NOVPUBAll the way back to Black Street, I could feel that uncomfortable gaze lingering on me. Only after reaching Black Street did it finally disappear.
Whew. Finally shook them off.
Hmph. As expected, that stalker was just like me last night — unable to find Black Street.
If even someone like me, who's lived in this area for nearly twenty years, couldn’t find it, there’s no way someone else could. Heh.
The people on the street were sparse now. If it weren’t for the [Crowd Actor] titles floating above their heads, they would have looked like nothing more than ordinary pedestrians hurrying home.
Whether they were actually acting or just regular passersby didn’t matter. Either way, they weren’t targeting me. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
I couldn’t sense any ‘gaze’ from these people.
If they were monitoring me, I would have felt it for sure. Recently, my sensitivity to stares had increased far beyond normal, to the point of being almost neurotic. Maybe this was a subtle change brought on by my enhanced mental power.
But then, I couldn’t understand the purpose of them pretending to be passersby.
Was this what they meant by method acting? So immersed in their roles that they forgot their original purpose?
What was the point of that? These [Crowd Actors] were really confusing.
Back at Snowy Jiang’s place, I put down the pile of bags I was carrying and let out a long, exhausted sigh.
“Man... I’m beat...”
I pulled out two pairs of slippers from the bag — one for myself and the other for Snowy. After slipping them on, I suddenly remembered something.
“Ah, right. I still need to mop the floor. I forgot to buy a mop...”
Last night, I had walked in with my shoes on, so there must have been a lot of footprints left on the floor.
“Huh?”
The floor looked spotless. Even if my shoes were incredibly clean, there was no way I wouldn’t have left a single footprint.
Snowy looked indifferent as she put on the bunny slippers I bought her. A barely noticeable smile curved at the corner of her lips.
When I entered the living room, I was even more shocked.
“Huh? The lights are on?!”
What the hell? I had specifically bought a lamp for lighting purposes, and now the lights were fully operational?
Another strange occurrence. Just what the hell was going on?
No. This was too much. I couldn’t keep holding it in. I had to ask her directly.
“Snowy, there’s definitely someone else living here, right? What’s with these lights? Who installed them?”
Snowy thought for a moment before replying.
“Probably... the uncles.”
“The uncles?!”
“Mhm. Very convenient.”
Snowy nodded, her evaluation as casual as could be.
“Convenient?!”
Convenient in what way?!
My mind conjured up the disturbing image of Snowy, a little girl, surrounded by a bunch of uncles being ‘convenient’... Ugh, ugh, ugh! Even though the combination of old men and little girls was a common trope, this was just too unsettling! Too perverted! They weren’t even human!
...Wait. Wasn’t I describing myself?!
“Ahem, ahem, ahem...”
Why was I getting so worked up over nothing? Here I was, spiraling into my own depraved imagination.
It wasn’t even dark yet, and I was already having such inappropriate thoughts. Maybe it was because the room was too dim...
I rubbed my temples, sighed, and pressed the newly installed switch. The freshly installed living room light turned on, instantly illuminating the entire space. This was how a modern home should look. Using candles was just too bizarre.
“But still, these lights appeared at just the right time... It’s almost like someone is intentionally catering to our needs, perfectly timing everything.”
“Mhm. That’s it.”
“Hm? That’s it? What do you mean?”
Snowy tilted her head and picked up a note from the low table in the living room. Casually, she wrote down the words 'I want to eat ice cream.'
“Like this. Make a request.”
I seemed to grasp what she was trying to convey.
“And then the uncles you mentioned will grant it?”
“Mhm. When we’re not here, they’ll come by.”
“Ohhh... So that’s how it works...”
Were they some kind of butler-like figures?
So, it was these so-called uncles who prepared the hot water, drained the bath, cleaned the house, and even installed the lamp while we were out shopping?
They must have been hired to take care of Snowy specifically. After all, she clearly lacked basic common sense and didn’t seem capable of taking care of herself.
“In that case, we didn’t even need to go shopping at all. We could have just written out a shopping list, right?”
“...”
Snowy didn’t say anything. She just lowered her head and sat down on the sofa, her posture somewhat restrained.
It suddenly dawned on me. Why hadn’t she told me? Wasn’t the reason obvious? She just wanted to go out with me, that was all.
Ugh. Such a simple thing, and I hadn’t even noticed. My emotional intelligence was really abysmal...
Scratching the back of my head, I tried to dispel the awkwardness by speaking in a deliberately cheerful voice.
“So, Snowy, is there anything you want to eat? I bought a lot of ingredients. I can make all sorts of dishes.”
“As long as it’s made by you, anything is fine.”
“Ahaha. So I can make whatever I want? Even if it turns out to be horribly inedible, you still have to finish every bite, okay?”
“Mhm.”
Hah...
It felt like I was finally starting to understand how to get along with Snowy. It wasn’t that difficult after all...
Rolling my shoulders to loosen up, I walked into the kitchen and began preparing the meal.
Around 5:30 PM, I brought out two plates of seafood fried rice and set them on the dining table.
Snowy scooped a spoonful of rice and brought it to her mouth. Before she even swallowed, she was already taking another bite. Though her pace wasn’t fast, her actions were fluid, taking one small bite after another, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster as she chewed. It was... adorable.
This must be her way of showing that she liked it... Ha. It gave me a sense of accomplishment.
Now that I think about it, the sense of accomplishment I felt when I first met Snowy and successfully lent her the seat cushion was pretty similar to what I’m feeling now.
We continued eating dinner in silence.
It had been a long time since I’d experienced such a quiet meal. Back when my mom hadn’t moved into our house yet, my dad, Serena, and I used to eat dinner like this — in complete silence.
Back then, my dad was in charge of cooking. Heh. To be honest, my dad’s cooking skills were absolutely terrible. He could perform intricate, precise surgeries without a single error, but when it came to cooking, where there were no exact measurements, he was completely out of his depth.
Most recipes say things like “to taste” or “add as desired,” but my dad couldn’t handle that kind of ambiguity. The result? The food was either too salty or completely bland. But Serena still quietly ate everything on her plate, and so did my dad.
And after every meal, without fail, he’d say, “Next time, I’ll get it right.” Setting up another failure flag for the next meal. Heh...
Without realizing it... so much time has passed already...
I’m still the same as I was back then — haven’t grown at all.
Well... no. If I really think about it, I guess I have grown a little.
At least now, I’ve made some friends, haven’t I?
But I couldn’t help but wonder — when did Snowy start trusting me?
Was it just because of something as trivial as lending her a seat cushion that she decided to consider me a friend?
What exactly is a friend, anyway?
I don’t get it...
When do people decide to consider someone their friend?
Is it just because they’ve spoken a few times? Because they say hi often? Because they exchanged contact information? Or because they’ve taken a photo together?
Even if I consider someone a friend, how do I know if they see me as a friend too?
If I hadn’t suddenly gained the ability to perceive people’s emotions as colors, I wouldn’t have known that Snowy held good feelings toward me.
And then, maybe we wouldn’t have become friends...
“What exactly is a friend, anyway...?”
Ugh... Here I am, sitting here trying to define what a friend is. Do I come off as some kind of loner...?
“No need... for a definition.”
“Huh?”
“You’re a friend, Juncheng.”
“I know. I just... I’m just curious why you consider me a friend...”
Snowy didn’t answer. Instead, she swallowed the food in her mouth, stood up, and walked over to me. Without warning, she plopped herself onto my lap, leaning back against my chest. She tilted her head up and asked me,
“Juncheng, not eating?”
“Ah, actually, I’m not really that hungry.”
“Then... ah~”
Snowy opened her mouth, looking up at me like a baby bird waiting to be fed.
Heh. Does she want to eat my portion too?
She even opened her mouth, waiting for me to feed her. Isn’t she acting just like a pet now...?
“You’re really something, you know that?”
But... it’s not so bad.
After we finished dinner and rested for a while, I started thinking about leaving.
To think that I spent the first day of the Qingming holiday in a girl’s house... That’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me.
“Well, I guess it’s time for me to head home.”
“Not... staying tonight...?”
When she heard I was leaving, Snowy turned around and shifted so that she was now straddling my lap, facing me. She gripped my shirt, her expression downcast as she asked.
I recognized that look. It was the same look she had the first time she said “Fly away” to me at school — a subtle hint of reluctance.
Only this time, I could confirm it completely.
Her lips were slightly pursed, and her brows were slightly furrowed. I could clearly see her unwillingness and attachment.
Ugh... That’s too cute...
Seeing Snowy, who’s usually so expressionless, suddenly act like a pouting child... The gap moe was lethal. The impact was just too much!
How could I leave after seeing a face like that?
But if I stayed here, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to hold back and might end up doing something terrible.
“I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously. Honestly, it’s best if you stay just like this.”
A legal loli... Isn’t that the rarest of the rare?
Well, Kan Tsukiyo, that ghoul who’s lived who-knows-how-long, is an exception.
And Ms. Jane, who seems to have undergone some kind of genetic modification, is also an exception.
“Anyway, I’ll come by again some other time.”
I said as I lifted Snowy off my lap and set her back down. Then, I stood up, bent down to make eye contact with her, and smiled °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° as I asked,
“So, can I come over to your place again?”
Snowy blinked her big eyes, her expression softening. With a pure and straightforward look, she gave me a response that felt like the most natural thing in the world.
“Treat this place... like your home.”
In her innocent, naive way, she had already accepted me as one of her own.
