The Tender Threads of a Heart of Steel

Bai Hui noticed that Zhu Juntang wasn't really interested in the plush toys, but she was very interested in the process of playing the claw machine.

Bai Hui also noticed that Zhu Juntang especially liked to act cute in front of Liu Chang'an. Whenever Liu Chang'an grabbed a doll, Zhu Juntang would bleat once. Sometimes it was just a "Mie Mie" and sometimes it was three "baa Mie Mie baa" sounds.

After hearing it many times, Bai Hui finally realized that she was imitating a sheep's bleating. At first, she thought it was some word in the Southern Fujian! Liu Chang'an got two alpaca dolls for Zhu Juntang. Zhu Juntang held one in each hand and bleated at the two Mie Mie, as if she was talking to the dolls.

So childish and adorable! Zhu Juntang can act like a cute child without caring what others think! Bai Hui was a little envious. If she were that childish and cute, she would definitely be ridiculed by Liu Chang'an.

"Catch me a Bear Bear." Seeing that Liu Chang'an had caught two alpacas for Zhu Juntang, Bai Hui tugged at Liu Chang'an's clothes and whispered to the baby bear on the machine next to them.

"Bear Bear?"

"Hmm... Bear Bear... it's just Bear Bear!" Bai Hui mustered her courage, stamped her foot, and urged. The word "Bear Bear" was kind of cute, but Zhu Juntang had been imitating a sheep's bleat without saying anything. Was he going to mock her just because she had already used a cute word?

Liu Chang'an didn't intend to mock her. If fairies like Bai Hui and Zhu Juntang weren't allowed to act cute, it would be no different from not allowing them to wear fairy-like dresses—it would be worse than death.

But once she stepped off the stage, the corset at her back loosened its two holes, freeing her breasts. When she stomped her feet, they would shake, creating a striking contrast with her Bear Bear... The reason it was so tight was, of course, because dancing on stage inevitably involves jumping and bouncing, which makes too much noise, so it had to be tightened.

Liu Chang'an caught two Bear Bear for Bai Hui as well. Zhu Juntang wanted to trade one with Bai Hui, but Bai Hui refused because Zhu Juntang's alpaca looked silly, and Bai Hui was afraid that she would be unable to resist bleating like a sheep if she held it.

"These two bears are huge." Zhu Juntang's request was rejected, so he looked at Bai Hui with a malicious smile.

"You're so annoying!" Bai Hui scolded. Luckily, this was a public place, so Zhu Juntang couldn't pounce on the bear like they would in private.

Liu Chang'an continued his efforts and caught about thirty plush toys in total. Zhu Juntang was only interested in the plush toys of sheep, dogs, and cats. There weren't many of these three types to begin with, only about ten. Zhu Juntang called over the Bread Man and had them each carry one and follow behind her in a majestic manner.

The rest were given to Bai Hui. The bag was heavy and made Bai Hui beam with joy. She decided to put it next to her bed so that they could be lined up in a row!

After playing until the afternoon, Liu Chang'an and Zhu Juntang were about to leave. Bai Hui had also finished her autograph session and left the venue with Liu Chang'an.

Zhu Juntang invited them to go back together, but Liu Chang'an had to walk, so Bai Hui said it wasn't on her way and they could skip it.

Zhu Juntang still held the two alpacas in her hands. She glanced at Bai Hui, sighed softly, and waved goodbye.

"Mwah, the Little White Pig has fallen for that old geezer," said an alpaca.

"Hey, old man, do you like Little White Pig?" another alpaca asked.

"Mie Mie, the Little White Pig is cute, has big breasts, and is a fairy. Isn't she much more suitable as a girlfriend than Building Two?" an alpaca said.

"Mie Mie, yeah, yeah, that old geezer definitely wants to play with Little White Pig's Bear Bear," said another alpaca.

Zhu Juntang, holding the two alpacas, glanced back through the window and saw that Bai Hui exchanged a few words with Liu Chang'an before following behind him.

"The comic convention lasts for two days. If you're interested, you can come tomorrow too. There will be even prettier female guests there tomorrow," Bai Hui casually recommended to Liu Chang'an.

"Not interested." Liu Chang'an shook his head and walked forward with Bai Hui along Sanyi Avenue.

"So what brings you here today?" Bai Hui asked casually.

"What's wrong with supporting an old classmate?" Liu Chang'an glanced at the "old classmate," "You were secretly handing out tickets behind the poster the other day, pretending they were popular, but nobody wanted them, right? I'm just a soft-hearted person, and since I had nothing to do on the weekend, I came to support you... I even brought three people with me, no need to thank me."

"I... am I not popular?" Bai Hui blushed, not expecting that he had noticed her little trick of hiding behind the poster that day. But wasn't he just lying through his teeth? Didn't she know how popular she was today? During the autograph session, the line in front of her was the longest!

"It was alright. Last time I sneaked into a concert, I sat in the roof of the He Long Stadium to watch Jacky Cheung's solo concert. That's what you call popular." Liu Chang'an recalled, "The roof was of good quality. I could walk around on it without any problems. Later, I even saw a few fugitives being arrested by the police."

Bai Hui stared at Liu Chang'an incredulously. What was going on in this man's mind? Comparing her to Jacky Cheung?

"When did you become so popular that you no longer need my support?" Liu Chang'an felt that his support would have been insignificant at that point; otherwise, any level of popularity would have been quite ordinary.

"No, you have to come and support us anytime," Bai Hui protested unconsciously.

"Um?"

"No... I mean... I mean we're old classmates. Even if I become that famous, I'll still care about my old classmates. I'm not the kind of person who easily forgets old friendships." Bai Hui turned her head and covered half of her cheek as she explained.

"That's impossible. You're not good at singing, your dancing is so-so, and your talent for the entertainment industry is also average." Liu Chang'an didn't think he was putting Bai Hui down; he was helping her, helping her to face reality. It's important for people to know themselves.

"Then why are you comparing me to Jacky Cheung? How can we even be compared? Does he have to be popular to be considered popular? Honestly!" Bai Hui's eyes widened. Liu Chang'an was absolutely despicable!

"What's there to compare? Anyone can be compared to anyone else; it's just that we'll see who's better in terms of various abilities later on," Liu Chang'an said dismissively.

Bai Hui didn't argue with him about these things. Bai Hui wasn't up to the task, and besides, this guy genuinely believed he could be compared to any superstar, super-rich, or super-powerful person in the world. He neither overestimated others nor underestimated himself. Some people are born with this mindset, Bai Hui couldn't learn it.

But since he said that, Bai Hui remained silent for a while, but still couldn't help but ask, "Can anyone really be compared to anyone else?"

"Of course." Liu Chang'an wouldn't contradict himself.

"Oh." Bai Hui imitated Liu Chang'an's usual nodding manner, nodding very slowly and calmly for the first two times, and then nodding slightly harder for the last time, while turning her head, closing her eyes slightly and then opening them to look away, and then she didn't say anything.

Liu Chang'an looked at Bai Hui suspiciously. What did she mean?

"I just... I just want to... if An Nuan provokes me again, I'll tell her that in your eyes I'm comparable to her." Bai Hui glanced at Liu Chang'an and immediately added, "Why are you looking at me if you dare say that? I'll go tell her right now."

Liu Chang'an thought for a moment, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, "Clever."

"Don't worry, if she doesn't bother me, I won't bother her either. We're old classmates after all, and we have a pretty good relationship. We often chat until late and even make plans to go shopping and have dinner together." Bai Hui snorted. She wanted to maintain an ethereal aura and not be a bitch at all. She was just saying that to Liu Chang'an because he was always competing with her and never giving her any leeway.

Liu Chang'an knew that they often went shopping and had meals together, that was a fact, but it was only a fact that they "went out" together.

Liu Chang'an wanted to stroll around Moon Lake Park, and Bai Hui wanted to take Line 5. Since it was on the same route, Bai Hui followed behind him.

Just then, an electric scooter drove past from behind, and a bundle of steel bars tied to the back of the scooter lifted the plastic bag in Bai Hui's hand.

Bai Hui screamed as the plastic bag slipped from her hand and flew a distance with the electric scooter before landing in a nearby muddy puddle.

This is a pit dug for transplanting trees, filled with mud and water.

"My dolls!" Bai Hui hurriedly chased after them, only to find that the plastic bag had also torn, and the dolls inside had fallen one by one into the muddy puddle.

Bai Hui quickly lay down beside the pit and reached out to retrieve her dolls. However, almost all of the dolls were covered in mud and filth, no longer resembling their original cute appearance. She grabbed one, and it was wet in her hand. Bai Hui felt very wronged, as if she felt that no matter what, some things that look beautiful, even if they are the same on the surface, may encounter different fates because of their true differences. They can be stripped of their superficial beauty and become ugly at any time.

Bai Hui couldn't help but cry. She slipped and fell into a mud puddle. She paused for a moment, wiped away her tears, and silently fished the doll out of the mud.

Liu Chang'an stood to the side, looking at Bai Hui, who was covered in mud. Her favorite fairy-like dress was now covered in mud, and her white stockings had turned yellow. Not to mention the shoes that even Zhu Juntang had praised as a perfect match.

Why are you crying?

Bai Hui looked up at Liu Chang'an with teary eyes. How could she not cry? To him it was just a doll he picked up casually, but to her it was... a gift.

He could never give her a thoughtful gift like An Nuan's cheongsam, but Bai Hui also wanted to receive a gift... even if it didn't require much thought, it would still be a gift she liked.

"How many dolls do you want?" Liu Chang'an sighed.

Bai Hui, still clutching the wet doll in her hand, hadn't quite grasped the situation. All she wanted to do was take the dolls out, wash them, and dry them properly. He didn't seem inclined to offer any help.

"I'll take you home first, and after you change your clothes, I'll take you to play the claw machine. I'll get you as many as you want."

Bai Hui then stopped crying and started smiling. Although he was expressionless, although he seemed helpless and forced to do nothing about her, and although he was just pitying her, it was still a trace of tenderness that she had drawn out from her heart of steel.

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