“What’s that?” Cha Susu stared curiously at Liang Sheng’s hand. “I have no idea~ Tell me quick, Shengsheng!”
Liang Sheng opened her hand with a flourish. “Ta-da~ It’s some piping hot roasted chestnuts! Here, hold out your hand—they’re super sweet.”
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Cha Susu’s Favorability towards Liang Sheng: 102”
“So that’s what you were doing earlier…” Cha Susu’s heart warmed as she took the chestnuts. She’d thought Liang Sheng had been eating her own lunch.
Liang Sheng peeled another chestnut and popped it into her mouth. “I was shelling chestnuts for our Little Star Susu~ Give it a try—they’re especially sweet. Skipping chestnuts in winter is a total crime.”
“Ooh~” Cha Susu popped one into her mouth too. It was sweet and fragrant. “Mmm~ They really are super sweet~”
Mmm~ But her heart felt even sweeter~
“Sweet, right?” Liang Sheng got excited and slung an arm around Cha Susu’s shoulders. “When it’s your turn to film later, I’ll run out and grab you some tanghulu.”
“Ahem!” Cha Susu’s agent coughed lightly from behind her, whispering a reminder. “Susu, go easy on the sweets. You’ll gain weight…”
It had been ages since Cha Susu last had tanghulu. As a celebrity, she was terrified of packing on pounds.
“Oh… okay…” Cha Susu drooped her head, thoroughly disappointed.
Liang Sheng watched Cha Susu’s glum expression, lost in thought.
When Cha Susu’s scene finally came up, Liang Sheng slipped out quietly.
A short walk took her to the bustling street, where vendors pushed little carts loaded with tanghulu, hawking their wares from every corner and alley.
Liang Sheng spotted a cart covered with a glass case. It looked spotlessly clean, the tanghulu fresh, and the rice paper wrappers tucked neatly under a spatula in a thick stack.
“Boss, I’ll take… one yam bean tanghulu. Actually, make it a yam bean one, a black date tanghulu, and a hawthorn tanghulu.”
After paying, Liang Sheng ducked into a nearby convenience store to grab something.
By the time she returned, Cha Susu had nearly wrapped her scene, and dusk was settling in.
“Come here, come here!” Liang Sheng waved at Cha Susu, who had changed back into her street clothes after filming.
Cha Susu trotted over, and Liang Sheng pulled her into a big hug.
“Huh?” Cha Susu blinked in delighted confusion, unsure what had gotten into her.
“Hehe~” Liang Sheng gave her a quick squeeze before letting go. “I’m not heading back with you guys! Go on without me~ I’ll grab a cab.”
“Huh? But wh—” Cha Susu started to ask.
Her agent patted Cha Susu’s shoulder. “There are still fans outside. Don’t drag your friend into it.”
“Oh…” Cha Susu pouted and climbed into the car.
Not long after she got home, her phone rang with a call from Liang Sheng.
“Susu, did you find the thing in your pocket yet?” On the other end, Liang Sheng tilted her head, phone wedged between her shoulder and ear as she busied herself in the kitchen, pouring hot water over an instant oily tea noodle cup.
“What thing?” Cha Susu had already shrugged off her puffer jacket and was rummaging through her closet for something to wear.
Liang Sheng teased on purpose. “If I tell you, it’ll ruin the surprise~ Find it yourself—that’s when the fun hits!”
No way… Cha Susu, the Little Green Tea, had already guessed about ninety percent of it.
Sure enough, after digging out her jacket, she felt around in the pocket and pulled out a modestly sized paper bag.
Inside the bag were…!
Earlier, Liang Sheng had snapped off the rice paper wrappers from the yam bean tanghulu, black date tanghulu, and hawthorn tanghulu, leaving just three candied fruits on each skewer.
After pulling out the three tanghulu, Cha Susu spotted a sticky note stuck to the back of the bag.
She peeled it off. Scrawled on it was: “Just sneak a few bites~ It’s fine, but rinse your mouth after~ Careful not to get cavities~”
Oh man, a girl this thoughtful? Who wouldn’t fall head over heels? She was too good at this!
“Ding!” Favorability rose sharply.
“Cha Susu’s Favorability towards Liang Sheng: 115”
“Sheng… Shengsheng…” Cha Susu teared up, dying to rush straight to Liang Sheng’s place and shower her with kisses.
“No need to thank me~” Liang Sheng stuck her tongue out playfully at the phone.
Cha Susu unleashed her signature green-tea charm. “Whoever ends up with a sweet, thoughtful girl like Shengsheng as their girlfriend is gonna be over the moon! She’s caring, gets what you want before you say it, and full of little surprises!”
Damn right—women know women best.
Liang Sheng turned on the silver tongue. “Hehe~ How about I skip boyfriends altogether? Susu likes me so much—maybe I should take care of you instead?”
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Cha Susu’s Favorability towards Liang Sheng: 117”
Cha Susu giggled happily at the suggestion, though she couldn’t let on how she really felt—not while her career was taking off. “Shengsheng’s bound to get a girl… I mean, boyfriend someday. Just don’t forget about me then~ After all, I’ll care about Shengsheng way more than her boyfriend ever will~”
Tsk tsk~ That green-tea tone and those words rivaled Liang Sheng’s own drama-queen mode!
“How could I? Susu is so lovable~” Liang Sheng piled on the sweet talk until the Little Green Tea was utterly charmed.
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Cha Susu’s Favorability towards Liang Sheng: 120”
Liang Sheng hung up with a long sigh. “Whew, coaxing girls is exhausting.”
To unwind, she decided to scroll through some short videos.
She tapped open Doushou, and the first clip featured a girl in a miniskirt shaking her hips.
Whoa? Big data these days was scary smart—knew exactly what people secretly wanted to watch?
She cranked up the volume.
“Babe~ Being a Sea King sucks, so much hassle, girls blowing up your phone all day—total nightmare. Sea King life is rough, too many sweeties to juggle. Just sweet-talked one, and the next is already in line~”
Liang Sheng: “…?”
So this was some motivational slap in the face, huh?
“Not watching this crap!” Liang Sheng chucked her phone aside. Sea King? Not in a million years! She hated those players more than anything!
Life and circumstances had forced her onto this path, that’s all.
She tossed the phone down and turned to serious business—like pondering…
Which girl to target tomorrow?
Who to go on a date with?
How to juggle multiple girls at once?
Not for nothing was she a Sea King.
Feeling restless, she glanced at her message notifications. Another flood from various girls.
“Why are they blowing up my phone again? Too lazy to check.” Liang Sheng sighed and replied to them one by one.
“Are you humblebragging?” Akino Kazuko popped up above Liang Sheng’s head. “I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”
