“Mm, delicious.”
Hui Jin finished the ice cream, licked the corner of her mouth contentedly with her little tongue, and stood up, saying:
“Shall we go?”
“Mm.”
Xia Che stood up as well and held out his hand to her.
Looking at Xia Che’s outstretched hand, Hui Jin took half a step back, like a kitten warily watching a stranger holding a sausage.
“Mr. Xia Che… what do you mean by this?”
Hui Jin clutched the hem of her clothes and studied the young man’s handsome face; this gesture was clearly a sign for her to put her hand in his.
Although they had held hands just now, the situation had been urgent then, and it had been an instinctive physical reaction.
If she actively took his hand now, the nature of it would be completely different!
“The meaning of holding hands.”
Xia Che gently shook his own hand.
“Huh?”
So brazen! This guy really is plotting something against her, isn’t he?
Seeing Hui Jin’s increasingly wary gaze, Xia Che explained calmly:
“Please rest assured, Miss Hui Jin, I do not mean anything like that. It is just that the amusement park is too crowded, and I really do not want a repeat of what happened earlier. After all, if you got lost, finding you would be quite troublesome…”
Such… such a proper reason, and judging by his eyes, he does not seem to be lying.
Hui Jin rubbed her skirt and hesitantly reached out her hand.
She really did not want to go through what had just happened again, so if it was only holding hands, it should be fine, right?
Neither she nor Xia Che meant anything like that toward each other, so this was pure friendship hand-holding!
But then she thought of something else and slowly pulled it back:
But… we are manager and hero now, right?
Isn’t holding hands a bit too intimate?
It would not be good if we were photographed…”
“It is fine.”
Before the kitten could pull her paw back, Xia Che took the girl’s hand in his palm first.
Feeling her soft little hand struggle faintly in his palm, the young man smiled and explained:
“You are wearing a hat now, so no one can recognize you. Besides, today is the Game Festival. If someone really recognizes you, just say you are a cosplayer. Look…”
He looked at a girl walking past in front of them:
Gray hair, deep red eyes, a white dress and a gray cloak.
If one ignored her full chest and tall figure, she was practically an enlarged version of Hui Jin herself!
“You are quite a popular hero, and you are very cute. There are quite a few people cosplaying you, you know?”
“C-cute or something…!”
The girl shrank back, her voice trembling, as if she had suffered a great mental shock.
He is a man, after all. Being praised as cute would absolutely not make him happy!
Mm… mm!
The rapid heartbeat is because I’m angry!
Feeling that Hui Jin was no longer struggling, Xia Che began walking while holding her hand.
After two steps, he looked back over his shoulder:
The girl obediently let him lead her, her other hand rubbing the hem of her clothes, her head lowered, very docile.
After confirming that the girl was not resisting this, Xia Che felt relieved and slightly quickened his pace.
The two merged back into the crowd.
The closer they got to the popular theme area, the more crowded the crowd became.
The girl’s unease was so clear.
She, who had originally been trailing behind, now clung tightly to Xia Che’s side, looking as if she was afraid of being left behind.
In response, Xia Che gently squeezed her palm to tell her that he was right beside her and she did not need to be afraid.
Only then did Hui Jin seem less nervous.
The two were heading to the Game Festival area.
Because the SHS offline grand prix was being held there, most of the amusement park’s visitors had gathered nearby.
Along the way, they saw many hero cosplayers.
Super popular heroes like Candy and Lightning were definitely the most common; at a glance, there was either pink or yellow.
Among the remaining cosplayers, magical girls made up the majority, but surprisingly, the number of people cosplaying Hui Jin was the highest.
“There are actually so many cosplayers of me…”
Hui Jin murmured to herself, somewhat unable to believe it.
“The impact of that battle was huge. It is just that you do not seem to use your phone much, Hui Jin, so you are not very aware of it.”
But Xia Che had experienced it deeply.
Ever since he became Hui Jin’s manager, business offers and collaboration emails had nearly stuffed his inbox to bursting.
However, considering that Hui Jin’s condition had not fully recovered, he had either refused them all or applied for extensions.
As they spoke, they formally entered the Game Festival area.
Huge curved game screens formed a hemisphere that blocked out the sky, broadcasting the live battle on the main stage to all the visitors in the area;
The smaller stages below also displayed the flagship games of various companies.
The area around the popular game booths was bustling with voices, and practical effects flew everywhere.
Just the ones Hui Jin recognized included <Monster Hunter: Revelation>, <GTA9>, <Elden Ring 3>, <The Legend of Zelda: Eternal Heart>, and <Pokemon: Sun/Moon>…
“It really is lively…”
Hui Jin had not played games for many years.
Seeing some familiar old IPs again, she felt an inexplicable sense of nostalgia.
But since Xia Che had planned to bring Xiao Chi here, did that mean Xiao Chi also liked these games?
“Um… Xia Che, which game here does Xiao Chi like the most?”
Hui Jin tilted her head and asked the young man beside her.
Xia Che thought for a moment and replied:
“Mm… as for her, she plays SHS the most. Other than that… it would be <Stardew Valley 3>, I guess? She often drags me into farming.”
“I see…”
Hui Jin nodded thoughtfully.
Her previous understanding of her daughter’s hobbies had been limited to magical girls.
In this way, had her understanding of her daughter deepened a little more?
She had once been determined to leave after fulfilling her promise with An Wan, but that battle made her realize that she truly could not stop worrying about Xiao Chi…
She owed Xiao Chi far too much over these years.
Seven years.
She wanted to use the rest of her time to make up for it, and to learn how to love someone.
Hui Jin suddenly thought of something and asked:
“By the way, if the two of us use the tickets, then what about Xiao Chi?”
Do not worry about that.
The Game Festival will be held for many days, and the Special Task Force happens to have a partnership with SHS’s company, Superhero Group.
As a hero’s manager, getting two more tickets is still very easy.”
Xia Che tapped the pocket on his chest, where his manager ID was kept.
Ordinary visitors had to fight tooth and nail and spend several hundred yuan to snatch tickets, yet he could get four so easily…
Ah, the Special Task Force’s powerful reach!
“All right, is there anything you want to play?”
Xia Che looked at Hui Jin.
“With a fast pass, you do not have to wait in line, you know?”
Hui Jin blinked, and her gaze unconsciously moved to <Elden Ring 3>.
Xia Che followed her line of sight and could not help reminding her:
“Really? I heard that game is very hard, you know?”
Hui Jin’s inexplicable competitive spirit was instantly stirred up:
“Hmph, who are you looking down on? When I played this game, you… cough cough!”
Realizing she had nearly exposed her age, Hui Jin coughed twice and changed her words:
“I am a full-achievement player of this game, you know. Believe it or not, I can beat the first boss without taking damage?”
“Oh? Then I will have to properly admire Miss Hui Jin’s skills.”
Xia Che smiled, led Hui Jin to the booth, and showed the fast pass to the staff member:
“Hello, please help me book a trial play.”
“Okay, let me see… there happens to be one machine here. You can go over there, number 25.”
The staff member pointed to an empty machine, then turned back, looked at Xia Che, and then at Hui Jin:
“Sir, are you the one playing? Your little sister can wait in the spectator seats; free ice cream is provided there…”
“No, she is the one playing.”
Xia Che said, holding back a laugh and pointing at Hui Jin.
“Ah… is that so?”
The staff member looked at Hui Jin, and his gaze softened:
“Little sister, is this your first time playing this game? This game is a bit hard, you know? Do you want your big brother to teach you how to play?”
Xia Che was holding back his laughter so hard he nearly burst something, while Hui Jin said with a dark expression:
“No need, thanks!”