The all-you-can-eat restaurant was fairly crowded, but the two of them still managed to find a small table by the window and sat down facing each other.
An Ling set down her canvas bag and looked around.
The restaurant had a cozy atmosphere with warm yellow lighting, wooden tables and chairs, and a self-service area filled with all kinds of dishes—hot foods, cold dishes, seafood, grilled meats, desserts, and fruits.
The selection was quite comprehensive.
“I’ll go get some food. You stay here,” Li Yang said as he stood up.
“What do you want? I’ll bring it for you.”
An Ling shook her head.
“I’ll go with you. I don’t know what this place has either.”
An Ling rarely ate at buffets.
Usually when she went to restaurants, they weren’t self-service.
She held her plate and slowly walked past the food stations, unsure what to take.
“This shrimp looks good. Let’s get some,” Li Yang suddenly appeared beside her and pointed at a plate of bright red boiled shrimp.
“And these grilled lamb chops smell amazing.”
An Ling glanced at him.
His plate was already piled high with grilled meat, seafood, and a few egg tarts.
“You took so much. Can you even finish all that?” An Ling couldn’t help asking.
“Of course I can,” Li Yang said confidently. “I’m still growing. I need to eat a lot.”
“Besides, when you eat at a buffet, isn’t it a loss if you don’t take more?”
“You should take more too. Get more meat. Don’t you like meat?”
Alright.
An Ling started helping herself as well, taking some lamb chops, fatty beef, and steak that she could grill later.
“Hey, you’re too slow.”
Li Yang took the plate from her hands. “Wait here. I’ll get some for you.”
“Huh?” Before An Ling could react, Li Yang had already walked off with both plates.
She stood there, a little dazed, her tail swishing unconsciously.
A while later, Li Yang returned and handed the plate back to An Ling.
An Ling looked down.
There were quite a few more items on it now—salt-and-pepper shrimp, garlic scallops, and grilled skewers.
“So much?”
“It’s fine. I’ll help you eat too.”
An Ling looked at the plate in her hands.
Actually, it wasn’t bad.
She was a carnivore after all and really liked meat.
“Eat more and grow big.”
“I’m already this old. How much more can I grow?” An Ling shot back.
“It’s fine. Boys keep growing until they’re eighteen. Maybe you’re just a late bloomer? You might not look so much like a girl by then… it’d be better than now…”
As Li Yang spoke, he realized he had said the wrong thing.
He quickly slapped his own mouth, startling the people around them.
“Sorry, An Ling. I didn’t mean that you’re not good the way you are right now. I just…”
Li Yang stumbled through an apology.
“It’s fine,” An Ling interrupted his awkward rambling, her voice soft. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
Li Yang’s outburst had drawn quite a few stares. An Ling had no choice but to push him forward.
“Hurry up, let’s go back and eat. I’m hungry.”
“Oh, okay.” Li Yang took the plates from her. “Good that you’re not mad. I’ll carry these for you.”
An Ling felt both amused and helpless.
No matter how much she ate now, she still looked like this.
She wasn’t “like a girl” anymore—she was a girl.
The two returned to their seats.
An Ling didn’t mind much—she knew what kind of person Li Yang was and that he hadn’t said it maliciously.
Li Yang, however, seemed quite bothered by it himself.
The atmosphere became a little awkward.
After eating for a while, An Ling suddenly spoke up. “These lamb chops are pretty good.”
Li Yang paused, then quickly replied, “Right? I told you they were good. Try these garlic scallops too. They’re nice.”
An Ling picked up a scallop with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, then nodded. “Mm, delicious.”
The two continued chatting about the food like this, and the atmosphere gradually eased up.
Li Yang secretly let out a breath of relief.
***
The buffet was indeed quite good.
Although An Ling didn’t have as big an appetite as Li Yang, she still ate a lot.
A wolf had to eat meat properly, after all.
They went back for several more rounds and enjoyed a very filling meal.
After eating, the two walked around the second floor for a bit to digest before heading back up to the third floor to continue playing.
When they returned to the third floor, the arcade was still bustling.
The mix of game sound effects and laughter made An Ling’s ears feel a little itchy.
She raised a hand to rub her ears, then looked at Li Yang.
“What do you want to play next?”
“Hmm…” Li Yang looked around, his gaze sweeping across the machines before stopping at the claw machine area.
“Want to try claw machines? Aren’t you pretty fond of those little things?”
“Not at all!”
An Ling’s tail swished guiltily.
“I’ve just seen them a lot on TV. I don’t know how to play most of the other games, so I only watch those sometimes.”
“I didn’t say you liked watching them. I want to play, okay? Wait here. I’ll go exchange some more coins.”
An Ling’s ears twitched unconsciously, and her tail curled up slightly.
This guy… How is she supposed to argue with that?
Li Yang went and exchanged another two hundred coins.
Even if they didn’t use them all on claw machines, they could play other games.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Li Yang was already walking toward the claw machine area.
“I exchanged so many coins—we’ve got to win twenty or thirty dolls at least.”
An Ling hesitated for a moment, then followed him.
The claw machine area had dozens of machines filled with all kinds of plush toys—fluffy little bears, adorable penguins, Q-version anime character dolls, anime merchandise, and even those metal discs people called “badges.”
Li Yang stopped in front of one machine. Inside was a row of brown teddy bears wearing red sweaters.
They looked round and very cute.
“How about these? Want to try for one?”
Li Yang asked.
An Ling looked at the little bear, then at Li Yang. “Whatever.”
“Then let’s go with this one.”
Li Yang took two coins from the basket in her arms and inserted them.
The machine lit up with cheerful music.
He gripped the joystick, concentrating hard as he moved the claw into position over one of the bears and pressed the button.
The claw descended, grabbed the bear’s head, but the moment it lifted slightly, the bear slipped out and fell back down.
“Almost,” Li Yang shook his head. “One more try.”
He inserted two more coins and tried again on a different bear, but the result was the same—the claw couldn’t hold on properly and dropped it right away.
“This claw is way too loose,” Li Yang complained. “It must have been adjusted.”
An Ling stood beside him, watching as he unwillingly inserted two more coins, only to fail again.
“Want me to try?”
An Ling couldn’t help saying.
Li Yang looked at her and stepped aside.
“Sure, give it a go. It’s actually really hard.”
An Ling had tried claw machines before.
Honestly, she considered herself a total beginner at it.
She took two coins and inserted them.
The moment she moved the joystick, she felt something was off.
The joystick was very steady, completely unlike the shaky way it had moved when Li Yang was playing.
She turned to look at Li Yang and said, “It seems… like it’s on easy mode.”
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