“Haha!” Liang Sheng patted Zhen Zhu’s little head, choosing not to call her out on it. Instead, she opened her snack bag wide. “Here, have some goodies from your big sis~ This is a reward for being so cute~”
“Mmm!”
“Ding!” Favorability rose sharply.
“Zhen Zhu’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 45”
Well, well, kids really were the easiest to please—just a little junk food and they were over the moon. Liang Sheng snickered to herself.
“Here~ this one, this one, and this!” Liang Sheng pulled out potato chips, shrimp sticks, and crispy corn snacks one by one. “Mmm~ these are delicious too!” She added malted milk candies and cola.
Zhen Zhu had never eaten stuff like this as a kid. She was just like those overbearing CEOs in romance novels—raised on fancy food, never touching junk, until the heroine introduced her to it and suddenly thought, Wow, this woman is one of a kind.
Liang Sheng was reluctantly playing the role of that Mary Sue heroine, while Zhen Zhu turned a blind eye and acted like the domineering CEO. Anyway, Zhen Zhu took the snacks, her eyes sparkling with delight. She was on the verge of happy tears! How could anything in the world taste this good?
Liang Sheng’s maternal instincts overflowed. She reached out with her grubby paws to ruffle Zhen Zhu’s little head. Zhen Zhu was chomping away happily, completely oblivious to Liang Sheng’s wandering hands as they messed up her twin tails into a bird’s nest.
“Look at you, face all covered in crumbs.” Liang Sheng pulled out a wet wipe and cleaned the bits off Zhen Zhu’s face. “It’s all yours—no one’s stealing it. Slow down, eat slower.”
Zhen Zhu’s focus was entirely on the snacks, tuning out Liang Sheng completely.
After a moment, Liang Sheng remembered something. “Little Friend Zhen Zhu, ease up. We’re about to have a big meal. If you stuff yourself with snacks now, you won’t have room for the good stuff later!”
Zhen Zhu kept munching intently, mumbling back through a full mouth, “I eat that junk every day—I’m sick of it. It doesn’t taste half as good as this stuff you gave me. Sure, it’s cheap, but it’s way better than the fancy crap I usually get.”
Liang Sheng chuckled inwardly. Humblebrag much? Fine, take your time. I’ll enjoy the feast solo.
After waiting left and right, Dong Yue finally emerged from the room. There seemed to be tear tracks on her face.
Must be seeing things, Liang Sheng thought, rubbing her eyes. The ever-serious Teacher Dong Yue, crying in secret? No way.
“Teacher~ you’re out! I missed you so much~” Liang Sheng launched into full coquettish mode.
Zhen Zhu jolted, wiping her mouth. “Ugh, Old Hag, why’d you suddenly go all cutesy-soft? It’s giving me the creeps.”
“Mmm? Shut it, Little Dwarf.” Liang Sheng whipped around and shot the little loli a fierce glare, then turned back to Dong Yue with a beaming smile, putting on a masterclass in switching faces.
“Haha, you sweet-talker.” Dong Yue, whose mood had been down, brightened up a bit. “It’s only been an hour or so. How much could you miss me?”
“Teacher, you know the saying, right? ‘A day apart feels like three years.’ Well, for me with you, it’s ‘one minute apart feels like three years’! Think about it—one hour is sixty minutes. You’ve kept me waiting over sixty sets of three years~”
“Ding~” Favorability rose.
“Dong Yue’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 49”
“Hahaha!” Dong Yue laughed heartily. “Little Rascal, you sure know how to talk. Teacher likes that.”
Dong Yue’s gaze shifted to Zhen Zhu, who was perched on a little stool devouring her snacks. “Zhen Zhu, eating junk food?”
Zhen Zhu didn’t even look up. “Yeah, so?”
“We’re about to eat. Careful you don’t spoil your appetite with that garbage.” Dong Yue crouched down, reaching to take the snacks from Zhen Zhu’s lap.
“No way!” Zhen Zhu twisted aside, clutching her treasures protectively, pouting and grumbling.
Liang Sheng broke into a cold sweat. After all, she was the one who’d given Zhen Zhu the snacks. Teacher Dong Yue wouldn’t blame her for feeding junk to her cousin, right? Probably not—Teacher Dong Yue was so understanding…
“Whoosh~” Favorability dropped.
“Dong Yue’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 48”
Oh crap, we’re doomed. Liang Sheng covered her face.
Maybe I can salvage this…
“Ahem, Teacher, it’s Zhen Zhu who…” Liang Sheng started to throw her under the bus, but one look at Zhen Zhu’s innocent eyes and her heart softened.
“Uh… Teacher, my bad. Won’t happen again…” Liang Sheng hung her head, meekly apologizing.
“Ding~” Favorability rose.
“Dong Yue’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 49”
“Alright, alright, it’s fine. Not your fault. Zhen Zhu’s just greedy. Hand the snacks to big sis for now—you can have them back after dinner, okay?” Dong Yue coaxed her.
Zhen Zhu still clutched them tight, shooting Liang Sheng a pleading look with her big, doll-like eyes. “Sister Liang Sheng…”
Oh man! This kid was scary all of a sudden. Liang Sheng’s scalp tingled. “I didn’t do anything! I haven’t offended you—don’t scare me like that!”
“Whoosh~” Favorability dropped.
“Zhen Zhu’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 43”
??? Zhen Zhu, that was me being cute with you!
With unreliable Liang Sheng no help, Zhen Zhu reluctantly handed over the snacks to Dong Yue, huffing at Liang Sheng for good measure.
Liang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted, but…
“Heh heh heh.” Liang Sheng grinned mischievously and sidled up to Dong Yue. “Teacher~ see, Zhen Zhu calls you sis, and she calls me sis too. Does that mean I can call you sis?”
Dong Yue paused, seeing the logic, but… she was her teacher, after all. If Liang Sheng started calling her sis everywhere—especially around other students—her authority would be toast.
“No can do. I’m your teacher.” Dong Yue smiled and shook her head.
“Oh…” Liang Sheng drooped.
It was so pitiful. Dong Yue’s conscience twinged hard. How heartless of me.
“Fine, fine, okay… But Liang Sheng, you can call me sis in private. At school or in public, stick to ‘teacher’ to keep things proper.”
Yes! One step closer. Liang Sheng beamed and nodded furiously. “You got it, Teacher Dong Yue—no, Sister Dong Yue! Don’t worry!”
“Ding~” Favorability rose.
“Dong Yue’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 50”
