Chapter 19: Long Live Friendship

Under the night sky of February.

At this hour, even adults rarely went out, let alone children.

Lin You was an exception. Compared to the bright daytime, he preferred the pitch-black night.

Bathed in darkness, the boy’s expression was relaxed. His whole being was more energetic and cheerful than usual.

‘Meet Yuting first, then collect bottles.’

This was Lin You’s plan.

Destination: the children’s park.

He skillfully weaved through the gaps between the houses and soon arrived at his destination.

In Lin You’s vision, a corner of the deserted children’s park was emitting a faint green light.

‘The color seems lighter than yesterday.’

Seeing the green that represented friendliness, Lin You knew Yuting had already arrived.

The observant boy also noticed something different: the green of last night and tonight had changed.

The shade of the color also represented an emotional change.

“Yuting.”

Lin You felt a little uneasy, but he still went to the meeting.

He walked towards the swings in the park, calling out to her from seven or eight meters away.

“Oh yeah! Ah You, you’re finally here!”

Yuting had been waiting for several minutes, looking forward to his arrival with great anticipation. She had finally gotten her boy-friend to come. She was so excited she wanted to pounce on him, but it was too dark to see, so she could only wait obediently in place for him to come over.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Lin You hadn’t expected her to arrive early, which made him feel like he was the one who was late.

“Hehe, it’s okay. I haven’t been here for long.”

Yuting waved her hand magnanimously. As long as she could meet the boy, she didn’t mind the small details.

Soon, the boy was standing in front of her.

The girl peered at the silhouette of the boy before her, trying to widen her eyes to see what he looked like.

The darkness was like a mask covering the boy’s face, foiling Yuting’s plan.

“Yuting, are your eyes okay?”

Lin You possessed night vision that the girl lacked, so he noticed her strange little action.

The girl staring with wide eyes looked a bit silly, and also a bit scary.

“Hahaha, there was a gust of wind just now, and sand got in my eyes. It’s so uncomfortable.”

Yuting secretly thought, oh no, and quickly found an excuse for her behavior.

After speaking, she even raised her hand to rub her eyes, committing fully to the act.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to blow on it for you?”

Lin You didn’t suspect a thing. He’d had similar experiences before, and his grandmother would blow on his eyes, and the discomfort would quickly disappear.

“Mhm, mhm, then you can blow on it for me.”

Yuting had intended to refuse, but on second thought, if Ah You brought his face close to hers to blow, she would surely be able to see him clearly, so she accepted.

And so, a scene like this unfolded.

The girl sat on the swing, and the boy stood beside her, leaning his head over, his lips aimed at her large, watery eyes.

“Hoo, hoo”

Lin You blew gently and patiently, a warm stream of air landing on Yuting’s eyelids.

“That feels so nice.”

This was the first time Yuting had been so close to someone of the opposite s*x. An indescribable feeling quietly crept into her heart.

The young girl couldn’t find the words to describe this feeling. She hoped Ah You would help her blow on her eyes often in the future!

“Is it better now?”

Yuting didn’t tell him to stop, so the boy kept blowing until he was nearly out of breath and had to ask.

“Mhm, it’s much better. Ah You blew all the sand out!”

Hearing the weakness in the boy’s voice, Yuting had no choice but to let it end for now.

Oh, right. She had originally wanted to see Lin You’s face clearly, but she had been too busy enjoying the sensation and hadn’t gotten a good look. She only felt that the outline of the boy’s chin and lips was very handsome.

“It’s good that you’re okay… phew.”

After successfully helping his only friend, Lin You felt relieved and took a deep breath.

“Ah You, thanks for your hard work! Here, this is Coke, and spicy strips. Let’s eat and drink together!”

The girl, as if presenting a treasure, shared the snacks and drinks she had placed by the swing.

“That was just friends helping each other. I can’t take your things.”

Lin You misunderstood, taking two steps back and then rejecting the girl’s kind offer.

“What are you talking about? This is friendship Coke, and these are friendship spicy strips. They represent our friendship, so we have to eat them together.”

Yuting was full of clever ideas and immediately spun a tale that the boy could accept.

“I already drank your thank-you Sprite last time… and I’ve never treated you to anything. It can’t always be like this.”

Lin You was stunned, but he was a boy with principles and didn’t want to just freeload off Yuting’s gifts.

“Oh, it’s fine. You can just treat me to something next time.”

Yuting thought nothing of it and replied casually.

“But I don’t have anything to treat you with.”

Her thoughtless words made the boy even more embarrassed.

“No way! Don’t your parents give you an allowance?”

Yuting was shocked. In her worldview, every child had an allowance to buy their favorite snacks.

“Grandma gives me an allowance, but I don’t want it.”

An invisible generation gap separated Lin You and Yuting.

“Why not? Don’t you want to eat snacks?”

Yuting felt her boy-friend was a bit silly.

“It’s not easy for Grandma to earn money. I don’t want to be a burden to her.”

When Lin You mentioned this, there was no guilt or inferiority in his voice. In his heart, his grandmother had always been the best.

“Waah, are you the ‘sensible child’ my mom always talks about?”

Yuting’s brain finally caught up, and she understood what was going on, crying out in surprise.

“I guess so.”

Lin You nodded blankly. The concept of a ‘mom’ was a blur to him.

“Sensible Ah You, hurry up and drink the friendship Coke! It’s still cold.”

After all that talk, Yuting still hadn’t given up on the idea of sharing.

“But…”

The boy realized she didn’t seem to be listening to him.

“Friendship Coke has a super short shelf life. If you don’t drink it now, it’ll go to waste. A sensible boy like Ah You wouldn’t be wasteful, right?”

Yuting’s mind was full of little tricks, which were just right for dealing with Lin You.

“Is that so? Then we really can’t waste it.”

Lin You finally relented. Then, he felt a small hand fumbling on his arm, and a cool drink was placed in his palm.

“Cheers!”

Having succeeded, Yuting couldn’t wait to enjoy it.

“Friendship Coke with friendship spicy strips, this is the best! You should try it too.”

The little foodie Yuting was quite the connoisseur. Drinking Coke wasn’t enough; she had to have a “side dish” too.

“Wow, this is a bit tough (￣～￣) to chew! And it’s so spicy…”

It was Lin You’s first time tasting both Coke and spicy strips.

The taste of the snacks and drink was just a garnish. What the boy truly cherished was this friendship, born in the darkness.