Chapter 157: Teacher Turned Into Student

Meanwhile, Andrew, who was preparing the fried chicken in the kitchen, kept watching the two of them from the corner of his eye. Only after Catherine and Scarlett closed the bedroom door did he fully focus on frying the chicken.

"Damn it! What is my older sister scheming with Scarlett now? Truly despicable!"

Although Andrew couldn’t figure out exactly what Catherine and Scarlett were discussing, one thing was certain: Catherine had stopped Scarlett from helping him.

She’s already getting her revenge on me!

This is infuriating!

Despite being annoyed, Andrew continued preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner. After all, he and Scarlett still had to eat.

On the other side, inside the bedroom, Catherine opened her large wardrobe. The clothes inside were so numerous and dazzling that it was difficult to take them all in.

Even Scarlett was astonished when she saw them.

"You... you have so many clothes? I remember your mom, Alexa, is quite frugal."

Scarlett knew about Alexa’s lifestyle. She was simple and down-to-earth and didn’t seem like someone who would spend money recklessly. Yet Catherine had enough clothes to provide five or six girls with completely different outfits.

"What does that have to do with my mom? I bought all of these myself. Whenever I see something I like, I buy it."

Only Catherine knew how much money she had in her private savings.

As for why she always tried to get her younger brother to pay for her meals, if she had to give a reason, it was simply a habit.

"Okay, okay. Never mind that. I’ll dress you up now."

Catherine rummaged through the wardrobe and pulled out a pleated skirt and a white shirt with a matching tie.

It was an anime-style school uniform, and just looking at it gave the outfit a distinctive youthful charm.

"I’ve never worn this one. I’ll give it to you, Scarlett."

"You bought it? And you never wore it?" Scarlett asked doubtfully.

"Uh... because the bust area is too loose on me. It looks a little hollow when I wear it, so it doesn’t look good."

"..."

"But isn’t this just an ordinary school uniform? Will Andrew really like it that much?"

Scarlett held the school uniform in her hands, examining it from front to back, but she couldn’t find anything particularly special about it.

She felt that the effect of wearing this wouldn’t be nearly as striking as when she had worn a cosplay outfit to the comic convention.

"Scarlett, you just don’t understand."

Catherine raised her index finger and shook it.

"The same clothes can look completely different on different people. Even for girls like me, wearing this school uniform might simply look cute, but when you wear it, Scarlett, it’s different."

"What’s the difference?"

Scarlett looked at Catherine with half-belief and half-doubt. She couldn’t help feeling that Catherine was trying to trick her.

However, she really didn’t know much about fashion.

"Because your usual image is so aloof, and you’re a university teacher. My younger brother subconsciously sees you as someone a little more mature and dignified than himself, although after seeing how shameless he’s become lately, I don’t think he feels that way quite as much anymore."

"Uh..."

Scarlett couldn’t help admiring how Catherine could still tease Andrew even at a time like this.

After a brief pause, Catherine continued,

"So when you dress up like a student, it creates a particularly strong contrast. For my younger brother, that kind of contrast is incredibly appealing."

Scarlett listened with a somewhat confused expression, but she eventually nodded, choosing to trust Catherine for once.

"Then I’ll change into this?"

"Mm."

Catherine nodded before turning back to the wardrobe and pulling out a pair of white stockings.

"We need these too! After you change, I’ll also do some makeup for you."

"Okay."

---

The afternoon passed quickly.

Andrew spent the entire afternoon humming a little tune in the kitchen while preparing the food.

When evening arrived, after he finished making the fried chicken and a table full of dishes, he looked at the still-closed bedroom door and couldn’t help but wonder.

"What on earth are my older sister and Scarlett doing in the bedroom? Why aren’t they coming out yet?"

Just as Andrew was about to knock, he heard a "click," and the bedroom door opened.

"What were you two doing in there..."

Andrew started to ask, but the words stopped abruptly as soon as they left his mouth.

He stood there frozen, his mouth agape as he stared toward the doorway.

A familiar yet somewhat strange figure walked out of the bedroom.

The description was contradictory, but that was Andrew’s first impression.

At that moment, Scarlett completely lacked her usual aloofness. Nor did she have the dazed, slightly silly look she had shown a few days earlier when she wasn’t feeling well.

Her long, black, silky hair wasn’t tied up or simply left hanging down her back. Instead, she was wearing a black headband.

The surface of the headband was decorated with crystal-like embellishments. Under the light, they resembled countless stars forming a galaxy, scattered across the dark curtain of her hair.

A white shirt paired with a tie gave her a hint of youthful vitality.

However, the shirt seemed slightly ill-fitting, a little too tight and clinging to Scarlett’s perfect figure.

A black plaid short skirt accentuated her slender waist, while beneath the hem was a pair of long legs covered in white stockings, smooth and pale like carved jade.

The small black leather shoes completed the outfit, making Scarlett look as though she had stepped straight out of an anime.

"Do I look good?"

Scarlett’s voice was delicate as she struck a simple pose, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

Andrew remained frozen in place, staring at her blankly.

It wasn’t until Scarlett softly said, "Hmm?"

that Andrew finally snapped back to reality.

A bright smile appeared on his face.

"You look amazing!"

"Teacher looks just like a beautiful senior on campus now."

Scarlett smiled when she heard that and asked,

"Since I look like a senior, what should you call me?"

"Senior, of course!"

Andrew couldn’t contain his happiness and immediately walked over, intending to hug Scarlett.

But Scarlett gently raised a hand to stop him.

"Senior doesn’t allow hugs right now."

"Why?"

"Because I’m hungry. If we don’t eat soon, there won’t be any fried chicken left."

After Scarlett finished speaking, Andrew turned his head.

He saw that Catherine had somehow slipped over to the table and was already gnawing on a chicken leg.

She mumbled indistinctly through a mouthful of food,

"It’s fine. You two can keep hugging. I won’t look."

"Save some! This isn’t all for you!"

Andrew immediately returned to the table and snatched back a bucket of fried chicken, preventing Catherine from devouring it all by herself.

The three of them gathered around the table, enjoying what felt like a proper New Year’s Eve dinner for young people.

"It’s really nice without Grandpa and Grandma nagging us. We don’t even have to eat rice."

Catherine said this while eating.

Andrew hadn’t cooked any rice. The fried chicken and the leftover ice cream cake from lunch served as the main dishes.

"I think you’re just afraid they’ll ask whether you’ve found a boyfriend, right?"

Andrew immediately saw through Catherine’s real concern.

Catherine wasn’t offended.

"Well, I can’t help it. I really haven’t found a suitable guy to date. Besides, my cooking skills can’t be worse than yours, right?"

"Heh. Then are you planning to become a nun?"

"If I have to, I’ll just come here and freeload off you forever."

"You’ve got some nerve."

Andrew muttered a complaint before suddenly realizing that they needed something to drink.

He went through Scarlett’s bag of snacks looking for beverages, but after searching for a while, he found nothing but food.

"Teacher, didn’t you buy anything to drink?"

"No."

Scarlett shook her head.

At that moment, Catherine stood up from the dining table and walked straight toward the study.

"I know where there’s something to drink."

A short while later, she returned carrying a bottle of fine liquor.

"Where did this come from?"

"Dad hid it. Anyway, he doesn’t dare drink it, so we’ll share it."

Scarlett felt that something about this wasn’t quite right, but Andrew and Catherine didn’t care.

"It’s fine. Since it’s Dad’s, leaving it hidden away would just be a waste."

"..."

Originally, Andrew had planned to have a little drink as well, but after seeing that the alcohol content was over 50 proof, he immediately abandoned the idea and simply watched Scarlett and Catherine drink.

Before long, a faint flush appeared on Scarlett’s fair cheeks.

Combined with her school-uniform-style outfit, the blush made her look even more adorable.

Halfway through the meal, Scarlett suddenly stopped eating and lowered her head.

Thinking she might be getting drunk, Andrew prepared to get her some hot water.

"Teacher, would you like me to get you some hot water?"

Scarlett shook her head and spoke softly.

"I’m not drunk. I just feel a little uncomfortable."

"Where does it hurt?"

Scarlett raised a hand and rubbed her chest.

"It feels a little tight. It’s a bit uncomfortable while I’m eating."

Hearing this, Andrew subconsciously looked toward the area where Scarlett’s hand was resting.

Very quickly, the man who hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol felt his own face growing warm.

He suddenly seemed a little tipsy too.