Translator:	Author:	Original Source:
MJCross	Cat’s Glasses	SFACG

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“Commander, please, just help with one more bite…”

Xiao Lei clasped her hands together, looking at me with a desperate plea on her face.

But staring at the mountain of grilled meat before me, my vision blurred, my mind drifted, and my stomach churned. Something inside me felt like it was about to erupt from my throat.

“I… I can’t. I haven’t even finished digesting yet—if I eat any more, I’ll throw up.”

“Honestly, it’s because Sis Xiao Lei took way too much… urp!” Tangerine, slumped in her chair, covered her mouth as she let out a small burp.

“Sorry, I overestimated my stomach…” Xiao Lei sighed. Her current appetite was probably less than half of Zhao Zhao’s.

“The stuffed cheese baked crabs are the real culprit here.” Haitang poked at the leftover crab shells with her chopsticks and sighed. “I can’t believe I fell for such a simple trap.”

The stuffed cheese baked crabs that Li Jianlian recommended were undoubtedly the restaurant’s biggest conspiracy.

They were delicious—no doubt about that—but way too rich. After just one, my stomach felt completely full, making it impossible to eat anything else.

“One last push! Burn, my cosmos!”

After taking a moment to recover, Saint Seiya Xiao Lei started the final death charge towards the mini meat mountain.

There was no need for a scale—this pile of meat definitely exceeded the 60-gram fine for wasted food. To avoid paying extra, I reluctantly followed Xiao Lei into battle.

Eating grilled meat was supposed to be a joyful experience, but right now, every bite felt like I was force-feeding myself grease. My throat rejected the idea of swallowing, my stomach begged for mercy, and my soul started leaving my body.

Noticing our struggle, Li Jianlian appeared, carrying a small tray.

“When you can’t eat anymore, have some of this. It doesn’t take up much space in your stomach, and it helps cut the greasiness.”

He placed four small scoops of ice cream in front of us.

“Ohh! Thanks, man!”

The one he handed me was green—mint flavored. While it was indeed refreshing, the cheap mint flavor made me feel like I was eating toothpaste.

“Next time, eat the grilled meat with lettuce wraps. It might seem like you’ll be filling yourself with lettuce, but it actually lets you eat way more meat than you’d expect. It helps cut down the oiliness.”

Xiao Lei gave it a try, wrapping some meat in lettuce before taking a bite.

Then, she let out a sudden realization noise—”Ohhh, so that’s how it works!”

“He’s surprisingly proactive despite his appearance.”

Haitang’s impression of Li Jianlian seemed… oddly positive.

Should I tell her that he’s the reason she didn’t get her pizza last time?

After finishing lunch and bidding farewell to May Rome and Li Jianlian, it was already past 1 PM.

With no set destination, we aimlessly wandered along the skywalks, walking off our food.

“I can’t believe we actually finished everything. Looks like we still have room for improvement.” Xiao Lei commented.

Honestly? I agreed. Thanks to Li Jianlian’s advice, we had surpassed our limits. Next time, I think we’d be able to eat even more.

“Forget about ‘improving’—just look at your stomach. Girls can’t afford to eat like this all the time.”

Haitang’s words made me instinctively glance at their stomachs.

Haitang was still in perfect shape. She already had abs, so she was good at controlling her figure. More importantly, she ate in moderation.

Tangerine, with her naturally small appetite, hadn’t eaten much to begin with. Her stomach barely bulged at all.

Xiao Lei, however…

She didn’t inherit Zhao Zhao’s rock-hard abs. Instead, her tight white open-shoulder top—which was meant to accentuate her waist—was now completely stretched out.

Her stomach stuck out even more than her chest—a tragic comparison—making her look like she was three months pregnant.

Tangerine and Haitang both stared at her belly, too.

Realizing where our gazes were focused, Xiao Lei’s face flushed red as she clutched her stomach.

“S-stop staring! This is your fault for not helping me eat!”

Her flustered, angry pout was actually pretty cute. Even Haitang couldn’t help but laugh.

…As for me? Since I always wore loose-fitting clothes to hide my thin frame, my own bloated stomach was completely concealed.

With the scorching afternoon sun, walking on the skywalks quickly became unbearable.

Tangerine was already sweating buckets.

“Let’s move to the underground shopping district for the afternoon,” Haitang suggested.

While there was still a decent breeze between the skyscrapers, it was hot wind, so it wasn’t refreshing at all. It might become pleasant at night, but for now, we needed shade.

“Perfect! I was planning to buy Tangerine a phone anyway~”

While the malls aboveground were filled with big-name retail stores, the underground district was home to independent vendors. It was a maze of tiny shops, mostly selling electronics, accessories, and snacks such as bubble tea that were suitable while shopping.

Of course, we were too full to even think about food right now.

But there was a problem—the underground shopping district was infamous for its labyrinth-like layout.

Much like the skywalks above, the underground tunnels connected multiple malls, forming a massive, confusing web. Due to it being underground, it was impossible to tell north from south.

And what made it worse was the identical storefronts of the independent vendors. With every shop looking the same, it was easy to think “Haven’t I been here before?”

The moment we stepped onto the escalator, Haitang grabbed Tangerine’s hand.

“No one gets separated—especially you, Tangerine! Stay close to your big sis!”

She had a point—Tangerine didn’t have a phone, so if she got lost, finding her would be a nightmare.

…But why did she have to follow Haitang instead of me?!

Just as I was about to argue over who was her real guardian, I spotted two familiar figures—

A pair of off-duty cops.

One was a younger officer, but the other…

Lei Luo.

Even without his uniform, his rugged, hard-boiled face was impossible to forget.

I did NOT want to see him right now.

After all… I was the one who turned his rebellious son into a girl.

Sure, there was no way he could connect it back to me, but I still felt guilty as hell.

I tried to pretend I hadn’t seen them, hoping to sneak past. After all, he had only seen me without my glasses last time.

…But thanks to the three stunning girls behind me, we stood out too much.

Lei Luo’s eyes also locked on to me. After a moment, he grinned and walked over.

…This new pair of glasses wasn’t working. I needed nerdier frames.

“Well, if it isn’t the young… boy who got beat up! Taking your girlfriend shopping for summer break?”

I glanced at the three girls behind me.

…Which one did he think was my girlfriend?

“Quit teasing me, I don’t have a girlfriend. I’m just buying my sister a phone. More importantly, what’s with your outfit? You cosplaying The Punisher?”

Lei Luo was wearing a tight black T-shirt with a huge white skull on it.

…Probably borrowed from the younger cop over there. It was one size too small, making his muscles bulge even more.

“Wearing a uniform makes us stand out too much, so we switched to plain clothes. Makes it easier to get close to our targets.”

“I see… So, any leads? On… Lei Laohu?”

I deliberately avoided mentioning Lei Luo’s relationship with Lei Laohu, just in case Haitang decided to do something drastic.

Lei Luo sighed. “Lately, they’ve been too quiet. No recent sightings, no major incidents. All we know is that some of his lackeys have been spotted here in Tianping Commercial District, so we’re here hoping to get lucky.”

He took the cigarette from his ear, inhaled its scent, then tucked it back, as if just the smell alone was enough to keep him awake.

“Oh? So you’re the cop chasing Lei Laohu?”

Xiaohaitang, who had been silently listening, suddenly spoke up, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“A whole week of investigating a bunch of gangsters, and you’ve got nothing? Damn, police efficiency is really going downhill these days.”
Even I thought that sounded too harsh.

Lei Luo didn’t react much, but his young partner immediately bristled.

“Look, these guys have gone into hiding! If they’re lying low and staying out of trouble, how do you expect a handful of officers to magically track them down in a massive place like Tianping?”

“Sir, three days ago, they were collecting protection fees from street vendors. Then the next day, they beat up my friend. You call that ‘staying out of trouble’?”

The younger cop opened his mouth to argue, but Lei Luo stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

“…You’re right. We messed up. This should’ve been handled better.”

“Alright, you’ve said enough.” I nudged Haitang. “It’s not just the cops’ fault that gangs exist… probably.”

Although, if you really think about it, Lei Laohu’s very existence was kind of Lei Luo’s fault.

Before we parted ways, Lei Luo and I exchanged numbers.

“If you run into any trouble here, call me directly. I’ll be faster than dialing 110.”

I had originally thought that Haitang would get along with Lei Luo, since they both had a strong sense of justice.

Turns out, she had zero patience for him—she didn’t even bother hiding her disdain. Even I was starting to find her attitude a bit excessive.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She crossed her arms.

“I was pushing them to actually go catch Lei Laohu! I spent the whole afternoon yesterday running around with the student council and Tangerine—we almost got them! And now I see two cops just casually strolling around? You tell me, wouldn’t you be pissed?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what? You almost caught him?”

“We were this close! That damn KTV wouldn’t let us in because we’re underage, so Lei Laohu and his crew slipped out the back door.”
Tangerine nodded beside her, confirming her story.

…Hold on.

A bunch of middle school girls forming a student council task force that nearly captured a wanted gangster?

…Was the student council secretly some government-backed black ops unit?!

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