NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 17: Time to Leave
Shu sat up straight, holding the teacup in one hand and the saucer in the other, a forced smile on his face, the black tea inside was far from peaceful.
Kiana, if you want to kill me, just do it. Why use someone else to do it for you?
Shu didn't even need to look up to know that Mei was staring at him. He figured she was probably already thinking of ways to "make a man out of him."
Luckily, it was all just Shu's overactive imagination. Mei, upon seeing Shu's reaction, just looked at Kiana before thanking him.
"Hello, you must be Mr. Shu, am I right?" Mei, along with a silent Kiana, sat next to Shu and smiled.
"Yes, that's me." Shu's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded calmly.
"Thank you so much for taking care of Kiana these past few days. It must have been hard." Even while sitting, Mei bowed slightly to Shu. "She must have caused you a lot of trouble, I'm very grateful that you brought her here!"
"No, no, no!" Shu quickly leaned back, while Kiana protested as if she had heard a hilarious joke.
"What do you mean! I was the one who brought them, ok? They were following me!" Kiana unexpectedly got hung up on this point. But after Mei gave her a look, Kiana shrank back, muttering, "Well, it was still the truth…"
"No, we were the ones who were taken care of by Kiana! We were the ones following her. I just did some small things." Shu quickly agreed, smiling obsequiously as he clearly heard Kiana's muttering.
Mei's next words suddenly caught in her throat. Kiana couldn't help but glance at Shu's fawning behavior.
These words are… so seamless. It makes it very awkward for me to interject.
"Food is not a small thing!" Kiana suddenly protested again, then grabbed Mei's hand, her eyes sparkling. "Mei, Mei! Let me tell you, Shu is a chef from Shenzhou, just like the class monitor! He can cook 108 top-quality dishes and millions of different kinds of food!"
"Really?" Mei and Shu were both surprised. Both were thinking, "Shu" is actually that powerful?
"That's not true! I've never cooked that much!" Shu quickly denied it after seeing the questioning look in Mei's eyes. "No, I can't cook that much!"
"But that's what you said the night before last." Kiana said, puzzled. She then straightened her back, imitating Shu's cooking actions, and lowered her voice, "Hah! What are these dishes? This is just making do! If the ingredients were endless and readily available, I'd make you a Manchu Han Imperial Feast!"
Shu covered his eyes, wishing the ground would swallow him whole.
Sis, I was just bragging! How could you remember it so clearly? That was a Manchu Han Imperial Feast! Let alone knowing the recipes, I don't even know if I could acquire all those ingredients!
"And you also said: 'Although I can't make a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, I can still make a few dishes out of the millions of dishes from all over Shenzhou. Sigh, it's hard to make bricks without straw! Sigh!'" Kiana let out a long sigh, completing her impression of Shu. "I'm right, aren't I?"
You're not just right, you even remembered the idioms and proverbs I used!
"It seems… that Kiana is really looking forward to Mr. Shu's… Manchu Han Imperial Feast." Mei smiled, looking at Shu. "If there's a chance, I would like to try Mr. Shu's Manchu Han Imperial Feast as well. Is that okay?"
"But…" Shu was at a loss. He wanted to say he couldn't make it, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words.
Admitting you were just bragging to strangers was still too hard for a human!
"Oh, right," Kiana changed the subject. "Mei, the class monitor…"
Mei instantly understood and patted Kiana's hand to reassure her, "Class Monitor Fu Hua is also in the school."
"Really?!" Kiana's eyes lit up and she grabbed Mei's hand, standing up. "Shu! Let's go!"
Shu, still holding the teacup, was puzzled at Kiana's actions.
"Huh? Why do I have to go?" Shu was confused.
"Didn't I tell you? I'm going to introduce you to the class monitor!" Kiana waved her hand, putting on a "I have Mei and can do anything I want" persona.
Seeing Kiana and Mei about to leave, Shu glanced at Kiana's back, then at Otto, who may or may not have been watching him. He steeled himself, downed the tea, and chased after Kiana.
Bronya: ?
After thinking it over, Bronya finished the remaining tea with a heavy heart, before running after Shu.
Just as Shu stepped out of the door, a flash of red blurred past him, rushing into the office behind him.
Shu instinctively turned back, but the door closed with a loud "bang" at that moment. Shu only managed to see the end of a red ponytail.
Was that…?
Shu paused, wanting to see if it was who he thought it was. But Kiana, too excited, was already around the corner.
Helpless, Shu decided to catch up with Kiana. "Wait for us!"
Inside the office, Theresa was sipping her black tea peacefully when she suddenly felt an unbearable weight on her head. Instinctively, she reached up and felt something soft. Theresa gritted her teeth.
"Himeko!!!"
Otto slowly set down his cup and turned to face Himeko, smiling. "Ms. Himeko, you seem very anxious. Did something happen?"
"No rush, but the problem is serious." Himeko put on a serious expression and pulled out a few photos from her chest, handing them to a snarling Theresa, who was trying to get rid of her burden.
"They're even still warm! You terrible cannonball woman!" Theresa said disgustedly while taking the photos. Her expression changed. "Huh? This is the nearby train station, right? And this is…"
Theresa's expression suddenly turned grave, "This is… one of those white monsters? At the train station?!"
"Yes, and there are more than just one. They appeared there this afternoon and have yet to move. But their final destination is most certainly here.
Headmaster Otto, I think… it's time for us to consider leaving."