Chapter 119: I'll Just Watch You Like This

Chapter 119: Chapter 111: I’ll Just Watch You Like This

“Lucy doesn’t want to go in. Lucy only wants to go to the electronics store,” Lucy said mechanically.

Zoe put on her signature “I’m-just-going-to-stare-at-you” face. Yin Zhen ultimately caved and bought the tickets, standing by the edge of the ball pit to hold Zoe’s half-eaten cotton candy.

Zoe screamed as she flew down the slide and crashed into the ball pit. The plastic balls exploded into a colorful wave. She popped her head out from the pile and waved at Yin Zhen.

“May, come play too! It’s so much fun!”

Yin Zhen shook her head in refusal.

Zoe climbed back up and slid down three more times. On her fourth try, she tumbled into the padded area at the edge of the pit, landing headfirst.

Standing nearby, Lucy said in a completely flat voice, “Landing on your face is not a safe method. It is not recommended for children to imitate.”

At Yin Zhen’s feet, Ying covered its mouth with its hands, laughing silently. When it noticed someone looking over, it immediately returned to normal.

Later, they went to the arcade. Zoe stopped in front of a shooting game cabinet, picked up the plastic gun, weighed it in her hand, and then just stared at Yin Zhen.

Yin Zhen bought a basket of tokens, inserted the coins, and picked up the other gun.

As zombies swarmed the screen, the muzzle of Yin Zhen’s gun found every target’s head almost by reflex. She landed headshot after headshot without missing a single bullet. Zoe wasn’t bad either, fiercely competing with Yin Zhen just like they did during their training at Saint Group.

After the first round, Yin Zhen scored exactly one point higher than Zoe.

“I demand a rematch! Again!”

For three consecutive rounds, Yin Zhen always scored exactly one point higher.

“Rematch! Again!”

When the fourth round began, Yin Zhen’s gun wavered slightly. Zoe seized the opportunity to shoot three zombies, jumping up in excitement. In the end, Zoe won.

“Yes! I won! I won!”

Zoe had already picked up the local expressions. Turning her head, she suddenly stared at Yin Zhen.

“May, you look really pretty when you smile. You should smile more.”

Yin Zhen caught her reflection in the darkened screen. The girl in the screen had a relaxed expression—she was genuinely smiling.

She hadn’t seen this expression on herself in a long time. It wasn’t the perfunctory polite smile she used in social settings, nor the sinister smirk she wore when facing formidable foes. It was just a plain, ordinary smile born of happiness.

She looked away and patted Zoe on the shoulder. “There’s a racing game over there.”

They played until the sun went down. Then, they bought Lucy a complete set of electronic devices and prepared to head home.

Passing by an ice cream truck parked at the mall entrance, Zoe refused to walk any further and stared at Yin Zhen again.

Moments later, they were carrying various shopping bags, each holding an ice cream cone. Zoe had a pink strawberry one, while Yin Zhen had a green matcha one.

Yin Zhen took a bite, and her shadow at her feet mimicked her, taking a bite as well.

Walking beside them with her new robot vacuum in her arms, Lucy mercilessly announced, “Your caloric intake for today has severely exceeded the standard limit. Your weight is projected to increase by at least 1.5 kilograms tomorrow.”

When they returned to the residential complex, Yin Zhen pulled out her crutches again. The news of her leg being healed had already spread throughout the neighborhood. An older woman had spotted her leaving that morning, and now, a crowd of older uncles and aunts seemed to have sprouted around her, shouting at her from a distance.

“Oh my, isn’t that Yin? Is your leg really better? When did it heal? How come you can suddenly walk?”

Leaning on her crutches, Yin Zhen nodded at Aunt Liu. “I’ve been doing physical therapy on my own at home.”

“Who is this child? I haven’t seen her around before.”

Yin Zhen glanced at Lucy, who was dragging a suitcase, and explained to the enthusiastic older woman. “She’s a cousin from my hometown. She has no family left, so she came to live with me.”

One sentence was enough; the older uncles and aunts would mentally fill in all the tragic details for her.

Upon entering her home, Yin Zhen dropped her shopping bags on the floor and collapsed onto the sofa. Babysitting was exhausting.

Lucy dug out Yin Zhen’s toolbox, immediately sat down, and started dismantling the robot vacuum. Ying squatted nearby, handing Lucy the tools.

Suddenly, this house that once held only Yin Zhen had become so lively. The empty spaces were now completely filled.

Zoe leaned against Yin Zhen’s shoulder. As soon as she relaxed, exhaustion washed over her. Even though it wasn’t completely dark yet, her eyelids started drooping.

“May, can we go again tomorrow? I haven’t played enough yet, and there are still several things I haven’t eaten.”

“Alright! We’ll go!”

Zoe hugged Yin Zhen’s arm and closed her eyes, nuzzling into a comfortable position. Her voice grew increasingly mumbled.

“The human world is so wonderful. The sunlight is nice, the food is good, and even falling down the slide and landing on my face felt nice. May, I want to stay here forever. If I can stay here forever, I’d be willing to go to work every day, do a lot of tasks, and get scolded by my boss every day. But after work, I want to go eat those sugar-coated hawthorns. As long as I can eat a few, I’ll… I’ll be happy…”

Zoe’s breathing gradually evened out. Yin Zhen fetched a cushion and laid her down on the sofa to sleep.

Yin Zhen stood there, looking at Zoe with ice cream stains still on her lips, and couldn’t help but smile. The vigorous, untainted Life Force radiating from Zoe was simply too infectious.

It seemed that ever since their first encounter, she had found it hard to resist Zoe’s proximity. Every time she saw the girl, she would subconsciously develop an urge to protect her, even if her rationality advised against it.

This was exactly like those little sunshine protagonists in novels, possessing nuclear-level wholesomeness—so wholesome that they could even redeem the villains.

However, Zoe’s path of growth was destined to be accompanied by loss and pain. She would have to be brutally torn apart before regrowing strong flesh and blood, ultimately becoming a true, independent protagonist capable of standing on her own.

The sky gradually darkened. As the clock slowly ticked toward seven o’clock, the phone’s clock-in reminder and a system notification mercilessly pulled Yin Zhen back to reality.

[Current Round Public Event: Eliminate Blood Clan Invaders (0/1000)]

“Ah—”

Less than two minutes later, a sudden scream echoed from outside. It was very close—right next door to Yin Zhen’s house.

Zoe bolted upright. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Yin Zhen’s front door was pounded so hard it shook.

“Help! Open the door! Save us!”