Chapter 292 : Want Me to Give It a Shot
"I only need one 'if,' and I'd give my all to love you~"
The song came to an end, and Xia You let out a relieved sigh. To her surprise, this was the best she’d ever sung. Being by Ling Ning’s side, following her lead, she even surprised herself by managing to stay mostly in tune, which was a huge improvement from her usual singing mishaps.
"Wow~ I never would have guessed that such a pretty girl like Ling Ning would also sing so beautifully!"
"Oh, I already knew Ling Ning could sing well. Remember when Bai Yiyue came to perform in our city? Ling Ning did a duet with her, and their voices together were pure bliss to listen to!"
"Ling Ning, sing another one for us!"
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Seeing how enthusiastic her classmates were, Ling Ning couldn’t help but laugh. It looked like there was no getting out of this. But singing solo felt a little strange, so she quickly pulled Li Qian to join her.
As she sang, Li Qian couldn’t help but recall the time people had mistakenly thought she and Ling Ning were dating. For some reason, part of her wished she hadn’t corrected that misunderstanding back then. Maybe it would have been nice if people had kept thinking that…
After three songs, Ling Ning decided to call it quits, despite her classmates’ requests for more. After all, hogging the mic wasn’t fair with so many people around, and she was running out of songs she felt comfortable singing.
She took a sip of her soda, feeling her throat dry even after just a few songs. Singing really was exhausting.
It was then that she noticed Xu Qing sitting next to her, looking oddly distracted. Although her gaze was fixed on the stage, her eyes seemed distant, as if her thoughts were elsewhere.
Ling Ning was puzzled. Xu Qing was usually lively and upbeat, so why did she seem so down today? She’d been out of it since the start of the day, not even wearing her usual bright smile.
Ling Ning gently patted Xu Qing’s shoulder, asking curiously, "Xiao Qing, is something on your mind? You seem really distracted today."
"Oh… it’s nothing~" Xu Qing sighed, clearly not wanting to go into details.
After a moment, she admitted, "I’ve just been really into this game called FGO, and they recently released an event with my favorite character getting a rate-up. I impulsively spent most of my allowance on it, but… no luck. I didn’t get a single copy. I’m seriously considering quitting the game."
Trash game, destroying my youth, draining my money, and ruining my spirit.
After listening to Xu Qing’s explanation, Ling Ning was speechless. She couldn’t understand why someone would pour so much money into a game, especially when it was all virtual.
But Xu Qing’s story reminded Ling Ning of herself in her past life. There had been a time when she’d spent nearly all her earnings on games, which had forced her to rely on her friend Xiao Xiao for food and shelter, almost to the point of getting thrown out.
After spending money on a game, all she’d felt was emptiness. Playing games was fine as a light pastime, but it was far better to do something meaningful, like writing for money, modeling, or working in a café. Those things actually felt rewarding.
"Tell you what, do you have any in-game currency left? Let me give it a shot."
Xu Qing looked at her, stunned, before reluctantly handing her phone over. "There’s just one ten-pull left… It’s all I have left."
Ling Ning opened the game, went straight to the gacha page, and made the ten-pull.
In an instant, the screen lit up with five gold cards. Her favorite character appeared five times, along with two rare SSRs that she hadn’t managed to pull before. Xu Qing was too stunned to react.
Finally processing what had just happened, Xu Qing threw her arms around Ling Ning in excitement. Initially, she’d only intended to give Ling Ning a kiss on the cheek, but somehow, it landed right on her lips.
Feeling the softness of Ling Ning’s lips, Xu Qing was briefly lost in the sensation. She even had a fleeting impulse to deepen the kiss, to gently open Ling Ning’s lips with her tongue…
But she quickly snapped out of it, releasing her hold on Ling Ning. What was I just thinking? She had only meant to kiss her best friend on the cheek! She must have played that game too much and lost her mind.
"I… I just meant to kiss your cheek…" Xu Qing stammered, her cheeks flushed.
"It’s… it’s okay…" Ling Ning glanced around the room, relieved to see that no one had noticed. She’d already had similar misunderstandings in the past, so it was a good thing they hadn’t drawn attention this time.
"Why is your face so red, Ling Ning?"
Returning from the restroom, Xia You looked at Ling Ning curiously, noticing the faint blush on her cheeks. She then glanced at Xu Qing, whose face was even redder. Xia You had a nagging suspicion that something had happened while she was away.
"It’s… it’s nothing! I just choked a bit while drinking water," Ling Ning replied with an excuse that was as flimsy as it sounded.
"…Oh."
Xu Qing turned her head, stealing a glance at Ling Ning, who was chatting with Xia You. She bit her lip, feeling a strange, stifling sensation in her heart.
Leaving the room, she found herself replaying the scene over and over in her mind. Although she kept telling herself it had been an accident, the truth was that it had been her first kiss. How could she forget something like that so easily?
"Xu Qing…"
A soft, magnetic voice suddenly spoke from behind her, and she instinctively turned around. Standing there was Wang Pengfei, one of the most popular boys in their class. With his handsome face and gentle personality, he was the secret crush of many girls in the class… including her, once upon a time.
Wang Pengfei looked at her with heartfelt sincerity and slowly said, "Xu Qing, I’ve liked you for a long time. Will you go out with me?"
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Author’s Note:
Just as this salted fish was about to spend money on the gacha, the last free ticket gave me a miracle pull. You all know what that means… Don’t be mad at the salted fish—just use those “knives” on the fish, alright?