Link Click · Conversa

"You look tasty!" Delivered in a thick British accent, the English phrase rang out jarringly in the dim alley where the street riot had just subsided. Vein leaned in slightly, his fox-like eyes narrowing as a dangerous, playful red glint flickered in their depths. He reached his large, distinctly boned hand straight toward Cheng Xiaoshi. Cheng Xiaoshi froze completely in place, his brain crashing on the spot. He blinked his clear, dark eyes, looking utterly bewildered, as if a giant question mark had materialized right above his head. Subconsciously scratching the back of his neck, he had no idea just how terrifying that phrase sounded in English. Instead, he simply turned to Lu Guang beside him, his eyes pleading for help: "Lu Guang... what did he say?" Lu Guang felt his temples throbbing, a flicker of exasperated helplessness crossing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he decisively reached out, seized Cheng Xiaoshi's wrist, and pulled him firmly behind his back, placing himself between the two in an unequivocally protective stance. Facing Vein, Lu Guang kept a straight face and lied in an utterly calm and convincing tone: "He said, 'Hello.'" "Oh—!" Cheng Xiaoshi gasped in sudden realization, his tense nerves instantly relaxing. He promptly poked half his body out from behind Lu Guang, a completely unguarded, radiantly goofy grin spreading across his face. Enthusiastically extending both hands, he clasped Vein's hand tightly, even giving it a couple of vigorous up-and-down shakes, and shouted in the precise, textbook intonation of someone reciting middle-school English dialogues: "Wow! Nice to meet you! My name is Cheng Xiaoshi! I'm fine, thank you, and you?" Standing nearby, Xia Fei watched this utterly absurd cross-talk breakdown and finally couldn't hold back a burst of laughter. His shoulders shook violently, tears welling up in his eyes. Lu Guang, on the other hand, quietly turned his back on them, rested his forehead against his hand, and let out a heavy, world-weary sigh that only he could hear.