Chapter 769 Red Velvet Cake (3k)
The next day, the meat congee left over from last night was being sold downstairs at Doan Bar, already exuding a smoky aroma. On the second floor, the window revealed the break of dawn, and the morning sunlight streamed into the room through the white glass, falling on the “Caterpillar” lying on the bed.
“Miss, I have to go back to class soon. The meat congee is on the table…”
A gentle young girl’s voice echoed throughout the room. As the sunlight shifted, Ms. Big Bernice was seen sitting on a chair, holding the unfinished knight novel.
She gently closed the book, stood up again, and looked at the caterpillar softly exhaling on the bed. She smiled, placed a note flat on the table, and pressed it down with the corner of Su Jiu’s phone.
The Butterfly Girl was contradictory, like “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword.” She had already decided to continue following Su Jiu, but the sight of the students dying made her decide to stay and properly guide this graduating class—at least until they all graduated safely before leaving.
It wouldn’t take long, just over two more months.
As if hearing the faint voice, Su Jiu reached out, pushed aside the covers, and slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the small girl in the black dress beside her and opened her mouth, finding her throat a little dry.
“Miss, there’s honey water by the meat congee. It’s good for your health to drink some in the morning. You should rest well today.”
Bernice, as if anticipating this, pursed her cherry-colored lips slightly, a smile surfacing. She tilted her head slightly, and the black hairband slipped down, giving her a strangely playful air.
Bracing herself against the sunlight, Su Jiu sat up. Following Bernice’s gesture, she saw a faint white mist rising – steam.
In the spring of the Dragon Country, the morning temperature was still around ten degrees Celsius, so a cup of hot honey water was indeed a good choice.
Not having washed up yet, Su Jiu didn’t rush to get the honey water. Instead, she turned and asked softly, “Aren’t you going south with me to take a look?”
“…No, Miss.”
Hearing this, Bernice paused for a moment, her gaze drifting to the window, seeming to intertwine with the scattered sunlight. Finally, she shook her head slightly. “I want to see these children through graduation. At least as a human teacher for the first time, I should ensure their safety. In this incident, several familiar faces will never be seen again.”
She paused and continued softly, “Besides, with E Huo here, I’m not really needed that much.”
“…Then you stay at Jiang Hai High School for now. By the time I return from the Zhu Sha Group Islands, it should be close to the new semester.”
Su Jiu nodded and smiled indifferently. Since it had come to this, she wouldn’t say more. She had originally planned to give E Huo a short break to play with Xiao Yezi, who was closer to her age.
After all, E Huo had lived under high pressure since birth; she was a true workaholic, and her rest was only due to slumber.
“Miss, I’m going to class now. I have a class at 11:20.”
A hint of hidden regret flickered in her light blue eyes. Bernice smiled and turned to leave, but she was suddenly held from behind, her body stiffening.
Hugging her somewhat petite frame, Su Jiu wanted to say many things but didn’t know what to say. The figure before her was always giving, always so gentle, like a sweet mousse…
Something she didn’t want to let slip through her fingers.
“Miss, it’s not a farewell forever. We might meet again in some corner at any moment.”
Gently patting Su Jiu’s hand, Bernice smiled and tilted her head, her voice exceptionally soft.
“No… I just wanted to give you a hug.”
Hearing this, Su Jiu released her as if flying, her face flushing. Without further hesitation, she retreated into the en-suite bathroom in the room, where a large mirror faced her.
“Hoo…”
She looked up, her gaze sweeping over her flushed cheeks. She quickly splashed cold water on her face. The water was very cold, and the blush receded quickly, like the sunset and moon exchanging duties and rippling across the lake.
It seemed the girl’s singing from last night was still playing in her mind.
Hearing a “click” as the door closed, Su Jiu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. After about five minutes of washing up, she opened the bathroom door.
“Did she really leave?”
Looking at the empty room, that sense of loss welled up in her heart again. Bernice was the kind of neighborly girl you’d never forget, possessing a unique sweet disposition.
“This is…”
As she withdrew her gaze, she noticed a notebook lying flat in the corner of the bed. As she walked closer and looked down, she saw that the cover was well-protected, and the slightly vintage cover showed no blemishes.
“This is the notebook Bernice often fiddles with.”
She subconsciously glanced at the windowsill and, with a touch of guilt, opened the first page—
January 26th
This is my first time leaving Miss and returning to living alone. However, thinking that I can teach the younger miss healing arts, I still feel a little excited…
January 27th
So troublesome. The younger miss doesn’t understand what I’m saying. I asked Miss Youyou, and she said that children like her need a teacher to teach them— what if I become a teacher?
January 31st
Today is the school interview. Come on! I can definitely do it, just like when I went to the normal college for volunteer teaching…
Ah, I’m still so nervous. I wonder how Miss is doing now.
February 2nd
Heh heh, I passed the interview. I took the younger miss to eat delicious mousse. Little glutton always likes cake as much as her mom.
…
“Hee hee…”
The streets were bustling with traffic, and the petite girl walked alone with a small shoulder bag. Her long skirt fluttered as she held the lesson plans for her classes that day.
The school wasn’t too far from here, so she didn’t need a taxi.
“Cake smell…”
Suddenly, the unique sweet scent of cake wafted to her nose. She stopped abruptly and instinctively turned her head to look at her side, only to see her “Ms. Big” suddenly appear. She was wearing a long black sweater paired with loose gray and white jeans, looking quite peculiar.
The latter was carrying some cakes in one hand, and holding a piece of red velvet cake in the other. The cake smell was coming from there.
“I heard from Xiao Yezi that you like this?”
Without waiting for Bernice to speak, Ms. Big Bernice smiled and handed her a piece of mousse cake. In her words, there was an inexplicably cool and detached feeling, a familiar scent.
“You are…”
Looking at the Ms. Big Bernice before her, Bernice suddenly realized something. Instead of accepting the mousse immediately, she looked into the other’s eyes and saw those unique eyes with small white flowers, carrying a hint of a smile.
“It’s really not good of me to have you keep an eye on that little mischievous one for so long…”
“Ms. Big Bernice” chuckled, glance back to see no one, stepped forward slightly, took out a few white petals, and stuffed them into Bernice’s pocket. Then, tapping the ground lightly with her feet, she said with her hands behind her back,
“This is some thank you. You must really like that bad person, right? During this time, go on a trip with her…”
“This is too precious…”
Bernice’s mouth opened, and she tried to return the petals. She knew what was in her pocket and understood the other’s intention.
“I don’t like owing others, nor do I want my friends to be unhappy. Accompanying her for a while is being responsible for yourself and for this liking.”
Ms. Big Bernice extended a finger and gently touched Bernice’s lips. Her eyes held a serious look, and as her small mouth opened, a special floral fragrance emanated…
Not like perfume, but like her natural scent.
Bernice looked at the “herself” before her, pursed her lips again, lowered her head, and said softly, “Then I’ll trouble you to look after those children for me. I don’t want anything to happen to them again…”
“Don’t worry, I’m much stronger than you now.”
“Ms. Big Bernice” chuckled lightly, patted the other’s shoulder, took a bite of the red velvet cake, and walked away quickly, waving goodbye.
“Keep an eye on this wild horse for me, and don’t let her get involved with other flowers and grasses anymore. She’s already a father, but still has the demeanor of a passionate young man.”
As she said this, Ms. Big Bernice paused. With her back to Bernice, the corners of her mouth curved upward. However, what she liked was precisely the girl who was willing to carry her up the snowy peaks…
Watching the other’s back gradually disappear, Bernice only snapped back to reality after the person was gone. She realized she hadn’t given the lesson plans in her bag to the other. She was about to rummage through her bag to get them for her.
“It’s gone?! Where did I drop it?”
Suddenly, as if realizing something was missing, her face turned pale. Disregarding the lesson plans, she hurried back along the path she had come:
“Please don’t lose it.”
…
February 10th
Today, during class, a girl acted up and caused trouble. I was a little fierce with her… *cries* Will this affect my image?
Probably not, right? Miss is also fierce sometimes.
February 12th
Today, I taught Xiao Yezi how to control and release the little butterflies. We went to the cake shop and bought a lot of delicious things again, hehe. She seems to like me a lot and always calls me Auntie.
Her talent is really good, worthy of being Miss’s daughter.
Below is a drawing of Bernice holding Xiao Yezi.
On the second floor of the bar, the young girl looked at the various entries in the diary, at her own mentions from time to time, and suddenly felt an emptiness in her heart, much more profound than when she was on the tower.
“The congee is a little cold. After I finish eating, I’ll buy her some energy instant noodles.”
Muttering, Su Jiu took a sip of honey water, then picked up the bowl of meat congee and ate it bite by bite, while reading Bernice’s “little stories.”
The stories weren’t as exciting as those of heroes and dragons in novels, but rather were ordinary daily life, yet they held endless reader interest.
“It’s the last page.”
As she slowly turned the pages, time had reached noon. Su Jiu stretched, and then turned to the page before the end— I’ve been practicing sketching for a long time, this time it should come in handy!
Gently flipping the page, she saw a unique page without any text.
It was an unfinished portrait. Su Jiu was stunned because the person drawn was herself, lying on her lap.
“Miss, I left something inside.”
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Bernice’s voice followed. The two, suddenly face to face, fell silent for a moment.
“Miss, why…”
Bernice looked at Su Jiu’s actions and the notebook in her hand, her face visibly blushing. She lowered her head, stomped her foot, and her long hair swayed behind her.
The girl felt an awkwardness of her secrets being peeked at by the one she liked, both shameful and strangely exciting.
Before Su Jiu could utter the classic line, “Let me explain,” the sound of footsteps echoing from the hallway, followed by Su Xiao Yu’s voice:
“What the heck, Big Sister, how can you still be sleeping? It’s almost noon.”
Another voice chimed in, Youyou’s: “She was very tired yesterday. You want to investigate ancient creatures, so finding her won’t be of much use anyway.”
