Before long, the door lock turned, and Lin Ling and his mother, Gui Shiyue, returned carrying large bags of ingredients.
Just as Lin Ling was about to carry the things into the kitchen, he was pushed out by Gui Shiyue.
“Leave dinner to me. Go spend time with your classmates.”
“But I’m with them every day, there’s nothing much to do right now…”
“That’s different. Anyway, go chat with them; just leave things here to me.”
Gui Shiyue snatched the bags from her hands and drove Lin Ling back to the living room.
Lin Ling was pushed half-reluctantly back onto the sofa.
Sitting among friends, not knowing what to say, Lin Ling spoke dryly, “Let’s chat.”
“How about we talk about your fated bond with Shui Hua?”
Wang Zeqi, out of a sense of revenge, immediately steered the topic in that direction.
“Support.”
Liu Shixing immediately raised a small hand in agreement, wearing an expression that showed he just wanted to watch the world burn.
Seeing that the atmosphere had been set up, Yu Hua could only bite the bullet and join in the teasing.
“Yeah… tell us about you and Shui Hua.”
“Um… we’re friends now.”
Lin Ling fell silent for a few seconds before giving a brief answer, “I used to have a crush on her.”
“That’s it? What about the parts where you abandoned her or were still lingering? Who’s going to fill those in for me?”
Wang Zeqi, who had been expecting some juicy gossip, was greatly disappointed by this answer.
Yu Hua was also a bit surprised.
He had originally wanted to take this opportunity to let the roommates see Lin Ling’s previously twisted side, but he didn’t expect her to be so nonchalant.
“Can you expand on that in detail?”
Liu Shixing tried to dig for more.
Lin Ling let out a expressionless laugh and shifted the topic without any improvement, “The weather is really nice today.”
“Since Lin is already like this, everyone should just go along with her,” Yu Hua commented while rubbing his forehead.
The group chatted aimlessly for a while longer, but since they lived under the same roof every day, they had already exhausted most of the fresh news.
Before long, the living room went quiet, leaving only the subtle sound of touchscreens as everyone browsed their Mobile Phones while waiting for dinner.
“Kids, the food is ready! You can come get your rice now.”
Gui Shiyue poked her head out of the kitchen, greeting the people on the sofa with a beaming smile.
***
Dishes filled the dining table, their aroma wafting through the air.
Gui Shiyue took off her apron and, suddenly thinking of something, took a few cans of beer out of the refrigerator.
“You kids are all adults, right? Do you want to drink a little?”
“We’re all college students, so of course we’re adults.”
Liu Shixing knew exactly who Gui Shiyue was referring to with that sudden question and immediately straightened his back to respond.
“I can’t drink, not even a little.”
Yu Hua was the first to refuse.
His tolerance for alcohol was pitifully low.
The first time his Identity as a Magic Girl was exposed was because drinking had messed things up, leading him to reveal it to his sister, Yu Wenwen.
Ever since then, he had completely cut ties with alcohol.
Lin Ling and Liu Shixing also shook their heads.
In three years of university, Yu Hua had indeed never seen these two roommates touch alcohol.
“I’m actually quite the drinker.”
Wang Zeqi, however, got interested.
He casually took a can of beer handed over by Gui Shiyue, popped the ring pull with a crisp snap, and took a huge gulp before even sitting down at the table.
Today, she indeed needed to drown her sorrows in drink.
Everyone sat around the table.
Gui Shiyue’s cooking was quite good, and the Cola Chicken Wings in particular were very much to Yu Hua’s taste.
While Yu Hua was focused on eating, Gui Shiyue suddenly dropped a question:
“Little Yu, what do you think of our Lin Ling?”
For a moment, Yu Hua almost spat out the rice in his mouth.
After quickly drinking some soda to hide the awkwardness, he used polite social platitudes.
“Lin is a good person. Helpful, reliable, studies hard… and has a lot of perseverance.”
“Auntie doesn’t mean those aspects. I mean specifically… you know~”
Gui Shiyue winked meaningfully.
“Know? Know what…?”
Yu Hua started playing dumb, his eyes drifting to the side.
“Look, with our Lin Ling’s current appearance, good figure, beautiful face, and high income…”
Gui Shiyue listed the virtues like family treasures, her eyes crinkling into slits from smiling.
“You live in the same Dormitory and see each other day and night, don’t you have… any thoughts in that direction? Auntie is very open-minded.”
“Although our Lin Ling used to be a boy, I’ve been raising her in Feminine Outfits since she was little, and her personality is as quiet as a girl’s. You could really consider developing something, you know? Auntie supports it with both hands…”
“Alright Mom, stop teasing Yu Hua. Yu Hua has a girlfriend, and besides, romance is a matter of feelings.”
Lin Ling couldn’t listen any longer and interrupted, a rare blush creeping onto her face.
Although Lin Ling had bailed him out, what Yu Hua was thinking was:
*You brat, why are you acting like such a gentleman now? Have you lived up to your own words?*
“So what if he has a girlfriend? As long as he’s not married, he’s a free agent…”
Gui Shiyue didn’t care, waving her hand and drawing out her words meaningfully.
“And even if he were married… it’s not like there’s absolutely no chance.”
“She’s really into NTR,” Yu Hua couldn’t help but whisper a吐槽.
When he first met Gui Shiyue, he thought she was a gentle and quiet traditional mother.
He didn’t expect her personality to be so eccentric and imaginative.
“Mom, is that enough?”
Lin Ling said, rubbing her forehead.
“How could it be enough? It’s far from enough. You’ve been working for three years and still have zero dating experience. If this continues, it’ll be six years of zero experience, then twelve years. By then, you’ll become a Great Mage. As your mother, I really have to help you find a match, seriously.”
“Mo—om—”
Lin Ling dragged out the word, practically begging for mercy.
This was the first time Yu Hua had seen Lin Ling beg like this.
“Haha, I’m just joking.”
Gui Shiyue stopped while she was ahead, sensibly refraining from continuing to tease her daughter.
“After all, Auntie doesn’t understand the games or anime you young people talk about. The only thing I can chat about is romance… even though I’m a failure in that area myself, having been abandoned by a heartless man and leaving Lin Ling to be a child of a single-parent home…”
“So, talking about this is also because I’m worried about Lin Ling. I don’t want her to follow in my footsteps…”
With a few cans of beer in her stomach, a flush had already risen to Wang Zeqi’s face, and her speech became bolder.
Thinking about today’s events, she also carried a bit of a personal grudge and quickly steered the topic toward Shui Hua.
“Auntie, you don’t need to worry about that. Lin is actually quite enlightened. She liked that girl called Magic Girl Shui Hua before and even actively pursued her…”
Yu Hua secretly kicked Wang Zeqi under the table and gave a warning look.
But Wang Zeqi, emboldened by the alcohol, stuck out her tongue at him without fear, wearing a defiant “what can you do to me” expression.
“Magic Girl Shui Hua…”
Gui Shiyue paused for a moment, then her smile became even more radiant.
“It’s fine, Yuri is great too. Mom supports that as well, as long as you don’t end up old and alone like your mother.”
“Auntie…”
Yu Hua gave a dry laugh.
“You really do know a lot…”