Not Now

The afternoon matches went smoothly; Lin Yu won both rounds. He had even deliberately held back some of his strength on the court, yet still won with ease, successfully making it through the elimination stage.

That group of baffling women cheered their hearts out for Lin Yu from below the stage.

Not only did this make Lin Yu feel quite awkward, but it also drew a significant amount of animosity.

This was particularly true for Qian Jie and Hu Hao, who had come along with the Martial Arts Club; their faces were pitch black with displeasure.

When they were leaving that evening, that same inexplicable group swarmed over again, suggesting they all go out for a celebratory dinner.

Lin Yu rejected the offer without hesitation, turned around, and got into a taxi with Tao Yaoyao, intending to return to their hotel to rest.

In the car, Lin Yu watched the scenery passing outside the window until his gaze was gradually drawn to the street food along the road.

"Driver, pull over for a second."

Lin Yu stopped the driver. He got out, planning to wander around and find something good to eat. He turned to Tao Yaoyao, who was still in the car, and said:

"You go back first. I'm going to grab a bite."

"Wait."

Tao Yaoyao called out to stop Lin Yu just as he was about to leave. She efficiently paid the fare, opened the door, and walked over to Lin Yu's side.

"Let's go together. I haven't eaten yet either."

Lin Yu thought for a moment, then nodded.

After wandering around the area, they didn't choose any of the large restaurants. Instead, they walked into a bustling snack street to settle their dinner plans.

They strolled along, buying quite a few snacks. Carrying small bags and packages in their hands, the two of them walked over to a public open-air table.

Tao Yaoyao was always very particular about cleanliness. She took a packet of tissues from her bag, pulled out two sheets to hand to Lin Yu, and then pulled out several more for herself to meticulously wipe down the table and the bench.

As a rough-around-the-edges kind of guy, Lin Yu didn't have the patience for all that. He took the tissues, gave the seat a cursory wipe, and sat down on the bench.

The steaming hot snacks were spread out on the table. Starving, Lin Yu dug in immediately.

Tao Yaoyao's table manners were much more refined.

She bit a piece of roasted meat off a skewer and chewed it slowly and delicately for quite a while.

As they were eating, her phone chimed. She picked it up, glanced at it, and said to Lin Yu:

"Tomorrow's schedule is out. Your opponent isn't Qi Fei from L University."

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

"With your strength, you'll definitely win easily."

Tao Yaoyao put down her phone, seemingly breathing a sigh of relief, and continued to nibble gracefully at her skewer.

Lin Yu was too busy stuffing his face; Tao Yaoyao's words went in his left ear and floated right out his right. He hadn't heard a word she said.

"Cough, cough!"

He had eaten his chicken-wing-stuffed-rice a bit too urgently and choked on the chili pepper, sending him into a fit of coughing.

Scanning the table, Lin Yu realized that for all the food he had bought, he had completely forgotten to buy water.

Taking the tissue Tao Yaoyao handed him to wipe his mouth, Lin Yu stood up and asked casually:

"I'm going to buy some drinks."

"What do you want?"

"Lemonade, half sugar."

"OK."

The one thing a snack street never lacks is drink shops, but Lin Yu was loyal to Ruixing Ice City, so he walked a few extra steps intending to find one.

To put it bluntly, Ruixing Ice City stores were more common in this world than manhole covers on the street.

They were everywhere. Lin Yu found one without any effort. He bought a lemonade for Tao Yaoyao and an iced tea for himself.

As soon as he got the iced tea, Lin Yu impatiently stabbed the straw in and took a long, refreshing swig.

The cold, sweet liquid slid down his dry throat, quenching his thirst. Carrying the lemonade for Tao Yaoyao, Lin Yu turned to head back.

He rounded a corner and looked ahead, nearly thinking he was seeing a hallucination.

Such a familiar scene.

Wait!

No!

The person you guys are surrounding isn't Tang Manman, is it?

Several guys with colorful dyed hair, wearing tight black shirts, skinny jeans, and loafers were surrounding Tao Yaoyao. They wore malicious, lecherous grins on their faces and looked like absolute sleazebags.

Being pestered by them, Tao Yaoyao furrowed her brows. Unlike Tang Manman, nervousness and timidity occupied only a small part of her eyes; the majority of her expression was filled with sheer disgust for these people.

There was nothing else to be said. Lin Yu strode forward, slammed the drink down onto the table, and cursed at them with perfect enunciation:

"Beat it."

These guys were skinny and frail, with no real ferocity in their eyes. Calling them gangsters would be a compliment.

However, even people like this had their pride.

Being cursed at like that in front of a beautiful woman was too much. Even though Lin Yu looked like someone not to be trifled with, the guy closest to him plucked up the courage to retort:

"You better watch your mouth..."

"Watch your mother!"

Since he wouldn't listen to words, Lin Yu stepped up and delivered a slap across his face, knocking him straight to the ground.

Seeing as these guys didn't even qualify as real thugs, Lin Yu hadn't originally intended to get physical.

Seeing Lin Yu throw a punch, the others instinctively took a few steps back, ready to abandon ship and flee.

Before they could scurry away, Lin Yu stopped them, pointing at the man at his feet:

"Take this piece of trash with you."

The group came back in fear and trepidation, hoisted the man up, and carried him away.

Having dealt with this annoyance that didn't even qualify as trouble, Lin Yu sat back down opposite Tao Yaoyao. When he looked at her, he suddenly realized her gaze toward him had changed somewhat.

Gratitude?

Happiness?

Excitement?

Perhaps a mix of all three.

But for some reason, Lin Yu could detect a trace of sadness in her eyes.

Lowering his head to eat two pieces of roasted flatbread, Lin Yu thought about that familiar scene which just had a different leading lady. Associating the inexplicable similarity between Tao Yaoyao and Tang Manman, he couldn't curb his curiosity. He looked up and asked:

"Do you run into this kind of thing often?"

The question seemed to stump Tao Yaoyao. The corners of her mouth, usually curled upward, slowly flattened out, and the light in her eyes gradually dimmed.

After thinking for a good while, she finally raised her head, squeezed out a somewhat forced smile, and replied:

"Not anymore."