Accompanied by a chorus of nearly teasing shouts, Jiang Ling cautiously shifted her gaze toward Fang Wannan, who stood just a few steps away.
Fang Wannan turned her face slightly, making it impossible to discern the expression on her features.
“Then today’s game is—”
Mo Ran observed the awkward tension between the two, discreetly closing the host’s cue card she had prepared in advance. With a beaming smile, she announced, “Hold hands, look each other in the eye, and take turns complimenting one another. Whoever fails to come up with a compliment or looks away first loses.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Xue raised her eyebrows, a hint of surprise appearing in her eyes.
She could’ve sworn today’s game was supposed to be something else?
But as soon as Mo Ran finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room became lively once again, cheers rising and falling like waves.
After all, they were on stage. So, even though Jiang Ling’s heart was pounding anxiously, she still managed to put on a standard smile and walked toward the center of the stage.
Watching Fang Wannan silently approach her, Jiang Ling couldn’t help but clench her fingers tightly.
This really isn’t good.
With all eyes on them, Fang Wannan reached out her hand, though her gaze wandered uneasily.
Jiang Ling hesitated for a moment, then reached out and placed her fingers atop Fang Wannan’s.
Truthfully, they hadn’t held hands that many times before, but it wasn’t zero, so in theory, this should go smoothly.
Yet, the process of intertwining their fingers was surprisingly difficult, the interlocking of knuckles particularly awkward, like parts that hadn’t been oiled—rough friction skating between their skins.
“Let’s start with Little Bell!”
As the host, Mo Ran’s eyes curved with mirth as she gently pressed Jiang Ling’s shoulder, nudging her forward. “Remember to maintain eye contact. If you look away, you lose.”
Jiang Ling’s heart was a bundle of nerves, her hand slightly sweaty as she held Fang Wannan’s.
She kept reminding herself in her heart—
This is just a game, this is just a game!
Even if she said something wrong, Nan Nan wouldn’t blame her!
Thinking this, Jiang Ling took another deep breath. When she raised her eyes again, the look in them was much calmer.
Nan Nan is very generous to her friends, always giving us all kinds of things.
Since it was the first round, Jiang Ling tried her best to stare into Fang Wannan’s emotionless eyes, sincerely and straightforwardly stating one of her common strengths.
Upon hearing this, Fang Wannan instinctively wanted to look away. But as the cheers rose up from the audience, she forced herself to hold Jiang Ling’s gaze.
“You… work really hard. Whenever you run into something you don’t know, you really dig in and study. Your dancing has improved a lot. And you’re not as quick to cry or sensitive as you used to be.”
Before she finished, Jiang Ling bit her lip anxiously. “When was I ever quick to cry?”
“Huh? Who was it that squatted in the corner crying the first time we met?”
Fang Wannan met her gaze without backing down, the memory of their first encounter flashing through her mind.
Back then, Jiang Ling wasn’t at all like she was now. She’d been a textbook gloomy introvert, and when Fang Wannan tried to talk to her, she usually got a shaky, timid response.
Now, though her personality hadn’t changed all that much, and she still got nervous around strangers, with her friends, all those walls had long since come down.
As Fang Wannan reminisced, her thoughts paused, and a barely-there smile curled at her lips.
“I really can’t argue with that!”
Jiang Ling looked like she was about to cry, clearly recalling her own sorry state. She quickly changed the subject: “Nan Nan is super cute! From head to toe, every part of her is especially adorable. And, most importantly, she’s totally tsundere! So cute!”
After she’d blurted all this out in a near panic, a blush instantly spread across Fang Wannan’s cheeks.
“If you’re saying that, then you’re the cute one! So tiny, not strong at all, always curled up in a corner like an anime character. And you, you’re the cutest of all!”
Fang Wannan threw caution to the wind and shouted, gripping Jiang Ling’s hand tightly.
Jiang Ling wasn’t any better off. Overwhelmed by this sudden flood of compliments, her face turned bright red, and the raucous cheers around them grew even louder. She gritted her teeth, refusing to look away.
“And you’re really kind! Even if you want something yourself, you’ll still let me have it!”
She still stubbornly believed Fang Wannan wanted to team up with Mo Ran, so in this situation, she barely thought before blurting it out.
The strength of Fang Wannan’s grip on her fingers immediately increased.
“You dummy!”
The spotlight shone on her face, and Jiang Ling could clearly see a glimmer at the corner of Fang Wannan’s eye. She froze in that instant.
Is she… crying?
After saying that, Fang Wannan almost instantly pulled her hand away, marched over to Mo Ran, and said, “I lost!”
Seeing her so righteously indignant, Mo Ran glanced helplessly at the still-confused Jiang Ling, then played along: “Since Nan Nan lost, the punishment is… hmm…”
Pausing for a moment, Mo Ran winked mischievously. “You have to act cute to the winner.”
At that, the calm Fang Wannan had tried so hard to maintain collapsed at once. She pursed her lips, glaring in annoyance at the bewildered Jiang Ling beside her.
She let out a heavy sigh.
Still during the performance… still during the performance!
After repeating this to herself a few times, Fang Wannan walked over to Jiang Ling and, in a rather stiff tone, recited the lines of the ‘eight-in-a-row spoiled act’: “Please? Pretty please?”
Listening to Fang Wannan’s awkward attempt at acting cute, Jiang Ling felt helpless but also wanted to laugh.
Pfft… She’s adorable even when she’s upset.
Of course, she didn’t dare laugh out loud, and instead listened with a serious face until Fang Wannan finished, finally giving a thumbs-up gesture.
Satisfied, Mo Ran withdrew her gaze, opened the script, and continued with the program.
Her and Jiang Ling’s performance stage was a charming duet, the original song in Japanese—translated as “Pet Pet.” The two of them dressed as Santa and a reindeer, sparking a huge reaction from their fans.
The performance ended in laughter and joy.
Not long after was the special handshake event. Because this was a special performance, more tickets than usual were released.
Jiang Ling tidied up the decorations on the table, stealing glances at Fang Wannan, whose queue was right beside her own. Fang Wannan seemed a bit distracted.
This made Jiang Ling worry, afraid it would affect her mood later, so she kept glancing over.
It wasn’t until the handshake event began and Jiang Ling saw Fang Wannan smiling at fans as usual that she finally relaxed, just barely visibly.
Thank goodness—
“Um, did you have a fight with Ling Ling?”
The first fan in Fang Wannan’s line asked bluntly.
Thank goodness, my foot!
Jiang Ling instantly became nervous, looking anxiously at Fang Wannan.
Fang Wannan, too, was startled by the question. The smile on her face faltered a little, and she denied it with a slightly stiff voice: “No, we didn’t…”
But the fan clearly didn’t believe her, earnestly pressing the issue, leaning forward with concern written all over their face.
“But something feels off between the two of you—”
“Are you sure you really didn’t fight?”