Learning the Bai Language Quietly

"Wow, it's really crowded."

Ye Shuang couldn't help but remark as he looked at the stream of people filling the hallway. Just then, he felt a tug on his clothes and turned to find An Shiyu standing there.

The two had just walked out of the parking lot together.

"What's up?"

"Treat me to this." An Shiyu pointed at a shooting game nearby—the classic toy gun balloon pop, where the number of balloons hit determined the prize.

At least this was better than ring toss. Those rings were usually weighted unevenly, making it nearly impossible to land one on a prize.

Ye Shuang chuckled at her request. "Why should I treat you?"

"I saw you agree immediately when Bai Yuyou tugged your sleeve," An Shiyu said lazily.

Ye Shuang's lips twitched. "Yuyou is different."

"Oh." An Shiyu thought for a moment, then suddenly switched her tone, pulling at his sleeve again in a soft voice, "Ye Shuang... play... this..."

Ye Shuang stared at her in disbelief. "Why are you copying Yuyou's way of talking?!"

"Don’t you like this kind of thing?" An Shiyu reverted to her usual tone, even adding a hint of disdain. "Luring young girls into roleplay—what a perverted old man you are."

Ye Shuang: "..."

Who asked you to roleplay?!

Still, he walked over to the shooting stall and asked the student running it, "How much per round?"

"Five yuan for ten shots," the student holding the toy gun replied cheerfully.

"Alright, give me twenty shots." After scanning the QR code to pay ten yuan, Ye Shuang took the toy gun from the student and handed it to An Shiyu. "Here."

An Shiyu glanced at the toy gun in his hand, then averted her gaze. "Actually, I don’t feel like playing anymore."

Ye Shuang: "..."

"Just kidding, old man. Violence against a cute girl like me is a crime, you know?" An Shiyu gave him a pointed look when she saw his expression, as if he wanted to flip her over his knee and spank her. "I’m adorable—how could you bear to hit me?"

"Very easily."

"Tch."

An Shiyu took the toy gun and began aiming at the balloons. Her posture was oddly precise, giving Ye Shuang a strange sense of dissonance—it looked correct, but something about it felt off.

Pop!

The crisp sound of a balloon bursting rang out.

Then another, and another…

An Shiyu seemed to be a natural at this. Twenty shots later, she hadn’t missed a single one, leaving Ye Shuang mildly impressed.

"Congratulations! Twenty hits in a row!" The student running the stall immediately pulled out a few prizes. "Here’s your reward."

A small, plush Doraemon keychain, no bigger than the palm of a hand.

"Twenty shots for this? You’re seriously stingy. Shouldn’t I get, like, ten or eight of these—" An Shiyu’s deadpan complaint was cut short when Ye Shuang clapped a hand over her mouth. He gave the stall owner an awkward smile before dragging her away with the prize.

"Ten yuan and you’re trying to rob them?"

Once they were a distance away, Ye Shuang shot her an exasperated look. This girl was practically a bandit.

"I’m the customer. Why should I care about their business expenses?" An Shiyu retorted, but her gaze soon drifted to an ice cream stand nearby. "Old man, treat me to this."

"No."

"Ye Shuang... want... this..." She tugged at his sleeve again, mimicking Bai Yuyou’s tone.

"Stop copying Yuyou." Ye Shuang rubbed his temples, already regretting leaving the parking lot with this troublemaker.

The ice cream stand sold classic soft-serve cones. The student running it brightened when he saw Ye Shuang and An Shiyu.

"Hello! What flavor would you like?"

An Shiyu stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Give me one I’ve never tried before."

"Uh…"

"One strawberry, one chocolate." Ye Shuang chopped An Shiyu lightly on the head before smiling at the vendor.

"Got it!"

Once he had the ice creams, Ye Shuang held them out to An Shiyu. "Alright, pick one."

"I want both."

"No. Choose one."

An Shiyu took the strawberry cone but quickly stood on her tiptoes to bite the tip off the chocolate one.

Ye Shuang: "..."

He stared blankly at the teeth marks left on his ice cream. "How am I supposed to eat this now?"

An Shiyu smirked lazily. "Guess you’ll have to give both to me."

Not one to be outplayed by a brat, Ye Shuang took a deliberate bite of the chocolate ice cream and looked down at her. "Nah, I don’t mind."

An Shiyu blinked, clearly caught off guard. Her eyes flickered behind her bangs before she turned away to eat her own ice cream in silence.

A faint, muffled mutter in dialect slipped out—something Ye Shuang didn’t catch.

He also didn’t notice the faint pink tinge coloring her ears.

Just then, his phone buzzed.

A message from Tang Keke:

Bro, come try the lemon tea Zhixia’s selling.

[Selfie.jpg]

The photo showed four girls posing together. Ye Shuang replied with an "Okay" before looking up—only to find An Shiyu already gone.

"That girl..."

Shaking his head, he headed straight for Zhixia’s lemon tea stall.

Business seemed decent. By the time he arrived, a small crowd of students had gathered, each holding a cup of lemon tea—and a stick of candied hawthorn.

"Bro, over here!"

"Mr. Ye!" Zhixia, wearing an apron, greeted him cheerfully as she muddled lemons.

Ye Shuang smiled. "Why are there candied hawthorns at a lemon tea stall? That’s an unusual combo."

"Yuyou bought them," Tang Keke explained, recounting what had happened earlier.

"I see." Ye Shuang turned to Bai Yuyou, who immediately leaned against him. "Still hungry?"

Bai Yuyou nodded. "Mhm... got hungry again..."

"Need any help?" Ye Shuang asked Zhixia.

The girl in the apron just smiled sweetly. "Mr. Ye, why don’t you take Yuyou for a walk? We’ve got things covered here."

"Yeah, bro, take her around. She’s been wanting to spend time with you," Tang Keke chimed in.

Linlin nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Oh? You want to walk around?" Ye Shuang asked Bai Yuyou.

"Mm." She hugged his arm and looked up at him.

Tang Keke playfully pushed them. "Go on, go on! There’s a themed event in the academic building too—you could spend days exploring."

"Alright, I’ll take her for a stroll and come back later."

"Or don’t come back at all."

"..."