Chapter 57

When a person is engrossed in something, time often flies by. Chloe had only read a rough outline of the book when she heard footsteps on the balcony again. The footsteps were coming up, and there were two sets of them.

One set of footsteps was crisp and light, with a cheerful rhythm—it was undoubtedly Liu Menglu’s.

As for the other set, the footsteps were steady, and without even having to listen closely, Chloe knew it was Li Qiuyu’s.

Chloe was angry. Although she knew Liu Menglu was going to invite Li Qiuyu, she was still unhappy.

What did the book say? “Someone’s meddling” is what causes disharmony and unhappiness in a relationship.

Listening to the approaching footsteps, Chloe’s first instinct was to use force to get rid of Li Qiuyu. But at that moment, as if by fate, a gentle breeze blew, and the pages of the book fluttered, revealing a line of text.

“When faced with someone’s meddling, the first thing to do is to be patient, and then use your power to crush them, making them retreat in the face of difficulty!”

Chloe was instantly enlightened. This was something she was familiar with.

It was just like the empress in those palace intrigue TV dramas she had watched. Upon meeting a new concubine, the empress would give them a warning to let them know that as long as she was the empress for one day, they were all her concubines!

Although she felt the words were a bit strange, Chloe’s limited grasp of the Chinese language prevented her from realizing the flawed logic in her thinking. Instead, she was confidently sure that she was right.

She also failed to realize that her analogy meant that in the future, Liu Menglu might acquire more “wives.”

Now, she felt like the empress, and she needed to show her grace and poise when facing the little troublemaker who was coming to compete for favor.

So, Chloe sat up straight, even clearing her throat with a couple of coughs. She was ready, preparing to give Li Qiuyu a show of her elegance and an imposing display of her status!

Don’t ask why Chloe wanted to give a show of force to someone she had already met several times. The answer was because she saw it in the book.

Chloe had already set up her posture and had even planned what to say first to show her status.

However, dreams are beautiful, but reality is cruel.

Just as Chloe was waiting for Liu Menglu to shyly bring Li Qiuyu over to say hello, Liu Menglu came up with Li Qiuyu, only smiled at Chloe, and then happily pulled Li Qiuyu to a corner at least ten meters away from Chloe.

She then mysteriously took a square box out of her backpack. Chloe was curious and looked at the box, but she couldn’t guess what it was.

Li Qiuyu was the same. She thought it was just a collaboration and planned to open it when she got home. But she heard Liu Menglu say carefully, “Open it and eat quickly. I prepared this for you secretly. If Aiai finds out, she’ll get angry again.”

Li Qiuyu looked at the beautiful octopus meatballs in the bento box, and her heart suddenly warmed.

It had been a long time since anyone had cared about her like this.

She remembered the last time she had asked a subordinate if the city was safe, and the subordinate had mentioned that the octopus meatballs were good and told her to try them when she had time. She had said she didn’t have time then, and she assumed Liu Menglu must have overheard her.

Li Qiuyu had never expected that although she hadn’t eaten the octopus meatballs her subordinate mentioned, she would see Liu Menglu’s homemade octopus meatballs here.

Seeing the octopus meatballs, a strange feeling appeared in Li Qiuyu’s heart.

Li Qiuyu clutched her heart. Suddenly, it was as if she understood why Chloe would live with this girl.

If she weren’t the next head of the Li family, with the mission to protect the country, she would also be willing to live with the girl in front of her.

They had always been fighting and always being neglected. No magical girl could refuse this feeling of being cared for.

She should have refused, but looking at the girl’s anticipation, she ate one.

The taste was delicious. Although she hadn’t eaten any from other places, she was sure that these were better than most of the octopus meatballs on the market.

“How is it? Is it delicious?”

Liu Menglu asked carefully. Since she didn’t know Li Qiuyu’s taste, she had made a popular flavor. Although she had practiced for a long time, she was still a little dissatisfied.

Thinking that Li Qiuyu was eating a slightly imperfect octopus meatball, Liu Menglu’s sense of guilt grew.

It wasn’t that Liu Menglu didn’t want to make perfect octopus meatballs. It was just that the equipment at home and her limited pocket money wouldn’t allow it.

Thinking of her nearly empty wallet, the little figure in Liu Menglu’s heart kept biting a handkerchief and crying.

Li Qiuyu didn’t know what Liu Menglu was thinking, but she did notice Liu Menglu’s conflicted expression.

“It’s very delicious,” she said seriously.

Liu Menglu immediately looked up, and seeing that Li Qiuyu’s expression was genuine, she let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s good, that’s good.”

On this side, the two of them were getting along very well, but Chloe was unhappy.

Seeing Liu Menglu constantly circling Li Qiuyu, Chloe let out a very unhappy hum, glaring at Liu Menglu.

The next second, she saw Li Qiuyu turn around, holding a bento.

Looking at the bento box, Chloe found it a bit familiar. After a closer look, she felt that the bento box was exactly the same as the one she had confiscated!

As if to confirm, Chloe carefully looked at the bento box in her hand. Sure enough, the two bento boxes were almost identical.

Because she hadn’t seen where the bento came from, Chloe didn’t overthink it, only assuming that Li Qiuyu and Liu Menglu had the same bento box. Although she still felt a little uncomfortable, she directly threw the bento box to the side.

She wouldn’t use the same bento box as that “obstacle,” Li Qiuyu.

After putting down the bento box, Chloe gave a heavy hum, wanting to attract Liu Menglu’s attention. But she heard Liu Menglu say happily, “Classmate Li, this is a special gift from me and Chloe!”

As if she had thought of something, Chloe looked at the box containing the candy and felt like she had been tricked.

However, seeing Liu Menglu’s happy face, Chloe didn’t expose her. Anyway, she hadn’t lost anything; she would just consider the candy she didn’t like as trash.

Li Qiuyu looked at the two items in front of her—a delicious bento and a box full of candy. She believed Liu Menglu would prepare a bento for her, but if someone said Chloe would prepare candy for her, Li Qiuyu could only say, “Only an outsider would be fooled.”

Besides, she didn’t want to interact with Chloe and the other girl anymore.

She always felt that Liu Menglu was constantly influencing and changing her, and she didn’t like that feeling.

As the future head of the Li family, she should be clearing out monsters, not indulging in trivial friendships.

Looking at the menacing Chloe, Li Qiuyu nodded politely, her tone distant.

“Classmate Liu, I’ll accept the bento, but I don’t want the candy.”

“Why?” Liu Menglu was a little hurt.

“Our ancestors’ motto is not to take a single needle or a thread from the people,” Li Qiuyu said.

Looking at the meticulous Li Qiuyu, Liu Menglu suddenly felt she could trick her.