Sakatoku Aki took the controller from Ye Sheng, who was dejected, and gently patted Ye Sheng's head: "It's okay, being weak is also cute."
After saying that, she couldn't help but laugh first.
"Ahhh!" Ye Sheng scratched his head, snatched the bowl from Cheng Sui's hand, and devoured all the lychees.
"You...!" Cheng Sui felt his hand lighten, and when he looked into the bowl again, it was empty.
Sakatoku Aki sent the message according to Cheng Sui's idea.
Japan, Tokyo, inside Genji Heavy Industries.
Today, Minamoto no Chisei had originally arranged to play games with Eriyi, but suddenly had something to do and left. He helped Eriyi connect to the server, letting her match opponents online by herself.
Eriyi looked at the message in the chat bar, her clear but expressionless eyes staring intently at the screen, anticipating a reply.
Although the other party had never replied to her messages, Eriyi still held onto hope, even though most of Eriyi's hopes seemed to end in disappointment.
Naruto: My senior was just playing, he's not very good. You're very skilled. (Japanese, same below)
Eriyi's pupils sparkled with surprise. She subconsciously grabbed the rilakkuma next to her and buried her chin into its soft head, as if only this could contain the almost overflowing joy.
But then Eriyi seemed to think of something and quickly replied to Cheng Sui's message, afraid that if she was even a second slower, the other party would disappear.
Eriyis Duck: Do you speak Japanese? What country are you from? What is a 'senior'?
Eriyi typed out everything she wanted to ask in one go.
Naruto: I'm Chinese, but I'm studying abroad in Chicago, USA. A senior is... a male student in school who is in a higher grade than you.
Eriyi's eyes flashed with longing when she saw "school."
Eriyis Duck: What is school like?
For the next few minutes, Cheng Sui's messages popped up one after another, and Eriyi's eyes never left the screen.
Cheng Sui recounted interesting things that happened in class, delicious ice cream in the cafeteria, stray cats encountered on the street, and Caesar's grand party, as well as Cassell College's sailing competition, and the clear laughter of boys and girls.
Naruto: But my campus life is quite boring. When you go to elementary school later, it will definitely be more exciting than mine.
Cheng Sui had completely taken Eriyi for a child who hadn't started school yet, so he tried his best to describe campus life beautifully, so that this child wouldn't be too resistant to enrolling later.
But what Cheng Sui didn't know was that the boring campus life he described was something this girl yearned for.
Eriyi tilted her head in confusion, not understanding why Naruto wanted her to go to elementary school. Wasn't that a place for little kids? In manga, girls like her went to high school.
But she didn't explain, repeatedly browsing the messages Cheng Sui had sent.
Every trivial little thing here, through Cheng Sui's description, was coated with a brilliance Eriyi had never seen before.
Eriyi's fingers unconsciously curled up, gently pinching the rilakkuma's ear. In those eyes that always lacked expression, clear curiosity and longing quietly emerged.
Eriyi didn't speak, just leaned closer to the screen with more concentration, as if just a little closer would bring her nearer to the vibrant world Cheng Sui described.
Eriyis Duck: Can you still chat with me after this?
Naruto: Probably not. I don't speak Japanese. Today, a Japanese senior happened to be here.
Eriyi's eyes drooped in disappointment, but she immediately cheered up again.
An idea quietly emerged in Eriyi's mind.
"Eriyi, game time is about to end."
Hearing Minamoto no Chisei's voice, Eriyi quickly typed and sent a message.
Eriyis Duck: My brother is coming back, bye-bye.
Minamoto no Chisei opened the sliding door to Eriyi's room, rubbing his temples tiredly. Faint traces of undried blood could still be seen on his trench coat.
Minamoto no Chisei walked to the game console and bent down to unplug the network cable, but this time Eriyi didn't show her usual expression of resistance. Instead, she sat obediently beside him, with unconcealable joy in her eyes.
Minamoto no Chisei was somewhat suspicious. Although very tired, he still tried to keep his tone gentle: "Why are you so happy today? Did you make a new friend?"
Eriyi shook her head and held up the small notebook in her hand: "Eriyi wants to learn Chinese."
Minamoto no Chisei was surprised, then after a slight pause, he said: "Okay, tomorrow I'll have Sakura buy you a textbook."
Eriyi nodded happily, a joyous expression on her face that Minamoto no Chisei had never seen before.
Minamoto no Chisei and Yabuki Sakura left Eriyi's room, and along the way, the heavy iron doors closed one by one, once again sealing Eriyi into that isolated world.
"Miss seems very unusual today. Should we investigate?" Yabuki Sakura said from behind Minamoto no Chisei.
Minamoto no Chisei stood on the balcony, lighting a mild seven to slightly relieve his fatigue.
"No need. We've confirmed that Eriyi's friend's IP is in the United States and has nothing to do with the Fierce Ghost Clan. Don't girls this age have their own secrets? Just like you in your youth must have had secrets you didn't want others to know."
Sakura looked at Minamoto no Chisei's back, her cheeks slightly flushed, then she lowered her eyes somewhat dejectedly.
Minamoto no Chisei looked down at Tokyo at night and slowly said: "I used to think Eriyi would always be like a child, that her growth trajectory might be completely out of sync with normal people. But today she has her own secrets, just like other girls her age. This is good."
Minamoto no Chisei's words, whether spoken to Sakura or himself, grew softer and softer, finally dissipating under the night sky.
Eriyi confirmed that Minamoto no Chisei had gone far away, then rummaged through a box and pulled out a Ryu figurine. After some thought, she used a marker to write a small label and stuck it on the figurine.
The content of the label was: Naruto
"Hahahaha, Senior Brother Ye Sheng, you actually lost to a Japanese preschooler."
Nono lay on the bed, pointing at Ye Sheng and laughing heartily.
"She's a very innocent and cute child, and she even said she wants to learn Chinese," Sakatoku Aki said with a light chuckle. Her smile was very sweet, a kind of smile that a sharp girl like Nono couldn't emulate.
Cheng Sui didn't speak. For some reason, he felt that this child was very lonely.
He seemed to see a child in an empty room, with only the stranger in the game to talk to.
Just as Ye Sheng was about to say something, the phone rang.
It was Professor Mans's call.
"Hello, Professor Mans?" Ye Sheng gestured for everyone to be quiet.
Nono suppressed her laughter and remained silent, but the tears in the corners of her eyes showed how hard she was trying.
"Mm, okay."
A moment later, Ye Sheng hung up the phone and leaned back into the sofa.
"What did the professor say?"
Ye Sheng waved his hand weakly: "Professor Mans said he'll be back tomorrow. Our short vacation is over."