Chapter 286, Change the perspective and scare you

"いってらっしゃい~"

Ling stood in the house and said goodbye very naturally, and deliberately used Neon's unique way of bending, which made Zhuo look at himself.

Zhuo's friends always say that she is like his newlywed wife, and this feeling may be even stronger now. Of course, Ling's actions were intentional, but she is usually so diligent and considerate, and from the perspective of others, she is indeed like a newlywed wife. Thinking of this, Ling felt an inexplicable emotion.

"...Oh...I'm going out..."

Ling was puzzled by Zhuo's obvious dullness, or stiffness, but her emotional expression was so calm that she might not have noticed. Zhuo just waved at her vaguely, then walked to the elevator, and then the elevator door closed and he left.

Zero watched his figure disappear for the last time, then turned around and closed the door.

She first went to the bathroom, then went into her room to get a change of clothes.

After coming out of the bedroom, Ling thought for a moment, then squatted down beside the snack box in the kitchen. There were many things in the snack box neatly stacked into three rows, and the two of them could take them freely.

Of course, they would write their names on the food they didn't want the other to eat, but other than that, they shared everything. Although people often said that the hatred of snatching food was terrible, they were not that obsessed with food and got along peacefully.

They prepared a shared snack box, but because they each put in the snacks that they liked or recommended and hoped the other person would try, the snack box was never short of food.

Zhuo would put some new products that Ling would not eat much but were relatively novel, both sweet and salty, while Ling would put more sweet snacks. But this was just a matter of preference, she would sometimes eat salty snacks. If there was a real reason, it was because Ling found that he had no snacks to recommend to Zhuo.

Before this, their lifestyles were like two different worlds. Zero could imagine the joy of sharing, but she really had nothing to share.

……

I still remember that period of time, because Zhuo always quietly bought baked snacks that Ling would like, she had to check the expiration date frequently. After all, they were all bought from a pastry shop, and the expiration date was much shorter than that of packaged products with more additives.

Zhuo seemed to have become more aware of these things after living with Ling. He put the baked snacks that were placed farther out of the box because they were approaching their expiration date on a plate and took them over.

"I just grabbed some of them. Are these okay?"

"Thank you for getting these for me. I should have been the one to get them now that I don't have to cook."

"But I'm closer to the kitchen, and it's what I want to eat, so don't worry about it."

Zhuo chuckled and sat down. Ling, who was about to stand up, also sat back, accepted Zhuo's kindness, picked up a bag of biscuits and opened the package.

Although Ling doesn't have any snacks to recommend or share, she likes to eat some sweeter snacks. The baked snacks that Zhuo bought for Ling because he understood her hobby are just right for her.

Ling was careful not to drop any crumbs and took a light bite. The rich milky aroma filled his mouth and nose.

Even so, it doesn't make people feel sick, but the taste is quite refreshing. Although Ling was very concerned about what kind of recipe it was, after all, it was just a matter of words and he couldn't always rely on the word spirit to check it, so he just tasted it carefully.

She ate the biscuits in small bites while sighing that Zhuo's taste and the sensitivity of his tongue were indeed good. Zhuo looked at her with some satisfaction in his eyes for some reason.

Although this wasn't meant to tease Zero, this warm gaze always made Zero feel concerned.

"Is there a problem."

After Ling ate all the cookies, he asked Zhuo. Zhuo replied with a somewhat awkward tone, "Well, how should I put it?"

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"I, I don't mean that. ...I just think you're so cute, like a little animal."

“…Is this a compliment to me?”

"I was going to compliment you."

This should be what Zhuo felt when he saw her eating. Ling felt embarrassed and happy at the same time. She couldn't look Zhuo in the eye, so she turned her head and stared at the table without moving.

"...It really caught me off guard to do this all of a sudden."

Basically, Zhuo is a person who doesn't lie. Although there are times when he wants to hide something and get away with it, he won't lie to hurt others.

Because he was a person who seemed to be not frank but was actually very upright, Ling felt even more embarrassed. Fortunately, her face never showed any expression, so it would not be exposed.

I'm obviously used to being praised and stared at by others, but I always act like this when the other person is wrong.

Zhuo himself still looks indifferent, but his expression is very calm (listless). He is always the one who speaks the least in public, and if others don't talk to him, he may always be a bystander. But when he is alone, he becomes a person who can clearly speak his mind... In a sense, his nature is even worse.

In addition, Zhuo was very attentive to Ling's feelings. Not only this time, but his every move often became bad for Ling's heart.

Recently, after Ling started working, when he knew that Ling would come home late every day, he would sit on the sofa and wait for her to come in calmly. After making sure that she could see Zhuo after coming in, he would go back to the bedroom to sleep. Instead of returning home, Ling would see the living room was dark and everyone was asleep.

In fact, Ling doesn't really care about these things, but he does it every day without any trouble.

When they walked together, he would match Zero's pace and walk quietly on the side of the driveway. He would rush over to do the chores after Zero finished cooking, and he would immediately notice when Zero was not feeling well and take care of him without leaving any trace.

He is also surprisingly sensitive to changes in appearance, but he never says it. However, his eyes are very direct and he can always keenly notice changes in Ling's hairstyle and clothing.

Besides, after learning how powerful his ability was, Ling became even more suspicious of why Zhuo was in such a mess before... He only went to the forest and got scratches everywhere, and his wrist was also broken. If he had this ability, this situation would not have happened... So, he didn't have the ability at that time, right?

And after he left for the second time, why did he give up the bottom line that he had always insisted on even if he had to sneak back in a disgraceful manner?

There is no need to think about this at all.

It must be me.

Ling did hear the conversation between Zhuo and Zero that day. She was glad that they didn't fight that day, and she was also glad that Zhuo didn't mention what happened that day again.

Perhaps he gave up his previous insistence just to be able to stand there.

It was because of his concession that Ling no longer felt embarrassed.

Of course, Ling was very grateful to Zhuo for eliminating these difficulties that were not easy to notice, but being able to do these things very naturally without saying anything also made Ling feel that he would be really extraordinary in the future.

At first, Ling thought Zhuo was unreliable, rude, casual and sloppy in his actions, but as long as he changed his sloppy and cold habits, it became obvious that he actually had a very ideal character.

Yes, Zhuo is a very good neighbor, a very good friend, and also a very good——

When Zero thought about this, he suddenly realized that he couldn't think any further and shook his head. "It was obviously me who made this carefree boy become so unconfident..."

"what happened to you?"

Seeing Ling suddenly shaking his head, Zhuo seemed a little surprised. Hearing his worried voice, Ling tried his best to hide his inner turmoil, and when he looked up again, his face was as calm as still water.

"…I was wondering why you are so unlucky in love."

"I always feel like someone is going to quarrel with me suddenly."

This time, Ling didn't make her words clear. If she didn't know what she was thinking, it would sound like she was making fun of Zhuo.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I just simply find it incredible that you are a good person, but no one has confessed to you."

"Even if you say that, it just makes me feel like you're saying I don't have any luck with women. But I won't get involved with other girls at all. I think before you talk about whether I have any luck with women, there's a more fundamental problem..."

Zhuo only has some connection with Yamamoto Yurina at school. Rather than being aloof, he gives people a gloomy impression. Plus, he doesn't like to join in the fun, so it's understandable that he's always alone.

"And I don't want to be lucky in love."

"Is this so?"

"What's that look in your eyes? Do you want to fight?... I don't know what other boys think, but I don't particularly want to have a girlfriend right now. ... The person you want to spend the rest of your life with will appear one day, so there's no need to rely on luck for romance now."

Hearing Zhuo mumbling softly, which was a bit difficult to say and obviously with some shyness, Ling felt a warm current deep in her heart. This warm current seemed to flow through her blood vessels and fill her whole body, making her involuntarily avoid Zhuo's eyes.

"...You are really so."

"What? Are you trying to say that I'm too dreamy?"

"No, I think you're great. You're a very loyal person."

"…I feel like I'm being laughed at, so I have to fight today, right?"

"Why do you understand it like this, ah——"

Ling really didn't know why Zhuo interpreted her words in a strange way. She sighed and poked Zhuo's waist, and Zhuo raised his eyebrows in embarrassment and turned his head away.

His mouth seemed to move slightly, but no matter how Ling asked, he couldn't get any words out of his mouth.

……

Ling took his usual indoor clothes and some baked snacks and walked to the bathroom. Sure enough, he saw that the bath water was already prepared in the bathroom, and the temperature of the pool was just right.
It's so obvious.

She reminded herself to run the bath water before going out. This kind of arrangement of her doing things was basically unprecedented. So Zhuo ran the bath water before going out, just to remind herself to "remember to use it".

Even though he knew Zhuo had already left, Ling still turned around and looked in that direction, then turned on the shower to rinse off the sweat on his body.

She has already worked for nine hours today, working at a restaurant at five in the morning, working at a convenience store in the morning, selling flyers at noon, and working at an izakaya in the evening... For Zero, these are nothing.

Or to put it the opposite, Zero felt that he was bragging again.

Nowadays, the financial issues of life alone have occupied most of her time, so how can she say that she can "agree to any request you make"?

But Ling didn't hate this kind of life, and this kind of busyness was nothing to her. To be honest, Ling was grateful that the economic problem could be solved so easily. If Zhuo would be like other men and not let her give "this", she would feel her incompetence.

Although she leads a busy, mediocre but satisfying life, Zero has little tolerance for dirt, and come to think of it, she also likes taking a bath.

After carefully washing away the dirt on her body and hair and then sitting in the bathtub, she had an illusion that the fatigue in her mind and body was also dissolved.

This is of course impossible.

I was probably quite tired, but after relaxing in the water, I felt my fatigue melt away.

Ling lay down in the bathtub and relaxed, exhaled lightly, letting the hot water of just the right temperature soak his whole body.

There was no bath agent in the water, so it was transparent. She looked at her body, and her breath turned into a sigh.

"……fraud."

At the beginning, Zhuo said to her, "How do you know you're not interested? Maybe I just like your type." Later, he said, "I like three-no lolita." However, their relationship was not that close during that time. Compared with now, the relationship is naturally far worse. But the words he said at that time, I have never heard them again.

Ling never slacks off in her efforts to improve herself on a daily basis, and in these aspects she has made efforts that others cannot match.

But if it was about the body, she wouldn't be able to help... For example, if he really liked girls with big breasts, or only had desires for that type, Zero would be helpless.

Thinking of this, Zero couldn't help but sigh again.

The comfortable warmth and the sleepiness that came after exhaustion caressed Ling gently, causing her helpless sigh to dissolve in the water.

After that, Ling almost fell forward and dozed off in the bathtub until Zhuo came home and didn't hear any sound from her, so he woke her up through the bathroom door.

"Princess, can you hybrids also breathe with gills...like dragons?"

"I'm sorry. I was careless."

Zhuo complained to her with a red face, while Ling admitted his mistake obediently.

Ling didn't know whether the blush on Zhuo's face was due to anger or shyness - when Zhuo was checking on Ling's condition, he slightly opened the bathroom door and looked inside, and it seemed that he just happened to see Ling's upper body - in any case, he was definitely shy.

This unrelated matter made Ling feel inexplicably happy.

Thirty centimeters of water can cause a person to drown, so it was natural for Zhuo to be angry. Moreover, he couldn't swim, so he felt particularly uneasy about such things.

If I really want to explain myself - Zero was just a little confused at the time.

That situation was not considered complete sleep, but just that his consciousness was testing the edge of the sea of ​​sleepiness. If his body was balanced, Zero believed that he would definitely bump into the bathtub and wake up.

And——I saw it. I saw Zhuo’s eyes suddenly widen when he poked his face in.

(End of this chapter)