109 Comfort
On the other side of the screen, Xiao Juan listened to the sounds coming from the side. Those who didn’t know better would think that a rat had entered Mirror House.
He’d thought it was bad enough that she’d taken a couple of bites to satisfy herself.
He did not expect her to continue eating.
The sound of biting pear, of chewing, went on and on and on.
Xiao Juan finally couldn’t take it anymore.
He put down the brush, got up, and walked around the screen. He saw the girl leaning crookedly against the desk, one leg crossed over the other, her little feet dangling in the air.
She held a pear in one hand and a book in the other. Her lips were moist and full.
The sweet scent of pears filled the air, blending perfectly with the scent of ink.
Yu Niaoniao did not expect Duke Lang to suddenly appear. She was shocked and accidentally choked on a pear.
“Cough, cough, cough! Why are you here?”
Xiao Juan looked down at her.
That gaze was extremely similar to that of a middle school form teacher. It was so stern that it made one’s scalp tingle.
Xiao Juan enunciated each word.
“You’re not allowed to eat snacks in Mirror House. You’re not allowed to cross your legs. You’re not allowed to throw things around.”
Three ‘no’s in one breath.
Yu Qianqian hurriedly sat down and hid the remaining pears behind her. Her face was filled with a fawning smile.
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”
But he didn’t leave. Instead, he stared at her lips for a moment.
While Yu Niaoniao was confused, he took out his silk handkerchief and handed it to her. He spoke expressionlessly.
“Wipe your mouth clean.”
“Oh-oh!”
Yu Niaoniao took the handkerchief and wiped her mouth carelessly. Then, she returned the handkerchief with both hands.
Xiao Juan folded the silk handkerchief, stuffed it into his sleeve, and turned to leave.
After he left, Yu Qianqian took out two oranges from her sleeve.
Quietly, she peeled the orange and broke the meat. She put it in her mouth and chewed slowly, without making the slightest sound.
Xiao Juan stopped flipping through the dossier.
Although he didn’t hear anything, he could smell the sour sweetness of oranges.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it had to be someone sneaking another snack.
Xiao Juan didn’t understand. Why did people like to eat at work? Could they still read books while multitasking?
He rose and moved silently around the screen door.
He realized that Yu Niaoniao had returned to her lazy appearance, but the pear in her hand had been replaced with an orange.
Yu Niaoniao sat up straight and hurriedly hid the orange under the table.
Xiao Juan extended his large hand.
“Hand it over.”
Reluctantly, Yu Niaoniao took out the remaining half of the orange and placed it in the man’s palm.
Xiao Juan’s gaze still lingered on her.
“Anything else?”
Yu Qianqian shook her head. “No.”
Xiao Juan was in disbelief and asked her to flip out both sleeves.
As expected, a round orange rolled out of her sleeve and rolled to the side of Xiao Juan’s shoe.
Xiao Juan looked at her expressionlessly.
“Did you learn to lie?”
Yu Qianqian tried to quibble. “I’m not lying. I just forgot that there’s an orange.”
The snacks were all confiscated.
Like a puppet that had lost its soul, Yu Niaoniao lay on the desk, her eyes on the pages, but her thoughts had already begun to fly elsewhere.
On the other side of the screen, Xiao Juan had not heard the sound of flipping pages for a long time.
He felt compelled to ask, “What are you doing?”
Yu Qianqian replied weakly.
“Pondering over life.”
Xiao Juan stood up again and walked around the screen. When he saw her half-dead appearance, he could not help but frown.
“It’s just a little snack. Do you have to be so decadent?”
Yu Niaoniao sighed. “You don’t understand. For a regular worker like me, work is too hard. Only snacks can comfort me.”