Chapter 232
Chapter 232
Brother Lobster pulled one of his own brethren from the tank.
He tossed it casually.
Caught off guard, the burly man caught the lobster.
“Hiss!”
The lobster clamped tightly onto his thumb, making him suck in a sharp breath from the pain.
The burly man did not dare complain. Enduring the pain, he hurried away.
His companions exchanged looks and followed him into the back.
“Pah!”
Xiaomei watched them leave with a face full of disdain.
Some Players were simply despicable, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Whether they were human or ghost, they were no good.
Night had fallen completely.
Xiaomei was about to rest in a tank when someone knocked at the door.
“Knock, knock!”
“Anyone here?”
A careless voice came from the doorway.
“Oh, what’s that fish doing here too?”
The orange light cast two long shadows across the floor.
One man stood with both hands in his pockets, leaning lazily against the door as he looked curiously at Xiaomei.
The other had sharp brows and bright eyes. A cold air surrounded him, making him intimidating at a glance.
When Xiaomei saw the second man, he instinctively stood a little straighter.
“Youyou!”
Wang Yuanyou cried out delightedly when he saw the familiar figure.
“I was wondering why my eyelid kept twitching. I never expected to run into you here.”
The name was familiar.
Ji Lin raised his eyes toward the person in the distance.
Even after so long apart, she had not changed at all.
Her almond-shaped eyes were lively, her cheeks soft and lovely, and a faint smile lingered in her features.
The sight of her seemed to make every worry in his heart disappear.
Yun Youyou’s mouth also fell slightly open in surprise when she saw Ji Lin and Wang Yuanyou.
Why was she running into nothing but acquaintances today?
When Xiaomei saw Ji Lin, his legs began trembling.
He had not forgotten how terrifying this man was.
“Sister Youyou, the Geoduck wants my help. I’ll be going now.”
Xiaomei shoved the paper and pen into Yun Youyou’s hands and fled in panic.
Halfway there, he tripped over his own feet and fell.
“Why does that fish look so stupid? It’s not like we’re going to eat him.”
Wang Yuanyou rubbed his chin and watched Xiaomei flee curiously.
“It must be because you’re too scary.”
Wang Yuanyou shifted all the blame to Ji Lin.
He firmly refused to admit it could be his own fault.
Ji Lin could not be bothered arguing with him.
His gaze circled the room before finally stopping on Yun Youyou.
“All right, tell me. What do you two want to eat?”
Even if she knew them, Yun Youyou still had to follow procedure.
Wang Yuanyou leaned curiously over a tank to peer inside.
The Geoduck spat water all over his face.
Wang Yuanyou was forced to wash his face.
“…”
He wiped the water away. “Fine! I’ll eat this Geoduck!”
He was a Scorpio. He held grudges!
Wang Yuanyou scooped one out of the tank.
The thing was ugly. Wang Yuanyou put on an act and said, “Oh dear, my hands are dirty. Brother Ji, hold this for me.”
With that, he stuffed it into Ji Lin’s hands.
Ji Lin did not refuse. He merely lowered his eyes and examined it.
They had not seen each other for several days, yet he was still as distant and indifferent as ever.
Yun Youyou asked Ji Lin as well.
“What do you want to eat?”
Wang Yuanyou gave a wicked grin.
“Obviously, he wants to eat you–”
Before he could finish, Ji Lin squeezed the Geoduck in his hand.
The Geoduck shot out another stream of water, which flew straight into Wang Yuanyou’s open mouth.
Ji Lin said calmly, “Sorry. I squeezed too hard.”
“Pah! Pah! Pah!”
Wang Yuanyou no longer had time to speak.
He spat repeatedly onto the ground.
The grudge-bearing man snatched the Geoduck from Ji Lin’s hands and marched toward the kitchen.
He would slice this Geoduck up and eat it right now!
Once he left, only Ji Lin and Yun Youyou remained facing each other.
The four seafood creatures watched the show from a corner.
Brother Lobster whispered, “I think I smell an affair!”
The Geoduck said, “My kinsman is about to be sliced up and eaten.”
Xiaomei asked, “Is this man the pretty boy Sister Yun keeps?”
Brother Crab asked, “What kind of seafood do you think this man will eat?”
The four seafood creatures each carried on their own conversation, yet somehow the discussion continued.
Yun Youyou and Ji Lin could be described as both familiar and unfamiliar.
Besides, they had not seen each other in a long time.
What little familiarity they had once shared had turned back into estrangement, and an awkward atmosphere rose between them.
After a few strained attempts at small talk, Yun Youyou finally could not take it anymore.
She turned and looked at Xiaomei speechlessly.
“You’ve mopped this tile back and forth thirty times. Are you still not done?”
Xiaomei said, “I like things clean.”
Yun Youyou: …
She turned toward Brother Lobster.
“And why are you standing beside me?”
His giant claw was practically waving in her face.
Brother Lobster had thick enough armor that he did not feel awkward at all.
“It’s fine. Keep talking. I’m deaf and blind, so I can’t hear anything you say.”
“…”
The Geoduck was more straightforward and simply asked Yun Youyou directly.
“Is he your boyfriend?”
Yun Youyou calmly corrected him.
“You guessed wrong. He’s a male friend.”
Brother Crab scuttled sideways between Yun Youyou and Ji Lin.
He had only caught half the sentence, yet his crab face turned bright red.
Yun Youyou did not understand.
“What are you blushing about?”
Anyone who did not know better might think Ji Lin was this crab’s boyfriend.
Covering his face with his claws, Brother Crab said shyly, “I never knew you land creatures were so open. You even have sex friends.”
This time, not only Yun Youyou but even Ji Lin nearly choked.
Ji Lin barely maintained his aloof composure.
Yun Youyou completely lost hers.
“I said a male friend!”
Every one of these sea creatures had terrible hearing.
They had probably spent so long underwater that water had gotten into their brains.
Brother Crab waved his claws awkwardly.
“So that’s what you meant. I thought land creatures were more open-minded.”
“What kind of rotten ears do you have? You’re the crawfish here.”
Xiaomei kicked Brother Crab in disgust. “Quit hanging around. Go help in the back.”
Brother Crab left with his tail swaying.
“And you two, quit standing around too.”
Xiaomei drove Brother Lobster and the Geoduck away as well.
“Sister Youyou, you two can keep talking. I’ve chased away everyone irrelevant.”
Yun Youyou said nothing and merely stared at him.
Only after a long while did Xiaomei understand.
“Do I have to leave too?”
Xiaomei looked at her pitifully.
Yun Youyou’s heart was made of stone.
“Of course.”
When his pitiful act failed, Xiaomei could only walk away, looking back every three steps.
The surroundings finally became quiet.
In truth, Yun Youyou had nothing to discuss with Ji Lin either.
Ji Lin found a place to sit.
Just as Yun Youyou tried to think of an excuse to leave, Ji Lin pulled out a chair.
“Sit.”
Yun Youyou tried to refuse. “I…”
Ji Lin merely watched her quietly, his gaze deep and still as the sea.
Yun Youyou hesitated, but finally sat down.
Ji Lin rinsed a cup with hot water from the kettle, then poured Yun Youyou a glass of water.