She clamped one hand tightly around the doorframe and pressed the other against her heaving chest, her voice cracking as she spoke:
"Su... Su Yu... you..."
Before she could finish, a burst of rapid panting cut her off.
She looked at Su Yu sitting perfectly at ease beside the stone table, then at the half-eaten box of Snowflake Pastry beside his hand, and nearly failed to catch her breath.
So not only had he been faster than her, he had been waiting here for ages?!
Bai Chenxiang's gaze swept over the stone table, immediately catching sight of the still-steaming cup of tea.
Her throat was so dry it felt ready to smoke. Forgetting all about propriety, she reached out, picked it up, tilted her head back, and drained it.
The warm, soothing tea slid down her parched throat with its faint fragrance, instantly easing the burning pain and even making her breathing considerably smoother.
"Chenxiang, that's..."
Niu Bai had just started to remind her that it was Su Yu's cup, but before he could finish, Bai Chenxiang had already emptied it and gently set it back on the table.
Bai Chenxiang raised a hand to wipe the moisture from the corner of her mouth, then blinked in confusion at Niu Bai, who looked as though he had something to say but was holding back:
"Hm? What is it?"
Niu Bai opened his mouth, looked at Bai Chenxiang, then at Su Yu, who was leisurely holding a teacup.
Seeing nothing unusual in Su Yu's expression, he ultimately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, and gave a dry laugh:
"N-no, nothing. I just thought you must be terribly thirsty after running so fast. Some water was just what you needed."
Su Yu glanced at