"Is there... is there sothing you need?"
After leaving the classroom and following Su Shijun to the corner, the young wizard finally reacted, stuttering as he quietly asked, "Why not wait until after class..."
Before finishing his sentence, he shut his mouth.
Because in this situation, he gained the most. Not only could he avoid continuing to doze off in the classroom, but he also wouldn’t be subjected to the scrutiny of all the students.
Bear in mind, it’s class ti now, and most of the students are in their respective classrooms. The corridors are deserted, even the portraits on the walls have gone to visit each other — based on the scene that just unfolded in the classroom, Zheng Qing could fully imagine what consequences would arise if Su Shijun ca looking for him after class.
"It’s a nice day today, I’ll take you to buy clothes."
The witch didn’t care about the boy’s slight dilemma, answering the previous question in a lighthearted tone.
"Huh?"
The young wizard was perplexed, surprised: "Buy clothes? What kind of clothes? Can’t you just send a list? Besides, is this really a valid reason to skip class?"
"Isn’t this reason enough to skip class?" Su Shijun looked at Zheng Qing in astonishnt, seemingly unable to fathom his current confusion.
Zheng Qing opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
He realized there might be a difference in thought between male and female wizards on this issue. Pausing, he thought of another question, opened his mouth again, and muttered softly, "You could have just sent Su Ya or Su Man to find ..."
"Su Ya is cleaning the floor, Su Man has other tasks." At this point, Su Shijun suddenly raised an eyebrow, glancing sidelong at the young wizard: "You seem not so happy that I ca to find you?"
"No, no, that’s not what I ant."
The warlock waved his hands repeatedly, trying to find a suitable excuse but couldn’t for the ti being. As he was racking his brain, the witch beside him suddenly stopped, raising her arm.
"Hold onto ," she instructed.
"Hm?"
Zheng Qing hesitated for a mont, looked at the arm so close at hand, glanced around nervously to make sure no one was watching, then carefully extended two fingers to pinch the edge of the witch’s sleeve: "Why..."
"Do you intend to walk all the way back to Greenhill Mansion with ? Hold on tighter!"
The witch impatiently interrupted the hesitant boy, grabbed his arm, folding through her elbow, snapped her fingers with the other hand, and softly shouted:
"Escape!"
Dazed, the two were already standing in the small garden of Greenhill Mansion.
Su Ya was facing away from the garden, bent over, diligently cleaning the wooden floor outside the porch, her fluffy ears perked up energetically in her hair—rarely, this ti her tail wasn’t drooping outside.
The mistress of Greenhill Mansion pursed her lips.
"It’s , not Su Man." She lazily reminded, then tilted her head, whispering to Zheng Qing: "I’d bet she was napping there before my teleportation light landed."
This description gave Zheng Qing a strange sense of déjà vu.
But at the sa ti, the close proximity to the witch made his body tingle halfway, a faint fragrance unconsciously drifted into his nose, and the words she spoke seed to contain a peculiar magic, quickly numbing the other half of the young wizard’s body.
Upon hearing Su Shijun’s greeting, the hardworking figure visibly slackened in the porch.
Su Ya turned around, her ears drooping on her hair, looking at the mansion’s mistress:
"Miss... Ah!"
Before finishing her sentence, the little fox lady excitedly jumped up from the floor, her ears perked up again, pointing at Zheng Qing with a fierce deanor: "What are you doing? Where are you putting your hand?!"
It was only then that Zheng Qing realized his hand was still resting in Su Shijun’s arm, and he withdrew it in a panic.
Su Shijun glared at the little fox lady indifferently.
Then, under her dull gaze, she grabbed Zheng Qing’s hand again, placing it on her arm.
"You should get used to all this quickly."
She nonchalantly removed her glasses, letting the warlock beside her beco clumsy again like a puppet, adopting a slightly more serious tone: "In seven days, you’re going to the Moonlight Ball with . Do you plan to be so stiff then, that I’d have to use puppet magic to control your every move? Puppets move more smoothly than you do now."
The joke was not at all funny.
The young wizard reluctantly pulled a grin, showing a rather awkward smile.
"Don’t be so nervous."
The witch reassured him with a pat on the back of his hand, unknowingly causing him to step on his own foot, nearly tripping into the flower hall, and she had to yank the nearly-falling warlock upright before rembering what she was just about to say: "...The essence of the ball is socializing... You have to constantly appear in the spotlight, in other people’s sight, so everyone becos more accustod to our relationship... By the way, can you dance?"
Zheng Qing felt like he was walking on cotton, heart pounding, mind blank. So, Su Shijun had to repeat her question again: "How many dances can you do?"
"Dance?"
Zheng Qing finally regained so of his senses, subconsciously recalling the scenes from last year’s hunting party, his mood suddenly dropping significantly, mumbling: "I can do a bit of ballroom dancing."
Su Shijun glanced at him.
"A little is not enough." She shook her head, seeming to talk to herself: "You’re going to be accompanying . If you step on my feet... I’m not afraid of Greenhill losing face... I’m just worried you’ll be knocked out with a club after the ball."
The words "knocked out" imdiately brought back so bad mories for Zheng Qing.
"You ntioned buying clothes earlier...was for the ball?" He perked up a bit, recalling the reason the witch took him from class today.
"Bingo!"
Su Shijun snapped her fingers, and a glass of orange juice appeared in her hand.
"As Su Shijun’s man, you must maintain a certain level of decency in public."
She took a small sip of the juice, glancing at Zheng Qing’s large academy robe with a aningful look: "Clothes that are too loose won’t shield you from the cold wind under the moonlight, and walking would make you shiver... Overall, you should prepare so well-fitting new clothes, or you’ll just end up shivering all night."
Because Zheng Qing liked to hide various trinkets like an old-school wizard under his robe, his current robes were a few sizes too large, appearing sowhat baggy indeed.
The young wizard’s face flushed slightly, uneasily squirming as he mumbled: "Oh...you can just give a list... I can go after class tonight, it won’t be too late."
"Why wait until tomorrow?" The witch raised her eyebrows slightly.
As she was about to speak, Su Man, the head housemaid, silently appeared at the edge of the flower hall, quietly reporting: "Miss, the tailors from Green Xifang and Ground Brush have arrived."
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