Extra 44
The city doesn't look very big or very prosperous.
The streets were mostly dark, with only a few shops open occasionally, and few pedestrians; it was very deserted.
The two walked along the road, but didn't see anything lively.
To this end, Qin Anning even took out her phone to search for some tips, but unfortunately, there were no guides available online.
There were very few restaurants offering takeout; I scrolled through the list and found the bottom of the page.
Qin Anning asked, "Have we gone to the wrong place? Have we not reached the city's CBD area?"
Bai Lin was also looking around, and everywhere he went, there was a scene of ruin.
It's not entirely dilapidated; you can still see shopping malls, some nicely decorated restaurants, and clothing stores along the way.
But to say it's bustling is an understatement; five out of ten shops on the street are closed, and some sections are completely dark without streetlights.
Judging from the various high-rise buildings, this place doesn't seem like an old town.
Bai Lin said, "It's probably because there are too few people that the economy can't be stimulated, creating a vicious cycle that has led to this situation."
Qin Anning nodded. "It certainly seems so. Is this the case in all smaller cities, like fourth or fifth tier?"
"Most likely."
The two walked for a while and came to a square park, where there were a few people scattered around.
However, most of the people doing square dancing are elderly men and women, and they are divided into several pairs, with only a few people in each pair.
Qin Anning was too lazy to walk any further. This was probably the liveliest place in the whole city, and walking any further would only make it quieter.
The two found a bench and sat down, watching the elderly people dancing in the square in the distance.
"Are you hungry?" Bai Lin asked.
Qin Anning shook her head. "I'm not hungry. Are you hungry?"
Bai Lin smiled and said, "I'm fine, then let's eat later."
"Um."
Looking at the crowd ahead, Qin Anning's mind began to wander again.
This person really can't be idle; once he's idle, he's prone to thinking about all sorts of things and can't control himself.
Fortunately, Bai Lin was by her side, which prevented her from thinking too deeply. Subconsciously, Qin Anning turned her head and glanced at him.
The emptiness in my heart was filled a little more.
This feeling was really strange. A while ago, Qin Man and Yang Jingyu had been with her and comforted her both openly and subtly.
But she didn't feel that way at all. On the contrary, the more she was comforted, the emptier she felt inside. It was far better than Bai Lin sitting quietly beside her without saying anything.
Lost in thought, Qin Anning secretly pinched her leg.
Unexpectedly, she used too much force and gasped in pain.
"hiss--"
Bai Lin turned to look at her. "What's wrong?"
Qin Anning clutched her leg and, after a while, managed a weak smile. "No, it's nothing, just a leg cramp."
Bai Lin was suspicious. He had only been sitting for less than ten minutes when he suddenly got a cramp.
However, he did not investigate further, but simply said, "Then stand up and walk around."
"good……"
Qin Anning felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look at him.
Bai Lin didn't notice anything. He saw a small shop ahead and walked towards it.
Qin Anning followed behind him absentmindedly until Bai Lin handed her a bottle of water, at which point she snapped out of her reverie.
She reached out to twist the bottle cap, only to find it was loose.
Qin Anning took a big gulp, let out a long breath, and said somewhat awkwardly, "It's getting late, let's go back to the hotel. There doesn't seem to be much to see here."
"good."
He almost never refuses Qin Anning's requests, except in certain circumstances.
Bai Lin asked her again, "Aren't you really hungry? If you get hungry in the middle of the night, there probably won't be any food here."
She was about to say she wasn't hungry, but then she remembered that Bai Lin had been driving for so long and must be hungry too. So she changed her words to, "Let's go get something to eat, and pack some for Qin Man too, otherwise she'll be up to something again in the middle of the night."
There's a shop right next door that sells snail rice noodles.
There weren't many people in the shop, only two customers. After they sat down, each of them ordered a bowl of snail rice noodles.
Bai Lin looked at the snail rice noodles in front of him with a strange expression.
Qin Anning glanced at him. "What's wrong? Don't you like this?"
Bai Lin's smile was somewhat forced. "Nothing much."
After saying that, he picked up his chopsticks, stared at the snail rice noodles for three seconds, as if he was doing some kind of mental preparation, and then gritted his teeth, picked up the snail rice noodles with his chopsticks and put them in his mouth.
Qin Anning noticed his expression and paused slightly.
He seemed to be eating with some difficulty; normally people eat noodles by sucking them in, but he was biting them instead.
Qin Anning suddenly realized that she didn't seem to know what he liked or disliked.
On the contrary, he remembered his own hobbies very clearly.
Qin Anning sighed and couldn't help but say, "Cousin, if you don't like it, then don't eat it. Let's eat something else."
Bai Lin swallowed the powder in his mouth with difficulty, grabbed the disposable water cup next to him, poured a large cup of water, and drank it all in one gulp.
His complexion improved slightly after he finished drinking, and he smiled at Qin Anning, "It's okay, I just don't really like the taste, but it's still edible."
"Give it to me." Qin Anning took his portion and pushed her own uneaten portion aside. "Give this to Qin Man to pack up."
Bai Lin was about to say something when she had already picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.
Bai Lin hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately said nothing.
Qin Anning thought the snail rice noodles tasted pretty good. After taking a bite, she ate it in big mouthfuls, not caring at all that Bai Lin had eaten it.
Seeing this, Bai Lin couldn't help but speak up, "An Ning..."
Qin Anning looked up at him and said vaguely, "What's wrong?"
Bai Lin was a little embarrassed and said awkwardly, "I've already eaten."
"What's there to be afraid of? Didn't we always share food when we were kids?"
"But..." Bai Lin didn't know what to say for a moment, and his expression became increasingly strange.
Qin Anning stared at him for a while, and the more she looked at his expression, the more she felt...
She couldn't help but ask, "Cousin, are you shy?"
"Cough..." Bai Lin seemed to choke, and grabbed the water glass next to him again to drink a large cup.
Then, Qin Anning noticed that his ears seemed to have turned red.
...
Qin Anning was stunned for a moment, her mind buzzing. When had she ever seen her usually mature and steady cousin like this?
After a moment, Bai Lin explained, "No, I just felt..." After talking for a while, he didn't know what to say, and finally sighed helplessly, "Never mind, it's okay."
Qin Anning stared at him intently for a while before lowering her head to continue eating.
She finished the whole bowl of snail rice noodles in no time.
She then called the owner over, packed up the remaining portion, paid for it, and walked out of the shop with the snail rice noodles.
Bai Lin suddenly fell silent and stopped speaking.
Qin Anning asked, "Cousin, there's a noodle shop over there, why don't you go eat some noodles there?"
"What?" Bai Lin looked at her blankly.
Qin Anning twitched the corner of her mouth. "I said, go eat noodles."
"Oh, okay." Bai Lin also became somewhat absent-minded.
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