HS8
Feeling the icy touch on both sides of her arms, Meng Huange blinked her lashes in embarrassment, then followed Su Wanli’s advice and looked toward the window beside her.
On the clear, pale green windowpane, the reflection of a delicately-featured, cool-tempered girl could be seen, the corners of her lips gently upturned, her brows slightly furrowed as she met her own eyes in the glass.
—even if Meng Huange lied to herself, she could still tell how forced that girl’s smile was.
However, on the corner of that girl’s mouth, there were suddenly two messy streaks of cream, curving upward in a ridiculous arc, which made the whole image look much more comical.
…Was Su Wanli really hoping she could smile a little more cheerfully?
“Yingying, why are you looking so serious? Is it because I drew it too realistically?”
The young miss stuck her finger into her mouth to clean off the cream she’d just gotten there, all the while grinning as she used her other hand to hook Meng Huange’s arm.
After laughing like that for a while, rocking back and forth, she finally wiped away the droplets at the corners of her lips and straightened herself on the bench again.
“That’s right, even if you want to pretend, at least make me look a little happier, would you? This is my first time relaxing in a dessert shop with someone. Usually, I’d never even think of sharing my downtime with anyone else.”
Su Wanli pulled back the plate of flower-shaped honey cakes she’d just pushed in front of Meng Huange, then cut off a big piece and popped it into her own mouth.
“Tch, you’re just in a hurry to get back to School Maple, aren’t you? Fine, once all my desserts are served, you can go wherever you like. I couldn’t care less after that…”
Probably because the portion was a little too big, Su Wanli patted her chest and gulped down a large mouthful of water, then cast a sidelong glance at Meng Huange.
“Heard me? If you keep sulking with that face, I won’t bring you to places like this again!”
…So that’s how it is.
Looking at the young miss across from her, acting all aggrieved, and at the slight flush rising in Su Wanli’s cheeks, Meng Huange could only laugh and pat her own head.
She always thought she was good at hiding her feelings as usual, but even Miss Su could read her thoughts from her face now.
…Alright, Meng Huange, just put those heavy matters aside for now.
At the very least, when Miss Su is trying so hard to help her relax, she shouldn’t spoil the mood no matter what.
Besides, isn’t being able to receive such special attention from Miss Su exactly the outcome she’d dreamed of ever since entering Sujia?
“…Sigh, the desserts here are just so-so. I’ve tried them before—none as good as the ones Zhang Ma makes at home. We might as well just go straight home in a bit.”
Seeing Meng Huange’s lack of interest, Su Wanli also lost the desire to stay in the dessert shop any longer. So she casually made up an excuse and was about to get up and ask the driver to take Meng Huange back to School Maple early.
If she couldn’t help, then so be it—she’d already tried. As for the cream marks Meng Huange had drawn on her neck, she’d just count them as a little revenge for the way she made her laugh out loud for three minutes during Math Class yesterday.
“It’s fine, really. I don’t have anything urgent anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to have the driver take you back to School Maple first…”
However, even though Su Wanli had already made concessions, the girl across from her didn’t get up to leave with her. Instead, Meng Huange gently lifted Su Wanli’s chin with a finger, her gaze drifting up toward the star-like chandelier above their seats.
“…Miss Su, did I ever mention that back at the Foster Home where I used to stay, we once took in a very disobedient stray cat?”
“Huh?”
Su Wanli blinked at Meng Huange’s serious look, but still sat back down and listened as she continued.
“It was a very healthy, very energetic Little Black Cat, but it had some minor digestive problems. So every once in a while, we had to feed it some Cat Ointment to help with digestion—a whole stick of it each time.”
As she spoke, Meng Huange’s lips curled into a smile. Then she imitated Su Wanli’s earlier actions and dipped a small blob of pale pink cream onto her fingertip.
“That Little Black Cat loved to vomit up everything, but the one thing it would never swallow was Cat Ointment. Every time, we had to coax and trick it into eating. Until finally, we found a very simple Method that let us get the ointment in without any effort at all.”
What’s this? Why was Meng Huange suddenly telling her about raising a cat back then?
Su Wanli scratched her head in confusion, staring at the blob of cream on Meng Huange’s fingertip.
Could it be that the reason she seemed troubled wasn’t that she was eager to get back to studying, but that she was reminiscing about her time at the Foster Home?
Well, that makes sense—even if life was hard, there would always be things worth remembering.
But she couldn’t exactly fly her home by plane…
Su Wanli cradled her own chin, deciding to go along with Meng Huange for now, hoping it would help ease her feelings a little.
“So, what was the Method you guys came up with in the end?”
“It’s a secret trick. Come closer, I’ll whisper it to you.”
Really? It was just a way to feed a cat, did it have to be this mysterious?
Fine, since she was still working to raise the heroine’s favorability as much as possible, within the limits allowed by the system and etiquette, she’d let her do as she pleased.
Su Wanli scooted her chair closer to Meng Huange, then earnestly propped her chin up with both hands and looked into her eyes.
“Okay, the staff shouldn’t notice if we keep it down. Go ahead.”
“Hehe, thank you for your cooperation.”
Pretending to be cautious, Meng Huange glanced around, then leaned in and whispered close to Su Wanli’s ear.
“That Method is actually really simple. All you need to do is gently lure the kitten to your side, and then, when it’s not paying attention…”
Just then, a light touch, cool and fleeting, brushed across Su Wanli’s cheek, leaving behind an icy, delicate sensation.
HS38
She raised her brows in surprise, staring at Meng Huange, who tilted her head playfully and kept speaking.
“And then? What do you do when it’s not paying attention?”
Meng Huange grinned and raised the small notice card on the table right in front of Su Wanli.
“Like this—just smear the Cat Ointment on its nose, and the kitten will instinctively use its tongue to clean off the foreign substance, swallowing the ointment without even realizing it.”
“So, isn’t that a really handy Method?”
Su Wanli stared wordlessly at the card, at the black-haired girl drawn there with a little smudge of cream on her cheek.
“Ah… Meng Huange! 1 1 1”