Vending Machine

Li Yue immediately smiled. Good! Very Good! It seems that this Mo Li had really schemed against her. "My name is Li Yue. I'll be teaching your elder brother trigonometry."

Surprised flashed in the woman's eyes as she shifted her gaze towards Mo Li. "Really?" He nodded in response. "That is… I did not expect you would take father's words seriously. But… I am quite good with math too. You could have just asked me to teach you."

"No. Thank you." Mo Li stoically said before he walked towards his room. He glanced at Li Yue. "Follow me."

"You're going to study in your room?" Bai Lan asked.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Li Yue asked. As expected, Bai Lan's cheeks immediately reddened. She lowered her head, embarrassed.

[Side Quest: Irritate Bai Lan until she faints. You have twenty-four hours to accomplish the task. Reward: Ten coins. Can be used to unlock the vending machine.]

"…" What kind of side quest is this? But most importantly, what the hell is this vending machine? Li Yue eyed Bai Lan wondering whether this woman had somehow offended the system or not. "Is something wrong, Miss Bai?" She asked.

"No. No… I… It's just that… I prepared my elder brother's favorite." She lifted her head and looked at Mo Li. "I cooked braised meatballs with gravy. Would you like to have some?" She said as she held her hands together. Of course, Li Yue didn't miss the redness on the woman's right hand. However, Mo Li was different. He only stared at Bai Lan for a few seconds before nodding. 

"Let me study first. Bring the dish to my room after that."

Li Yue smiled inwardly. As expected of the villain. Heh, this man is as cold as the ice of the Northern Pole!

"Really?" Bai Lan happily said as she clutched her hands towards her chest. The woman was obviously trying to show her burn marks but as expected, Mo Li ignored her nonchalantly. Instead he nodded and turned his back against Bai Lan.

"Make two meals. Meatballs are Yue's favorite too." He said and walked towards his room without giving Bai Lan another look. Li Yue, on the other hand, was different. She beamed at Bai Lan, showing her perfectly straight teeth, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Sister Lan… I would have to trouble you to bring an additional portion for me." She cleared her throat. "Mo Li always eats a lot of food so I'm sure he would love to have seconds. Oh…. make it four portions. Since he loves your cooking so much, I'm sure he would be delighted to have a third serving."

"You— "

"Sister Lan…" she interrupted her. "I'm sure you don't want him to get hungry, right?"

Bai Lan pursed her lips as she nodded.

"Wonderful!" Li Yue clapped her hands. "Sister Lan really is the best!"

"I— " Before Bai Lan could say anything, Li Yue had already walked towards Mo Li's room, leaving the silently fuming Bai Lan. What sister Lan? What the hell does she mean by sister Lan?

 She was obviously younger than Mo Li and that woman! However, thinking about Li Yue's words saying that Mo Li would eat three servings of her food instantly made her more energetic! She would certainly make the best braised meatballs for Mo Li! As for that Li Yue…. That woman will surely embarrass herself tonight!

"Hmp!" Bai Lan sneered before she walked towards the kitchen and started cooking the perfect meal for her brother.

....

Meanwhile, Li Yue was glaring at the man who was calmly sitting in front of her. "You tricked me."

"I didn't," He shrugged.

"You knew that your step sister would come and yet you… you asked me to be here. Mo Li, you are really irritating!"

"Thank you." Mo Li said as he started reading his book. Seeing this, Li Yue opened her book as well and started reading. This Mo Li does not need her teaching. He actually tricked her so she could deal with his step sister for him! This man….

[Aphrodisiac detected.]

[Aphrodisiac detected.]

[Aphrodisiac detected.]

[Aphrodisiac detected.]

Li Yue instantly froze when she heard the system's warning. What aphrodisiac? She inhaled and immediately noticed the soft smell of jasmine in the air. "What is that smell?" She asked. However, before Mo Li could answer her, Bai Lan had already walked inside the room.

"Elder brother… it is so dark in here. I think it would be better if we open up the windows."

Mo Li eyed Bai Lan before he asked Li Yue. "It will be cold. Will you be alright if we open the windows?"

Li Yue choked on her saliva. What's with the gentle tone? This Mo Li…. How could he act like this in front of a woman like Bai Lan? "Ehem… actually… I get cold too easily. So… I think it would be better to have it closed." She said and looked at Bai Lan. As she expected, the latter's face changed. "Plus… I really like the smell of,,, what is it? Jasmine?"

"You can smell it?" Bai Lan asked before she froze for a moment and eyed Mo Li. "I mean— I mean that's the aromatic candle I place in the kitchen whenever I'm cooking."

"Really? That's weird. I thought you guys actually have some sort of air freshener in the vents." Li Yue said. Of course, she decided to add more fuel to the fire. "Hey, Li can you smell that?"

Mo Li shook his head.

"Then… It must be just me then. I've always had a pretty good sense of smell ever since I was born. So…" she beamed. "Sister Lan… it smells really good. I think it can help us study better. Why don't you bring the candle here?"

"What? No!" Bai Lan immediately realized that she had actually raised her voice. She immediately lowered her head. "I— it's just that… this candle is something my grandmother personally made for me. So I am a bit uncomfortable letting other people use it."

"Sister Lan really is sentimental." Li Yue smiled. "It's alright then." 

Seeing this, Bai Lan gritted her teeth and told them that she would continue cooking. When she left, Li Yue immediately let out a low chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Mo Li asked.

"I don't know… I was just thinking. You and Bai Lan… are not lovers right?"

"Why do you care?"

"This is necessary for my job, alright. I need to know if you were to accidentally impregnate someone so I can plan some sort of a counter attack."

He frowned and stared at her for a few seconds. "You're weird."

....

I forgot to schedule in advance. hehehhe.