Chapter 46: Let’s Run Away Together

The guests in the store gradually increased.

The sounds of conversation and laughter mixed together.

However, the small corner between the two remained unusually quiet.

An Ling already didn’t dare to look up at the person sitting opposite her.

She put the last bite of the puff into her mouth.

She took another sip of her latte.

The fresh coconut latte had almost no bitterness.

It was sweet.

“How do you feel?” 

Li Yang asked.

“What… what do you mean by that?”

“The dessert. Is it tasty?”

“Mm, it’s good.” An Ling nodded. 

“Thank you.”

“Thank me for what? I already said I was treating you.” Li Yang smiled. Then he asked again, “Do you want to eat something else? Should I order another one?”

An Ling shook her head. “That’s enough. If I eat any more, I won’t be able to have lunch.”

An Ling felt that after eating today, she would gain two jin by tomorrow.

No wonder Zhou Meng always had some meat on her face.

“That’s fine then.” Li Yang stood up. “Let’s go. Let’s wander around somewhere else.”

An Ling also stood up and picked up her small backpack.

The two of them walked out of the coffee shop.

The street outside was still bustling.

An Ling watched Li Yang’s back.

Her hand unconsciously reached out again.

Li Yang turned around to look at her.

“There are… there are too many people. Don’t get separated.” An Ling said in a small voice.

Her gaze drifted to the side, not daring to look at him.

Li Yang looked at her red face and her stubborn, shameless expression.

She was actually quite cute.

If only…

Forget it. She was a patient today.

She probably hadn’t felt much security these past few years either.

Li Yang felt that as her childhood friend from next door, he should give her a hand.

He extended his wrist, letting An Ling hold it like before.

“If there are many people, hold on tight. Don’t get lost.”

An Ling let out a sigh of relief.

Her fingers gripped a little tighter.

One of them held the other’s wrist while the other walked in front.

They passed through the commercial street and slowly strolled toward the food area.

“Want to go play some arcade games?” Li Yang asked. “We had a lot of fun last time.”

An Ling thought for a moment and shook her head. “I don’t feel like going today.”

“Then how about watching a movie? What do you think about going to see a movie?”

An Ling thought about it.

It was indeed pretty good.

At least it would be quieter.

Using the movie to draw her attention away from Li Yang would be good too.

“Okay.” An Ling nodded.

Li Yang led her into a building not far away.

It was the movie theater he had just spotted, which was why he asked An Ling if she wanted to watch a movie.

An Ling didn’t recognize this movie theater.

It had opened within the last two years.

It hadn’t been there before.

Even this entire building was newly constructed.

The theater was located on the fifth floor.

The whole fifth floor belonged to the movie theater.

Li Yang brought An Ling onto the elevator and went straight up to the fifth floor.

The two of them, still holding hands, followed the directional signs for a couple of steps and arrived at the front counter.

The movie schedule was displayed in the most prominent spot.

The last morning showing had already begun.

“Let’s watch the three o’clock afternoon showing. What movie do you want to see?” Li Yang asked.

“Aren’t we going to practice in the afternoon? Will we make it in time?”

“It’s fine. We’re not short on this bit of time. Besides, there’s still tomorrow, right?”

It seemed that way.

But An Ling felt like she might be forgetting something.

“Don’t overthink it. What kind of movie? Horror, romance, or comedy?”

“Um… comedy, I think.” An Ling thought for a while before answering.

She didn’t dare watch horror movies.

She was even more afraid she might not be able to resist jumping onto Li Yang.

As for romance movies, it would be too strange for just the two of them to watch one.

That kind of movie was meant for couples to see.

The people sitting inside were probably all lovey-dovey couples.

For comedy, An Ling had always liked watching them.

It could better pull her attention away.

“Fine by me.”

Li Yang went up to the counter to select seats and paid.

When he returned, he showed An Ling the electronic movie ticket on his phone.

“Want to wander around a bit first?” Li Yang put his phone back into his pocket and glanced at the time. “It’s only eleven o’clock now. There are still four hours until the movie starts.”

An Ling nodded.

Her hand naturally held onto Li Yang’s wrist once more.

She was much more skilled at it now.

Li Yang was also getting somewhat used to it.

The two of them took the elevator down and returned to the commercial street.

“Want to go check that out?” Li Yang pointed toward a small square not far away. “There seems to be some kind of event happening.”

An Ling looked in the direction he pointed.

A small stage had been set up in the small square.

The performers on it and the host’s loud voice were attracting quite a few onlookers.

The two walked over and squeezed into the crowd.

On the stage, the host was speaking into a microphone.

Behind him, performers dressed in bear mascot costumes were making funny movements, amusing the children below.

It was a newly opened snack shop.

To attract customers, they had organized this stage performance.

“Next up, I’ll be drawing one lucky audience member to come on stage and answer some questions. The selected guest will receive a six-month coupon for our new store!”

The audience below burst into applause.

An Ling and Li Yang also joined in from within the crowd.

The host scanned the audience once.

For this kind of performance event, he needed to pick an audience member who could draw people’s attention when they went up on stage.

“That pretty little sister over there. Yes, you.”

After looking around, the host’s gaze landed on An Ling and Li Yang.

A pretty and cute beastkin girl with beast ears would indeed attract more attention from young people.

“Huh?”

An Ling looked toward where the host was pointing.

She couldn’t quite believe it and shrank back a little behind Li Yang.

“It’s you. That little sister with the cute ears.”

The crowd’s eyes followed the host’s direction and focused on An Ling.

An Ling didn’t like being the center of attention in this kind of setting.

She hid behind Li Yang and didn’t dare to make a sound.

“Want to go up?” Li Yang asked.

“No.”

“You can bring your boyfriend along too. Little sister, do you want to come on stage?” The host continued to invite her.

Li Yang waved his hand to show they weren’t going up.

“We should run away now,” he said to her.

“Mm.”

Li Yang turned his hand over and grabbed An Ling’s hand.

They weaved through the crowd and ran out together.

“Looks like the little sister is a bit shy. Let’s pick another lucky audience member then.”

The host’s voice trailed behind them.

“I won’t join in on the excitement next time,” An Ling said.

“It’s fine. It’s not like we’ll get picked every single time.”

Their footsteps hadn’t slowed down yet.

They continued to shuttle through the crowd and various small stalls.

It wasn’t until the sound from the stage grew very faint that the two finally stopped.

“Already tired?”

Li Yang looked at An Ling, who was panting with hot breaths, and asked.

Her physical condition wasn’t usually this bad.

However… however, now she realized that Li Yang was actually holding her hand.

The two of them had been holding hands and running the entire way.

At this thought, An Ling grew increasingly hot and flustered.

She panted with hot breaths.

Her gaze avoided him.

An Ling didn’t dare to look at their clasped hands again.

Li Yang hadn’t noticed that he was holding An Ling’s hand.

He checked his phone. “It’s almost twelve o’clock. What do you want to eat?”

An Ling could no longer think straight.

Her mind was completely hot and muddled.

“I… that… let me think.”

What did she want to eat?

An Ling tried her best to focus on thinking about what she wanted to eat.

Today she especially wanted something sweet.

But she couldn’t treat sweets as a proper meal either.