An Qing stared at the hand An Yu had extended toward her, momentarily stunned.
She did not even know how she should react or how to respond.
She simply stared blankly at that slender, jade-like hand.
This was the first time since her rebirth that An Yu had reached out to her.
It was not a command, nor was it filled with disgust. It was an invitation…
An invitation for her to continue exploring the comic convention together.
What did that mean?
An Qing’s fingers trembled slightly. She was clearly at a loss.
Almost instinctively, she wanted to take An Yu’s hand, but an inexplicable fear in her heart robbed her of the courage to do so.
“Hm?”
An Yu tilted her head expressionlessly.
In her view, this was the most ordinary thing in the world.
It was simple. From An Qing’s appearance, it was clear she had come to the convention alone.
And from her behavior, her goal was to take An Yu back with her.
Although An Yu did not know why An Qing wanted to take her home, she had no intention of going back. There was no way she would abandon Ning Dongli and leave alone.
Therefore, her solution was equally simple: invite An Qing to join them.
This way, she would not be taken away, An Qing would not feel awkward, and Ning Dongli would not be left alone.
Three birds with one stone—a perfect triple win.
“Want to come together?”
An Yu spoke calmly. Her expression remained completely neutral, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
This caused An Qing to feel even more flustered. Her crimson pupils trembled slightly.
How… how was she supposed to answer?
Their relationship was not close enough for them to play together in a place like this.
So should she refuse?
Refuse An Yu’s outstretched hand? Refuse An Yu’s invitation to play together?
An Qing lowered her head and looked at An Yu’s hand, which was still extended. Her heartbeat gradually quickened.
No.
She did not want to refuse An Yu’s hand either. This was the first time An Yu had invited her.
No matter what, she did not want to…
So what should she do…
An Qing pressed her lips together, seemingly wanting to say something. But before she could speak, An Yu suddenly spoke.
“Hm, then let’s play together.”
An Yu’s voice was still calm as ever. However, her words caught An Qing completely off guard.
An Qing looked down in confusion until she noticed that her own hand was now tightly holding An Yu’s. Only then did everything become clear.
Ah… so that’s how it was.
Her body had made the decision faster than her mind.
Because… An Qing had never wanted to refuse An Yu.
“Okay.”
Now that things had come to this, there was no way An Qing could refuse anymore.
She could only nod silently, maintaining an extremely cold expression on her face.
An Yu nodded as well. She casually released An Qing’s hand, then leaned closer to Ning Dongli and gently stroked her head.
It seemed Ning Dongli still had not recovered from the earlier incident and needed comfort.
This was something An Yu was good at.
Just stay close and pat her head.
It had worked with Xiangxiang and Ning Wanciu as well.
“Mmm…”
Ning Dongli lowered her head with a flushed face. Although she was shy, she did not resist.
Clearly, this tried-and-true method worked just as well on Ning Dongli.
“Hm?”
An Yu suddenly paused. A trace of confusion flickered in her light purple eyes.
Why did I suddenly think of An Qing?
It felt as if… she had done this many times before.
But she was not close with An Qing, and she had almost never comforted her.
Why did she have this feeling?
Never mind…
An Yu blinked expressionlessly, feeling that she was overthinking things.
No matter how strange it seemed, An Qing was the female lead. There was no reason for the female lead to need comfort from the villainess.
Moreover… this was a reborn female lead stacked with full buffs.
She was so powerful that she did not need An Yu to do anything for her at all.
Meanwhile, An Qing on the other side had no idea what An Yu was thinking.
She lowered her head and stared at her now somewhat empty palm, lost in thought.
Coincidentally, no one noticed the expression on An Qing’s face.
Her eyes were filled with unconcealable disappointment—the complete opposite of the forceful demeanor she had shown earlier.
Having lost An Yu’s hand, An Qing clenched her fingers into a fist, then quickly composed herself as if nothing had happened.
She raised her head and immediately saw An Yu comforting Ning Dongli.
The way she was doing it was incredibly gentle—one moment whispering softly into the girl’s ear, the next moment stroking her head…
An Qing gritted her teeth, but in the end she turned her head away, refusing to lose control.
She had never seen An Yu like this before.
An Qing clenched her fists tightly. The brief joy from earlier was completely washed away by the scene before her.
She turned around and returned to her seat, choosing to close her eyes and rest.
After all, out of sight, out of mind.
If she could not see it, she would pretend it did not exist.
This was An Qing’s usual way of handling things. She was an expert at avoidance.
However… was it really as An Qing imagined?
She found herself thinking this almost subconsciously.
Had the girl sitting across from her truly never treated her this way before?
As if recalling something, An Qing slowly opened her eyes and stared straight at An Yu.
That’s right… it was not that she had never seen this side of An Yu.
In fact… she had seen it many times. Countless times.
Whenever she had felt wronged, she could curl up in An Yu’s arms just like that girl named Ning Dongli.
An Yu would never refuse her. She would only gently pat her head and whisper comforting words.
Although… those memories were so distant that An Qing had almost forgotten them.
But they were also her most beautiful memories.
The only problem was that those beautiful memories did not belong to this life. They were from her previous life—a past that only she remembered.
Thinking of this, a sense of loneliness uncontrollably surfaced in An Qing’s heart.
She felt like discarded goods abandoned by the world.
The advantage of her rebirth had become her greatest disadvantage.
An Qing’s eyes were hollow as she calmly watched An Yu and Ning Dongli interact.
When exactly had it started?
Whenever she thought of her previous life and thought of An Yu, the only thing left in her mind was burning rage?
When exactly had it started?
The only memories she cared about were those filled with pain and hatred?
An Qing could not quite remember anymore. If she thought about it carefully, there had been so many beautiful ones…
When exactly had her thirst for revenge changed her until she was no longer herself?
An Qing continued staring at An Yu, her gaze growing increasingly empty.
Coincidentally, as if sensing something, An Yu suddenly turned her head and looked back at An Qing.
The two girls who were not truly sisters finally met each other’s eyes.
Without saying a word, An Qing stood up and casually picked up her coat.
“Forget it. I’ll leave first.”
Her voice was icy cold.
In the end, she still chose to reject An Yu.
She did not want to see… did not want to see the girl who should only care about her being so intimate with someone else.
Unfortunately for her, her decision was not hers to make.
“You’re not allowed.”