Feeding

The mobile store was not far from the police station, just two blocks away.

Posters for various plans covered the glass door, packed with promotional offers.

Lu Yan pushed open the door and headed for the counter.

The employee behind the counter looked up. She was a young woman with a ponytail, and her name tag read "Xiao Zhou."

"Hello, you two. Are you here for a service or to buy a phone?"

"Two phones." Lu Yan smiled at Xiao Zhou. "We want the best-performing model you have, the one in the advertisement."

"You mean the latest series?" Xiao Zhou's eyes lit up, and her gaze lingered on Aemeath for a few extra seconds.

"Yes, that's the one." Lu Yan pointed to the brochure. "One black, one pink."

Aemeath suddenly leaned over, resting half her weight against Lu Yan's arm.

Her affection in public made him stiffen for a moment, but the closeness that followed made the corners of his mouth rise.

Next came setting up the phone plans.

Xiao Zhou took Aemeath's brand-new ID card and swiped it through the machine.

A green approval symbol quickly appeared on the system.

"Miss Ai, please blink at the camera for facial recognition."

Aemeath obediently did as she was told, playfully flashing a V sign at the camera.

No one knew that, at that moment, her consciousness had traveled along the camera's wiring and silently added the highest level of privacy protection for herself in the carrier's backend database.

From then on, any illegal attempts to locate or monitor this number, or access its text messages, would vanish without a trace.

"All done, Miss Ai. Here are your new phone and SIM card."

By the time they left the store, Aemeath had the pink phone in her hand.

She fiddled with the screen, her movements clumsy but incredibly fast. In less than two minutes, Lu Yan felt the phone in his pocket vibrate.

[Flying Snow Velvet requested to add you as a friend.] It was on WeChat.

Lu Yan looked down at the ID and chuckled, then tapped accept.

"A-Yan, we're connected now." Aemeath cheerfully waved the pink phone in her hand.

Lu Yan smiled and changed her contact name to a simple: Aemeath.

"A-Yan, why not add a red heart or 'darling'?" Aemeath leaned in by his ear like a spirit hovering behind him, the ends of her side ponytail brushing his neck.

"We're out on the street. Behave yourself." Lu Yan blushed and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

"Hehe, then I'm going to give A-Yan a one-of-a-kind name too." Aemeath tapped rapidly on her screen.

"I've changed it too." Aemeath leaned closer, her eyes like those of a little fox who had gotten her way.

"I've saved A-Yan as 'Returning Boat.' No objections, and no changing it!"

"Okay, I won't change it," Lu Yan answered obediently, though his heart tingled with sweetness.

He had no resistance at all to a name that marked him as hers.

Aemeath contentedly turned off her screen and linked arms with Lu Yan again, the soft sensation spreading along his arm.

A few young people passing by couldn't help casting them envious and jealous looks.

"Where should we go next?" Lu Yan put away his phone and looked at the busy traffic on the street.

"It's almost noon. Let's go eat first."

Aemeath rubbed her belly. "I want some stir-fried dishes."

"Sure, whatever you say."

Lu Yan took Aemeath into an elegantly decorated private-kitchen restaurant.

It was lunchtime, and the place was full of office workers from nearby and a few couples cuddled up together.

Lu Yan chose a seat by the window. Aemeath sat down and placed her phone on the table, but her attention was clearly not on the screen. Instead, she kept staring at Lu Yan across from her.

"A-Yan, I want those sweet-and-sour pork ribs, and that steamed egg that looks so soft." Aemeath propped up her chin, her voice soft and sweet, her desire to be pampered undisguised.

Lu Yan flipped through the menu and asked with a smile in his eyes, "Do you want the ribs on the sweeter side? And do you want shrimp in the steamed egg?"

"Yes!"

Aemeath tilted her head, her gaze so intent that it was as if Lu Yan were the only person left in the noisy restaurant. "As long as A-Yan orders it for me, I'll love it."

As they waited for all the dishes to arrive, the little restaurant gradually grew livelier.

Aemeath paid it no attention, quietly watching Lu Yan's expression as he replied to messages.

The steaming dishes arrived, and he put down his phone.

"A-Yan, these ribs are so hot. Could you blow on one for me?" Aemeath picked up a glossy red rib with her chopsticks, but instead of putting it in her own mouth, she held it to Lu Yan's lips.

Though Lu Yan was a little embarrassed, he couldn't bring himself to refuse under Aemeath's expectant gaze.

He leaned forward slightly and blew on it gently, then watched Aemeath happily eat it.

"So sweet." Aemeath smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. After she finished, she extended the tip of her tongue to lick the sauce from the corner of her lips, the gesture playful and naturally alluring.

A young couple at the next table were having a spat. Seeing this, the woman couldn't help patting her boyfriend's arm and muttering:

"Look at her boyfriend. He's so considerate."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not considerate enough for you, okay?" the man said, at a loss for words.

The single office workers nearby all turned their gazes away in unison, and a strong sourness filled the air.

Lu Yan could feel the envious gazes around him, but he only watched Aemeath enjoying her food. His social anxiety had long since been cured by her cuteness.

"A-Yan, hurry up and eat." Aemeath noticed that Lu Yan had been watching her the whole time and pouted, a little displeased.

She scooped up a spoonful of silky steamed egg with shrimp and brought it straight to Lu Yan's mouth. "Come on, open wide. Ah~"

Lu Yan froze for a moment, then opened his mouth and took it.

"Is it good?" Aemeath leaned a little closer, close enough for him to smell her fragrance.

"It's good." Lu Yan nodded, his words muffled, the tips of his ears burning red.

"Is it good because I fed you, or is the steamed egg itself good?" Aemeath pressed, her desire for affirmation surfacing again.

Lu Yan looked at her and answered seriously, "It tastes best when you feed me."

Only after hearing that did Aemeath sit back in her seat, completely satisfied.

She didn't care what passersby thought. All her disguises fell away in front of Lu Yan, leaving only an almost pure dependence.

By the time they paid and stepped outside, the afternoon sunlight had taken on a lazy quality.

Aemeath naturally slipped her arm through Lu Yan's.

He carried the milk tea he had just bought her at the milk tea shop, and the two walked down the street toward their residential complex.