“You should eat a big lunch…”
“They always say lunch is the main meal of the day…”
Stirring the congee in her bowl, the freshly served pork soup dumplings were indeed delicious…
But after that indulgent lunch yesterday, Yin Xiaomeng felt today’s midday meal was somehow lackluster.
“Sigh—”
Another long sigh.
She rested her elbow on the table and propped up her head, her messy hair tied into a low ponytail with a glittery headband, hanging behind her.
The girl placed the spoon back on the edge of the bowl, picked up chopsticks from the rest, and lifted a steaming dumpling from the bamboo steamer to her lips.
The fluffy, soft wrapper was stained dark brown and glossy with grease.
Biting into it, she sucked out the hot broth, forcing herself to swallow the flavor even as the heat made her tongue instinctively recoil.
“Huff—huff—”
She didn’t greedily bite off half at once.
Yin Xiaomeng lifted the hand propping up her head, cupping it under the dumpling.
She swallowed the meat-scented wrapper after a hasty chew, then blew gently on the round filling.
For the solid meat, she wasn’t as careless as she had been with the broth.
From the villa, she could hear the faint footsteps of the maids bustling about, and the sound of the washing machine’s drum turning in the laundry room was just barely audible in the dining area.
“…”
After a few puffs, seeming impatient, the girl bit into most of the dumpling.
Though it was still hot enough to make her open her mouth slightly, panting…
The well-seasoned meat filling left a lingering fragrance as she chewed, making the experience both painful and pleasurable.
Even if it was lighter in flavor than she had imagined, that didn’t stop Yin Xiaomeng from finishing off the rest in one bite.
“Zhifu…”
“As expected, Zhang Ma’s dumplings are the best…”
Deliberately avoiding the slightly sweet corn porridge, she gave high praise to the dumplings she had eaten.
As for why she avoided it—probably just didn’t feel like it today.
Maybe when it appeared again on the breakfast table in a few days, it would receive its due acclaim?
But though the soup dumplings were delicious…
Yin Xiaomeng still craved the corn cake she had thought of right after waking up.
…
Tapping on the screen through the waterproof pouch, she sat on a small stool in the changing area of the bathroom, legs crossed, carefully checking the progress of her fish pond’s catches, except for No. 4.
Though the dozens of unread messages in that chat window itched in her heart, recalling her self-sabotage at the movie theater yesterday made her legs tremble.
She swore to the heavens it wasn’t because Bai Ruoxi had traumatized her—she was just following the decision she had made before bed last night, not yet figuring out how to end their connection.
Not checking the messages was just to avoid being swayed by her honeyed words.
Definitely not fear.
Right.
“…”
“Has No. 3 been fighting with her girlfriend lately?”
“Why has she been messaging me so often these days?”
“I remember her persona was always that cool, cute type, right…”
“Whatever, I don’t care. I’ll build up some more affection now, then persuade her to solve things peacefully…”
She unconsciously touched her nose, her fingers typing faster on the screen.
“If she really breaks up with her girlfriend, then what am I even playing for.”
“…”
Taking advantage of the closed bathroom door making her whispers inaudible to any passing maids, the girl muttered to herself without burden.
“And this No. 1, hmm… she’s been preparing for a competition lately, I think she’s heading to L City next Wednesday?”
“I’ll need to contact her half a day in advance to check in.”
“And prepare a consolation prize for failure and a congratulatory gift for success. What does she like again…”
“Piano? Or violin…”
Scrolling through the floating notes window, she searched the page for No. 1. Yin Xiaomeng shifted her crossed legs, cradling her unchanged curves, trying hard to recall this No. 1 sister’s interests and hobbies.
An older-sister appearance, but emotionally a clingy type—this extreme contrast made a certain rogue invest more in her than usual.
Of course, mostly financially.
When it came to emotional investment in ambiguous relationships, Yin Xiaomeng could swear she was completely fair.
“I think there’s a touring concert at the L City Concert Hall recently, should I send a ticket?”
In the realm of buying affection with money…
The girl tapped her phone screen, responding to messages from these little wings while recording their emotions and situations in the notes from their words.
No. 1 was exhausted from work lately—offer proper comfort with a small dose of enticing perks.
No. 2 would maintain the current plan: cold treatment for a while.
No. 3 had emotional trouble—though it wasn’t her ambiguous relationship being exposed, caution was needed…
No. 4…
Hmm…
No. 5 hadn’t messaged her yesterday—send an appropriate greeting to see if she could close the distance.
As for No. 6 and No. 7…
They were recent contacts, so playing the long game with a safer approach was best.
It was just… somehow, the way these two girls talked felt oddly familiar.
Like she had seen it somewhere before?
Closing the notes, the girl glanced one last time at No. 4’s chat window, her fingers still too scared to click and see what the other had said.
“Forget it…”
“Let’s take a shower first.”
Grabbing the folded towel beside her, she turned off the phone screen.
Yin Xiaomeng took a deep breath and stood up, pulling open the door that separated the steam.
The familiar heat hit her face.
She instinctively squinted and held her breath.
But her body moved with practiced ease, kicking off her slippers and swapping them for the non-slip ones in the bathroom.
She placed the towel on the rack by the door, holding the waterproof pouch’s strap in one hand while closing the sliding door that had been letting in a draft.
“Whew—”
After a deep breath, she exhaled.
Just a few moments in this steam-filled space made her feel sweat beginning to bead on her forehead.
Her chest swayed slightly with the movement.
Yin Xiaomeng looked down at the unruly things, raising an eyebrow.
She pressed down on the restless pair.
“…”
“Did I forget to grab fresh underwear?”
“…”
“Oh well, why wear underwear in my own home?”
“Wahoo, time for a nice, clean soak!”
Boing~
“Damn it, behave.”
“That hurts.”
Chapters List
Free
Karium
Chapter 23: A Joke to One, A Feeling to Another (٩(´Д` ;)۶:.*)
200
Chapter 33: A Seed Takes Root
200
Chapter 32: The Smell of a Losing Heroine
200
Chapter 31: The Class President Tries to Hold Back Again
200
Chapter 30: The Nightmare of Formula Tentacles [∠(°ゝ°）]
200
Chapter 29: The Collapse of Her Cool Personaヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉChapter 28: Love Woven Into Chains ( ﾟOﾟ)Chapter 27: When the Homewrecker Became the Victim (*¯︶¯*)Chapter 26: A Dream Too Real (´ᯅ`)Chapter 25: The Straight Girl Trap (ヽ(゜▽゜ )－C<(/; ◇; )/)Chapter 24: ✟ Ascension ✟Chapter 22: A Quiet Kind of Closeness (ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ)Chapter 21: Unspoken Feelingsヾ(*T▽T*)Chapter 20: Calculating Every Move ο(=•ω＜=)ρ⌒☆Chapter 19: Playing the Perfect Role (ᕑᗢᓫ∗)˒Chapter 18: A Perfect Life, A Hidden Game ୧₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₎୨Chapter 17: Love on One Side, A Game on the Other ＠(￣-￣)＠Chapter 16: Hooked by a Single Voice (｡ •﹃•｡ )Chapter 15: A Chaotic Moment of Self-Indulgent Calm（ﾉ´д｀）Chapter 13: Gu Gu Ga Ga!Chapter 12: When Control Slips Awayε=ε=(っ*´□`)っChapter 11: A Shocking Turn щ(ºДºщ)Chapter 10: Enticement(૮₍°□°₎ა)Chapter 9: Dressing Room Slip ( ❛⃘ ∨ ❜⃘⃘ )੭⁂Chapter 8: Watch Me Do It (ദ്ദി˶ｰ̀֊ｰ́ )✧)Chapter 7: Everything Went Wrong! (٩(´Д` ;)۶:.*)Chapter 6: Fluster (੭ ᐕ)੭)Chapter 5: Enticement ( ⁎ര ̫ ര⁎)੭⁾⁾Chapter 4: Anticipation (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)"Chapter 3: Temptation (❛˓◞˂̵✧)Chapter 2: Mischief (₍₍٩( ᐛ )۶₎₎♪)Chapter 1: Hidden Intentions（ﾉ´д｀）After Being Exposed, Why Does the “Victim” Keep Kissing Me as Punishment?
200