Criticizing Love - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The sunlight fell upon the face of the mascot bear, the bright light accentuating its vibrant colors and giving it a cute look that seemed to be smiling forever.

The camera pointed at it and the young girl taking a photo with it, their intimacy and harmony perfectly fitting the fairy-tale atmosphere of the amusement park.

The flash lit up with a sudden click, white light locking the image in place. No one saw the shock that flashed behind the eyes of the toy bear.

Gu Nianyin’s voice wasn’t particularly heavy or light, but it exploded inside Lin Xi’s head with a loud bang.

—The name she had just called out as a reminder was her own!

“?!”

Lin Xi felt her entire body freeze up. At this moment, the action of her proactively drawing close to Gu Nianyin locked clearly into her mind, along with the intimacy from when she had deliberately teased this person just now.

These images played on a continuous loop, and embarrassment rushed in like a tide, overwhelming Lin Xi from all sides, crowding her inside this narrow mascot suit until it almost drowned her.

How did Gu Nianyin know that this mascot bear was her?!

When did she find out?!

Could it be that she had known right from the very beginning?

The moment she thought it might be like this, Lin Xi became even more frantic inside.

Escaping reality, she hid inside the shell, wishing she could find a crack in it to crawl through and vanish right on the spot.

“Little Lin, change to another pose!”

Unfortunately, before she could find her crack, her colleague’s voice dragged her back out.

Gu Nianyin had bought two photos, so Lin Xi, as a bear with professional ethics, had no choice but to continue cooperating.

However, compared to her passion from just now, she became much more constrained at this moment.

Gu Nianyin could clearly feel the movement of the person behind her shifting her steps, the fur withdrawing from her back, bringing a gust of slightly cool wind.

Yet there was no need for her to express dissatisfaction with this aloofness; the person taking photos for them became dissatisfied first.

She lowered the camera she had originally held up and let out a “tsk” at Lin Xi: “Get a bit closer to her! It’s not like I’m having you two take photos for a marriage certificate, why are you being so stiff!”

At these words, Lin Xi’s head exploded once more.

She really wanted to rip off her mascot head and just leave, but performers couldn’t remove their headgear at will, otherwise their pay would be docked.

Lin Xi had her lifeblood held by the throat. She couldn’t move forward and she couldn’t back down. She could only look at Gu Nianyin through that narrow slit, watching her stand beside her with calm features.

A gentle breeze skipped over the small lake nearby, crisp and cool, pushing a floral fragrance that didn’t belong to this season into Lin Xi’s embrace.

Just like how Gu Nianyin could recognize her across the shell of the mascot bear, Lin Xi also recognized that this was Gu Nianyin’s scent. She was clear-headed yet restless, her heart beating erratically.

Digging a pit only to bury oneself.

Under her colleague’s glare and the financial offensive, Lin Xi acted highly professional, silently emphasizing a hundred and eighty times in her heart that she was merely an emotionless employee playing a mascot, and raised her arm to pull Gu Nianyin into her embrace.

Watching that furry paw land on her shoulder once more, Gu Nianyin’s calm face in front of the camera saw the corners of her mouth lift slightly.

The wind swept over, lifting the girl’s hair into a beautiful and natural arc.

Those cold eyes also melted along with her upturned lips, her dark brown pupils clean like amber. The lively background music of the amusement park finally became fitting, and the entire picture seemed to come alive.

Lin Xi’s colleague looked at the image in the viewfinder and stared blankly for a moment, her vision completely captured by Gu Nianyin, catching this beautiful moment of hers in this exact second: “Come, let’s look at the camera, 3, 2, 1—!”

The flash lit up again, and Lin Xi’s colleague walked over to hand the two developed prints to Gu Nianyin: “Alright, the film will develop naturally, it’s best to peel it apart after about fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you.” Gu Nianyin restored her flat tone, accepting the photos.

Having completed a deal of no small price, this colleague of Lin Xi’s radiated a sort of joy all over her body.

She waved her hand at Lin Xi, indicating that she had transferred the money to her, and then left to search for other business opportunities.

This kind of business involved splitting the accounts on the spot, and after a short while, the phone inside Lin Xi’s pocket vibrated.

Just a moment ago she had expressed extreme happiness over this income, but at this moment her mind was in a complex state.

This counted as the money she made from working.

…Or selling her charms.

“Screw it.”

Lin Xi cursed softly in her heart, her entire being in a state of shame.

She had never once gotten the upper hand with Gu Nianyin!

“Are you off work?”

Just as Lin Xi was beating her chest and stamping her feet in frustration, Gu Nianyin’s voice rang out by her ear.

This familiar tone was no different from reminding Lin Xi once again: she truly recognized her.

Lin Xi’s chest flared with indignation. Instead of answering Gu Nianyin’s question, she went straight to her own doubt: “Hey, how did you know it was me?!”

Under the sun, the mascot bear turned its body clumsily yet nimbly.

That bright red floated under the sunlight, and its restless, proud, and spoiled voice unexpectedly matched its image perfectly.

Gu Nianyin raised her head to look at this shadow blocking the sun, her gaze seemingly penetrating this shell to linger on the girl.

Her tone was flat, her explanation simple: “Your colleague called you just now.”

This response did not make Lin Xi breathe a sigh of relief.

She looked at Gu Nianyin through the mouth of the mascot, always feeling that something wasn’t right.

Her colleague had indeed called her just now, but it didn’t seem to be before Gu Nianyin spoke to her, right?

Could it be that her colleague had called her name just now when Gu Nianyin walked over to select the film with her?

Besides, why on earth would she call her name out of nowhere?

The surroundings were noisy with people coming and going, so Lin Xi couldn’t be certain if that was how it went.

But if someone hadn’t called her out, Lin Xi couldn’t explain to herself how Gu Nianyin would know this mascot bear was her.

She hadn’t told anyone about her working, not even Zhong Sheng knew.

Though, if someone really had the heart to look into it, it wouldn’t be hard to find out, right?

After all, on the first day of the holiday, she had taken a picture of the amusement park’s scenery and posted it to her Moments, and her WeChat steps had also occupied the top spot by a massive margin these past few days.

But if that were the case, wouldn’t it be a bit too terrifying…

Following the trails you leaked, investigating what you are doing.

Any trace of yours is a thread she holds to control you.

Thump, thump.

The sound of her heartbeat was about to drown out the clamor of the people coming and going around them.

Lin Xi did not think it was terrifying.

On the contrary, she even felt happy that someone would actually pay this much attention to her.

She knew clearly that this was morbid.

But she truly would be happy.

Lin Xi’s world was barren and lonely; the sun would rise as usual, and the moon would also arrive on time.

She was outwardly wild, proud, and untamed, but no matter how unbridled she was, there was only a single silhouette in the empty wilderness.

Loneliness spread across the wilderness.

The sound of the wind was clamorous, and thickets of thorns covered the vast expanse.

她 grew thorns all over to refuse entry to outsiders.

Yet she truly, deeply wanted someone to be able to come in.

But Gu Nianyin…

Lin Xi didn’t believe Gu Nianyin would pay attention to her from such tiny details.

A person high above like her had always had others chasing after her, so when would she ever actively pause for anyone?

Thinking up to this point, Lin Xi pulled back her gaze.

Her emotions were quietly pressed down by her, and then she said to Gu Nianyin in an seemingly ordinary manner: “I’m going to change my clothes, wait for me here for a bit.”

Lin Xi spoke crisply and didn’t seek Gu Nianyin’s opinion, turning around to walk away as she spoke.

Only, the instant she lifted her step, her hanging furry paw was grabbed by someone.

This paw was covered in fur, feeling soft all over to the touch.

Meanwhile, the bones of the young girl’s hand were distinct, sinking into the fluff and clearly outlining her contours within Lin Xi’s palm.

An electric current shot through instantly, and Lin Xi abruptly halted: “What are you doing?”

“Can I come with you?” Gu Nianyin asked.

A sudden gust of wind blew over, lifting her skirt hem and hair strands, coolness dyeing the tip of her nose: “The wind is picking up, it’s very cold sitting outside.”

It was clearly she who had first proposed the request to leave together with her, yet the wind blowing over now was turned into her reason by reversing cause and effect.

If it were truly for this reason, Lin Xi might feel tender affection for a beautiful woman upon seeing Gu Nianyin’s nose blown red.

But having just been exposed by Gu Nianyin, how could she let go of the opportunity to finally grasp a loophole of Gu Nianyin’s as well? Letting out a snort from her throat, she immediately exposed her: “Hmph, who are you fooling?”

The young girl’s voice carried triumph, and she raised her head as she spoke.

The massive eyes of that mascot bear reflected the sunlight, unable to hide her flashiness and triumph even while encased in the large, furry shell: “Gu Nianyin, if you can’t bear to be parted from me, just say so directly.”

“Mm.”

Amidst the bustling clamor, Lin Xi’s triumphant eyes saw Gu Nianyin give her a tiny response from her nasal cavity.

The young girl’s seriousness completely filled her narrow field of vision, and she then admitted to her: “I can’t bear to be parted from you.”

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