Volume 2 Chapter 42: I’m Already Fully Ripe!
They needed to buy drinks. After all, Gao Liang had already said that drawing takes a lot of time.
Even though the art studio might have water, Lin Lin wanted something with some flavor. Otherwise, she would feel uncomfortable.
So the two of them could only look around nearby to see if there was a shop or any place selling drinks.
After searching for a while, Lin Lin was feeling speechless. This place really had nothing around it, no shops, no stores. It felt very empty and lonely. Just as she was thinking that, Gao Liang suddenly spoke up.
“Hey, Lin Lin, look!”
Gao Liang pointed ahead. Lin Lin followed the direction of his finger and saw, not far away, a very out-of-place vending machine.
Uh…
It shouldn’t be selling anything weird, right?
With suspicion, Lin Lin slowly walked over. Before long, they were standing in front of the vending machine. They both looked closely.
It was actually selling drinks!
But there were only two items left on the shelf…
Yes, not two types with many bottles, just two drinks in total. Luckily, they were different.
“What a coincidence… only two left,” Gao Liang scratched his head.
Lin Lin didn’t know whether this was good luck or bad luck. She pouted, thought for a moment, and then said,
“Looks like… coffee and lemonade.”
“Yeah. Which one do you want, Lin Lin? You choose.”
This time, Gao Liang was surprisingly gentleman-like.
While thinking that, Lin Lin looked at the two drinks.
Uh…
Based on her habits, she almost never drank coffee. So maybe lemonade would be better. She liked it quite a lot, hehe…
Just as the girl was thinking this and about to raise her hand to choose the lemonade, suddenly—
A scary thought flashed through her mind.
This guy…
Lin Lin turned her head and looked at Gao Liang, who had a confused expression.
This guy…
Why is he being so nice?
No, no, no. Her sworn rival would never be this kind without a reason!
Gasp—
She almost fell for it!
Lin Lin quickly pulled her hand back. Gao Liang froze for a moment.
“What’s wrong, Lin Lin?”
“Ahem…”
Lin Lin gave a strategic cough. First, analyze the situation.
First of all, at her age, still not having tried coffee, a drink that looks very classy and full of “adult lifestyle” vibes, doesn’t that make her seem a bit immature?
Someone who drinks lemonade every day… wouldn’t that look too…
Too childish?
That’s right!
This is a trap!
If she chose the lemonade, Gao Liang would be sure that she was just a kid. In the future, he would only want to bully her even more!
And he would even use this to laugh at her…
Alright!
Decision made. She would choose coffee!
Hmph. She would make her sworn enemy look at her differently. She would let him know that she was very mature, super mature, completely… completely grown up!
In short, she was going to be an adult!
So the girl silently raised her hand, firmly pointed at the coffee, and shouted,
“I want this one!”
“Eh?”
Gao Liang looked a little surprised, and Lin Lin caught that reaction clearly.
At this moment, she even felt a bit proud. Hehe, see? I guessed it right, didn’t I?
I didn’t choose the way you, Mr. Gao, expected. Did that make you, my sworn enemy, see me in a new light?
Hmph~
“Lin Lin, you’re really choosing coffee?”
“Didn’t expect that, right? Hehe~”
“Well… actually, what I mean is—Lin Lin, this coffee says it’s more original flavor, the bitter kind. Are you used to drinking that?”
“Eh?”
Lin Lin looked at the bottle he was pointing at.
Key Xinyuan Coffee — Bringing You the Richest Original Flavor.
Ah—this, this…
She suddenly felt nervous. If this really tasted like coffee from a café, especially if it was very bitter, then she…
She might not be able to handle it.
Hmm…
After hesitating for a while, Gao Liang gently touched the girl’s head and said,
“Or maybe you should choose the lemonade instead. I drink coffee a lot, so I’m fine with it.”
“You jerk!”
The girl immediately slapped away his “evil hand” and shouted.
“Don’t touch me!”
This guy! He really does treat her like a child!
But she’s a high school student! A high school student!
Hmph…
Who says she can’t handle it?
Besides, that, that… that drink is still just a drink!
No matter how much it claims to be ‘original flavor,’ it’s still a bottled drink! They must have added a lot of sugar!
Yes, yes!
The girl made up her mind, waved her hand, and shouted:
“Give me this one! I want the coffee!”
“Uh… alright, okay then.”
Gao Liang waved his hand and gave in to her. After he scanned and paid, the girl blinked.
Huh… did he just treat me?
……………
Clang—
With the sound of a bottle dropping, the purchase was done.
The girl squatted in front of the vending machine’s pickup slot, stretching her short arms forward as hard as she could.
Maybe this stupid vending machine was badly designed, the pickup slot was really hard to reach. While she tried to grab the drink she had accidentally pushed deeper inside, her thin arm got tightly stuck by the flap at the opening.
It hurt a little…
“Eeek~ ah~”
Making strange noises, the girl kept struggling. Gao Liang held back his laughter for a long time, then finally squatted down and helped lift the flap that was pinching her arm.
Whew…
Problem solved.
With one last effort, the girl finally pulled out the drink.
Lin Lin stood up proudly and was about to pull the tab on the can. At the same time, Gao Liang’s drink dropped out of the machine as well.
Standing nearby, she watched as her sworn enemy easily took his can.
All the complaints she had been building up about this vending machine suddenly…
…she didn’t know how to say them in front of him anymore.
Damn it!
She could only change the topic.
“Um, by the way, this vending machine doesn’t restock very often, right? It’s basically out of drinks…”
She looked at the now almost empty shelves, then carefully checked the production date and expiration date on the can.
After making sure it was safe to drink, she turned to Gao Liang.
“Yeah,” Gao Liang nodded. “It should be fine. This place is probably just too remote, so the supplier doesn’t come often.”
“The place you picked is way too remote!” she complained. “Who would normally come here to draw?”
“Well,” he said, “aren’t we here?”
Holding their drinks, the two of them walked back toward the art studio, chatting and complaining back and forth.
After talking for a while, the girl started to feel thirsty. She opened the can and took a sip of the coffee drink she had just bought.
………
Ah… urgh—
She almost threw up on the spot. The bitter taste spread through her throat. She used all her strength just to swallow it.
H-help…!
What kind of drink is this?! ‘Original flavor’? Even real coffee isn’t this bitter!
Ahhh—
The bitterness made her shiver all over. Gao Liang noticed the small girl’s sudden strange reaction and froze.
“Lin Lin, what’s wrong?”