Chapter 35: Let Go~ I Can Walk~

Bai Lu set down her chopsticks, her eyes sparkling as she scanned the group.

“Let’s play a game!”

“Yay!”

Song Tao was the first to raise her hand, nearly knocking over her cup.

Li Li hurriedly steadied it.

Bai Lu pulled a few bottles of plum juice and an unopened bottle of fruit beer from her bag, placing them on the table.

“A laugh-holding challenge. Two people per team. Each holds a sip of drink in their mouth and tries to make the other laugh. Whoever laughs first or sprays their drink loses. The penalty is a small sip of fruit beer. If you don’t want beer, you can have plum juice instead.”

Lin Ming adjusted her glasses and added,

“Losers can’t back out.”

“The seniors go first!”

Song Tao propped her chin on her hand, her eyes darting between Lin Ming and Bai Lu.

Bai Lu took a sip of plum juice, her cheeks puffing out.

Lin Ming stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly tilted her head.

She slid her glasses down her nose, half-closed her eyes, let her head nod slightly, and let out soft snores—exactly mimicking Bai Lu’s usual posture when she dozed off hugging her star map.

Bai Lu’s cheek twitched violently.

Pfft!

Plum juice sprayed onto the tablecloth.

She covered her mouth, her face flushing bright red.

“Y-you… you imitated it too well!”

Lin Ming pulled out a tissue and unhurriedly wiped the corner of Bai Lu’s mouth.

Her fingertip brushed against Bai Lu’s lower lip through the tissue.

Bai Lu shot her a glare, the tips of her ears burning red.

Lin Ming picked up the plum juice and fed Bai Lu a sip, a slight smile curling her lips.

Song Tao watched, mesmerized.

“Wow! The seniors are so good at this!”

“Your turn.”

Bai Lu smiled, pointing at Xiao Yan and Han Hanhan.

Xiao Yan held a sip of fruit beer in her mouth, looking at Han Hanhan across from her.

Han Hanhan also took a sip, her cheeks puffed out, her eyes nervous like a rabbit held by the scruff of its neck.

Song Tao cheered from the side.

“President, go for it! Don’t get led astray by Yan Yan!”

Xiao Yan shot her a glance.

Song Tao shrank her neck and whispered to Li Li,

“Senior Xiao Yan glared at me…”

Li Li smiled and patted her hand.

Xiao Yan turned back, fixing her gaze on Han Hanhan.

She suddenly lowered her head, imitating Han Hanhan’s nervous habit of twisting the hem of her clothes.

Her fingers pinched the edge of the tablecloth, twisting it, letting go, then twisting it again, her eyes darting around.

The corner of Han Hanhan’s mouth began to twitch.

Xiao Yan then mimicked her choking while drinking, lightly patting her chest, her eyebrows furrowed, letting out two small coughs.

“Pfft! Cough, cough, cough…”

Han Hanhan sprayed her drink and started choking.

Song Tao clapped beside them.

“So accurate! Hahahaha!”

Han Hanhan glared at her, her face red.

Song Tao stuck out her tongue.

Xiao Yan smiled, set down her cup, and reached over to wipe Han Hanhan’s chin.

Her fingertip brushed Han Hanhan’s skin, making her flinch.

Xiao Yan pressed down on her shoulder.

“Don’t move.”

She pulled out another tissue and meticulously wiped her clean.

After wiping, she casually pinched Han Hanhan’s cheek.

“Little bunny lost.”

“I didn’t… You just imitated it too well…”

Han Hanhan muttered softly, her ears red enough to drip blood.

“You still have to take the penalty.”

Han Hanhan picked up the penalty drink and took a small sip.

She licked her lips, then looked down at Xiao Yan.

“Was that okay?”

Xiao Yan asked.

Han Hanhan nodded, but her fingers secretly tightened their grip on Xiao Yan’s clothes, not letting go.

For Song Tao and Li Li’s turn, Song Tao took a big sip of plum juice and made funny faces at Li Li.

She rolled her eyes, pouted, and clipped her orange slice hairpin onto her nose.

Li Li tried to hold back her laughter, her shoulders shaking, but she finally sprayed with a pfft.

Song Tao got sprayed in the face.

Li Li flusteredly wiped it for her.

Bai Lu smiled and clapped her hands.

“Second game—Fingertip Wanderer. One person closes their eyes. The other draws a pattern or writes a character on their palm. Three consecutive wrong guesses counts as a loss.”

Lin Ming proactively offered her hand.

“I’ll go first.”

Bai Lu closed her eyes and held out her palm.

Lin Ming’s fingertip landed on her palm, slowly drawing a circle.

Inside, she drew a triangle and dotted a few small points beside it. Bai Lu opened her eyes.

“The Astronomy Club emblem.”

“Correct!”

Lin Ming turned her hand over.

Bai Lu lowered her head, her index finger tracing strokes one by one on Lin Ming’s palm.

Her fingertip was very light, like a feather brushing over.

Lin Ming looked down, her eyelashes barely moving.

“A horizontal line… a vertical line… a dot… so many strokes.”

Bai Lu finished writing and looked up.

Lin Ming looked at her and deliberately guessed, “Wang?”

Bai Lu shook her head.

“Yu?”

Bai Lu shook her head again, her eyes curving into crescents.

Lin Ming was silent for a second, then a smile touched her lips.

“Ming.”

“Right.”

Bai Lu smiled and picked up the plum juice to feed her.

Lin Ming lowered her head to take a sip.

Her lips brushed against Bai Lu’s fingertip, giving it a light nudge.

Bai Lu’s finger twitched slightly.

Xiao Yan and Han Hanhan faced off.

Han Hanhan closed her eyes and placed her hand on the table, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Xiao Yan’s fingertip landed on her palm.

First, she drew two long ears, then a round head, and finally a dot in the middle of the head for a nose.

Han Hanhan pursed her lips.

“Ears… a rabbit?”

Xiao Yan continued drawing.

This time, she drew a curved arc with a small circle beneath it.

Han Hanhan frowned.

“A carrot?”

Xiao Yan couldn’t hold back a laugh.

She drew a third time—this time, she directly wrote a character: “兔” (rabbit).

Han Hanhan’s eyelashes fluttered.

She whispered,

“…Little rabbit.”

“Guessed right.”

Xiao Yan withdrew her hand, smiling at her.

“But that was the third guess, so you lose.”

Han Hanhan opened her eyes and glared at her, face red.

“You wrote a character, that’s not drawing.”

“The rules didn’t say you can’t write characters.”

Xiao Yan said righteously, picking up the penalty drink and finishing the remaining half-sip.

She licked her lips, leaned close to Han Hanhan, her breath carrying the sweet scent of fruit beer.

“Drank it for you.”

Han Hanhan leaned back, but Xiao Yan pulled her back in.

“Feeling dizzy?”

Xiao Yan asked.

“A little bit…”

Han Hanhan’s voice was soft, her gaze a bit unfocused.

Xiao Yan smiled and pressed her against her own shoulder, gently massaging her temples with her fingers.

“Serves you right for showing off.”

Han Hanhan didn’t argue, obediently leaning against her, her fingers still clutching Xiao Yan’s clothes.

Song Tao grabbed Li Li’s hand.

“Our turn!”

Li Li, her face red, slowly drew a semicircle on Song Tao’s palm and dotted a few small points inside.

Song Tao, eyes closed, smiled. “An orange!”

The second time, Li Li drew a complete orange and added two leaves.

Song Tao laughed.

“Orange slices!”

Li Li said softly, “You guessed right again.”

Lin Ming leaned back in her chair, watching the boisterous group, and adjusted her glasses.

“That’s about enough. Time to head back. It’ll get too cold soon.”

Bai Lu nodded, stood up, and helped Song Tao straighten her crooked hairpin.

Song Tao obediently lowered her head, still chattering.

“Senior Bai Lu is so gentle. Senior Lin Ming is so lucky.”

Lin Ming glanced at her.

“Drink less fruit beer, or you’ll have a headache tomorrow.”

“I didn’t drink any more fruit beer after that!”

Song Tao held up her plum juice.

“I drank this!”

Lin Ming smiled faintly, turned, and went to get her coat.

Bai Lu followed behind, tugging at the back collar of her sweater for her.

Her fingers brushed against the nape of Lin Ming’s neck.

Lin Ming’s shoulders tensed slightly, but she didn’t turn around.

Bai Lu smiled and gently patted her back.

Song Tao saw this from behind, tugging on Li Li’s sleeve and whispering,

“They’re so sweet too… do you get it?”

Li Li let out a soft “Mhm,” a smile on her lips.

Outside the window, the night had deepened.

The group walked out, chatting and laughing.

Song Tao was still pestering Lin Ming about old Astronomy Club stories.

“Senior Lin Ming, did you really get punished by copying the Messier Catalog back then? Did anyone cry secretly?”

Lin Ming said expressionlessly, “Yes.”

Bai Lu added with a smile beside her, “She had to copy it five times, but in the end, she only collected one copy, saying ‘the rest can wait until next time’.”

Lin Ming lowered her head.

“…You remembered wrong.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Bai Lu tilted her head to look at her.

Song Tao let out a “Wow,” turning to Li Li.

“Senior Lin Ming is so cute!”

Li Li gave a soft laugh.

Xiao Yan walked at the very back, holding Han Hanhan’s hand.

Han Hanhan leaned against her shoulder, her steps a bit unsteady.

“Can you still walk?”

Xiao Yan looked down at her.

“I can…”

Han Hanhan’s voice was muffled, but the corners of her mouth were curved up.

Xiao Yan smiled and held her hand even tighter.