Chapter 60: Cold on the Outside, Gentle Within

“Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

The girl looked at her in confusion.

“Yeah, my sister lives here. I usually come to cook for her.”

Su Xiaoxiao came up with a reasonable excuse.

“Is it the one upstairs?”

Xia Bingrou had seen the person before, on a weekend night.

“Mm-hmm, that’s right.”

“Meow~”

While they were talking, the orange cat jumped up again.

Usually, this one clung to Xia Bingrou’s leg, but today, it had switched sides.

“Do you like me that much…?”

Su Xiaoxiao felt the soft weight on her body and felt a bit ticklish.

“She was brought along together after all. She still remembers you.”

Xia Bingrou looked down at the cat, her heart filled with affection.

She was a cat lover.

“Is that so? To think she remembers… It seems cats are pretty human too.”

“Yeah.”

Xia Bingrou replied briefly.

“Don’t mind Xiao Rou’s tone.”

The girls hadn’t chatted long before Aunt Bing arrived.

She came up to Su Xiaoxiao, trying to get close.

“It’ll get better after spending more time together.”

“Don’t talk.”

Outed by her own mom, Xia Bingrou immediately tried to stop her.

“Why say such things?”

“Isn’t it because you never had any friends, and now that you do, you don’t cherish them?”

“Not necessary.”

For some reason, the mother and daughter started arguing, one big, one small.

Su Xiaoxiao, sitting to the side, was a little dumbfounded.

She petted the cat and watched the show.

In the end, Xia Bingrou managed to shoo her mom away, and it was just the two of them again.

“Did you really have no friends before?”

Su Xiaoxiao, afraid of an awkward atmosphere, brought up the topic.

“……”

The girl was silent.

“No friends.”

The cold tone came from the other side again, with the same sense of disdain in her eyes.

“Why is that?”

Su Xiaoxiao felt the conversation could go on and pressed further.

“Why don’t you have any friends?”

“I don’t know.”

Xia Bingrou’s face was cold, and she didn’t want to answer.

“I don’t need them, anyway. It’s not important.”

“Oh….”

Su Xiaoxiao felt a little hurt.

They chatted for a while longer.

Afterwards, Aunt Bing handed Su Xiaoxiao a phone, telling her to call if she wanted to come again, saying her own daughter didn’t know how to talk.

You had to admit, she was a real mom.

“I feel like I forgot something.”

Su Xiaoxiao walked out happily again, but standing outside the door, she felt a little lost.

Something was missing.

Ah, Xiaoyun!

She pulled out her phone.

It was 3:10 in the afternoon.

If she headed to the school gate, she’d arrive at 3:30—twenty minutes later than agreed.

“I’m doomed.”

Su Xiaoxiao quickly opened QQ and sent an apology, then hurried toward the school.

On the way, she tried to walk faster, pushing through the crowd until she reached the gate of Xiamo No. 3 High School.

It was Sunday, so there were more people on break, and more “scenery” too.

“Sorry!”

Su Xiaoxiao reached the gate and saw two girls, one in white and one in blue, sitting on the bench, waiting for her.

The one in white was Yi Ting, dressed the same as at noon.

The one in blue was Ning Xiaoyun, wearing a blue-and-white dress.

Since there was no class today, she didn’t wear glasses, making her look even more lively and pretty.

But both girls wore dresses, and only Su Xiaoxiao was in her school uniform, which didn’t quite match.

“It’s fine. As long as you’re here, Xiaoxiao.”

Ning Xiaoyun saw her and immediately hugged her, rubbing up close.

It was a bit warm.

“Hey, don’t do that.”

Su Xiaoxiao gently pushed her.

“By the way, you came too?”

“Yeah, Xiaoyun had something in the morning, so she didn’t come. In the afternoon, she could.”

Yi Ting stood up from the bench, smoothing her skirt.

“Haha, I see.”

Maybe “something” meant she overslept.

“Let’s go play! Later, I’ll buy something tasty for Xiaoxiao.”

Ning Xiaoyun grabbed their hands and headed for the street, not giving any room for discussion.

Su Xiaoxiao was a bit unaccustomed and passive, while the girl in the white skirt beside her seemed already used to it.

With Ning Xiaoyun leading the way, they quickly reached the street.

This was a famous Commercial Street nearby, filled with food and fun—though a bit crowded.

Here, Su Xiaoxiao’s beautiful big-sister sensor activated, ready to spot pretty older sisters.

“Oh…”

Just as they reached a milk tea shop, she saw a girl with a single ponytail at the front of the line.

Her style was a bit enchanting, her graceful curves faintly visible.

A beautiful big sister!

For a moment, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t look away.

“Xiaoxiao, what do you want to drink? I’ll buy it for you.”

Ning Xiaoyun broke her daze.

“Oh, oh, kumquat lemon, please. I like sour things.”

Su Xiaoxiao snapped out of her fantasy and quickly checked the menu.

There should be more pretty ones on the street.

She could look later.

After waiting ten minutes at the shop entrance, the three girls took their milk tea and continued to stroll.

Ning Xiaoyun loved to play, visiting one shop after another—mostly clothing stores.

She even tried to get her to buy clothes, since it was Sunday and everyone else wore school uniforms.

But Su Xiaoxiao already had plenty of clothes and politely refused.

Finally, they finished their outing at a specialty snack shop.

“This meat skewer tastes good. Do you want to try?”

Ning Xiaoyun handed the half-eaten skewer to Yi Ting, who sat neatly beside her.

Yi Ting accepted happily and took a few bites, which shocked Su Xiaoxiao.

Is it normal for female friends to feed each other?

So embarrassing.

“Xiaoxiao, do you want…?”

“No.”

“Ah, such a direct rejection…”

They ate for another twenty or thirty minutes, chatting all the while.

Since it was girl talk, Su Xiaoxiao could only add, “Mm,” “Impressive,” “I see,” “Got it,” from the side.

From their conversation, she learned that Ning Xiaoyun had a younger sister and an older brother, and that Yi Ting was from a single-parent family.

Then, at the shop entrance, the girls said their farewells.

Four hours of fun marked the end of the last day before exams.

Afterwards, they’d have to study hard.

“Should I go home now… or keep wandering…?”

She watched Xiaoyun and Yi Ting leave in the distance.

Without anyone to keep her company, she didn’t know what to do.

Wow, that long-haired girl is so pretty.

She’s wearing white stockings too. Ah, I want to…

Su Xiaoxiao stared at the long, slender white legs of passing girls, unable to tear her eyes away.

I want a beautiful big sister in black stockings with long legs…

“Ahem, stop thinking nonsense.”

She hurriedly stopped her imagination.

“But it does seem possible.”

Forget it, that’s too perverted. I won’t do such things.

Su Xiaoxiao felt a little lonely and suddenly thought of the person waiting for her at home.

Honestly, none of the girls she saw on the street today were prettier than her.

If she wanted to see a beautiful sister, it was best to just go home.