So You're Not Up to Par After All

Su Ze was stunned for a moment, then gently hugged the girl. "I will protect you too, forever."

"Why are you so silly and cute?" Su Ze chuckled, lowering his head and pressing his forehead against hers.

Su Ze suddenly felt like laughing. A scene popped into his mind:

A little white rabbit, full of mischief, stood on its hind legs, 'puff puff puff' slapping a much larger gray wolf that towered over it. The rabbit, with its tiny paws on its hips, posed arrogantly as if the world revolved around it, its eyes closed, saying, "Don't be afraid. From now on, you're my underling. I'll take care of you!"

"No, silly!" In reality, Uesugi Akizuki didn't react with disdain as imagined, but pursed her lips with a slight sense of grievance, because Su Ze had called her silly.

Suddenly, she reached out and pinched Su Ze's cheek! Seeing him a bit stunned, she giggled with pure delight.

Now at the peak of the Candlelight Realm, she not only had the confidence to declare her protection of Su Ze but also the boldness to play around in front of him!

"Do you not know who's the boss of this house?" Su Ze, growing increasingly displeased with this increasingly audacious girl, tilted his head to shake off her hand and quickly pinched her cheeks instead.

The little shrine maiden's cheeks were soft and pale, full of collagen, providing a fantastic feel.

The little shrine maiden grew quite upset! She tried to reach out and pinch Su Ze back; but with a smug grin, Su Ze used hislonger arms to keep her at a distance, and the little girl couldn't pinch his cheeks no matter how she tried.

"Call me Boss! Call me Boss and I'll let you pinch!" Su Ze gently coaxed.

"B-Boss!" Uesugi Akizuki, obediently, called out in a sweet, stammering voice.

"Surrendered so quickly?" Su Ze was a bit surprised, but he kept his promise and offered his cheek to the little girl.

"I want to be naughty!" The little girl went from words to action almost simultaneously, hugging Su Ze's head and kissing him passionately!

This was no longer like before, where she would ask and wait for Su Ze's response. Now it felt more like a declaration.

Su Ze remembered how this little girl had shown a domineering side a few days before he was about to enter the secret realm, and it was just like now, catching him off guard.

In the sunlight, Su Ze's cheeks were visibly red, and he began to feel his position in the household was in jeopardy. This little girl, with rebellious tendencies, seemed to have the ambition to overthrow him and take over as the boss!

Was Su Ze going to allow this to happen? Absolutely not!

But then—Su Ze was kissed so hard by this girl that his legs went weak…

Su Ze couldn't believe he was being made weak in the knees by this adorably cute and innocent girl, of all people! This was absurd, wasn't it?

If this outwardly pure, inwardly mischievous and flirtatious little girl found out, he would be the laughingstock, wouldn't he?

Su Ze pulled back the slightly wild girl.

Uesugi Akizuki remained innocent, as if embracing her entire world, happily hugging Su Ze's waist.

For half a month, she had missed Su Ze so much! So much so that as soon as they kissed, she couldn't help but passionately seek more from Su Ze.

This was why Su Ze had difficulty resisting the little girl's advances.

Before, it had always been her expressing herself, and he responding, with him being the more assertive one.

Only now did he realize that he wasn't exactly strong when it came to resisting such affectionate moments.

Some things, until you experience them, you don’t know the sweetness and bitterness.

Just like not being in a passionate romance, you wouldn't know that your wallet simply couldn’t keep up with the costs of such a journey.

The journey back to the university wasn’t far.

The white-haired boy and the red-haired girl walked hand in hand, from dusk to a gentle evening breeze, from a twilight sky to a starry night, until the moon rose high.

The two walked quietly hand in hand through the streets, witnessing the sunset and moonrise, and the transition between light and darkness; the bustling city, ablaze with neon lights as nightfall approached.

It had been so long since the little girl had held Su Ze's hand. During Su Ze's absence, she had spent every day in fear and worry. Back then, she really missed this boy.

She savored the feeling of his reassuringly large hand in hers, without unnecessary words, they walked back to the university.

Su Ze went to take a shower first.

When he came out, wearing shorts and a T-shirt with a Stitch pattern, his wet white hair was being dried by him with a white towel. He leaned lazily against the doorway, playing with his phone.

A notification buzzed on his phone: "Freebie! 'It Takes Two' is free right now!"

"No way!" Su Ze exclaimed.

With a towel on his head, he rushed over to the computer, sat down, and turned it on.

"It Takes Two" originally cost 198 RMB, which wasn't much for Su Ze. Though he had really wanted to play it when it first came out, his innate Chinese frugal spirit had him waiting like the common ‘wait-for-sale’ crowd, always feeling like buying it outright without waiting for a "lowest price" deal would mean losing out.

"Downloaded yet? Hurry up and get online!" Shen Qingsheng sent a message.

"Go away," Su Ze rejected without hesitation. "Two guys playing this game? Even the story feels awkward. I'm playing with my wife!"

Su Ze grinned as he read Shen Qingsheng's reply: "Do you know what a red exclamation mark looks like?"

Su Ze immediately took a screenshot, opened his QQ, and sent the screenshot, then asked, "What does it look like?"

"Do you have to be so annoying?"

Shen Qingsheng was frustrated, pulling Su Ze out of the blacklist on his WeChat, then threw his phone aside to play his game.

"What are you thinking about?"

Su Ze walked over to the bed, looking at Uesugi Akizuki who was sitting there, lost in thought.

The little shrine maiden shook her head; what could she possibly be thinking about when lost in thought?

Uesugi Akizuki held Su Ze's hand and thought for a moment, saying, "Dinner."

"..." It dawned on Su Ze that they hadn’t eaten since returning.

Just as Su Ze was about to get up to cook for her, he was surprised when the little girl held onto his hand, saying seriously, "You eat? I cook."

Having learned to cook with effort, it wasn't just to take care of herself but also to take care of Su Ze.

Su Ze was first taken aback, then surprised. "You can cook?"

He thought he had misheard. Leaning in almost cheek to cheek with the little girl, he asked again.

The little shrine maiden in her red-and-white shrine maiden attire nodded seriously, "I learned from my sister."

"I want to be naughty!" The little girl suddenly reached out to cup Su Ze's face, so close to her.

Su Ze smirked, swiftly standing up to dodge!

"Little naughty one, wanting to be naughty all the time isn't good." Su Ze stepped back.

The little girl grabbed at air, but she didn’t give up. Standing up, she lunged at Su Ze without hesitation!

Su Ze didn't dare to dodge. Instead, he opened his arms to catch her, because if he dodged, the little girl would definitely miss and fall to the ground!

The little girl was pulled into Su Ze’s embrace, but of course, Su Ze didn’t let her have her way. He laughed and tilted his head up, while the little girl hugged his waist and tiptoed, trying in vain to kiss him.

"Little naughty one, there's no free naughty. Go cook for me, and when it's done, I’ll let you kiss me," Su Ze made a deal.

Upon hearing this, the little shrine maiden quickly turned and ran into the kitchen with vigor.

"Wait! Put on your shoes!" Su Ze suddenly realized that the little shrine maiden had run into the kitchen barefoot!