X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerGu Qianqian mechanically flipped through channels with the remote.
“Boring, boring, still boring…”
The screen flashed from melodramatic mother-in-law dramas to awkward variety shows, but Gu Qianqian couldn’t focus on any of it.
The sound of knife on cutting board came from the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Shen Tinglan walked out carrying a plate of fruit, setting it on the coffee table.
“Qianqian, aren’t you bored staying cooped up at home all weekend?”
Gu Qianqian glanced at the fruit plate. Good grief, the apples were cut into little rabbits, the cantaloupe carved into small boats.
Did this woman treat fruit like art?
She put down the remote, grabbed a piece of apple, and shoved it into her mouth.
“Sure, I’m free anyway. Better than growing mold at home.”
Fifteen minutes later, they stood at the entrance ready to go out.
“Wear these, they won’t rub your feet. We might walk a lot today.”
Shen Tinglan placed the shoes by Gu Qianqian’s feet and helped straighten the laces.
Gu Qianqian froze, her cheeks burning uncontrollably.
Hey hey hey, what is this!
I’m not a three-year-old who can’t even put on shoes!
A Star God-level expert crouching down to tie a trainee’s shoelaces, if Commander Qin saw this, her eyes would pop out!
But…
When Gu Qianqian saw Shen Tinglan’s gentle profile, the words of refusal got stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out.
A strange feeling swelled in her heart.
Shen Tinglan was too good to her.
No, it went beyond care, this was pure doting.
And it wasn’t just today.
In her mind, scenes from the past two weeks flashed by like a lantern show.
What was most ridiculous was that on every second day, there was always a dish of Gu Qianqian’s favorite pepper stir-fried pork on the table.
Not only that, during meals, Shen Tinglan always piled food into her bowl, looking at her with a maternal affection one might have for a growing piglet.
What stuck with Gu Qianqian most was what happened two days ago.
Her period had caught her off guard, and she was writhing on the bed in pain. Even she had forgotten the date, but Shen Tinglan had already prepared brown sugar water and thoughtfully tucked a hot water bottle into her blanket.
Gu Qianqian was a guarded person, like a little hedgehog. If anyone showed her kindness for no reason, her first reaction was always suspicion.
But when it came to Shen Tinglan, those spines just wouldn’t stand up. Instead, every time she got close and smelled her faint fragrance, Gu Qianqian felt an inexplicable sense of calm.
“What are you spacing out for? The movie’s about to start,” Shen Tinglan reminded.
Gu Qianqian snapped back to reality. “Got it.”
The cinema in the city center. The weekend mall was packed, full of couples and parents with kids.
Shen Tinglan told Gu Qianqian to wait in the lounge while she queued for tickets. Soon she returned, carrying an extra-large bucket of popcorn and two cups of iced cola.
“Here, your favorite caramel flavor.”
Gu Qianqian took the popcorn and pouted.
She had picked a tearjerker about family bonds. The poster showed a mother and daughter embracing, with a tagline: “The most heart-wrenching film of the year.”
Gu Qianqian usually hated this kind of melodrama.
In her opinion, she’d rather spend that time hitting a punching bag in the training room than watching people cry on screen.
“Vice Captain, why do you like such cliché stuff?” Gu Qianqian complained, shoving popcorn into her mouth.
Shen Tinglan just smiled gently. “It’s nice to watch something different once in a while.”
“Come on, let’s go in.”
An hour later.
The screening room was dim. On the big screen, the heroine was parting with her mother at the train station.
Snowflakes whirled in the air. The mother chased the moving train, thrusting a bag of steaming buns through the window into her daughter’s hands, wiping her tears as she ran, shouting for her to take care of herself.
With the emotional background music, the entire hall broke into sobs.
A girl in the front row was even crying so hard she couldn’t breathe.
Gu Qianqian’s initial thought was: let’s see how boring this lousy movie can be.
But watching the mother’s aged face on screen, hearing her final words, she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
She thought of her hopeless father, of her faintly remembered mother, and her eyes started to sting.
Her vision blurred uncontrollably, but Gu Qianqian tried desperately to hold back her tears.
No! I’m going to be the strongest magical girl, I can’t cry over some third-rate tearjerker!
Five minutes later, she calmed down. Then she quietly observed Shen Tinglan and noticed her eyes were also glistening with moisture.
The next second, tears spilled from her eyes and never stopped.
Sensing Gu Qianqian’s gaze, Shen Tinglan quickly turned away, hastily wiping her face.
“Getting older, I get sentimental too easily,” she said softly, her voice nasal.
Gu Qianqian silently turned back to continue watching.
But she felt strange.
Why was Vice Captain Shen crying so hard?
Was the pain and regret in her eyes really just from the movie?
?
They left the cinema at two in the afternoon.
The sunlight outside was harsh. Gu Qianqian rubbed her still-red eyes.
“Let’s look around downstairs,” Shen Tinglan suggested, her emotions seemingly back to normal, the gentle and reliable vice captain once again.
The third floor of Star Plaza was the high-end women’s clothing area, full of luxury brands Gu Qianqian normally only dared to window-shop.
Shen Tinglan pulled her into a trendy store.
“Try this on.” She took a black jacket from the rack and held it against Gu Qianqian.
Gu Qianqian glanced at the price tag.
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand.
Five whole digits!
Startled, she waved her hands and stepped back.
“No need, Vice Captain, I have clothes. My wardrobe is almost bursting.”
Shen Tinglan didn’t give her a chance to refuse. She shoved the jacket into Gu Qianqian’s arms and pushed her toward the fitting room.
“Just try it. Since we’re here.”
Unable to argue, Gu Qianqian reluctantly entered the fitting room.
When she came out, Shen Tinglan was waiting by the mirror.
The black jacket had a sharp cut, making Gu Qianqian look tall and slender. With her usual cool expression, she appeared very chic.
Shen Tinglan stepped forward and naturally straightened her collar.
“It suits you perfectly,” she said, looking at the girl in the mirror with pride and admiration. “Qianqian looks good in anything.”
Gu Qianqian’s ears turned crimson.
She looked away awkwardly. “It’s just okay. The jacket itself is nice.”
Shen Tinglan chuckled softly. Without even asking if she wanted it, she turned and walked to the register, pulling out a black card.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Only Ice Flower! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Only Ice Flower
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂