Chapter 13: Little Orange Being Played With

Twenty minutes later, the proprietress served the steaming dishes.

The sweet and sour pork ribs were enticingly red and shiny, the crispy fried meat golden and crunchy, and the scrambled eggs with tomatoes were brightly colored, their fresh aroma permeating the small space.

The two of them felt their appetite awaken with the scent.

“Quick, try it. The sweet and sour pork ribs here are exceptional.”

Yin Xuelian picked up a piece of rib coated in sauce and placed it in Su Cheng’s bowl.

“Thank you, Sister Lian.”

After Su Cheng politely thanked her, Yin Xuelian picked up another piece and placed it in her own bowl.

Su Cheng looked down at the ribs in her bowl, memories flooding in like a tide.

The first time they ate out in her previous life was at this very restaurant, and Yin Xuelian had also served her food this way.

At that time, she had felt a little embarrassed.

But now, Su Cheng wouldn’t feel any awkwardness at all.

“Why aren’t you eating? Is it not to your taste?”

Yin Xuelian’s voice pulled her back to reality.

“No, no, I was just waiting for the ribs to cool down. It’s fine now.”

Su Cheng picked up a rib and took a small bite. The sourness and sweetness bloomed on her tongue, like a duet.

The familiar taste made her eyes well up.

“How is it? Didn’t I tell you?”

Su Cheng nodded vigorously, suppressing the memories that surged from the bottom of her heart.

“It’s really delicious. Sister Lian sure knows how to pick a place.”

Yin Xuelian smiled contentedly, concealing a fleeting glint of something unusual in her eyes.

Immediately after, Yin Xuelian picked up some crispy fried meat for her: “Eat more. Military training consumes a lot of energy. If you don’t eat enough for lunch, you won’t have the strength to train this afternoon.”

Su Cheng smiled, secretly plotting how to probe Yin Xuelian.

She put down her chopsticks and asked casually, “Sister Lian, why are you so good to me? We’ve only known each other for two days.”

Yin Xuelian’s movements paused, then she chuckled: “Because I like white-haired juniors.”

“Huh? Just like that?”

Yin Xuelian put down her chopsticks, crossing her hands and resting them on her chin: “Hmm… If you need another reason, it’s because you’re very cute.”

Yin Xuelian maintained a faint smile, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed.

In contrast, Su Cheng’s mouth twitched, her eyes filled with disbelief.

‘Liar, she must be lying.’

“Actually, I’ve always wanted a white-haired younger sister, but since I’m the youngest in my family, my parents never planned on giving me one.”

‘Still lying, still making things up!’

“This… this…”

Su Cheng’s voice trembled slightly, her mind short-circuiting a bit, unable to form coherent words.

Yin Xuelian suddenly reached out and stroked Su Cheng’s surprised cheek, her thumb gently wiping a spot of sauce from the corner of her mouth.

“Hehe, I’m just kidding, actually I just want to get you to join the student union and get close to you, but Little Orange really is cute.”

Su Cheng met Yin Xuelian’s gaze, her eyes a bit dazed.

“Let’s hurry and eat, or the food will get cold.”

Yin Xuelian withdrew her hand, the thumb that had wiped away the sauce touching her own cherry lips. Her pink tongue slowly licked the sauce clean, a look of delight revealing itself in her eyes.

That look, as if Yin Xuelian wanted to eat her.

Su Cheng stared at Yin Xuelian in shock, a sudden shiver running through her. She abruptly stood up, her chair scraping harshly.

“I drank too much water, going to the restroom.”

“Okay, it’s just inside, to your right.”

Su Cheng nodded and quickly left her seat. Yin Xuelian’s gaze followed her, until her figure completely disappeared.

“My little darling, sooner or later, I will eat you…”

Su Cheng in the restroom seemed to hear Yin Xuelian’s voice, as she suddenly shivered, her small mouth slightly agape as she slowly exhaled.

‘Calm down, calm down, that’s all just Yin Xuelian’s tricks.’

Slapping her cheeks twice, Su Cheng told herself that she absolutely could not reveal any flaws.

She had to make everything seem like this was their first meeting.

So far, Su Cheng believed she hadn’t revealed any weaknesses, and from what she could tell, neither had Yin Xuelian.

But the unease in her heart was becoming more and more apparent, and why was that?

Su Cheng had no answer. She left the restroom and returned to her seat to eat.

“Come, Little Orange, ah~”

As soon Cheng sat down, Yin Xuelian picked up a piece of crispy fried meat and brought it to her mouth.

Su Cheng instinctively dodged: “Sister Lian, you… what are you doing?”

Yin Xuelian curved her lips, her eyes crinkling with a smile: “Nothing much, just wanted to feed you a piece of meat, it’s very delicious.”

Su Cheng looked at the crispy fried meat in front of her, then at Yin Xuelian’s expectant gaze. She hesitated for a moment, wanting to politely refuse.

“Can I not eat it?”

“No, you can’t.”

Yin Xuelian’s tone brooked no refusal, making Su Cheng grind her teeth slightly.

‘When did she have to suffer this kind of torment?!’

“Come on, come on, I didn’t poison your food.”

Su Cheng gave her an eye-roll: “Hmph, hmph, Sister Lian even thought of poisoning it, how wicked.”

Yin Xuelian quickly explained: “I’m just giving an example, eat quickly. If you don’t eat, I’ll mess things up during your military training.”

This time, it was Su Cheng’s turn to panic.

Was it choosing to be fed by her, or choosing a larger, unknown risk?

Of course, the former carried less risk.

“O-okay, I’ll eat.”

Upon getting Su Cheng’s answer, Yin Xuelian once again extended her chopsticks towards Su Cheng.

Su Cheng’s expression was stiff, her small mouth awkwardly open.

“Ah—mmm…”

The crispy fried meat was delivered to her lips, and Su Cheng instinctively bit down, her tongue inevitably touching Yin Xuelian’s chopsticks.

Yin Xuelian’s fingertips paused slightly, then she casually withdrew her chopsticks, but her eyes brightened a bit.

“Is it tasty?”

“Mm…”

“Does it taste sweet?”

Su Cheng frowned, then spoke after swallowing: “No, why would it be sweet?”

Yin Xuelian moved closer to Su Cheng, her pretty face filled with a strong sense of playfulness.

“Because what you ate was a bite I just took myself…”

“Oh~ so that’s…”

Su Cheng was dumbfounded, her eyes instantly glazed over, making Yin Xuelian burst into laughter.

‘Doesn’t that mean it was an indirect kiss?!’

‘Yin Xuelian, you’re too despicable!’

Su Cheng could only curse inwardly, helplessly lowering her head to eat her rice, trying to hide her embarrassed expression.

Yin Xuelian chuckled lightly, resting her chin on one hand, her gaze burning as she stared at her: “Little Orange is so cute, even when you’re shy, it’s endearing.”

Su Cheng stiffened all over, abruptly looking up, wanting to retort.

She saw Yin Xuelian pick up a piece of meat with the same chopsticks she had just licked and put it into her mouth, even lightly sucking the flavor off the chopsticks, though Su Cheng didn’t notice this.

“Sister Lian, can you please stop saying strange things?”

Yin Xuelian’s face wore a gentle, harmless smile: “Alright, alright, then let me feed you one more time, and then we’ll just eat properly.”

Su Cheng stared at her for a few seconds, then ignored Yin Xuelian and silently continued eating her rice.

“Why aren’t you ignoring me? Are you shy?”

Su Cheng’s heart pounded, not from shyness, but from wanting to punch her.

She recalled a certain pink-haired girl’s meme: ‘Are you there? I want to punch you.’

“Sister Lian just loves to tease me, hmph!”

Yin Xuelian retorted: “How could that be? I’m doing this all for your own good.”

Su Cheng couldn’t see anything good about it, only knowing that it was all bad.

Su Cheng’s expression turned serious. She put down her chopsticks, crossing her arms over her flat chest.

“Let me tell you, I, Su Cheng, am not afraid of your threats. Even if you mess things up during military training, I still won’t let you feed me… Ah, mmm…”

Just as Su Cheng reached the climax of her speech, Yin Xuelian seized the opportunity and stuffed half a tomato into Su Cheng’s mouth, instantly silencing her.

Seeing Su Cheng’s dimpled face, full of anger and grievance, Yin Xuelian couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hahahaha!”

Su Cheng clenched her small pink fists, wanting nothing more than to strike Yin Xuelian’s universally captivating face.

But then she suddenly remembered that Yin Xuelian had studied Judo for two years.

She might end up with a black eye and a swollen face.

Her powerless fists were just like Su Cheng herself at that moment—utterly resigned to her fate.

This feeling of being played like a puppet by a woman was just terrible.

Su Cheng swore, she would never go out to eat alone with Yin Xuelian again!