Seele Is Adorable

After making Su Qing'an wait a few more minutes, Fu Hua appeared before the two of them, dressed neatly. She had tied her long gray hair into a low ponytail, revealing part of her fair neck.

Perhaps because of the time constraint, the girl only washed the hair on her forehead. As the two drew closer, a faint fragrance wafted into their nostrils.

This should smell like shampoo, with a subtle blend of vanilla, milk, and musk. To sum it up, it's a bit like chilled cream with a slightly muted fragrance, yet still refreshing.

Since it was winter, Fu Hua, as always, applied lipstick, and the slightly brightened lip color made her lips look moist and soft.

Su Qing'an could tell from the various scents on her that her lipstick was strawberry-flavored. At the same time, he also noticed the girl's slightly disordered breathing and her feigned indifference.

She seemed to be concealing the fact that she was in a bit of a hurry, trying her best to appear relaxed and natural. The young man wisely chose not to expose her, and he didn't intend to mention at all that the girl hadn't replied to his messages.

In a sense, this made Fu Hua's previously imagined useless battle plan even more worthless. At this moment, she focused her attention on the little girl wearing dinosaur pajamas next to Su Qing'an and quickly understood the intention in the boy's message.

While this outfit, which resembles pajamas, is undeniably cute, it's not suitable for wearing outside. If you're planning to take her shopping for clothes, borrowing some of your own clothes as a temporary solution would be a perfectly reasonable request.

But... just how many layers of clothing are stuffed inside those pajamas?

It must have been Master Su who did it.

This was a very characteristic of his style, leaving Fu Hua momentarily speechless.

The gazes slowly gathering around her left her no time to think about such things. The little guy had only been there for a short while when some students were already sitting in the nearby pavilion and on the benches, politely watching him.

Their gazes lingered on Seele and Su Qing'an, and their soft conversation, aside from discussing their outfits, mostly consisted of hesitation about whether or not to greet them.

Of course, it would be even better if you could pinch the little girl's tail and cheeks, rub her head, and then ask for a spot as a teenage friend.

Fu Hua herself felt somewhat uncomfortable under such gazes, Seele felt even more so. She lowered her eyes and stared at her toes, choosing to hide behind Su Qing'an as if that way she wouldn't be seen.

The little girl's fingers, hidden in the fabric, gripped his clothes tightly, as if urging Su Qing'an to leave quickly.

Seele's timid appearance is truly endearing, and her self-deceptive behavior only amplifies her charmingly naive nature.

In a girls' school like this, such behavior only makes the girls' maternal instincts more easily overflow, resulting in the audience's gaze becoming increasingly eager and a restless atmosphere gradually spreading.

Of the three, only Su Qing'an remained unmoved, while the other two felt increasingly uncomfortable.

Su Qing'an maintained his calm and composed expression. Compared to the stares he encountered at the St. Freya Academy, this situation was nothing. Besides, he was used to ignoring other people's gazes.

But noticing that Seele was pulling harder on his clothes, he said to Fu Hua:

"Anyway, give me the clothes first."

Fu Hua obediently handed the bag in her hand to Su Qing'an, but her heart was pounding with anxiety, wondering if Master Su would take this opportunity to bring up old grievances.

Being patted on the head in front of so many people right now would be like public humiliation, and most importantly, she had only washed the front of her hair due to time constraints. Under these circumstances, she absolutely did not want her head to be patted.

But Su Qing'an seemed to have no intention of bringing this up at all; he simply began to introduce the little girl next to him:

"Her name is Seele Fulei. I just found her and took her in yesterday. I hope you two can get along well."

After remembering the little girl's name Fu Hua nodded in agreement.

But suddenly she realized a crucial issue, Su Qing'an's previous statement that if she didn't live in her own home, she would have to sleep on the streets came to mind.

However, let's now look at the specific circumstances of this person's first day in Canghai City for a real comparison.

Within hours, the boy had found a place to work and live, and even had the energy to take in others.

Master Su, couldn't you have easily become a thriving individual in just one day?

The sob story about having to spend a miserable time on a park bench if she didn't stay at his house was clearly a lie.

While Fu Hua was internally complaining about this, she subconsciously began to deduce why Su Qing'an had lied.

This person doesn't like to lie, so it's strange that he would lie.

Fu Hua could only interpret it this way: he had a reason that compelled him to lie.

This reason, which seemed almost effortless to come up with, laid bare the answer, like a shimmering arc of light revealed behind a thin veil.

[Because if you don't lie, you have no reason to continue living in your own home.]

In an instant, Fu Hua realized that she had understood something extraordinary.

The girl's fair face was flushed with a rosy blush, and even her blue eyes seemed to be misty with tears. Her gaze involuntarily drifted elsewhere, and she could no longer make normal eye contact with the other person.

Even if I had a suspicion in my heart, this little Easter egg hidden in life stirred up waves that spread throughout my body the moment it was unintentionally revealed.

This made the girl feel weak all over, as if her toes were walking on clouds, and the light, floating sensation felt almost dreamlike.

Master Su is... such a bad person.

This was clearly a premeditated and deliberate approach; to put it bluntly, it was as if he already had feelings for her the day after she picked him up.

Fu Hua wanted to yell at him, but she felt too guilty.

On the very day they first met, it was she who was following Su Qing'an...

If it were any premeditated, then in a sense, I was the same; words of accusation simply wouldn't come out.

Su Qing'an's gaze towards Fu Hua became puzzled; was something wrong with Hua today?

Is it because sleeping too much has made me less alert?

The boy handed the lunchbox to Seele, freeing his hand.

Then, under the little girl's curious gaze as she tilted her head, he poked Fu Hua's blushing cheek with his fingertip.

The soft yet slightly warm touch resonated deep within my heart as my fingertips sank into her soft flesh.

He was immediately met with the increasingly clear and lucid gaze of the other person, who seemed to be gradually becoming more awake. Su Qing'an withdrew his hand, took back the lunchbox from the little girl's arms, and asked softly:

"Is Hua still half asleep? Why is her face so red for no reason?"

Fu Hua silently recited the Sword Heart Technique calm her mind; she clearly didn't have the lingering interest to dwell on the little gesture of having her cheek pinched.

The girl, her face still warm from the heat, tried to answer in a soft tone:

Nothing happened.

Just like Su Qing'an said, I wasn't fully awake.

Couldn't you have come up with a slightly different excuse?

The boy tried his best to suppress his laughter, preventing his lips from curving upwards.

To prevent her from throwing a tantrum, Su Qing'an nodded in agreement with a serious expression, which made the little girl breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Seele had been secretly observing Fu Hua, made her own judgment based on the myriad details displayed by the two within that minute.

Seele had already learned from Su Qing'an's tone that he was the person she liked, and this innate good impression meant that she wouldn't deliberately resist contacting him.

Even so, there is still a certain psychological barrier to asking Seele to accept communication with a stranger in a short period of time.

Furthermore, if she feels that the other person has any quality that she dislikes, the little girl will refuse to speak her true feelings.

Looking at it now, there's nothing about this older sister that she instinctively dislikes.

Seele's only thought was that she was so innocent that even bystanders found her adorable.

Su Qing'an hadn't even done anything yet, and she was already completely routed.

If those two were to do the same thing they saw in the dark alley, wouldn't they just faint?

No, this is absolutely unacceptable.

In this situation, someone would need to press ten fast-forward buttons to get to the desired result in one go.

Even though she had no experience and no particular thoughts about it, the little girl inexplicably began to examine the atmosphere between the two from a superior perspective.

While it was indeed very innocent, its purity was clearly disproportionate to the strange images in my memories during my wanderings, but...

That's so interesting!

Let's watch quietly for a little while longer.

The little girl huddled to one side, her eyes, hidden beneath a dinosaur hat, intently watching the two of them, gradually making her forget the gazes around her.

This state can be summarized as a peculiar pattern of forgetting oneself while enjoying the gossip.

Meanwhile, Fu Hua tried to calm herself down. She understood that Su Qing'an wanted her to meet the other party. If Seele would continue to be adopted by Master Su, then the two of them would eventually have some interaction. Therefore, initial contact was obviously necessary.

So she's currently struggling with how to greet the child.

Although her awareness has improved slightly, her poor social skills and inarticulateness remain unchanged.

However, Fu Hua understands, at least for now, that it is inappropriate for this little guy to directly and proactively discuss her background.

Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward, Su Qing'an decided to hand the lunchbox she was holding to the other person, temporarily ending the meeting.

Seele was surprisingly shy, yet understandably so. She had no trouble communicating with me, and even used her words to tease me in some situations.

But when facing strangers, she becomes completely like a frightened little animal, even obediently putting on the hat that some people had previously objected to her wearing.

A typical example of someone who "bullies their own kind."

Hua herself is not good at communicating, and even someone as proactive as Lin Xinchán, coupled with the fact that they are neighbors, was only able to become friends with her, which is enough to reveal a lot about the situation.

For example, right now, she's probably still racking her brains about how to greet people.

She's young, introverted, and kind of cute.

Just as Fu Hua received the lunchbox, still lingering on the warmth of their fingertips touching, Seele's words caused both of their expressions to stiffen simultaneously.

"Brother, is this your sister-in-law? She's so beautiful!"

The little girl's innocent smile and deliberately soft, sweet voice were a complete shock.

If the person saying this were her Roommate Miss or Lin Xinchan, Fu Hua would have already covered their mouth, but Seele's young appearance made it impossible for her to do so, as she could only say things innocently.

"Ahem, isn't that Seele? We're not in that kind of relationship. I'm Su Qing'an's apprentice, Fu Hua."

"If Seele is willing, you can call me 'older sister'."

Fu Hua's immediate remark plunged Su Qing'an, who had initially only felt a slight pain from the splash damage, into a vortex of distress.

Being called "Master" by Hua feels really strange.

To accommodate the other person's personality, Su Qing'an had always chosen an attitude of almost letting things drift and giving up on himself when facing this not-so-serious problem.

But by now, Hua has become accustomed to this explanation, and it would seem particularly strange to refute it now.

The boy's face darkened, but he still refrained from speaking.

Upon hearing this, the little girl's lips curved into a slight smile, as if she had received an interesting toy. Her beautiful eyes narrowed into crescents as she said:

"Sister Hua studies at this school, right?"

After receiving Fu Hua's nod of approval, Seele said earnestly:

"So, is there a double taboo relationship between Sister Hua and Brother Xiaohua?"

Unlike Fu Hua, who was completely bewildered, Su Qing'an understood instantly.

Students and teachers. Apprentices and masters.

Su Qing'an helplessly covered Seele's mouth. If she made it all clear, wouldn't she miss Hua's interesting expression?

This is the only thing that absolutely cannot be done.

The boy crouched down beside her ear, smiling as he whispered:

"Does Seele want stir-fried green peppers for dinner tonight?"

The little girl froze, immediately giving up her instinctive struggle.

Although Seele wasn't afraid of bad food at all, after Su Qing'an's cooking opened up a whole new world for her, her tolerance for food wasn't as high as before. Also, things that could have been avoided by simply giving in...

Why is she so defiant?

Seele obediently shook her head to indicate that she didn't want to eat green peppers, and that she was actually very obedient.

Su Qing'an released his grip, inwardly thinking that Seele's cheeks felt nice to pinch, but he still sincerely hoped that the child wouldn't give him too many opportunities to pinch her cheeks, because that would definitely give him a headache.

The boy glanced at Seele, who was blinking with an innocent and pure expression, and instantly forgave the child for what she had done.

Something's not right. What's with this strange feeling I have about raising a daughter?