Sitting on the chair in the Mall, Lin Yiren relaxed and stretched out her legs, even though it was hard and lacked a backrest.
She took out the milk tea that Jiang Xiaoxiao had handed her earlier, shook it from side to side, gestured twice with the straw, and then poked it in with a “pop” sound.
Taking a sip of the milk tea mixed with pearls and coconut jelly, the icy sweetness soaked into her mouth, and the corners of Lin Yiren’s eyes curved up.
Having a few sips in the summer was truly a beautiful thing.
“How is it.” A clear voice sounded. Jiang Xiaoxiao had leaned over at some point, her eyes clear and bright.
Realizing she was talking about the milk tea, Lin Yiren nodded. “Mhm, I just like this shop’s.”
Then she turned the label to her eyes and showed a smile. “Seven parts sweet is just right.”
Jiang Xiaoxiao’s eyebrows danced. “Huihui even told me to buy five parts sweet, but she hasn’t even had many cups of milk tea. How could she know as much as I do.”
Most of the girls Lin Yiren had met were more or less concerned about sweets and calories, but Jiang Xiaoxiao looked like a seasoned foodie.
However, her figure was perfectly proportioned, so she really didn’t need to worry about that.
Since they had already chatted for a bit, Lin Yiren thought she could bring up another topic. her gaze turned to the distant Inflatable Castle—did the Mamas who came out to walk their kids together talk about their own little ones?
She licked her lips and was about to speak.
***
Jiang Xiaoxiao suddenly let out a big yawn, rubbing her eyes as she said, “I was still sleeping this morning when Xiao Xue gave me a Mount Tai Press—she’s rarely this excited.”
She pointed to the area below the curve of her eyes. Lin Yiren saw that a small smear of dark circles was quite obvious on her fair skin.
“But,” Jiang Xiaoxiao paused, her tone carrying a bit of happiness, “it’s a good thing that Xue’er has become more lively.”
She used her hands to circle a small space and said, “When she first came to our house, she was just a quiet little thing. I bought so many toys just waiting for her to grow up.”
“As it turned out—” Jiang Xiaoxiao expanded the range of her circle, “Xue’er grew up, but she’s still so quiet and doesn’t really play with toys.”
“I actually wish Xing Yao would settle down sometimes and learn from Xiao Xue.” Lin Yiren propped half of her body on her thighs and naturally joined the conversation.
Her tone was helpless, but a trace of a smile hooked at the corner of her mouth.
Something seemed to melt invisibly, and Lin Yiren felt the air soften.
“Waiting here is so boring.” Jiang Xiaoxiao stretched, her hand touching the edge of her skirt. Under Lin Yiren’s surprised gaze, she reached in and pulled out a Smartphone.
So there were skirts with pockets? Lin Yiren thought of the ones she had worn before; none of them seemed to have pockets.
Lin Yiren watched as Jiang Xiaoxiao’s hand skillfully clicked into a certain icon and then turned the Smartphone horizontally.
“Hmm—do you play the Game?” Jiang Xiaoxiao held the Smartphone up to Lin Yiren’s eyes. “It’s this one.”
This was exactly what she had been playing all along.
Lin Yiren looked at the interface that couldn’t be more familiar, and the curve of her eyes flickered.
“I can teach you if you don’t know how. Let’s pass the time.” Jiang Xiaoxiao tossed her hair that had fallen by her neck, her dark, bright eyes flashing with agility.
Jiang Xiaoxiao loved to toss her hair just like Chen Zhaoyue, but the difference was that the Eldest Miss’s movements were elegant, as if even the strands of her hair carried pride.
Jiang Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, was like an active child casually tossing her hair before playing to keep it from getting in the way.
“I know how. Let’s go.” Lin Yiren didn’t decline and directly took out her Smartphone.
After entering the Game interface, Jiang Xiaoxiao added Lin Yiren as a friend. The information on the personal profile made her eyes flicker.
Hmm?
As if she hadn’t seen clearly, Jiang Xiaoxiao rubbed her eyes, exited, and then clicked in again.
“Holy crap!” The girl’s voice was originally like a clear spring hitting stream stones in a mountain valley, but now the spring water had turned into a rushing creek, her exclamation splashing out.
“How is your level so high?” Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at the rows of shining data. “And where did this badge come from?”
“You get it if your record is good.” Amidst the exclamations, Lin Yiren appeared calm on the surface, but she was smiling brightly in her heart.
“You invite me. I haven’t played in a while.” Her tone was flat, as if she were saying “What are we eating today?”.
“Oh… okay.” Jiang Xiaoxiao had stars in her eyes.
The Game began, and Lin Yiren’s hands leaped across the Screen like she was playing a piano.
“Take that minion wave.”
“It’s fine, leave it to me.”
“Go, go, go, it’s a push.”
The word “Victory” popped up on the Screen, and Jiang Xiaoxiao’s pink lips parted slightly.
Lin Yiren put down her Smartphone and gave a faint smile.
***
“You’re a pro!” Jiang Xiaoxiao’s fair cheeks were flushed red. Looking at Lin Yiren’s record, she let out a sound of worship.
“It’s just that I’ve been playing for a long time.” Lin Yiren became humble.
“I’ve played for so many years and I’m not this good.”
“How many years have you played? I’ve been playing since High School.”
“I’ve been playing since my first year of University. Although Huihui doesn’t let me play for long every day, I’ve still played for nine years.” Jiang Xiaoxiao pursed her lips with a sorrowful look.
Oh, nine years is indeed quite a long time… wait, nine years?!
Lin Yiren’s pupils shrank as she looked at the delicate girl in front of her—didn’t that mean Jiang Xiaoxiao was 27 this year?
So she was the same age as Su Hui? She looked… truly deceptive.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at her strangely.
“Nothing, nothing.” Lin Yiren stroked her hair with a forced laugh and quickly changed the subject. “Then did you and Sister Su meet in University?”
“University?” The sorrow on Jiang Xiaoxiao’s face suddenly vanished, replaced by a proud expression. She opened her Smartphone files and began searching, clicking through a certain file path with practiced ease before placing the Smartphone in front of Lin Yiren.
“We’ve already known each other for over 20 years.”
Lin Yiren looked closely. The photo was of two girls holding hands, wearing the same clothes. Behind them was the gate of a kindergarten, with flower petals falling onto the steps in front of the gate.
They were posing (•̀ω•́)y for the camera, but one girl was naughtily reaching her hand back. At the moment the shot was frozen, a small pair of rabbit ears appeared over the other girl’s head.
“Guess who the person with the ears is.”
“Um… Sister Su?”
“Congratulations—you’re wrong. It’s me.”
“Eh?”
“Hmph, you don’t know how much Huihui loved to tease me when we were little. She was always bossing me around, too.” Jiang Xiaoxiao wrinkled her delicate nose, but happiness flowed from her eyes.
Jiang Xiaoxiao took back the Smartphone. When she exited the file, Lin Yiren saw her Smartphone wallpaper. It was a photo of Jiang Xiaoxiao and Su Hui hugging Jiang Xue with a beach in the background.
“Jiang, uh.” Lin Yiren was about to say something but suddenly paused.
What should she call Jiang Xiaoxiao? This suddenly became a problem.
Calling her by her full name seemed like they were back to being strangers; calling her Xiaoxiao, but she was five years older than her; calling her Sister Jiang was also…
Seeing Lin Yiren’s expression turn strange again, a flash of inspiration hit Jiang Xiaoxiao’s mind. She finally realized why she had been dazed for a while after hearing she had played the Game for nine years.
One hand was placed unyieldingly on Lin Yiren’s shoulder. Although she was a bit shorter, her aura was full of momentum.
“Are you thinking about something impolite?”
“Ah? No.” Having her thoughts exposed, Lin Yiren shook her head like a rattle.
“Hmph,” Jiang Xiaoxiao clearly didn’t believe her. Her eyes widened as if to show off her sharpness. “I’m older than you. From now on, just call me Sister Jiang.”