In the end, Su Ze still shamelessly asked to join Liang Sheng and the others for a meal at a nearby restaurant. Liang Sheng didn’t want to argue with him and figured she should give him a little face. Of course, with her personality that loved meddling in things for the fun of it, she also wanted to squeeze a bit more challenge and excitement out of the day.
Su Ze was still pretty pissed off. He knew full well that an avalanche was coming today—it was his golden chance to show off and play the hero. But Liang Sheng wanted to go eat? Wasn’t that just a little too coincidental? Could she…? He shook his head at the thought. No way.
Liang Sheng and her Favorability System, Kazuko, had already lost once before, but for some reason, time had reset. Su Ze clenched his fist. No matter how many times he and his Heartthrob System, Wakako, won, time kept resetting. This had never happened back home.
Liang Sheng noticed Su Ze’s expression shift rapidly. What shady plan was he cooking up now? She went on high alert.
Just as they were about to head out, Liang Sheng suddenly spotted a group of kids around eight years old lining up to enter the ski area. There were quite a few of them—probably a whole class on a group outing.
Liang Sheng fell silent.
Was she really not going to warn everyone? But who would believe her? She wasn’t some ditzy sweetheart heroine who could save just anyone. These people were merely characters from a book—barely even side roles, more like cannon fodder, random extras, and NPCs. Still… watching them die right in front of her? Tsk. Liang Sheng furrowed her brow.
After some intense internal debate, she glanced at the ski resort staff lounging in the distant lodge, then at the place with no PA system. Fine. Even if she warned them, no one would listen.
So… she’d save as many as she could.
“Kids~” Liang Sheng broke free from Liang Jin and Song An’an’s grip, flashing a smile that screamed creepy auntie as she dashed over to the group waiting to buy tickets. She waved enthusiastically at them.
Song An’an and the others watched her in confusion, wondering what she was up to. Su Ze arched an eyebrow. What was this meddlesome woman scheming now?
“Where are your parents?” Liang Sheng bent down, forcing a kind expression as she peered at the children.
A glasses-wearing little shota boy was the first to reply, his voice high-pitched and babyish with that classic boyish lilt.
“Auntie,” the kid said solemnly, “we’re big kids now. We don’t need our parents to play with us. What do you want?”
A-Auntie? Liang Sheng turned to stone on the spot.
Crack! Her perfect facade shattered. She nearly spun around and washed her hands of the whole bunch. But Liang Sheng was too kind-hearted for that. She plastered on another gentle smile.
“Ahaha, call me big sis, kids.” Liang Sheng struggled to keep her veins from bulging.
“Okay, Auntie.”
“You little—!” Liang Sheng nearly cursed up a storm. What was with all these brats these days?
“Listen up,” she said, her smile turning a bit menacing. “Any woman under forty, you call ‘miss’ or ‘big sis.’ Over forty, you call ‘pretty big sis.’ Got it? See? Pretty big sis here is just teaching you kids some life lessons.”
The glasses-wearing little shota took half a step back and whispered to the little girl with pigtails beside him, “Think this creepy auntie’s a kidnapper or just bullying kids for fun?”
“I heard that~💢” Liang Sheng laughed in sheer exasperation. Was the kid doing it on purpose?
“Uh, uh… Pretty big sis,” the little fatty piped up from the side. “What do you want with us?”
Liang Sheng nodded in satisfaction at “pretty big sis.” This little fatso had potential—a promising kid. Though “hook up with us” was a weird word choice. Not that she had a thing for kids or anything.
“Ah, big sis thinks you’re all so cute and wants to treat you to a meal.” Liang Sheng blurted out the lamest excuse she could think of. Afterward, she realized if she were these kids, she’d turn her down flat. She totally came off like a human trafficker.
But that was just what she thought. Reality loved its drama.
“Huh? Free food?” The glasses-wearing little shota blinked in surprise, then lit up with excitement. “Big sis, you’re so pretty! What are you treating us to~?”
Huh? What was up with kids these days?
“Eat… eat.” Liang Sheng patted her bulging wallet reluctantly. “How about… Kendeji?”
Done for. They’d definitely say no. Kendeji? That cheap junk food—she’d refuse for sure.
“Whoa!” The glasses-wearing little shota whooped. “Grown-ups never let us eat that junk, and the money they gave us is just enough for ski tickets. Pretty big sis, you really mean it?”
Huh? Liang Sheng was dumbfounded. Kids these days were way too gullible.
“Aren’t you afraid I might be a bad guy?”
The little shota dropped his deadpan snark, grinning like a blooming little flower—sweet as could be. “Big sis, you’re so nice! How could you be bad? But now that you mention it… why do you wanna treat us?”
Talk about shooting herself in the foot. They hadn’t even asked, and she’d given them the idea.
No helping it. Liang Sheng fell back on her talent for spinning tales.
“Uh, well, you see… um, you kids, uh, snow—no, grass—what am I even saying?” She stumbled over her words incoherently. “I just… saw how cute you all are, haha. I love… er, picking on cute things—no! I mean, I just love cute kids~”
The children didn’t care about her rambling. They crowded around her excitedly, showering her with “pretty big sis” and “beautiful big sister,” flattering her so much she almost wanted to adopt them all as godkids (scratch that).
Nearby, Su Ze, He Wennuo, Ye Yuzhe, Song An’an, and Liang Jin stood frozen in bewilderment. What the heck was Liang Sheng doing, rounding up a pack of kids like that?
Song An’an and Liang Jin found it especially weird. They’d spent more time with her and knew the green-haired girl was a total penny-pinching miser. Getting her to shell out cash? Only if the sun rose in the west.
“A-A-Sheng, stop messing with the little ones.” Song An’an ran over and tugged at Liang Sheng’s arm. “Let’s go eat already. What prank are you pulling now?”
Liang Jin didn’t like seeing Song An’an grab her cousin’s arm. She hurried over too and latched onto Liang Sheng’s other arm, though she stayed quiet.
