Chapter Twenty-Three: Tang Nai’s Precise Intuition
After the sweat on her body gradually evaporated, Sumu suddenly felt a bout of dryness in her throat.
But Luo Jialan had brewed a pot of hot tea, making it impossible for her to drink freely.
It was not that she intended to torment Sumu; it was just Luo Jialan’s personal habit.
Sumu cautiously reached out her hand towards the tea cup, the rising steam slowly melting the numbness in her fingers, accompanied by a sharp pain.
“Hiss—”
Flipping her hand over, Sumu realized that the backs of her fair hands had developed scratches where the bones were rubbed, fine cracks oozing with blood—though not horrifying, they hurt quite a bit.
The girl’s skin was much more tender and sensitive than before, and due to the adrenaline rush, Sumu had not noticed the wound earlier, now hurriedly licking it with her small tongue.
Whenever she got hurt, she would instinctively do this, as if it could alleviate the pain.
Seeing Sumu’s cat-like, endearing movements, Luo Jialan inexplicably felt her heart soften, quickly taking out alcohol and cotton swabs from the drawer.
“Stop licking; it won’t disinfect. I’ll wipe it with alcohol.”
Sumu warily drew her hand back, casting a sidelong glance at the transparent alcohol bottle.
Using alcohol would be painful.
“Don’t you have iodine?”
“Look at you, it’s just a little pain. These are minor injuries. Hurry up and give me your hand.”
Noticing Sumu still hesitating, Luo Jialan employed her familiar tactic.
“Hurry up, I’ll count to four. One, two… ”
For Sumu, this countdown often came with memories of flying through doors and shattered glass, which could only be described as nightmares.
So, before the three popped out, she obediently placed her hand back in front of Luo Jialan, stiffening her body, afraid to move.
Luo Jialan felt a mix of annoyance and amusement; true enough, this little squirrel was the type that responded well to pressure.
She soaked the cotton swab in alcohol thoroughly and gently tapped it on Sumu’s delicate skin.
The cool sensation made Sumu shudder slightly, her eyes tightly shut as she forced herself to start thinking random thoughts to distract herself from the pain.
It was somewhat embarrassing for an adult to react like this, much like a little girl facing her first injection; Sumu’s courage was indeed quite small.
When communicating with elders or strangers, she often stuttered and got flustered, wishing she could find an excuse to slip away—a complete social phobic.
How could someone like her turn into a fierce presence online?
As she pondered this, Luo Jialan quickly rolled the cotton swab over Sumu’s wound, causing the latter’s shoulder to flinch, toes grasping tightly at her socks, overreacting as if a layer of skin had been painfully scraped off.
“All done, it’s not that painful. Keep it airy, don’t tuck your hand away, or you’ll risk getting a bacterial infection.”
Upon hearing this, Sumu finally felt a sense of relief, lifting the tea and sipping it slowly.
“By the way, what department are you in now? Why are you thinking of switching here?”
Sumu looked at Luo Jialan, who was tidying up her belongings, voicing her curiosity.
“Because I find what I’m studying too confusing. Uh, I’m currently in the Philosophy Department.”
That certainly sounded confusing.
Sumu cast a sympathetic glance at Luo Jialan. If she had been placed in the Philosophy Department, she might indeed want to switch out as well.
However, she didn’t particularly like Journalism either; if forced to choose, she had almost no interest in studying at all, only going along due to her mother’s pressure, combined with her good memory, which got her to this point.
But her life took a turn due to becoming a monster, gradually changing its trajectory, leading her to intersect with the magical girls, creating an “unexplainable connection.”
If Sumu wanted to find a job related to her field now, her resume, bolstered by her experience running the Genius Girl Irina account, would surely read both substantial and legendary.
Yet, the only boss likely to take her in would probably be that Tang Nai character.
“By the way, hasn’t Tang Nai paid you guys?”
“I do have some here, but it has already been deducted this month.”
Mentioning this made Luo Jialan instantly irate.
It seemed that the pay given to each magical girl by Tang Nai was different; she wasn’t very clear about the two who had been away from the city for a long time, but at least the disparity between what Miti and she received was significant.
Miti got what seemed to be a lot of magic power? While Luo Jialan received more money.
Luo Jialan indeed needed quite a bit of money to manage the Martial Arts Hall and cover her own numerous expenses.
“So you’re working at the Snow King now?”
“Not at all; I often worked at the Snow King even before becoming a magical girl.”
As for why Luo Jialan worked so hard, Sumu did not directly ask.
Luo Jialan had said that this was her family’s Martial Arts Hall, but now it was deserted, with no one in sight, and the owner had vanished—likely facing some unforeseen circumstances.
Such a sad and troublesome topic was best left undiscussed for now.
“Don’t worry, I’ll come by daily to help you boost the performance of your sweet cones.”
Luo Jialan shot Sumu a glance.
“Tch, I can already guess what you plan to do—poking fun at me repeatedly, right?”
“Hehe, no way…”
Sumu awkwardly turned her head away, afraid to meet Luo Jialan’s eyes.
When did this person become so perceptive, able to guess even this?
“Alright, let’s call it a day here; I have to go work at the convenience store tonight.”
Having already injured her hand, Sumu couldn’t continue beating the sandbag today. The two stayed at the Martial Arts Hall for only about two to three hours, but they at least brought some liveliness to the place, preventing it from appearing too desolate.
Returning to the café, Sumu couldn’t help but feel her fist itched at the sight of Tang Nai’s face.
To be honest, it might not be so bad to fight her.
“Are you thinking something very rude?”
Tang Nai, fiddling with the hard drive, observed Sumu’s semi-imploring expression and took a slight interest.
“Nothing; I just saw some interesting things over at L.”
“Interesting? I guess Little L must have made some dolls or sandbags very similar to me for the Martial Arts Hall, which you’ve been relentlessly trouncing every day.”
Tang Nai chuckled lightly, realizing the situation now.
This made Sumu uncomfortable; her gaze began to wander, trying to mask her embarrassment.
“You’re overthinking it; there can’t be things that ridiculous.”
“True, Little L probably wouldn’t want to waste money on such nonsensical things… So you tried out beating them too, right?”
As Tang Nai shifted her tone, the atmosphere became subtly strained.
Sumu feigned nonchalance as she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
This person was too perceptive! Just don’t let L know I leaked this…
“Oh, your hand is bleeding; impressive.”
Tang Nai’s eyes suddenly fixed on the blood marks on Sumu’s hand, conclusively affirming her internal speculation.
But Little L had it tough too; it was better not to tease her.
“I even helped you recover the stuff from the hard drive; it seems Irina has quite a misunderstanding of me. I guess I’ll just keep this hard drive for myself.”
“I’m sorry! I was measuring you with a petty mindset; please forgive my minor indiscretions!”
Watching Sumu’s attitude flip by 180 degrees, Tang Nai finally revealed a satisfied smile.
Now that’s more like it.
