“We’re already grateful that Miss Chitian Ai could come. The highest rank is only Bright Moon Rank, so we can handle it,” Lin Qin said.
What a good team leader she was.
No matter how you looked at her, Lin Qin was the very picture of someone else’s well-behaved child, wasn’t she?
…
“Teacher! Teacher!”
“Ai, finish what you want to say after we eat.”
Su Wanyue’s attention was completely focused on the enticing hot pot in front of her.
After enduring an entire night of mental exhaustion and the torment of being locked in that dark room earlier—
The hot pot before her now seemed like the supreme, sacred object in Su Wanyue’s eyes!
“…Mm, perfect.”
Su Wanyue fished out the fatty beef that had been rolling and curling in the pot.
The half-fat, half-lean slices of meat were slightly curled from blanching, coated in glistening chili oil. The oil seeped down along the meat’s grain. She rolled it in the prepared sesame paste until every fiber had absorbed the thick, rich flavor.
Slowly, she brought it to her lips.
“Mm—!”
Su Wanyue’s eyes lit up.
The tender fatty beef melted in her mouth. The spicy and numbing sensation surged straight to her tongue, mingling with the dense, creamy sesame paste.
“Mm… so good.”
‘As expected, heavy oil and salt are the best things to soothe a tired body!’
After bidding farewell to Lin Qin, Su Wanyue and Chitian Ai had come to the Hunter Base cafeteria to eat.
Originally, under the threat of death, Su Wanyue thought she’d just be grateful for any food in the cafeteria. She never expected there would be hot pot.
Mm, a salute to the dedicated chefs!
Beside her, Chitian Ai watched the little girl in front of her, whose chopsticks were moving so fast they were nearly a blur, and couldn’t help but remark:
“Teacher, you’ve already eaten so much. Aren’t you afraid of gaining weight?”
Su Wanyue patted her own round little belly proudly. “Witches can’t get fat!”
Then she picked up another piece of meat and ate it.
“Teacher… is it because you don’t like the meals I cook, so you’ve been starving yourself all this time?”
“How could that be!”
Su Wanyue almost choked, quickly shaking her head, her black hair swaying with the motion.
“Ai’s cooking is the best in the world! I’m just switching things up once in a while.”
Looking at that little face with a bit of red chili oil still clinging to the corner of her mouth—
In any case, Chitian Ai couldn’t bring herself to feel jealous.
She smiled helplessly.
‘If this world hadn’t been invaded by Erosion Beasts, maybe I would have had more chances to see my teacher like this.’
“Mm, I’m full.”
Su Wanyue finally leaned back in her chair with satisfaction, her whole body sprawling into a “大” shape. Her small hands rested lazily on her belly, and she let out a loud, milky burp.
Such behavior—no one would ever associate it with a little girl, would they?
‘But this contrast is kind of amusing,’ Chitian Ai thought to herself.
Suddenly, Chitian Ai’s eyes darted. She leaned in close to the little girl who was nearly lying flat and said:
“Teacher, I’m not full yet. Can you feed me?”
“Eh, what a bother. I was just eating, and you were just watching. Now that I’m done, you say you’re hungry.”
Su Wanyue didn’t even open her eyes. She looked exactly like a middle-aged man.
“Teacher, just feed me, please?”
Chitian Ai gently shook Su Wanyue’s body, acting spoiled.
“Fine, fine.”
Su Wanyue slowly sat up, picked up a slice of meat, and asked Chitian Ai:
“Do you want to dip it in my sauce or yours?”
“Teacher’s!” Chitian Ai replied immediately.
Su Wanyue rolled the meat slice in her own dipping dish and brought it to Chitian Ai’s lips.
But Chitian Ai’s mouth didn’t open.
“What’s wrong?”
Su Wanyue asked, confused.
“Teacher, I want you to bite it into pieces and feed it to me.”
Chitian Ai said with a hint of a mischievous smile.
Hearing this, Su Wanyue instantly snapped awake.
“Are you a baby?”
‘Seriously, how does Ai know so many weird plays?’
“I am a baby… Mommy, feed me~”
As she spoke, Chitian Ai put on an expression of a hungry, waiting little bird.
Su Wanyue couldn’t hold it together anymore.
Her face slightly red, she said:
“This, isn’t this a kiss?”
“Teacher, we’ve already done things much more intimate than that. A kiss is nothing, right?” Chitian Ai said.
“B-but this is my first kiss!”
Su Wanyue’s voice grew quieter and quieter. ‘That was my first kiss, preserved intact ever since I was a man! And now, in this little girl’s body…’
“It’s my first kiss too. Perfect timing—teacher can take my first time as well.” Chitian Ai said with a smile.
‘Why does that sound weird when she puts it that way?’
‘Whatever, I’ve been through so many life-and-death situations before. This is just a kiss, right?’
‘Watch me just go for it!’
Su Wanyue didn’t even bother with the meat slice anymore. She leaned straight in toward Chitian Ai.
Su Wanyue’s mind was already a complete mess.
By the time she came to her senses, there was less than two inches between her lips and Chitian Ai’s.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
What’s that sound?
It was Su Wanyue’s own heartbeat.
Su Wanyue suddenly realized she couldn’t breathe in or out smoothly anymore.
‘I must have forgotten how to breathe.’
She leaned forward just a little more, but still hesitated to make contact.
But Chitian Ai didn’t wait any longer.
She moved forward on her own, gently closing her eyes, and closed the distance between them to zero.
Chitian Ai pressed her lips against Su Wanyue’s.
‘Teacher’s lips feel nice.’
Chitian Ai used her tongue to pry open Su Wanyue’s closed lips and slipped inside.
Su Wanyue offered no resistance.
She docilely accepted Chitian Ai’s kiss.
At the same time, Chitian Ai’s hand moved step by step, inch by inch, as if exploring, slowly touching Su Wanyue’s body.
Su Wanyue didn’t stop the kiss, but she reached out to stop Chitian Ai’s hand just as it was about to move upward.
“Ai, don’t.”
Su Wanyue gently pulled away from Chitian Ai’s lips.
But Chitian Ai didn’t let Su Wanyue’s body pull away. She bit into Su Wanyue’s neck and sucked hard.
A slight sting shot through, followed by a clear red mark.
Yes, this was the so-called “planting strawberries.”
“This, this is?”
“Marking my territory.”
Su Wanyue looked at the obvious red mark on her neck and gave a helpless, bitter smile.
Back in the room at Hunter Base, the sound of water rushed in the bathroom.
Su Wanyue stood under the shower, letting the warm water wash over her body.
She touched the mark on her neck.
‘It hurts.’
‘That girl—doesn’t she know to be gentler?’
But in her mind, Su Wanyue was thinking about the sweet taste of that tongue just moments ago.
As she spent more and more time with Chitian Ai, Su Wanyue found herself increasingly unable to understand her own heart.
‘How exactly do I see this disciple of mine?’
Whenever she was with Chitian Ai, that invisible, vine-like feeling that wrapped around her body would gradually grow stronger and thicker.
Yet, whenever she thought of her current identity as a witch, a restlessness and unease would surge from the depths of her heart.
Not only could she not calm down—she even felt like she was becoming less and less like her original self.
‘…What’s wrong with me?’