Outside in the hallway, Ning Dongli hid timidly behind An Yu.
She had thought that the hardest part would be taking the first step.
But in reality, that wasn’t the case at all.
The two little ones walked hand in hand out of the building.
The moment they stepped through the entrance, they saw several strangers passing by.
Although this was the most ordinary thing in the world, it still gave Ning Dongli a fright.
Outside, there wasn’t just An Yu—there were other strangers too.
For Ning Dongli, who didn’t want to see anyone, this was an enormous challenge.
Fortunately, she still had An Yu with her.
“Is that the place?”
An Yu pointed at the cake shop across the street and asked the girl beside her.
Ning Wanciu had been right.
There really was a cake shop near her house; they could see it after walking just a short distance.
“Mm…”
Ning Dongli hid behind An Yu, nervously lifting her head to look in the direction An Yu was pointing.
“Y-yes, that’s the one.”
“Good.”
An Yu nodded and, without hesitation, pulled Ning Dongli toward the cake shop.
“……”
Ning Dongli could only lower her head and obediently let An Yu lead her along.
At the same time, she kept cheering herself on in her heart.
Ning Dongli, you can do this!
You’ll be fine.
Prove it to An Yu and Big Sis!
Soon, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the cake shop.
An Yu pushed open the door and pulled Ning Dongli inside.
The shop was doing good business; there was even a line at this hour.
This only intensified Ning Dongli’s social anxiety.
If An Yu hadn’t been holding her hand, she probably would have run away already.
Even with An Yu holding her hand, it wasn’t much better.
She hid behind An Yu, head slightly lowered, doing her best to avoid eye contact with anyone.
Before long, it was An Yu and Ning Dongli’s turn.
An Yu pulled Ning Dongli forward and looked at the small cakes in the display case, her amber eyes shining with serious focus.
This was her first time in a cake shop.
Although there were many varieties, there wasn’t really anything to hesitate over.
They had already decided before leaving that they were buying fruit cake.
So An Yu slightly lifted her head and pointed at three different cakes with an expressionless face.
“This one, this one, and this one. Thank you.”
She remained polite even with strangers, because she was Polite An Yu.
“…Alright, please wait a moment.”
The shop assistant seemed to have never seen such an adorable little girl before and took an extra glance, but she quickly smiled and nodded.
Politeness was met with politeness.
After ordering the fruit cakes they had originally planned to buy, An Yu slowly turned around, only to see Ning Dongli still hiding behind her, too afraid to come out.
“Ning Dongli, what’s wrong?”
An Yu gave a light tug and pulled Ning Dongli out so they were face to face.
“Eek…”
“Is there something behind me?”
An Yu tilted her head, staring expressionlessly into Ning Dongli’s water-blue eyes.
Seeing this, Ning Dongli panicked and quickly looked away.
She didn’t dare admit that her social anxiety was acting up.
Even though no one had even spoken to her.
“Oh, so… do you have a flavor you want to eat?”
“Ah…”
Ning Dongli was startled. Before she could react, An Yu had already nodded.
“I see…”
An Yu calmly turned back and called out softly, “Miss, my friend wants to order something.”
Clearly, An Yu had misunderstood.
“Coming, coming!”
The shop assistant who was packaging the cakes turned around.
She blinked in surprise when she saw An Yu.
What an adorable little girl—and her friend was an adorable little girl too.
Not bad at all.
So this was the one who had been hiding behind her earlier.
Judging by her behavior, she was probably shy around strangers and liked to hide behind her older sister… or younger sister?
So cute…
Obviously, Ning Dongli had thought hiding behind An Yu meant no one would notice her. That was impossible.
After all, An Yu was a little shorter than her.
“What would you like, miss?” the shop assistant asked with a gentle smile, using the softest tone she could muster.
Ning Dongli’s shyness was very obvious.
Trembling slightly, she clung to the arm of the blue-and-white-haired girl beside her, constantly seeking help with her eyes.
And she really was relying on her.
She stared nervously at An Yu. Out here, she could only depend on An Yu.
“Ning Dongli, what do you want to eat?”
An Yu tilted her head, looking at her with some confusion.
If she wanted something, she just had to say it, right?
Faced with An Yu’s question, Ning Dongli simply trembled nervously.
She didn’t want to talk to strangers, so she hoped An Yu would just order something random for her.
However, An Yu didn’t understand her pleading look.
Instead, she blinked in confusion, seemingly misunderstanding something:
“You want to eat me?”
Because when she asked what Ning Dongli wanted to eat, the girl didn’t answer and just kept staring at her.
“What are you saying?! O-of course not!”
Ning Dongli’s face turned bright red as she shouted anxiously.
This was the first time she had spoken outside, but she had no choice.
If she didn’t say something now, she would be completely misunderstood!
“Hm?”
An Yu’s expression remained unchanged as she continued staring silently at Ning Dongli.
But Ning Dongli was dying from embarrassment.
What started as social anxiety had turned into her looking like a total pervert thanks to An Yu’s words!
Ning Dongli instinctively looked around and realized many people were staring at her.
It was definitely because of what An Yu had just said!
What did she mean by “eat her”…
“Wuu…”
Ning Dongli’s face grew even redder. In a panic, she dragged An Yu forward and randomly pointed at a cake.
“T-this one! Hurry… hurry up…” Her voice grew softer and softer. “Please…”
“Alright.”
The shop assistant nodded politely, maintaining her professional composure.
But inside, she was dying of laughter.
These two little girls were too cute.
One was adorably blunt and clueless, while the other kept blushing nonstop.
Even though they were incredibly cute, the assistant still packed the cakes at the fastest speed of her career.
“Here’s your cake.”
Ning Dongli quickly snatched the bag from the assistant’s hands, nodded with a flushed face, and said, “Th-thank you!”
After that, she immediately dragged An Yu and fled the scene.
“Mm?”
An Yu, who was suddenly forced to start running, looked at Ning Dongli—who was carrying the cake—in confusion.
She noticed that the girl’s side profile was dyed with a faint blush.
Even so, she never let go of An Yu’s hand.
After running for a short while, Ning Dongli finally stopped. She stood in place, breathing heavily.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
“Mm, Ning Dongli?”
An Yu squeezed the girl’s small hand in puzzlement.
“Cough, cough… If I knew… I wouldn’t have run…”
She was a hardcore shut-in who hadn’t stepped out the door in ages.
The farthest she usually went was from her room to the living room sofa.
Ning Dongli’s physical stamina was actually worse than An Yu’s.
At least An Yu walked to and from school every day.
“Are you okay?”
An Yu gently patted Ning Dongli’s back.
She had seen people do this on TV in similar situations.
Unexpectedly, Ning Dongli turned to her with a slightly puffed-up, indignant look.
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