Chapter 32

The summer night breeze, carrying the lingering warmth of the day, blew through the neon-lit streets. Su Rui was working a summer temporary job at a convenience store, and tonight was his evening shift.

As his shift was about to end, he glanced out the window, his heart skipping a beat. A familiar tall figure was lazily leaning against the streetlight outside the shop, his phone tucked between his fingers, twirling absentmindedly. The dim light made his superior features even more distinct. It was Ling Yao.

Why is he here? Su Rui panicked and subconsciously wanted to hide, afraid that he would see her busy and slightly disheveled in her ill-fitting uniform. But Ling Yao had already seen him. Through the glass window, he raised his chin towards him, a smile on his lips.

When the shift change time came, Su Rui changed her clothes and ran out almost immediately, with a slight blush on her face from running: "Ling Yao? Why are you here..."

Ling Yao stood up straight, glanced at his face, frowned, and pinched his cheek unceremoniously: "Look at you, with black circles under your eyes. Is it a big deal to stand for a whole night? What can you buy with the money you earn?" His tone was as unpleasant as usual, but the force of pinching his cheek was very light, and there was even a hint of imperceptible comfort in his fingertips.

"I'm not tired..." Su Rui defended herself in a low voice, but her heart was filled with sweetness because of his sudden appearance and the concern implied in his words.

"You're just being stubborn." Ling Yao snorted, and without saying anything more, he naturally put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Let's go. I'll take you somewhere."

He didn't say where he was going, and Su Rui didn't ask, she just followed him. As they passed the small welfare lottery station on the corner, Ling Yao suddenly stopped, as if on a whim: "Hey, let's go in and scratch a couple of tickets for fun?"

Before Su Rui could react, he was pulled in. Ling Yao casually bought a few scratch-off tickets, stuffed two into Su Rui's pocket, and pretended to scratch the other one himself.

Su Rui took it, bewildered, and carefully scraped the coating with a coin. When he saw the winning symbol and amount underneath, his eyes widened and he held his breath—this was no small amount! He checked it several times in disbelief before excitedly grabbing Ling Yao's arm, his voice trembling, "Ling, Ling Yao! I won! Look! I really won!"

Ling Yao showed just the right amount of surprise, leaned over to take a look, then burst into laughter and ruffled his hair vigorously. "Good job, silly boy, you're lucky!" He was even more excited than Su Rui and immediately pushed him to the counter to claim the prize. When the not-so-thin stack of cash was stuffed into Su Rui's hands, he was still completely dazed, feeling like he was dreaming.

"I've got it," Ling Yao said casually, as if it was only a few dozen yuan. "Don't work in a place like that anymore, you hear me?"

The huge surprise and the heartache in Ling Yao's words intertwined together, making Su Rui's nose sore. He pinched the stack of money with good luck and nodded heavily.

The next day, Ling Yao dragged a still-dazed Su Rui to the mobile phone counter at the mall. He pointed at the latest model and said to the clerk, "I want the white one." Su Rui was stunned and quickly pulled his sleeve, "Ling Yao, it's too expensive... I can't use it..." "Isn't the prize money supposed to be spent?" Ling Yao interrupted him, with a good reason, "Your crappy phone should have been replaced long ago. It's as slow as a snail." He paid without hesitation and stuffed the new white phone box into Su Rui's arms.

Holding the brand new, expensive phone, Su Rui's heart was heavy with gratitude she couldn't repay. Su Rui turned to the clerk and asked for two, one black and one white. He looked at Ling Yao, suddenly mustering up the courage, and said softly but firmly, "Ling Yao...this one's a gift from me, okay?"

"Thank you... for always being so kind to me."

Ling Yao was stunned for a moment, looking at the black phone in his hand, then at Su Rui's eyes, which were filled with sincerity and a hint of unease, and suddenly smiled. This time, his smile was less playful and more genuinely warm. "Okay," he raised the black phone in his hand, "then this is mine."

One black and one white, two identical mobile phones lay quietly in their respective hands, like a tacit sweet agreement.

Walking out of the mall, the sun was shining brightly. Ling Yao couldn't wait to pick up Su Rui's new white phone, turned on the camera and started taking a lot of pictures of him. "Don't move! Oh, right, that silly look!" "Look here! Smile, uglier than crying." Nine out of ten pictures were blurry, or only captured Su Rui's unprepared and weird expression. Ling Yao looked at the blurry faces of Su Rui in the preview pictures, and laughed so hard that he almost couldn't breathe. He put the screen in front of Su Rui's eyes: "Look, look! Doesn't it look like a rabbit frightened by the flash? Hahaha!"

Su Rui watched his own ridiculous appearance on the screen, listening to Ling Yao's hearty, unfettered laughter beside him. The laughter was so contagious that he couldn't help but laugh along, his slight embarrassment instantly drowned out by immense joy. On the bustling street, two teenagers clapped their heads together, grinning unselfishly at a phone screen. The sunlight cast a long shadow on them, as if to freeze this sweet moment forever.

Su Rui thought that meeting Ling Yao was probably the biggest jackpot in his life.