After Mei took off her glasses, Kevyn's expression shifted instantly from disappointment to a stunned, flickering joy.
The sequence of events that followed was exactly as Kevyn had envisioned.
The moment their lips met, Kevyn felt as though she were drifting among the clouds, wrapped in soft, white mist. With her limited mental bandwidth already redlining, only two words managed to surface in her mind: So soft.
No, wait!
Lost in the depth of the kiss, Kevyn's eyes snapped open, a trace of bewilderment clouding her gaze.
What was happening?
Wasn't she supposed to be the one taking the initiative?
Who was this person currently being pinned against the table by Mei?
However, Kevyn soon found she had no room left to ponder such complex questions. As Mei deepened the kiss, she surrendered to the sensation once more.
"Oh my, the lounge is already occupied~?"
Outside the door, Elysia had only cracked it open a sliver.
Upon seeing the scene inside, she hurried to click it shut. Turning to Durandal, she teased, "It looks like we'll have to head to your office for lunch instead, hmm~?"
Durandal had naturally caught a glimpse through the gap as well. She nodded, and then, for reasons she couldn't quite pin down, added a clarification: "Just to eat. Nothing else."
Elysia traced her fingers over her slightly swollen lips and smiled. "Of course. Why, what else were you planning to eat? Hmm~?"
Witnessing that look, Durandal couldn't help but swallow hard. She muttered under her breath, "Truly a succubus!"
With that, she turned and marched toward her office.
Elysia's ears twitched; she hadn't missed a word. She quickened her pace to catch up, tilting her head to look up at Durandal with a playful glint.
"A succubus? You mean like the spirits from those Shenzhou ghost stories? The ones who lurk in the wilderness specifically to drain the life force out of poor scholars?"
Faced with Elysia's teasing—or rather, her blatant flirting—Durandal suddenly flashed a smile of her own.
She reached out, snagged the "succubus" as they reached the office, and pulled her inside, locking the door behind them.
Durandal pinned the seemingly startled Elysia against the door. She hooked a finger under the girl's chin, tilting it up as she leaned in close.
Her voice was barely a breathy whisper. "You might be the spirit who hungers for life force, but I'm certainly no scholar."
Elysia blinked, stunned for a heartbeat before her smile returned.
She looped her arms around Durandal's neck, interlacing her fingers behind her head. Winking, she said, "So, who was it that said we were just here to eat? It seems someone still wants a taste of—"
Before Elysia could finish her sentence, Durandal's composure shattered.
Flushing a deep crimson, she pulled back and quickly fished a piece of chocolate from her pocket—the kind she kept on hand for quick energy boosts—and popped it into Elysia's mouth.
As the rich, silky texture of the chocolate melted—sweet with a hint of sophisticated bitterness—Elysia couldn't fight the rush of dopamine flooding her brain.
Still, she put on a pained expression. Chewing the chocolate, she shot a mock glare at Durandal. "My sugar intake for the day is way over the limit now. If I get fat, how are you going to make it up to me?"
Durandal seriously doubted a single piece of chocolate would make anyone gain weight, but then she remembered she was talking to someone who monitored her calories and sugar just as strictly as she did.
Sometimes, if Durandal had an extra bite of dessert, she'd tack on an extra set to her training regimen.
"If you actually gain weight, I'll exercise with you to burn off the calories," Durandal offered as her compensation plan.
Elysia narrowed her eyes. "Research shows that one kiss burns about 12 calories. A 10-gram piece of chocolate like the one you just gave me has about 60 calories. That means one chocolate requires five kisses to burn off. Durandal, I've realized you're actually quite devious!"
Durandal: ?
Did "exercising together" mean kissing?
Though... thinking about it, that didn't seem like such a bad idea...
Seeing that Durandal was actually giving the suggestion serious thought, Elysia quickly let go and scurried to the other side of the room.
If this "Dudu" actually put that into practice and kissed her four more times in a row (since they'd already kissed once when they met), she wouldn't be able to show her face for the rest of the day. Her lips would be swollen beyond recognition.
Watching Elysia's "tease-and-run" tactics, Durandal could only sigh in resignation. As a certain trendy screenwriter once said: a "dangerous woman" is exactly like this.
--+--
Meanwhile, back in the lounge, the long, lingering first kiss finally came to an end. Mei and Kevyn stood in each other's arms, leaning together as they waited for their breathing to steady.
Mei reached out, fumbling across the tabletop for a moment before retrieving her glasses.
The moment she slid them back on, she returned to being the genius bookworm in the eyes of teachers, parents, and students—the girl who cared only for knowledge.
It was as if the person who had just completely dominated Kevyn didn't exist.
Through her lenses, Mei could clearly see the flush on Kevyn's cheeks and even the fine, soft hairs on her face.
She wondered what the fangirls at Chiba Academy—those who worshipped Kevyn as their "Prince Charming"—would think if they saw her like this.
Would the "Prince" image crumble instantly, turning them into haters? Or would they be so captivated by this ultimate "gap moe" that they'd fall even deeper?
Mei wasn't sure about others, but in her eyes, Kevyn's image had never changed.
She had never seen her as a "Prince Charming," nor did she think the Kevyn of this moment was all that different from the usual one.
From the very beginning, Kevyn had simply been a clumsy, persistent girl who tried every method—both sensible and ridiculous—to get her attention.
Since the day they met, Kevyn had always placed Mei on a pedestal. Because of that, Kevyn was always incredibly careful with Mei's feelings.
In terms of their emotions, Kevyn was always the initiator, but in terms of physical action, she exercised extreme self-restraint.
Therefore, it was only logical that Mei would be the one to take the lead for their first kiss.
Mei felt a flicker of annoyance at Kevyn's excessive self-suppression, yet at the same time, she felt a profound sense of satisfaction and happiness at being so deeply respected.
For a lover like this, Mei had only one evaluation.
"What a... dummy."
Kevyn watched, bewildered, as Mei picked up her thermal lunch box and walked away, leaving nothing behind but that single sentence.
Kevyn: ?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.