“How was it? Good?”
“Mm, pretty good.”
An Ling nodded.
“A few parts were especially funny.”
“I saw you keeping a straight face most of the time. I thought you didn’t like it.”
Li Yang said.
An Ling’s ears twitched.
“I… I just have a high laughter threshold, okay?”
“High laughter threshold? Fine, we’ll say you have a high laughter threshold.”
Li Yang smiled. “Let’s go. Time to head back.”
“If you don’t believe me, whatever.”
An Ling also stood up and slung on her small backpack.
The two followed the crowd out of the screening room and took the elevator downstairs.
It was already five in the afternoon.
They had spent the entire day outside.
“It’s this late already?” She was a little surprised.
“That’s how watching movies goes. More than two hours.” Li Yang said.
“Hungry? Want to eat something before going back?”
An Ling touched her stomach.
The hotpot from lunch hadn’t fully digested yet, and she had eaten most of a bucket of popcorn during the movie. She wasn’t hungry at all right now.
“Not hungry.” She shook her head.
“Then straight home?”
“Mm.”
As they walked toward home, An Ling’s hand reached out again without thinking. This time she didn’t grab Li Yang’s wrist.
Instead, she grabbed the hem of his shirt.
Li Yang glanced down at that hand but didn’t say anything. He just kept walking forward.
An Ling let out a small breath of relief. Her fingers tightened a little more.
Once they entered the small path, there were almost no pedestrians left on the road.
The afternoon breeze blew past, carrying the unique coolness of early summer.
An Ling’s ears trembled in the wind.
“How was it? Did you have fun today?”
Li Yang asked.
“Mm.” An Ling nodded. “I had fun.”
“That’s good.” Li Yang smiled. “I was wondering if playing around in such a nearby place for a whole day would be boring. As long as you’re happy, it’s fine.”
“Next time there’s a long holiday, let’s go farther away to play.”
An Ling’s tail swayed gently. “Okay.”
Although the small path wasn’t very wide, it had its own unique charm.
Quiet and gentle.
Walking slowly along it made one’s body and mind feel clear and comfortable.
An Ling looked at the flowers and grass by the roadside.
Suddenly, this path felt both slow and familiar again. Just like before.
She remembered every small detail.
She no longer felt like an outsider.
She had turned back into the child who grew up here.
Or perhaps, because Li Yang was by her side, everything had become familiar again.
Li Yang had always been very good to her.
From childhood until now, it was the same.
It was as if anything could be solved as long as he was around.
Maybe she shouldn’t have run away like a coward back then.
Was someone as useless as her really worthy of Li Yang being this good to her?
Thinking this, An Ling slowly lowered her head.
She felt like she was completely riding on the coattails of being Li Yang’s childhood friend.
“Li Yang?”
“Mm? What’s wrong?”
“You said… what if there had been a few more kids playing with us back then?”
An Ling asked with her head lowered.
“What do you mean?” The strange question left Li Yang completely confused.
“I… I mean, if there had been more kids playing with you back then, would you still have been this close with me?”
An Ling kept her head down.
She felt guilty the moment the words left her mouth. Why was she asking this question?
She really must be stupid today.
How could she ask such a stupid question?
“Of course I would.” Li Yang answered without any hesitation.
“I just like playing with you. Besides, our two families have always been close, right?”
“Really?”
An Ling slowly raised her head.
“Why would I lie to you? Would someone pay me to lie?”
“And…”
“And what?”
An Ling finally lifted her head and looked at him with confusion.
“You’re humanity’s best friend. If I’m not best with you, then who should I be best with?”
An Ling stared at him blankly for a long moment before she finally processed what Li Yang had just said.
“Go away! You’re the dog! You’re a stinky dog! I’m a wolf, okay? A wolf! Look at my pointy ears and this big gray tail! Where do I look like a dog?!”
An Ling retorted angrily on the surface, but inside she felt an indescribable happiness.
“I didn’t see it. I only saw your tail wagging pretty happily. How about you let me touch it? I’ll study whether it’s a wolf tail or a dog tail.”
“Dream on!”
An Ling used one hand to protect her tail while the other hand didn’t let go of Li Yang’s shirt hem.
Her ears stood straight up vigilantly.
“Who said you could touch it! Pervert!”
“What’s wrong with me touching it once?” Li Yang said matter-of-factly.
“It’s not like I haven’t touched it before when we were little. Back then you even offered your tail to me on your own.”
“That was when we were little! We didn’t know anything back then!” An Ling’s face turned red again. “Not anymore!”
“Why not?”
“Because… because…”
An Ling stammered for a long time before finally squeezing out, “Because we’ve grown up now! The tail is a private part! You can’t just touch it!”
“When did the tail become a private part?” Li Yang was amused by her words.
“Are your ears on your head also a private part?”
“Ears are too!”
An Ling quickly stopped protecting her tail and covered her ears instead. “Don’t touch!”
Li Yang looked at her guarding posture. She had already eaten a lot today, and now laughing made his stomach hurt.
“I’m not touching it. Stop guarding it like it’s some treasure. Do you want money from me just to touch it once?”
“Touch it and I’ll bite you to death! I’ll let you know I’m also a wolf!”
An Ling glared at him, but her tail still swayed gently a couple of times without her permission.
The two of them continued bantering as they walked through the alley and arrived at their doorsteps.
It was still relatively early. They hadn’t played for too long, so it wasn’t even dusk yet when they reached home.
“We’re home~” Li Yang stretched lazily as if relieved.
“It’s still early.” Li Yang took out his phone and checked the time. “Want to give it a try?”
“Try what?”
“That thing. The sports meet. Shouldn’t we practice?” Li Yang said.
Oh right. An Ling froze for a moment before remembering.
The sports meet started next Tuesday. She was supposed to compete on Wednesday.
If Li Yang hadn’t mentioned it, with her brain currently burning like this, she would probably have forgotten.
Then she would only end up embarrassing herself at the sports meet and dragging Li Yang down with her.
“But… we don’t have a rope.”
An Ling said.
“I have one at home.” Li Yang pointed toward his house.
“Wait here. I’ll go get it.”
With that, he ran into the yard. An Ling stood at the entrance and watched him rush inside energetically.
A moment later he ran back out, now holding a red nylon rope in his hand.
“Found it!” Li Yang waved the rope. “It was used for tying things before. Should be long enough.”
An Ling looked at the rope in his hand, then at the sneakers on her feet.
“Practice here?”
“Right here. Anyway, there aren’t many people on this road.” Li Yang squatted down and spread the rope out.
“Come here. Let’s tie ourselves together.”
An Ling hesitated for a moment.
In the end, she still extended her right foot.