“…..”
The guy holding the sign was just as flustered.
After all, he couldn’t exactly walk up to her with the photo he’d taken from the audience and say, “See, this is you.”
But he also had no idea how to comfort someone.
Especially a girl crying her eyes out like this.
He thought for a moment, stuffed the sign into his plastic bag, then stood beside Lin Jiaxin and spoke up:
“Man, the wind’s really picking up today… this street’s got a lot of dust too.”
Sniffle—hhnn.
Hearing that, Lin Jiaxin sucked her nose hard and stubbornly insisted in a small voice:
“Yeah… it is a bit… the wind and sand got in my eyes…”
“Right? I got sand in my eyes earlier too… that’s why I just bought a pack of tissues from the convenience store, gotta be prepared so it doesn’t happen again.”
The guy saw through her lie but didn’t call it out. He played along while pulling a small pack of tissues from his pocket.
But he didn’t hand them to her directly. Instead, he placed them on the steps beside her.
The meaning was clear.
“…….”
Lin Jiaxin didn’t want to take them at first. She refused to show any weakness in front of someone else.
But her body betrayed her—she couldn’t hold back a choked sob.
When she exhaled again, a bubble-gum-sized snot bubble puffed up at the tip of her nose.
Under the streetlight, it looked absolutely glistening…
Neither of them had time to react.
The bubble popped with a soft pop.
Sticky, translucent mucus like aloe vera gel smeared all over Lin Jiaxin’s lips…
The air froze instantly.
The guy: …..
Damn, okay, that was genuinely disgusting now.
He couldn’t bear to look, so he turned his head away—which conveniently gave Lin Jiaxin a bit of face.
But some images, once seen, can never be unseen.
【…..】
Lin Jiaxin’s face was full of despair.
She slowly closed her eyes, wanting to wipe it with the back of her hand, but her hands weren’t any cleaner than her face.
She wanted to grab a tissue, but the tissues were on the steps beside her—she’d have to turn around to reach them.
Her entire body froze in place like a crashed computer.
At that moment, she genuinely wanted to die.
Not only had someone witnessed her embarrassing breakdown, but they’d also seen her do that up close…
For a split second, Lin Jiaxin subconsciously recalled the Great Fortune that had slammed into her in her previous life and sent her to this other world.
Fortune, where are you?
This time I won’t ram into you—you come ram into me and take me away!
……
In the end, Lin Jiaxin chose to accept the guy’s kindness.
After all, there was no way she could find a restroom to clean up in right now.
Nor could she walk all the way back to school looking like this.
Keeping her head down, she reached behind her and awkwardly grabbed the tissues.
She wiped her face, then blew her nose with a thunderous honk.
PFFFT—
She used up the entire pack, but at least her face was more or less clean now.
After all that commotion.
Lin Jiaxin’s body finally recovered from the sobbing.
Sniffling back the thin trickle of snot from her nose, she looked at the guy and thanked him in a hoarse voice.
“Thanks… how much for the tissues? I’ll transfer you.”
The guy waved his hand dismissively: “No need, it’s just a pack of tissues, nothing big.”
“…Um, do you know me?”
The moment the question left her mouth, she regretted it.
He’d already called out her game ID earlier—how could he not know her?
“…Yeah.”
The guy thought for a moment.
He shook his head, then nodded, a hint of admiration in his eyes:
“I don’t know you. But I know the you that was on that stage…”
The guy recalled the scene of their first encounter.
Back then, he’d been crushed. His mentality had completely collapsed.
Thinking about it now, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh: “Actually, I was a contestant too. Got 3:0’d in the top eight.”
“But afterward, I stayed in the audience and watched you play every single match.”
“Honestly speaking, your skills weren’t the strongest. But you were the most ordinary player I’d ever seen who dared to fight the hardest—the one who dared to draw their sword the most.”
“Candy Heart, you know… someone who stands on that stage facing a powerful enemy and remains so confident that they’re afraid of nothing—to someone who shakes the moment they step on stage… they’re like a beam of light.”
“You’re that beam of light in my eyes!”
“……”
Light?
Lin Jiaxin was silent for a long time.
If, if she’d heard words like this before.
She probably would’ve proudly tilted her chin up at him.
And said something like: “Of course, don’t you know who I am?”
But now… Lin Jiaxin only found these compliments grating.
Especially because they made her subconsciously recall all her bold boasts before the match.
Words like “crush” and “3:0″…
Thinking about it now, they were all just jokes.
In front of true experts, she was nothing but a bug that got kicked to death.
【Wait… no… what am I…?】
Thinking this far, Lin Jiaxin suddenly froze.
Strange… she’d never cared about how others saw her before.
If she won, she was skilled. If she lost, her teammates were trash.
Mocking others was only natural, and being praised was something she deserved.
Back then, she’d never felt uncomfortable or awkward receiving compliments.
But at this moment, facing praise like this.
She… she actually had nothing but the urge to run away?!
【I am the strongest in this world! I will suppress an entire era! I will rule over ten thousand ages! I… I am…】
Lin Jiaxin quickly tried to recite her old mottos in her heart.
In the past, reciting these would make her Dantian heat up, and the spiritual power in her body would hum and resonate.
As if every cell in her body was screaming, “That’s right, I’m the strongest.”
That unshakable confidence was the foundation of all her power.
But this time, she completely lacked that default feeling of certainty that she could do it.
It was as if those bold words had nothing to do with her anymore…
She… wasn’t confident anymore?
Lin Jiaxin suddenly thought of her cultivation method.
The Nine Heavens Manifestation True Solution.
It clearly documented a similar situation.
[If the Dao Heart is tarnished, then the Dao Law cannot gather!]
So, this was because her Dao Heart had been damaged?
But… how was that possible?!
“Candy Heart? What’s wrong?”
Seeing Lin Jiaxin’s face shift from pale to green, the guy moved closer, looking a bit worried.
“Are you feeling unwell? Or is it something else?”
Lin Jiaxin snapped back to reality. The moment she met his sincere gaze, she felt even worse inside.
Because she realized she was actually starting to enjoy this kind of concern…
And in the past, she would never have cared about anyone’s concern.
She would’ve only found a way to use this opening to tear others down and boost herself up.
“No… and also, don’t call me ‘Candy Heart’ anymore.”
Lin Jiaxin gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, suppressed the irritation in her chest, turned her head away, and said softly:
“That was just a random game ID I came up with. My real name is Lin Jiaxin…”
The guy was momentarily stunned, then broke into the first genuine smile of the night.
Smiling, he extended his hand solemnly:
“Lin Jiaxin? My name is Jiang Huaiyan. The timing might not be right, but… it’s nice to meet you!”
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