To Covet

“The usual. One order of Cloud Cookies.”

“Wait, wait, wait… wait! Boss, I want an order of Cloud Cookies!”

Just as Jiang Li was about to pay at the counter, a figure rushed in from outside the shop, stumbling so clumsily she nearly crashed into him.

“Sorry, dear. The last portion was just sold,” the shopkeeper said with a shrug, looking entirely unfazed by the commotion.

At that moment, Ning Rou was filled with a soul-crushing regret. She knew today was a day off and that the bakery’s products would sell out faster than usual. For the sake of gourmet food, she had even set an alarm and calculated the exact time to buy her favorite dessert.

However, all because of ten minutes of lingering in bed, her alarms and her resolve to get up had become utterly meaningless.

“Nooo! Auntie, for the sake of how often I visit your shop, please sell me just one more!” She wailed, clasping her hands together with teary eyes.

Unfortunately, the shopkeeper was a woman of rigid principle and remained unmoved. “Perhaps you could consider another pastry.”

Ning Rou’s face fell instantly, but she refused to give up. In her desperation, her eyes landed on the final bag of Cloud Cookies sitting on the counter.

“Please! Please let me have these cookies!” Before she even saw who was standing next to her, she turned and gave a deep, heavy bow.

But when she looked up and saw Jiang Li’s face, her expression twisted in shock as she shrieked, “You’re that bas— bas— that Professor Nangong!”

“Are you that surprised to see me?”

“N-no… I’m not…” Ning Rou muttered without conviction, her eyes uncontrollably darting toward the bag of cookies on the counter.

“You really want these?”

A thought struck Jiang Li. Knowing exactly what he should do, he lifted the cookie bag and waved it in front of Ning Rou’s eyes. Watching her wide, round eyes follow the bag’s movement like a hungry hamster, Jiang Li guessed her thoughts.

“Since you like them so much, then…”

【Could it be… could it be he’s actually willing to let me have them? Did I misunderstand him before? Is he actually a decent person?】

Ning Rou’s gaze was locked onto the cookies, and her opinion of Nangong Li began to shift drastically.

However.

“Then, so as not to let such passion go to waste, I shall enjoy them with even greater care.”

Under Ning Rou’s stunned gaze, Jiang Li simply gave a wave of his hand and turned to leave with the cookies, showing no lingering attachment to the scene.

“Eh?”

Well, according to Galgames, conquering a heroine begins by leaving a strong impression. At least, that’s what the games taught.

“Only my outfit is out of place. Won’t the Professor lose his immersion?”

“If you don’t speak lines outside of the script, I won’t.”

“Can I interpret that as a compliment toward my performance?”

“I don’t think you should…”

As the surrounding illusions faded, this round of acting came to an end. Looking at the girl before him, Jiang Li couldn’t help but sigh again.

He didn’t know where things had gone wrong. Compared to when they first met, the current Xiao Yuehua was like a completely different person. She was bold, talkative, and persistent. Not much time had passed since the Freshman Competition; how could someone’s personality change so drastically?

Not only that, but his dominance over these tutoring sessions seemed to be plummeting. A sense of powerlessness began to accumulate. Even with his [Poker Face] helping him stabilize his emotions and maintain his expression, he couldn’t stop himself from sighing frequently.

“Still no good… you aren’t putting any emotion into the performance.”

At the mention of acting, Xiao Yuehua’s face turned solemn. Her love for her dream of becoming an actress surpassed everything; in this regard, she would not joke. After a moment of silence, she shook her head weakly.

“Three emotions are too complex…”

“Then we’ll analyze them separately and take it step by step,” Jiang Li suggested. “First, the layer of feigned affection. Have your parents ever given you a gift?”

“Of course.”

“Have they ever given you a gift you didn’t like?”

“Many times.” Xiao Yuehua’s eyes dimmed slightly. “They don’t want me to be a performer. They want me to major in Economics.”

“That’s perfect.”

“Huh?”

“I mean…” Facing Xiao Yuehua’s suspicious gaze, Jiang Li explained awkwardly, “Then you can use that memory to recall the emotion of forcing a smile when receiving a gift you dislike.”

“This…” Xiao Yuehua knit her brows. “Though I haven’t researched this much, aren’t those two emotions different?”

“They are close enough… do you expect me to provide a better example?”

“Right, I forgot. After all, you and I are essentially the same,” Xiao Yuehua said, nodding. She hid a face that almost wanted to break into a smile.

Perhaps it was the mutual sympathy of understanding each other’s powerlessness, but she seemed to find a strange satisfaction in the idea that they were “the same kind.”

“Then the second layer, the hostility. What about that?”

“For that, weren’t you full of hostility when you stopped me after the Freshman Competition?”

“That… I wasn’t…”

“No? I remember your eyes were practically spitting fire.”

“Th-th-then… what about the third emotion? What about that one?” Xiao Yuehua turned the subject away, her face flushing red.

Now that she knew she had misunderstood Professor Nangong, recalling her words and actions back then felt like having her “dark history” exposed; it was incredibly humiliating.

“The third layer…” Jiang Li fell silent, a trace of uncertainty appearing on his stiff, serious face. “Have you ever had someone you adored?”

“Is the Professor sexually harassing me?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll believe the Professor just this once… No, I haven’t.”

“Then, have you ever had something you particularly liked?”

“No. If I had to say, I’m only obsessed with my dream of acting.”

“That makes things difficult…” After a moment of deliberation, Jiang Li spoke with an uncertain tone. “Perhaps you can recall the day you first decided you wanted to be an actress. On that day, what were you thinking?”

“That kind of ‘heartbeat’… isn’t it different from the one in the script?”

“Is there any other choice?”

When she returned to the dorm, Ning Rou’s gloominess caught Xiao Yuehua’s attention. This girl was usually full of energy; it was rare to see her in such a low-pressure state.

“What’s wrong, Ning Rou?” Xiao Yuehua sat on the edge of Ning Rou’s bed and felt her forehead. “You don’t have a fever…”

“It’s not a fever…” Ning Rou’s cheeks puffed up like steamed buns, her eyes flashing with murderous intent. “It’s because of that man!”

“That man?”

“That iceberg monster! That arrogant Professor Nangong!”

Xiao Yuehua’s brow knit imperceptibly, but her face remained neutral. “What… what did he do?”

“He snatched the last order of cookies and mocked me!”

“Is… is that all?” Xiao Yuehua was momentarily caught between laughter and tears. Her friend was always so childish.

She didn’t take it seriously, but Ning Rou suddenly stood up as if she had reached a grand realization.

“No, Yuehua, I’ve made up my mind.”

“Hmm?”

“Through what happened today, I’m certain that professor is not a good person! It’s too dangerous for you to be alone with him. Next tutoring session, I’m going with you! I have to see if he’s plotting something bad against you.”

“You… you want to go too?”

Xiao Yuehua’s face instantly froze. A sudden unpleasantness rose in her heart, as if something that belonged solely to her was being coveted by another.