Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 112

Can I Kiss You?

Many people have this kind of feeling, especially when they aren’t natives of a big city.

In the beginning, they arrive in the big city full of ambition, hoping to carve out a career for themselves, or at the very least, be able to return home with their heads held high. But in reality, after just a few years, they are eliminated by the big city and return to their hometowns in disgrace.

The cat owner hugged Niuniu, as if hugging her own hope. “But I don’t want to go back to my hometown either. My parents don’t like cats. People online always say that if you just bring a cat home, the cat will sort things out itself, but I don’t think my parents are like that. They would throw Niuniu out.”

“Even if they don’t throw her out now, they’ll force me into blind dates and marriage, and then rush me to have children. When it comes time to prepare for pregnancy or during pregnancy, they’ll definitely use the excuse ‘cats will affect the child’ to throw her away. Besides, I don’t want to go on blind dates, and I don’t want to get married.”

This was a situation many marriage-aged girls living with their parents would encounter. Sun Miao was an orphan, so she couldn’t empathize with this feeling of being pressured into marriage and childbearing. But there were many posts online where girls shared their stories.

Facing such a cat owner, Sun Miao found herself unable to offer any comforting words for a moment. Because she couldn’t truly empathize, even comfort would seem insincere. She had been able to talk nonsense with Zhou Ling before because although she hadn’t experienced the college entrance exams, she had felt the same fear of exams and confusion about life.

Fortunately, the cat owner didn’t need Sun Miao’s comfort or response. She continued speaking on her own, “I came here because the resources are good, but in reality, I just graduated from an ordinary second-tier university¹. There are too many talented people here; I can’t compete at all, and the rent is expensive. I only rented a tiny room that can barely fit a bed and a table, and I have to make Niuniu squeeze in with me every day. Yet it costs one thousand five hundred a month, and the landlord wants to raise the rent…”

She rambled on for a long time. After she finished, she felt a little embarrassed, even hugging her cat and rubbing her eyes with its fur. She hadn’t actually cried; she just felt a slight sourness in her nose. Niuniu, not understanding, only felt the warmth from her owner’s body on its fur and let out an annoyed “Meow.”

“Sorry for making you listen to so many trivial things…”

Sun Miao shook her head, not minding, and instead advised her, “Have some chicken soup, don’t let it get cold.”

Seeing the half-bowl of chicken soup in front of her, the cat owner placed Niuniu on her lap, telling it to behave, then picked up her portion. Without even using a spoon, she blew on it a few times and drank directly from the rim of the bowl.

The chicken soup Sun Miao had stewed was indeed delicious. It was clear, not at all greasy, with an almost transparent, slightly amber-colored broth that flowed from her mouth into her stomach, making her weary body feel as if it had come alive again. Seeing her owner drinking chicken soup without paying her any mind, Niuniu stretched out a small paw, wanting to scratch the disposable bowl, but the cat owner held its front paws.

“It’s so good…”

The cat owner lowered her eyes, looking at the chicken soup in the bowl. “Not only does Niuniu love to drink it, I love it too. It’s really delicious.”

People who can appreciate food made by others and praise it sincerely can’t be too bad.

Sun Miao genuinely thought so and said, “Actually, I have a customer…” She told the cat owner what the lemon tea boss had told her that day, adding, “She can’t offer a very high salary, only five thousand yuan, but she can provide food and accommodation, and you can bring Niuniu with you.”

“But I can’t guarantee this job; she said you need to have an interview first. If you’re willing, I can send you her contact information for you to talk to her.”

Hearing this, the cat owner was stunned for a moment. “Can I?”

“I don’t know, you have to ask yourself that.”

Although Sun Miao said that, her eyes were very serious. The two of them looked at each other for a while, and the cat owner didn’t let this opportunity slip by. “Thank you, Boss! Thank you so much! It doesn’t matter if it’s not successful, it’s still an opportunity. I want to try!”

This salary wasn’t actually too low. Back in her small county town, earning three thousand a month would be considered pretty good. Besides, in a small county town, there really weren’t many art-related jobs. She was actually someone who loved to draw; otherwise, she wouldn’t have offered to draw a sign for Sun Miao, and seeing what she drew for Sun Miao would make her happier.

She liked cats, liked to draw, and was a serious and motivated good girl.

Sun Miao added her as a friend and sent her the lemon tea boss’s contact information. Before the cat owner left, she encouraged her, saying, “Jia you².”

The cat owner, holding the cat in one arm, waved with the other, saying “Thank you” and “Goodbye” to her.

The “Goodbye” here meant ‘see you next time.’

After the person left, Sun Miao drove off on her own tricycle.

As she drove, she hummed a song. The tune was off-key, yet it sounded cheerful. Helping others also made her happy. Most importantly, she wouldn’t owe any favors. She had merely acted as a go-between³; whether it would work out or not depended on the cat owner herself.

It was just a small, casual favor. If it could help the cat owner, that would be truly great.

Sun Miao rode her electric scooter, eager to buy groceries and head home. Then, she quickly cooked a meal—one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a soup—and waited for Su Ruixi to return. She had already figured out how she wanted to tell Su Ruixi about today’s events; she definitely wanted Su Ruixi to experience her happiness too.

When it was time for dinner that evening, Sun Miao talked to Su Ruixi while eating, her feet dangling and swinging. Her legs were under the table, and she was wearing a pair of slippers. Sun Miao had bought these slippers online herself and had also bought a matching pair for Su Ruixi—a couple’s set.

They were linen slippers; the floor was linen-colored, and even the straps on the slippers were made of linen. The weather was neither cold nor hot, perfect for wearing these slippers. They were breathable and comfortable, just not very slip-resistant. Fortunately, the tiles in Su Ruixi’s house were all non-slip, so there was no need to worry about slipping and falling.

She stretched her legs out, maintaining the most comfortable posture. Her heels, in the slippers, rested on the floor, while the front part of her feet swayed back and forth, giving her a very relaxed appearance.

“It would be great if it works out.”

After Sun Miao finished speaking, she made the above comment. Su Ruixi happened not to be eating at that moment. Hearing her words, she held her chopsticks and covered her lips slightly with the back of her hand, a small smile appearing. “The way you said that, it’s as if you found her a girlfriend, not a job.”

“You’re even starting to joke around.”

After they finished eating, Su Ruixi cleaned up as usual, while Sun Miao stood nearby, cutting fruit. After these few days of spending time together, their relationship had grown closer and closer. Su Ruixi couldn’t help but say, “Sun Miao, I want to eat an apple.”

“I’ve cut them.” Sun Miao picked up a piece with a toothpick. “Look, it’s shaped like a little bunny.”

The apple peel wasn’t completely removed; instead, a little was left, which, combined with the apple flesh, really did look like a little bunny. Su Ruixi had seen apple pieces like this in TV dramas but had never eaten one herself. She subconsciously leaned over and opened her mouth, and Sun Miao directly put it into her mouth.

The little bunny-shaped apple piece wasn’t any sweeter, but it still made Su Ruixi feel delighted from the bottom of her heart.

Away from Sun Miao, who else would treat her like a child and coax her like this?

After putting all the dishes and chopsticks into the dishwasher, Su Ruixi went with Sun Miao, who was carrying the fruit platter, to watch the finance channel outside. As usual, Sun Miao sat with her. While Su Ruixi watched the finance program, Sun Miao would occasionally feed her a piece of fruit.

When she felt bored, she would either lean against the sofa to rest for a while or play on her phone for a bit.

Before they returned to their respective rooms for the night, the two of them would get together for a shy little kiss. Perhaps it was because Su Ruixi had mentioned the word “girlfriend” at the dinner table today, which stirred something in Sun Miao’s heart, or perhaps it was because they had lived together for so long without any progress, making Sun Miao a little impatient. In short, she didn’t want such a shy little kiss today.

“Can I kiss you?”

Weren’t they already kissing usually? Su Ruixi found Sun Miao’s question a bit strange.

Immediately after, she saw the look in Sun Miao’s eyes. It had a faint, hungry glint, like that of a famished wolf. After all, they were adults; Su Ruixi couldn’t possibly not understand what Sun Miao meant now. She swallowed hard, looked at Sun Miao, and replied in a low voice, “Okay.”

The two of them, each knowing full well what the other was thinking. They were already very close, and when Sun Miao leaned in, Su Ruixi felt a little flustered. Don’t be fooled by how she had pulled Sun Miao into a forceful kiss during her confession and even pinned her on the sofa for kisses; those were all very innocent, chaste pecks. Besides, now that Sun Miao had brought it up, she had lost the initiative.

Su Ruixi, a CEO, someone who was always in a dominant position in her daily life, couldn’t help but feel nervous once she lost the initiative and fell into a passive role, especially when facing a territory she had never ventured into before.

So, when Sun Miao reached out and her fingertips gently touched Su Ruixi’s cheek, Su Ruixi couldn’t help but close her eyes and turn her head slightly to the side. Because of this small movement, the area of contact between her cheek and Sun Miao’s palm became even larger.

Su Ruixi didn’t know what other girls’ hands were like, but compared to her own, Sun Miao’s palms and fingertips were noticeably rougher. Her cheeks were very tender—expensive skincare products were indeed very effective, and also because Su Ruixi herself was naturally beautiful, the skin on her cheeks was so delicate it seemed like it would break with a mere touch, looking exceptionally smooth and soft.

The friction between her smooth cheek and the rough palm made Su Ruixi tremble involuntarily.

This feeling was truly strange. She had never been this intimate with anyone before; after becoming an adult, not even her mother had made such a gesture towards her. But the lingering scent of Sun Miao around her made her want to relax again.

The next moment, Su Ruixi, with her eyes closed, could feel Sun Miao leaning closer. Because they were so close, Su Ruixi could even sense Sun Miao’s breath slowly falling on the tip of her nose.

Gentle, yet very hot.

She knew, the next moment, Sun Miao was going to kiss her.

But she waited for quite a while, and the kiss didn’t land. She was a little surprised and couldn’t help but open her eyes a slit, only to see Sun Miao gazing at her.

“Sun Miao… what are you looking at?”

Looking at the face she fell in love with at first sight, looking at her girlfriend’s tsundere yet shy and bashful appearance. In short, there was so much Sun Miao could look at. However, the most urgent matter at hand was still the kiss.

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LP: CLIFFHANGER

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