This is a bizarre rule, isn't it? It's supposed to grant me many children and good fortune

Chapter 278 I like to take the initiative!

The crisis is temporarily over.

Lin Feng calmly put the Silent One's handshake back into his personal space and turned to Tang Xiaorui:

"Miss Tang? What are you doing... in the regular cafeteria?"

Tang Xiaorui approached with a slight smirk, a hint of mockery in her eyes: "What, aren't you welcoming me?"

Lin Feng immediately shook his head, a sincere smile on his face: "How could that be? It was just a pleasant surprise. Thank you for helping me out of that situation earlier."

Vassim, Chiba Saori, and Songxi exchanged a knowing glance, and with perfect understanding, picked up their plates and quietly moved to the empty table next to them.

Tang Xiaorui sat down opposite Lin Feng and placed a light-colored canvas tube that she was carrying with her on the table.

"Actually, I came here specifically to see you," she said, opening the drawing tube and carefully pulling out an illustration. "I had a burst of inspiration last night and drew a new piece, which I wanted to share with you first."

She pushed the painting in front of Lin Feng.

Lin Feng looked down, and then paused slightly.

The background of the image is the peacock garden of the zoo at night, but the focus is on a lush sycamore tree.

The warm yellow glow of the streetlights shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting hazy and romantic spots of light that intertwined with the deep blue night sky and the faint starlight.

In the center of the scene, beside the thick trunk of a sycamore tree, Tang Xiaorui, wearing a light-colored dress, is trapping Lin Feng between the tree trunk and herself.

She gently placed one hand on the tree trunk beside his ear, and with the other hand she slipped her fingers through Lin Feng's hair at his temple. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips.

Lin Feng, who was trapped by her, showed a rare sign of panic.

His slightly widened eyes reflected shards of light, his cheeks and earlobes were flushed with a clear blush, and his body unconsciously leaned back, presenting a shy and passive posture.

The delicate brushstrokes even captured his slightly curled fingers and slightly stiff shoulder line, which contrasted sharply with his usual calm demeanor.

The contrast between light and shadow cleverly amplifies the contrast between the two characters, highlighting their active and passive, offensive and helpless attitudes.

Lin Feng's forehead creased with a few black lines as he looked up and met Tang Xiaorui's bright, smiling eyes.

She was resting her chin on her hand, watching his reaction with amusement.

Lin Feng gently touched the obvious blush and bewildered look on the face of the "himself" in the painting with his fingertip:

"Miss Tang, haven't you... reversed the character's role?"

"No," Tang Xiaorui's eyes curved into beautiful crescent moons, "because... this is what I want to do."

She leaned forward slightly, a sly glint in her eyes: "I like to take the initiative!"

Lin Feng: "..."

Tang Xiaorui blinked, then asked, "Do you like this painting?"

Lin Feng nodded—did he dare say he didn't like it?

"If you like it, this painting is yours."

Tang Xiaorui rolled up the painting, put it into a painting tube, and pushed it in front of him, a playful glint in her eyes.

"Remember to stick it on the headboard of your dorm bed; it has some anti-pollution properties!"

Lin Feng thought to himself, "You're just trying to make sure the whole world knows."

He shook his head but accepted the painting anyway. "Okay, thanks."

Tang Xiaorui then returned to the main topic with satisfaction: "By the way, are you going on patrol this afternoon? Take me with you."

Lin Feng was taken aback: "This... I'm afraid it's not appropriate."

Tang Xiaorui frowned slightly: "I'm not going to cause trouble. If I go with you, those tourists who want to cause trouble will behave themselves a bit. And you're still not happy about that?"

A fox pretends to be a tiger!

This is certainly excellent—but Lin Feng is more worried about Tang Xiaorui's second personality suddenly going berserk.

He rubbed his chin, considered for a moment, and then nodded: "That's possible, but we need to agree on three rules."

Tang Xiaorui immediately sat up straight, adopting a serious listening posture: "Okay, tell me."

"First," Lin Feng said, looking directly into her eyes, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"From now until the end of this afternoon patrol, you must consider yourself as my temporary teammate and Wasim's teammate."

"Physical contact of any kind that goes beyond the boundaries of teammates is prohibited."

Tang Xiaorui was taken aback for a moment, then a knowing glint flashed in her eyes: "You're just afraid I'll suddenly become too affectionate, right? Fine, fine, I won't!"

Lin Feng continued, "Secondly, it cannot interfere with my and Wasim's normal work."

"When we are observing, recording, and responding to a situation, you need to remain quiet and keep your distance unless we signal to it or the situation is urgent."

"Third, absolutely, absolutely do not provoke trouble."

Tang Xiaorui pouted her pink lips, but finally nodded readily:

"Alright, alright, Captain Lin! I'll do whatever you say."

She stretched out her finger and gestured in the air like a child, "I've got the three rules."

After saying that, she stood up lightly. "You eat first, I'll go order something to eat, I'm a little hungry."

Then she turned around and walked briskly toward the food serving window, her twin ponytails swaying behind her.

........................

Studio:

"Tang Xiaorui's personality is so straightforward, I love it!"

"'I like to take the initiative!' -- Xiaorui is so cool! I'm so envious of that decisive and efficient attitude."

"Cool, sweet, and a great artist—what an ideal girlfriend! Lin Feng, what are you waiting for!"

"I want a girlfriend like this: straightforward and not coy, who will take the initiative to advance the relationship (although in a slightly wild way)."

"She agreed so readily, but I have a feeling that Miss Tang is going to recklessly test the limits of 'not causing trouble'..."

........................

Soon, Tang Xiaorui gracefully returned to her seat with her tray.

Besides rice and a few vegetables, the most eye-catching item on the plate was a small dish of sweet and sour pork ribs, glistening with oil and coated in an amber-colored sauce, emitting an enticing aroma of sweet and sour flavors.

"Here, try this." She picked up a piece of the meatiest and most tender spare rib with her chopsticks, and with a nimble flick of her wrist, she held it to Lin Feng's lips.

"I specifically asked the kitchen to make it fresh; you can't get it from the window. And—"

She lowered her voice deliberately and blinked, "It's absolutely safe."

The aroma of pork ribs was almost within reach, but Lin Feng's expression faltered slightly. He then leaned back imperceptibly and said gently:

"Thank you, I can do it myself."

He reached out with his chopsticks and steadily took the piece of rib from above her chopsticks.

It wasn't that he lacked romantic sensibilities, but rather that he had to strictly control the level of intimacy between the two of them before dealing with the "time bomb" of Tang Xiaorui's second personality.

Once some invisible red line is crossed, awakening or stimulating that unknown entity within her, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Tang Xiaorui pouted, her tone half aggrieved and half reproachful:

"I care about you, and you're so ungrateful..."

Lin Feng's tone was calm, but his attitude was very firm:

"Ms. Tang, we are currently temporary teammates. Maintaining appropriate social distancing among teammates is more conducive to mission execution."

Tang Xiaorui muttered under her breath, "So many rules..."

She didn't insist, but quickly picked up another piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and gently placed it on Lin Feng's plate...