Returning The Favor

Finished cleaning herself after exercising, Maya came to the dining room as instructed by the waitress who had previously come to her room to tell her that Evan had woken up and was waiting for her to have breakfast together. Even though Maya was currently just staying at Evan's house, the man didn't seem to intend to treat her disrespectfully. Evan and Kevin had already arrived at the dining room, when Maya finally came in to have breakfast with them.

"Sorry I kept you guys waiting."

As a form of politeness, Maya prefers to wear her previous clothes compared to the oversized clothes she wore to exercise before. Evan seemed to notice the girl was wearing the same clothes as when she had first arrived, as the man kept staring at her for a long time before nodding without saying anything else.

A maid swiftly led Maya to her own seat. The girl didn't even need to use her hands, as someone else politely helped Maya to sit comfortably with the other two.

As for the breakfast itself, the room turned silent as breakfast started as soon as Maya finally sat down in her own chair. Kevin and Evan didn't talk much while they were eating, while Maya didn't talk at all when the delicious food in front of her turned out to be far more interesting than anything else. The atmosphere at the dining table was a bit stiff, until Evan finally put away his cutlery with a polite gesture.

"Kevin told me that you exercise outside even though the weather is cold today. In the future, if you really want to work out, you can use the gym room on the second floor. One more thing, there's no need for you to rush over to your family just so we can get your clothes. Today, go out with someone to buy new clothes. You don't need to worry about money. I will pay all the costs."

Maya heard that what Evan said did make sense. The girl nodded, before she tried to find another way to repay her benefactor's kindness.

"Actually... I have another request. May I borrow your kitchen? I can cook, and I wish I could eat my own food once in a while."

Actually, it was just an excuse so that Maya could simultaneously develop her cooking techniques at this house. Seeing Evan who was a little pale this morning, Maya felt a little sorry because Evan didn't seem to pay much attention to his own health all this time. Maya wanted to make up for the man's kindness by cooking him healthy food. But it's not the usual kind of healthy food. The food is the secret recipe of the researchers in a world where food crises are a major problem for human. As much as possible, humans must look for new breakthroughs so that with few resources, humans can still survive with the few remaining plants. If Maya could find the ingredients when she went shopping later, Maya was sure that Evan would feel better after eating them.

The volunteers usually eat the food if they perform well on the evaluation. No matter how tired they were, as long as they ate the food, all their tiredness would be gone in the next day. The researchers is the one who found the breakthrough. That is why, researchers always have the most share in the supply of food or other basic goods.

As one of the researchers, Maya certainly knows the recipe for the food because she is one of the core research groups who directly participate in developing this extraordinary food. In the zombie world, becoming a researcher is the only way if she wants to survive even though she has nobody else. Even though Maya had determined that she would no longer join the research group in this world, helping her future husband to get back to his good health didn't seem like too much of a problem for Maya.

He wanted Evan to be healthy. A good man like Evan, deserves to be healthy like the people around him.

Evan himself, the man subconsciously raised his eyebrows when he heard Maya's request. "She can really cook?" he thought in a surprise. Evan was silent for a moment, before finally nodding slowly. "You are free to do so. Besides, this will also be your home when we get married later. You can ask the maid for help if there is an item you don't understand how to use. The ingredients in this house are usually complete. But you can ask the maid, if there are special ingredients you need for your cooking."

"Okay."

Maya smiled as she replied to Evan's words with a happy tone. Her pair of large eyes contained a faint sense of happiness, as she continued her speech again in full of hope. "Then let me cook for our dinner tonight. I'll cook some good food for your health. But before that, do any of you have allergies to anything?" Maya asked quickly. Kevin quickly shook his head with a small smile. But Evan, Maya didn't know that her simple question had shaken something in Evan's heart.

Since the death of his family, it feels like Evan has lost something that people often call home food. Back when her mother was still alive, the woman would always help the maids to cook the food their family would eat. The dish brought a distinctive taste on Evan's tongue. Other food made no difference in the man's eyes anymore. No one can replicate the taste of home cooking like her mother did. Be it the five-star chef's cooking that he employs at his home, to street food vendors.

Since Evan was never satisfied with anyone's cooking, usually no one was brave enough to try to get Evan's attention by cooking for the man like Maya was trying to do right now. However, no one ever tried didn't mean Evan himself forbade them. Evan just stared at Maya for a long time, when Evan shook his head as his friend Kevin did too.

"Anything's fine," he said quietly even though he didn't have much hope for the girl. Evan immediately finished his meal after that. The man left without another word, as he still had work to do after he finished his breakfast.

Maya felt a little left out when Evan still spoke so coldly to her even after they were about to get married. They may not really love each other, and are only together because of their own interests. But Maya actually hopes that they can become friends who will support each other in their current difficult situation. Maya had once spent her entire life alone in difficult situations. In her current life, Maya actually wanted to at least have a friends who can be her interlocutor in this new world.

However, things still seemed to be too soon for Evan. Maya tried to think positive, as she quickly finished her breakfast so she could go shopping as fast as she could.