It was another ordinary workday.
The nine-to-six corporate drones yawned and squeezed into the subway as always, while students, leveraging their smaller, more agile frames, fought to claim a place among the few remaining empty seats.
Denia clung to Xiao Ling’s arm, her head resting against him as she drowsily dozed off.
The subway was bumpy — hardly an ideal sleeping environment.
And she was standing, which made it even harder to fall asleep.
Xiao Ling felt like his arm was going a bit numb, but he didn’t dare move.
If he moved and set off this little blueberry mousse cake, soothing her would be no easy task.
Denia had originally planned to sleep until she woke naturally.
It was Xiao Ling who had forcibly dragged her out of bed.
After all, today he was going to pick up Chisa and the others and bring them back to his place — a sort of reunion with fellow countryfolk, so to speak.
And besides…
‘If Nia could see Sigrika, she’d probably be really happy.’
After all, in the game, Sigrika and she, as close besties, were people from two different worlds.
Parting was a lesson they were destined to face.
But this was the real world.
Just because they couldn’t meet in the game didn’t mean they couldn’t meet in reality~
Still, aside from the slightly numb arm issue, there was another very real problem before him.
Denia was just way too eye-catching!!!!
She was still in a daze right now and probably didn’t notice, but Xiao Ling could feel that the two of them had unwittingly become the focal point of this entire subway car.
Couldn’t be helped.
A natural beauty like Denia, stunning and heart-stirring even without a trace of makeup, was simply too overwhelming.
And he himself looked somewhat slovenly in comparison.
The contrast stirred an involuntary jealousy in the other passengers.
Xiao Ling felt the others’ stares like knives stabbing into him.
Even as they stabbed, they seemed to interrogate him: what gave him the right to find such a beautiful girlfriend?
What could he do?
Just lower his head and keep scrolling through his phone.
As long as he didn’t meet their eyes, they didn’t exist.
Good heavens.
Just bringing Denia alone was already like this.
If he brought four more beauties along, he’d truly be socially executed.
Though his mind was in full internal screaming mode, on the surface Xiao Ling still maintained his composure.
He was at least an invisible rich second-generation now, and he’d picked up a few tricks from his family on how to handle such situations.
So the people on the subway, at most, could only judge him with their eyes — none dared to actually come up and cause trouble.
To an outsider’s eyes, Xiao Ling now looked like a cold, sharp blade.
Anyone who came looking for trouble was guaranteed to bleed.
And no one wanted to cause trouble for themselves.
If someone could find such a beautiful girlfriend, that was their own ability.
At most, people like them could only call the grapes sour when they couldn’t reach them.
Amidst the torment, Xiao Ling finally waited until the subway reached the station.
Not wasting a single moment, he pulled the still-dozing Denia and charged off the train.
…
Denia stretched lazily, fully extending the soft, graceful curves of her body.
The morning sun gently lit her, giving her a kind of ethereal, dreamlike quality.
“What time did you sleep last night?” Xiao Ling asked.
“…Mn?” Denia blanked for a moment, then tapped her chin with her index finger, brows slightly furrowed as she recalled.
“Seems like it was pretty late…
but I didn’t pay attention to the exact time.
When I felt a bit sleepy, I just passed out.”
‘Great.
Now what’s affecting her sleep isn’t the erosion of the Tacet Discord but digital opium…’ Xiao Ling thought, somewhat pained.
“Cut back on the late-night gaming, if you don’t want to end up with panda eyes.” He flicked her forehead and gave a stern warning.
“I know.
I’ll dare do it again next time.” Denia covered her head and stuck out her tongue playfully.
After this little interlude, Xiao Ling pulled her out of the subway station.
They crossed several traffic lights, turned this way and that, and eventually came to a small alleyway.
This alleyway was far from the bustling, prosperous places Xiao Ling had taken her before.
It looked genuinely shabby and humble.
The people in the alley mostly wore ordinary, simple clothes.
The two of them arriving here was like a pair of swans landing in a pond full of ducks.
Somewhat worn-out signboards, the hawking calls of the old men along the street, and the fragrant aroma of cooking wafting from various little restaurants — together these made up the unique warmth and earthy bustle of this small alley.
This delivered a huge impact to Denia.
A place like this, in Solaris, could disappear and no one would even know.
Yet in this world, people could likewise live and work here in peace and contentment.
“It’s really been so long since I’ve been back…”
Xiao Ling was quite surprised.
The place where Chisa and the others were currently living was exactly where he and his mother had once struggled to survive between the cracks.
This small alley might not have been that prosperous, but it carried a great deal of his childhood memories.
“See that place?
The owner there is a really good guy.
Not only are his tossed noodles delicious, but the portions are huge and cheap too.
When I was broke, I’d go there and order a bowl of tossed noodles.
If I wasn’t full, he’d let me have extra noodles for free.
The owner always looked so upbeat, cheerful every single day.”
“Oh, right, right.
And that breakfast shop on the right.
Their steamed buns were huge.
I’d be stuffed after just three or four.
When I really couldn’t afford a meal, I’d buy a few dozen buns and eat them rationed out each day.
Could last a good while.”
Xiao Ling pointed out various old, worn-down shops to Denia, sharing traces of the life he’d once lived here as he did so.
His relatives were very good to him and his mother now, but he had never forgotten those times when he and his mother depended on each other.
Those days were really hard, feeling like you couldn’t see the end of the tunnel.
But looking back on them now, it carried the feeling of “after the clouds part, the moon shines bright.”
“Want to get something to eat?” Xiao Ling asked the little glutton beside him.
“I want to try those big steamed buns you mentioned.”
Denia had a feeling Xiao Ling was pulling her leg.
As they say, hearsay is hollow, seeing is believing.
She had to test this herself.
“Alright.”
Holding her hand, Xiao Ling walked all the way to the breakfast stall.
“Ay, handsome and beauty, what’ll it be today?” The vendor greeted the two warmly.
The vendor was a middle-aged woman.
Seeing the two approach, she nimbly lifted the lid of the steamer.
Steaming mist wafted out, carrying the fragrance of the fresh buns.
“Do you still have the steamed buns at fifty fen each?”
“No can do, young man.
Prices have gone up now.
Fifty fen won’t get you a hair off my head these days.” The older woman said, putting on a serious air.
“Uncle Li doesn’t run this anymore?” Xiao Ling suddenly mentioned a person’s name.
“Hey, you know my old father-in-law?” The older woman’s eyes lit up.
“His health ain’t what it used to be, can’t do the heavy lifting no more.
My husband’s out working in another city, and I’m just at home with the kid, helping my old father-in-law look after the stall on the side.”
“Is that so…”
Fair enough.
When people got old, they needed to rest well, after all.
Xiao Ling didn’t make more small talk.
He just asked the older woman for a few steamed buns.
Just as he finished paying and was about to leave, she suddenly let out an “Ay!”
“What is it?” Xiao Ling asked, puzzled.
“I remember now!
I’ve seen ya before!
Your childhood name is Xiao Yu, ain’t it?” The older woman had finally recognized that the person before her was a familiar face from the past, and was quite delighted.
“Back then ya were just this tiny little thing, didn’t even reach the stall counter.
Now you’re a whole head taller than me!”
“I grew up.” Xiao Ling said with a smile.
“This young lady your girlfriend?
Real pretty!” With lightning speed, the older woman reached out and pinched Denia’s cheek.
A thin layer of flour dust instantly smudged her fair little face.
“Here, tell ya what.
I’ll stuff a few more buns in for ya.
No need for extra money.
You just steady and proper date this young lady.
This older woman right here wishes y’all a hundred years of happiness!”
Giving Xiao Ling no chance to refuse, the older woman shoved several more steamed buns into the bag and promptly sent them off.
…
Denia stuffed two steamed buns into her mouth and couldn’t eat any more.
“What do we do now?
That older woman gave way too many.
I can’t finish them.” Denia looked at Xiao Ling with a bit of reproach.
That layer of flour dust was still smudged on her face.
“Then save ’em and eat ’em later.” Xiao Ling grinned.
Denia rolled her eyes speechlessly.
Gotta say, it was oddly cute.
“Where are we going now?
You didn’t bring me here just to reminisce about your childhood, right?” She finally asked about the purpose of this trip.
“To pick someone up.” Xiao Ling took a warm steamed bun from the plastic bag she was holding and popped it into his mouth, then smoothly and carefully wiped the flour dust off her face.
“Pick up who?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Munching on steamed buns, Xiao Ling and Denia walked all the way to the end of this alleyway.
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