Aier looked up. Dressed in orange, with orange eyes and golden twin ponytails, it was the same girl from the auditorium earlier.
Not a bro… oh, a sis?
Aier’s lips twitched as she timidly asked, “…There are so many empty seats around, why here?”
“Hmph! I like it here! Is that not allowed?” The girl snorted lightly. “Then how about I pay you 5 Silver Coins for your seat?”
“Huh?”
Aier’s emerald green eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected this proud girl to be willing to spend 5 Silver Coins just for a seat.
A boy at a nearby table couldn’t help but get jealous.
He immediately leaned over. “Miss! My seat is even better! I’ll give you a discount, just 3 Silver Coins!”
“Scram!” The girl shot him a cold glare, shutting him up in embarrassment.
She turned back, glaring at Aier and impatiently tapping her finger on the table. “Not enough? 10 Silver Coins! Is that enough?”
Aier was at a loss for words.
She could only nod blankly, accepted the money, and stood up to give up her seat.
Well, if she liked this spot that much, she might as well sell it to her.
Who’d refuse easy money? ៷>ᴗ<៷
With the money in hand, Aier was about to scamper away.
“Stop! Who said you could leave!” Just as Aier took a step, the girl’s urgent voice chased after her.
Aier turned back. The girl quickly lowered her head and rummaged through her delicate little bag, soon fishing out another 7 Silver Coins.
“Th-these 5 Silver Coins are for you to sit across from me.” She raised her voice to cover her awkwardness, but the tips of her ears turned pink as she stared at the pillar next to her. “And the other 2 Silver Coins, go buy three servings of ice cream. I want two with different flavors! The rest… the rest is all yours! Go!”
Aier: “……”
Aier: “Huh?”
Never mind why this golden-haired twin-ponytailed girl wanted to sit face-to-face with her, but she could’ve just sat in the seat across from her, right? Wouldn’t that save 5 Silver Coins? What kind of new-age charity is this?
Aier was strongly resistant inside, especially since if Lady Xie Yier found out, she’d definitely get a carrot lecture.
But…
15 Silver Coins! And a serving of ice cream!
(｡><｡)
So… so tempting~~~ She hadn’t had ice cream in years.
Whenever there was good food, Aier’s feet just wouldn’t move away.
At this moment, she felt like two little versions of herself were fighting inside her head.
Aier’s personality that wanted ice cream (☞): “You’re next, Aier-taro!”
The personality afraid of being lectured by Lady Xie Yier (clenched fist): “Damn it, Di Aier!”
After exchanging their signature lines, the two sides began a furious “Ora Ora” and “Muda Muda” brawl.
Game over, their strengths were evenly matched, with no clear winner!
Aier clutched her head, torn with indecision.
What should she do? She really wanted to eat ice cream.
It’s just sharing a table, as long as the other person doesn’t touch her, it should be fine!
Thinking this, the side of her that wanted ice cream gradually took over.
Forget it, since this little gold sponsor insists on paying to share a table…
“Alright then.” Aier simply took the money and headed for the cold snacks window.
For food, Aier was willing to go all out.
Behind her, the golden-haired girl quietly let out a sigh of relief, then quickly put on a stern face and snorted at the air, like a proud doll feigning seriousness after a victory.
Aier reached the cold snacks window and quickly bought three servings of ice cream—one strawberry, one chocolate, one original.
“Here, your ice cream.” She placed the three frosty cups of ice cream on the table in front of the girl.
The girl glanced at the three different flavors and immediately pushed the chocolate one toward Aier.
“Hmph! I don’t want chocolate,” she pouted, as if explaining herself, but also trying to hide her real thoughts. “Eating such sweet things makes you fat! You can have it!”
She picked up a small silver spoon and impatiently dug out two scoops of pink strawberry ice cream, popping them into her mouth. The cold, sweet taste made her orange-gold eyes narrow in satisfaction, and she let out a barely audible sigh.
“You should eat slower… Eating cold things too fast will make you dizzy.” Aier kindly reminded her.
“Hmph, as if! Enough about that, what’s your name? I’m Tang Na.” As if remembering something, she added, “I’m only asking for your name so I can order you around in the future, don’t get any ideas!”
“I’m Aier.” With that, she picked up the “rejected” chocolate ice cream and started tasting it slowly.
The moment the ice cream touched her tongue, Aier couldn’t help but squint her eyes in bliss, an expression of pure enjoyment on her face.
:.˶˃ ᵕ ˂˵ .:✩
This alone made my life worth it!
Aier’s adorable expression was completely caught by Tang Na.
The latter’s heartbeat suddenly sped up, and she gulped unconsciously.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Tang Na quickly looked away, scarfing down her two ice creams at lightning speed, completely forgetting Aier’s earlier warning.
Aier didn’t pay much attention to their eye contact either, simply continuing to savor her ice cream with delight.
Under the table, her little feet swung back and forth in happiness.
Tang Na finished first, patted her belly in satisfaction, and was just about to stand up and stretch her limbs.
Suddenly, a wave of cold dizziness fiercely seized her brain!
“Ugh…!” She groaned, her delicate features contorting in pain from the sudden discomfort. She clutched her forehead, her body curling up slightly.
Aier immediately noticed something was wrong—just as she’d feared.
“Are you alright? Do you need to go to the infirmary?”
“I-I’m fine, I’ll recover soon, just wait.”
But before she could finish, a sharp pain twisted in her stomach. She gasped, clutching her belly with her other hand so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Now’s not the time to be proud!
Watching Tang Na clutch her stomach, Aier was at a loss for words.
She instinctively looked around for help, but the boy who’d tried to chat them up earlier was nowhere to be seen. The huge cafeteria was eerily empty—there was no one in sight, just the two of them in this corner.
Is there really some goddess of fate arranging this? How do I always run into this kind of thing?
“I… I’ll go find a teacher to help you.” Aier just wanted to escape the trouble.
“Miss… can’t… take it anymore!” Tang Na gritted her teeth and forced out her words, “Y-you idiot! Can’t you just take me to the infirmary?!”
She must have been in so much pain she didn’t care about her pride anymore.
Aier inwardly wailed, imagining Lady Xie Yier smirking and waving her over.
For the sake of her own health, she really should run away right now!
But… she couldn’t really just leave a girl doubled over in pain and sweating coldly here, could she?
At this point, beads of cold sweat were already forming on the girl curled up on the chair.
Her bright orange jacket was now a complete mess from Tang Na’s struggle.