Chapter 58 A Lucky Draw: An Ambiguous Billiards Game
As soon as his sister looked over, the boy decisively turned his head away and looked away.
In the soft, warm light, his throat tightened again, and his ears turned red.
Boss Xu's gaze shifted from Xingmian to the small casserole he was holding; the man's hand was still wrapped in bandages!
She quickly stepped forward and took the small casserole:
"Your hand isn't fully healed yet, so rest quietly! I'll carry it, I'll carry it!"
A soft, feminine fragrance suddenly wafted into his nostrils, and Xingmian, unable to avoid it, could only let her snatch the casserole from his hands.
Mung bean porridge and Jiangnan-style sweet cakes.
This is their brunch today.
The baker is a young, tall man, and the two newly hired employees are a man and a woman who take turns working the morning and evening shifts.
After sitting down, Ayu took a deep breath of the rich aroma of the mung bean porridge, her little face flushed with the fragrance.
"You said you'd wake me up to make you breakfast, but you secretly cooked porridge yourself! Humph, you little liar! You never tell the truth!"
Lin Xingmian stared at her sister's right shoulder, which was exposed due to her sweater slipping down, and said unhappily, "Are you going to wear this this afternoon?"
"I didn't even know you could cook porridge. Let me try it..."
She ladled out a bowl, smiled, blew on it, and carefully sipped along the rim. Overjoyed, she...
Wow, it's so thick!
Lin Xingmian said with a stern face, "You haven't answered my question yet."
Fish: "What's wrong with this outfit? I'm going to wear it."
After she finished speaking, she heard the boy opposite her sigh softly.
Mr. Xu exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my? You can actually sigh?"
He leaned back in his chair, not touching his chopsticks for a long time. He lazily crossed his arms and said helplessly, "My hands hurt so much, how can I eat?"
Xu Zhiyu: "Didn't you eat with your hands normally last night?"
Lin Xingmian: "Yesterday my heart hurt more than my hands, so I couldn't feel it. Today my hands hurt more than my heart, so I can't eat by myself."
Xu Zhiyu: "..."
Xu Zhiyu: "I'm the one who got cheated on, what are you so upset about?"
Lin Xingmian: "I feel sorry for you."
He said it so directly in front of the other two people in the store.
Ah Yu knew he was joking, but others didn't!
She glanced at the baker and the shop assistant, Yin Yin, whose expressions were strange, as if they were both trying to suppress laughter.
The baker pretended not to hear their conversation and turned to Yin Yin on the first floor, saying, "Yin Yin, we're running low on some ingredients. Let's go to the alley next door and buy some more."
Yinyin and the baker exchanged a glance: "Let's go, we definitely need to buy these ingredients."
The baker ripped off his apron, and he and Yinyin slipped out the door in a flash.
Mr. Xu blushed deeply. "Hey, stop saying things that can be misunderstood! Seriously, can't you give me some face when there are other people around?"
Lin Xingmian: "Okay, then you eat breakfast for me, and I won't say anything again."
As he spoke, he actually stood up. I don't know if it was just my imagination, but it felt like Xingmian had grown taller in the few months I hadn't seen him.
There's only a fist's distance between his head and the second-floor ceiling now. Can high school boys grow this fast?
It seems to be much higher than before summer vacation!
Lin Xingmian pulled out the chair next to Boss Xu and sat down.
Boss Xu pretended to be stupid and kept his eyes straight ahead: "How else can you eat breakfast? Just pick it up and put it in your mouth. I don't know how to help you with that. You'll have to figure it out yourself."
Lin Xingmian saw through her at a glance. Seeing that she was deliberately beating around the bush, she simply said, "Sister, feed me."
A warm atmosphere rose between the two, making Ah Yu's face as hot as a ripe apple.
She picked up a piece of rice cake and ate it by herself, her heart pounding in her throat.
"It's not suitable, I can't feed it, I'll eat it myself!"
She turned her head away as she spoke.
Suddenly, a cool sensation ran down her chin, carrying the rough feel of bandages, and a forceful pull forced Ah Yu to turn her head back.
The boy's features magnified before her eyes. He lowered his eyelashes, leaned forward, and bit the remaining half of the rice cake at the corner of Xu Zhiyu's mouth.
His pearly teeth brushed against her lips, a tingling, ambiguous sensation.
He bit off the piece bit by bit, nibbling and nibbling, his voice deep and hoarse: "You told me to eat it myself."
Xu Zhiyu: "..."
With her chin pinched, she dared not move. Her saliva had already soaked the rice cake in her mouth, but she dared not chew, afraid that any movement would accidentally touch his lips!
She silently prayed in her heart... Could he please get up quickly?
However, the boy showed no intention of leaving. He bit closer and closer, his eyes locked on her lips. Eating rice cake was clearly not his purpose.
She breathed in his warm breath, the carbon dioxide, filled with longing and yearning, gradually thickening between their breaths. Ah Yu began to feel oxygen-deprived, her breathing becoming heavy.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
The boy's eyes were filled with tenderness and longing.
The hand that held her chin stroked her earlobe, fingers ran through her hair, and her palm enveloped her burning ear.
He covered her clear eyes with his other hand. Darkness descended, and the impulse he felt at the cashier that night swept through A-Yu's mind!
Her heart skipped a beat. She chewed the food in her mouth lightly, licked her lips, and swallowed...
But when her tongue darted out again, it was suddenly caught by a kiss!
Her body trembled slightly, and a startled groan escaped her lips—
The crisp sound of the wind chimes pulled her back from her wandering thoughts. She reached out to grab Xingmian's wrist, trying to push him away!
The boy was one step ahead of her, reaching out to meet her helpless palm, interlocking their fingers, and pressing her hand back onto the chair.
Light returned, and she opened her eyes, but her pupils were no longer clear.
Her vision was blurry, and the boy's high, straight nose was inches away from hers. She kept pulling back, the passionate kiss from that night flashing repeatedly in her mind. Ah Yu still retained a sliver of reason. She placed her other hand against his chest, her words choked with breathlessness:
"Star, Star Sleep, no, no, this won't do."
He leaned on the chair and held his sister in his arms. Her eyes were panicked, like those of a frightened fawn, and her eyes were filled with a hint of autumn.
Lin Xingmian seemed reluctant to part, her eyes filled with a lingering reluctance, as if she were still spitting out her words.
He asked earnestly, "What's wrong with it?"
Xu Zhiyu stammered, "You...you're not grown up yet, you don't have the ability to discern feelings. We can't do this kind of thing so casually, I can't indulge you..."
He lowered his gaze: "Mr. Xu, who is it that lacks the ability to discern feelings? I know better than you what liking someone means."
Mr. Xu was speechless.
Indeed, she couldn't deny what Xingmian said.
After such a long time apart, the moment I saw him yesterday, Ah Yu suddenly felt that something hidden deep inside her was about to burst forth!
At that moment, she was unable to think straight; she craved so much, so desperately, an embrace from him.
I want to hold him and cry, I want to tell him everything.
Tell him: I long to see you every single day while you're gone.
Tell him: Shen Siqing bullied me, I have suffered a great injustice!
When she calmed down at night, she quietly pondered in bed why she could pretend to be indifferent to everyone but could no longer maintain the pretense when she saw Xingmian.
She analyzed it for a long time and finally understood.
This is trust and reliance.
She couldn't understand how she could trust others again after just experiencing betrayal.
Not just love, friendship, or any other dimension!
She couldn't figure out the answer to the question, but her attitude towards Xingmian had already provided the answer for her.
Because Lin Xingmian couldn't bear to see Xu Zhiyu suffer any injustice.
He valued her, so she didn't feel that her discomfort would burden him, nor was she afraid of being ridiculed or ignored.
These negative feelings are all pains that Shen Siqing unknowingly instilled in her during her previous relationship.
Ah Yu pleaded, "I'll wait for you, I'll wait until you turn eighteen... okay?"
"I just ended a relationship, and I still have some strange feelings..."
The stray hairs on his forehead cast a shadow, and the boy leaned forward. Mr. Xu was so shocked that he had nowhere to retreat and tightly closed his eyes!
Unexpectedly, he simply pulled her sweater back up.
The shadows dissipated, and he sat back in his seat, eating in silence.
“Sister Duyi,” he said.
Mr. Xu breathed a sigh of relief.
.
Mr. Xu is undoubtedly strong.
She experienced this level of betrayal in her first relationship; it would be difficult for anyone not to break down in that situation.
Putting aside the depth of feelings, the very act of "betrayal" is something that can shatter one's faith.
Besides Shen Siqing, Tian Jingjing was also hurt by this incident.
Jingjing felt that her emotions were very complicated.
Because she didn't know how to face a girl who had received her kindness but was now turning against her.
In this world, it is not easy for a girl to live a good life, so she is unwilling to blame any woman.
Even though... she made some mistakes.
after all. .
Jingjing is so pitiful...
But she's so awful!
How could she do that?
How could this be...
Never mind, never mind!
"No daydreaming when you're with me."
Lin Xingmian took two golf clubs and tapped Xu Zhiyu's nose with his index finger.
In order to help his sister get out of the shadows as soon as possible, he had already thought of a series of things to invite her to participate in together.
For example, this is right now—playing billiards.
With daily income increasing and staff on hand, Mr. Xu has more free time.
The billiards activity this afternoon was arranged by Xingmian and her last night.
On the top floor of the shopping mall, there is a quiet, upscale billiards room.
Today is Saturday, and there should be a lot of people, but there were only the two of them in such a big billiard hall?
Ayu snapped out of her daze and asked, "Why isn't this billiard hall doing very well? It's just the two of us."
Lin Xingmian smiled mysteriously: "Right? Maybe the owner of this shop isn't as good at running it as Boss Xu."
Ah Yu said irritably, "Why are you bringing me up again!"
She picked up the cue stick Xingmian handed her and lifted it: "It's quite heavy. I've never played billiards before. How is the price calculated? Is it charged by the hour?"
Lin Xingmian: "No. It's charged according to your mood; you can play until you're in a good mood."
Xu Zhiyu: "What the hell? You're trying to trick me again."
Lin Xingmian: "Really, the boss said that if you have fun, he won't charge us."
She doesn't believe a word of his nonsense now!
She saw a QR code on the pool table, so she scanned it with her phone to check it out.
This is quite something!
"Two hundred for an hour??"
"This is way too expensive!" she exclaimed.
Xu Zhiyu could no longer ignore one problem at this moment.
She looked at Lin Xingmian seriously: "Tell me the truth, are you particularly rich?"
She transformed into Sherlock Holmes: "I always felt that your spending was on a different level from ours, and yesterday you even said you wanted to play golf. Where in Mushui City can you play golf? You're so young, where did you get the money? Did your family give it to you?"
Lin Xingmian pretended to be deaf and dumb: "Sister, come here, I'll teach you how to kick off."
Xu Zhiyu chattered on and on, seriously suspecting that this kid had deliberately acted pitiful to gain her sympathy!
She hesitated on the surface, but her steps were very straight.
As I walked over to the boy, I raised my cue stick and almost accidentally popped the chandelier above me!
Lin Xingmian reacted quickly and grabbed her cue stick.
This prevented a dangerous accident.
"Hahaha..." Boss Xu laughed at her own foolish actions. She looked apologetically at Xingmian, grinning, "Sorry~"
The boy was charmed by her sweet smile as she looked up.
Suppressing the urge to kiss her, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her from behind, showing her how to grip the cue with her right hand and how to brace it with her left.
His scent enveloped her, so pleasant that she wanted to immediately drop her cue and turn around to hug him!
Um... That's not appropriate! You can't!
Ah Yu looked up and saw several large surveillance cameras shining brightly in the billiard room, and felt extremely embarrassed.
She hesitated and said, "Sigh, does it really have to be taught this way?"
"You can stand to the side and demonstrate for me, and I can imitate you."
Lin Xingmian: "Good boy, bend over."
Boss Xu: "..."
Lin Xingmian: "Not enough, you need to lie down a little lower."
Xu Zhiyu: "No, I really don't think we need to hug each other like this to teach. I'm very smart, just show me and I'll learn!"
"And another thing," she straightened up, hands on her hips, "who's older, you or me? Who gets to listen to me, you or me? Your tone is a bit overstepping my bounds!"
"I'll listen to my sister." He smiled brightly and charmingly.
He said he'd listen to her, but his actions forcefully pulled her down to bend over. "All the balls need to be hit with the white ball, even the break. Look—"
The two stood close together. Xingmian aimed her cue intently at the white ball, her light pink lips parting slightly, but Boss Xu didn't hear a word she said.
She couldn't concentrate at all; her mind was filled with:
That voice is so soothing! Why does it sound so familiar?
He smells so good... I feel like a female hooligan.
I never noticed before, Xingmian's skin is so good! Not a single blemish.
Those eyes are absolutely stunning!
Help! He's so handsome, my heart is about to explode! Can you please move away from me??
"Thump!"
The white ball shattered the colorful balls that were clustered in a triangle on the table, sending them flying out in all directions, and even scored two goals!
Lin Xingmian straightened up, and Ayu quickly turned her face away, just in time to see the two colored balls go into the hole. She subconsciously cheered with surprise, "Phew—they went in! So easy? It seems very simple!"
However, her bluff did not escape Lin Xingmian's ears.
He curled his lips into a sly smile, his eyes gleaming with mischief: "What's going on? Whose heartbeat did you just hear? It was deafening."
That's right, he was referring to the moment when the two of them held their breath and focused intently on the kickoff. Xingmian was watching the game, and his sister was watching him. They were so close, and she was so silly; her heart was pounding like a drum.
Lin Xingmian asked her with amusement, "Are you nervous, sister?"
"No, what's there to be nervous about?" Boss Xu said calmly. She didn't have a mirror, so she didn't know how red her face was, but she could feel that she was very hot.
The balls were scattered, and Xingmian began to patiently explain the rules of billiards to Xu Zhiyu.
He said, "The colored balls are divided into solid-color balls and striped balls, each with its own number. Usually, it's a game between two players, and whoever clears all the balls off the table first wins."
"But be careful, the black ball is the one that both of you need to hit last."
Ah Yu listened attentively, feeling that this kind of explanation seemed familiar.
She tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, "You explained it so carefully. Listening to you talk about billiards reminded me of an old friend of mine."
The boy instantly became displeased and frowned: "Male or female?"
Xu Zhiyu: "Male."
Lin Xingmian: "He taught you too?"
Xu Zhiyu: "Yes."
The boy's face darkened, and he sulked.
"Don't listen to what others teach you. Is he even a professional? What can he possibly teach you? There's nothing in this world that I can't do. I'm an expert in everything. I'll take care of whatever you want to learn in the future. You're not allowed to listen to what others teach you, especially men."
Xu Zhiyu rested her head on the tip of the cue stick and said with admiration in her eyes, "Why? I think he teaches very well. I've learned a lot from him and I'm improving very quickly. Why are you being so domineering? I suddenly lost contact with that friend because of Shen Siqing, and I felt really bad for him."
The boy, clearly jealous, raised an eyebrow: "You mean you're planning to go find him now that you've broken up? To keep in touch with him?"
Ah Yu innocently asked, "Is it not allowed?"
Lin Xingmian took the cue stick and went to another corner of the pool table, bent down, and started playing.
"Hmph, whatever."
She ran up behind him, puzzled, and asked, "Why are you huffing at me? Are you angry? What are you angry about?"
Xingmian turned around again, ignoring her.
Xu Zhiyu smiled and said, "Are you... jealous? No, he and I are just online friends!"
Lin Xingmian: "Netizens? No, not any kind of friends, as long as they're male."
He leaned down again, his stance perfect, his eyes calm, and aimed the white ball at a pink flower ball in the distance.
Mr. Xu was so captivated by the younger brother's good looks that he was completely mesmerized.
She stared blankly, her mind filled with monstrous sins.
...
How can someone look so good even when they're angry?
She said out of the blue, "No wonder so many people like you."
Xingmian paused for a moment, then asked, "A lot?"
"I don't think so." Unless you're one of the people who like me.
He said unhappily, "There are so many men who like you. One minute it's Li Jiajing, the next it's Shen Siqing, then it's someone else who makes you unable to kiss, then it's someone else who teaches you how to kiss well..."
Xu Zhiyu remained silent.
Well, I must say, this person's explanation was quite detailed.
How could she possibly admit that the one who prevented her from kissing others was actually Lin Xingmian himself?
The first few cases haven't been clarified, but this last one clearly shouldn't be included!
"I already said we're online friends. I was learning to play Honor of Kings during my summer vacation and met a friend who's really good at the game. His game ID is 'Pancake'."
"Oh yeah, you love pancakes too, maybe you two are meant to be," she joked.
"Ouch..."
So that's what it was...
Pancakes...
The vinegar in the air petrified, shattering into mockery.
The boy's displeasure vanished instantly, and he seemed to have become a different person in an instant: "Since you feel guilty, why don't you add me back sometime?"
Ah Yu: ?
She looked puzzled.
Xu Zhiyu: "Are you serious or just playing hard to get?"
"Playing hard to get?" Lin Xingmian couldn't believe she was hearing such a strange phrase from her sister.
"Sister, you're so good at using idioms! I don't understand what 'feigning indifference' means. Can you demonstrate it for me?"
Mr. Xu blushed, "Demonstration my ass, just play properly!"
"It's your turn, sister." Xingmian's smile today had more volume than it had in the entire previous year.
"OK, if you don't know how, Xingmian will teach you."
Xu Zhiyu's eyes widened: "Hey! I didn't say I needed you to teach me! I'll do it myself!"
The two of them were pulling and tugging at each other, playfully fighting...
Suddenly, Mr. Xu's foot slipped!
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