Chapter 79: A gift for you

“小 Yu!”

“Xiao Yu!”

Two voices called out simultaneously, but the difference was that Lin’s mother stared at her departing back with a complicated expression, while Jiang Ling didn’t say a word and immediately followed Lin Xiaoyu out.

She had no time to deal with Lin’s mother and could only sprint quickly along the route Lin Xiaoyu had taken.

Seeing Lin’s mother looking embarrassed, Mo Ran raised a gentle smile, handed over the prepared snacks and fruit, and spoke softly, “Auntie, please have some first. If there’s anything to discuss, wait until she comes back.”

Hearing this, Lin’s mother looked somewhat reluctant but still nodded silently.

Outside, after crossing who knows how many traffic lights and winding through several streets, Jiang Ling finally caught up to Lin Xiaoyu, panting heavily.

At this moment, Lin Yu was sitting quietly on a park bench.

Jiang Ling took a step forward, and Lin Yu lifted her eyes, her gaze icy cold. “You should go back.”

“I want to be alone for a while.”

She said this and suddenly withdrew her gaze, no longer uttering a sound.

Jiang Ling’s hand, which had been reaching out, froze abruptly and then timidly pulled back.

But she didn’t turn away. Instead, she stared at Lin Yu’s extremely indifferent expression, trying to say something to ease the current atmosphere.

The sky grew darker, and the street lamps along the road lit up one by one, their warm orange glow shining on Yu’s figure.

She looked like a shattered porcelain doll, silent and showing nothing but a subdued expression.

Jiang Ling slowly took a few steps forward but didn’t get too close, stopping at just the right distance.

“Shall we go to the arcade?”

Hearing Jiang Ling’s voice, Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes flickered, and she unconsciously looked up, meeting her somewhat awkward smile.

Jiang Ling racked her brain to think of good places for young people to relax these days. “If that’s not good, then KTV? Or maybe an internet café? Oh, if you like comics, we could go—”

She didn’t finish her sentence because Lin Xiaoyu looked at her and slowly gave a helpless smile.

“You’re really bad at comforting people.”

Those words made Jiang Ling feel utterly embarrassed. Her gaze drifted for a long time before she nodded resolutely. “Yeah! I just don’t know how to comfort people! So, do you want to come with me or not?”

Though she didn’t know the full story, Jiang Ling felt she couldn’t just leave Lin Xiaoyu alone, especially since it was the first time she had seen this side of her—vulnerable and negative.

The wind gradually grew chilly. Lin Xiaoyu touched her rather thin clothes and the damp ends of her hair, then extended her hand to Jiang Ling, her voice very soft.

“In that case, you have to take responsibility.”

In the end, they went to the arcade Jiang Ling had suggested first. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far, and they arrived soon enough.

The moment they stepped inside, loud music mixed with voices hit them, causing Jiang Ling to furrow her brows and hesitate. “Maybe we should go somewhere else?”

In her opinion, Lin Xiaoyu definitely wouldn’t like such a noisy place.

But Lin Xiaoyu shook her head without much change in expression and strode inside, forcing Jiang Ling to hurry after her.

Because she had been here with Song Meng last time, Jiang Ling exchanged coins for game tokens with ease, then handed a full box to Lin Xiaoyu.

“Today’s on me!”

Seeing her puff out her chest and say this with grand confidence, Lin Xiaoyu’s expression didn’t change much but she quickly took the tokens, her gaze scanning the game machines inside before settling on one spot. Without a word, she walked over.

Two minutes later………

“Ahhhh, so scary!”

Jiang Ling tightly closed her eyes, wildly firing the gun controller at the screen. The sharp gunshots and zombie growls made her fingers tremble slightly on the trigger.

Next to her, Lin Xiaoyu showed no expression, calmly holding her gun and taking down a small zombie with every precise shot.

Finally, when the game ended, Jiang Ling saw the big “FAILED” on her screen and felt no regret, tossing the gun back as if it were a hot potato.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me this thing was so scary before?”

Shivering, Jiang Ling walked to Lin Xiaoyu’s side.

Actually, the game wasn’t scary at all, but Jiang Ling had always been a vivid dreamer. She often felt like the monsters on screen would suddenly jump out and tear her apart, so even ordinary things could easily frighten her.

Lin Xiaoyu watched Jiang Ling unconsciously cling to her side and let her gaze linger on the skin where they touched for a long while before speaking in a faint voice, “Let’s go play the next one.”

After that, they nearly tried every game in the arcade, and naturally, no matter what game it was, Lin Xiaoyu effortlessly defeated Jiang Ling every time.

By the end, Jiang Ling was completely demoralized, slumped in her seat like one of those inflatable dancers outside supermarkets swaying in the wind, her face written all over with helplessness.

“I didn’t win a single round!”

She howled to the sky, then began to sob.

At first, Jiang Ling had planned to go easy on Lin Xiaoyu to help her ease her mood, but… there was no need at all!

Lin Xiaoyu was a war god, leaving nothing alive wherever she went. Forget going easy; even if Jiang Ling gave it her all, she couldn’t win.

“The tickets are quite a lot.”

The “war god” Lin Xiaoyu said expressionlessly, clutching the prize tickets that she was struggling to hold all at once.

Seeing this, Jiang Ling sighed at how differently people could be, then started helping her organize the messy tickets. “Let’s go check them out later, though I doubt there are any really good prizes.”

Lin Xiaoyu had no objection and quietly looked around the place.

It was her first time at an arcade.

As she thought this, her mind drifted——

“Mom, my friend went to the arcade yesterday and said it was so fun. Can you take me too?”

“What’s so good about that messy place? Your Yu is the most well-behaved. She’ll definitely practice ballet quietly at home, right?”

What had she answered back then…?

Oh, she remembered.

She had said, “Okay, Mom.”

Then she practiced all day long in the dance studio, earning her mother’s satisfied smile and praise.

While the other kids bragged about their tickets and prizes, she sat silently reading, as if she didn’t care at all.

Lin Xiaoyu withdrew her gaze and looked down at the prize tickets in her hand, slowly tracing the patterns on them, lost in thought for a long time.

So this is what they look like?

Nothing special.

Really, no need for this kind of thing at all……

Jiang Ling finally finished organizing the tickets after a long time and handed them to Lin Xiaoyu with a bright smile.

“I’m done, okay?”

No response.

Jiang Ling hastily put down the tickets and squatted in front of Lin Xiaoyu, whose head was bowed tightly.

Through the strands of hair hanging down, she saw tears brimming on her face.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something to upset you? Don’t cry, I… I……”

Jiang Ling instantly became flustered. She had been fine just a moment ago, so why was she crying now?

Lin Xiaoyu clenched the oversized tickets tightly, her fingertips nearly turning white from the grip.

Tears spilled from her eyes, falling onto the tickets, spreading out in a blotchy pattern.

Seeing this, Jiang Ling seemed to realize something and bit her lip before quickly running away.