Are you, as meal replacement users, ready for the consequences?

Page 34

Ningzi had a very pleasant time spending the four-plus hours with Hailing from yesterday to today.

This joy comes from friendship.

Ningzi wants this friendship to last a lifetime.

I need to hurry back; Mu will come over this afternoon to take care of me.

This older sister is so unreliable. She's perfectly normal, just like any other person, yet she still doesn't trust others to watch over her... I'm not a child anymore!

However, the thought of continuing to bully Mutsu and watching him make all sorts of funny faces made Toyokawa Ningko unable to suppress the urge to go home as soon as possible.

Mu, will you bring yourself a fruit platter today?

"If it weren't for moving, I probably would never have taken this path in my life."

Near her home, close to the park she called her secret base, there was a wide road flanked by several guesthouses, and Ningzi didn't know the names of the wildflowers growing by the roadside.

Ningzi casually picked a flower, held it up to admire it, and thought to herself, "What an unusual flower this is!"

Unlike what I remember, it doesn't have a face or a mouth. It can't speak or make faces.

I can't remember which one is normal for the time being.

But upon closer inspection, Ningzi noticed a drop of water on the flower's stamen.

"It's raining."

The rain was light, falling in a fine, dense drizzle, and Ningzi ignored it.

Isn't it nice to just get soaked in the rain like this?

Hopefully this rain will stop soon, so I can enjoy the feeling of being kissed by nature a little longer.

Being kissed by nature...it's totally relatable to being kissed by Xiangzi...

The rain will wash away my past nightmares.

"Hey! Hurry up! It's raining, why are you still strolling around so calmly in the street? Come with me to find shelter from the rain!"

Pink bangs danced in the wind as a long-haired girl with slightly disheveled hair grabbed Ningzi's wrist and sprinted toward a small pavilion in a nearby park.

"?"

Why is this person so outgoing?

Toyokawa Ningko did not resist the other party's actions; the scent emanating from the girl was familiar and alluring.

I love this scent... I'm sure I've smelled it somewhere before.

Just a few steps away, Ningzi and the girl arrived at the small pavilion. From there, they could vaguely see poor souls without umbrellas in the distance, running around with briefcases on their heads.

"Wow, hello there! I really didn't expect it to rain so suddenly, my clothes are all soaked."

"Hello."

"I remember the weather forecast said... huh?"

The pink-haired girl greeted Ningzi very familiarly, but suddenly choked up halfway through her sentence.

"what?"

"Oops, sorry, hahaha, it's okay, I misread it."

The pink-haired dog, who had just been chatting and laughing, suddenly froze, then gave a forced laugh.

This puzzled Ningzi greatly.

Why does your expression change when you see my face?

"Am I too ugly? Um, I'm sorry."

"No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. You're so cute, not ugly at all."

Chihaya Aine quickly waved her hand in apology, her gaze still fixed on Ningzi's pretty face, which was slightly damp, with rain running down her hair.

Aine seemed to want to just quietly watch her for the rest of her life.

"Ah, is that so?"

An unprecedented silence fell, and the only sound they could hear was the rain falling.

Ningzi remembers that it rained the day she was discharged from the hospital, and she hasn't been able to contact Deng since that Friday.

She doesn't reply to messages, and I can't get through on the phone...

Little lamp, does it hate me because of my purple clay teapot?

So, does that mean she's not just using me as a substitute for meals? Does she still have feelings for Ningzi?

I don't know, the concept of "heavy female" is really quite complicated and difficult to understand.

"Thank you for the compliment. Here, this is for you."

Ningzi tilted her head. She disliked this awkward atmosphere; the stagnant air made her feel suffocated and uncomfortable… just like before when she was alone at home (ignoring her father) waiting for her sister to come home…

Saying something now should be of some use.

Wow! Is this for me? I really love flowers!

It was a very ordinary wildflower, lacking any attractive color or fragrance, and with some withering around the petals. Yet, in the girl's hands, this little wildflower seemed like a rare treasure.

"Really? I like flowers too."

The rain stopped outside, and Ningzi thought for a moment before walking out of the pavilion.

The pink-haired girl was still holding the small flowers. She ran up to Ningzi and showed her cute little tiger teeth when she smiled.

"My name is Chihaya Aine! I study at Haneoka!"

The girl is full of energy, and her every move is playful and cute. Just one look at her and you know that she must have been a super popular person during her junior high or high school years. She is a queen-like figure who is a queen of popular people.

"My name is Toyokawa Ningko, and I also study at Haneoka."

"Eh? It's Yuqiu too! But I haven't gone to the school for an interview yet. I'm a transfer student who's going to transfer there soon... because there was some trouble at my previous school."

"Okay, best of luck to Aine."

"Let's talk again when I get to Yuqiu! I'll make a return gift for this flower!"

"Well, I'm looking forward to it."

Aine waved to Ningzi's departing figure.

She's a very cute girl. She speaks with a dignified and elegant tone, and her every move makes her seem like a true young lady.

To be able to stroll casually in the rain—is that a sign of being oblivious or simply having a love for romance?

Chihaya Aine could no longer see Ningzi's figure. On her way home, she recalled Ningzi's face.

"Those eyes..."

And some familiar faces.

The figures in my memory gradually overlapped.

"It can't be such a coincidence, can it? It can't be that much of a coincidence."

Chapter 42. I'm sorry, Xiaoning.

I walked into the building, went upstairs, turned the corner, walked straight, and arrived home.

Ningzi checked the time on her phone; it was 3:30. If it was too early, her sister wouldn't be home yet; if it was too late, she felt she hadn't had enough fun.

As for how Father is doing now, I hope he hasn't starved to death. As long as he can breathe, there's nothing to worry about.

Ningzi stared at the cartoon sticker on the door. The sticker depicted a not-so-bright little penguin. Who put this up? It looks awful.

My sister said Mu would come... but I haven't seen her yet.

Has he already left, or—

"Xiao Ning."

"Wow!"

Ningzi turned around quickly. Mu's voice was so sudden and ethereal that it was a truly terrifying weapon.

Please, someone give her a flashlight and take her to the haunted house; that's where Mu's happy old home is.

She should be able to quickly master either the tree spirit or the female ghost, becoming the master of the haunted house.

"Sister Mu? When did you arrive?"

"When Ning goes out."

When you go out?

In other words, when he sneaked out wearing his sister's light-colored wooden clogs, as if he were a thief, a pair of imposing golden eyes were lurking in some corner, relentlessly watching him!

Is Sister Mu actually a super high-level camera and a sinister, evil voyeur?!

Out of her body's instinct, Ningzi involuntarily took a step back.

I hope you won't ask me where I went next.

Finally, her message was reported up the chain of command, eventually reaching the ears of the eldest sister, so that poor Toyokawa Ningko had to endure severe criticism and trial that night.

Oh no, what kind of plausible lie should I come up with this time to fool these small fry?

Should we say she went to marry Takamatsu Akari, or should we say she went to divorce Shiina Tatsuki?

Or perhaps... she went to remarry Mitsumi Hatsukami?

"Where's the medicine?"

"Huh? It's in my pocket."

"Have you eaten yet?"

Somewhat unexpectedly, Mu didn't seem to care where Ningzi went or what she did.

The first thing she asked was... whether she had taken her medication.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Ruo Yemu's voice was steady and subtle, yet it could be clearly heard by Ningzi.

"Not yet, sister, shall we go inside and sit down?"

"..."

Mu grabbed Ningzi's wrist, and the vibration of her delicate body trembling was transmitted to Ningzi.

This is...

Are you scared?

"Mu? Are you alright? Don't look at me like that, let's go inside."

"Take your medicine..."

Ruoye Mu seemed not to hear Ningzi's words, repeatedly muttering the words "take medicine".

"Okay, shall we go inside and eat?"

Will you eat it?

Mu didn't exert any force at all; Ningzi felt that the other person was not so much holding her wrist as gently placing their hand on it.

"Yes, let's go in."

"Um…"

Mu seems to be calmer now; she was really scary just now.

Are all women who favor daughters like this?

Ningzi glanced at Mu's face, where several blurred tear tracks were still faintly visible.

He even cried, that crybaby.

Hiding in a corner of a dilapidated building, crying and whimpering—that scene must be quite delightful.

"Da da! Welcome, Sister Mu, to the happy old home of Clever Ningzi and her silly Xiangzi!"

Ningzi tried her best to make Mu happy, deliberately sliding forward a step and spreading her hands to point to all directions of the house.

"Okay, I'll go get you some water."