After walking a bit further and crossing the road, they finally noticed a street lined with several open shops. The area was slightly busier with people. Those shops were all selling food.
“Sister Xue, do you want rice or noodles?” Su Yun turned to ask Qin Xue after spotting the shops, but Qin Xue was looking elsewhere and didn’t respond.
“Sister Xue?”
“Oh, oh, let’s have noodles. I don’t feel like eating rice,” Qin Xue replied hurriedly, snapping back to attention.
She had just noticed a few tall, massive mountains in the distance. Since she rarely saw such sights, her curiosity had drawn her gaze for a moment longer.
“Sister Xiaoyun, don’t walk so fast!” Qin Xue called out, noticing the growing distance between her and Su Yun. She couldn’t help but jog forward and latch onto Su Yun’s arm.
This way, her Sister Xiaoyun wouldn’t slip away.
“Ugh, come on, don’t get so close all of a sudden!” Su Yun, who had been looking up the shops, was caught off guard by the sudden embrace and felt a bit flustered.
Mainly, it was because Qin Xue’s chest was too large, pressing against her in a way she wasn’t used to.
“Hm? Does Sister Xiaoyun hate it when I get close?” Qin Xue’s tone dropped, sounding dejected.
“I…” Su Yun faltered. The girl’s beautiful eyes blinked, brimming with disappointment, which tugged at Su Yun’s heart. She felt too guilty to say anything harsh.
“I don’t hate it. I like it.”
“Alright, then I’ll hold you even tighter!” Qin Xue chirped.
“Hey…” Su Yun protested weakly.
Immediately, Su Yun felt her right arm go immobile, completely squeezed with no room to move.
With no other choice, she continued walking toward the shops.
The area grew busier, and as they crossed the street, a few men passed by them. Perhaps because Qin Xue’s clingy behavior was so eye-catching, those men stole glances at her.
Su Yun noticed and followed their gazes for a quick look.
Good grief.
It was painfully obvious that her right arm was being squished in a way that accentuated certain curves.
“…” Su Yun felt helpless, but soon enough, they reached a shop. The place was empty, so they didn’t have to worry about similar stares.
“Welcome! What would you like?” The shop owner, an elderly woman seated inside, stood up as they entered.
“A large portion of Black Bean Noddles,” Qin Xue decided after scanning the menu for a moment.
Meanwhile, Su Yun had already claimed a spot, sitting on a chair and waiting for Qin Xue.
“Sister Xiaoyun!” Once Qin Xue was done ordering, she quickly joined Su Yun, wrapping her arms tightly around her.
“Ugh…” Su Yun didn’t resist, letting Qin Xue hug her waist.
She wasn’t sure why, but ever since returning to their hometown, Qin Xue had become much clingier. Back at school, they rarely hugged—holding hands was the most they did. But now, Qin Xue was glued to her every moment.
Was hugging her really that comfortable? She wasn’t a body pillow…
“Here you go, beautiful. Your Black Bean Noddles.” A few minutes later, the auntie from the kitchen brought out a bowl of noodles and placed it in front of Qin Xue.
“Thank you,” Qin Xue said politely, picking up her chopsticks.
Only then did Qin Xue release Su Yun.
Su Yun let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Of course, it wasn’t that Su Yun disliked being hugged by Qin Xue.
Quite the opposite—she was thrilled. After all, she used to be a guy. If this were before, she’d probably be like those guys on the street, sneaking glances at a beautiful, curvy girl like Qin Xue.
Now, she could feel the softness of a girl’s body and smell her faint fragrance. She even had the urge to do something bold.
But the problem was, she couldn’t do anything. She was stuck, unable to act, which was maddening.
It was like having a delicious feast laid out in front of you, but you could only look at it.
If that was the case, she’d rather not see the feast at all.
After that, Qin Xue ate her noodles while Su Yun sat beside her, staring blankly.
Watching Qin Xue’s beautiful profile and graceful figure, Su Yun felt oddly satisfied, as if she were full just from the sight.
But not long after, heavy footsteps approached from outside.
Su Yun looked up and saw a man dressed bizarrely. While others wore thick winter coats, bundled up tightly, he had his arms exposed, covered in dragon tattoos. He didn’t look like a good person at all.
Su Yun had no interest in engaging with someone like him, so she quickly averted her gaze to avoid drawing his attention.
“Hey, little ladies, what’re you eating?” the man asked.
“?” Qin Xue glanced up.
“Black Bean Noddles,” she answered curtly, clearly uninterested in saying more.
“Black Bean Noddles, huh? Sounds good. I’ll have one too.”
“Boss, one Black Bean Noddles!” the man shouted toward the counter.
Su Yun, who had been ready to stand up and shoo him away after his flirty tone, hesitated when he ordered. Maybe she’d misjudged him.
But in the next second, the man plopped down at their table, sitting directly across from them.
“There are plenty of empty seats elsewhere,” Su Yun said, irritated, noticing his eyes lingering on Qin Xue.
“It’s cold sitting alone. Warmer over here with you two,” the man replied with a grin, though his smile had a sinister edge.
“You’re cold, but you’re wearing a short-sleeve shirt?” Su Yun shot back, glaring at him sharply.
“Hey, cutie, let’s exchange contact info. I live around here too,” the man pressed, growing bolder.
Then, he reached out—not toward the table, but directly toward Qin Xue, as if trying to touch her.
“No. Get lost,” Qin Xue said, her voice dripping with disgust and coldness, a stark contrast to her usual warm tone with Su Yun. She leaned back to avoid his hand.
Slap.
Before his hand could reach Qin Xue, Su Yun smacked it away.
“What do you think you’re doing? What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Su Yun stood up, confronting him head-on, “Flirting is one thing, but you dare try to touch her? Touch my Sister Xue? Who do you think you are?”
Su Yun was already exhausted from the past few days, and with some frustrating incidents at school weighing on her, she had no outlet for her pent-up emotions.
Facing this creep who was trying to take advantage of Qin Xue, she was seething, her head buzzing with heat and dizziness.
“Oh, feisty little thing, huh? That slap hurt!” The man turned to Su Yun with a menacing smirk, rubbing his wrist where she’d hit him.
“What do I want? I want to beat the crap out of you, you little—”
Furious at being thwarted, the man dropped his facade. He stood up and swung at Su Yun with all his might, his hand aiming for her face.
Though he didn’t look as burly as some, his male strength was still greater than most women’s, enough to overpower one or even two.
If this were any other ordinary girl, she might have taken a brutal slap from this thug. If she didn’t fight back, she could even be beaten further.
But to Su Yun, his speed was laughably slow.
Thud!
In a flash, she darted behind him and delivered a powerful kick to his backside.
With a loud crash against the wall, the man collapsed to the ground.
(End of Chapter)