Chapter 38: I'm also allergic to peanuts

That sneaky figure clung to the wall, wanting to see where the person they were following had gone.

As soon as they lifted their head, they got a big fright.

Shu Shu was lazily crossing her arms, waiting for her in place.

Pei Muyin, wearing a mask, reflexively wanted to turn and run, but Shu Lingchen came over in a few steps, chin raised, and directly blocked her path with a fierce look.

Shu Shu was somewhat surprised that the other person was a girl: "Speak up, what do you want by following us?"

"... I wasn't following you." The girl lowered her head, her voice low and soft, emphasizing the last two words.

Shu Shu: "Oh, that means you're following one of us, so who are you tailing and what do you want to do?"

"... Sis, you don't remember me?" Pei Muyin looked at Shu Shu and spoke weakly: "We met at the dessert shop."

A pair of pretty peach-blossom eyes showed from behind her thick bangs; Shu Shu looked closely, then froze slightly, surprised to recognize: "Strawberry yogurt mousse...?"

Seeing Shu Shu recall, Pei Muyin's eyes lit up: "Yes, it's me, sis, you finally noticed me."

What does "finally noticed me" mean?

Shu Shu paused, realized, and said in surprise: "The person who's been secretly following me these past two days is you?"

Pei Muyin nodded, admitting: "Yeah."

Shu Shu asked: "Um, you're looking for me, is there something?"

Pei Muyin couldn't speak; she just simply wanted to find Mousse sister, but after finding her she hadn't thought about what to do next.

That day at the dessert shop she remembered Mousse sister was wearing a school uniform, so she deliberately went to the school gate near the dessert shop to wait.

She was finally caught waiting by her.

But she lacked the courage to go up and greet her, so she could only secretly follow from afar.

After all, "tailing" is strange; Mousse sister would surely think she was weird.

Pei Muyin nervously clenched her hem, really not knowing what to say.

Just then, her stomach growled.

Because she often overeats, she gets hungry easily and always has snacks on hand.

She hadn't eaten any snacks for a full hour.

Pei Muyin's face flushed instantly, making her even more nervous.

"S-sorry." How rude.

Shu Shu instinctively felt the kid meant no harm; seeing her slightly embarrassed look, her heart softened for some reason, and she lightly laughed: "We happen to be going out for dinner; if you'd like, join us?"

Shu Lingchen beside them widened his eyes in surprise.

Pei Muyin was so delighted she could hardly believe it: "R-really?" She could hardly ask for more.

"Mm." Shu Shu said: "Just consider it thanks for you treating me to dessert before."

Last time at the dessert shop, it was this Mousse kid who paid the bill when leaving.

Shu Shu's frequency of cooking herself depends entirely on her mood.

Maybe she only cooks when the mood strikes; most of the time she lacks interest.

She loves all kinds of food, so during this period, aside from at school, dinner is either ordering tasty takeout at home or going out to eat.

Today is no exception.

She saw on Xiao Lv Shu that a nearby place had rave reviews for spicy blood duck, so she booked a four-person private room in advance.

After finding the store according to the address, the three of them went inside.

Out of courtesy, Shu Shu had Shu Lingchen sit beside her, leaving the opposite seat for the Mousse kid.

Pei Muyin pinched her fingers, secretly envious, glanced several times at the seat beside Shu Shu already taken by Shu Lingchen, then sat down opposite.

"Can you handle spicy?"

Shu Shu took the menu from the waiter and asked Pei Muyin, because the restaurant's signature dish is spicy blood duck, which is not mild.

Pei Muyin nodded: "Yeah, I can."

"Okay." Shu Shu then asked: "Any food restrictions?"

"Yes." Pei Muyin said: "I can't eat peanuts because I'm allergic."

Shu Shu blinked, looked at her, thought it strange: "What a coincidence, I'm also allergic to peanuts."

Pei Muyin blinked, feeling a bit happy, as if sharing the peanut allergy with Mousse sister brought them a little closer.

She shyly whispered: "Yeah, it's quite a coincidence."

Shu Shu ordered the signature blood duck dish, plus a few other main courses, then passed the menu to Pei Muyin.

"See if you want anything, just order."

"... Okay." Pei Muyin took the menu with both hands.

Shu Lingchen glanced at Pei Muyin intently studying the menu, crept up to Shu Shu's ear like a thief, and whispered uneasily: "Mom, aren't you being too hasty? Bringing a stranger to eat with us—aren't you worried she might be a con artist?"

Shu Shu let out a light scoff, "Is this little dimwit's IQ coming back up again?"

When facing the mother-daughter pair of the Chu family, he had been swindled down to his last underwear without even realizing he'd been cheated.

She likewise replied softly: "It's not worth it just to scam a meal."

The average price at that dessert shop isn't low; this kid could pay without blinking, so she's not someone short of money, and wouldn't need to scam a meal.

"I, I've finished ordering."

Pei Muyin spent half a day choosing dishes.

She was somewhat hesitant; although she had things she wanted to eat, she seemed afraid of being bothersome, so she didn't dare decide on her own, and in the end just weakly added a vegetable.

Shu Shu silently took in the scene, then after taking back the menu, under Pei Muyin's dazed gaze, added all the dishes she had lingered over.

Finally, she also ordered three bottles of milk.

Shu Lingchen raised his hand: "I request to swap one for a cola."

Shu Shu readily took over the conversation, telling the waiter, "Do you have sulfuric acid? If you have sulfuric acid, then replace his milk with sulfuric acid."

Shu Lingchen lowered his hand: "Then I'll still have milk."

The waiter, trying not to laugh, took the menu and left.

Shu Lingchen looked aggrieved, and even his turkey-nest hair drooped.

"I'm not forbidding you from drinking cola." Shu Shu said: "But you can't drink carbonated drinks like water all day; from now on you can only have one per week, and you already had yours yesterday, so your cola quota for this week is used up."

"Ah..." Shu Lingchen looked utterly lifeless.

Pei Muyin cautiously observed the interaction between Shu Shu and Shu Lingchen, glanced at the boy being cared for by the sister, and secretly felt a twinge of envy.

Before a few minutes had passed, the dishes arrived.

Shu Shu pointed at Pei Muyin and questioned: "You're going to eat, aren't you taking off your mask?"

Pei Muyin froze, instinctively touched her face, then felt the mask.

She then remembered she had been wearing a mask all along, so she reached to hook the strap behind her ear to take it off, but halfway through the motion she stopped, her breathing tightening.

Shu Shu: "What's wrong?"

Pei Muyin said in a low voice: "I... I'm ugly." She feared that Sister Mu Si would dislike her.