Chapter 52: Sitting on Her Lap
The pheromones quickly fluctuated to their highest threshold, and the subsequent soothing process went more and more smoothly, even ending much faster than the first time.
After making sure Zhu Yiqiao was alright, Ming Fei released her hand.
The pheromone concentration in the room gradually decreased, but the raccoon cat’s tail still lingered around the small sweet pear. Ming Fei, sensing its reluctance, subtly slowed down the rate at which she withdrew her pheromones.
It wasn’t until the last trace of pheromone fragrance disappeared that the raccoon cat released its tail and returned to the mountains.
The surging tide of fragrance finally receded, and the bright light clearly illuminated Ming Fei’s flushed ears. Besides her ears, the fleeting kiss on the cheek had also caused her face to redden slightly.
In contrast, Zhu Yiqiao was very calm, at least seemingly unperturbed on the surface.
She asked, “Did your gland hurt during the guidance just now?”
Ming Fei replied, “No, and I didn’t feel any other discomfort either.”
“Mm.”
Ming Fei asked, “What about Jiejie?”
“My pheromones should have already given you the answer.”
After saying that, Zhu Yiqiao stood up and handed her the gift on the table: “I really like the Grape-faced Bellflower Orchid Drum you gave me. This is my return gift. I put the souvenir I brought back for Zaozao in her toy room.”
The corners of Ming Fei’s lips curved upwards: “I’m glad you like it. Thank you, Jiejie.”
The light green gift box was decorated with a bouquet of flowers in the center and velvet star grass on all four sides, as if containing a touch of spring. Ming Fei took the gift, smiled, and said goodnight to Zhu Yiqiao before leaving.
By the time she returned to the second-floor bedroom, the blush on Ming Fei’s face had completely faded.
She placed the gift box on the table, took a picture of it, and then started unwrapping it. She carefully put the decorative flowers and velvet star grass into a light apricot storage box.
The ribbon came off, and the lid opened automatically, releasing a very light floral fragrance.
Inside was a floating protective cover, like a light blue glass dome. As she reached out and touched the glass halo, the sensor light faded, revealing the real gift hidden within.
A brilliant galaxy, with a blazing sun and a bright moon coexisting. A technologically eternal rose bush made of metal, each leaf sparkling with starlight. The light green petals were delicate and fragrant, layered and intertwined, so lifelike that it was impossible to tell they were made of metal.
Stars also reflected in Ming Fei’s eyes, and the dimples on her cheeks deepened.
It was a beautiful and unique gift.
When she was thirteen, she had read a book called “Roses and Stars.” The race in this book was completely different from humans. They were all female, named the Rose Clan by the universe, living on the beautiful and unique Rose Star, with faces as beautiful as roses.
She had even shared this book with One Raccoon Hill, and they had chatted a lot, even sharing some fantasies.
[One Raccoon Hill: What’s your favorite color rose?]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: Green, the jade on the branches and leaves of the Tree of Mystical Jade is mostly green ^^]
[Tree of Mystical Jade: If Rose Star really existed, then we could see green roses under the sun and moon.]
[One Raccoon Hill: You will see it.]
And after all this time, she really did see it.
What a coincidence. Ming Fei thought happily.
She hadn’t expected to see this scene in this way. The stars in her eyes sparkled even brighter. After repeatedly admiring it, she carefully placed the gift in the study and sent a message to Zhu Yiqiao.
[Thank you, Jiejie, I like it very much.]
[Goodnight.]
[[Kitten rolling up in a blanket.jpg]]
Seven o’clock in the morning.
The alarm in the master bedroom was turned off as soon as it rang.
Because she had an early class today, Ming Fei woke up earlier. After washing up, she didn’t wake Ming Zaozao, just gently pushed open the door, glanced inside, and left.
The chef in the kitchen had already arrived. Ming Fei didn’t have much of an appetite, so she took a sandwich and planned to eat it on the way.
Leaving the living room and entering the garden, Ming Fei stopped.
Because the rose bushes that had been picked clean had been replaced with… new Blue Fia lilies. Snowflakes fell on the butterfly-wing blue petals, exactly like the Blue Fia promotional images she had seen on the public network.
A minute later, her phone beeped with a new message notification, and Ming Fei shifted her gaze to the display screen.
[Li Xing: Are there any visitors to your academy today?]
Snowflakes brushed against her cheek. Ming Fei glanced at the Blue Fia lilies again, took a picture, and then left. As she sat in the self-driving car, before even putting down her briefcase, she replied to Li Xing’s message.
[Mm, yes.]
[A company wants to collaborate with our academy’s lab.]
After replying to her friend, Ming Fei clicked on the chat page with Zhu Yiqiao, first sending a regular “good morning” emoji, followed by a “kitten thanking” emoji.
[I saw the Blue Fia lilies Jiejie brought back when I passed by the garden.]
[They’re very beautiful, thank you, Jiejie.]
The daily weather forecast started playing. Ming Fei listened to the broadcast while eating her sandwich. She received Li Xing’s reply halfway through her journey.
[Just saw the news in the group chat, it’s actually the Luci Group.]
[This group is a rising star. My mother collaborated with them before. She told me that their top management is very young, and also has black hair and black eyes like you.]
Before this, Ming Fei had no impression of this group, and she didn’t need to attend the meeting with the Luci Group because she had classes. She sent Li Xing several emojis, quickly finished the rest of her sandwich, and the car arrived at its destination.
Although she only had morning classes today, because of the Luci Group’s investment, she had to go to the lab after class.
According to Ming Fei’s plan, she would probably be home around three in the afternoon. But in reality, she and Teacher Wen from her group worked in the lab until five o’clock, finally completing the latest modification tests for the experimental group.
The sky outside was dark. After finishing her work, Ming Fei left the lab with Teacher Wen and happened to run into the dean, who was leaving with the people from the Luci Group. Her gaze met the woman surrounded by the others.
Like a fierce wolf on the grasslands. This was Ming Fei’s first impression.
The woman was dressed in a black suit, about 180 centimeters tall, with shoulder-length black hair, and slightly upturned black phoenix eyes that exuded a hint of coldness.
Meeting her gaze, Ming Fei smiled politely.
The dean stopped: “President Xu, this is Teacher Ming, the youngest teacher in our academy. Teacher Ming is young and promising, having won the SERT Intelligent Robot Competition medal during her studies, breaking the ten-year record of the previous winner.”
The SERT Intelligent Robot Competition was the most prestigious competition in the industry. Ming Fei, whose name had been called, could only stand there, listening to the dean continue talking.
It wasn’t until the photo session that Ming Fei realized that the person surrounded by the others was the top executive of the Luci Group. Because they were standing close together, she inadvertently glanced at a red tattoo on the other person’s wrist.
It looked a bit like a flower.
But also a bit like some kind of animal.
Ming Fei suddenly thought of Xue Xun.
After the dean left with the Luci Group, Teacher Wen reminded Ming Fei to post the group photo on her public account, as required by the internal group rules.
Ming Fei agreed.
Because she had set access restrictions, her public account only accepted followers she knew. Besides Li Xing and her colleagues from school, only Lan Lubai and Xue Xun followed her.
As the evening snow began to fall, Ming Fei quickly logged into her public account, posted the photo following Teacher Wen’s format, and then drove away from school.
Only Ming Fei was home when she returned.
Because tomorrow was a public holiday, Lan Lubai and Min Man, who had returned from Silla, took advantage of the holiday and came to the villa to pick up Ming Zaozao right after work. This had been agreed upon at noon. After receiving Lan Lubai’s call, Ming Fei even video called Ming Zaozao to ask for her opinion.
Ming Zaozao happily agreed in the video and even blew a kiss to Ming Fei.
At seven o’clock in the evening, after having dinner alone, Ming Fei watched a futuristic adventure movie in the living room. To enhance the atmosphere, 0619 immediately brought Ming Fei a drink, and 008, not to be outdone, brought a slice of mille-feuille cake.
Ming Fei glanced at the tall glass and asked, puzzled,
“What is this?”
0619 replied, “Teacher Xiao Fei, this is a gift from Executive Lan. She said she specially brought it back from Silla and asked you to try it.”
“Okay.”
The movie on the floating screen was very exciting. Ming Fei took a sip of the light purple liquid in the tall glass, and after finding it delicious, she continued drinking. After finishing the entire glass, the movie screen suddenly became blurry, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes seemed to be covered with mist.
So—
When Zhu Yiqiao entered the living room, dusted with snow, she immediately noticed that the person on the sofa was completely drunk.
She took off her cloak and approached the drunk Ming Fei. When she was a few steps away from the sofa, Ming Fei blinked her misty almond eyes and softly called her,
“…Jiejie.”
Zhu Yiqiao paused: “Mm.”
008 and 0619 on both sides saw through the situation. When Zhu Yiqiao reached the edge of the sofa, they immediately turned off the movie and left the living room under the pretense of going on patrol.
Zhu Yiqiao stood in front of Ming Fei, letting her hold her hand, and looked down at her.
“You’re drunk.”
“Drunk?” Ming Fei shook her head. “I’m not drunk, and I don’t drink alcohol.”
She continued to ask softly, “Why are you only back now?”
“Work matters.” Zhu Yiqiao asked her, “Have you had dinner?”
Ming Fei nodded obediently: “Mm, I ate.”
Zhu Yiqiao: “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“No.”
Drunk people usually didn’t realize they were drunk, and their behavior and cognition would be different from usual.
Like Lan Lubai, for example. Zhu Yiqiao knew that after getting drunk, she would think she was a parrot, a parrot searching for its past owner. She observed the changes in Ming Fei’s expression, trying to figure out what she was thinking.
And the soft and harmless Ming Fei suddenly pulled Zhu Yiqiao, causing her to sit down on Ming Fei’s lap.
This sudden situation was a bit unexpected. Ming Fei seemed to be shy, or perhaps she felt she had done something wrong, her clear eyes blinking.
Just as Zhu Yiqiao thought she would apologize in the next second, she only asked softly,
“Jiejie, are we… friends?”
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t hesitate: “Yes.”
And more than that. She didn’t say this part out loud.
Ming Fei’s lips curved into a smile, as bright as a spring morning.
“Okay,” she said, “Then I guessed right.”
Zhu Yiqiao: “What were you guessing?”
Ming Fei didn’t speak, becoming like a mimosa plant.
Seeing this, Zhu Yiqiao changed her approach, because the drunk Ming Fei was truly too obedient.
“After the online friend you knew on ‘Supporters of the Rose’ deleted her account, did you ever resent her?”
“No,” Ming Fei quickly said, “I never resented her.”
Because they were watching a movie, the main lights in the living room had been turned off long ago. Now, only a warm, retro wall lamp and the moonlight from the French windows illuminated the room.
As light and shadows flickered, Zhu Yiqiao and Ming Fei’s eyes met. They were so close that every glance felt like a kiss on the lips.
Zhu Yiqiao said, “You should resent her.”
Ming Fei was very firm: “I shouldn’t. She was very good to me, taking care of me… like a Jiejie.”
“Jiejie?”
“Mm, that’s what she said. She didn’t say we were friends, but she said something similar.”
Ming Fei’s memory was suddenly pulled back to her childhood, as if she was back to the moment she was told she was being abandoned, reliving the recurring nightmare of being discarded.
The mist in her eyes turned into crystal tears. She silently shed a tear, like a small animal suddenly abandoned by its group, filled with grievance and sadness.
“…She left me, and I couldn’t find her.”
“We promised to exchange gifts and meet again if we had the chance.”
From childhood to adulthood, except for the period when her gland was injured, Ming Fei had never cried in front of others. She wasn’t a crybaby. She knew that tears were useless, at least in her life, no one cared about her tears.
But now, her belated tears scalded Zhu Yiqiao.
“I’m sorry.”
Ming Fei’s eyes were still slightly moist: “Why are you saying sorry?”
“Will you remember this when you’re sober?”
Ming Fei shook her head, snapping out of her sadness, the remaining tears disappearing completely. She even earnestly promised, because of Zhu Yiqiao’s question,
“Jiejie, I really didn’t secretly drink alcohol.”
She raised her right hand and said, “If I secretly drank alcohol, I’m a puppy.”
Zhu Yiqiao’s answer seemed unrelated to Ming Fei’s promise, but every word was exceptionally clear.
“Because I am her.”
She paused: “One Raccoon Hill, it’s me.”
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