Chapter 23: Xiaoya Sister’s Tea (3/4)

“Spark got it~ Mr. Su, you want to wait until all the capture targets appear before conquering them all at once—stepping on N boats and becoming a complete scumbag!”

“What do you mean scumbag? This is Void Breaking. It’s all for completing the Void Realm’s Void Breaker mission. You think I actually want to date them?”

“I’ve long since stopped being able to love. If you want to call me a scumbag, that’s fine too.”

Su Yichen didn’t deny it either.

“I really am quite the scumbag.”

Spark fell silent.

She knew Mr. Su was telling the truth—and he was right.

Conquering all targets simultaneously was another reason Su Yichen didn’t want to raise Tong Ya’s favorability too high right now.

If Tong Ya’s love value got too high now, or if they even entered a romantic relationship.

Then without a doubt, when conquering the other targets next, Tong Ya would become the biggest obstacle.

“Spark, Tong Ya’s love value is only 10, right?”

“Yes, Mr. Su. Love value 10, hate value 5.”

The data seemed a little off.

Was it really this hard to raise?

In other Void Realms, her love value should have been at 15 or 20 by now.

Since it was only 10, he could still pull it up a little more—to 15.

Now that they had reached a spot out of Luo Yueli’s sight, Su Yichen fished a lollipop out of his pocket and said, “Classmate Tong Ya, want some candy? I just happen to have a lollipop.”

“That one… when I left the house…”

“I brought it.”

Her voice was still a tad stiff, but the previous sense of distance was gone.

It had become much more natural.

Don’t ask why a guy carries lollipops around. Since he’d decided to fish for a cat, how could he not prepare a cat toy?

“Lollipop? Is it for Lizi? You’re so nice to me—I thought it was for me.”

Su Yichen fell silent, as if he didn’t know what to say.

“Okay~ Thank you, Su Yichen.”

Tong Ya flashed a sweet smile, her voice soft and sugary like a breeze caressing the ear. “No need to call me Classmate Tong Ya. It’s awkward.”

“Just call me by my name.”

“Mm…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Su Yichen said, “Tong Ya.”

“Hehe.”

Tong Ya chuckled lightly and took the lollipop from Su Yichen’s hand.

Then her eyes quietly darkened.

It must be for Luo Yueli, right? Doesn’t she have hypoglycemia?

He really loves her, Brother Yichen… It must hurt a lot to be rejected by Lizi, huh?

It’s okay. Xiaoya Sister will love you~

Thinking this, as they walked, when the two of them started up the stairs, Tong Ya suddenly stumbled.

Thanks to Su Yichen’s firm support the whole time, she didn’t fall.

“Su Yichen, I…”

Tong Ya pressed her forehead, her voice soft and delicate. “My head feels a little dizzy…”

“Eat the candy first.”

“Okay… Can you help me unwrap it?”

“Mm.”

Su Yichen said nothing. He tore open the lollipop wrapper and held it out to Tong Ya.

Tong Ya blinked her beautiful eyes, a sly gleam appearing in them.

She didn’t take the candy he offered. Instead, she naturally lifted the strands of hair by her ear with her fingertips.

Then she leaned down slightly, parted her pink lips, and slowly took the candy ball into her mouth, sucking it in bit by bit before gently biting down with her teeth.

“So sweet. It tastes so good, Brother Yichen.”

The girl’s movements were elegant and seductive, her voice warm and sweet, her smile captivating without her realizing it.

Su Yichen’s eyes suddenly trembled.

Such masterful tea art.

The persona has emerged. So she’s a cat-like tea sister.

Already so impatient to cuckold your best friend?

If he didn’t have to maintain his persona in front of Luo Yueli and keep it from collapsing, Su Yichen would have really wanted to have a proper discussion with Tong Ya about the art of tea.

After all, he was a certified Tea Art Master.

However, although Xiaoya Sister’s tea skills were refined, they still felt a bit theoretical—lacking real practice, and her moral bottom line wasn’t low enough.

If he were in Tong Ya’s position, he would at least seize the chance to wrap his arms around the other person’s neck and whisper in their ear with a voice that burned, astringent yet sweetly lethal.

Since Tong Ya was a cat-like tea sister…

He’d just play along with her act.

[He showed her exactly what she most wanted to see.]

Brother Yichen, is Xiaoya Sister’s tea… fragrant~?

Tong Ya looked at the dazed Su Yichen and couldn’t help feeling secretly pleased.

Is it fragrant and sweet? Ten… no, a hundred times cuter than that unromantic childhood friend of yours…?!

“Brother Yichen?”

“…As long as you like eating it.”

Su Yichen’s reaction seemed delayed. He only snapped out of it when Tong Ya called him. “Tong Ya, you just now…”

“What did you call me?”

“I called you Brother Yichen. Lizi said you two share the same birth month. I’m half a year younger than her, so… I can call you Brother Yichen, right?”

“…Uh, yeah, you can…”

Tong Ya smiled radiantly, both adorable and alluring. Su Yichen scratched the side of his head, forcing himself to look away.

But it was as if he couldn’t control himself.

Pretending not to see, yet stealing glances countless times from the corner of his eye.

This awkward demeanor gave Tong Ya tremendous satisfaction. “Then I’ll call you that from now on?”

“Better not usually.”

Su Yichen took a deep breath and said slowly, “We’re just ordinary classmates. Calling each other too intimately might lead to misunderstandings.”

“I don’t mind, but you’re a girl—thin-skinned. It wouldn’t be good.”

Thin-skinned?

No, he was definitely scared of Luo Yueli misunderstanding!

Damn Luo Yueli…

“But…”

“I really envy Lizi.”

Tong Ya pouted, rubbing her eyes vigorously with the back of her hand until they turned red—like a fragile, pitiful little white flower. “She has a childhood friend like you who treats her so well all the time.”

“I’ve never had a single friend since I was little. No one protected me when I got bullied.”

“Then, Tong Ya, why don’t you find a tall, handsome guy to be your boyfriend?”

Su Yichen hesitated before asking in a probing tone.

“I~ don’t~ want~”

Tong Ya lifted her head, as if these three words were her final pride, her tone full of undisguised disgust. “I’ve been bullied by tall guys before.”

“I don’t want to be friends with big oafs at all.”

Su Yichen pursed his lips. His right hand rose and then fell, as if he had something to say but couldn’t get it out.

“Brother Yichen, since you don’t like it… then never mind… let’s go to the infirmary…”

Tong Ya’s tone suddenly dropped, as if the sound of her heart breaking could be heard. “Thank you for the lollipop. I’ll remember what happened today forever…”

She stubbornly gripped the handrail beside the stairs and slowly climbed up.

The girl’s stubborn figure looked so lonely that just watching her made it seem like she’d burst into tears the next second.

That “Brother Yichen”—joyful and meltingly soft—seemed to echo in his ears, carved into the depths of his soul, impossible to forget no matter how hard he tried.