Ice Cream

When Qiuqiu saw Wu Jin come out of her room, he immediately stood up straight, a leash in his mouth. He ran over to her and nudged her leg with his head.

Clear protested, "Hmph, how come you're never this attentive to me? All that canned food I bought you went to waste."

"Wow, I want to walk you too, Qiuqiu! How about you let your big brother take you out to play~?"

Wantonly put on a high-pitched voice and reached out to pet Qiuqiu's head, but Qiuqiu shifted his backside, sweeping a cloud of dust into Wantonly's mouth with his tail.

Clear laughed mercilessly.

Wantonly shot him a vicious glare.

Laughing at me? You didn't do any better.

"Aaaah, Qiuqiu, do you hate me that much?"

Shi Mu suddenly spoke up. "At least you know."

"Brother Mu!"

Bin glanced sideways at them, his tone as rude as ever. "You really treat that dog like a treasure. It's just a beast."

Clear bristled instantly. "Say that again, you fucking bastard?"

"Why are you acting crazy all day? Who are you pulling that face for?"

Ignoring Shi Mu's eyes narrowing behind him, bin went straight to the elevator and left.

Wantonly cursed him out a couple of times too, but couldn't be bothered to argue with a psycho like that.

Bin had actually joined the team around the same time as Clear and Wantonly. At first, things between them hadn't been as strained as they were now; they had even gotten along quite well. Later, bin became increasingly irritable and moody, and he stopped watching what he said. Gradually, he grew apart from the rest of the team.

Shi Mu bent halfway down and rubbed Qiuqiu's head, his lips curling in a half-smile. "Have I fallen out of favor now?"

Qiuqiu looked at his owner with wet eyes and whimpered twice, then went right back to nudging Wu Jin without hesitation.

I love my owner, but I love big sister even more!

Wu Jin took the leash from Qiuqiu's mouth and put his collar on properly. His tail wagged so excitedly that the club's robot vacuum could have been put out of a job.

"Come on, let's go together."

Shi Mu picked up the jacket from the chair and put a packet of tissues in his pocket. "Qiuqiu can be a little hard to control when he's out. You might end up being the one he walks."

Wu Jin nodded slightly, her expression cool.

As soon as they went outside, Qiuqiu became particularly excited. He bounced around a few times before settling down, sniffing and stopping here and there. He was much more restrained than usual.

A faint smile curved Shi Mu's lips. This dog really did... treat people differently depending on who they were.

When Wantonly walked him before, Qiuqiu had practically dragged the 180-jin man along the ground, making it feel like physical training for Wantonly.

The warm yellow light of the streetlamps colored the blue-toned sky and fell softly over the outline of the girl, making no attempt to rival the moonlight's cool glow. Wu Jin crouched down, and Qiuqiu rested his front paws on her knees, sniffing constantly.

Wu Jin obediently let Qiuqiu touch her cheek. Her eyes relaxed naturally, their corners tilting upward slightly. In the time he had known her, Shi Mu had already learned that this was a sign she was in a good mood.

Although the girl was usually aloof and expressionless with others, there was always a trace of tension around her, like a taut string that could snap at any moment.

It was rare indeed for her to have a moment when she could relax like this.

A young couple carrying ice cream walked past, and Wu Jin stopped. Noticing her gaze, Shi Mu followed it and understood.

"Want some? Then let's try it together."

"Consider it payment for walking Qiuqiu."

Wu Jin nodded in agreement.

Shi Mu led Qiuqiu to the ice cream shop up ahead.

"Come over and see what flavor you want."

Wu Jin looked at the display and tapped the matcha mochi ice cream on the screen.

Sitting on a bench, Wu Jin took her first bite. Her eyes brightened slightly, and she took a second bite.

Delicious.

It was the first time Shi Mu had seen their young top laner show a different expression, and it really was a novelty.

Sometimes he really felt that Wu Jin was like a character in a dating sim, where you had to raise her affection level to unlock new expressions.

"Do you like ice cream?"

Wu Jin shook her head, then nodded. She turned to meet Shi Mu's shimmering peach-blossom eyes and answered honestly, "I'd never had it before."

"I like it now."

There had been no ice cream in the village where Wu Jin grew up, only ice pops sold at the little shop, but Wu Jin had never had those either.

It had been hard enough for Grandma to put her through school on her own. She didn't want to spend the money Grandma had worked so hard to earn just to satisfy her appetite.

When people were poor, even their appetites could seem like a sin.

So even when she ate at school, Wu Jin often had one vegetable dish, a bowl of rice and a bowl of free soup. The school in town was better than the one in the village, and her classmates were much better off, so the withdrawn Wu Jin naturally became their plaything.

The girl looked content, like a rabbit nibbling on a carrot, her cheeks full. Even without money, she was still open and sincere.

Shi Mu's eyelashes cast a shadow, and his expression softened with a touch of tenderness as he took a bite of his own ice cream.

"It's good."

"Do you want a taste?"

"Okay."

Wu Jin answered readily, scooped a spoonful of Shi Mu's ice cream and tasted it carefully. Hmm, it wasn't as good as hers. Then she held her own ice cream out to him.

Shi Mu smiled, scooped up a small spoonful and tasted it too. Seeing Wu Jin staring at him, he tilted his head and gave a questioning hum.

"Mine tastes better than yours."

"Pfft."

Amused by Wu Jin, Shi Mu covered his face and burst out laughing. Wu Jin looked utterly baffled. Ignoring him, she went back to eating her matcha mochi ice cream with full concentration.

The light stretched their shadows long behind them. The dog lay on the ground, wagging his tail, while the moon hung in the night sky, casting a much softer glow.

Afterward, Wu Jin went back to the shop and bought several servings of ice cream to take back to the base and share with everyone. Then she happily ate another serving of matcha mochi ice cream.

Shi Mu gave her a friendly reminder that eating too much ice cream would give her diarrhea.

Wu Jin nodded halfheartedly and kept eating.

Shi Mu: ...I can't control her at all.

At three in the morning, Wu Jin came out of the bathroom for the third time, her face pale. Weakly hunched over, she opened her bedroom door, intending to get a cup of hot water.

The door next to hers suddenly opened. Shi Mu, dressed in pajamas, came out yawning. He had gotten thirsty in the middle of the night and wanted to find a glass of water.

In the blink of an eye, he spotted an unidentified long-haired object half his height beside him, making his temples throb with fright. Looking closer, he realized it was Wu Jin, hunched over and clutching her stomach.

It was a good thing he was the one who had run into her. If Wantonly or Clear had come out instead, they would have screamed, collapsed on the floor and cried for their parents by now.

"Does your stomach hurt?"

"Go back in and lie down. I'll get you some hot water."

Wu Jin didn't try to be brave. She nodded, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead from the cramping pain in her stomach, and went back to bed, curling up.

Shi Mu fetched a box of painkillers from his room and knocked softly. When he pushed the door open and went in, he saw Wu Jin curled into a ball, biting her lip, her small face tense.

Shi Mu helped her sit up and brought the hot water to her lips. Wu Jin opened her eyes weakly and took a sip, easing her stomach a little.

"Open your mouth and take the medicine."

Wu Jin obediently opened her mouth. Shi Mu's fingers brushed her lips, damp and soft, and the young man's lazy expression grew a little more serious.

After she took the medicine, Shi Mu helped Wu Jin lie down and tucked the blanket around her feet to make sure she didn't catch cold. The girl seemed to have fallen asleep, but her brow was still furrowed on her delicate face.

Shi Mu sighed almost imperceptibly. It seemed that, so his teammate could train normally, he would have to strictly limit how much ice cream Wu Jin ate.