Secret Chambers

“Sw… Swap?!”

Ning Rou’s face flushed a deep crimson instantly. She stared at Jiang Li, completely tongue-tied.

“Pro… Professor… what do you mean by that… swapping desserts and all…”

“That’s totally playing foul!”

She muttered that last part almost in a breathy whisper. Jiang Li didn’t catch it and simply furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Do you find it unhygienic? I haven’t touched this one yet.”

“No… that’s not it!”

Ning Rou defended herself with a strange tone, stealing several glances at Jiang Li’s face—so many that he began to wonder if there was something stuck to his cheek.

Seeing her delay her response, Jiang Li assumed she wasn’t interested in the trade. Just as he reached out to pull his dessert cup back, Ning Rou’s small hand darted out like a lightning strike.

A second later, their dessert cups had switched places.

Jiang Li looked at Ning Rou, utterly baffled. She was staring at the ceiling, twirling her hair around her finger, her voice low as she avoided his gaze.

“Well… fine, let’s swap then…”

Girls are so hard to understand, Jiang Li thought, shaking his head.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Crunch!

By the time Jiang Li had mangled the kitten’s head in his cup beyond recognition, Ning Rou was still busy taking endless photos of the 【Hidden Edition Haqimi】.

“The dessert is going to melt if you wait any longer,” Jiang Li reminded her kindly. Ning Rou only gave him a cautious glance before quickly darting her eyes away, looking as guilty as if she were hiding a secret.

【Strange. Why did this girl suddenly become afraid of me?】

Unable to fathom the inner workings of a young girl’s heart, Jiang Li lowered his head and focused on finishing off the cheeky little cat in front of him.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Strange. So strange. Why am I so happy?

I’ve always loved sweets, and I’ve been looking forward to this famous shop for a long time… But what’s with this heartbeat? Is just going to a dessert shop with the Professor supposed to be this enjoyable? Is it because I have a friend to share it with? But this feels nothing like the times I used to go out for good food with Yuehua, right? Yes, completely different. I don’t understand it.

“Student Ning Rou, the way you’re walking…” “It’s very light and airy, isn’t it?” “It’s dangerous.” “Hmph, the Professor is so stiff!” “You’re always hopping and skipping around like a child.” “Professor, you’re bullying me!”

Ha, how interesting. The Professor’s personality is the polar opposite of mine, like two lines on a piece of paper. The Professor is a neat, straight line, while I’m a chaotic ball of yarn. According to the internet, two people with such opposite personalities shouldn’t get along easily. But when I bicker with him, I’m clearly very happy. As expected, you can’t believe everything you read online.

Entering the dessert shop, the warm atmosphere and elegant decor were breath-taking. As they say, a good environment creates a good mood. This shop did a great job.

Even the Professor, sitting across from me, looked more handsome under the sunlight streaming through the window. It’s true—the Professor actually is a very attractive man, but his usual stiff expressions and gloomy eyes always make people overlook that fact.

It seems taking him out more often to relax might actually boost his charm? After all, he’s the son of a Movie King and a professor at Tianhua, the country’s top university. Spending a little bit of money to enjoy life is how he should be living. Maybe that doll-like, rigid personality of his is just because he represses himself too much?

Thinking this, I found myself dazing out while staring at his face.

“What is it?” Sensing my peeking, the Professor threw a puzzled look my way. I hurriedly looked down to order.

“Two servings of Gimidass!”

. . . . . . . . . . .

Stupid Professor, I hate vegetable juice! After being glared at by my angry eyes for a long time, the Professor seemed to realize something was wrong. But he had no intention of retracting the order; instead, he just extended a finger.

“Ow!” The Professor’s icy finger pressed against my forehead, yet it inexplicably made my cheeks burn. I didn’t know why I was blushing, and I certainly didn’t want him to find out, so I tilted my head back to dodge him.

By the time I calmed down and looked back at him… “What a shame…” A waitress who clearly wasn’t a simple character left with a suspicious smile, even throwing a wink at the Professor as she walked away.

【Wait, what just happened?】

An inexplicable wave of displeasure rose in my heart. When I looked back at the Professor, he was peeling a note off the edge of the table. Wait, a note?!

【Is that… like in those TV dramas? The male lead is heartbroken and goes to a bar, then out of nowhere, an enchanting woman appears and slips him a piece of paper with her phone number. Then the lead gets a hot head, calls her, and then…】

My brain felt like it exploded.

【No way!】 I had no standing to interfere, yet fury surged up from my heart regardless.

【How… how could I let a woman like that get near the Professor!】 【She must be trying to hook him just because he’s young, handsome, and rich!】 【She doesn’t understand the Professor’s truly precious inner self at all!】 【He’ll definitely be tricked by that bad woman!】 【I can’t let… I can’t let any of that happen!】

In a split second, countless “Bad Ends” for the Professor flashed through my mind. In my haste and anger, I rudely reached out my hand toward him.

“Hand it over.”

. . . . . . . . . . .

I felt so much regret and shame afterward. But thankfully, the Professor’s personality is very gentle—though not many people would believe it. If you set aside that forever expressionless cold face, it’s easy to see. He didn’t get angry at my rudeness—though, of course, I was just trying to protect him…

In any case, the Professor was surprisingly considerate. And he might even be quite lucky. Out of the two desserts brought out, he actually pulled the rarest Hidden Edition.

And even though he hides it well, he looked like he was genuinely startled by the “Haqimi” when he lifted the lid. I didn’t expect him to have such a gap in his personality. That moment was so funny; I’m starting to regret not taking a photo of it.

And after that. “Want to swap?” The sensitive Professor noticed my envious gaze.

“H-How… how could we?!” It sounds scandalous, but to be honest, for that one second, my mind was filled with countless ambiguous scenes from romance dramas I’ve seen—except the faces of the leads were replaced by me and the Professor.

No, isn’t that way too ridiculous? Is this really my brain? My face overheated instantly, the burning sensation was extreme. Even without looking, I knew exactly how red I was.

“Do you find it unhygienic? I haven’t touched this one yet.” “No… that’s not it!”

In the end, I still swapped desserts with him while blushing. Carrying a sense of secret joy that I couldn’t explain, I suppressed a smile and took over a dozen photos of the Hidden Edition.

“So cute…” Really, it’s the cutest dessert I’ve ever seen. Feeling wonderful, I tapped the share button.

. . . . . . . . . . .

In the empty performance room, Xiao Yuehua stood motionlessly.

Strangely, even though the sunlight outside was soft, the light filtering through the window frames carried a cold, chilling hue.

Ding-dong.

The notification sound of a phone broke the silence. Xiao Yuehua lit up the screen.

“Out for dessert today! Even got lucky enough to pull the Hidden Edition! [Image] [Image] [Image] — From Ning Rou, one minute ago.”