would you like, sweetie?” Yannis hadn’t heard that drowsy, honeyed tone from her in ages. As he looked at her face, he suddenly noticed a faint pink flush creeping across her cheeks.

Yannis reached out and touched her cheek. “Zinnia, are you feeling unwell?”

Her face was burning hot. It was obvious that something was wrong. Concern instantly surfaced in Yannis' gaze.

“Unwell? No, I guess.” Seeing the concern in Yannis' eyes, Zinnia tilted her head in tipsy confusion.

She thought she was feeling okay right now. As she spoke, she cradled the bowl in both hands and took a slow sip of the sweet soup.

“It’s so good… Do you want some?” Zinnia mumbled.

After she took a sip, her pale lips glistened with moisture. Clutching the bowl with both hands, she offered it to Yannis.

Her eyes sparkled with eagerness to share, her expression that of a good girl seeking praise.

“Thank you for sharing, Zinnia.” Yannis took the bowl and brought it closer, catching the sweet, rich aroma of white wine.

An absurd thought struck him. ‘Could she really be tipsy from that tiny bit of white wine I added?’

“Don’t be shy. Drink up! It’s so good,” Zinnia giggled. Her cheeks flushed pink at his praise, and she gave his hand a little push, urging him to take a sip.

Under Zinnia’s eager gaze, Yannis took the bowl and sipped from it.

She had already eaten most of the corn, leaving only a little soup at the bottom.

Zinnia hadn’t been getting much rest lately, so Yannis added a little extra white wine to the soup, hoping it would help her relax and sleep better that afternoon.

He had never thought that just a hint of wine would get her tipsy.

Zinnia leaned in close, her face just inches from his. She murmured sweetly, “Yannis, does it taste good?”

Fresh from her sweet soup, her breath–soft and sugary–brushed gently against his skin as she suddenly closed the distance.

Realizing she was tipsy, Yannis steadied her with a hand at her waist to keep her from falling. “It’s delicious. Want some more, Zinnia?” Yannis lowered his gaze to study the little girl. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were drowsy and innocent. She was unmistakably tipsy.

Yannis had served her a full bowl of soup, and Zinnia had finished almost all of it. There was barely a sip left at the bottom.

She was surely more than a little tipsy by now.

“I’m done… You have it,” Zinnia murmured with a tipsy smile. She’d had enough.

Seeing she wouldn’t have any more, Yannis finished the remaining soup himself.

He set the bowl aside and looked down at her. “Zinnia, you seem a little happier today. Did something good happen?”

Yannis gazed at her, noticing how her eyes sparkled with excitement. It struck him that it had been ages since he’d last seen that clear, bright look in her eyes. For the first time in a long while, she actually seemed a little happier.

Zinnia took a long moment to process his words, murmuring drowsily to herself, “Something good, hmm… Something good…”

Deep down, Zinnia felt a little happy today. She blurted out, her voice sweet and tipsy, “Yeah! Something good happened to me today.”

Yannis continued, “So, what good thing happened? Will you tell me?”