Chapter 32: The Price of a Prank

“N-no way they have snow eggs at their place! That’s really rare… Liu Ya… w-what do you think…”

“Liu Ya?”

“Mmm… Liu Ya~”

“Liu Ya~ I’m begging you… say something…”

After dinner, Uncle Liu had to leave for a company matter, so he parted ways with the three at the restaurant entrance. Aunt Zhao drove the two girls home.

Liu Ya kept a dark face the whole way, arms crossed like a pufferfish, staring angrily out the window. No matter how much Yaqi called her name or shook her, she didn’t react.

Yaqi didn’t know what to do. She turned to look at Aunt Zhao. Aunt Zhao glanced at the little pufferfish in the rearview mirror and gave a wry smile, then focused on the road.

“Aunt Zhao, say something too…”

“Auntie doesn’t know anything.”

“Huh? Auntie, how can you be like this? Liu Ya, listen, this was all Auntie’s idea! She wanted to prank you, I didn’t do it on purpose…”

Liu Ya slowly turned her head and stared at her coldly.

“L-Liu Ya… don’t look at me like that… I’m not lying…”

“So you and Auntie were exchanging glances at dinner? I saw it wrong?”

“Well… that…”

“Tang Yaqi. You think you’re clever? You think I’d believe that?”

“Mmm…”

“From now on! Do your own homework! Don’t ask me anymore! I’m deaf! I can’t hear you!”

“Don’t be like that, Liu Ya…”

Liu Ya snorted and turned away. Yaqi was like a little rabbit, pitifully whining and grabbing Liu Ya’s arm, shaking it back and forth. But Liu Ya didn’t waver. She twisted her arm free.

Yaqi whimpered, pouted, and stared at her with a wronged expression, then slowly lowered her head.

Back home. Aunt Zhao and Yaqi changed shoes at the door. Liu Ya walked straight in, kicked off her shoes without even putting on slippers, and went straight upstairs without looking back.

Yaqi saw this and whispered to Aunt Zhao with a hint of complaint:

“Auntie, didn’t we agree to be in this together? Why did you sell me out? I trusted you so much, but you betrayed me…”

Yaqi raised her little fist and softly pounded Aunt Zhao’s shoulder, venting her grievance, condemning her for sacrificing a teammate to save herself.

“Oh, you can’t blame me for this. It was an unexpected situation. Liu Ya was in a good mood at that moment. If we kept messing with her, what if… you know?”

Aunt Zhao spoke sincerely, as if she had really considered that, but the smile on her face seemed to say something else.

But for a kind child like Yaqi, Aunt Zhao still had the upper hand. Yaqi didn’t suspect a thing and immediately believed Aunt Zhao’s words. She drooped her head in defeat.

“I guess that’s true…”

“Right?”

“Mmm… but now I’m in trouble! Liu Ya is mad at me again, and I don’t understand anything in school. If Liu Ya won’t teach me, what am I going to do… mmm…”

Yaqi let her head hang heavily and whimpered weakly. Seeing this, Aunt Zhao quickly lifted her up with a smile and rubbed her cheeks.

“Oh dear, don’t worry! You still have me, don’t you?”

“But it’s because of you that I ended up like this…”

“Uh… well… Yaqi, be fair! Did I help you get back at her or not?”

“Well, you did… but now I have a new problem! What do we do about that?”

Yaqi puffed up like a pufferfish too, glaring at Aunt Zhao. Aunt Zhao was momentarily speechless because the expression on Yaqi’s face was exactly like Liu Ya’s. She laughed helplessly.

“Oh, it’s fine! If Liu Ya won’t teach you, I will!”

“Huh? Really?”

“Of course! I’ll tell you a secret: I used to help Liu Ya with her homework. High school stuff is a piece of cake for me!”

“Really? That’s great…”

“Auntie!”

Before Yaqi could get excited, Liu Ya suddenly called out from the stairway, staring coldly at the two.

The atmosphere became awkward. Aunt Zhao noticed the towel in Liu Ya’s hand and guessed she was going to take a shower, so she quickly changed the subject.

“Oh, Liu Ya, are you going to take a shower?”

“Yeah.”

“But the water hasn’t been heated yet because of dinner…”

“It’s fine. It’s too hot today. I’ll take a cold shower.”

“Oh, I see. Haha…”

“Auntie.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Don’t teach her.”

“Okay!”

“Huh?”

Liu Ya stared at her intently. Aunt Zhao nodded enthusiastically, her expression serious. But Liu Ya still wasn’t reassured. She watched for a while longer, and only when she confirmed the expression was still serious did she feel at ease and turn to go into the bathroom.

Once Liu Ya was inside, Yaqi turned to Aunt Zhao with the look of an abandoned kitten.

“Auntie…”

“I can’t help it either.”

“Mmm… I’m done for…”

Yaqi deflated weakly, collapsing onto the shoe cabinet like a puddle of mud.

“Oh, Yaqi, don’t panic. See? Liu Ya wasn’t that angry just now.”

“Just apologize to her properly later, okay? If it doesn’t work, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Hmph. I can’t trust you anymore.”

Yaqi pouted and turned away in a huff. Aunt Zhao smiled awkwardly, stepped forward, and hugged her tightly, pressing her cheek against Yaqi’s and stroking her head.

“Oh, trust me! This time I guarantee it.”

“Hmph. I don’t believe you.”

“Oh, Yaqi, how can you not trust me? I’ve always been good to you, right?”

As she spoke, Aunt Zhao rubbed her cheek against Yaqi’s, making Yaqi shy and struggle weakly.

“Oh, fine, fine. Auntie, why are you so good at acting cute?”

“Hehe! Because I’m a girl too!”

“Auntie… sigh… okay. But if you sell me out again, I’ll really ignore you.”

“Haha! Not this time!”

Aunt Zhao stood up and patted her chest as a promise. Since things had come to this, Yaqi could only nod in acceptance, go to the sofa, and sit quietly to wait for Liu Ya to finish. Aunt Zhao gathered the trash and went out to dump it.

Liu Ya finished showering quickly and came out shortly after, wrapped in a towel. She tilted her head, drying her hair with a towel.

Seeing Liu Ya, Yaqi jumped up and stood at attention, speaking weakly:

“Liu Ya… you’re done?”

“…Where’s Auntie?”

“She went out to take out the trash.”

“Oh.”

Liu Ya glanced at her, then walked barefoot toward the stairs with wet footsteps. Seeing no response, Yaqi didn’t dare say anything else. She slumped back onto the sofa in disappointment, her head hanging weakly.

“Tang Yaqi!”

“Here!”

Yaqi jumped up again.

“Follow me upstairs.”

“O-okay.”

Yaqi quickly followed, obediently trailing behind.

Liu Ya pushed open the door, turned on the light, and without changing her clothes, walked straight to the bed and sat down, crossing her legs. She stared coldly at Yaqi, who was frozen at the door.

“Come in and close the door.”

“Liu Ya… aren’t you going to change first?”

“Come in!”

Liu Ya lowered her voice, speaking in a cold tone that left no room for argument. Upon hearing this, Yaqi quickly shuffled in, closed the door, and stood in front of Liu Ya.

“Kneel down.”

“Huh?”

“I said kneel down.”

“Okay!”

Yaqi didn’t hesitate. She dropped to her knees with a thud, her knees hitting the floor hard. The pain was intense, and she hugged her knees, groaning in pain.

Liu Ya was startled by the sudden action. The image she had carefully built up collapsed in an instant.

“That hurts!”

“A-are you okay?”

“Wah!”

“Sigh… you’re something else…”

Liu Ya was about to lean down to help her up, but then remembered her persona. She straightened up again, adjusted her legs, and regained her composure, looking down at Yaqi from above.

‘No, I can’t pity her. I have to teach her a good lesson.’

“Ahem. Stop making a fuss. Kneel properly.”

“Mmm… but Liu Ya, it really hurts…”

Yaqi rubbed her knees with a pitiful expression. When she looked up, the first thing she saw was Liu Ya’s snowy-white little foot, the toes less than half a meter from her face, and beyond that, the smooth, delicate calf.

Yaqi was stunned. Her face flushed bright red. The pain in her knees seemed to vanish. She couldn’t find Liu Ya’s face at all, so she had to lower her head again.

“Liu Ya… your foot…”

“Hmph… what about it?”

“It’s too close…”

“Oh. Stop talking nonsense. I’m asking you, Sister Yaqi, do I look like someone easy to bully?”

“How could that be!”

“So you deliberately wanted to make a fool of me in front of Uncle Liu?”

“I…”

“Speak!”

Liu Ya’s sudden shout made Yaqi shiver. Her mind raced.

She could lie her way out, but the facts were right there, and Liu Ya was too smart. She had come straight to the point, meaning there was no fooling her.

In a situation like this, she shouldn’t think about smooth talking but should confess quickly and hope for leniency.

“Sorry, Liu Ya. I was wrong.”

“It’s just because you bullied me during the day, so I wanted to get a little revenge… I didn’t mean it.”

“Oh? So you’re saying you took revenge on me but didn’t mean it?”

“Ah… well… but it was all Auntie’s idea! I’m just an accomplice at best, not the mastermind.”

“So now you want to shift all the blame to Auntie?”

“This…”

Yaqi was at a loss for words. Liu Ya pressed on.

“Was it you who tricked me into taking the wrong fork?”

“Yes.”

“Was it you who wanted to see me embarrassed?”

“Yes.”

“So you didn’t mean it?”

“Mmm…”

Liu Ya’s relentless questioning forced Yaqi’s already lowered head even further down. When it was almost touching the floor, Liu Ya finally showed a satisfied smile. She raised her head slightly, looking down at her masterpiece.

‘Hmph, Sister Qinqin, you’re too naughty. Do you think I’m still the same as before? You’re still too green to fight me.’

‘You and Auntie teamed up to mess with me. This time, I’ll teach you a lesson.’

As she thought this, Liu Ya’s gaze fell on her own feet.

‘Come to think of it… in those comics I read, when people train puppies, they do this… yeah…’

A faint blush crept onto Liu Ya’s little face. Her breathing quickened. She swallowed and slowly lifted her foot, extending it.

“Liu Ya! I… mmm!”

“Ah!”

Yaqi suddenly looked up. Liu Ya gasped in surprise, her mouth slightly open, staring at her with shy embarrassment. Yaqi was also startled, frozen with wide eyes.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. They stood still. The towel wrapped around Liu Ya began to loosen and slip as her leg rose.

“…”

“…”

“Liu Ya? Are you in there?”

Aunt Zhao’s voice came from outside the room, startling both of them.

Snapping back to reality, Liu Ya quickly pulled her foot back. She replayed Aunt Zhao’s voice in her mind and deduced that she probably hadn’t come upstairs yet. She hurried over to lock the door.

Yaqi, still kneeling, was about to speak when Liu Ya ran back and clamped her hand over Yaqi’s mouth.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door.

“Liu Ya? Are you in there? I’m coming in… huh? Why is it locked?”

“Ah, ah! I’m changing clothes, Auntie. What do you need?”

“Oh? Why would you lock the door to change? Are you mad at me?”

“No, no, it’s not that!”

Liu Ya’s mind was in a mess. She scrambled for an excuse. Yaqi was having trouble breathing and let out a muffled sound, trying to get Liu Ya to loosen her grip, but Liu Ya only pressed harder.

“Mmm!”

“Shh! Don’t talk!”

“Mmm!!”

Yaqi pressed her lips hard against the gaps between Liu Ya’s fingers, but it was no use. In desperation, she licked Liu Ya’s palm. Liu Ya jerked back in surprise, and Yaqi took the chance to twist her head away, gasping for air.

“Liu Ya… ease up… I can’t breathe…”

“Ah, sorry…”

Yaqi’s face was flushed red from holding her breath, and she spoke weakly. Liu Ya then realized she had covered Yaqi’s nose as well and blinked guiltily.

When Aunt Zhao heard no sound from inside, she continued asking.

“By the way, is Yaqi in your room?”

“Huh? No, she’s not! Why?”

“Mmm?!”

Liu Ya quickly covered Yaqi’s mouth again, moving her hand lower. Yaqi turned to look at her in confusion and murmured softly,

“Mmm? Liu Ya, I’m here…”

“Shut up!”

“Mmm!”

Aunt Zhao was silent for a moment, then pressed on.

“Are you sure she’s not there?”

“Of course not.”

“But I didn’t see her on the first floor…”

“Then maybe she went out? She should be back soon, I think.”

“…Alright. I’m going downstairs now.”

“Okay.”

With that, Aunt Zhao went downstairs. Liu Ya listened carefully until she could no longer hear footsteps. Then she let out a long sigh, released Yaqi, and slumped to the floor.

Yaqi was finally free. She took deep breaths and swallowed involuntarily, causing her face to redden even more. She slowly lowered her head, sneaking a glance at Liu Ya.

‘So there really was honey in the shower gel…’

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