Bianka didn't know what was going through Li Sushang's mind, but she could see the undisguised look of anguish on her face.
"If you eat too much candy now, it might taste even more bitter later," Bianka offered as a friendly reminder after a moment's thought.
After all, one's palate develops a tolerance. If you eat a lot of sweets, you get used to the sweet taste; if you eat a lot of bitter things, you get used to the bitterness. In a situation like this, a sudden switch would make the taste stimulation even more intense.
Li Sushang's hand paused. She glanced at the candy she had only half-unwrapped, hesitated for a moment, then obediently rewrapped it. Then, she picked out another candy from her pile and handed it to Bianka.
"Hm? For me?" Bianka was a little surprised. Li Sushang nodded.
"Sifu said it's always bitter before it's sweet. I'll give you the candy first. If you eat it after drinking the bitter melon juice, it will definitely taste sweeter," Li Sushang said, already carefully selecting which candy she would eat after her own bitter melon juice ordeal. "You should try it too."
"Thank you." Bianka accepted the candy. It was a normal White Rabbit milk candy, the wrapper still looking quite new. If no one had told her, she never would have guessed it had been salvaged from the city ruins.
Bianka checked the production and expiration dates printed on the wrapper and saw that the candy had been produced just five months ago and wouldn't expire for more than half a year. The packaging was also intact with no signs of being opened, making it safe to eat.
"Big Sister Bianka, you're the new member of Big Sister Theresa's team, right?" After choosing her candy, Li Sushang turned to Bianka.
"Uh... I guess so..." Bianka scratched her head, a little uncertain. "But I haven't been to the front line yet, so I still don't know if I'm really worthy of joining Senior Theresa's team..."
"Of course you're worthy, Big Sister Bianka! No one is more suited to join us than you are!" Li Sushang said with a sudden burst of excitement. But then, as if realizing she had said something wrong, she quickly turned away and sat up straight.
"Is that so? Haha, thank you for believing in me," Bianka said with a smile, not paying too much mind to Li Sushang's words.
She was confident that she was stronger than many people, but she was joining a special squad that countless others dreamed of being in. While she was confident she wasn't ordinary, Bianka, having not yet experienced real combat, couldn't be certain if she was among the absolute top tier.
That was why Bianka was so looking forward to heading to the front lines. She wanted to prove that she was worthy of her position.
"Big Sister Bianka, when did you get here?" Li Sushang, relieved that Bianka didn't press the matter, couldn't keep quiet and turned to ask.
"About two weeks ago, I think..." Bianka answered vaguely. "Not long after I arrived, Bishop Otto had Rita and me join Senior Theresa's squad."
"Oh, oh!" Li Sushang nodded earnestly. "I am Li Sushang. It is an honor to meet you!"
Bianka turned to see Li Sushang, with the sword on her back, giving her a formal fist-clasp salute. She couldn't help but smile and mimicked the gesture, placing her left palm over her right fist.
"I am Bianka. It's an honor to meet you as well."
With that, the two were formally introduced. The distance between them closed in an instant, so much so that Bianka felt a little overwhelmed. She could only attribute Li Sushang's warmth to the purity of a child's heart.
"Big Sister Bianka, have you thought about what your public codename will be?" Li Sushang asked with a grin.
"Huh?" Bianka was confused. "Do we need codenames?"
Li Sushang nodded vigorously. "Of course we do! Everyone has one. For example, Big Sis Kiana is called 'The Finality,' and Sifu is called 'Fu Hua'... I heard that scoundrel came up with all of them."
Scoundrel... This was the second time Li Sushang had mentioned that name. Earlier, she had nearly been mistaken for some kind of criminal by the shopkeeper just for not knowing who he was...
It seems I really do need to learn about him. Otherwise, if I get misunderstood again, I'll have to trouble Senior Theresa.
"May I ask... who is this... 'scoundrel'?" I'm sorry, I don't mean to insult you, I just don't know your other names.
"You really don't know?" Li Sushang looked surprised, but quickly convinced herself. "Hmm... if you only got here two weeks ago, it's possible you haven't met the scoundrel...
"Alright, the scoundrel is actually Shu. The one everyone calls Captain Shu."
"It's him?" Bianka was surprised. "But everyone respects Captain Shu so much. Why do you call him a scoundrel?"
Li Sushang seemed to recall something unpleasant, hugging her sword tightly and muttering, "That's because that scoundrel stole my sword..."
"Stole your sword... what?" Bianka's eyes suddenly widened, her voice rising unconsciously. "What do you mean, stole your sword?!"
"It's just that that scoundrel tricked me out of my sword the first time we met..." Li Sushang said with a pout. "This sword was left to me by my mother and Sifu..."
"Oh, that kind of 'stole your sword'..." Bianka sighed in relief.
"Yeah, what else could it be?" Li Sushang nodded as if it were obvious, then looked up at Bianka with her big, curious eyes.
"Ahem..." Bianka coughed twice, awkwardly averting her gaze. "I thought Captain Shu, you know, actually robbed you of it, haha..."
"But tricking me isn't right either... I mean..." Li Sushang wanted to argue, but she couldn't bring herself to sling mud or make false accusations.
The truth was, her skills just weren't as good as his, and she was the one who had said " The Winner Takes It All"... What else could she say?
So all she could do was sulk.
The two fell silent for a moment. Bianka's embarrassed gaze darted around, while Li Sushang fumed quietly to herself.
"Anyway, that guy was no good back then!" The more Li Sushang thought about it, the angrier she got, finally blurting out her hot take.
"Back then?" But Bianka still caught the nuance in Li Sushang's words. "Then what about Captain Shu now...?"
Li Sushang fell silent. After a moment, she finally spoke. "The Shu of today... is a great person. A really amazing, great person. That's what everyone thinks..."
"A great person..." Bianka thought of all the praise she had heard about Shu these past few days, all of it filled with respect. She had thought Li Sushang might have a different opinion, but now it seemed...
Shu still had a universally positive reputation in everyone's hearts.