Mo Ran’s movements slowed down, and she silently gazed at Jiang Ling’s smiling face.
The clear, bright song that had just echoed in her ears lingered still, stirring a strange feeling in her heart.
This feeling made her a little uncomfortable, so she shifted her gaze away, her eyes misted with an indescribable emotion.
But soon, Mo Ran met Jiang Ling’s confused gaze again. Her expression was as calm as ever, and she smiled as she picked up the song.
“If all I want is to be loved, then in the end, there are no more words to say.”
“Hehe.”
Jiang Ling smiled even brighter, turning around and continuing to hum, her steps light and lively.
Mo Ran followed close behind her, looking as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, fell silent.
When they returned, Jiang Ling cheerfully spread all the snacks she had bought across the table. She carefully checked one by one to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, and only then, satisfied, began to sort them.
She divided them into about seven portions by feel—one each for all the NOVA members, one for Xu Nuo, one for Song Meng, and one for herself.
It was easy to distribute the others, but how should she deliver Song Meng’s share?
Jiang Ling thought about it for a long time, but in the end simply decided not to worry about it.
If it was that person, she would definitely show up suddenly at some point and invite her out, right?
With this reassuring thought, Jiang Ling picked up Mo Ran’s share and quickly walked to the kitchen door, knocking on the half-open door: “Knock, knock, knock —“
“Hm?”
Mo Ran was stir-frying vegetables. She glanced over distractedly and chuckled, “What is it?”
“I’m leaving your snacks here. I still need to deliver the rest to the others.”
Jiang Ling placed the snacks on the table, tidied them up thoughtfully, then, holding the remaining portions, went to knock on each door one by one.
Lin Xiaoyu was, as usual, reading comics. When she saw Jiang Ling enter with a huge bag of snacks, she asked suspiciously, “Did you go rob someone?”
“Of course not!”
Jiang Ling clicked her tongue and handed Lin Xiaoyu a share. “Can you stop thinking so badly of your dear roommate? Seriously… I just went to the supermarket and got these. Perfect for eating while you read comics.”
“You’ll get the screen dirty with your snack hands.”
Lin Xiaoyu retorted solemnly.
“What, do you want me to feed you, then?”
Jiang Ling left with the rest of the snacks, her voice tinged with helplessness.
“Mm, that’s exactly what I mean.”
At those words, Lin Xiaoyu nodded without hesitation, as if that had been her intention all along.
“We’ll see about that~”
Jiang Ling glanced at her with a slight smirk and, somewhat proud, tossed that line before heading happily toward Bai Xue’s room.
But no matter how long she knocked, there wasn’t the slightest response.
“She went out.”
Fang Wannian happened to be passing by and explained as she recalled, “After getting a phone call, she hurried out. She’s probably busy arranging something for the next event. Why are you looking for her?”
Upon hearing Fang Wannian’s question, Jiang Ling instantly understood and didn’t push it any further. Instead, she pulled out a share and stuffed it into Fang Wannian’s hand, grinning, “This is for you!”
Fang Wannian stared at the snacks for a moment, then looked up.
“Are these snacks just for me, or do the others have them too?”
“…Are you Fang Daiyu or something?!”
Seeing Jiang Ling’s somewhat flustered expression, Fang Wannian pouted in dissatisfaction, but didn’t say anything else. She cherished the snacks, stuffing them into her pocket, then let out a delicate hum: “Go on, don’t you still have more to deliver?”
“Hehe, Nannan is the best!”
Jiang Ling then ran to Xu Nuo’s studio and knocked on the door.
“Huh? Come in…”
What responded was Xu Nuo’s nearly lifeless voice.
This made Jiang Ling worry as she pushed open the door, only to see Xu Nuo sprawled back in her work chair, her hair a mess like a female ghost… Well, if she dyed the green back to black, she’d look even more like one.
Jiang Ling muttered to herself, but still went forward to ask with concern, tossing the snacks into her arms, “What’s wrong with you, acting like you’re dying.”
Xu Nuo sluggishly tore open the snack wrapper and stuffed a piece of candy into her mouth, her voice still weak: “Too much work—”
“Sister Bai Xue has been acting strange lately, like she’s on a sugar rush, as if she’s preparing for something big. And I’ve been lured by double pay into working myself to death—”
Almost instantly, Xu Nuo wrapped her arms around Jiang Ling’s slim waist and began to whine and cry.
After being together so long, Jiang Ling understood her well enough. She unhesitatingly pushed Xu Nuo’s head away, pinching her cheek and pulling, “That’s no excuse for you to cling to me and act like a slacker.”
“Just for a little while, wuwuwu!”
Jiang Ling knew that even though Xu Nuo seemed exhausted, her expression, hidden behind thick glasses, was always bright. Clearly, she was suffering but happy at the same time. She couldn’t help but ask, “Preparing for something big?”
Indeed, she’d barely seen Bai Xue in the dorm lately. Was she busy with preparations for this?
“I don’t really know the details either, but my workload has grown exponentially! When I make more money in the future, let’s hire a few more laborers, okay, wuwuwu…”
Seeing that Xu Nuo was about to cry endlessly, Jiang Ling simply pried her hands away and prepared to leave.
But when she saw Xu Nuo’s pitiful, teary-eyed gaze, she couldn’t help but soften. She reached out and ruffled that eye-catching green hair. “Be good, keep going.”
“I feel energized all over now!”
Xu Nuo immediately revived, clenching her fist with determination, “Don’t worry, as long as I have a single breath left, I’ll definitely… Hey, don’t go!”
Jiang Ling closed the studio door with a deadpan face.
If she listened any longer, it really would never end.
She shook her head, thinking that Mo Ran’s cooking should be about done, so she happily headed to the kitchen.
But before she could even enter, from a distance, Jiang Ling saw Mo Ran staring dazedly at the snacks, her face lacking its usual warmth, turning sharp instead. Some hidden emotion seemed to flicker in her eyes, and her usual smile was replaced by an expressionless look, as if… she was a completely different person.
This unconsciously made Jiang Ling let out a soft “Ah.”
And it was this short sound that made Mo Ran’s expression—which she’d never shown in front of others—vanish in an instant.
In just two seconds, she returned to being the Mo Ran Jiang Ling was familiar with, her expression and smile refreshing as always as she waved, “What is it, getting impatient? The food is almost ready.”
Such a sharp contrast made Jiang Ling feel a little uneasy. She walked over silently, carefully, and closely observing Mo Ran’s expression.
Then Jiang Ling realized that she couldn’t see even a trace of the emotion from before on her face, as if she’d just imagined it.
Somehow… it all felt off.
Seeing that Jiang Ling still hadn’t spoken and was just staring straight at her, Mo Ran’s smile remained perfect and unwavering, her voice as gentle as ever.
“What’s wrong?”