Chapter 79: The Fox’s Tail
“I’ll skip the oranges for now. Xinran, Keling, have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Yes, we have already eaten dinner. I’ve also prepared your dinner. Tonight, it’s cream stew.”
“Is that so.”
The answer surprised me. They had already eaten.
I followed Lianbing to the table and indeed, a meal was already prepared for me. They must have known I would return at this time.
I glanced towards the sink. The bowls and chopsticks beside it were still dripping water, appearing as if they had just been washed. Judging by the quantity, there were three sets. This meant Lianbing wasn’t trying to deceive me; they had indeed eaten dinner.
I had thought they wouldn’t be in the mood to eat. It seemed the situation wasn’t as bad as I had imagined.
“Hey, it looks quite good!”
Yeah, it looks good, and it should taste… Suddenly, my body instinctively stopped, and the spoon in my hand froze in mid-air.
It looked delicious, but eating it might be another story. I couldn’t help but wonder if they had put something in it to mess with me again. Recalling the curry Xinran made last time, which felt like it could burn a hole through my intestines from my throat down, my hand no longer dared to go near the plate.
After thinking for a moment, I cautiously took a spoonful of the soup to taste it. It was sweet but not greasy. Hmm, it seemed rather normal.
“Master, you don’t need to be so cautious. Hehehe, I made tonight’s dinner.”
“If you had said so earlier, I wouldn’t hold back then~”
I had originally planned to eat dinner at Li Nai’s house, but due to encountering Lou Ling halfway, I ended up not going.
So good—sweet!
Wow, this is too sweet, it feels bitter! Like super pure dark chocolate?
No, what is this taste? Is it… my tongue feels strange, it’s been corrupted!
Ugh, heavens, why would you trick me like this? Is it necessary? Besides, didn’t Lianbing make this? Lianbing, why would you do this to me!
“Lian… Didn’t you say you made this!”
Hehehe, yes, I did make it, but I didn’t add the seasoning.
That was the most crucial step! So, someone else made this cream stew incredibly sweet. I could actually guess who it was.
“Oh my, Juncheng, look over there. Huhuhu, the little noob whose skills aren’t up to par has revealed herself~”
Following Lan’s gaze, I looked towards the living room door… There was no one there, but there was a shadow. The shape of the shadow wasn’t very clear, but judging by the length of the hair, I could already determine the person’s identity.
It’s Xinran. It’s Xinran again… As expected, she’s trying to use the same routine again, to help me when I’m forced to send a distress signal, just to satisfy her desire to be needed…
Lianbing looked at me, who had fallen silent, and said with a smile.
“Does this dish not suit your taste? But we don’t have any spare ingredients at home. Oh dear, what can we do…”
“Hehehe, what a malicious and wicked woman~ Juncheng, you know what Little Bingbing means, right? She’s implying that you have to eat it all. Otherwise, little sister over in the corner will have a chance.”
I couldn’t give Xinran any reason or excuse. This was also a challenge from Xinran.
Damn it, it’s just a bit too sweet! For someone like me, who eats sweets every day until I get diabetes, this level is just an appetizer! Since that’s the case, as someone with the same curly hair, I can definitely eat all this incredibly sweet cream stew!
Determined not to let Xinran’s plan succeed, I started shoveling the cream stew into my mouth. When I felt like vomiting, I would take a bite of rice to alleviate my suffering. Finally, I finished the entire plate of stew and the bowl of rice. I gulped down a large glass of water, feeling my stomach gurgling in protest.
*Crash!*
I slammed the glass onto the table and said, with a contorted expression on my face.
I hope my teeth can withstand this wave of sweetness…
“Hoho~ Impressive, Master. You finished it all. Hehehe.”
“Then I’ll… go back to my room.”
Ah, the taste is still lingering in my mouth! Where are the oranges from earlier? Give me some oranges, I can’t stand it. I probably won’t want to eat anything sweet for at least half a year.
“Here, Juncheng, ah~” o
Hearing her voice, I opened my mouth, and then two fingers holding an orange slice extended into my mouth. They placed the orange slice on my tongue, crushed it, and then twirled my finger around inside my mouth before withdrawing.
After Lan fed me an orange slice, she put her index finger back into her mouth, sucked on it like she was eating the cream stuck to her hand, and then took it out.
“That’s much better, isn’t it~ Huhuhu~”
Since this was a green orange, it was very sour. If I ate it normally, I wouldn’t touch it, but now the stimulating sourness was able to neutralize the cloying sweetness that lingered in my mouth.
Come to think of it… the oranges were prepared by Lianbing. That means she anticipated this situation and prepared them for me.
Aha, as expected, Lianbing is still on my side. Although for a moment, just a moment, I thought Lianbing might have colluded with Xinran and Keling… Now it seems like she was a double agent.
I turned to give Lianbing a wry smile of thanks. Lianbing smiled back, nodded, pointed upwards, and silently said something.
Because she spoke so quickly, I didn’t see clearly what she said. My lip-reading skills aren’t advanced enough to interpret quickly.
Fortunately, Lan was beside me. She understood and told me.
“She’s telling Juncheng, ‘Don’t be too gentle.'”
That sentence again. She had already warned me once, and now she’s reminding me again. It must be very important.
As soon as I stepped out of the living room, I encountered the culprit who had filled my mouth with sweetness.
She didn’t even try to hide. She stood conspicuously in front of me, blocking the stairs leading upstairs, staring directly into my eyes, showing her immense obsession.
“Huhuhu~ You look so unwilling, don’t you? It’s really frustrating when your well-laid plans are ruined. I felt the same way when you escaped from the love nest back then, Juncheng.”
Is that so…
“And then you’ll find a way to fix it.”
Almost the next second after Lan finished speaking, Xinran chimed in.
“Since you’ve finished your meal, would you like to take a bath next? I’ve already drawn the bathwater and prepared a change of clothes…”
“Hehehe, see? Yet she doesn’t know that the psychology of a loser is to ‘want to salvage something and fail.’ Hehehe~ Juncheng, you mercilessly pushed me away back then… Wuwuwu, I’m so pathetic~ Am I the only one you’ve pushed away so many times… ”
…You’re impossible.
You don’t need to hint at me; I understand.
Maintaining my poker face, I pretended to be indifferent and said, without looking at Xinran’s eyes.
“…No need. I’m a bit tired. Move aside.”
This was not the tone of a younger sister. It was closer to the commanding tone I used when I met Yu Hui this morning.
Xinran had never used such a tone with her own sister. Perhaps she had when angry, but Xinran had never truly obeyed.
But this time was different. As unwilling as Xinran was, she wouldn’t do anything unnecessary. She would obey.
Because the premise of her wanting to help me was ‘me asking for help.’
As I passed by Xinran, my shoulder brushed against hers. At that moment, I seemed to hear something shatter… which made me turn back.
What I saw was Xinran’s back, covered in cracks, like torn paper pieces glued back together, giving a sense of disintegration.
“That’s the shattering of her ‘existence.’ Your very meaning of existence has been cruelly denied by you, Juncheng.”
This suddenly acquired ability actually has such a function. This reflects a ‘decrease in favorability,’ or perhaps ‘flag breakage.’
Although I really didn’t want to see it… I didn’t stop. I took two steps at a time back to my room.
After returning to my room and closing the door, I let out a deep sigh. The “sunshine” loli was sound asleep, completely unaware of my troubles.
“…..”
“What’s wrong? Juncheng?”
“I’m wondering if what I’m doing is really right. Am I hurting someone?”
“Huhuhu, why are you suddenly becoming indecisive? This doesn’t seem like you…”
“It’s Xinran. Every time I hurt her, I’m plagued by inner condemnation.”
“But you have to break to build. You should be clear about her current state. Little Bingbing and I probably share the same view. To rebuild, you must first destroy. Your gentle approach won’t work, Juncheng.”
“I understand the logic, but I can’t accept it emotionally.”
Lan clasped her hands behind her back and thought for a moment before smiling enchantingly at me.
“I’ve got it! To cheer you up, Juncheng, I’ll wear a maid outfit too. You like maids, don’t you?”
“I do like them, but how are you going to change? Aren’t you in a state of ‘non-existence’ right now?”
“Nono, my existence was erased, but I didn’t become a ghost. That doesn’t mean I can’t do anything. See, I can still feed you oranges.”
“Come to think of it… No! When you lifted Lianbing’s chin just now, in her eyes, it looked like I did it. So if you change into new clothes, won’t it look like I’m wearing women’s clothes in other people’s eyes?! No!”
“That’s because she was an ‘observer’ at the time. But now, it’s just you and me. The only other observer is sleeping soundly over there. No one will think you’re wearing a maid outfit~”
“Is that so…”
“By the way, Juncheng, you don’t think I’ve never changed clothes before, do you?”
I did have that thought… After all, you see, I thought you couldn’t change clothes…
“Hehehehehe”
“…Do you want to smell it?”
“Huh?”
Lan’s eyes were squinted with laughter. I had seen this kind of mischievous smile many times before.
She leaned close to me, her body tilting forward, and said with an evil smile.
“Juncheng, if you smell it, you’ll know if I’ve changed my clothes, won’t you? How about it, my dear~”
The wine is merely a pretext; the real intention lies beyond.
Lan the fox, your tail is showing.
