Natalie looked a little surprised. "Maybe I should do it ... " Then she laughed. "You look like a loving mother now." Cassian smiled. "Just keep eating. I don't like gnocchi when it's too hot anyway. I'll cool theirs down first." Natalie saw him busying himself and didn't argue. She lowered her head and kept eating, secretly thinking how opposite their personalities were. She compared herself with an impatient, rough man, while he acted more like a gentle, careful woman. Soon, the gnocchi had cooled. Cassian handed some to the little ones, then came back to the table. Just as he was about to eat, a loud chewing sound filled the room. What on earth? Is there a pig in the house? Cassian turned his head. Oh. It came from Lucky. The dog had her rear in the air and her head down, shoving forward with every bite. Each time she grabbed a gnocchi, she lifted her head, tilted her mouth, and chewed hard. Her jaws opened wide and snapped shut with every chomp. Well, Lucky certainly made it look delicious. Next to her, Baron wasn't as noisy, but he ate with surprising speed, finishing a gnocchi in seconds. Earlier, when Natalie said she'd prepare some for the rabbit, Cassian had been shocked. He always thought rabbits were plant-eaters, but this one clearly loved meat. And then there was Cash. Of all of them, the rooster ate with the most elegance, pecking slowly at his mixed grains one bite at a time. Cassian chuckled and popped a gnocchi into his mouth. He glanced at Natalie, who was fully focused on her meal. "Eating with you all makes the food taste even better," he said. Apparently, enjoying a delicious dinner with the right people carried its own kind of magic. Natalie took another big bite, then looked at her pets. "Sorry you had to see that," she said with an embarrassed smile. Cassian shook his head. "No, this is nice." It was nothing like his empty villa, where the silence was so deep he could hear himself chew. Since the world fell apart, his mood had gotten darker and darker. If Roderick hadn't stopped by now and then, he might have forgotten how to talk. Natalie slowed down her eating, noticing how graceful Cassian looked when he had his food. "I agree. This feels good. After the apocalypse, Lucky kept me company so I wasn't lonely. And now, with Cash and Baron, the house feels even more alive." Cassian added with a grin, "And now you've got me too. Even livelier, right?" Natalie gave him a thoughtful look but said nothing. Cassian didn't mind. He just kept eating. After a while, he asked, "What are you craving for tomorrow?" Natalie raised her brows. "You're cooking again?" "Of course," he replied calmly. "Since you like my food, I'll take over the kitchen while I'm here." Natalie's eyes lit up. "You're actually really nice, you know that?" The big-shot CEO had spent 80 million just to move in, yet he was still willing to stand in the kitchen, cooking like a chef.Natalie felt like she had hit the jackpot. All she had offered was a roof over his head. In return, she got a five-star cook—and maybe even an upgrade to her storage space with emeralds worth who-knew-how-much. She could laugh in her sleep. Natalie popped another gnocchi into her mouth with a grin, not noticing the subtle smile tugging at Cassian's lips across the table. When dinner ended, Natalie took the lead on washing dishes. Cassian pitched in by wiping the table and stacking the plates. Thinking back to Harold's behavior earlier, Cassian asked, "Harold's good at chemistry?" Natalie kept scrubbing the plate as she answered, "Not just chemistry. He's good at everything. He can build contraptions, invent stuff, and even do data analysis." Cassian nodded. "He's got talent." That sparked a thought in Natalie. "Oh right, he used to work at Tyro Group." Cassian wasn't surprised. If someone that skilled wasn't working for him, he was most likely picked up by Tyro Group. Natalie added, "But he didn't agree with their company values. He quit and started his thing." Cassian gave another nod. "Makes sense." Natalie tilted her head. "What do you mean by that?" "Not agreeing with Tyro Group is normal," he replied calmly. "I don't agree with a lot of what they do either." Natalie thought of the animal experiments Cassian had mentioned before and nodded. "Yeah, me neither."Cassian chuckled. "Why not?" "I don't like their mutation projects. And that sleazy Mr. Theodore of theirs rubs me the wrong way." Cassian thought it over. "Yeah, you two wouldn't get along." After dinner, Natalie usually curled up on the couch with Lucky to watch TV. But with Cassian there, the room felt awkward. He seemed to sense it and said, "Do your thing. Don't worry about me." Then he walked off to the guest room on his own. Natalie let out a breath of relief. She had never lived under the same roof with a man before. It made her uneasy; she couldn't relax. She turned on the TV and started a drama. But only a few minutes later, Cassian walked out of the room, his face dark and cold.