Criticizing Love - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Many times later, when remembering the stories of when they were together, Gu Nianyin would always first recall this night.

She grew up and became an adult on this day, led by She Ning as she truly stepped into their world. Whether she was exhausted or simply numb, she did not possess the kind of anticipation for the future that many of her peers had.

Until Lin Xi appeared.

That girl was standing under the tree not far away, tilting her head up and looking at her.

The message sent from the phone made no sound, but the upturned corners of her mouth carried a sort of half-smiling, unruly wildness. Because it was so familiar, what naturally echoed by her ear was her usual proud and cocky voice.

Even though it was night, Gu Nianyin saw the sun.

Even if she met more people and experienced more things later on, on this day, this person was irreplaceable.

“A-Xi.” Gu Nianyin was calm and restrained, holding this name in her throat for a moment before sending it downstairs with the wind.

Regarding this name, just like Gu Nianyin’s “Goddess,” it was brought up by Zhong Sheng.

Having grown accustomed to hearing the people in class call her that on regular days, Gu Nianyin had followed along and called her that too, though Lin Xi somehow found it awkward.

The wind blew past her ear accompanied by the voice, making the cool night feel somewhat hot.

Not knowing whether it was irritation or anxiety, Lin Xi raised her hand to brush the back of her neck, opening her mouth to ask: “What?”

“Is this your birthday present to me?” Gu Nianyin asked softly.

Lin Xi had her own plan, and she tilted her head up to shoot back a question righteously: “Am I that stingy?”

It was just that this plan was tangled with ulterior motives. The more sober she was, the more ambiguous and filthy it felt.

Lin Xi just looked up at Gu Nianyin like this. The moonlight was hazy, and she stood high above, her skirt fluttering lightly, untainted by a single speck of dust.

Base desires arose from nowhere, and she also wanted to drag her down to be just like herself.

Taking a light breath, Lin Xi stared at Gu Nianyin and asked the invitation she had planned long ago: “Gu Nianyin, tomorrow afternoon, do you want to go to the amusement park with me?”

Gu Nianyin accepted readily: “Sure.”

Her voice was crisp, her slender eyelashes lifting, her coldness melting into tenderness.

The main reason Lin Xi invited Gu Nianyin for the afternoon was because she still had her mascot acting work in the morning.

From childhood to adulthood, a person like Lin Xi had never been very interested in amusement parks. She didn’t like the gentle carousels, nor did she like the thrilling roller coasters. The haunted house was even more childish to her, a staunch materialist warrior.

Moreover, she had been soaking in the amusement park every day during the National Day holiday, so she not only found it childish but was also sick of looking at it.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that this was the cheapest place among those matchmaking spots Zhong Sheng had listed for her, she wouldn’t have invited Gu Nianyin here.

“What’s there to play.” Bending her knees to poverty, Lin Xi looked around without a shred of romance, quite disdainful of the couples who had almost stuck together like conjoined twins when taking pictures with her just now.

And just as Lin Xi watched the tourists leave and prepared to finish her shift to change her clothes, a familiar silhouette appeared in her line of sight.

Heaven knew how, amidst the bustling crowds all around, she spotted the young girl sitting on the bench not far away at a single glance.

But she just saw her.

That person wore a brown plaid skirt, the suspender style gripping her waist which was too small to be a handful, making her always sit with her spine perfectly straight.

The deep tone of the colors gave off a vintage feel that seemed to belong to a different layer from the lively amusement park. The people coming and going were all backgrounds, and her line of sight, which had originally been crowded with people, cleared out in an instant.

The noisy human voices around her also became blurred. Associating it with the cadence when she read English sample essays before, Lin Xi instantly thought of a British street from the last century.

This beautiful and elegant lady was waiting here for the companion who had invited her to this place.

Lin Xi hid inside the mascot suit, spying on Gu Nianyin who had arrived at the amusement park ahead of time.

An evil thought emerged from nowhere; she actually wanted to see if this unchanging ice-block face of Gu Nianyin’s would reveal some different expressions under the passionate interaction of her, this mascot bear.

The sun illuminated everything beneath it with extreme clarity, and those furry hands curled lightly.

What she wanted even more was to touch Gu Nianyin.

People came and went in the amusement park, laughter constantly falling into Gu Nianyin’s ears, but her expression remained calm.

The open phone was densely lined with text in a minority language; the young girl reading a book amidst the noise and bustle looked like an anomaly.

Just as she was about to turn the page, Gu Nianyin felt a light pat land on her shoulder.

She looked up blankly, the piercing midday sunlight blocked by a huge shadow leaning over. A human-sized red mascot bear was standing in front of her, its fixed corners of the mouth raised high, smiling at her harmlessly.

Her narrow field of vision held the girl’s calm face, and a clear look of surprised dazedness appeared in those dark brown eyes.

She clearly had such a cold appearance on normal days, yet because of this expression, she was unexpectedly a bit cute in contrast.

It was exactly the kind of effect Lin Xi wanted.

This toy bear, which had been pretending to actively work all day, instantly became genuinely passionate, pulling Gu Nianyin’s hand to interact.

That brown skirt hem opened up like an umbrella along with it, swaying lightly under Lin Xi’s guidance.

This was the very first time Lin Xi felt that Gu Nianyin was so easy to manipulate. In her view, this person who was cold toward everything should have just walked away upon seeing her like this, but she hadn’t expected her to still cooperate and interact with her.

However, she didn’t cooperate very well, that’s all.

It wasn’t for any other reason, but simply because Gu Nianyin had never had this kind of experience.

She Ning wouldn’t bring Gu Nianyin to this kind of place, and she didn’t know how to interact with a mascot that couldn’t speak either. Looking at this furry, anthropomorphic mascot bear in front of her, a stiffness of wanting to cooperate yet failing to do so rarely revealed itself on her face that was accustomed to being cold all year round.

Lin Xi was mischievous, hiding inside the mascot bear like this, secretly paying attention to this expression of Gu Nianyin’s, the corners of her mouth becoming even more uncontrollable as they turned up.

Truly cute.

This ice-block face wasn’t all that arrogantly annoying when it wasn’t being an ice block.

“Hello, would you like to take a photo together with our bear?”

Right at this moment, the park staff member responsible for taking photos walked over with a camera hanging around her neck.

This person was a temporary partner paired up with Lin Xi by the park manager during this National Day holiday.

Lin Xi’s mascot acting work was responsible for cooperating with tourist interactions, while this person carried a camera and walked around, proposing to take photos for tourists at the right moments. The profits were split fifty-fifty among three parties, which was decent.

“I saw the interaction between the two of you just now was especially beautiful, it would be a pity not to take one.” This person looked sincere, holding up her camera to show Gu Nianyin. “We do instant pull-apart prints here, no need to wait, it can be developed immediately.”

Lin Xi had never thought of making money off Gu Nianyin. She knew everything in this place was expensive, let alone instant prints.

But suffering from being unable to speak, all she could do was pull Gu Nianyin’s hand, giving her hints to tell her not to spend this money.

Yet she didn’t know if it was because her palm was still wrapped in a thick layer of furry outer shell, but Gu Nianyin didn’t feel her reminder, and in the end, Gu Nianyin still let go of Lin Xi’s hand.

The wind brushed past the girl’s loose long hair, leaving a trace of calmness on her back.

And what Lin Xi didn’t see was that under the restraint and calm of the girl’s seemingly indifferent brows, a light breath of relief was let out, and there was a sense of accepting her fate between her rubbing fingers.

—Her stiffness in front of the mascot bear wasn’t entirely due to complete ignorance about interaction either.

“How much.” Gu Nianyin walked up to that person and asked calmly.

“Different films have different prices, we…” As this person spoke, she spread out the unopened film inside her bag for Gu Nianyin.

Gu Nianyin cast a glance, then raised her finger to point: “This one.”

Lin Xi’s colleague was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

Among the various instant films of different price points, Gu Nianyin had pointed straight to the most expensive one.

And she hadn’t recognized the brand of the skirt on Gu Nianyin’s body either. Looking at this person’s young face, she couldn’t help but feel a bit skeptical about her spending capacity: “Little girl, this one… isn’t cheap.”

“I know.” Gu Nianyin said in a faint voice, pulling out her phone and scanning the QR code hanging on this person’s body.

Expressionless, she looked at the payee that popped up on the screen and asked: “She will also get a commission, right?”

This “she” was spoken vaguely, but Lin Xi’s colleague knew exactly who Gu Nianyin was referring to.

The young girl’s gaze was extremely indifferent, making it impossible for people to see her emotion when saying this sentence, nor could they guess her purpose.

Furthermore, after quite a few people found out they would split the money, they would feel that this photo-taking thing was just a trap. The joy and passion generated when Lin Xi interacted with them energetically just now would instantly vanish because of money, and they would wave their hands, turn around, and leave.

Lin Xi’s colleague knew full well in her heart that there was really no need to do something that smashed her own rice bowl like this.

But while she thought this way in her heart, when she raised her head to look at Gu Nianyin, that emotion of ‘none of your business’ was inexplicably pressed down. The young girl’s calm eyes seemed to possess some kind of magic, or it was just a simple and brutal sense of oppression that made it impossible for people to resist.

Holding her camera, Lin Xi’s colleague nodded honestly: “…Yes.”

And receiving this answer, Gu Nianyin didn’t turn around and leave. Instead, she became even more certain: “Then this one.”

She casually glanced at the price of the film, paying the money while speaking: “Two prints.”

The young girl’s tone was flat and ordinary. The moment her voice fell, Lin Xi’s colleague’s phone received a payment notification.

She carefully took out a film from her bag that might not even sell two copies in a month, feeling incredibly happy in her heart, directly sighing at what kind of dog-shit luck Lin Xi had today to bring them such a wealthy patron.

“Alright!” The skepticism that had just been hanging on this colleague’s face transformed into an attempt to please in an instant. “You can just go over there and stand properly.”

Saying this, she flashed an OK sign to Lin Xi.

After so much time, Lin Xi had originally thought this piece of business had fallen through. She hadn’t expected that after seeing that gesture, Gu Nianyin would then turn around and walk back toward her once more.

Lin Xi thought that even if it was the cheapest instant film, the commission would be enough for her to eat a meal in this place.

Although it felt a bit like the wool coming off the sheep’s back, Lin Xi still intended to use this money to treat Gu Nianyin to something later; this photo would count as her friendly guest appearance.

“Come, let’s stand a bit closer!” The colleague’s prompting voice came, and Lin Xi, who was in an excellent mood, also stood toward the person she was taking a photo with more proactively than usual.

This was her financial backer!

She was a bear with high professional ethics!

Thus, our dedicated Comrade Lin Xi actively stood closely behind Gu Nianyin to do her business, her furry shadow completely enveloping the young girl’s slender figure. The massive size difference produced a very wonderful effect in this fairy-tale-like world.

“This is very good!” Looking through the viewfinder, Lin Xi’s colleague gave a high thumbs-up to Lin Xi, who was rarely active. “You can also be a bit more passionate!”

Presumably still banking on the fact that Gu Nianyin didn’t know it was her inside, Lin Xi followed her colleague’s directions, leaning her big head even more passionately and proactively toward Gu Nianyin’s face.

Adulthood didn’t happen overnight. The young girl’s cheeks still held a youthful plumpness that hadn’t completely faded, her paleness filtering with light. Even through the shell, it felt as though one could perceive that kind of softness.

A rustling sound came through the furry shell. Lin Xi saw Gu Nianyin responding to her movements, tilting her head toward her as well.

That narrow range of vision was like a frame from a movie, and Gu Nianyin stood right at the very front of Lin Xi’s lens.

The vibrant colors of the amusement park were blurred and out of focus in the background, seeming to also blur that person’s usually straight shell. The sunlight beat down on her face, carrying an indescribable peace and tenderness.

So the princess in the glass house high above wasn’t actually that cold either.

Such a sentence echoed in Lin Xi’s mind, and the quiet world was the sound of her heart beating.

And right at this moment, Gu Nianyin’s voice cut through the thick mascot suit, suddenly drilling into Lin Xi’s ears.

She said: “A-Xi, look at the camera.”

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