Tea-flavored Romance

Ning Yiling glanced at Ning Yuan and replied matter-of-factly, "I'll sleep on the way."

Lu Hanhan timidly raised his hand: "I can let you sleep with me..."

"Sister Jiu Jiu's height doesn't match mine, so I need to find someone a little taller."

Ning Yuan looked bewildered and said, "Can't you just sit by the window and sleep near it?" Xiao Ling'er's face stiffened upon hearing this, and she immediately became angry and started to berate Ning Yuan.

"The window is so hard, and my head is so soft... Don't you think I won't be able to sleep well! I can tell you clearly don't love me anymore... And you said you'd love your sister, pamper her, and never lie to her..."

"Stop reading, stop reading, Master Ning..." Master Ning said with a headache, "Then you sit with me."

Lu Jiujiu quickly said that she also sleeps and doesn't like sleeping by the window. Master Ning had no choice but to find a three-person seat in the last row of the bus to settle down.

Ning Yuan was in the middle, with two little girls on each side, one proud and the other cute and cuddly. With such beautiful women by his side, Ning Yuan became a little nervous, and he was even a little cautious when raising his arm while playing on his phone.

There are people on both sides, what am I supposed to do? I still need to chat with Miss Manyue!

Jiang Manyue's death question was clearly a higher priority than the useless younger sister and the useless idiot. Seeing that the two girls next to him had taken out their phones and were focused on doing their own things, Master Ning quietly took out his phone and opened the chat interface of the campus beauty.

Gu Guanxue? There's nothing to talk about. I haven't even settled the score with her yet, she tricked me!

He hesitated for a moment, then began typing on the screen:

[Jiang, I've discovered another good quality in you!]

Jiang Xihua on the other side of the screen replied very quickly:

【explain.】

You always reply to messages so quickly! Girls like that are so adorable.

[Is this considered an advantage? If you think about it this way, I've already found over a dozen advantages for you these past few days, far surpassing that lazy bum Gu Guanxue!]

Jiang Manyue: [(smiling)]

Master Ning: "..."

Well, I'm still angry.

We still have to keep looking... By the way, is it a good thing that someone can stay angry for a very long time and is very difficult to appease?

He imagined what kind of expression Jiang Manyue would have after he showed her this advantage, and he was immediately shocked, feeling that if he really did it, he might lose his life.

This is no longer just flirting with death; it's taking the edge of death as the starting line for a 100-meter sprint!

It's so difficult! I have to flirt with the most beautiful girl in the department while also coaxing my angry wingman... and I also have two useless guys dragging me down. How can I break out of this dream situation?

Reality was too cruel, so Master Ning decided to take a nap to escape it. He turned his head and saw Xiao Ling taking out her earphones from her pocket, and he was immediately moved.

The greatest joy of traveling by car is falling asleep slowly while listening to music with headphones on!

Huh? Wait, where are my headphones?

In the bag? Never mind, I'm too lazy to move.

Ning Yuan lay back comfortably, turned his head and looked intently at Ning Yiling, saying:

"Little sister, what song are you listening to?"

Ning Yiling glanced at him, pretended to be reluctant as she handed him an earphone, but was actually in a great mood.

"Wow, electronic music, that's got it."

Ning Yuan nodded in satisfaction, but when he turned around, he found Lu Hanhan standing beside him, also holding headphones and looking at him expectantly.

Ningyuan, do you want to listen to my song?

"..."

Because Lu Hanhan's expression was just too adorable, Master Ning couldn't bring himself to refuse, so he could only take her earphones and put them on his other ear...

Lu Jiujiu: (〃'▽'〃)

The naive rich girl contentedly plugged in her other earphone and started playing music. The bus slowly started moving, and Master Ning's heart began to race with the slight swaying of the vehicle.

With the cute and refreshing "Summertime" on one side and the upbeat "Closer" on the other, Ning Yuan felt that she was getting sick as she listened to them.

What unbearable suffering this is!

Oh well, I'll just pretend I fell asleep and accidentally pulled my earphones off.

He calmed himself down, leaned back in his seat for a moment, and then, seemingly casually, gently reached out and tugged the earphone cord from Lu Hanhan's end...

Lu Jiujiu was slightly taken aback when she saw the earphone fall down, then carefully put it back on Ning Yuan... Satisfied with what she had done, she lay back down, keeping her good deed hidden.

Ning Yuan: "..."

Faced with Master Ning's deathly stare, Lu Hanhan humbly waved his hand and whispered:

"Your earphones just fell off, you're welcome..."

"..."

This idiot did it on purpose, didn't he?!

Unable to bring himself to use excessive force on Lu Hanhan, Ning Yuan turned his attention to Xiao Ling'er beside him...

Ning Yiling: (Staring...)

Ning Yuan silently withdrew his gaze, unable to focus on using his special skill in two places at once. He leaned back in his chair, resigned to his fate and prepared to endure the torment. However, not long after, the playlists on both headphones seemed to synchronize perfectly, and the feeling of his sanity dropping wildly disappeared... This slightly surprised Master Ning, who turned his head to look at his younger sister...

Did this little girl change her playlist?

I never expected you to actually care about your brother! I've never seen anything like it!

Chapter 130: The Seven-Year Itch... Does This Count?

Ning Yiling closed her eyes and ignored him, her little face still showing that indifferent expression. Ning Yuan couldn't help but be deeply moved when he saw this, and silently leaned his broad shoulders toward his sister.

This is truly her brother's sweetheart!

Having finished his ordeal, Master Ning leaned back comfortably in his chair, slowly calming his mind to the gentle singing in his ears. A short while later, he felt a soft, yielding touch on his right shoulder.

It wasn't that strange, soft, squishy feeling, of course. Ning Yuan turned his head and opened his eyes. Ning Yiling's little head gently rested on his shoulder, her cheeks full of tranquility, like a sleeping beauty from a fairy tale...

Oh wait, Sleeping Beauty isn't that flat.

Ning Yuan regained his composure, and soon after, he felt an even softer touch on his left shoulder. He turned his head and opened his eyes again. Lu Jiujiu's little head was resting on his shoulder, and as if for comfort, the girl's body was leaning slightly against him. Her little face, with her eyes closed, was also full of...

nervous?

This guy is clearly still awake!

Master Ning was speechless for a moment, but he didn't wake the guy up. Anyway, it was much more comfortable to lean on someone's shoulder than against the car window. The journey was long, so it was good to let the two girls rest for a while.

Lu Hanhan pretended to be asleep and leaned against him, feeling nervous for a long time. In the end, she didn't get Ning Yuan to push her little head away. After a while, seemingly unable to suppress her curiosity, the girl secretly opened one eye a crack and glanced at the upper right corner with a guilty look.

Is Ning Yuan asleep?

Lu Jiujiu closed her eyes contentedly, beginning to turn her pretense of sleep into a real one. This would have been difficult to do alone on a trip, but fortunately, she had a familiar boy by her side. Leaning on his shoulder, she could smell his scent as she breathed, which made her feel very at ease. She let down her guard against the unfamiliar environment and quickly became sleepy.

They walked in silence, and after an unknown amount of time, Lu Hanhan slowly woke up.

The bus continued to drive smoothly, and Ning Yuan beside him remained motionless, his breathing steady and even. When he was asleep, he lost his unruly and silly demeanor and instead appeared much more calm and reserved.

Indeed, Ning Yuan looks beautiful from every angle!

When she woke up, she didn't sit up straight, but remained leaning on Ning Yuan's shoulder, secretly observing the boy she had known for a long time. So many years had passed, yet he seemed unchanged, and at the same time, he seemed completely different, to the point that she could hardly remember what they used to look like together.

What was it like back then?

Their first meeting was during the junior high school entrance exam. Ning Yuan, who was sitting next to her, suddenly asked her, who was focused on the exam, to let him copy her paper. The obedient Lu Jiujiu hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing. But when the English scores came out, Lu Jiujiu bravely took last place, while Ning Yuan, who had changed several options to avoid having the same score, came in second with tears in his eyes. This result shocked Ning Yuan's young heart for the entire class period.

"You didn't even ask me how my grades were..." Lu Jiujiu replied weakly, "Actually, I didn't do well on the listening section this time... otherwise I should have..."

Despite the fact that Master Ning's friends all said he had struck gold: beautiful, diligent, obedient, and a little silly! This is the perfect girlfriend standard, okay!

However, Master Ning had already seen through Lu Jiujiu's naive nature before everyone else, and sneered at the mortals, saying, "You're all too young; this girl will definitely be a big problem in the future." The two had known each other for a while, bickering all the way. Lu Jiujiu mentally counted on her fingers; they were already over seven years old.

Is there such a thing as the seven-year itch? Oh, that's for married couples...

Are there really no friends among them? Are you not lying?

While lost in thought, Lu Jiujiu suddenly noticed that someone seemed to be looking at Ning Yuan's profile. She was slightly taken aback, and upon closer inspection, she found herself meeting the gaze of a proud little sister who was also staring at her brother's profile...

Ning Yiling: "..."

Lu Jiujiu: "..."

The scene was quite awkward. The two young ladies guiltily looked away and moved their heads off Master Ning's shoulder.

Well, it's just a coincidence. Let's pretend nothing happened.

The weight on his shoulders suddenly lightened, a change that woke Master Ning, who was a light sleeper. He rubbed his eyes and asked, "What's wrong? Have we arrived at our destination?"

"N-nothing."

"We haven't arrived at the station yet, keep sleeping."

Master Ning, looking completely bewildered, slowly typed out a question mark.

Neither girl wanted to bring up what had just happened, as they each felt they were in the wrong and couldn't explain themselves. Fortunately, the eerie atmosphere didn't last long; the bus continued for a while before slowing down, circling around several intersections, and finally stopping at the entrance to the scenic area at the foot of the mountain.

He grabbed his bag, got out of the car, and the fresh air outside invigorated him. Ning Yuan stretched his arms to loosen his muscles and turned to ask:

"Should we climb the mountain directly, rest at the bottom for a while before setting off, or take a vehicle up?"

"Of course we'll just climb! Ning Yuan, are you feeling weak?"

Master Ning chuckled to himself, thinking to himself that a pretty young lady can say a man can't do something, but you can't say a man is incapable. It's not a question of whether he can or can't do something; it's a question of dignity.

"I'm going to buy two bottles of water."

"I brought it!" Lu Jiujiu quickly claimed credit.

"Oh...that'll save us some money then...Alright, let's go!"

The initial stretch of the path was unremarkable. The three of them were full of energy when they set off, chatting and walking slowly. As they climbed deeper into the scenic area, the surrounding scenery gradually began to change, and they would occasionally encounter one or two tourists coming down the mountain after watching the sunrise.

Those who went up the mountain were full of enthusiasm, while those who came down were exhausted. As they looked at each other, they had different feelings.

"Wow~ Ningyuan, look! The forest over there is so dense, and there's even mist! Is this the legendary miasma?"

"..."

Lu Jiujiu followed Ning Yuan, occasionally letting out a soft exclamation. If you were to ask who in the group looked most like a child, Lu Jiujiu would undoubtedly be the first choice. Ning Yiling, wearing a baseball cap and holding a camera, would casually snap a picture every now and then. Although they hadn't reached the actual scenic area yet, different people have different definitions of scenery. It didn't have to be a world-class spectacle; a small flower by the roadside or a pretty leaf could both be in the frame.