The next day, in front of the Mental Health Research Club’s recruitment booth.
In any case, she had to start by doing what she could. Zhuang Chi didn’t plan to proactively interfere with the Mental Health Research Club’s recruitment activities. After all, they had been planning it for so long; it didn’t feel right for a newcomer like her to just show up and change their strategic direction. She had a gentle personality to begin with and felt no competitive drive to “do something that would make everyone look at her with new eyes” for this interview project. She just wanted to properly complete the work assigned to her.
Alright. After somewhat clumsily putting on the mascot head, Zhuang Chi took a deep breath. From now on, she was the Mental Health Research Club’s Huggy Bear!
“How does it feel? Kuma? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
For the sake of convenience, the club had even given the mascot a name: Kuma. With little time left before the recruitment event began, the club president nervously circled her. “It’ll get chaotic once we start and the crowd grows. It might be hard for your voice to be heard, so come find me anytime if you have a problem. Just tap me, don’t try to tough it out. Is it hot? Is the electric fan working properly—”
She seemed a little overly nervous. Zhuang Chi moved her arms a bit and, with the mindset of a trial run, opened her arms and enveloped the petite president in a hug. Kuma’s head limited her vision, and the mascot costume was soft and thick, making the sensation of hugging someone feel less than solid. This made it a bit difficult for Zhuang Chi to gauge how much force to use, so she just lightly patted the president’s back before letting go.
The president didn’t move. She buried her face in the soft, light brown fur on Zhuang Chi’s shoulder. After a good while, she suddenly lifted her head as if startled and gave Zhuang Chi a thumbs-up. “…Ten points!”
The Huggy Bear’s work performance received high praise. Zhuang Chi stood ready at the front of the booth. It was just about the time when morning classes were ending, and the entire afternoon was dedicated to recruiting new students. The Mental Health Research Club’s booth wasn’t in a great location—it was a bit out of the way—but with a fluffy, soft bear mascot like her appearing here, if nothing else, her ability to attract attention was second to none.
Liking cute things is human nature. As the flow of people gradually increased, Zhuang Chi was surrounded by a crowd of university students. Her “business” was booming. Everyone called their friends over to play with the Huggy Bear, surrounding her, praising her for being cute, and taking photos with her. Being in the middle of it all made Zhuang Chi a little embarrassed, and she could feel her pulse quicken. Fortunately, the display screen was still green; it seemed the Mental Health Research Club had indeed set the threshold very loosely.
And amidst such liveliness, it was inevitable that she would run into a few acquaintances. For instance, Lu Man, who knew in advance that she was here as the mascot, came by early to visit, gave her a solid hug, and even took advantage of a moment when no one was looking to feed her a piece of ice through the bear’s mouth, afraid she would get too hot. And for another instance, the student council president, who seemed to be on patrol, was now standing silently in front of her.
“…” Having already learned from a club member that Zhuang Chi was inside Kuma, An Chen’s expression was now ever-changing and quite complex. After a long moment, he managed to squeeze out a sentence, “…It suits you quite well. It seems similar to the impression you usually give people.”
…She couldn’t tell if he was praising her or taking a jab at her. Zhuang Chi was momentarily at a loss for how to respond. The popular Huggy Bear business had a long line, and An Chen just standing there without hugging the bear quickly drew dissatisfaction from those behind him. The person behind him poked their head out, pushed An Chen aside, and said with a grin, “If you’re not hugging, then move aside. It’s my turn.”
Lou Che, who had squeezed his way to the front, looked full of excitement. He cheerfully extended his right hand to Zhuang Chi—palm up—and then said in a bright and energetic voice, “Here, shake!”
“…”
Resisting the urge to scold him for not treating a bear like a dog to be teased, Zhuang Chi silently raised her bear paw and slapped his hand away.
After sending off a heartbroken Lou Che who had been rejected by Kuma, Zhuang Chi readjusted her professional attitude and diligently hugged many people. During a lull, she heard a club member approach the president behind her and whisper nervously, “…Look at that person over there. Don’t you think she’s been walking back and forth near our booth for a while?”
Curious, Zhuang Chi raised her head with some effort and scanned her surroundings—
Oh, isn’t that Ling Jing?
She quickly and unexpectedly locked onto the target. Ling Jing’s behavior was simply too strange; one look was enough to know she must be the suspicious person who had caught the club member’s attention. Zhuang Chi watched her silently, her gaze following as Ling Jing walked past the booth and then back again, circling three times. She looked nonchalant, but she glanced at their booth every single time she passed, then pretended to be uninterested and quickly looked away, only to wrestle with herself for a while before “passing by” again.
Zhuang Chi had no idea what she was so conflicted about. If she was that interested, why not just come over and take a look? Zhuang Chi could hardly watch anymore. Fortunately, Ling Jing could no longer ignore the bear that was staring intently at her, so she finally walked over—still pretending she had just noticed the situation—and spoke to Zhuang Chi with some stiffness, “…C-can everyone come and hug you?”
Kuma’s round eyes provided Zhuang Chi with a small field of vision, but she could still make out the nervous and expectant emotion in Ling Jing’s eyes. So, in the end, she didn’t call out her name, only nodding silently and raising a soft bear paw to gently pat her on the shoulder in encouragement.
Then Ling Jing queued up five times and hugged her five times.
When she finally decided to leave, Ling Jing still looked reluctant, turning back every three steps. Zhuang Chi, determined to keep this a secret, waved goodbye with professional diligence, silently thinking that she should get Ling Jing a very large stuffed animal for her birthday.
Then, after the busiest part of the lunch break had passed, Olivia also appeared. This wasn’t much of a surprise, as she had told Zhuang Chi yesterday that she would come by to see her when she had time. What was rather surprising, however, was that Lily was with her. The silver-haired little princess glanced around coolly, naturally exuding an aloof pride that kept strangers away.
Zhuang Chi was really not good at dealing with Lily, and her steps forward slowed for a moment. This brief hesitation cost her the chance to greet Olivia, as a delighted Olivia took the initiative and pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her fur until it was soft and smooth. “What a cute little dog!”
“You’re mistaken, sister. This is a bear.”
“O-oh, is that so? It seems I mixed up my vocabulary again…”
Olivia released her sheepishly. Then, just before Zhuang Chi could call out to her, she suddenly let out an “ah,” as if she had finally remembered she was looking for someone. She then hurried over to the booth and searched it thoroughly from front to back, eventually frowning in frustration. “…She’s not here. Did she go to eat…”
It was obvious she was looking for her. Amused and exasperated, Zhuang Chi approached and tugged on her sleeve. Just as she was about to say that she was Zhuang Chi, Olivia turned around and hugged her again, her voice sweet and doting as if coaxing a child seeking attention. “What a clingy child you are. Let me hug you again then!”
…She was just too proactive. Zhuang Chi couldn’t find an opportunity to explain her identity. Besides, the president’s worries before the recruitment started were well-founded; the square was now a cacophony of voices. Even if she spoke, Olivia wouldn’t be able to hear what she said. Despite being in an embrace, they failed to recognize each other. Olivia looked around again, sighed with some regret, and seemed to finally accept that she had missed Zhuang Chi. She turned to Lily with resignation. “Let’s come back later. We should go eat first—ah, Lily, do you want to hug her too? This child’s fur is so soft!”
Thinking she would just find Olivia later after this was over, Zhuang Chi gave up on explaining her identity for the time being and cooperatively opened her arms to Lily. But Lily stared at her for a long moment before giving a distant and polite nod. “No, thank you.”
…It was the first time she had been rejected, and to be honest, she was a little hurt. After Olivia and Lily left, the club members all gathered around the dejected Kuma to comfort her and cheer her on. They combed her fur and adjusted her decorations, making the entire bear look radiant, which attracted a large crowd to line up. Soon, Zhuang Chi was too busy to think about the matter any longer.
The Mental Health Research Club’s recruitment booth remained highly popular throughout the lunch hour. Seeing that the lunch break was finally about to end, the president, happily murmuring “What a bountiful year, I feel like many new members will join,” went to check on their mascot’s condition. She was about to take off the bear head to let Zhuang Chi rest now that the crowd was thinning, but before she could, she heard a pleasant female voice from behind her. “This is the Mental Health Research Club’s booth, right?”
“Yes!” Having become an expert after a whole noon of reception duty, the president reflexively turned around, only to be so stunned by the person’s beauty that she almost forgot her lines. It took her a beat to put on a brilliant professional smile. “Th-this is the Mental Health Research Club. Are you interested in our club, miss? Ah, first let me introduce you to our mascot, Kuma. She’s promoting the benefits of hugs for mental health, so if you’d like, you can go give her a hug—Kuma?!”
Turning her head, she saw the display screen on Kuma’s chest flashing like Ultraman’s three-minute warning light, switching back and forth between green and yellow. The president was so frightened that she forgot everything else and scrambled back to her side. “What’s wrong?! Are you too hot! I’ll help you take it off right now—”
“What does this display screen mean?” The girl she had momentarily abandoned followed her over nonchalantly. She reached out and lightly touched the screen on the Huggy Bear’s chest, her fair fingertips tracing the edge of the screen. She tilted her head as if puzzled. “…Hmm? It seems to have turned yellow and hasn’t gone back to green.”
“Kuma—!”
The president let out a mournful cry, anxious to rescue Zhuang Chi inside the mascot, whose pulse rate could no longer maintain the green color. But to her surprise, although Zhuang Chi’s pulse was racing, she showed no signs of discomfort. She just stood there quietly, then hesitantly and slowly opened her arms toward the person in front of her.
It was an invitation for a hug. But there was no further action; she merely opened her arms and stopped, as if waiting for the other person’s decision. The mascot’s face wore a constant, friendly smile, its bright, black, round eyes looking inorganically at the girl before it. Only the display screen, which remained yellow, could reveal that she was not so calm at this moment.
The president felt inexplicably nervous, sensing an atmosphere that was difficult to intrude upon. She watched as the beautiful girl looked at their little mascot with interest, then said softly, “Are you trying to hug me?”
…What a difficult question to answer, Zhuang Chi thought. It felt like both nodding and shaking her head would be problematic.
The worry she had yesterday had finally come true. Gu Ximian had appeared before her without any warning. Zhuang Chi hadn’t told her she was here as a mascot precisely because she was worried about this situation; they had agreed that she would go see Gu Ximian’s side when she was free. Who knew this person would launch a surprise attack, and now it was obvious she already knew the person inside the costume was her—she had no idea how she’d figured it out. Her powers of observation were truly on a different level from Olivia’s.
There was no need to lie to herself. Zhuang Chi knew she always had an extra layer of awareness when it came to physical contact with Gu Ximian. Just like now, even though she was wearing the Kuma the Huggy Bear skin and had already proactively given out many indiscriminate hugs, she still felt she needed Gu Ximian’s permission to hug her. But Gu Ximian had no intention of giving her an answer. Instead, she lowered her eyes with a somewhat aggrieved look and said softly, “…But you were actively hugging everyone else before.”
Even knowing this was definitely an act put on for her, Zhuang Chi still couldn’t bear to see Gu Ximian with this expression.
Alright, alright, Zhuang Chi thought. So what if she had to be proactive? Kuma was a very enthusiastic little bear, after all. Being proactive should be her specialty.
She took a deep breath and, throwing caution to the wind, pulled the person into her arms.
Gu Ximian leaned cooperatively against her shoulder. Zhuang Chi heard her soft laughter by her ear and felt the temperature inside the costume rise by two degrees. She didn’t know where to put her hands and somehow didn’t dare to wrap them around Gu Ximian’s waist as she had with others. In the end, she could only rest one hand loosely below her shoulder while the other awkwardly rose to pat her back gently, as if comforting a child.
“That tickles.” The lightness of her touch made Gu Ximian laugh. She settled comfortably into the warm, soft embrace, her amusement nearly overflowing from her eyes, yet she took advantage of the fact that Zhuang Chi couldn’t see her to complain with a straight face, “You must have hugged a lot of people already. How are you still so unskilled at this?”
The mascot hugging her froze in bewilderment. After a moment of hesitation, she carefully tightened her hold a little. The hand patting her back rose again, and as if she had no temper at all, she stroked her head. The thick palm brushed softly through her hair, a touch that could lift one’s mood.
Gu Ximian could almost imagine Zhuang Chi’s expression. Her smile deepened as she buried her cheeks in the mascot’s fur, her muffled laughter saying, “…My hair is going to get all staticy from the rubbing.”
They were words of complaint, but her tone was clearly cheerful. Zhuang Chi’s heart trembled at the sound, and her hand didn’t know whether to continue or not, so she finally stopped. According to the Huggy Bear’s work guidelines, this hug was already overtime. Yet not only did the booth staff show no intention of separating them, but Gu Ximian, who had just been complaining, was still resting peacefully in her arms. While continuing to hug her, she sighed dramatically, “What should I do? Olivia invited me for a walk by the lake later, and now my hairstyle is a mess.”
Zhuang Chi heard this and thought, oh no, this is bad. She frantically began to try and fix it, but there was very little a bear paw could do. After a lot of fussing, she only managed to make Gu Ximian’s hair even more tousled and had to stop in resignation. Gu Ximian laughed against her shoulder for a long time before finally letting go and lifting her face to look at her. “Did you mess it up so badly because you don’t want me to go on my date?”
She had no such thought! Zhuang Chi was so startled she blurted out a series of denials, but Gu Ximian just smiled at her as if she hadn’t heard. The president, who had been watching for a long time, finally snapped back to reality. She rummaged through her bag, pulled out a comb, and handed it over. Gu Ximian thanked her, took it, and began to fix her hair while looking at Zhuang Chi again.
“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” Looking satisfied, Gu Ximian said, “Aren’t you tired from wearing this all the time? Afternoon classes are about to start, and the crowd will thin out. You should take the chance to rest, don’t you think?”
As she spoke, she shifted her gaze to the president, who nodded hastily. “Yes, yes, it’s time to let Zhuang Chi rest.”
“Mm.” Gu Ximian gave the president a friendly smile, then looked back at Zhuang Chi and sighed softly. “Unfortunately, I can’t rest with you. There’s less than half an hour until my meeting with Olivia, and you know, that lake in the school is quite far from here. I still haven’t finished my club’s work, so I have to hurry… That’s why I have to go soon.”
Ah, she must be talking about the lake Ling Jing took her to before. That was indeed far. Zhuang Chi nodded in understanding, watching as Gu Ximian finished fixing her hair and returned the comb to the president. She thought they were about to say goodbye, but then she saw Gu Ximian walk over again and place her hands on either side of her mascot head.
“Can I take it off?”
She asked this without applying any force, looking at Zhuang Chi questioningly. Zhuang Chi was a little worried that doing this in front of the booth wasn’t a good idea, so after getting the president’s approval, she led Gu Ximian to a secluded corner. She carefully took off the head herself, revealing her face, and subconsciously let out a sigh of relief as she felt the cool outside air.
“Have some water.” Gu Ximian handed her a bottle of mineral water and quietly watched her drink half of it, a faint smile playing on her lips. “This face is much more reassuring to look at.”
Zhuang Chi’s drinking paused, and she nearly choked. Gu Ximian had already taken two steps back on her own and pointed in the direction of the lake. “I’m really going to be late, so I’m leaving now?”
“I wonder why Olivia suddenly asked me out. It really makes one curious,” Gu Ximian said, though it was unclear who she was speaking to. After saying this, she smiled and bid Zhuang Chi farewell. “Bye-bye, see you later.”
Watching her retreating back, Zhuang Chi blinked helplessly, glanced at the display on her chest that had finally returned to green, and sighed silently.
After getting a short break, Zhuang Chi found a secluded corner to be by herself.
She hadn’t taken off the mascot costume yet—the bunch of wires connected to her wrist was just too troublesome, and redoing it would take half an hour, which was too much effort. Besides, the temperature today was cool and refreshing, so wearing the costume wasn’t unbearably hot. Zhuang Chi decided to just keep it on, but she had to hide from people when she took the head off to avoid shattering their illusions about Kuma.
It had been over half an hour since Gu Ximian left. She was probably with Olivia right now, Zhuang Chi thought. This didn’t seem to be part of the plot, so she had no idea what would happen… Ugh, why was she even thinking about this?
Realizing she had indeed been affected by Gu Ximian’s final words, Zhuang Chi lifted a bear paw and rubbed her own face in frustration. As she pondered whether she was too much of a pushover when it came to Gu Ximian, she received a message on her phone. It was from Olivia.
Wondering why Olivia had time to message her while she was meeting with Gu Ximian, Zhuang Chi picked up her phone. She unlocked it and opened the message with some clumsiness, only to see a photo of Olivia’s club booth, which looked like it had already wrapped up. It was followed by another message: 【I’m almost done here, how about you? You didn’t seem to be there when I came looking for you at noon. Are you free now? Can I come hang out with you?】
“…?”
…Strange, Zhuang Chi thought. The way Olivia worded that made it sound like she was still at her club booth. Hadn’t she left yet?
Sensing something was off, and since typing was inconvenient with her current hands, Zhuang Chi simply made a voice call. Olivia answered quickly, her voice full of energy. “Zhuang Chi! I just started my break. Are you on a break too?”
“…Olivia,” the voice on the other end of the phone sounded normal, but the content made Zhuang Chi feel increasingly uneasy. She asked directly, “You… didn’t you ask Gu Ximian to meet you by the lake? I saw her head over there half an hour ago.”
“Huh? I asked Gu Ximian out…?”
Olivia’s tone sounded very confused. She said, “No, I didn’t. Where is the lake?”
“…”
A knot tightened in Zhuang Chi’s chest. She slowly furrowed her brow and looked up in the direction Gu Ximian had left.
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