Chapter 58

“But these are not needles and threads, they’re bento and candy,” Liu Menglu said, deliberately misinterpreting her words with a blink of her eye.

This reply surprised Li Qiuyu. She looked at the girl, whose brown eyes were filled with a smile. It was obvious that she was doing it on purpose. Li Qiuyu had always been helpless against this kind of mischievousness, and at this moment, she could only give a dry explanation.

“‘Needle and thread’ is just a metaphor, it means not taking anything from the people.”

“I see~” Liu Menglu drew out her tone, her smile even brighter. “But I’m not the people. I’m your friend.”

After saying that, Liu Menglu’s eyes narrowed, and a smile played on her lips. She seemed so harmless, yet Li Qiuyu felt an unprecedented pressure. This pressure was different from facing a high-level demon. It was a pressure that came from the depths of her soul, a distant memory seemingly etched into her genes.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t we friends?” Liu Menglu asked again, smiling.

The girl in front of her had a pair of lively, big eyes that curved into crescents. Li Qiuyu couldn’t get the word “no” out of her mouth. She could only purse her lips, staying still and silent.

Li Qiuyu was actually a little bewildered. She had met many people who wanted to get close to her, but she had always been able to refuse them easily. Why was it different with Liu Menglu?

Li Qiuyu frowned, confused. If Yang Shishi were here, she could probably explain the reason to Li Qiuyu. This was actually a natural suppression of people like Li Qiuyu by those with an outgoing, familiar personality.

But Yang Shishi wasn’t here, and the completely suppressed Li Qiuyu was feeling a little dizzy.

“Classmate Li, Chloe and I carefully picked this out for you. Just accept it. You’ve already eaten this bento, you can’t return it.”

The girl’s eyes were full of sincerity. In a moment of weakness, Li Qiuyu accepted the box of candy and the bento.

As she held the warm bento, Li Qiuyu felt as if she had been zapped by electricity. She looked at it with a rigid expression, then looked at Liu Menglu, a little at a loss.

Liu Menglu looked at Li Qiuyu and suddenly laughed. For some reason, she saw a shadow of Chloe in Li Qiuyu—that sense of being at a loss when interacting with ordinary people was exactly the same.

Perhaps because they were so similar, Liu Menglu patted Li Qiuyu’s shoulder and said with a smile, “It’s time to eat, classmate Qiuyu.” After saying that, Liu Menglu winked and pulled Li Qiuyu toward Chloe.

If they didn’t go now, our little Chloe would get upset.

Neither Li Qiuyu nor Chloe knew that Liu Menglu had conflicting feelings about Li Qiuyu.

She was happy at first when she found out Li Qiuyu was a magical girl, then unhappy when she vaguely learned that Li Qiuyu was there to monitor Chloe. The final straw was at the factory, when Chloe was seriously injured and Li Qiuyu’s father was watching intently. Liu Menglu was truly at a loss then, and the despair in her heart was something she never wanted to experience again.

And just when she was on the verge of despair, Li Qiuyu used a magical pill on Chloe to protect her and was even willing to be her guarantor.

Liu Menglu could no longer hate the girl in front of her. Although she couldn’t decide Chloe’s attitude toward Li Qiuyu, she was willing to treat Li Qiuyu well.

So, Liu Menglu approached with enthusiasm. If they were friends, they weren’t strangers. In other words, they were family, and they were family~

“Qiuyu, can I call you Qiuqiu? Calling you ‘classmate Li’ feels too distant~” she said, not waiting for Li Qiuyu’s agreement, and started calling her that on her own, her eyes never leaving Li Qiuyu.

Her eyes were filled with anticipation. Whether their relationship could move forward depended on this moment.

Li Qiuyu looked at Liu Menglu and eventually chose to compromise. After all, who could refuse a request from a beautiful girl in her prime?

That Li Qiuyu compromised so quickly was something Liu Menglu hadn’t expected. She thought she would have to work at it for a while.

“Qiuqiu~” Liu Menglu called sweetly. Li Qiuyu neither refused nor agreed, but that was enough to make the girl smile brightly.

After pulling Li Qiuyu to sit down, Liu Menglu said with enthusiasm, “Qiuqiu, you haven’t eaten lunch yet, have you? I made this bento especially for you, Qiuqiu. Give it a try. After you finish the bento, try this. Chloe even picked out this candy for you.” Liu Menglu said, shamelessly moving closer.

Chloe wanted to say, “I didn’t pick out that candy for her,” but in the next second, she realized something.

What did she mean, “the bento I made especially for you”? Wasn’t that bento confiscated by her?

Chloe looked at Liu Menglu, wanting an explanation.

Seeing the surging anger in Chloe’s eyes, Liu Menglu was a little timid, but looking at Li Qiuyu beside her, she found some courage.

“Aiai, I made four bento boxes this morning,” Liu Menglu said, looking at Chloe pleadingly. Chloe didn’t respond, only thinking with a sullen face if she was being too lenient with Liu Menglu.

Hearing this, Li Qiuyu looked at Chloe in surprise, feeling she had another reason to dislike Chloe—she was easily fooled.

Chloe naturally saw that look, and she was so angry she could gnaw on her teeth, but she couldn’t say anything. The gazes of the two, which had been somewhat friendly, now carried a thick scent of gunpowder.

Liu Menglu, however, didn’t notice the tension between the two. At this moment, she was feeling a little bit happy.

All her hard work had finally paid off. Look how “friendly” they were looking at each other. Sure enough, anime didn’t lie. Even magical girls with bad relationships would have “everlasting friendship” after spending time together!

She was truly an ordinary little genius.

Liu Menglu, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere, started feeding them.

Seeing that Chloe had already finished her portion, Liu Menglu didn’t feed Chloe anymore. Instead, she engaged in a friendly and deep conversation with Li Qiuyu, who had just started eating her lunch.

For example, she gave Li Qiuyu some of the good things from her own bento. Their back-and-forth looked quite intimate.

The two of them were getting along well, but Chloe was sitting on the side with a grim expression, poking at the cute rice ball in her lunch box. For some reason, she suddenly thought of the contents of that book. Looking at the intimate pair, Chloe’s eyes narrowed.

What did the book say to do in this situation? It seemed to be “act like a green tea b**ch.”

“Mengmeng, do you think I’m not as good as her?” Chloe said, lowering her head as if feeling wronged.

At this, Li Qiuyu raised an eyebrow, not knowing what kind of trick Chloe was playing. Liu Menglu was also stunned, looking at the dejected Chloe.

What’s going on?

But seeing that Chloe’s sad expression didn’t seem fake, Liu Menglu immediately became worried.

“How could that be? I’ve never thought that.”

Chloe didn’t speak, just looked at Liu Menglu, still seeming sad.

In reality, Chloe was secretly pleased. She hadn’t expected that just acting a little wronged would successfully get Liu Menglu’s attention. She discreetly glanced at the book that was put away. It seemed that the book was a little useful. She would study it carefully tonight when she got back. She would never let anyone take Mengmeng away from her.

“Mengmeng,” Chloe called softly. The book said that at this time, she should be feeling wronged.

But what did “wronged” look like? Chloe was a little confused. In her memory, she had never experienced the emotion of feeling wronged.

And so, Chloe, who was ready to act out the “green tea” act from the book, stalled.