Twelve years later.
A woman's voice rang out in the Taylor Villa.
"Mashauva, are you done? Why are you taking so long to change? Are you secretly snacking?"
"Nope, I'll be down soon!"
Cassie couldn't help but to roll her eyes when she heard that. Mashauva was supposed to be changing, but indeed she'd gone off snacking again.
After a while, Mashauva finally showed up. She ran down the stairs with a schoolbag on her back. The left side of her mouth was still dusted with biscuit crumbs, while her right cheek was stained with cream.
"Mom!"
At that sight, Cassie helplessly shook her head. Mashauva didn't even bother to wipe her mouth clean after she had eaten.
"Did you snack on something earlier?"
Cassie asked when Mashauva stood before her, "Have you been eating again?" "No, Mommy. Why would I do that?" As soon as Mashauva finished speaking, Cassie reached out to take a biscuit crumb from the left corner of Mashauva's mouth, "What's this, then?"
Noticing the biscuit crumb, Mashauva avoided eye contact before she giggled while squinting her eyes, explaining, "I just had a tiny piece of biscuit, mommy."
"What about this?"
Cassie wiped off the cream from Mashauva's right cheek.
Then, Mashauva pouted and bit her lower lip before she apologized pitifully, "I'm sorry, mommy.
I can't stop my cravings! I'll be more careful next time."
"Ah, you've already eaten anyway." Cassie cleaned up the cream on Mashauva's face before she proceeded to tidy her hair, "You're already sixteen, so why can't you take better care of yourself? Look at those other girls. They're all thin and tall. Don't you want to be like them?"
Mashauva lowered her head to look at herself before she said, blinking her eyes, "However, I can't resist yummy food. To me, food is much more important."
"When you meet a boy you like in the future, you may not think so, but fortunately, you're born beautiful. Even if you're chubby, you're still
adorable..."
Cassie pinched Mashauva's cheeks and said, "All right, I've put all the luggage in the car. The driver will send you to school."
Then, Mashauva seemed to recall something, "Oh yeah, did Beanie call me?"
"Yes. He said he'd come and help you pack up today, so you'd better not dawdle. He's taken time out of his day to do this. Also, you'd better not always trouble him."
"It's Beanie. How's helping me considered troubling him?"
"Yes, but he's not your biological brother. He grew up with you, so at most, you two are childhood friends. If you keep pestering him and troubling him like this, what are you going to do when his girlfriend gets mad?"
Mashauva tilted her head in deep thought when she heard the word, girlfriend, "No, I don't think Beanie has one."
"He'll get one eventually. He's already a sophomore, unlike you who are still in high school."
"Hmm, we'll talk about it when the time comes."
After that, the driver sent Mashauva to school.
On the way to school, Mashauva sent a text message to Bruno.
"Beanie, have you arrived at school?"
Meanwhile, Bruno was calling Minerva as he stood next to the bus stop in a black baseball jersey. He was tall and had defined facial features. He had completely lost all his baby fat, and he was 20 years old then.
"Mhm, I'm coming now. Don't worry. I'll help you pack before I leave."
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