“What’s with that expression?”
As if completely unable to read the atmosphere, Cheng Shimumeng suddenly spoke up.
She sat on the chair with one leg crossed over the other, staring into Ning Wanciu’s eyes.
“It’s nothing.”
Ning Wanciu shook her head and forced a very strained smile.
She couldn’t discuss her situation with anyone.
Ning Wanciu couldn’t bring herself to say it—she and her little sister had both fallen for the same person, and that person was An Yu.
She couldn’t say it. She really couldn’t.
“Sigh~ Our Ning Wanciu has finally reached puberty too~”
Seeing her reaction, Cheng Shimumeng suddenly smiled and put on the air of a concerned mother.
“Huh?”
Ning Wanciu looked up, her eyes filled with astonishment.
What… puberty?
What was her best friend suddenly talking about?
“Isn’t it? You have your own little secret now, hiding it away because you’re too embarrassed to say it, even keeping it from me~”
Cheng Shimumeng shook her head helplessly, an unreadable light flashing in her emerald-green eyes.
Ning Wanciu instinctively wanted to refute it, but after thinking carefully, it really was like that.
“What are you talking about? It’s nothing like that.”
“Isn’t it?”
Cheng Shimumeng said calmly.
“Ever since earlier, you’ve been staring at your phone. One moment you look worried, the next you look relieved, and then…”
Cheng Shimumeng deliberately paused, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.
“You’re so envious you can barely stand it.”
She laughed lightly. She had wanted to say “jealous,” but ultimately decided to spare her good friend some dignity.
“So, what exactly is on your phone that can make our Ning Wanciu make an expression like that?”
Cheng Shimumeng asked softly. Although she already knew, she had no intention of exposing it directly.
“I’m not like that.”
Ning Wanciu pressed her lips together and ultimately chose to deny it.
“Really?”
Cheng Shimumeng clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, picked up a mirror from the side and held it up to Ning Wanciu.
“Why don’t you take a look for yourself?”
Ning Wanciu instinctively raised her head and saw in the mirror that the girl’s eyes were filled with melancholy.
There was even some… envy and jealousy.
Those were her feelings toward her little sister… because her sister was currently playing with An Yu.
Ning Wanciu parted her cherry lips, but in the end nothing came out.
She didn’t even have the strength to refute.
Everything was exactly as Cheng Shimumeng had said—she was envious.
“See?”
Cheng Shimumeng’s voice carried a hint of helplessness.
“Ever since I met you, I’ve never seen you like this~”
“Hesitating, looking so miserable. Tell me, Ning Wanciu… what exactly are you thinking about?”
At first Cheng Shimumeng had wanted to watch the show for fun.
If Ning Wanciu and Ning Dongli both liked An Yu at the same time, it would be very interesting.
And it really was interesting.
When Cheng Shimumeng saw the jealousy filling Ning Wanciu’s eyes, her own heartbeat sped up.
She thought she would finally get to see emotions from Ning Wanciu other than gentleness.
Although Cheng Shimumeng did not actually want to see the two real sisters fight… a little bit of it would still be quite fun, wouldn’t it?
And such an event could also push everyone’s feelings forward nicely.
But…
How could Ning Wanciu be like this?
That look of wanting to endure everything, swallowing her grievances without saying a word?
Cheng Shimumeng had seen clearly that those dim eyes meant she planned to do nothing at all—which would ultimately lead to no progress.
It might even push that dense little girl further and further away.
What Cheng Shimumeng wanted to see was the entertaining spectacle of fighting over the same person.
She wanted this situation to advance everyone’s progress.
She did not want to watch some boring drama where everyone kept yielding to each other, one person was happy while the rest became defeated dogs.
Whether it was Ning Wanciu or Ning Dongli.
Cheng Shimumeng believed An Yu would not let them suffer.
Her ultimate goal was simply to see An Yu’s reaction.
It would definitely be interesting once An Yu realized that everyone around her had feelings for her that were far from pure.
Cheng Shimumeng would absolutely not allow Ning Wanciu to keep everything bottled up inside.
“I…”
Ning Wanciu stammered for a long time but couldn’t get any words out.
She felt like Cheng Shimumeng already knew something.
“Ning Wanciu, is this really okay?”
Cheng Shimumeng stopped joking around and asked in a cold voice.
Ning Wanciu’s pupils trembled slightly.
She didn’t know how to respond.
But she also stopped pretending to be clueless. If she kept pretending, Cheng Shimumeng would probably get genuinely angry.
“Forget it.”
Looking at Ning Wanciu who kept her head lowered and remained silent, Cheng Shimumeng finally softened her cold attitude.
She smiled helplessly and spoke gently:
“Wanciu, you should look at yourself more too, okay?”
With that, Cheng Shimumeng stood up and left, leaving Ning Wanciu alone in the room.
“Mm, Ning Dongli, feeling better?”
An Yu held an ice cream and thoughtfully brought it to Ning Dongli’s lips.
Feeling the cool sensation, Ning Dongli came back to life.
But she wasn’t fully revived.
She had embarrassed herself so badly earlier—collapsing in front of everyone and hiding in An Yu’s arms, too afraid to face anyone.
“Ugh…”
Thinking about what had just happened, Ning Dongli let out a soft whimper, looking flustered.
“Next time, if you’re not feeling well, tell me in advance.”
Ning Dongli had pushed herself too hard, which was why she ended up like this.
An Yu spoke softly, a rare trace of helplessness in her tone.
Ning Dongli nodded obediently, not daring to say much more.
What had happened earlier should be considered over.
She knew An Yu had misunderstood.
An Yu thought her bad mood was due to her social anxiety acting up, but that wasn’t actually the case.
Everything was because of her own despicable heart.
So Ning Dongli had no intention of explaining clearly. In fact, she felt it was better this way.
This was fine… this was fine.
“We’ll rest here for a while.”
An Yu gently rubbed against Ning Dongli, indicating she should rest.
They were now sitting on a bench, pressed closely together.
“Okay.”
Ning Dongli’s face was slightly red, but she did not refuse.
She really had reached her limit and genuinely needed to rest.
“Mm, want some more?”
Seeing this, An Yu held the ice cream to Ning Dongli’s mouth again.
Ning Dongli timidly took a small bite.
The ice cream was sweet and cold, which helped calm her emotions, so she did not refuse.
“Tastes good?”
An Yu asked softly.
“Mm.”
Ning Dongli nodded, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
“Mm! That’s good then.”
An Yu blinked, then right in front of Ning Dongli, she opened her mouth and took a bite of the ice cream.
“!”
Ning Dongli felt as if she had been struck by lightning—because An Yu had bitten exactly where she had bitten earlier!
“Mm… it’s good.”
An Yu nodded. Ning Dongli was right; it really was delicious.
However, she did not see that because of her action, the girl beside her had turned completely red.