Is Cartethyia a Peeping Tom?

Just now... how long had she been looking at him?

Wuling's fingertips paused in midair, a faint question rising in his mind.

His attention had been focused entirely elsewhere before, so he hadn't noticed. It was only because Cartethyia had been staring so openly just now that Wuling had caught her.

"Twelve times. She sneaked twelve looks at you this morning."

Abu's voice rang out beside him, answering his question.

Wuling's heart gave a small jolt, and he instinctively asked in his mind, "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I guessed from your expression. Don't worry, I know what you're thinking. Even though the two of us are deeply bound, even I can't know what you're thinking without your permission."

I see. That's good.

Wuling breathed a small sigh of relief. As long as Abu couldn't read minds, that was fine. If Abu could know everything he thought from now on, he might as well be dead.

Wuling fell silent for a moment, then stole a glance in Cartethyia's direction.

The girl still had her head lowered, her long, pale-gold hair hanging down to hide most of her face. She looked completely absorbed in her work, but the faint blush around her ears had yet to fade.

Twelve times in a single morning.

Cartethyia, aren't you supposed to be a shy, beautiful girl? How did you become a peeping Tom too? That's not your character, is it?

Wait, why did I say "too"?

Beside him, two patches of crimson colored Cartethyia's fair little face beneath the cover of her long hair. Her two pale hands were unconsciously and rapidly smoothing the hair beside her ears.

What do I do? What do I do? I was sneaking looks at him, and he caught me! This is so mortifying!

At first, she'd only felt that Wuling seemed a little different from yesterday, but she was too embarrassed to ask him directly, so she'd sneaked a glance.

But that one glance had sent things completely out of control.

One glance, and Wuling seemed more handsome. Another glance, and his skin seemed a little fairer. Another, and his build seemed a little sturdier. Another, and even his bearing seemed somewhat different.

And so, again and again, she ended up looking at him about three times in almost every class.

Although she'd warned herself that it was very rude, she still hadn't been able to resist. And on that last look, her gaze had been too blatant, and he'd caught her. That was how she'd been found out.

But now that he's caught me, it's even harder to bring it up!

She didn't know whether he'd noticed the previous times. If he hadn't, that was fine, but if he had, she was done for.

He'll think I'm a pervert, won't he? He will, won't he? He definitely will!

[Cartethyia, I never expected you to be this kind of person. We should stop talking to each other. I'll ask the teacher to change my seat this afternoon.]

I don't want that to happen!

"Looks like Cartethyia's fretting so much she's about to start smoking."

Abu's little figure hovered beside Wuling's shoulder as he spoke softly in his mind, sounding somewhat entertained.

Wuling sighed silently to himself.

He didn't mind being noticed, but these inexplicable, repeated glances were really making his skin crawl. Was it simple curiosity, or something else?

He couldn't find an answer.

Just then, he heard a faint rustle of fabric.

Cartethyia finally straightened up slowly.

She carefully tucked her long hair behind her ear. Her ice-blue eyes darted toward him for an instant before she hurriedly looked away, as though even the briefest eye contact would reveal everything on her mind.

Cartethyia gently bit her lower lip. After much hesitation, she finally took a deep breath and turned toward him.

Her gaze settled hesitantly on Wuling, and her voice was faint, with an almost imperceptible tremble.

"Um... Wuling."

"Hm? What is it?"

Wuling did his best to make his tone sound casual and natural.

Cartethyia paused for a few seconds, as if choosing her words.

"It's... it's nothing particularly important..."

Her voice grew quieter as she went on. "It's just, I feel like you're a little different today than before."

As soon as she said it, she lowered her gaze and stared at her desk, not daring to meet his eyes again. She waited for his answer, her heart pounding in her chest.

Something stirred in Wuling's mind.

Different?

Is it a change in my aura after the system strengthened my constitution and spirit?

Is that why she kept looking at me? That seems to be the only explanation that makes sense.

He remained composed, showing no sign that anything was amiss. He merely tilted his head slightly, looking a little puzzled.

"Different? Am I? I haven't noticed anything myself. What's different?"

Cartethyia was taken aback by the question.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't find the right words to describe that elusive feeling.

"I... I can't put it into words."

She shook her head shyly, the tips of her ears turning even redder.

"It's just a vague feeling. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Sorry for bothering you."

With that, she hastily turned back around and started gathering her things to leave her seat, intending to escape the suffocating awkwardness as quickly as possible.

"It's all right. It's about time anyway. Come on, shall we go to the cafeteria together?"

"Okay."

The moment those words slipped out instinctively, Cartethyia froze.

It's over. It's all over.

But she'd already said it, and she was too embarrassed to take it back, so she could only steel herself and follow him.

Fortunately, neither of them was usually very talkative, so the whole walk passed in silence.

When they reached the cafeteria, Wuling told Cartethyia to get her food first and wait for him at their usual spot.

As for Calcharo and Lingyang, Lingyang had said that Calcharo had led them the wrong way again, so it would probably be a while before they arrived.

Of course, even if they did arrive, they wouldn't come over.

While getting his food, Wuling spotted something unusual among the innovative dishes.

Orange juice guobaorou.

He hesitated briefly, but curiosity ultimately got the better of reason, and he decided to buy a portion and try it. After all, both were sweet, so they should taste about the same, right?

But that thought vanished the moment he took his first bite.

So sweet!

This can't be right. Why is it so sweet? How much sugar did they put in it? It must be nearly twice as sweet as ordinary guobaorou, right? Maybe even more?

Even for an innovative dish, this is going too far.

Fortunately, he hadn't taken much: only five pieces in total, and four remained. Though wasting food was somewhat shameful, he felt that if he ate any more, he would end up with high blood sugar.

As for Cartethyia beside him, she had merely dipped her chopsticks in a little of the guobaorou sauce, and her expression had changed after tasting it.

"Good nooning, Wuling. May we sit here?"

Wuling looked up to see Xigelika and Danya standing nearby with their trays.

Noticing Wuling's slightly puzzled look, Xigelika smiled sheepishly.

"We came a little late today, and there aren't many seats left in the cafeteria. We happened to see you here, so we thought we'd ask."

"Oh, I see. No problem. Please, make yourselves comfortable."

The two pulled out chairs and sat down one after the other.

As soon as Xigelika sat down, her eyes went straight to the brightly colored orange juice guobaorou on Wuling's tray, her face full of curiosity.

"Wow! Wuling, you actually dared to get this new dish!"

Xigelika spoke in an exaggerated tone, looking as though she'd suffered terribly from it.

"I heard my classmates complaining like crazy this morning. This orange juice guobaorou is so sweet it's sickening. Hardly anyone can stomach it."

Wuling didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He gently poked the four remaining pieces of guobaorou with a fingertip.

"I just took a bite and found that out for myself. It's ridiculously sweet. I can't eat it at all. What a waste."

"Wuling, if you don't want it, can I have it?"