A Playful Interrogation

Zhuang Xun twisted open a new bottle of water and offered it to Shen Xian. She spoke slowly, “Senior, didn’t you say you’d only arrive around ten?”

Shen Xian took the water but didn’t drink. Instead, she mused, “It seems my timing is a bit inconvenient, wouldn’t you say?”

A flicker of panic crossed Zhuang Xun’s face before she immediately denied it. “Senior… that’s not what I meant.”

Shen Xian chuckled mischievously. “Of course I know that. Little Zhuang Xun, how could you possibly mean anything else?”

With that, she raised the bottle and took a sip, but the water trickled erratically from her lips and down her collarbone. Shen Xian put the bottle down and gently wiped the stray droplets from her mouth with the back of her hand.

Witnessing this, Zhuang Xun couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Shen Xian lightly tugged at her own top. “I drank a little too fast, it seems. It’s all over my clothes.”

Zhuang Xun averted her gaze, unable to look at her senior.

“Little Zhuang Xun?” Shen Xian called out softly.

Zhuang Xun fumbled in her pocket, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to her. She couldn’t read Shen Xian’s expression, yet the image of the water droplets glistening on her collarbone replayed endlessly in her mind.

Shen Xian, perhaps seized by a playful impulse, leaned closer. Zhuang Xun could distinctly smell the fresh scent of laundry detergent on her clothes.

“Little Zhuang Xun, could you help me check if there are any more water stains on my clothes?” Shen Xian asked, her words a continuous, teasing probe.

Zhuang Xun felt her fingertips being brushed, little by little, by Shen Xian’s hand. Just as Zhuang Xun was about to be drawn in, she abruptly turned back and stopped her. “Senior, you shouldn’t do that.”

Shen Xian held Zhuang Xun’s hand without letting go, merely blinking rapidly in feigned surprise. “Little Zhuang Xun, why are your ears so red?!”

She quickly released Zhuang Xun’s hand and reached up to touch her ear, before cupping Zhuang Xun’s face with genuine concern. “Why is your face so red, too? Are you running a fever?”

With Shen Xian’s hands cupping her face, Zhuang Xun gently raised her own to pull Shen Xian’s away. She avoided her senior’s gaze, lowering her head. “I… I don’t have a fever.”

Shen Xian slowly responded, “But your face is really, really red… could it be from over-exercising today?”

Zhuang Xun shook her head. “No, it’s not that…”

Shen Xian mumbled softly, “Then why…?”

It’s because of you, Senior! Zhuang Xun cried out internally.

No sooner had the words left her mind than Zhuang Xun felt a surge of regret. Before she could retract her thoughts, Shen Xian pointed a finger at herself. “Me? Why is it because of me?”

I… I said the wrong thing.

“You wouldn’t use such a low-tier excuse as ‘I said the wrong thing,’ would you?”

…Zhuang Xun’s escape route, her chance to take back her words, was now completely blocked.

She rubbed her ears, her voice growing softer. “Senior looked so beautiful just now… because my partner is so beautiful, that’s why I like…” Senior has no idea how captivating she is!

“Ah? Is that so… haha…” Hearing the blunt compliment, Shen Xian’s cheeks began to flush a deep pink. She awkwardly rubbed her head and laughed. “Thank you, Little Zhuang Xun. It’s my first time receiving such a straightforward compliment…”

That’s not what I meant…

Zhuang Xun stared at Shen Xian, then sighed. She took the tissue, gently wiped the water stain from Shen Xian’s clothes, and regained her composure. She spoke earnestly, “Senior, you shouldn’t be so defenseless. What if a bad person deliberately approached you?”

Shen Xian lowered her head. A gaze flickered from her fingertips. She looked toward Zhuang Xun, who, as if sensing the attention, simultaneously lifted her head.

Shen Xian said unhurriedly, “Only Little Zhuang Xun would get this close to me.”

The moment those words rang out, the hand Zhuang Xun was using to wipe the clothes paused. The sound of her own heart began to amplify in her ears.

Immediately after, Shen Xian took the tissue from Zhuang Xun’s hand and wiped her own clothes. “But Little Zhuang Xun, you make a good point. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“Shall we walk around a bit before going home?” It wasn’t until Shen Xian spoke again, finished cleaning her clothes, that Zhuang Xun snapped back to attention.

Zhuang Xun looked at Shen Xian, who had stood up at some point. The words she had intended to use for a refusal were, in this moment, defeated by a simple nod of agreement.

“Okay.”

Shen Xian extended her hand to Zhuang Xun. “Did you have dinner?”

Zhuang Xun placed her hand on top of Shen Xian’s, and the next second, she was pulled up with a gentle force. Zhuang Xun didn’t let go, allowing herself to be led by the hand.

She scratched her cheek. “I ate three hours ago.”

“Hmm…” Shen Xian pulled out her phone, glanced at the time, and said, “What did Ning Qi treat you to tonight?”

Zhuang Xun answered obediently, “A sandwich.”

Shen Xian looked astonished. “Just a sandwich? With such intense physical training, you’ll waste away eating only that!”

“It’s only half-past eight now; many restaurants should still be open. What do you want to eat? I’ll take you.”

Zhuang Xun looked at Shen Xian’s worried expression, and the words ‘it’s okay, I don’t need to eat’ were swallowed back down. She didn’t answer Shen Xian’s question, instead asking, “Is there anything Senior wants to eat?”

Shen Xian held her phone, the screen displaying a list of nearby restaurants.

“Eh? Aren’t I looking for food for you? Why are you asking what I want?”

“Senior, you must be very tired today too. And the food Senior picks is always delicious,” Zhuang Xun said, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her senior’s ear, then slowly raising her gaze to meet Shen Xian’s. “Could Senior choose?”

Shen Xian blinked, unconsciously swallowed, and quickly lowered her head to hide her face. She tapped a restaurant on the screen and turned it toward Zhuang Xun. “In that case, let’s eat here? It won’t take too long to get there.”

As Zhuang Xun scanned the phone screen, a message notification popped up from Meng Miao.

[Ah Miao: The test results will be out tomorrow. Come find me at 10:00 AM to pick them up.]

Zhuang Xun felt a flicker of doubt, but she pretended not to see the message, smiling and nodding at Shen Xian. “Okay. I’ll listen to Senior.”

After receiving Zhuang Xun’s confirmation, Shen Xian turned off her phone, shoved it into her pocket, and pointed toward the street. “Then let’s go!”

Zhuang Xun followed behind her, pondering the meaning of Meng Miao’s message. It seemed the reason for Senior’s visit to Headquarters earlier had been for a medical check-up.

She gazed at Shen Xian’s back. Moonlight spilled over her, and Zhuang Xun thought about the pheromones and the monitoring watch. Shen Xian hadn’t told her about the check-up; she wondered if asking abruptly would cause her senior trouble.

But… if there was truly something wrong with her body, she had to know. Especially regarding the pheromones, she felt she had a right to be informed.

“What are you thinking about? You’ve been so quiet the whole way.”

Zhuang Xun looked up. Shen Xian was using a pair of tongs to place grilled meat from the table-top grill onto Zhuang Xun’s plate.

Zhuang Xun looked at the plate, which had been piled full at some point, and spoke softly, “Senior, can I ask you a question?”