Chapter 16
Xu Heran had a dream. In the dream, she wore a red hat, a red dress, and carried a basket as she collected mushrooms in the forest. Suddenly, a rabbit darted out, collided with her leg, and toppled over onto its back.
Without hesitation, she caught the rabbit, pinned it down on the grass, exposing its white, furry belly. Xu Heran smirked, extending her mischievous hand, and began rubbing the rabbit’s belly with a wicked grin, all the while questioning, “Am I good enough? Tell me, am I good enough?”
“In the end, I’m still your master, hiahiahia~”
“Hehehe.” Xu Heran mischievously pinched the rabbit’s soft belly, “So squishy… hehe, so enticing.”
Xin Nuo suddenly sat up, grabbed a pillow without hesitation, and smacked it onto Xu Heran’s body, “Xu Heran!”
In the midst of bunny-squishing dreams, Xu Heran abruptly opened her eyes wide, staring at the ceiling. The smile at the corners of her mouth hadn’t even faded. She raised her hand and wiped her mouth, “Ah, up already?”
The morning breeze passed through the window, rustling the pristine curtains and gliding through the slightly lifted veil, dissipating the lingering fragrance of the night.
Xin Nuo sat on the bed, her black hair disheveled, gazing at Xu Heran with suspicion. After a moment, she dropped the pillow, donned a sleep cap to cover her reddened ears, and headed into the washroom.
“…?”
Xu Heran rubbed her eyes and blankly stared into space.
After a while, she took a breath and suddenly lifted her hand.
Pale and soft.
Squish, squish.
She pinched, and what she pinched was…
“Xu Heran!” A cold shout came from the washroom, interrupting her peculiar thoughts.
“Get up!”
“Oh… oh!” Xu Heran blushed, obediently getting out of bed.
Xu Heran’s room only had a single bed, twice the size of a regular trainee dormitory. Other rooms were furnished with bunk beds and desks, but not hers. Her room was decorated like a guest room, with a soft beige carpet on the floor, cute ornaments on the table, and an abundance of aromatherapy cosmetics.
They woke up early. It wasn’t convenient for Xin Nuo to knock on the neighboring door, as trainees’ rest time was precious. She sat on the carpet, picked up a medicine tablet from the table, glanced at it, and then swallowed it.
She had vomited quite violently yesterday, and her stomach was feeling uncomfortable.
Whether it was the medicine actually working or a placebo effect, Xin Nuo started feeling much better soon. She leaned against the edge of the bed, reached over for a visible round bolster pillow on the carpet, and lazily glanced at it, then glanced at it again.
“What’s this?”
She pinched the round tuft, which had two blue eyes.
“It’s like Doraemon!” Xu Heran stuck her head out, talking with a toothbrush in her mouth.
Xin Nuo gave her a sidelong look, unimpressed. Xu Heran sheepishly withdrew her head.
“A pearl?”
Xin Nuo looked around, seeing several scattered pearl pillows in various colors, big and small, gold and pink. They all had the same feature: they were satisfying to pinch.
“Hmph.” Xin Nuo suddenly raised her hand and slapped the white pearl pillow hard, “If you dare touch it randomly again, I’ll grind you into powder.”
Sounds of water came from the bathroom as Xu Heran finished her shower. While drying her hair, she said to Xin Nuo, “You can freshen up here, I’ll get you a new set of toiletries. As for clothes, I have some you can wear.”
She casually opened the closet, revealing a row of trainee clothes.
Xin Nuo: “…”
“You really like pearls?” Xin Nuo asked as she put down the pillow. She noticed that many of Xu Heran’s belongings were embedded with pearls.
Shaking her head, Xu Heran nodded slightly, “My grandmother liked them. My English name was chosen by my grandmother. In the early years, my grandfather built a pearl cultivation farm on an island to win my grandmother’s heart. The farm has grown quite large now, but the pearls it produces are only used within the family.”
She reached under the table and pulled out a wooden box, placing it on the table, “Do you want some? I have plenty here.”
“Wow…”
As the wooden box landed on the table, it made a deep sound. The moment Xin Nuo opened the lid, she felt like the box was glowing. She focused her gaze and saw pearls of various sizes and colors neatly categorized inside – light gold, rich gold, pale blue, light purple, and even a girly pink. They emitted a gentle, radiant glow.
Xu Heran casually pulled out a white pearl about half a finger in size. “These ones with imperfections can’t be used. My grandmother taught us to grind them into powder and make face masks. Oh, by the way, Nuo Nuo, after you finish your bath, let’s do a face mask!”
Her skin seemed even whiter than the pearl, with pinkish fingertips. The round and smooth pearl rolled in her palm, its radiance dazzling. There was no sign of any imperfection.
Xin Nuo: “…”
A term suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Survival of the fittest.
It seemed the rule of the strong devouring the weak applied in the world of pearls as well.
“…You can do it yourself.” Xin Nuo said blankly, grabbing the new clothes and heading to the bathroom.
Xu Heran immediately dropped the pearl in her hand and followed.
“Nuo Nuo, is this shower gel suitable for you?” Xu Heran took out a palm-sized European-style glass bottle from the box. The bottle had no labels, and the dense, reddish-gold liquid flowed slowly inside.
“Yeah,” Xin Nuo nodded absentmindedly.
After Xu Heran had prepared everything for her and left, Xin Nuo finally reached out and lifted the shower gel that Xu Heran had specially instructed her to use.
The rose-patterned bottle undulated along its curves, exquisitely designed like a piece of art fit for playing with in the palm. The thick liquid inside swirled slowly with the movement of her fingertip, refracting a reddish-golden light that shimmered in her dark eyes. Xin Nuo extended her finger, lightly tapping the bottle’s opening, gazing at the rich color on her fingertip with a silent, shallow smile.
In less than half a month, she had come to trust Xu Heran to this extent. If not for the embrace of the previous night, the shared sleep in the late hours, and if Xu Heran hadn’t looked at her with those clear eyes full of nervousness, her first thought when Xu Heran asked her to use this mysterious shower gel would have been suspicion. She might have suspected that Xu Heran had secretly added something to it…
“Xu Heran.”
“Little Princess…”
Xin Nuo chuckled softly, the brilliantly colored glass bottle twirling between her fingertips. She didn’t realize that merely thinking about Xu Heran caused her lips to involuntarily curl upwards. At this moment, a sensation from a certain part of her body, touched and kneaded, suddenly surged in her mind. Xin Nuo stiffened, her smile freezing in place.
Xu Heran.
“Hmph!”
The author has something to say:
Xin Nuo: Affection -5
The reason… everyone knows.
Who was it that messed up the ranking because they forgot to control the word count? Oh, it was me. Well, that’s alright then. Haha, hahaha, hahahahaha… sob
Clumsy Author: Shaking Head Cat.jpg Crying Cat.jpg
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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Sinensis
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2 comments
Mc touched her stomach right? I can’t really read between the lines well lol
Thanks for the new chapter!
' ^')7