Chapter 216. Let’s Make A Deal (2)

Translator: Lili

Weekly Chapter 3/6

From that day on, Henriad grew suspiciously accommodating.

It was suspicious to the point where, when Shushu tripped over the carpet while moving a sack of flour and ended up with her face covered in it, Henriad merely said,

“At least it’s not cement.”

He even offered dubious solutions to help Shushu in her search for Elma and her parents, saying,

“Give me their photos, and I’ll turn them into walking lottery tickets.”

The legality of his proposal was highly questionable, but Henriad said it so earnestly that Shushu couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

Of course, Shushu declined Henriad’s offer. She didn’t ask for details, but whatever method he had in mind, she was sure that it wouldn’t guarantee the safe return of the two people she was searching for—or even their limbs in one piece. Instead of a cozy conversation over coffee at a café, she could already picture herself meeting someone in an abandoned factory, complete with flaming oil drums.

More than anything, what unsettled Shushu was Henriad’s sudden kindness. That alone made her wary.

“…Do you still have baby teeth by any chance?”

“Nope. Even my wisdom teeth are gone.”

Shushu stared at her reflection in the mirror, her expression one of deadpan disbelief. Faint bite marks decorated her cheekbone and temple, souvenirs from Henriad’s nighttime enthusiasm.

***

“So, do you get really hungry at night?”

“No. I don’t eat anything after 10 p.m.”

If anyone else had said this, Shushu might have called them a liar. But Henriad genuinely adhered to this peculiar rule.

The one time Shushu had brought him a late-night snack of buttered sweet potatoes and honeyed milk, his reaction had been one of pure shock. He had looked at her as if she were some three-headed creature and asked,

“Why would you eat after dinner? Does Logwin have a four-meal-a-day custom?”

His reaction left Shushu grappling with secondhand embarrassment on a national scale.

While this might make Henriad an ideal role model for athletes or models, Shushu was neither and found his habit more baffling than admirable.

“Then… do you grind your teeth like a rat—ah!”

Before she could finish her sarcastic comment, her waist was yanked forward with a sudden force. Like a fish caught on a line, Shushu found herself reeled in by Henriad’s nimble hand, only to land on the couch. By the time she processed what had happened, she was already seated, with Henriad leaning against her, an impish smile playing on his lips.

“Are you mad?”

“…”

Henriad’s expression was one of complete indifference, as though he couldn’t care less whether she was angry or not. Shushu glared at him, her annoyance plain on her face, but Henriad only shifted closer, his body now hovering over hers.

“Don’t worry. I won’t bite tonight. Just tell me which you prefer.”

“I don’t really… want to find out what not biting feels like.”

His hair fell like curtains, lightly brushing her forehead, making her squirm. She shook her head in an attempt to escape the man’s body looming over hers, but the couch in her living room was pitifully narrow, especially with Henriad sharing it.

This was precisely why Shushu felt uncomfortable with Henriad’s ‘kindness’. Despite his disciplined, almost model-like habits, such as refusing snacks after 10 p.m., he had an alarming tendency to get handsy with her at night. And it wasn’t just harmless teasing—it often went much further.

Since the night he had thoroughly turned her world upside down, Henriad had clung to her, abandoning the previously indifferent attitude he had once shown. There had been times when he had pressed her onto the table, moving his mouth down her body, or entwined with her in the bathtub, leaving no space between them.

Initially, Shushu was hesitant. But unfortunately, Henriad bore an uncanny resemblance to Mini Cat. It wasn’t just that they looked alike—he embodied the dream version of Mini Cat, as if the person Shushu had secretly imagined had come to life in male form.