The soft and fluffy strawberry cake was firmly held by the fork.
The boy with tousled hair squinted his eyes slightly, his amber gaze gently fixed on me from behind a dollop of cream.
I felt bad making Gu Fan hold the cake fork up so long until his hand grew sore, plus I really wanted to experience what it felt like to be fed by someone you love with their own hands.
So… with my heart pounding wildly, I forced a look of reluctant ‘difficulty’ onto my face and leaned in to take a bite of that small piece of cake.
“Uwu!”
I don’t know if girls have a special heightened sense for sweets, or if Gu Fan had cast some mysterious magic with his feeding, but the rich creaminess combined with the slight tartness of the strawberries burst forth in my mouth.
The complex flavors made me close my eyes involuntarily, carefully imprinting every sensation of this moment in my memory.
My mind was in turmoil, like a devoted fan shouting wildly at a concert, waving their cheering lightstick passionately for their idol.
I don’t know if “delicious” can fully describe this feeling, since I usually don’t have a very refined palate or bother to savor each bite, much less give an accurate review.
What filled my heart was pure happiness, like a swarm of ants wrapped in honey crawling around inside my chest, sending delightful tingles all over.
My tongue, covered in tiny taste buds, unconsciously licked the plastic fork Gu Fan was holding, devouring every last bit of cream left on it.
“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
Suppressing the urge to meow happily from sheer joy, I struggled to respond in what I hoped sounded calm: “It’s okay…”
I didn’t want to lose in this game of who gets shy first, but I had to admit that this useless catgirl sitting before Gu Fan was clearly running her mental processor in overdrive.
Even trying so hard, my momentum was no match for Gu Fan’s, and it was obvious he was handling this effortlessly.
Ugh, I want to surrender.
I hated pretending to keep this cold, aloof ice queen facade—it wasn’t my true feeling.
But recently, I’d read so many online tips from girls telling me never to be easily controlled by my boyfriend, always keep the upper hand in the relationship, like a queen commanding the whole board.
Securing more benefits before marriage meant I wouldn’t have to worry about being bullied by my in-laws or husband later, and I’d have the confidence to walk away whenever I wanted.
Maybe I’m just too incompetent? Not even a short while into this, I felt my defenses about to be breached by Gu Fan, and my mind started spinning wild ideas about rushing into a flash marriage and having a bunch of chubby kids to play with him.
And… by deliberately hiding my true feelings and putting on a cold, indifferent expression, wouldn’t Gu Fan misunderstand and think I don’t actually like him? I definitely don’t want to lose the big picture for the sake of those vague pre-marriage benefits and end up with Gu Fan harboring resentment toward me.
As I was tangled up in whether to keep up the act, Gu Fan silently cut another piece of strawberry cake and was about to offer it to me again.
I noticed early and quickly grabbed his wrist, taking the fork.
“The cake’s really good, Gu Fan, you try some too.”
With a secret hope of an indirect kiss, and the ambition to turn the tide and become queen, I shifted closer, almost sitting on Gu Fan’s chair.
The cat tail behind me also took matters into its own hands, standing up proudly and wrapping around Gu Fan’s right arm, wagging its tip as if trying hard to pull him closer to me.
“Hmph, okay then, but first, Zhi Nian has to promise me to take a sip of the matcha and honestly tell me how it tastes.”
Gu Fan wasn’t fazed by my bold move. As always, he smiled gently, lifted the plastic cup holding the hot matcha, and inserted the straw.
But unexpectedly, this time he didn’t bring the straw to my lips like he had with the cake.
His brows lowered slightly, his pale lips barely touching the straw’s opening. I could clearly see the dark green matcha swirling inside the translucent straw…
He took several sips, expression unreadable, then said simply, “Warm, not hot,” before passing it over to me with a slight twitch of his mouth urging me to try.
“Umi…”
If I could observe myself from a third-person perspective, I’d probably see steam visibly rising off my forehead.
Even if I couldn’t see my own face, I could definitely feel the pair of cat ears atop my head bristling stiffly, as tense as my sharp gaze fixed on the straw’s tip, which still held two or three droplets of matcha.
My cheeks felt hot enough to fry an egg. Any clueless bystander seeing me now might think I had a fever.
I opened my mouth, hesitated for a moment, then clenched my teeth and forced myself to say in as fierce a tone as I could manage, “Gu Fan, you drink the matcha with me, and I’ll eat the cake.”
That was my last desperate move. If Gu Fan still didn’t fall for it, I’d have no choice but to wave the white flag and surrender.
“Sure, let’s do it.”
Gu Fan agreed decisively, then without expression bit the plastic fork I was holding, chewing on that small piece of strawberry cake, his eyes locked intently on me.
Seeing my childhood friend take the initiative first sent a thrill through my chest.
Why… does Gu Fan not mind that I used the same plastic fork? He didn’t even bother wiping it with a napkin and accepted my feeding so straightforwardly…
I wanted to quietly savor the wonderful feeling of feeding Gu Fan, watching him eat from the fork I’d used, almost like it was kissing him for me.
But the arrow was already on the string, so no matter how much I craved that feeling, I had to suppress it for now.
Nervously licking my lower lip, I stared at the flattened plastic straw, took a deep breath, and forced myself to bite down on it.
Hmm… it feels like we’re drinking the nuptial wine together.
The surrounding noise faded into the background, transforming in my mind into the cheers and blessings of relatives and friends at a wedding ceremony.
My childhood friend, dressed in a red wedding robe, looked at me softly with his bright amber eyes shining like spring sunshine, like a diligent boatman rowing unceasingly across the lake of my heart, stirring ripples everywhere.
By now, I couldn’t taste the matcha anymore, as if someone had dropped a Mentos into a Coke bottle inside my head, and countless white bubbles surged out in an instant, filling my brain and taking away all control of my senses, leaving me unable to receive any feedback from them at all.
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