Chapter 63 Part 2

“Really, don’t buy them…” She tried to stop her.

Tang Lian ignored her, single-mindedly heading to pay.

Nan Qi watched helplessly as the store clerk packaged the headbands, handed over the receipt, and Tang Lian grabbed the bag. There was no turning back now.

She rubbed her forehead and gave up trying to persuade her.

Fine, buy them if she wanted. The headbands had nothing to do with her anyway—she’d only tried one on once.

After leaving the Rare and Strange shop, Tang Lian was in high spirits. Her steps were light and bouncy, almost skipping, her heavy skirt swirling around her like it was sparkling with starlight in the night. Nan Qi couldn’t understand what had her so thrilled.

The night deepened, and the Central Square was gearing up for the upcoming Halloween. Shops and street corners were adorned with all sorts of jack-o’-lanterns, horned and winged devil decorations everywhere. A young couple passed by them. The girl with twin tails held a purple devil balloon, her arms full of plush dolls that nearly swallowed her petite frame. Beside her, a tall, handsome boy carried a bunch of snacks, including a skewer of strawberry candied hawthorns in one hand. He kept feeding her bites, radiating that youthful enthusiasm and the sweet-sour scent of new love.

Nan Qi glanced a few extra times at the plush dolls in the girl’s arms. She recognized two of them—Bo Ranying had the same ones.

It should have been just a casual brush-past, one of those everyday scenes this city played out constantly.

But Tang Lian noticed Nan Qi’s gaze and deliberately stopped their passing.

Nan Qi only saw Tang Lian approach the couple, chat briefly, then return. “Want to grab some dolls?”

Nan Qi blinked in bewilderment and shook her head. “No, that’s too childish.”

“I already asked them where they got them. It’s just around the corner on the next street—less than two hundred meters to an arcade with a full selection of dolls.”

“It’s childish for kids, but for a baby like us who’s only a year and a few hundred months old, it’s perfect.”

Tang Lian said it with dead seriousness, tugging at Nan Qi’s sleeve. Her voice carried a hypnotic charm. “Come on.”

To her own surprise, Nan Qi actually followed.

Stepping into the dazzling lights and bustling crowds of the arcade felt surreal to Nan Qi. Tang Lian had already exchanged a hundred coins and handed her a small tray of them. “Big Sister can play whatever games she wants.”

“Which dolls do you like? I’ll grab them for you.”

It had been ages since Nan Qi had been to an arcade. Being here stirred some nostalgia. She wasn’t great at many games—only a couple interested her—and she had no real desire for the dolls.

Hearing Tang Lian’s offer, she casually pointed to a few claw machines. Tang Lian boasted confidently that she’d win them all. Nan Qi just shrugged noncommittally, took her coins, and headed to the Dance Machine. The song list was still full of her old favorites—no deletions. She played several rounds in a row, working up a sweat, her body alive with long-forgotten energy.

When she returned to Tang Lian’s side, she was astonished to find a crowd gathered around her—people of all ages. And piled up next to Tang Lian was a heap of all sorts of plush dolls, not a single duplicate.

Tang Lian worked the claw controls with precision, calculating exactly where it would drop and grab. It clamped one side of a doll, swinging it precariously inside the machine. It dangled, on the verge of falling back into the pile. The onlookers held their breath, eyes glued to its path.

The next instant, the claw released, and the doll dropped, bouncing off the barrier before being flung toward the exit.

Like she was cheating, Tang Lian bent down and retrieved it from the chute.

“Wow~~!!” Cheers erupted, some even clapping.

Tang Lian stayed unfazed. Spotting Nan Qi watching from the edge of the crowd, her fox-like eyes lit up with sparkling joy. She waved energetically, and the crowd parted, figuring her friend had arrived and they shouldn’t intrude.

Nan Qi strolled over. Up close, inspecting the haul, her eyes widened in shock. “How did you get so many?”

Tang Lian puffed out her chest proudly, even more smug at Nan Qi’s tone of surprise. She held out the few remaining coins in her palm. “Claw master here—never fails.”

“Check them out. Are they all ones you like?” Tang Lian showed off her prizes, a bit hesitant. “Earlier, I tricked Big Sister into wearing the headband, but you didn’t really like it, right? You only did it because I pushed. Consider these dolls my apology. Please don’t be mad about that, okay?”

Tang Lian batted her eyes. She didn’t want Nan Qi to see her in a bad light—not even a tiny chance. In truth, she’d been thinking since the accessory shop about how to cheer Nan Qi up, mulling over options the whole way.

Luckily, fate smiled on her, delivering the perfect opportunity.

Using claw machines to make Nan Qi happy.

Nan Qi realized it then. Tang Lian had dragged her here just to cheer her up, worried she’d be upset about the headband. And because she’d glanced at the girl’s dolls a few times, Tang Lian assumed she wanted some too—eager to give her the same joy as others. Her heart was entirely focused on Nan Qi.

In this moment, Nan Qi couldn’t admit she wasn’t into plush dolls.

It felt like she’d soaked in a hot spring—warmth spreading through her whole body.

She played along with the misunderstanding, picking two dolls at random and hugging them. “I’m not mad. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks for the dolls, but there are too many. Two are enough for me.”

Tang Lian smiled softly. As long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.

More than a week passed after that. Nan Qi and Tang Lian grew even closer. Nan Qi started getting used to Tang—the-upstairs-neighbor—Lian inviting her over for all sorts of reasons. She’d only accept one in every three or four invites, but in that time, she’d visited twice and even shared a homemade family-style hot pot with her.

That hot pot achieved true cilantro freedom—no need to worry about anyone’s tastes.

It was around then that Nan Qi got a call from Zhou Ru. Her face fell, her easy mood shattered. Answering, she heard her brother Nan Xi’s voice instead. “Sis, why aren’t you home? Mom and I came to Linxi to visit you, but Ranying-sister said you’d moved ages ago. You never told us.”

Nan Qi’s brow twitched, a wave of annoyance hitting her.

Her mother had shown up unannounced—and brought Nan Xi along.

She took a breath, gathering her thoughts to assess the situation. “You and Mom are in Linxi? Why’d you come too? Don’t you have school?”

“Sis, I miss you.” The boy on the other end was in the middle of puberty, his voice hoarse and duck-like—far from pleasant. But those words warmed Nan Qi’s heart.

She recalled their childhood. She knew every stage of Nan Xi’s growth by heart. She remembered him as a chubby, clean little kid only up to her knee. A bit older, he’d sit on the cool tiled floor at home, addicted to the AC chill, clutching a Go-Bang set from school and gruffly begging his big sister to play. During New Year’s, he’d give her most of his red envelope money so she could buy what she wanted. She remembered her first year at university, when her parents brought him to see her off at the station. At five years old, Nan Xi had clung to her pant leg in the terminal, sobbing heartbrokenly, refusing to let her go. Things only improved after he graduated preschool and started elementary school, realizing she was just away at college like everyone else—not kidnapped by aliens.

“I haven’t seen you since last New Year’s,” Nan Xi said. He’d always been clingy as a little kid. After she left for university out of town, they saw each other rarely, but he still adored her, lighting up every time.

He circled around her like a loyal puppy, endlessly attentive and hoping she would spare him just a few more glances.

She felt no aversion toward her little brother. Nan Xi was simply a bit spoiled by their parents, but his character was far from rotten.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let it affect my studies,” he said. “I’ve taken four days off, plus the weekend, which means I can stay in Linxi for a full six days. I’ve already asked a classmate to record the lectures with a recorder and send me the files every day so I can keep up.”

“Mom and I are at Big Sister Ranying’s place right now. She told us to call you first and figure out the arrangements.” Nan Qi’s furrowed brow gradually smoothed out as she considered their options. Her brother and mother had shown up in Linxi without warning, but she couldn’t just abandon them. Besides, given her current relationship with Bo Ranying, it wouldn’t do to let her family impose on her. “Big Sister, are you upset that Mom and I came out of the blue like this?” Nan Xi asked softly from the other end of the line.

Even at his age, the boy could pick up on the subtle cues of adult emotions.

As he’d grown older, he’d started to notice the tension between his sister and their parents at home. Their interactions always felt strained, nothing like the easy rapport he shared with them.

“No, I’m just a little surprised,” Nan Qi reassured him.

She swiped out of the call screen and quickly booked two deluxe king-bed rooms at a nearby express hotel.

In a measured tone, she instructed him, “Alright, I’ve reserved a hotel for you nearby. Take a taxi to this address.” She relayed the location of her new place to Nan Xi.

“Okay,” Nan Xi replied, jotting it down. He paused for a moment before adding, “Big Sister Ranying says there’s no need for a taxi. She’ll drive us over herself, and we can all grab dinner together.”

“Sis, I’m gonna hang up now. Mom and I need to pack our bags.”

With that, Nan Xi ended the call in his usual brisk fashion.

Nan Qi’s murmur of confusion faded into the air, heard by no one but herself.

She stared at her phone in bewilderment. When had Bo Ranying bought a car?

Lately, she hadn’t been keeping tabs on Bo Ranying at all. She had no idea what changes had taken place in her life.

For a moment, she considered calling back and telling her family to take the taxi after all, sparing Bo Ranying the trouble. But after mulling it over, she decided against it.

Her mother and Nan Xi had no clue about what had transpired between her and Bo Ranying. To them, the two of them were still the best of friends, and her mother had always treated Bo Ranying like a second daughter. This hardly counted as an imposition. Refusing their help would only make things look suspicious.