After Grandmother was discharged from the hospital, Zhou Wan no longer needed to make daily hospital visits and went straight to the arcade after school.
Just as Zhou Wan finished her shift handover and sat down, she heard a sweet female voice from nearby praising someone’s skill while applauding enthusiastically.
Besides students, couples were common at the arcade, and such voices could often be heard. Zhou Wan paid no attention and didn’t look in that direction.
Until she heard another voice: “Go play by yourself.”
Magnetic and cold.
Perfectly blending a delinquent’s casualness with detached indifference.
Lu Xixiao.
Since that time he’d angrily told her to “get lost,” he hadn’t come back.
The owner of that sweet voice stood beside him, wearing a high-waisted short skirt with tall boots, her face young yet heavily made-up—exactly the type his previous girlfriends had been.
So, was this his new girlfriend?
Well, he hadn’t had a girlfriend for two months now.
He’d never had such a long single period before.
The girl whined, “But you said you’d keep me company.”
Lu Xixiao clicked his tongue impatiently.
“Lu Xixiao,” the girl tugged at his arm, bouncing up and down. “Won’t you watch me dance?”
Lu Xixiao raised his hand, pulled free from her grip, and walked with her to the dance machine.
The girl had dance training—as soon as the intro melody started, she moved gracefully on the dance machine, radiant and confident. Her slim waist and long legs drew quite a crowd of onlookers.
Except for Lu Xixiao.
He received a phone call midway and walked away.
Leaning lazily against the wall, he answered the call while lighting a cigarette.
Jiang Fan: “Xiao, my sister’s with you, right?”
He exhaled smoke: “You have ten minutes to come get her. She’s annoying as hell.”
“Fuck, I really can’t leave right now. Old Liu caught me.” Jiang Fan was nearly at his wit’s end. “Just help me watch her for a bit, don’t let that nutcase run off somewhere.”
Lu Xixiao clicked his tongue and hung up.
After finishing one song, applause spontaneously erupted from the crowd. Jiang Yun turned around but couldn’t find Lu Xixiao, frowning until she finally spotted him in a corner chair.
Cigarette between his lips, playing with his phone.
Jiang Yun stomped over furiously: “Didn’t you promise to watch me dance!”
Lu Xixiao raised his foot, hooked the coffee table leg, and pulled it aside to block Jiang Yun’s path: “Stand there.”
Unable to get closer, Jiang Yun could only stand two meters away.
“Make another noise and I’ll throw you out,” Lu Xixiao said impatiently.
Jiang Yun’s eyes widened instantly, unable to believe he would say something so ungentlemanly and even rude.
Jiang Yun was only a year younger than Jiang Fan, currently a first-year at Third High School. She’d seen Lu Xixiao’s photo from her brother and thought he was handsome, finally finding this opportunity today.
His face was a hundred times more handsome than in photos, but his awful temperament was truly infuriating!
Jiang Yun had been spoiled since childhood. She immediately stamped her foot and picked up a nearby magazine to throw at him: “Jerk! Jerk! Jerk!”
After venting, she turned around angrily and ran off to play by herself.
Lu Xixiao sat alone in the armchair, sinking into the backrest, long legs sprawled carelessly, eyes downcast, looking weary and cold.
Zhou Wan sat on the other side, head down doing homework, quiet and gentle, completely out of place in this noisy background.
Lu Xixiao didn’t know when he’d raised his eyes to look at Zhou Wan.
Only when the cigarette burned his fingertips did he snap back to attention? He straightened up and stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.
Jiang Yun played around for a while, then ran to Zhou Wan with her collected prize tickets: “Little sister, can I exchange these?”
Zhou Wan did look young and innocent, so it wasn’t strange that Jiang Yun called her little sister.
“Yes,” Zhou Wan smiled faintly, pointing to the glass cabinet behind her. “These points can be exchanged for items in this row. You can see which one you like?”
Jiang Yun leaned against the counter to look carefully, then after a while pointed: “That keychain is quite cute!”
Zhou Wan’s fingers paused slightly.
Restraining her urge to look at Lu Xixiao.
Keychain—Lu Xixiao had one too, a blue one.
“Would you like the pink one?” Zhou Wan asked softly.
“Mm-hmm.”
Zhou Wan took one out for her. Jiang Yun hooked the keychain with her index finger to examine it, smiled, and took out her keys from her bag.
Just as she was about to attach it, a hand suddenly reached from behind.