Chapter 80: Do you want to know my past?

绪。

Jiang Ling didn’t understand why Lin Xiaoyu was crying, and being awkward herself, she wasn’t very good at comforting others.

But seeing Lin Xiaoyu clutching the prize tickets tightly, almost instinctively, she dashed off to exchange them for the best toy available at the moment.

“I can’t truly understand how sad you feel, but…”

Jiang Ling’s voice carried a hint of determination: “You’re an important teammate to me, so I won’t leave you alone. Even though I’m just a small, insignificant person, I will do my best to make you happy, Xiaoyu.”

After saying this, a sudden wave of belated shame washed over her, but she still forced herself to meet Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes, trying to offer her some strength.

From the moment Lin Xiaoyu saw the toy, her tears miraculously stopped. She traced the rough parts and patterns slowly before reaching out to take it.

My… gift?

“These are all exchanged with the tickets you won! Xiaoyu, you really are amazing at everything you do.” Seeing Lin Xiaoyu’s dazed expression, Jiang Ling immediately softened her voice in praise, trying to divert her gloomy mood: “The shop owner was really shocked when they saw it. They said they’ve never seen anyone win so many tickets in such a short time.”

Jiang Ling admitted that the last sentence was a bit of an exaggeration, but she said it without hesitation, her eyes firm and unwavering.

In short, she just showered her with compliments!

Hearing this, an unknown emotion surfaced in Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes. She stroked the toy in her hands again and asked cautiously, “Am I… really that amazing?”

There was a trace of confusion in her tone.

Jiang Ling nodded without hesitation: “Yes, very amazing!”

To make her words sound more credible, Jiang Ling waved her hands around excitedly, mimicking holding the tickets: “You don’t know, those tickets are so many and super heavy! The toy I exchanged is from the top tier!”

Then, with a bright smile, Jiang Ling leaned forward again and looked up at Lin Xiaoyu.

“Don’t cry, you’re the best in my heart.”

Saying this, she pulled two lollipops from her pocket, pouting slightly: “But after exchanging for that toy, there were only enough tickets left for two candies.”

Lin Xiaoyu watched her unwrap the candy, and somewhere deep inside, a hidden corner was struck hard, slowly and obediently revealing her true feelings.

“My favorite strawberry flavor, for you!”

Jiang Ling held up the lollipop, eyes bright and smiling.

Seeing this, Lin Xiaoyu was silent for a moment, then solemnly accepted the candy in her hand. After examining it for two seconds, she put it in her mouth.

It was indeed very sweet.

“Ah, mine’s super sour!” Jiang Ling popped the other candy into her mouth, frowned, and waved her hand, “Good thing you didn’t eat it. What flavor is this again—”

“Thank you.”

Lin Xiaoyu cut off Jiang Ling’s words, stood up, and then pulled the somewhat confused Jiang Ling to her feet. The two faced each other.

Due to the height difference, Lin Xiaoyu had to lower her eyes slightly to clearly see Jiang Ling’s obedient and adorable face.

“Thank you.”

She repeated again, then carefully put the toy car into her pocket, sucked on the candy, and lowered her arm to touch Jiang Ling’s fingers.

The cold touch transmitted through, and Jiang Ling shivered unconsciously. Lin Xiaoyu’s fingers slid effortlessly between hers, slightly tightening, and their ten fingers locked together.

“So cold.”

Jiang Ling’s cheeks puffed out, and she didn’t resist, muttering something like a complaint.

Lin Xiaoyu said little in response, but an involuntary faint smile curved at her lips. The gloom and sadness from before had quietly vanished.

“Then you help me warm up.”

After leaving the arcade, Jiang Ling suddenly became confused: “Eh, where do you want to go next?”

After all, coming to the arcade was purely Jiang Ling’s idea to divert Lin Xiaoyu’s attention, to make her less sad.

“I don’t know.” Lin Xiaoyu tossed the empty wrapper into the nearby trash can, hooking Jiang Ling’s finger with hers. “I told you, you have to take responsibility.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ling bit her lip with some hesitation: “Umm… Oh, right! Let’s go to the nearby food street. I’m hungry anyway.”

The food street next to the arcade was quite famous, with many shops and heavy foot traffic.

“Sounds good.”

Lin Xiaoyu didn’t object. In fact, she hadn’t had any real plan from the start.

Jiang Ling silently confessed to Mo Zaizuo’s “sweet and sour tomato scrambled eggs” once before holding Lin Xiaoyu’s hand, and they stepped into the bustling food street together.

Since it was nearing evening, the crowd was large. The warmth from the crowd made the evening breeze less chilly as they strolled leisurely along the street.

“What do you want to eat?”

Jiang Ling’s eyes scanned the surrounding stalls, noticing everything imaginable, and she asked.

“The same as you.”

Lin Xiaoyu’s reply was brief—she was too lazy to think.

“Ah, that’s basically the same as saying ‘whatever.’ I hate people like you!”

Jiang Ling frowned, lightly poking Lin Xiaoyu’s arm to show mock disapproval.

But she quickly found a popular food stall. After staring at the specialty sign for a while, she finally bought some food.

There were plenty of seats nearby for the vendors, so they picked a spot to sit.

“Cheese turkey noodles and grilled cold noodles!”

Jiang Ling eagerly looked at the box in her hand and immediately picked up a bite with her bamboo skewer. Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she paused, turned it toward Lin Xiaoyu, and said, “Ah—”

“Mm.”

Lin Xiaoyu didn’t hesitate and bit directly into it. While chewing, she said, “I can eat by myself.”

“Oh, it’s different when I share it.”

Jiang Ling said that as she scooped a big bite for herself, happily eating. She could tolerate spicy food fairly well; this level was quite acceptable, so she continued enthusiastically.

Lin Xiaoyu, meanwhile, stared at the jidan guanbing (egg-stuffed pancake) in front of her, observing it carefully for a few seconds before taking a serious bite.

…So this is what it tastes like.

When she was a child, there was an old man selling egg-stuffed pancakes near the school gate. A bunch of kids would gather around his little cart, spending their pocket money to buy some.

Of course, she had never eaten it.

Lin Xiaoyu recalled, taking another bite.

Her mother had said this kind of food was unhealthy and that eating too much would cause weight gain, which would affect her figure and ruin the gracefulness needed for ballet.

So even though she could now freely choose what to eat, Lin Xiaoyu had deliberately never bought the snacks she was once forbidden from having. It wasn’t about worrying about weight, but a kind of instinctive avoidance.

But now, as she ate, her mood was calm and unmoved, even having the leisure to comment on the taste.

In no time, Lin Xiaoyu finished the egg-stuffed pancake, folded the plastic bag, and looked up at Jiang Ling, who was still happily eating. Her expression softened unconsciously.

So, it really was because of her.

For Jiang Ling, it might have been just a trivial phrase, a crudely made toy.

But for Lin Xiaoyu, it was a gift she hadn’t received in over ten years.

After the meal, they returned to the dormitory; after all, they couldn’t wander outside forever.

Once back, Jiang Ling immediately noticed that Lin’s mother seemed to have left already, and she quickly looked around.

“Don’t look, she’s gone.”

Sitting on the sofa, Bai Xue leisurely watched her like that, without dragging it out, calmly saying: “We’ve stabilized her for now. No need to worry.”

After a brief pause, she gave a confident smile: “I won’t let anyone leave.”

“Yay!” Jiang Ling immediately stepped forward, shouting, “Long live the captain! You’re amazing!”

Bai Xue took the chance to rub her head: “It’s getting late. Let’s talk about anything else tomorrow.”

The two then returned to their rooms as usual, washing up and getting ready for bed.

As the lights went out, Jiang Ling immediately felt someone tugging gently but firmly on her sleeve.

“You… want to know about my past?”