Chapter 38
Standing on the plaza for a while, I walked east. Red Forest was in the western suburbs, the company was in the city center—I just wanted to get as far away from both places as possible.
Walking in a daze, people and scenery all blurred before my eyes. My head ached terribly. I felt so cold, yet my body was feverish. I was sick—I should find a hospital. That's what I thought, but I never actually did.
I had no idea where I was going or what I was supposed to do. If I hadn't run into Ma Ting, I probably would've walked until I collapsed. Of course, more likely, I would've fainted on the roadside.
The truth is, the moment I ran into Ma Ting, I simply passed out. At the time, I didn't recognize it was her—I just heard someone call my name and turned to look. Before I could make out who it was, my body gave out. When I woke up, I was already in the hospital with an IV drip in my arm.
"Wake up? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Do you need me to contact anyone?" The delicate girl looked at me with concern, a serene smile on her lips. In an instant, a face I'd been desperately avoiding appeared before my eyes, merging with the girl's face...
———————嘿嘿，分割线又回来了———————
"A Yi, there's a piece missing from this strawberry cake. Did you steal it!" A round-faced girl stared at me with the utmost righteousness, her big eyes sparkling with absolutely pure light. Anyone who didn't know better would think I'd stooped so low as to steal a little girl's cake.
A few muffled giggles sounded from somewhere nearby. Helplessly, I said, "Xiaoxiao, strawberry cakes just come in this shape. I wouldn't steal things from customers' orders."
"Huh? Is that so? I don't care. I wanted a round cake, and there's a piece missing. You stole it!"
"We have samples on display at the counter. You can come look."
She comes to the shop every single day, eats strawberry cake every single day, and only today she suddenly thinks a piece is missing? Of course, I only thought that. As infuriating as it was, she was still a customer, and the customer is always right.
"That's that, and this is this. Either you give me a round piece, or you agree to my request."
Where am I supposed to get you a round piece? Ask the pastry chef to make you a special round strawberry cake? Even if I actually did that, you'd just come up with some other demand, wouldn't you? When it came to this young miss, I knew her too well.
Sometimes I really wondered if I was born unable to be around girls. Why was it that every girl I met, aside from Ma Ting, had such potential to be a witch?
"Just give in to her." A voice laced with amusement came from behind me.
I turned around with a sigh, helplessly saying, "Xiao Ting..."
"Hey, it's just taking some photos. Why don't you just agree? Otherwise, she'll only cause you more trouble."
It definitely wasn't just "some photos." The kind she wanted me to take were all sorts of变态 photos. On the surface, Xiaoxiao looked like a middle schooler, and technically she was in college, but her hobbies... just thinking about them gave me the creeps.
Last time she said she wanted me to help her take a few photos, and even though I was a bit hesitant, I agreed. But once she tricked me into going, I found out she was planning to shoot something called "nanfeng." The name sounded weird, but basically it was a collection of male photos—not the kind you see everywhere that expose toned muscles. No, nanfeng required men to show elegance and charm...
Do men have elegance and charm? Fine, let's say some do. But why in the world did she have to pick me?
"Do you want her coming here to cause trouble every single day?"
My face turned green. I forced myself to say, "She has only ten more days before school starts. Ten more days and it'll be over." That's what I said, but thinking about having to endure another ten days before escaping this ordeal gave me vertigo. For the first time, I regretted staying at Ma Ting's coffee shop. If I'd left back then, I wouldn't have met this witch... but where else could I have gone?
My thoughts drifted just a little before I pulled them back. Just as I was about to refocus, I heard a click—Xiaoxiao had somehow produced a camera from who knows where.
"That expression right there, A Yi. That expression has the most flavor. If you wore the vest I specially designed for you, it would be absolutely perfect. Come on, A Yi, just let me take the photo, pleeeease?"
I shook my head again and again. That kind of photo—I'd rather die than take it!
"Hmph, fine then. We'll just wait each other out. After winter vacation, there's still the May Day holiday, then summer vacation. I've got all the time in the world!" After her vicious declaration, she scooped up a huge bite of "the cake I supposedly stole" and stuffed it in her mouth. As she ate, she kept watching me with that chilling gaze.