Doll Survival Game - Chapter 122

Lin Chi felt that Qiu Qiu had changed a bit recently.

Ever since witnessing someone jump off a building, Qiu Qiu had become… more sensitive?

Lin Chi frowned, feeling that this description seemed a bit off, but he couldn’t think of a better one. It was as if Qiu Qiu could react to everything happening around him faster than before.

Though he was already quick to react before.

Qiu Qiu was impressive; even when they weren’t desk mates and weren’t familiar with each other, Lin Chi had thought so. After getting to know him, he found Qiu Qiu even more remarkable.

–What kind of person can excel in both academics and sports, while being so cheerful and articulate, with high IQ and EQ?

He gave off the impression of someone who wouldn’t overlook anything.

So impressive. If only he could be like him, he would surely be the pride of his parents.

However.

Lin Chi’s gaze shifted slightly to look at Qiu Qiu beside him, who was currently focused on solving problems. When Lin Chi looked over, Qiu Qiu’s fingers twitched, but Lin Chi didn’t notice. He was lost in thought while watching Qiu Qiu–

Could it be that Qiu Qiu likes Li Wei?

Qiu Qiu used to hang out mostly with boys and rarely interacted with girls, but recently he seemed to occasionally glance at Li Wei and talk to her… But liking Li Wei would be normal, right? Li Wei had good grades, came from a good family, and was also pretty and kind, just like Qiu Qiu…

The two of them gave off a similar vibe.

This similarity was reflected in the atmosphere around them.

But, with the college entrance exams approaching, it might be best not to think about other things, right? Lin Chi pondered whether he should mention this to Qiu Qiu.

“There’s a quiz later, aren’t you going to review?” Qiu Qiu finally looked up, his eyes narrowing with curiosity, “You’ve been staring at me on and off all week… why?”

Caught?

Lin Chi froze, then watched as Qiu Qiu frowned, flipping through his notebook while speaking, “Did you do something you feel guilty about and can’t tell me? Did you mess up my notebook? Or did you lose the pen I lent you?”

Lin Chi: “…”

Lin Chi: “Am I that kind of person?!”

Qiu Qiu closed his notebook, “Then why do you keep staring at me?”

Lin Chi hesitated, then glanced at Li Wei, thinking that Qiu Qiu probably wouldn’t mind, so he directly asked, “Qiu Qiu, do you like Li Wei?”

Qiu Qiu was visibly taken aback, “Why do you say that?”

Lin Chi: “…” Haven’t you noticed that you keep looking at her?

Qiu Qiu lowered his head, denying it, “I don’t like her.”

Lin Chi didn’t press further, awkwardly changing the subject, “By the way, hasn’t your cousin left yet? I’ve seen him in the mornings these past few days.”

Qiu Qiu kept his head down, “He’s working here now.”

Lin Chi made a sound of acknowledgment, then lay on the desk playing with his pen, “Finally, it’s Sunday tomorrow. I definitely need to sleep in for a few more hours…” Though he had to go home this weekend, he hoped his parents would let him sleep a bit longer.

As he spoke, his peripheral vision involuntarily drifted back to Qiu Qiu, only to see Qiu Qiu’s gaze once again resting on Li Wei.

Hmm–saying he doesn’t like her, yet still staring at her…

Qiu Qiu suddenly turned around, and Lin Chi quickly looked away but was still caught by Qiu Qiu, “You definitely did something, didn’t you!”

Lin Chi felt quite wronged, glancing at Li Wei, “No! I’m just curious…”

“Why I’m looking at Li Wei?” Qiu Qiu interjected so naturally that Lin Chi instinctively nodded, then regretted it and knocked his own head.

“Because she reminds me of someone I know.”

Lin Chi was stunned for a moment, then laughed, “And you only realized this as we’re about to graduate?”

Qiu Qiu also smiled, “Because I only recently met that person.”

Lin Chi paused, “So that person resembles Li Wei?”

Qiu Qiu didn’t respond to that, instead repeating, “I don’t like her.”

If rumors spread, his parents would definitely find out, as they could freely check his phone.

His tone was serious, so Lin Chi knew Qiu Qiu truly didn’t like her and wasn’t keen on discussing it, so he nodded, “Alright.”

After saying that, he shifted his thoughts: maybe Qiu Qiu likes the person who resembles Li Wei, otherwise, it doesn’t make sense for him to keep looking at her.

Qiu Qiu seemed to know what he was thinking, picking up his pen, “Noticing someone doesn’t mean you have feelings for them.”

Lin Chi wasn’t surprised at all by Qiu Qiu’s “mind-reading,” he was used to it, “I only keep looking at people I like.”

Qiu Qiu exposed him, “But once, after you broke the teacher’s cup, you kept looking at the teacher for a whole week.”

Lin Chi: “…! That’s different! You said it yourself, I was looking out of guilt!”

Qiu Qiu naturally followed up, “So does that mean I’m looking at her with love?”

Lin Chi was taken aback–maybe not… Even though he wasn’t good at reading people, and was indeed slow to understand others’ expressions, love was an emotion that couldn’t be hidden, and it was very apparent.

“I see!” Lin Chi realized, but at the same time, he was even more confused about why Qiu Qiu kept looking at Li Wei.

Qiu Qiu was speechless, offering no further explanation, just tapping Lin Chi with a textbook, “Stop fooling around, get to studying! Unless you can guarantee you’ll get into the university you want.”

Lin Chi couldn’t, so he obediently lowered his head and opened his book.

But because he was looking down, Lin Chi didn’t see the fleeting changes in Qiu Qiu’s eyes.

…

Lin Chi had family matters to attend to the next day, so he took leave starting from the evening self-study and went home. He originally planned to leave with Qiu Qiu, but when he returned after getting his leave approved, Qiu Qiu was already gone from the classroom.

“He left so quickly… he used to be so leisurely.” Lin Chi pouted, packed the books he needed for tomorrow, and quickly headed out, hoping to catch up with Qiu Qiu.

Though they couldn’t walk together for long, friends should walk together whenever possible.

Luckily, he managed to catch up with Qiu Qiu at the school gate, but unfortunately, Qiu Qiu’s cousin was there… huh?

Lin Chi paused, watching the two people by the inconspicuous small shop. He observed the cousin, whose smile was gentle and eyes bright, handing milk tea to Qiu Qiu.

Qiu Qiu took it and lowered his head, seemingly checking what kind of milk tea it was, while the cousin just smiled at him, his gaze filled with very, very obvious joy and other emotions.

…

…Love, this emotion, is impossible to hide; it exists very clearly.

Lin Chi was stunned. He involuntarily thought of the video posted online last week, where Qiu Qiu’s cousin used a very possessive gesture to hug Qiu Qiu and cover his eyes.

“…”

After being dazed for a while, Lin Chi panicked. He ran towards Qiu Qiu–ah, ah, ah, Qiu Qiu, run! Your cousin is gay! He likes you, ah, ah, ah!

But he slowed down halfway because the cousin turned around and happened to see him.

Ji Ming squinted slightly, looking at the young man who was staring at him nervously. After a while, he leaned down towards Qiu Qiu and asked, “Is that your classmate behind us?”

As he spoke, his peripheral vision continued to monitor the young man, noticing that he became even more tense when Ji Ming approached Qiu Qiu, which made Ji Ming frown instantly.

Especially when Qiu Qiu turned around and said, “Ah, he’s my desk mate.”

Ji Ming’s frown deepened.

Qiu Qiu looked at Lin Chi’s schoolbag and tote bag: “Are you going home? I saw clothes in your bag earlier.” But he wasn’t sure if Lin Chi was going home or taking them to the communal laundry.

Lin Chi nodded, then his gaze uncontrollably shifted to Ji Ming.

Qiu Qiu watched Lin Chi walk over, and within seconds, he suddenly remembered that he had told Lin Chi that Ji Ming was his cousin, but Ji Ming didn’t know about this. He instantly became tense, his eyes occasionally glancing at Ji Ming.

Ji Ming: “?”

Lin Chi approached, and his first words were directed at Ji Ming: “Hello, cousin. I’m Qiu Qiu’s desk mate.”

“…”

A clean cut. Qiu Qiu’s face began to heat up. Although he had lied many times before, this was the first time he was exposed in front of the person involved.

He didn’t dare to look at Ji Ming.

The silence between the two left Lin Chi stunned: “What’s wrong?”

Qiu Qiu blinked in panic.

Ji Ming suddenly said, “Hello.”

It was a tacit acknowledgment. Qiu Qiu’s buzzing mind suddenly quieted, and he abruptly looked at Ji Ming.

Ji Ming smiled and said, “We’re going to buy something, so we’ll leave first. Next time we meet, I’ll treat you to milk tea too.”

As he spoke, Ji Ming placed his hand on Qiu Qiu’s shoulder and led him away in another direction.

Lin Chi’s first thought was that he felt he had sensed hostility, and his second thought was that there was no reason to follow them to find an opportunity to tell Qiu Qiu that his cousin had ulterior motives!

He watched the departing duo with a conflicted expression.

…

Qiu Qiu was led away, his expression still blank.

Ji Ming glanced at him, then suddenly smiled: “Young master, so you still lie in front of your classmates?”

The blankness and panic in his expression faded, and Luo Yiran frowned in dissatisfaction: “I told you not to ruin…”

The magician pressed his index finger directly on Luo Yiran’s lips, his movements crisp, but his tone somewhat playful: “Forgive me this once.”

Luo Yiran slapped his hand away.

The magician casually rubbed his hand, looking at Luo Yiran: “Just now, what did it feel like?”

Luo Yiran paused, then said: “My scalp tingled, very embarrassing… So this is what it feels like to be exposed for lying?”

“Depends on the lie.” The magician’s expression at this moment was more human-like than Luo Yiran’s. He said, “Human emotions are complex.”

“Indeed.” Luo Yiran agreed, then looked at the magician with some distress.

The painful emotion that captivated him was mostly dispelled by the magician’s offering of cup after cup of milk tea. He could feel “himself” perceiving happiness.

Luo Yiran didn’t find it bad; he enjoyed all emotional fluctuations, but the problem was… it wasn’t intense enough.

This trickle of emotion, easily overlooked if not paid attention to, felt unsatisfying to him… It seemed some changes were necessary.

“What is the young master thinking?” the magician suddenly asked.

Luo Yiran didn’t hide: “Thinking about how to experience more intense emotional fluctuations.”

“After all, I stayed for this purpose. If it can’t provide me, then I might as well clear the level.”

“Have you found the key?”

Luo Yiran smiled: “Thanks to Li Wei’s appearance, I have a rough idea.”

The magician placed his hand on his head: “Young master is really smart… If you find it boring, then let’s leave.”

“I would find it a bit dull… You’re the culprit. Deliberately being nice to me, any normal person would feel happy about kindness.”

Joy can dispel negative emotions.

“No deliberate intention.” The magician denied, looking into Luo Yiran’s eyes: “I naturally want to be good to you, after all, I wrote my script as love at first sight for you…”

“But young master, you know, right? Intense emotional fluctuations aren’t limited to negative emotions.”

Luo Yiran raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you just deliberately let your classmate expose your lie?” And thereby experienced “embarrassment.”

Earlier, the magician was wondering why Qiu Qiu wasn’t drinking while walking today, but instead stopped at the school gate for a while.

Probably waiting for Lin Chi to come out.

Luo Yiran didn’t deny it.

The magician’s lips slightly curved upwards. He looked at Luo Yiran’s somewhat indifferent face, his gaze falling on Luo Yiran’s pale lips, his tone gentle and ambiguous.

“Then young master, why not try more… How about trying ‘joy’?”