C12 His Obsession with Food!

Early the next morning, in the dining room, Cassius buttoned his shirt cuffs as he took a seat at the table. Anthea, her left ankle neatly bandaged, gracefully settled into the chair beside him with Mrs. Barnes' assistance. Despite looking a touch pale from a restless night, her face still radiated an endearing charm. "Good morning, Elder Brother Cassius," she greeted him warmly.

Cassius cast a concerned look at Anthea's bandaged foot. "If it's inconvenient for you to join the crew today, just have Heyden reach out to Director Zhou."

Anthea shook her head resolutely. "I'll manage, Elder Brother Cassius. It's the first day, and I don't want to hold everyone up because of me, especially after the schedule was pushed back due to my last-minute addition. Plus, everyone's already dealing with the situation with Tong Tong..."

"Heyden's spoken with Director Zhou. No one on set will give you trouble," Cassius assured her.

A fragile yet determined smile spread across Anthea's face. "Thank you, Elder Brother Cassius. But I want to earn their respect through my own efforts. I'll give it my all."

Cassius nodded, his expression softening. Belinda had never been this easy to handle at Anthea's age. He sipped his coffee and then, as if an afterthought, inquired, "Where's Diantha?"

Butler Edwards, wearing a self-satisfied grin, clearly believed his matchmaking efforts the previous day had been successful. "The young madam went out for a run early this morning—doctor's orders for her recovery," he explained, glancing at his pocket watch. "She's been out for an hour and a half; should be back any minute now."

As if on cue, Diantha's footsteps approached. She burst into the dining room, sweat-soaked but undeterred, and took a seat across from Anthea, next to Cassius. Without a second thought for the sweat clinging to her, she slammed down her water bottle, grabbed a slice of toast slathered in blueberry jam, and bit into it voraciously. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she polished off the toast, washed it down with a swig of soy milk, and then devoured two chicken sandwiches. A contented burp followed, and she gave Mrs. Barnes an approving thumbs-up. "Your cooking just keeps getting better, Mrs. Barnes."

Mrs. Barnes, who had witnessed Diantha's impressive appetite the night before, remained unfazed by the spectacle. She even offered Diantha another serving of dessert, to which Diantha's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

The Edwards family's dining table was a grand, European-style affair that seated ten. Diantha, now sitting directly in the middle, was just two seats away from Cassius and directly across from Anthea. She seemed like a well-acquainted guest, comfortably close to the host family.

Today, Diantha wore a light green sports vest, even thinner than the one from the day before. Damp from her run, the fabric clung to her, accentuating her figure more so than the previous evening's gray vest had.

Cassius's gaze lingered momentarily on her form before returning to his own thoughts, his brow furrowing slightly in disapproval.

Anthea, who had only ever dined alone with Cassius since moving into the Edwards residence, felt an instinctive twinge of discomfort at Diantha's presence. Yet she knew it was Diantha's right as the lady of the house to join them. "Diantha," she ventured softly, "it's easy to catch a cold sitting still with sweat on you. Maybe you should take a hot shower first?"

Diantha, clearly enjoying her meal, brushed off the suggestion with a wave of her hand. "I was famished after my workout. The shower can wait; eating comes first." She finished her sandwich in a few more bites, then leaned back with a blissful sigh.

Cassius watched, speechless. The look of contentment that once appeared only in his presence now emerged after just a couple of bites of a sandwich?

For Diantha, food had become a newfound pleasure. In her first life, she had been so frail before her death, unable to keep anything down, surviving only on intravenous nutrition. And in her second life, amid the apocalypse, she had known the pangs of true hunger. Now, she savored every bite, regretting the days when she had starved herself for vanity's sake.

Over time, she developed a peculiar fixation on food—a sentiment shared by anyone who had survived the apocalypse for more than three years. Given that even plants had mutated to the point of being inedible, their only options were to hunt high-level mutant beasts or scavenge for expired food from the days of civilization.

Now, blessed with the chance to return to a time of plenty, she was determined to eat and drink her fill. Life was full of uncertainties; who knew what the next moment might bring?

Cassius glanced at Butler Edwards, who promptly slid the basket of sandwiches closer to Cassius's position. With a warm smile at Diantha, he said, "Eating together as a family feels best when we're close. Too much distance makes passing food a hassle."

Diantha stood up, swiftly grabbed two slices of jam-slathered bread, and returned to her seat, saying with a smile, "I've just finished working out and didn't want to subject everyone to my sweat. Sitting here is just fine."

She resumed savoring her jam-covered bread with focused enjoyment. Truth be told, she was quite full, yet she felt compelled to eat until she was beyond satisfied—ensuring she wouldn't go hungry for the next two days, just in case. She recognized this as a pathological response to past starvation, unhealthy for her body, but it was a compulsion she couldn't shake.

Butler Edwards cast a concerned look at Cassius, who didn't press the issue. Instead, he took a sip of his coffee and said calmly, "Today, I'll be with Anthea at the set. You're freshly discharged from the hospital and not yet fully recovered. Don't venture out alone like you did today. If you feel like going out, Butler Edwards can accompany you."

With a soft smile, Diantha replied, "I ran for over an hour this morning and am quite exhausted. I plan to stay in and rest today."

Cassius nodded in agreement, "That sounds like a good plan."

After breakfast with Anthea, Cassius left the house. Diantha stretched lazily and announced her intention to retreat to her room for a bath and some sleep. She informed Butler Edwards that she had woken up too early and overeaten, so there was no need to call her for lunch; she intended to take the day to rest. Butler Edwards readily consented.

Outside, Cassius instructed Anthea to get into the car first, then turned to Heyden, who had arrived to pick him up, and said, "Have Ryant keep an eye on her for the next few days."

Heyden, momentarily taken aback, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and asked, "Who?"

"Diantha," Cassius replied, his tone detached.

Heyden couldn't decipher the look in Cassius's eyes as he spoke her name, but he inexplicably felt a chill.