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What should I do?
Are you going to be angry with me?
Hanshuang jiejie.
Those three sentences attracted Jin Hanshuang’s attention, pulling at her like the flutter of wings brushing past. She was immersed in Lu Yunshu’s body language—her hand resting on her cheek, her bright eyes gleaming with satisfaction as a soft light fell over her frame. Yet despite the clarity of the moment, everything felt so… ambiguous.
So ambiguous that it felt like flirting.
An alluring, inexplicable intimacy, a tension that shouldn’t exist.
Jin Hanshuang looked away first.
She lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, feeling both amused and helpless.
If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t have backed down, nor would she have let this beautiful atmosphere slip away. The situation might even develop naturally, heading to where it should. If it were anyone else. Anyone but Lu Yunshu.
“Don’t be like this,” she said. “You shouldn’t speak to jiejie like that.”
Lu Yunshu, being so serious by nature, probably hadn’t even considered her actions as intimacy or flirting. Besides, Lu Yunshu had someone she liked. The more Jin Hanshuang thought about it, the more strongly she felt that she, as the “older sister,” was being impure.
It was a bit disastrous.
But Lu Yunshu’s gaze remained locked on Jin Hanshuang, as if she was trying to see through the older woman.
Lu Yunshu asked, “Like what?”
Seeing her sincere expression, Jin Hanshuang couldn’t help but laugh. “I never realized you were so good at acting cute and spoiled.”
Lu Yunshu asked, “I am?”
Jin Hanshuang countered, “Aren’t you? What was that just now?”
A trace of confusion appeared in Lu Yunshu’s eyes, her expression so earnest it made Jin Hanshuang laugh again. Look, this person didn’t even realize that she was acting like a spoiled child just now. How could someone be so adorable, like a little child you felt too pitiful to lose your temper at?
“I really can’t do anything…” Jin Hanshuang sighed softly. “Use this trick on the person you like.”
“Will she like it?”
“Who knows?”
Jin Hanshuang crossed her arms and leaned back against her chair, tilting her head slightly as she examined Lu Yunshu. Then she added, “Our Little Classmate Lu is so beautiful, I bet anyone will fall for her if she acts spoiled.”
A beautiful woman with a cold appearance who could also turn around and act spoiled, calling someone “jiejie” like an obedient child…it was an irresistible contrast. The wider the gap, the more endearing it became. Unless the person Lu Yunshu liked was made of stone, how could they not soften even a little?
Lu Yunshu had really wanted to ask, Do you like it?
But she couldn’t. It would be too obvious.
She opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and asked, “What if she doesn’t take the bait? What should I do?”
Jin Hanshuang said, “What should you do?”
She touched her earlobe, then looked into Lu Yunshu’s eyes. A few seconds later, she smiled and said, “Then you should return to being pitiful.”
Jin Hanshuang explained, “Our Little Classmate Lu looks so pitiful when she’s sad, it makes people feel something heart-wrenching.”
Her gentle, teasing words lingered in the air.
Lu Yunshu stared at the person she liked, forgetting to respond.
It was the second time Jin Hanshuang had claimed Lu Yunshu was good at acting pitiful, and just like the first, her words were accompanied by a smile full of helplessness.
“So it turns out you like it,” Lu Yunshu realized. “If someone acted pitiful to get a date with you, would you say yes?”
Jin Hanshuang smiled. “No.”
She continued, “I would only agree if I already had feelings for the other person. It’s only when I like her that her ‘pitiful’ looks become truly pitiful.”
Lu Yunshu replied, “I see.”
It made sense. You only found another person’s pitifulness endearing if you liked them. If you didn’t, then everything about the other person was more likely to seem annoying.
“So, you like me.”
Jin Hanshuang’s gaze slowly turned to her.
Lu Yunshu’s expression was serious.
She reluctantly attempted to salvage the situation.
“…The ‘like’ of an older sister for a little sister.”
Jin Hanshuang’s eyes curved. “Yes, your jiejie likes you, Little Puppy Lu.”
“Little Puppy Lu?”
“Mhm, Little Puppy Lu. When you make your pitiful face, you look like a little puppy.”
“…?”
Lu Yunshu blinked, unsure of how to respond. She never expected someone to compare her to a puppy one day, much less Jin Hanshuang.
But since Jin Hanshuang was praising her for being cute…
“Whatever makes you happy,” Lu Yunshu smiled helplessly.
Truth be told, she was a little happy too.
President Lu, Little Classmate Lu, Little Puppy Lu… Now, the closeness of their relationship was obvious at a glance.
She hoped that one day she could hear Jin Hanshuang call her “Yunshu.”
Seeing that Lu Yunshu didn’t object, Jin Hanshuang’s smile grew, the corners of her lips lifting higher until her eyes curved into delicate crescents.
Puppies were very cute, after all.
Lu Yunshu began to ask Jin Hanshuang out even more frequently.
When it came to keeping friends, contact was key.
So whenever she had time after work, Lu Yunshu would always invite Jin Hanshuang out, using legitimate and irrefutable reasons.
Until Lu Yunshu finally found love, Jin Hanshuang felt obligated to teach her only student more about dating. So whenever Jin Hanshuang was free, she would accept these invitations.
Who knows, maybe it would even help reconcile their two families in the future.
Occasionally, Lu Yunshu would be honest with Jin Hanshuang, saying that she was tired from work and just wanted to relax.
Whenever Jin Hanshuang saw this line, she would always think of Shen Wenxin.
Shen Wenxin would also tell her that she was tired from work and just wanted to relax. Every time she heard this, Jin Hanshuang felt heartache. She understood that there was no job in the world that was easy, so she would always accompany Shan Wenxin out to have fun and relax.
As a result, whenever Lu Yunshu talked about work, Jin Hanshuang would always agree without hesitation—it was normal for friends to help each other unwind after a long day of work.
Today was no exception, and Jin Hanshuang chose to host. She wanted to take Lu Yunshu out to some nice, calming places that she believed would be perfect date locations, to give LU Yunshu some ideas for when she went out with her sweetheart.
After a round of shopping, they left with a heavy haul. Jin Hanshuang had bought clothes for Shen Wenxin and a gift for Lu Yunshu—a silver six-pointed bracelet with a beautiful design.
Lu Yunshu didn’t bother setting the bracelet back in its box. She put it on right away, the elegant bracelet complimenting her smooth wrist with a matching sheen.
She said, “Since it’s a gift from a friend, I’ll wear it often.”
Jin Hanshuang smiled, not disputing anything.
Lu Yunshu glanced at Jin Hanshuang’s unadorned earlobes. “The earrings I gave you, don’t be worried about wearing them often either.”
Since those earrings represented her feelings, she wanted to see them cherished by Jin Hanshuang. She wanted to see Jin Hanshuang wearing her affection.
Jin Hanshuang didn’t notice Lu Yunshu’s gaze on her ears. As she continued to browse the bracelets in the glass display case, she raised her hand and patted Lu Yunshu’s arm.
She said absentmindedly, “Of course I will wear them. How could I not wear such beautiful earrings?”
If it weren’t for the fact that Lu Yunshu had sworn off her family’s jewelry, Jin Hanshuang would have wanted to gift her even more pieces. The Shen family’s designs were even more beautiful.
Thinking of this, Jin Hanshuang remembered the pearl necklace Lu Yunshu had requested and turned to ask, “Did you give away the necklace?”
Lu Yunshu shook her head. “She’s not in the city right now.”
Since it was Jin Hanshuang, Lu Yunshu was willing to share a little more information. “She asked to wait for her to come back so I could give it to her in person.”
Those were Le You’s words.
Le You remembered that she was leaving the city for vacation, so she told Lu Yunshu to wait for her to return so they could meet up and exchange gifts. She also mentioned that this would make the gift feel more sincere, ending with an extra “hehe.”
When Jin Hanshuang heard the words “not in the city,” she immediately thought of someone.
She patted Lu Yunshu’s arm again, saying in an intimate tone, “Okay.”
They were standing at the entrance to a jewelry store.
Jin Hanshuang glanced at the time, surprised to see that it was almost six o’clock already.
“We’ve been shopping for so long.” She returned her gaze. “How are you feeling? Still tired?”
It was never too far from her mind, the reason why Lu Yunshu had asked her out.
Realizing this, Lu Yunshu smiled lightly and replied, “Not anymore.”
Then she asked, “Since it’s almost time for dinner, do you want to eat out together?”
Jin Hanshuang shook her head. “Not tonight, I already made plans with Wenxin.”
Lu Yunshu: “…”
That hateful Shen Wenxin.
“No problem, I’ll drive the car over. You wait here.”
Today, she was the designated driver.
Jin Hanshuang agreed.
Then, Lu Yunshu stretched out her hand.
Jin Hanshuang: “?”
Lu Yunshu said, “Give me your things. I’ll put them in the car.”
…So considerate.
Jin Hanshuang didn’t insist on being polite. “Thank you.”
As Lu Yunshu took Jin Hanshuang’s bag, she felt a hand patting her head.
Jin Hanshuang said, “Our Little Puppy Lu is so nice.”
Lu Yunshu was stunned.
She had been called a puppy again.
She stepped closer.
Jin Hanshuang watched Lu Yunshu lean forward, her lips opening slightly. “If I’m a little puppy, what’s Hanshuang?”
A counterattack.
Jin Hanshuang quickly composed herself. She asked leisurely, “I don’t know. What does our little puppy think?”
Lu Yunshu smiled boldly and reached out her hand.
Jin Hanshuang’s hand was caught and gently pulled.
Their gazes met in the air.
“You are the little puppy’s jiejie.”
These soft words floated into her ears.
The next second, there was something in her palm.
Wrapped in paper, hard to the touch.
“It tastes good. You should try it too.”
Jin Hanshuang: “?”
By the time she looked up again, Lu Yunshu had already left with her white shopping bag, a tall and elegant silhouette fading into the background.
Jin Hanshuang opened her hand, revealing a single piece of orange-flavored hard candy nestled in her palm.
When she put the candy in her mouth, its faint aroma dissolved on her tongue, sweet but not overwhelming.
She clutched the colorful wrapper, unconsciously recalling Lu Yunshu’s words.
—You are the little puppy’s jiejie.
Jin Hanshuang silently tasted the orange candy, saying nothing.
What to do with this child…
