Jiang Ling had to admit, her first reaction upon seeing this photo was—
Is this some random internet pic?
After all, this face was honestly way too cute.
But the other party clearly guessed what she was thinking. Whether it was the same music composition software in the background as before, or the perfectly matching hamburger wrapper, all the little details confirmed that she really was the person in the photo.
But still—
Are there really so many beautiful girls around here?!
Jiang Ling grumbled inwardly, pinching and zooming on the photo with her fingers.
Even though the picture didn’t reveal much, Jiang Ling could still tell this kid was pretty small—maybe about the same size as her?
Ever since she joined NOVA, she hadn’t met anyone shorter than herself!
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling’s interest instantly soared.
She almost immediately forgot all her previous worries and anxieties, her fingers quickly tapping out a line of text.
[So, when are we meeting up?]
[Whenever you’re free, because I’ve got nothing but free time.]
The reply came quickly, and she certainly seemed to have nothing to do.
Jiang Ling glanced at the time and realized that, without noticing, it was already past midnight. If she waited a little longer, she’d probably see the sunrise, so she decided not to drag the conversation on. Instead, she sent a goodnight message and closed her eyes to sleep.
But even the next day, they were still stuck on which song to choose.
Seeing everyone’s silence and frustration, Jiang Ling thought it over and finally decided to tell them everything that had happened last night.
After Jiang Ling finished recounting her story, Fang Wannian immediately spoke up with a complicated expression: “So you’re saying you’re about to meet up with a complete stranger you only met less than a day ago?!”
Jiang Ling instantly felt like her eardrums were about to burst. She quickly covered her ears, blocking out Fang Wannian’s endless stream of questions.
“Hey… Mom’s not letting you secretly meet people from the internet.”
Mo Ran immediately hugged Jiang Ling, gently yet firmly patting her head, her voice soft: “Anyway, you don’t need to make new friends, right?”
Even though Lin Xiaoyu wasn’t as intense as the others, she still looked a bit worried. After all, meeting someone from online was pretty risky.
Bai Xue, seeing Jiang Ling being squished by everyone, offered a different perspective: “So, this means you could use this opportunity to ask her why she won’t sell us her song anymore?”
At those words, Fang Wannian abruptly stopped talking. Her expression looked conflicted as she glanced back and forth between her notebook and Jiang Ling’s face for a while before finally sighing deeply.
“Ah, you’re right, we have to put the group first.”
Mo Ran also let go of Jiang Ling’s arms, making a thoughtful sound.
This let Jiang Ling—who was nearly suffocating—take a huge breath of fresh air. In a slightly embarrassed tone, she said, “Exactly!”
“I just want to use this chance to ask her. If it really won’t work out, then we can switch to someone else early, so we won’t keep worrying about this song.” Actually, they all really liked this song, which made it feel like something was always missing when they listened to other tracks, and that was why their progress was especially slow.
“But it’s still too dangerous for you to go alone.”
Fang Wannian still wasn’t reassured and simply said, “I’ll go with you.”
“Obviously, a parent should accompany you in this situation.”
Mo Ran chimed in from behind, naturally taking Jiang Ling’s arm and holding her hand like she was a little kid.
Lin Xiaoyu quietly hugged Jiang Ling from behind, whispering softly, “I still think I should be the one to go, don’t you?”
Bai Xue, seeing Jiang Ling surrounded on all sides, couldn’t help but laugh softly. She lifted Jiang Ling’s head and pressed it into the soft, undulating curves of her chest, and then asked the ultimate question—
“So, who do you want to go with you?”
Jiang Ling felt like a marionette being spun around, dizzy and disoriented. She unconsciously tensed her arms, replying in a shy voice:
“I want to go by myself!!!”
Watching Jiang Ling resolutely stride out with her little backpack, Mo Ran wiped away a nonexistent tear at the corner of her eye: “Our child’s all grown up, can’t control her anymore, sob sob sob…..”
“But is it really okay for her to go alone? What if she gets kidnapped and even helps them count the money?!”
Fang Wannian stared after her, exasperated yet still worried.
Lin Xiaoyu finally regained some sense and tried to soothe them: “After all, Lingling’s the only one who has something in common to talk about with that girl. If we go, we’d probably just make things more awkward.” Bai Xue nodded in agreement: “Yeah, all we can do now is trust her.”
After a short pause, her eyes curved into a smile.
“And I think she’ll bring us back a surprise.”
But as Jiang Ling closed the door behind her, her face instantly darkened. Her steps felt heavy as she stared at the location “Burger Sauce” had just sent her on her phone—
Yes, they’d just exchanged contact info a moment ago.
It was Jiang Ling’s first time meeting someone from online, and she was carrying the big responsibility of figuring out what would happen with their group’s debut song. Her hands trembled from nerves.
And, naturally, the place they’d agreed to meet was a burger shop—since when they made plans, the whole point was to eat burgers together, wasn’t it?
Though Jiang Ling felt like something about this was a little odd, she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was. So she decided not to think about it and got on the subway to head to the burger shop.
Since it wasn’t rush hour or school time, there weren’t many people on the train. Jiang Ling found a seat and sat down, staring fixedly at the chat history on her screen.
Ah… What if I get so awkward I can’t say anything at all?
While Jiang Ling was caught up in her worries, the train passed a few stations and finally arrived at her stop, not far from the destination.
She quietly exited the station and followed the navigation on her phone, eventually arriving at the burger shop’s entrance.
“Ha, hoo…..”
Jiang Ling took several deep breaths before nervously pushing open the door.
As soon as she entered, she caught a glimpse of a faintly swaying deep purple. Jiang Ling stared for a moment, and, with almost no obstacles, immediately found the girl she’d temporarily dubbed “Burger Sauce.”
The girl was sitting by the window, slouched comfortably on the couch, still dressed in an oversized, casual T-shirt that made her already petite figure look even cuter. Her calves dangled rhythmically from her shorts as she stared intently at the menu, seemingly fretting over what to order.
Jiang Ling immediately forgot all her nervousness and, full of excitement, walked up and stood in front of her.
The girl, sensing a shadow fall over her, looked up in confusion—meeting Jiang Ling’s eyes sparkling with delight. At the same time, she heard Jiang Ling’s barely contained, excited request—
“I’m really sorry, but… can we compare our heights?!”