“I feel… very comfortable.” Mo Qingrou lingered for a moment, stroking her own lips.
Out here in this remote spot, it felt awfully embarrassing. Liang Sheng grabbed Mo Qingrou’s hand and led her toward the sedan. “Sister Mo Qingrou, let’s head home first.”
“Home?” Mo Qingrou glanced at Liang Sheng’s bashful expression and completely misunderstood. “Do you want to go home to keep going?”
What the heck! How was it that even the super aloof school doctor Mo Qingrou was starting to have naughty thoughts? Sure enough, everyone’s mind harbored a bit of dirty material.
“No, no! Going home is… well, I’m a little tired. I just want to rest for a bit and chat with you, Sister Mo Qingrou.”
For once, Mo Qingrou’s face showed a hint of melancholy.
After driving back to Mo Qingrou’s house, Liang Sheng stepped inside. “Wow~”
It was incredibly tidy! The entire space was decked out in cool tones—the sofa was gray, the floorboards a stark white. The whole home carried a distinctly chilly vibe.
Yep, this screamed Mo Qingrou’s style.
Liang Sheng clasped her hands behind her back and strutted around the place like some pompous inspector, pointing this way and that. “Hmm… Here, you should hang some red string. Here~ toss in a bear plush. And here! A bouquet of pink flowers~”
“That would look totally mismatched,” Mo Qingrou replied. She slipped off her shoes and headed to the kitchen to pour tea for Liang Sheng. “It wouldn’t be pretty.”
“But it’d feel more like a home~” Liang Sheng grinned mischievously and flopped backward onto the sofa. “So comfy~”
In the kitchen, Mo Qingrou paused mid-pour at those words. She echoed them softly. “More like a home, huh…”
It had been so long since she’d felt the warmth of home.
Her parents might have been deans and all, but they were renowned doctors—always swamped, with almost no time for her.
Back when she was little, before her face turned into that eternal poker expression, she could play happily with the other kids. Even if loneliness crept in from her family’s absence, she’d bounce back quickly on her own. But then came the car accident that stole her ability to control her facial muscles. For someone who’d always loved to laugh and goof around, the blow had been devastating.
Mo Qingrou finished brewing the tea and carried it out, handing a cup to Liang Sheng. “White Hair Silver Needle. Give it a try.”
“Mmm… Thanks, Sister Qingrou~” Liang Sheng thanked her politely—and since she was thirsty anyway, she took a big gulp right away. “Pfft… blech…!”
She still wasn’t a fan of the taste of plain tea.
“Cough, cough. Sister, do you have any boiled water? I…” Liang Sheng licked her lips and eyed the tea in her cup, with zero desire to drink more. “Or you could add some sugar.”
“Sugar?” Mo Qingrou shook her head. “I don’t really like sweets, so I don’t keep any around the house.”
“Huh?” Liang Sheng looked shocked. She set the teacup back on the table and scooted over next to Mo Qingrou. “Sister Mo Qingrou, sweet treats make you feel happy! You really don’t want to give them a shot?”
“Do they?” Clearly, this big iceberg wasn’t convinced. “Eating sweets makes you happy… Does happiness really come that easily?”
Without a word, Liang Sheng whipped out her phone and ordered delivery. “Hey! Try these doughnuts from this place—they’re super delicious!”
Hmm… They weren’t quite as good as the ones Song An’an made, but they were still amazing~
“And this shop’s milk tea is great too, though not full sugar—half sugar. Their full sugar is way too cloyingly sweet, even for me.” Liang Sheng glanced at Mo Qingrou again, then bowed her head to keep ordering. “But for you, Sister Mo Qingrou, I’ll get you a third sugar. I bet even half would be too sweet for you.”
Sigh. After all this effort today, Mo Qingrou’s favorability toward her hadn’t budged an inch.
This was too hard—ing this iceberg was way too tough! Liang Sheng fumed impotently.
“Uh, since we’re waiting on delivery, how about we…” play a game for a bit?
But then…
“Want to kiss some more?” Mo Qingrou lobbed another straight ball.
Liang Sheng lost it. “Aaaah!! No, Sister Mo Qingrou, no! Why are you always thinking about kissing?!”
Mo Qingrou was utterly straightforward. “Because it felt good. It made me feel happy.”
Unbelievable—even kissing made her feel happy. Liang Sheng wasn’t buying it.
“N-Next time, okay? We’ve kissed too much today already.” Liang Sheng came up with an even more ridiculous excuse to refuse.
“…”
Silence fell between them.
“How about you give me a tour of your place, Sister Mo Qingrou?” Liang Sheng broke the quiet.
Mo Qingrou stood up. “Sure, come on.”
Sigh, this poker face was even quieter and colder than most people.
“This is my bedroom.” Mo Qingrou pushed open the door. Inside, everything was pristine but monotonous—the bed and sheets in solid colors.
“You should get a cat to live in here~ It’d add so much fun~” Liang Sheng suggested again.
“No time to care for one. No time to keep it company.” Mo Qingrou closed the bedroom door.
“This is the bathroom.”
The bathroom ditched the cool tones for something dimmer—black and brown floor tiles, gray walls.
Liang Sheng frowned. Could Mo Qingrou really live somewhere this oppressive without feeling stifled?
“Whoa~ This bathroom’s kinda scary~” Liang Sheng blurted out her honest thoughts.
Mo Qingrou glanced at it. “Is it?”
“Totally! It’s so gloomy! Next time you renovate, let me design it for you. Free of charge!” Liang Sheng patted her chest enthusiastically.
Mo Qingrou couldn’t even imagine what her home would turn into if this lively green-haired girl got her hands on the design. Dr. Mo, usually so composed, felt a flicker of unease at the thought of Liang Sheng actually redoing her space.
“Uh, maybe not.”
Liang Sheng put her hands on her hips. For the first time, she’d seen Mo Qingrou looking a tad hesitant, which piqued her interest no end. She kept teasing. “But what if I end up as your girlfriend someday? Your girlfriend would have the right to make changes, right?”
“Uh.” Mo Qingrou was stumped. She hesitated despite herself. Should she actually get together with Liang Sheng down the line?
If… if she could have a normal relationship… Mo Qingrou swallowed. Redecorating the house would be a small price to pay if it meant she could date like a regular person. It wouldn’t be a big deal…
“If we got together, then the house…” Mo Qingrou steeled herself. “You could redo it however you want.”
“Pfft~” Liang Sheng couldn’t help bursting into laughter, pointing at that troubled poker face. “Hahaha, Sister Mo Qingrou, were you just struggling so hard inside? You looked so hesitant—it was hilarious!”
“Huh?” Was I… really that funny just now…?
