Chapter 30: Striptease

"Uh-Umm. Uncooked. Nothing over here. Empty. Yuck! Smelly."

Janice is searching the kitchen, shifting from here and there and from one cabinet to another, finding something to eat. She whispers but is still audible to Dylan and Lixin. They both are sitting on the sofa that faces the kitchen. Lixin bids Goodnight as he is supposed to wake up early to deal with other business.

"I'm starving!" says Janice loudly, sighing. She places her arms on the kitchen counter and rests her face on them.

Dylan, working on his Macbook, stops and glances at her bizarre gesture. He says, "Me too!" and then continues working.

She lifts her head and says, "You are so annoying!" She hops and sits next to him. "Can't you cook for me?" she asks innocently, holding his arm.

He looks at the puppy eyes she makes, and instead of laughing, he coughs. "Nah!" He refuses her flatly, withdraws his arm from her grip and continues his work.