When the wind swept past, fallen leaves, clinging to the silvery-white moonlight, swirled around Lin Li.
What lingered in the wind was the citrus scent from someone's hair.
First, rule out Ding Sihan.
Bang bang bang, a street vendor selling wontons approached, beating a wooden clapper.
This kind of late-night street vending without shouting is a very common scene in Xiling.
Lin Li turned his head and exchanged a glance with Ding Sihan. The two of them tacitly turned their heads back and looked forward.
The bang bang bang sound gradually faded away.
"I'm an idiot!" Lin Li finally spoke in frustration, breaking the silence.
"How so?" Ding Sihan asked.
"Why the hell was I standing there holding the back of my head for no reason? Is that supposed to be handsome?
What's so good about holding the back of my head? Fuck, before I even had time to put my hand down, she was gone. I'm an idiot!!"
Lin Li slapped his right hand with his left, then his left hand with his right. Arnold had his left and right brains fighting, Lin Li had his left and right hands fighting, feeling a bit exasperated at his own failure.
The hug just now felt quite long when recalling it, but in reality, it was fleeting. By the time Lin Li came to his senses, put his hand down, and wanted to hug back, Chen Yuying had already hidden back in the car.
"That is indeed idiotic." Ding Sihan nodded after listening, very much agreeing.
"Ding Sihan, you're an idiot too!"
"Are you sick? How am I an idiot? Not only did this princess not provoke anyone, but I also had to eat a mouthful of dog food."
Ding Sihan frowned upon hearing this, used her Little Bee elbow strike again, and indignantly questioned if Lin Li was getting angry out of embarrassment.
"No, it's just that scolding you now makes me feel better. Do I, an uncultured person, need a reason to scold you?" Lin Li didn't fight back, but explained.
Ding Sihan: "..."
What kind of authentic big idiot is Lin Li?
I really want to punch him.
"Lin Li, so what you mean is, you're feeling uncomfortable right now?"
After throwing another punch, Ding Sihan's gaze and voice suddenly became teasing.
"Hiss…" Hearing this, Lin Li touched the side of his neck. Before the words came out, a laugh escaped first, "Heh, it seems a bit comfortable, probably... 95% comfortable."
"Tsk tsk... Eh? Not 100%? Still missing 5%?"
Ding Sihan was halfway through teasing when she froze for a moment. Then her body rapidly retreated, looking at Lin Li warily:
"Lin Li, it's just the two of us now, what do you mean by that? This 5% isn't a hint that you want me to hug you too, is it? Eww... Yingbao just left, and you're doing this. What a disgusting scumbag, makes me want to throw up..."
Lin Li: "(；☉_☉)?"
"Ding Ding, I really didn't have a reason to call you an idiot just now, but now I do. Thank you, you're so considerate."
Lin Li kept smiling, gave Ding Sihan a thumbs up, got up and walked towards Ding Sihan's house, waving his hand:
"Let's head back first, what's the point of standing here."
Ding Sihan followed, hands behind her back, with a face full of desire for gossip, asking curiously:
"So why did Yingbao suddenly hug you? And she should know I was watching right next to her, I didn't even have time to go blind. Why was she suddenly so brave? Lin Li, do you have any more detailed clues?"
"Probably... to make up for the physical contact the driver owed me."
Lin Li laughed first, subconsciously reached out and touched his nose, then said with a smile.
"Driver? What does it have to do with the driver? Isn't that driver the one hired by Yingbao's family?" Ding Sihan was even more confused.
"Not the one just now, the one from the afternoon return trip. That driver was too steady, did you forget? Ding Sihan, oh Ding Sihan, do you know why I asked the driver those questions tonight..."
Lin Li smiled and licked the corner of his mouth, slowly explaining his thoughts at the time:
"...And this is the true answer in my heart when you asked me on the escalator where the 5% was deducted."
Ding Sihan was dumbfounded.
She digested it for a few seconds.
"No? You guys can be so ambiguous just taking a car ride?"
Ding Sihan felt her worldview was refreshed:
"So when we went there at noon, and I was annoyed to death by the traffic jam, you two were silently and tacitly being sweet in the car? Ah, what a pair of adulterous dogs."
"Damn, Lin Li, I suddenly feel a bit unwell, so I won't walk with you. I'm going to sleep on the road first, you go back first, bye."
"Ambiguity is like this, and you added an extra 'and'?"
Lin Li smiled and nodded, while taking out the inflatable pillow Ding Sihan gave him from the bag he was carrying, shook it, and handed it to Ding Sihan, who was resolutely walking towards the road, being extremely considerate:
"Here's a pillow, so you can sleep more comfortably."
Ding Sihan: "...Shouldn't you be stopping me right now?"
Giving me a sturdy rope when I want to die, and the rope was even given to him by me. Fuck, Lin Li is really a super super super big idiot.
It really makes one's womb cold.
Ding Sihan ran back, and not only that, she charged up and hit Lin Li with a shoulder tackle.
Then she patted Lin Li, pinched her own arm, and nodded:
"You boys seem to be much harder than us girls. Then you must have enjoyed it at noon, no wonder I didn't see you grab the handle above even once."
"Wait…"
"Wow, several times when Yingbao suddenly squeezed towards me, she even apologized to me. Now that I think about it, it was entirely your fault. Lin Li, you animal, you're simply an animal!"
Ding Sihan sighed endlessly.
"Hehe." Lin Li chuckled.
"We're here."
The cinema wasn't far from Ding Sihan's house. Along the way, with Lin Li's narration, the community gate was now right in front of them.
But at this moment, Ding Sihan quickly walked behind Lin Li and pushed him forward.
"Walk forward, go around once, then walk another round, please." Ding Sihan pleaded.
"Why?" Lin Li asked, amused.
Ding Sihan swayed her body somewhat coyly, acting 'shy':
"Of course it's because I have a crush on you and hope this time walking together can be a bit longer. Could it be that I just want to ha…, ha…"
Ding Sihan's long, complex sentence broke down halfway, and she started panting heavily.
Lin Li: "(；☉_☉)?"
Fuck, there's a thief!
"Ding Sihan, are you Korean? You even steal long, complex sentences?"
Where's Uncle Yang, where's Uncle Yan? Let's build a safe Xiling together, arrest Ding Sihan first!
Facing the questioning, Ding Sihan just bent over and panted heavily, while looking at Lin Li with some admiration:
"Lin Li, how do you usually say those sentences? How long is your breath?"
"This is talent, Ding Sihan. You can steal the punctuation marks, but what about the talent?"
Lin Li laughed out loud.
Although the scene was a bit wrong, he finally said this line.
This is the line a cheater like him should have!
Awesome.
"Oh, never mind all that. Anyway, I just can't bear to part with you, keep walking, keep walking."
After recovering, Ding Sihan continued to push Lin Li forward, passing her house without entering.
"If you want to hear gossip, just say so." Lin Li scolded with a smile.
"Eh… pfft… haha…"
Ding Sihan suddenly started laughing without warning, and gradually became more unrestrained, completely unable to stop.
As the laughter intensified, she couldn't support herself standing, and could only squat on the ground, covering her mouth trying to suppress the laughter, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"?"
This sudden laughter made Lin Li feel a bit like Louis XVI, looking confused.
Lin Li stepped forward, kicked the squatting Ding Sihan's shoe with his shoe, and asked in surprise: "No, Dingzi, what are you going crazy about?"
"I, I…"
Because she was still laughing non-stop, Ding Sihan's words were intermittent several times.
Lin Li wasn't in a hurry either, letting Ding Sihan finish laughing.
Finally, Ding Sihan, who had calmed down a bit, spoke with difficulty:
"Right now Yingbao must still be in the car going home. Based on my understanding of her, I dare say she's also dying of shyness right now, and any slight disturbance will stimulate her.
Then I suddenly thought of a scenario. What if right now we change to matching profile pictures, and simultaneously send Yingbao a message 'Yingbao, Lin Li (Sihan) and I are together'. Just thinking about the reaction and expression Yingbao might have when she sees it, I just can't hold it in hahaha…"
The laughter that had finally subsided returned with a vengeance after Ding Sihan repeated it, and even more fiercely.
Lin Li, after listening: "(；☉_☉)?"
Fuck, there's a minotaur.
Lin Li suddenly felt he didn't deserve to be called an animal by Ding Sihan. He really didn't have the qualifications, he couldn't bear it.
She dared to describe this scene, he didn't even dare to imagine it.
A young girl's heart is always a poem. Chen Yuying is reading a poem, and suddenly sees such a message on her phone.
Fuck.
Lin Li had already imagined the expression.
—Yingbao, use the Fire Punch on me.
Lin Li had a premonition that on the day Ding Sihan passed away, when the sounds in her ears completely faded and she opened her eyes again, she would see Satan goose-stepping towards her, saluting, and solemnly declaring:
"Ahhhhh Your Highness the Princess, you have finally returned to your loyal Hell. I am the rookie Satan, just call me Little Dan. I have brought all the demons to seek an audience and accept your inspection!"
Reasonable.
"Fuck…" Lin Li exhaled with a breath full of laughter, pointing his index finger at Ding Sihan repeatedly: "Haji Ding, to come up with this trick, your family really needs to hire Yao Ming."
"I don't know why either, anyway, this thought suddenly popped up. It's all because I got familiar with you and Bai Bufan, I am guilty." Ding Sihan finally stood up again and said with a smile.
"You can blame me for this too."
Lin Li shifted the blame while smilingly taking out his phone and looking at Ding Sihan.
And Ding Sihan also narrowed her eyes.
...
In the car going home.
Chen Yuying curled up in the back seat, wrapping half her face in the high collar of her sweater. Because of her sitting posture, her pleated skirt bunched up mid-thigh, revealing the snow-white skin above the sock cuffs that had been pressed with light red marks.
If Lin Li's spirit in heaven saw this, he would definitely go up and slurp it.
If Lin Li's father's spirit in heaven saw this, he would definitely start exchanging hell money for merit to save up for the bride price.
Even though a long time had passed, the girl still felt her cheeks burning.
—At least she herself felt it had been a long, long time. For the first time, Chen Yuying felt that the journey from Ding Sihan's house to her own was so long.
Pressing her forehead against the cold car window, her exhaled white breath blurred the night view outside. The light from the streetlamps swept across the window, illuminating the girl's face, which was trying to pretend nothing happened, in flickering light and shadow.
It wasn't until this moment that Chen Yuying realized her right hand, resting against the car door, had been continuously tracing the English letter L on the leather.
Over and over again, one after another.
Like an electric shock, her right hand retracted to her lips. Chen Yuying slightly pursed her lips around this index finger that seemed somewhat hot.
The scene from just now flashed through her mind again.
Why did I suddenly get hot-headed and hug him...
It must be because of the alcohol I drank in the afternoon. Sure enough, drinking causes trouble...
What exactly did I do, can time be reversed...
If, if only time could be reversed.
Chen Yuying closed her eyes, thinking like this.
Because then, I could hug him one more time.
When her phone, which had almost all message notifications turned off, vibrated, Chen Yuying knew Lin Li had sent her a message.
Calculating the time, Lin Li shouldn't be home yet.
What did he send me?
A bit nervous, yet a bit expectant, Chen Yuying looked down and opened her phone.
[Him: 99%.]
Chen Yuying's remark for Lin Li had long been changed from Lin Li (Annoying Version) to just one word, Him.
In the chatting world of first and second person, he is special.
And Lin Li only sent her this one message right now, very brief.
Her teeth scraped her lower lip, and Chen Yuying softly clicked her tongue.
Such an obvious trap, I won't ask him why it's only 99% like this, humph.
[You patted "Him"'s butt and asked if this melon is ripe]
This is fine.
Chen Yuying, with a smile, closed her eyes again and leaned against the window.
"I also like shaky cars. Steady ones are indeed a bit boring."
"Why did you put your hand on the back of your head, trying to act cool, idiot."
The girl's complex thoughts tumbled in her chest, that little deer bumping around everywhere, knocking over a bowl full of honey.
But Chen Yuying wasn't the only one with things on her mind in the car.
Friendly reminder: There were only two people in the car.
—Driver: QAQ.
Fuck! Why the hell did I look back when I picked her up just now TAT!!
Who installed this fucking rearview mirror in my car? I haven't dared to look at it for a single second.
If I'm a fucking driver, then I should just watch the road properly. Why am I looking at other unnecessary things? Am I sick in the head TAT!!
Mr. Chen, I might... have let you down...
...
"So what did you just send?" Ding Sihan asked curiously.
"You're not allowed to violate my," Lin Li chuckled upon hearing this, "privacy."
"Who taught you to pause like that," Ding Sihan raised a middle finger and clicked her tongue: "If you won't say it, you won't say it. I'll ask Yingbao another day."
Neither of them had any intention of putting that hellish idea into practice.
Although Chen Yuying would definitely realize it was a joke, it was a bit too much. With Chen Yuying's personality, although she definitely wouldn't show it, she might be unhappy in her heart.
When making jokes, you still have to consider the victim's feelings. There's no need to verify this 'might'.
Of course, to emphasize, the victim needs to be considered, as for the victim dog, there's no need to consider it. If it dares to be unhappy, it can go die (heavy accent).
Right, Bufan.
"Alright, go get your bike."
Ding Sihan ultimately didn't become the second Yu the Great, passing her house three times without entering. When passing the community gate again, she swiped her face to bring Lin Li into the community, pointed to the garage entrance and said.
But this guy Yu the Great, controlling floods for decades, actually only didn't go home three times. No wonder their marital relationship was so good, not giving any opportunity to be taken advantage of.
"Okay, then you go home too." Lin Li nodded.
"By the way, Lin Li, should I pretend I saw this hug tonight or pretend I didn't?" Ding Sihan asked.
"Pretend... pretend..." Lin Li stopped walking upon hearing this, hesitated a bit, and finally came to a conclusion:
"Pretend you didn't see it for now."
"Okay, then I'll continue to play dumb. I also think if I bring this up in front of Yingbao again, she'll die of shyness, tsk~" Ding Sihan smiled and nodded.
"Bye, I'm leaving. Lin Li, send a message in the group when you get home."
"Got it."
The two separated.
But Lin Li suddenly stopped and looked back at Ding Sihan's back: "Ding Sihan!"
Ding Sihan turned around, then remembered something and hugged herself: "You're not going to suddenly come up and hug me like Yingbao did, are you?"
Lin Li: "?"
What kind of delusion of being loved is this.
But Lin Li didn't have time to argue about this now. Looking at Ding Sihan, he slowly spoke: "Mom—"
Ding Sihan: "(；☉_☉)?"
Eh?
...
Riding his bike home, what a crappy community, no security guards, no facial recognition, not even a decent underground garage!
No wonder some people forget their wives who shared their hardships after getting rich, Lin Li felt it was reasonable.
Then when opening the iron gate downstairs, Lin Li got a static shock.
Oh no, it's karma.
Baby, I didn't despise you after seeing other people's communities, Lin Li quickly coaxed.
Going upstairs, returning to his room, Lin Li lay on the soft bed, next to that blue bear, so cute.
Patting the bear's butt, Lin Li looked up at the ceiling of the room, his eyes unfocused.
Opening his phone, Chen Yuying only patted him, and Lin Li didn't plan to send anything else, considering it a small tacit understanding between the two.
The "Three People and One Dog" group chat, however, had already become active.
Especially Qu Wanqiu, looking at the photos taken today, lemon juice was gurgling out of her wounds, and she started to regret why she didn't go to such a photogenic place.
Bai Bufan was quite smug, looking at the photos of Wangcai and Laifu, saying they were not as good as him.
—Okay, this part is made up. Bai Bufan is probably playing games and not looking at the group chat, Lin Li said it for him.
Everyone chatted as usual.
After chatting, the takeout he ordered also arrived. Lin Li packed up his things, organized what he needed to bring, and prepared to go to the cultivation world.
[System Currency: 490]
When 20 system currency was deducted, the balance became 490. It had been a long time since system currency had come in, of course, there hadn't been much consumption either.
A white light flashed.
"Lin Li, you're back." Daoist Shanqing, who had his back to him, immediately turned around.
I didn't even make a sound. A mighty figure in the cultivation world is truly terrifying.
"Yes, Grandpa Shanqing, I brought you some more things this time. This is today's takeout, these are the controller, speakers, and headphones, they will definitely make your experience better..."
Lin Li found the stopwatch on the ground. Although it was already Tuesday when he came last time, because of the different time flow, only forty minutes had actually passed in the cultivation world.
Walking up to Daoist Shanqing, Lin Li found that he was still playing Angry Birds, quite dedicated.
But Lin Li then frowned.
Strange, when I left, wasn't the level he was playing level fifteen?
Why is he still playing level sixteen now?
(End of Chapter)