A Girl's Feelings

Dania slept soundly, and, surprisingly, the teacher didn't disturb her.

Why, you asked? Because Xiao Ling and Lupa had drawn all the aggro, of course~

What surprised Xiao Ling, though, was that Lupa, despite being a star gladiator from Septimont, was unexpectedly eager to learn. She could answer just about every question, and even when someone tried to trip her up, she found her own way to deal with it.

It seemed he really shouldn't judge people by stereotypes...

After class, Xiao Ling and the two girls walked side by side down the hallway of the teaching building.

"Honestly, partner, you just reminded me to watch where I was, and then you went and forgot yourself." Lupa grinned and gave Xiao Ling a pat on the back.

"Fuck!" The slap hurt so much that Xiao Ling cursed on reflex. "Lupa, go easy on me, would you? My scrawny little body can't take that kind of punishment."

"Haha, sorry, sorry. I forgot again that you're just an ordinary person here, partner." Lupa readily admitted her mistake. That was just how she was: when she was wrong, she owned up to it.

Xiao Ling was about to say something when his left hand was suddenly squeezed hard.

He turned to his left and saw Dania staring at him with her gorgeous, starry eyes, looking a little aggrieved and displeased.

Which of your lady friends is this one? It was as though he could hear Dania asking him through her gaze, like a neglected wife.

Xiao Ling admitted he was a little rattled, so he needed to find the right words for some crisis control.

Lupa, however, didn't have nearly so many thoughts.

"You're Dania, right?" Lupa went around Xiao Ling to Dania's side and casually pinched her cheek as though they were already friends. "I'm Lupa, Rover's partner. Nice to meet you!"

Xiao Ling had already told Lupa his name in class, and Lupa had chosen to call him Rover when speaking to others.

The look in Dania's eyes grew even stranger. Unfortunately, with a certain little wolf pinching her cheek, she couldn't make any other expression, so she could only glare daggers at Xiao Ling, who was watching the show from the side, as if asking whether his partner didn't know people were supposed to respect each other's boundaries.

But in all fairness, Dania saw no malice in Lupa's eyes. Instead, she felt Lupa was looking at her as though trying to glimpse an old friend through her.

So was I being treated as a substitute?

"All right, Lupa, that's enough." Xiao Ling gently patted Lupa's hand, signaling her to let go. "Dania isn't very comfortable around strangers. You'll make her uncomfortable doing that."

"Oh, is that so? Sorry, I didn't know. My apologies." Realizing her mistake, Lupa apologized to Dania in her usual straightforward way.

Dania shook her head from side to side to show she didn't mind.

"Oh, right, I'm going to train at noon. Do you two want to come along?" Lupa took the opportunity to invite Xiao Ling and Dania.

"What kind of training?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I signed up for a track and field competition. Apparently, our school is holding it jointly with a few others, and I'm preparing for it now. There isn't much time, only about a month and a half, but that's enough for me." Lupa pointed out how little time she had, but she was completely confident in her abilities.

"Is it okay not to rest at noon? You still have classes in the afternoon, right?" Xiao Ling was a little worried that training at noon would leave her sleepy in the afternoon.

"Oh, that's fine. Some of the afternoon classes aren't really that important. I can learn what they teach at a glance, so I can get some rest during those." Lupa smiled to reassure Xiao Ling. She knew what she was doing.

At first, she had paid close attention in every class, but later, some old hands here had told her that certain classes weren't all that important. She only needed to be present, and the material was simple enough that she didn't have to worry about failing the finals.

"Hmm... I don't have any important classes this afternoon either, so I should be able to come. What about you, Dania?"

"I'm going to sleep. You two go ahead." Dania shrugged casually and walked away on her own.

"Ah... I ended up coming here anyway."

Dania felt that she ought to be getting a lovely nap in a cool, air-conditioned room right now, but for some reason, she had found herself drawn to the outdoor field to enjoy a roasting from the sun.

"Weren't you going to sleep? What, do you think you're a little short and want to photosynthesize to help yourself grow?" Xiao Ling teased Dania with a cheeky grin, knowing full well she'd said one thing and done another.

"Will you die if you don't tease me?" Dania was already a little irritated from being out in the blazing sun, and now Hajiling was thoughtlessly teasing her too. She was really starting to lose her composure.

"All right, take the umbrella." Xiao Ling walked over to her, rubbed her head soothingly, and handed her the parasol.

This was what Dania hated about Xiao Ling. Just when she was about to hiss at him, he always had to sweeten her up at exactly the right moment, just as her temper was reaching its limit, leaving her too embarrassed to hiss at him.

So she simply buried herself in her phone and ignored the big meanie who was always making her angry and then gently soothing her.

Seeing her reaction, Xiao Ling couldn't help smiling wryly. Well, at least he'd managed to placate her.

Just then, Lupa had finished jogging two laps to warm up, and she spotted Dania on her phone under the parasol and Hajiling standing beside her.

"Dania! You came!" Seeing that Dania had come of her own accord after turning down the invitation, Lupa was naturally overjoyed.

"Mm." Dania gave a noncommittal reply.

Lupa naturally knew this was how Dania usually acted around people she wasn't close to, and she didn't intend to dwell on it. She was already delighted that Dania had come to watch her train.

"Partner, want to train with me?" Lupa turned and invited Xiao Ling.

"What should I do?" Xiao Ling asked with a smile.

"Hmm... How about running with me? We can get some exercise together."

"Of course."

So Xiao Ling stood up and did some warm-up exercises to loosen up before running lap after lap with Lupa.

Dania was still on her phone. The parasol blocked the scorching sunlight, but it couldn't keep out her growing irritation.

Every now and then, she looked up at Lupa and Xiao Ling. The two of them were chatting and laughing as they ran, and judging by the cheerful smiles on their faces, it had to be a pleasant conversation.

Dania grew even more irritated. She wanted to go back to her phone, but she couldn't muster any interest. She even felt as though Lupa's and Xiao Ling's smiles were reflected on her screen.

"I hate this feeling..." she murmured, hugging her knees and burying her face in them.

Perhaps most of the things Dania had called hateful before had merely been awkward ways of expressing herself, but this time, she genuinely, truly hated the feeling steadily filling her heart.

Irritation, bitterness, and a faint sense of grievance.

The way Dania would describe it, it was like getting a small piece of cake covered in cream and fresh fruit. You couldn't bear to take a bite yourself, only for someone to take a little piece as though it were the most natural thing in the world. The fruit cake was still yours, but the little piece taken from you would never come back. You wanted to throw it away just like that, but you couldn't bear to.

And so, where Xiao Ling and Lupa couldn't see her, Dania's eyes quietly turned red.