Mu Yao was petite, and being held by her felt surprisingly comfortable. Warmth flooded through Nangong Ruihui’s whole body. She was almost getting sleepy, like curling up under a blanket in winter.

Probably only Mu Yao would wear a designer evening dress to a barbecue place. She really stood out. No one before, no one after. And she wasn’t even afraid of getting it stained with grease.

“Much better...”

Nangong Ruihui let go of Mu Yao on her own. If they kept hugging like this, they’d become the center of attention. Mu Yao was already eye-catching enough in that dress, like a celebrity.

“Who would've thought Ruihui has such a soft, vulnerable side no one knows about~” Mu Yao chuckled lightly. Then she led Nangong Ruihui, who had been clumsy ever since they came in, to a random seat.

“Wasn’t it all because I came to keep you company? I didn’t even want to come in the first place.” Nangong Ruihui didn’t bother denying it.

“Okay, okay, Ruihui’s the best~”

Mu Yao didn’t dislike this side of Nangong Ruihui at all. It felt like she was getting dizzy from the meat. But the way she instantly turned into a little kid was honestly pretty cute. Mu Yao quite enjoyed it. At least she wouldn’t get bullied by her again for now.

To keep Nangong Ruihui from feeling down, Mu Yao had actually prepared herself long ago to let her bully her all day today. If she could stay happy without bullying her, then that was even better.

Mu Yao took out the phone she carried with her. Under the table, she quietly sent a text to the maid, Kyoko—

——

Mu Yao: Kyoko, are you there? I want to ask you something~

Kyoko replied very quickly: Yep, I’m here. Ask fast. Once the butler comes back, I won’t be able to slack off and text you anymore~

Mu Yao: I want to know if there’s a reason Ruihui doesn’t like eating meat.

Kyoko: Then you really asked the right person. I’ve been with Young Master Ruihui for over ten years. I know her best. When Young Master Ruihui was little, she had a pet rabbit. Then one day it got lost. Later, someone skinned it, plucked it, and hung it outside. I only remember that Young Master Ruihui’s eyes lost all their light back then... In her eyes, that rabbit was her childhood companion.

Mu Yao: Thank you. I understand now.

——

‘So her beloved pet rabbit died...’

In that instant, Mu Yao could truly relate. No wonder Nangong Ruihui had become like this.

Still, with Mu Yao here, nothing was impossible. She had to help Nangong Ruihui pull herself together again! Otherwise, how could she face being called Nangong Ruihui’s “fiancée”?

On the night Mu Yao first went to Nangong Ruihui’s house to work as her maid, she got Kyoko’s phone number. That way, she could understand Nangong Ruihui better. She called it—

‘Operation Love.’

Now it seemed genuinely useful. Nangong Ruihui definitely would’ve kept this matter to herself forever. If Kyoko hadn’t told her, it really would’ve remained a mystery.

“Yaoyao, we’re out eating, and you still can’t settle down. Naughty~” Nangong Ruihui said, propping up her chin.

“Okay~ I’m done, I’m done. I was just checking the time.” Mu Yao felt a little guilty. No matter what, she couldn’t let Nangong Ruihui know she had been asking Kyoko about this.

“Yaoyao, how can you be this cute?”

After watching Mu Yao for a while, Nangong Ruihui couldn’t hold it in anymore. As expected of a fashion model, she was beautiful. The kind of face you’d remember at a glance, even in a crowd.

She and Yang Xu were complete opposites. One was beautiful enough to take your breath away. The other was ugly enough to make you want to cry.

“Oh, come on. There are lots of cute girls at the academy, right? You just haven’t looked carefully. Like Sister Xia Xi, she’s really pretty too~” Mu Yao said modestly.

“Wait. What did you call her?” Nangong Ruihui frowned. Something about this was definitely not simple.

“Xia Xi... jie. Does that bother you, Ruihui? What else should I call her? Senior Xia Xi? Would that be better?”

“Call her that bitch!” A nameless fire flared up at once, burning straight into Nangong Ruihui’s throat.

Thanks to the student council’s powerful investigation skills, Nangong Ruihui had already found out why Xia Xi, who had never had any grudge against her, came to challenge her. It was because of Li Jie and the other two. A punk like Yang Xu couldn’t possibly have gotten Xia Xi to move, so that only left Li Jie’s group. The “boss” Li Jie mentioned before had to be Xia Xi.

If Xia Xi hadn’t shown up, Mu Yao would still be getting along with her just fine right now. She didn’t even know whether that incident had hurt Mu Yao’s feelings toward her. It was all because she had lost control for no reason that night.

She couldn’t blame herself too much. She could only blame Xia Xi. After all, Xia Xi was the one who stepped out for her followers. As for touching her chest, Nangong Ruihui didn’t even feel that guilty. She was a girl too. At worst, she could just take off the chest binder and let Xia Xi touch hers back.

“Ruihui, you can’t use bad language. And who told you to take advantage of her? I’m not even upset about it yet~” Mu Yao reminded her. Even if Nangong Ruihui said that, she still wasn’t going to call Xia Xi a bitch. At most, she’d just call her Xia Xi.

Mu Yao hadn’t actually seen the process of Nangong Ruihui touching Xia Xi’s chest. At the time, she only heard the people around them talking about it. But seeing Nangong Ruihui keep backing away, she understood that it really had happened.

“Yaoyao, even though I haven’t officially agreed to date you yet, you should understand your place in my heart, right? Touching her there was purely an accident. I’m usually practically gynophobic. Do I look like someone who’d deliberately harass a girl? If you still mind it, then I’m willing to sincerely apologize to you. Even if it was unintentional, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” Nangong Ruihui’s anger turned into worry. She hoped Mu Yao wouldn’t take it to heart.

“Maybe Xia Xi is more your type? I don’t think there’s anyone prettier than her in our class~” Mu Yao said pointedly, swinging her slim calves with not an ounce of extra fat on them.

“Wrong. Except for you~”

“Alright, alright, except for me~” Mu Yao beamed. Nangong Ruihui really knew how to talk.

“Yaoyao, have a little confidence in yourself. My fiancée, Nangong Ruihui’s fiancée, could never be outshined by another woman. No matter how dazzling Xia Xi is.”

Mu Yao wasn’t wrong. Xia Xi was very beautiful. Anyone with eyes would think so. But she really didn’t suit Nangong Ruihui. Even if Nangong Ruihui were a boy, she still wouldn’t like Xia Xi. A mature beauty like that wasn’t someone just anyone could handle.

This was a semi-self-service barbecue restaurant. In less than ten minutes, the lettuce and Orleans-style grilled pork belly Mu Yao ordered were brought over by a bow-tied waiter.

“Yaoyao... you’re not seriously expecting me to eat lettuce, are you? And it’s not even cooked. Maybe we should throw it in the pot and blanch it or something.” Nangong Ruihui was starting to suspect Mu Yao had brought her here just to mess with her.

“Of course you wrap the grilled meat in it. I’ll make one for you. Personal service, just for you.” Mu Yao didn’t think much of it.

“Huh? Didn’t you say you’d eat the barbecue and I’d eat the vegetables?”

On the iron plate in front of them, the pork belly was layered with lean and fat. It sizzled in oil. Cumin, pepper powder, and white sesame had already been sprinkled on top. Yet Nangong Ruihui couldn’t muster even the slightest appetite.

“If I hadn’t said that, would you have come in with me? Ruihui, leave it to me. Some things should be left in the past too.”

Mu Yao stood up. She rolled up a thin slice of pork belly, and her steady gaze never shifted away again.

Nangong Ruihui shrank back a little. Mu Yao’s serious expression, along with that strange second half of her sentence, felt extremely suspicious. This time, she could already foresee herself being stuffed full of meat.