“Please swap it for a tomato sauce packet.”
Su Nian had ordered a hamburger meal. He preferred ketchup for his French fries.
Even though they were at a snack shop, Yun Buran ordered sour and spicy rice noodles.
“Junior, I didn’t expect you to have such an adorable side.”
Yun Buran said with a smile.
Su Nian shot back irritably, “The Senior who can’t solve new definition problems is even cuter.”
The waiter handed over the tomato sauce packet. This time, it was a young girl who brought it. Yun Buran took it first and passed it to Su Nian.
Su Nian grabbed it quickly, not giving Yun Buran a chance to react.
The cat had its fur bristled, about to speak, but Su Nian smoothed it down.
“Not in a hurry.”
In Yun Buran’s eyes, all the interaction between Su Nian and Xiali was just Su Nian sitting there stupidly, not moving at all.
“So, Junior, time is tight. Even if you’re outstanding, that doesn’t mean you’re equally good at teaching. Why should I bet on you?”
Yun Buran had already wiped the smile off her face, speaking coldly.
“Senior, your scores since entering third year are 645, 632, 628. Chinese average 125, English 130, Math 115, Physics 85, Chemistry and Biology both close to 90.”
“Actually, that’s impressive. Very balanced. You could get into a good school easily.”
Su Nian said with a smile.
“But it’s stressful being in the Key Class, isn’t it? Seemingly balanced, but in every subject there’s someone who crushes you. Your language scores can’t go up, and your science subjects can’t break through. On the surface it looks balanced, but you don’t excel in any single subject.”
Yun Buran took a deep breath. She hadn’t picked up her chopsticks yet.
“So?”
“Step one: identify the problem. If Senior could let me check your answer sheets for the last three exams, I could pinpoint exactly which details in each subject are your weak points.”
“Heh, but I can do that myself.”
Yun Buran wasn’t opposed to Su Nian, but she still resisted the idea of being taught by someone younger, and letting a male know about her weaknesses.
“Senior, a lot of people think I’m a genius, a naturally gifted student. But I’m actually a methodology type. I guarantee that if I become your tutor, it won’t be about teaching you a specific point, practicing questions mechanically, or giving explanations.”
“I’ll make you truly understand what studying means.”
Su Nian said each word with certainty.
Yun Buran was about to retort, but she saw the firm look in Su Nian’s eyes and couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Su Nian dropped the serious atmosphere, leaned back in his chair, and let a confident smile spread across his face.
“I’m special and unique. So let someone like me take responsibility for your academics.”
Yun Buran lowered her head, pulled the wooden chopsticks apart, and spoke softly.
“Okay.”
The rest was just settling on time and price. Su Nian was quite casual about the money, but overall the process went smoothly.
When Yun Buran ate her noodles, she would lift them up, twirl them a few times, blow on them in small puffs, and then put them into her small mouth.
She couldn’t help sweating a little. She brushed a strand of hair away from her face and, while cooling the noodles, stole a glance at Su Nian.
Even though she had instinctively chosen to trust this boy just now, she now began to doubt whether she could really concentrate later.
Because he was just that good-looking.
In Yun Buran’s eyes, Su Nian had already finished his hamburger and was leisurely eating his fries. But in reality, he was giving stern instructions to Xiali.
“Mind reading, lie detection, memory reading — basically that kind of thing.”
He was certain that when Yun Buran handed him the tomato sauce packet earlier, she had intended to touch his fingers.
If it were any other girl, he would understand. But based on the situation and all the clues from before, he was sure the trigger was physical contact, and it was likely an ability to delve into others.
Because he had just confirmed with Xiali again: when a Demon enters through a girl’s inner flaw, it uses its power to fill that gap, and then slowly uses that body to be born.
And since the power was meant to fill flaws, it was probably related to the girl’s shadow.
“Leave it to me!”
Xiali was brimming with enthusiasm. Finally, it was her turn to shine.
Su Nian wanted to reach for his cola, but accidentally elbowed his phone, which was on top of the power bank, sending both the phone and the power bank clattering to the floor.
“Ah.”
Su Nian cried out, but his eyes were fixed on Yun Buran. The moment she moved, he would seize the opportunity.
Both of them reached for the phone at the same time, but the phone and power bank had fallen a bit apart. Yun Buran immediately shifted to grab the power bank, which was closer to her.
“Huh?”
Just as Xiali was wondering whether she should give Yun Buran a push, Su Nian leaned his body slightly forward, then suddenly jerked his head up, bumping into Yun Buran’s head.
“Ow.”
They both let out a cry of pain. While holding his head, Su Nian quickly apologized.
“I’m really sorry, Senior.”
‘Why am I so unlucky today? I keep embarrassing myself in front of Senior. Su Nian, you deserve to die.’
Yun Buran smiled gently. “It’s okay.”
Su Nian apologized again and insisted that today’s meal was on him.
‘Damn, Senior is really sweet. I thought she was a cold beauty.’
Yun Buran froze for a moment, then continued to politely decline Su Nian’s offer.
“Mind reading.”
Su Nian and Xiali said it at the same time.
Su Nian had already instructed Xiali beforehand: she needed to protect him without interfering with Yun Buran’s ability activating. So no matter what the ability was, as long as it didn’t reveal Su Nian’s true nature or Xiali’s existence, it was fine.
“It’s over.”
As the trace of demonic energy on Su Nian vanished, Xiali reported to him.
“It seems to be a temporary mind reading. The longer the physical contact, the longer the mind reading lasts.”
With that, today’s goals had all been achieved.