NOVEL NEXT Chapter 395: I Want to Team Up With You
Having just finished another scenario last night and secured first place, Yu Li seemed rather disinterested. She sat in the café, propping her chin as she gazed lazily out the window.
Hearing Yu Jiao call her name, she turned her head sluggishly and asked casually, "What looks familiar?"
Yu Jiao, sitting across from her, pointed at a waiter's back. "That young guy over there. Doesn't he seem familiar to you?"
Following her gaze, Yu Li only saw the slender back of a male server - probably the one who had just brought their drinks.
Not having paid much attention to his face earlier, Yu Li took a sip of juice and replied dismissively, "Don't know. Didn't get a good look."
Yu Jiao muttered, "I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
"Oh?" Yu Li raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you go ask him then."
"Forget it." Then Yu Jiao's expression suddenly turned suggestive. "But I noticed he keeps looking at you. You two seem about the same age. Why not exchange contacts?"
Yu Li: "I don't have any contacts."
Yu Jiao's eyes instantly went dead-fish.
She knew Limu wasn't refusing - she was simply stating facts. Limu was like a pure anomaly in this world - no phone, no TV, not even basic contact information. Practically a ghost resident.
To this day, Yu Jiao still didn't know how the girl had grown up. Maybe raised in a temple?
Though they'd teamed up for so long, every time they met in real life, it was only because Yu Jiao would frantically extend an invitation during the last minute of a scenario:
"Limu! Limu! After we wake up, don't forget to meet at the usual place at noon!!"
The response was always the girl's indifferent nod. "Understood. I'll be there."
But they'd only meet that once before seeing each other again in the next scenario.
Yu Jiao studied the girl and tried again: "How about I just buy you a phone? It'd make communication easier."
Limu shook her head. "No need. This is enough."
Having grown accustomed to rejection, Yu Jiao sighed without surprise: "Alright, alright." She should've known. No matter what she offered, Limu always refused uniformly.
The longer they spent together, the more Yu Jiao realized something - this beautiful woman who always wore a gentle smile during scenarios was actually ice-cold at heart. Especially towards outsiders.
Though she treated Yu Jiao decently - otherwise she wouldn't have saved her so many times in scenarios. So Yu Jiao quite enjoyed this special treatment. Being the exception felt pretty good.
Checking the time, Yu Jiao stood up hastily. "My lunch break's almost over. What are you eating tonight? Want to grab dinner?"
"No. I have things to do."
"OK then, see you next scenario. I've already paid the bill here. If you want anything else, just charge it to my account."
"Mhm."
After Yu Jiao left, Yu Li lowered her head and resumed staring out the window. Then a voice sounded beside her: "Miss."
Turning, she saw a slice of cake placed on her table. "This cake is my treat for you."
Looking up, Yu Li recognized the waiter from earlier. Her eyes swept across his face briefly before indifferently looking away. "Thanks, but no." With that, she pulled her cap down and stood to leave.
The boy seemed stunned by her reaction. In those few seconds of hesitation, Limu had already walked straight past him.
Just as she was about to push open the café door, several uniformed boys came barging in, roughhousing with arms around each other's shoulders, their uniforms scribbled with incomprehensible graffiti.
As they brushed past, Yu Li caught snippets of their teasing: "Yo, Rong Fan! Changed part-time jobs without telling us?"
Glancing back, she saw the boy from earlier now pale-faced, his hands trembling slightly against the table. She paused briefly before lazily turning away and exiting.
That was Yu Li's first encounter with Rong Fan.
Their second meeting happened in a back alley. This time, she witnessed the aftermath.
The slender boy sat battered on the ground, clothes dusty, pockets turned inside out and emptied. His face was swollen and bruised beyond recognition, one cheekbone grotesquely inflated. Picking up his broken glasses, he slowly looked up upon sensing someone's presence.
When he recognized Yu Li, obvious surprise flashed across Rong Fan's expressionless face before he quickly stood up, red-faced, and greeted: "H-Hello again, miss."
Yu Li studied him for a moment before turning to leave, but Rong Fan hurried after her. "Wait, miss... please wait."
Yu Li had no intention of stopping, but the boy somehow managed to catch up despite his injuries. Panting heavily, he leaned on his knees and smiled at her: "Remember me? From the café—"
"What do you want?" Yu Li cut him off bluntly. "You should tend to your wounds first."
Rong Fan froze, then scratched his head awkwardly. "They... took all my money. But it's fine, these injuries will heal soon."
In response, Yu Li wordlessly pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and handed it to him. "Take it. I have things to do." Spending money to avoid trouble - something she'd learned from Yu Jiao. Perfect for this situation.
Rong Fan stared blankly at the money, his grimy fingers twitching slightly as he met her emotionless fox-like eyes. "I can't accept this. I just wanted... to get to know you. They say your name is Limu?"
So money couldn't solve this? Too little perhaps? Frowning, Yu Li added another hundred and shoved the bills at him forcefully. "I'm leaving." She'd given money - further obstruction would be rude.
Rong Fan numbly stared at the cash that still carried traces of her warmth. His eyes wavered as he watched her retreating figure before slowly clenching the money in his fist.
Later, Yu Li understood why Yu Jiao had found Rong Fan familiar - because he was also a player. Every time they matched in scenarios, his gaze would inevitably find her. What the boy thought were covert glances were actually glaringly obvious to everyone.
Eventually, she started encountering Rong Fan frequently in real life too - either being bullied or appearing battered and bruised. Yu Li was growing impatient. It felt like stepping on stubborn gum that wouldn't come off her shoe.
Moreover, Rong Fan's experiences reminded her of her own orphanage days. She'd come to this world to escape that suffocating environment, not to watch someone relive her past.
Finally, during one scenario when she saw Rong Fan being bullied yet again while his eyes kept darting towards her, Yu Li's lips twisted. Changing direction abruptly, she left Yu Jiao's group and marched up to Rong Fan.
Yanking his tormentors aside, she looked down at him coldly. "What exactly do you want? Is stalking me fun?"
The boy simply smiled up at her. After a long pause, he reached out to gently tug her pants leg, speaking softly: "I want to follow you. I want to team up with you. Is that okay?"
"Team up?" Yu Li let out an ambiguous laugh before crouching down to his level, her tone dripping with sarcasm: "You mean I should take on someone who's always getting beaten up as my teammate? Then clean up your messes for you? Isn't that just carrying deadweight?"
"If you never learn to fight back, you'll only end up dead. Helping trash that can't even stand on its own is completely pointless." Her final words were quiet but razor-sharp with mockery.
Xin Hao's group arrived just in time to hear this. Before they could process what was happening, they saw Rong Fan on the ground smiling up at Yu Li: "I'll prove it to you. I'll get stronger."
He said: "If I can't do it, you can kick me out anytime. Okay?"
Yu Li stared down into his eyes without a flicker of emotion. "Then I'll be watching."
From that moment, Rong Fan officially became one of them. Like a weed finding shelter, he flourished wildly under the protection of their formidable light.