Ding! The microwave finished heating. Mei placed the steaming dishes in front of Fu Lin.
As Mei's mind fully woke up, she noticed the faint scent of blood on Fu Lin and finally fixed her gaze on his hair, frowning in concern, "Fu Lin, are you hurt?"
"No… ugh—!" Fu Lin took a big spoonful of food, chewed, and then a sticky piece of meat sauce dripped from his hair into the bowl. Seeing the extra piece of meat in the bowl, he couldn't stop himself from throwing up everything he'd just eaten.
Fu Lin touched his sticky hair, finally realizing he had been splattered with brain matter. He gagged, stood up, and ran upstairs, "Ugh—I'm done eating, I'm going to take a shower! Ugh—!"
---------------------------------
On Monday, Fu Lin arrived at the shop as usual, opened the door, and neatly arranged all kinds of dolls on the shelves.
After finishing everything, there was still some time before the students would be dismissed from school. Fu Lin sat idly on a lounge chair, casually picked an obscure sci-fi movie, and watched it with interest.
As the movie ended, the sun had gradually set, and the sky was filled with a soft twilight. The street outside the shop also began to bustle with activity.
Fu Lin calmly took a sip of water, stretched his body like a lazy cat, and relaxed every muscle in his body.
With the pleasant sound of the bell on the door, Fu Lin quickly stood up straight and greeted every customer with a smile.
When his eyes met Mei, who had just walked in, a trace of surprise flashed through Fu Lin's eyes, and he subconsciously blurted out, "Mei?"
Mei widened her eyes in feigned surprise, covered her delicate lips, then walked toward Fu Lin, raised her innocent face, and looked at him with confusion, "Fu Lin? Why are you here? Are you working part-time?"
"Uh… that's right." Fu Lin looked into Mei's pure and innocent eyes and nodded slightly.
"Are you short on money? I can give you my allowance… hmm?" Mei put down the backpack on her back, squatted down to search through it, pulled out a bulging cat-shaped coin purse, took out a stack of yen bills, and handed them to Fu Lin.
Before she could finish speaking, Fu Lin quickly covered her mouth, stuffed the money back into the purse at lightning speed, and put it back into her backpack.
Mei blinked, and when she noticed the curious gazes from people around them, a blush instantly rose to her cheeks.
"My dear lady, if you do something like this, people who don't know the truth will think I'm being kept by you. How am I supposed to keep working here?"
Fu Lin bent down, his gentle, neutral voice sounding in Mei's ear, then glanced toward the customers who needed help and slowly walked away from Mei.
Mei covered her face, her cheeks burning red like fire, the blush spreading from her face to the tips of her ears, revealing deep shyness and excitement. Her ears tingled and buzzed.
The Herrscher of Thunder inside her couldn't help but hold her forehead, lightly brushing her fingertips over Mei's head, sending a small, numb electric current into her brain.
Under the Herrscher of Thunder's forced calm, the shyness on Mei's face gradually faded. She watched Fu Lin, who was helping a female customer pick out a doll, and mumbled softly to herself, "Mm~ I don't mind if people misunderstand… I really don't care…"
Sensing something, Fu Lin looked up, met Mei's eyes, silently smiled at her, and continued helping the shy customer pick the right doll.
As Fu Lin got busier, Mei started to feel bored. She casually placed her backpack on the chair Fu Lin had been sitting on and began wandering around the shop, admiring the various lifelike dolls.
Although they all looked nice, none of them sparked her desire to buy—until she unknowingly wandered to an empty section.
After a quick glance, her eyes were immediately drawn to a gray-blue stuffed cat on the high shelf.
That thing seemed to have some kind of magical pull—Mei was completely drawn to it. She reached out, trying to grab it, but it was placed too high. Even on tiptoes, she couldn't reach it.
"Ugh!" A few minutes later, Mei clenched her fists, stared longingly at the realistic stuffed cat right in front of her, puffed her cheeks, and stomped her feet in frustration.
"Mei, what are you doing here? Do you want this?" Fu Lin took the stuffed cat down with both hands, held it out to Mei, and smiled mischievously.
"I want it (づ●─●)づ."
Seeing the stuffed cat that was bigger than herself, Mei's eyes shone even brighter. She reached out to grab it, but Fu Lin sidestepped her.
Mei missed her mark, looked at the playful Fu Lin, pouted, and called out softly, "Fu Lin, I want it~"
Seeing how much Mei liked the stuffed cat, Fu Lin secretly felt pleased but didn't plan to give it to her right away. Instead, he put it back on the high shelf.
"These stuffed toys are all custom-made. Customers will come to pick them up when they're ready. How about choosing another one?"
"When do you get off work?" Mei nodded, her gaze moving away from the stuffed cat as she reached out to tug on the hem of Fu Lin's shirt.
"Well, once the shop is empty, I'll be done. If you're bored, you can go home first." Fu Lin rubbed Mei's head.
Mei shook her head. "I want to stay with you."
Fu Lin pointed to a curtain in the distance, which had a red crossed-out "?" symbol on it. He held Mei's shoulders with a serious expression and warned her,
"Mm, don't go behind that curtain—there's a monster that eats children back there, got it? If you're tired, you can rest on the chair."
Following Fu Lin's finger, Mei glanced at the curtain. Her face was still slightly flushed. Embarrassed, she lowered her head, nervously fiddling with her fingers, and whispered softly, "Okay."