Desserts

“Two servings of Gimidass!”

The moment they sat down, Ning Rou happily raised both hands. “Mixed flavors, please!”

“Ice cream first thing in the morning?”

Jiang Li spoke with a deadpan expression, yet his eyes held a rare trace of relaxation. “Aren’t you afraid of a brain freeze, Student Ning Rou?”

“What’s a little brain freeze…”

Ning Rou gave a sly smile. “It’s not every day the Professor treats me. I’m going to taste every single delicacy I’ve wanted but couldn’t afford!”

“Then you’ll have to work hard for it…”

Jiang Li shook his head and waved to add to the order. “Two vegetable juices, as well.”

“Blegh…”

Ning Rou immediately pulled a face of pure disgust, sticking out her tongue like a child resisting medicine. “What’s so good about vegetable juice? Your taste is so weird, Professor. I want this! The Iced Sea Salt Fruit Milk Tea!”

“This is healthier.”

Jiang Li reached out with a cold indifference, placing a finger against Ning Rou’s forehead and giving it a gentle push back.

“Ow!”

The young girl cooperated by tilting her head back, easily suppressed.

The waitress standing nearby watched them with a faint, somewhat envious smile. She jotted down the order and asked, “Will that be all for you two?”

“Yes, that’s all for now.”

“Very well…”

The waitress was about to leave, but as if struck by a sudden thought, she hesitated. Then, with a sweet smile, she looked at Jiang Li. “Pardon me, but are you two a couple?”

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment. Before he could respond, Ning Rou slammed her hands on the table in a panic.

Bang!

“Of… of-of-of course not!”

The girl’s face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye. “This… this is my Professor! We… we just have a teacher-student relationship!”

“Is that so? My apologies… I thought you two were…”

The waitress blinked, then turned back to Jiang Li. Seeing him nod in confirmation, she explained: “Actually, our shop has a ‘Couple’s Event.’ Couple guests get a complimentary drink… but since you aren’t…”

The waitress’s smile grew even sweeter. “What a shame…”

As she spoke, she scribbled something on her notepad, turned around, and discreetly tore off the slip of paper, surreptitiously sticking it to the edge of the table on Jiang Li’s side.

Jiang Li glanced down and found a string of phone numbers.

Confused, he looked up, only to catch the waitress looking back and tossing him a flirtatious wink.

【Is this… a legendary “romantic encounter”?】

For a moment, Jiang Li found it almost funny. Back in the Main World, he had been a nobody who hid in a basement all day; even a stray dog wouldn’t bother looking at him twice. He hadn’t expected that in this mission world, with a respectable and wealthy identity, his “character model” would finally be put to use.

【Pity. The progression tasks for Ning Rou and Xiao Yuehua alone are already giving me a massive headache. I don’t have time to mess around with anyone else…】

Jiang Li shook his head. He peeled off the note and was about to fold it up and toss it in the trash when—

“Professor.”

At some point, Ning Rou had looked up, staring at his hand with a scrutinizing gaze.

“What is that?”

“This? A note for the order.”

Jiang Li shrugged and told a casual lie. But Ning Rou wasn’t that easy to fool.

She glared at him huffily. “Are you trying to trick me again? Do I look like a child to you? That was clearly left by the waitress just now!”

“She actually saw through it…”

Jiang Li muttered under his breath, which only seemed to make the girl angrier.

“You’re bullying me! You treat me like a kid all day long! The order slip was clearly taken away by her!”

At this moment, Ning Rou was practically in “pufferfish mode.” She held out her hand like an authority figure. “Student Nangong, no distractions during class. Hand it over.”

“Yes… yes…”

Jiang Li played along, nodding as he handed over the note.

“Hmph!”

Ning Rou tossed the note aside with a huff, finally wearing a winner’s expression as if she really were a teacher. “Student Nangong is still too young. You don’t understand how sinister society is. These women who approach you out of nowhere are just after your youth and money. Don’t be so naive, or you’ll be swindled!”

Jiang Li nodded thoughtfully. “Teacher Ning Rou is right. I met one today; she said she was going to eat until I went bankrupt.”

“What are you saying, Professor? I’m different!”

Ning Rou complained indignantly, but then, like a leaking balloon, she shrunk back guiltily. “Besides… you were the one who said I could pick whatever I wanted…”

Jiang Li found it amusing but feared the girl might actually overthink it, so he quickly explained: “I was just joking. Teacher Ning Rou is, of course, different from a stranger.”

“Really?”

The girl looked up with her large, suspicious eyes. “Are you lying again?”

“Of course not. I am sincere toward Teacher Ning Rou.”

“Sincere…?”

Ning Rou stared into Jiang Li’s eyes for a long while. Whatever she was thinking of, the blush that had just faded came roaring back instantly.

A moment later, she rubbed her burning cheeks, realizing she had lost her composure.

Thump!

In a flurry, Ning Rou wrapped her arms around herself, hiding her face in the “safety zone” created by her arms and her impressive chest. She protested in a muffled voice:

“Professor, you’re bullying me again!”

To this, Jiang Li could only blink innocently. Heaven be his witness—at least when he said those words, he truly didn’t have any ulterior motive.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Expensive as it was, the shop certainly had skill. Despite the crowd, the speed of their dessert preparation was impressive. Before long, two exquisite silver-lidded dessert cups were brought to the table.

“Your Gimidass. Please enjoy.”

Only then did Ning Rou snap her head up from her protective layer, her health bar fully restored.

“Wow!”

Lifting the silver lid, the chilled ice cream was revealed. The shape was unique, specially molded to look like a vivid, round-headed kitten.

“It really is shaped like a cat, just like they said online! Mine is probably a…”

Ning Rou pulled out her phone to take a photo, then seemed to compare it against something, eventually shaking her head in disappointment.

“Too bad it’s not a special edition. Mine is just the regular orange tabby style…”

Catching herself, she turned a curious eye toward Jiang Li. “What style is yours, Professor?”

“Mine?”

Jiang Li casually lifted the lid, only to be startled by the face of a kitten with its mouth wide open like a hissing cobra.

Before he could react, Ning Rou cried out in surprise:

“Whoa! It’s the hidden edition, ‘Haqimi’! Professor, you have such good luck!”

“Good luck?”

Jiang Li looked at the cheeky, hissing cat face in the cup with bewilderment, then at Ning Rou, whose eyes were practically glowing with envy. He really couldn’t understand what there was to be jealous of.

However, since she liked it…

Jiang Li pushed the dessert cup toward Ning Rou. “You like it that much? Want to swap?”

“Sw… Swap?!”

Ning Rou’s face turned red yet again.