The Arcade Showdown

Standing in front of the claw machine at the store entrance, waiting for the Larkspur to return from the counter, Xia Liang couldn't help but move closer to the glass display case in front of her, gazing at the blurry reflection of her own face.

For her, the arcade was a place that was both very familiar and quite unfamiliar.

As a former "delinquent girl" recognized in school, Xia Liang had actually been to the arcade in the Electronics Street many times under the influence of her "friends." In fact, besides occasionally "working" there, one of the places her "friends" liked to go most was the arcade.

As the crucial ATM within the small group, Xia Liang was brought here primarily for settling accounts.

They wouldn't ask Xia Liang's opinion, only informing her of the upcoming itinerary when necessary. Once Xia Liang had paid for them, they wouldn't care where they went, often playing and chatting on their own, seemingly unaware that someone was following them.

Xia Liang knew this was a deliberate act of neglect and rejection, but at the time she didn't mind.

After all, she didn't have any other friends. She was already satisfied that these girls accepted her and were willing to let her stay with them.

Even when she went to the arcade, her focus wasn't on the games, nor did she understand the fun in them. Most of the time, she just followed others, politely offering cheers and applause when appropriate.

Of course, claw machines were an exception. Back then, Xia Liang, who had been taken to the arcade by her friends, noticed the claw machine at the entrance of the store. It was placed in the most conspicuous position, but amidst the comings and goings of people, few were willing to stop in front of it.

The plush toys in the machine are quite cute, and it only costs two tokens to try your luck, but for some reason, this claw machine just can't attract customers.

At that time, Xia Liang felt that the claw machine was just like herself.

Now, after several months, returning to the arcade and seeing the same claw machine, unchanged and untouched, Xia Liang felt as if she had lived through another world. A few months isn't a long time, but those dark days felt like a dream.

Just as she was staring at the claw machine in front of her, she suddenly felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"Small..."

She subconsciously assumed the other person was Larkspur, so she put on a smile and looked in the direction of the person, but her expression froze when she saw who it was.

Because although the visitor was someone she knew, it wasn't the Larkspur she had expected, but rather one of her "friends."

"Hello, long time no see, Xiao Liang."

One of the girls, dressed in a flamboyant manner, spoke up, "Why are you here all alone again all of a sudden?"

Have you been lonely for too long?

Another blonde girl following behind her laughed, "I heard you've recently started acting like a good girl? Judging from your outfit, it seems like it is?"

"No way, are you serious? That's so cheesy, hahaha!"

When she brought up the topic, her "friends" burst into laughter, as if what she had just told was a really funny joke, completely disregarding the fact that Xia Liang herself was right in front of them.

Surrounded by laughter, Xia Liang looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces in front of her, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

This silence wasn't due to the other party's malicious mockery, but rather because she discovered that, faced with the girls' provocation, she felt no ripples in her heart.

If I had to pinpoint the strongest feeling, it would probably be "boredom."

From the day she chose to become a magical girl, she had already severed ties with these friends. Now, these girls are like strangers to her, and whether they appear in front of her or not is irrelevant.

She didn't care what the girls in front of her were saying, how they viewed her, or what they wanted to do, so she could only feel bored.

Rather than wasting time chatting with them, Xia Liang was more concerned about when Larkspur would return. After all, she had been at the counter for some time now.

After the girls finished laughing, they saw Xia Liang's absent-minded expression and immediately felt bored.

"We haven't even settled the score with you for deserting us last time!" the blonde delinquent girl said. "You actually dared to come looking for us. A-Qing should have told you, right? Don't come back after you leave."

The "A-Qing" she mentioned was the girl standing among them, the one who seemed to hold the highest status. At this moment, she was looking at Xia Liang with a somewhat arrogant expression, without saying a word.

Xia Liang glanced at the delinquent girl named "A-Qing," then at the others, and after a moment, smiled apologetically.

"Excuse me, I'm waiting for someone, could you please move aside?"

Her words immediately plunged the small group in front of her into an eerie silence.

"Huh?" After a short while, one of the delinquent girls finally understood what she meant. "You want us to move aside?"

What kind of attitude is this? Are you trying to get ahead of me?

The delinquent girls immediately erupted in anger, their words tinged with resentment.

"I never expected you to say something like that."

Reaching out to stop the delinquent girls behind her, signaling them to be quiet, the girl called "A-Qing" raised her eyebrows, seemingly surprised by Xia Liang's words, but quickly grinned and took two steps forward. "If you're not here to see us, then I'm rather curious, who are you here to see?"

"Did I really need to tell you?" Xia Liang tilted her head, seemingly a little embarrassed. "Li Yaqing, when did you become so clingy?"

These words made Li Yaqing, who was opposite her, pause for a moment, and then her lips curled up even higher. "Interesting, you're like a completely different person, you're much more interesting than before."

"But it doesn't matter. Now that you've reappeared before us, we have to settle old scores with you."

"You deserted your post last time, which caused us a lot of trouble. Shouldn't we talk about compensation? For example, as a former friend, could you help us cover our expenses here?"

After saying this, she wore a playful smile and waited for Xia Liang's reply.

Upon hearing this, Xia Liang slightly averted her gaze. "I don't think there's anything to talk about."

"This is..."

"What are you doing?"

Li Yaqing was about to say something more, but her words were interrupted by a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw a simply dressed but strikingly beautiful blue-haired little girl standing there.

"What's going on? Where did this brat come from?" The blonde delinquent girl next to him immediately tried to shoo him away. "Can't you see we're having a serious conversation? Go play somewhere else!"

"Don't rush."

Before she could actually walk up, Li Yaqing stopped her. "Judging from this, this child is probably the person Xiao Liang is waiting for?"

The delinquent girls immediately joined in the commotion:

"Xia Liang, when did you stoop so low as to play with elementary school kids?"

"She's your sister? No, you don't have a sister, and besides, you don't look alike at all."

"Could it be that someone has finally agreed to adopt you?"

"Don't you think this kid looks a bit like that short kid from Class 3? I remember Xia Liang has been playing really well with that short kid lately."

They chattered away, but this time, Xia Liang didn't respond at all. She just looked at Larkspur with a helpless expression, then gave her a pitiful wink.

Larkspur, carrying her basket, glanced at Xia Liang, then at the group of delinquent girls in front of her, and immediately understood what Xia Liang was planning.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Then, ignoring the chattering of the other delinquent girls around her, she looked directly at Li Yaqing standing in the middle and gestured with the box in her hand, asking, "You want this?"

"Do you have any objections?" Li Yaqing squinted at Larkspur.

"I can give it to you."

Larkspur moved her raised hand back slightly. "However, there are conditions."

"Pretending! Why should I negotiate with you?"

The blonde delinquent girl next to her was a bit irritable. Seeing that Li Yaqing, who was the leader, did not stop her, she reached out to grab the basket in Larkspur's hand, but when she stretched out her wrist, Larkspur firmly grabbed it.

The blonde woman tried to break free, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get Larkspur to let go. She exclaimed in surprise, "He's so strong... What's going on? This strange little brat!"

"Since this is an arcade, let's use arcade games as the basis for the competition."

Ignoring the other party's words, Larkspur grabbed the blonde girl's wrist and glanced at Li Yaqing and the group of delinquent girls. "If you win, you can have all the game coins I have; but if you lose, you need to apologize to Xia Liang for what you just did."

As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed that the expressions on the faces of several delinquent girls turned somewhat strange.

"Competing with A-Qing in games... Haha, are you serious? Hey, Xiao Liang, haven't you told your little sister that yet?"

"A-Qing, she actually said she wants to have a match with you!"

The two girls looked at Li Yaqing and laughed.

However, Li Yaqing, the actual person involved, maintained a somewhat arrogant expression throughout, shaking her head after hearing Larkspur's request and saying, "Not enough."

This answer made the Larkspur frown.

"... I don't know what your relationship is with Xiao Liang, so let's just assume you're her sister. Getting an apology from me won't be that easy."

Taking two steps forward, Li Yaqing looked down at Larkspur and said, "If you lose, I'll demand a lot more money."

The Larkspur looked at her calmly.

If she had previously harbored some intention to avoid conflict, she abandoned that plan after hearing what the other party said.

She had heard about these delinquent girls and their past from Xia Liang, and knew that they had tried to Xia Liang to do some "part-time jobs" that were not suitable for girls her age, so she didn't have a good impression of them to begin with.

Now, seeing the frivolous attitude displayed by these delinquent girls, he naturally wouldn't tolerate it any longer.

As for the other party's demand for money, that was secondary. Putting aside the question of whether she had the money or not, she didn't think she would lose at all.

"No problem."

So she readily agreed to the other party's request, calmly saying, "You choose, what should we compare?"

"Let me choose? Then let's play the dance machine."

Li Yaqing slightly raised the corners of her mouth. "Challenge me, and I'll make you regret it."

With the stakes and the game settled, the competition naturally began. The two stepped onto the same dance machine and each inserted a coin.

In the arcade, the dance machine matches are always eye-catching, especially since one of the competitors this time was a little girl with striking blue hair, which immediately attracted the attention of many players around. Even without anyone deliberately organizing it, a crowd of onlookers quickly gathered around.

Li Yaqing skillfully navigated the menu, first setting her requirements, then gesturing to Larkspur, "2p." When Larkspur tried to operate it, seeing that she wasn't even familiar with the normal user interface, a hint of mockery appeared on her face.

So when it came to choosing a song, she confidently selected the most difficult one, marked as "Level 13".

The moment this song was chosen, the surrounding ordinary onlookers gasped in surprise.

"This song, so far, the number of players in the store who can achieve a full combo, including A-Qing, can be counted on two hands."

A blonde delinquent girl in the crowd looked at Xia Liang with a hint of mockery. "Just you wait, that brat's in for trouble."

"... Really?" Xia Liang looked at the dance machine in the center of the crowd with interest, a smile on her face, showing no sign of nervousness.

"Didn't you hear me? What are you pretending for?"

Xia Liang's nonchalant attitude annoyed the blonde woman. "Your fake smile is as infuriating as ever. I hope you'll be just as decisive when it comes to paying later."

This question also went unanswered. Xia Liang merely glanced at her without saying anything more. Or rather, she felt there was no need to say anything.

In fact, at that moment, the Larkspur on the dance machine was thinking the same thing as her.

I don't want to argue with these unruly and rebellious kids.

If the other party hadn't gone too far and completely disregarded Xia Liang's past good intentions, she would never have done something like this, showing her face in public.

Whether she tries to deal with these delinquent girls from an adult's perspective or from the perspective of a magical girl, it's actually a very low-class and boring thing to do. If she were to be honest, she would rather just ignore them and walk away.

However, if you don't show them your strength, these unruly groups will keep bothering you like annoying flies. People like Xia Liang, who were once deeply involved with them, are even more likely to become their targets.

If you encounter a problem and have the ability to handle it, then solve it. That's Larkspur's current thinking.

Thus, the competition began.

From the very beginning of the song, the rebellious girl Li Yaqing displayed an extremely high level of proficiency. She barely even glanced at the dance choreography on the screen before her feet started moving.

This is also why she chose to use this song for the competition. As the most difficult song on the dance machine, it's impossible for a normal person to complete it on their first attempt.

The dance score displayed on the dance machine at this moment would be so overwhelming for an average person that they wouldn't even be able to clearly see the score on the screen.

In other words, to dance this piece well, the first thing to do is to memorize almost all the difficult parts of the score, and then rely on your memory as the main framework and the prompts on the screen to complete the piece.

In Li Yaqing's eyes, the little girl next to her was a complete novice who didn't know her own limitations. Trying to play this piece rashly would only result in a series of mistakes. And if she could easily beat this little girl, all her expenses for the day would be waived, so she couldn't help but smile.

However, as the music continued, Li Yaqing, who had been staring at the screen, finally sensed that something was wrong.

Because even after a third of the song had passed, and many parts that were generally considered difficult, she hadn't seen any prompts other than "perfect" appear on the other person's half-screen.

With this question in mind, she glanced to the side and was shocked to find that the little girl was staring intently at the screen, her feet moving nimbly and swiftly on the dance board like the most precise instruments.

The girl's ankle boots struck the table with a crisp, continuous sound, as rhythmic as the sound of galloping hooves. In addition, her hand movements were equally precise.

If there's anything wrong with her movements, it's that they lack any aesthetic appeal—they're simply mechanical and efficient ways of completing the score.

However, if this was truly her first time dancing this piece, even achieving this level of skill is already astonishing.

Of course, this is perfectly normal for Larkspur.

Using a magical girl's reflexes and coordination to play this kind of game is undoubtedly using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, or a cannon to kill a mosquito. It would be surprising if there were any dance moves that she couldn't react to.

As the music progressed into the second half, the difficulty increased further. When Li Yaqing could no longer guarantee the entire ensemble's performance, the Larkspur she saw remained calm and its movements were methodical.

She finally realized that she was probably going to lose.

She knew that she still had an unstable part in the climax, and she hadn't warmed up yet, so she wasn't at her peak. If she were to jump to that point, there was a high chance she wouldn't be able to complete the full combo.

I might not be able to finish the piece successfully, but the little girl beside me will be seeing the whole company for the first time?

The thought of this made Li Yaqing feel somewhat unable to accept it.

As the piece reached its climax, she repeatedly tried to abandon her goal of completing it, stretching out her foot to interfere with the Larkspur's movements.

This plan was undoubtedly tempting enough. After all, in her view, the little girl next to her was completely absorbed and had no defenses against her.

So, as long as I am as I am now—

--"come on!"

Suddenly, some familiar cheers rang in Li Yaqing's ears.

The cheers interrupted her train of thought, and for a moment she felt as if she had returned to the past, to the days when Xia Liang was still following behind her.

Is it Xia Liang again? This complete loner is giving himself another insincere pep talk?

She initially thought that was the case, but then realized that wasn't the case; Xia Liang was actually cheering on the little girl next to her.

She and I are no longer "friends".

Rather, the two were never really friends.

Li Yaqing dislikes Xia Liang, which is no secret within the girls' circle.

What exactly is the source of this dislike?

Was it because Xia Liang was prettier than her, stealing the spotlight that originally belonged to her? Or was it because Xia Liang always seemed to face everything with a smile, making her own irritable personality seem particularly ugly in comparison? Or perhaps, had Xia Liang somehow provoked her?

That doesn't seem to be the case.

She could still recall the afternoon she met Xia Liang. After school, she encountered the girl lingering alone in the school courtyard. Her serene and pure smile, and her lovely and lively appearance, were so striking, as if she were a princess who shouldn't be there.

She had already met Xia Liang back then, and she knew that this was the "child of the murderer" that everyone was talking about.

So what if he's the child of a murderer? Doesn't that sound cool? It's certainly more serious than his father's crime, and not as shameful, is it?

However, compared to Xia Liang, she was undoubtedly lucky. With her elders in the family all being criminals, her shameful deeds did not become the laughing stock of the entire grade.

She didn't know if it was out of this mindset, and she couldn't quite put her finger on whether to call this feeling "empathy" or "sympathy," but by the time she noticed, she had already walked up to the girl sitting alone in the courtyard and struck up a conversation with her.

What was I thinking back then? Why did I want to talk to Xia Liang? It seems there was no other purpose; it was simply that at the time, I wanted... to be friends with Xia Liang?

When this thought popped into her head, even she felt so disgusted she wanted to laugh.

She led Xia Liang of the courtyard, introduced her to her other friends, taught her Xia Liang makeup, took Xia Liang to places she liked, told her about everything she Xia Liang, and showed her her true self, including what she was doing and what she was Xia Liang to.

However, she still hasn't forgotten Xia Liang's expression after she told him all this.

Was it a subconscious sense of dislike?

"Maybe we shouldn't do this anymore, Ya-ching."

At that moment, Xia Liang seemed to be suppressing nausea as she forcefully pushed her hand away. "I don't want you to be like this. Don't continue doing that kind of thing."

At that moment, Li Yaqing stared blankly at her hand that had been pushed away, and finally understood that Xia Liang was different from all of them.

She was like the swan among the ugly ducklings, not only because she was more beautiful, but also because her temperament and character were different from those of someone like me, a "defective product".

She deserves to be loved; she's just as pitiful as she is now because she hasn't met the right person.

I don't deserve to be loved. My current situation is entirely my own fault. I'm a worthless failure.

Li Yaqing dislikes the Xia Liang.

Xia Liang's existence seemed to be telling her that she could have avoided becoming like this.

However, I have already embarked on this path, and there is no turning back. I can no longer be as pure as Xia Liang.

Once this thought crossed her mind, she felt as if her thoughts were being swallowed up by endless filth. Dark and ugly thoughts destroyed all her reason like a flood, turning all her feelings for Xia Liang into the most vicious jealousy.

Why remind yourself of that possibility when you've already given up?

Even though you really like each other and could be good friends, you can't get any closer because the other person's existence is torture for you.

She desperately wanted to openly plead with him to set aside their prejudices, to be bad kids together, to sink into this quagmire together. Otherwise, what right did she, who had already gone astray, have to walk alongside him?

With this in mind, Li Yaqing kept persuading Xia Liang to become the bad kid everyone knew.

However, Xia Liang refused to agree no matter what.

She began to isolate Xia Liang, she began to verbally abuse Xia Liang, and she began to bully Xia Liang.

No matter how he treated Xia Liang, she still wore a smile, remained obedient to him, and even contributed her meager savings to cover the expenses of their small group activities.

Li Yaqing felt as if her heart had been torn apart: she hated Xia Liang, she liked Xia Liang, she wanted to get closer to Xia Liang, and she also wanted to push Xia Liang away.

She really wanted to ask him: How much more ashamed and humiliated do you want me to feel before you're satisfied?

She wanted the other person to leave, but whenever she saw their smile, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Until one day, Xia Liang seemed to have agreed to her request to travel with him, but just as the ugly joy in her heart was beginning to blossom, she lightly said to herself:

"Something's come up, so I might have to leave early today. Have fun!"

At that moment, although she didn't know why, Li Yaqing had a feeling that her "friendship" with her had come to an end.

Like a kite with a broken string or a Hummer without reins, although the other party hasn't left yet, they are only superficially united.

"Xiao Liang."

With mixed feelings, Li Yaqing said to Xia Liang, "If you leave today, don't come near me again."

Xia Liang's answer was simple.

She said "okay".

Li Yaqing never saw Xia Liang again after that.

No one will cheer me on while I dance anymore, no one will patiently advise me to stop, and no one will always be there with a smile, waiting to comfort me.

It's all over.

This was the day she had been waiting for, but when it finally arrived, it only left her feeling utterly bored.

Everyone is insignificant in the world, but everyone has different weight to each other. After Xia Liang left, Li Yaqing's life didn't change, but it also seemed like everything had changed.

Xia Liang had completely forgotten her, but she was still secretly keeping an eye on Xia Liang.

She heard that Xia Liang seemed to have made new friends, including Lin Xiaolu, the short girl from Class 3 who was supposedly the class darling; she heard that Xia Liang seemed to have a proper part-time job and had become quite wealthy; she heard that Xia Liang had started to be a good girl, stopped wearing makeup, and her grades had improved significantly.

There are very few traces of the time Xia Liang spent with herself left.

That's probably why I was so excited when I saw Xia Liang again in the arcade.

She couldn't help but laugh at herself, realizing that she had actually thought Xia Liang had come here to find her.

The moment she heard Xia Liang cheering her on, she understood completely that it was all over.

The noisy crowd and the clamor around her seemed to exist in a completely different world, having no bearing on her whatsoever.

Looking at the flashing prompts on the dance machine screen and the impending high-difficulty storm, she finally let out a long sigh of relief and then withdrew her foot.

Not for any particular reason, but simply because she suddenly felt a little bored.

Since things have come to this point, at least retain some dignity and don't tarnish the last things you cherish.

"You've already left."

She murmured to herself, turning her head to look at the blue-haired girl beside her. "It seems, there really is no need to come back."

The voices were drowned out by the loud music in the arcade, becoming mere murmurs that no one could hear.

As the singing faded and the footsteps slowed, the two people on the dance machine stopped their movements, finally ending the competition.

Li Yaqing's score is SS, only one mistake away from a perfect score; Larkspur's score is SSS, all perfect, a well-deserved perfect score.

The audience erupted in cheers and thunderous applause, while the surrounding players shouted "One more round!" as if what they had just experienced was not a competition, but a delightful performance.

Xia Liang also stood in the crowd, clapping softly.

She had stood in this spot countless times before, simply clapping and cheering for Li Yaqing as a supportive audience member; but now, Li Yaqing is still standing on the dance step board, but the one receiving her applause is not this "old friend," but the figure next to her.

In this match, Larkspur ultimately won, and also broke the arcade's highest record.

The surrounding crowd was still cheering, but the delinquent girls were not happy at all. Li Yaqing had been silent since she got off the dance machine, so the blonde delinquent girl proposed the next challenge to Larkspur.

The result is equally obvious.

The result left the delinquent girls utterly devastated; no matter what game they chose, they couldn't beat Larkspur. It wasn't until everyone had tried their turn that they were shocked to discover they hadn't won a single game.

Larkspur remained silent until all the delinquent girls admitted defeat wholeheartedly, then slowly walked up to Li Yaqing.

"... What?" Li Yaqing was puzzled by her behavior. She looked up and saw Larkspur pointing to a corner of the arcade.

Lost in thought, she didn't ponder the meaning of this; instead, filled with doubt, she followed Larkspur to a corner of the arcade.

Snap!

As soon as she stood still, she was slapped across the face.

Snap!

Before she could react, another slap came from the other side.

The intense pain and dizziness made Li Yaqing feel like her head was buzzing. She could only instinctively cover her face, and for a moment she didn't even know what was happening.

"The first blow was because of your provocation today, and the second blow was because of the harm you caused that child in the past."

Larkspur spoke calmly, looking at her earnestly. "Xia Liang told me about what you did. She may not care, she may forgive, but that's not a reason for you to feel at ease."

"I am not your parent or elder, and I have no right or obligation to discipline you, but I want to help that child, so I have to give you appropriate punishment."

Covering her face, Li Yaqing looked ahead in a daze, only to see Larkspur take out a notebook from her bosom, open it, and place it in front of her.

When she opened the notebook, she saw a rather conspicuous stamp under the portrait on the first page.

That's the seal of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

This is the identity certificate that the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau commissioned by the Larkspur to make for this identity. Although it does not have any real position, the seal below it is genuine.

Even if Li Yaqing is completely ignorant, she can still recognize this symbol, because in a sense, this symbol represents the government.

"You are..." She finally realized the seriousness of the situation and stammered.

"Who I am is not important, but what I want to see next is the sincerity of your apology."

Larkspur put away her notebook and stared into Li Yaqing's eyes. "I can pretend I didn't see you today, but I can also pass on some information to the police through the Bureau of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. You don't want to be approached by the juvenile counselor tomorrow, do you?"

Li Yaqing covered her face and nodded blankly.

"Then apologize to her properly."

The Larkspur left those words behind and walked away without looking back.

When Li Yaqing returned with a slightly swollen face, and after gradually regaining her senses amidst the other girls' concern and concern, she looked at the still-complaining delinquent girls, lowered her eyes, and softly said:

"Stop talking, just apologize."

At this point, any further attempts to argue are pointless.

After everything settled down, at the entrance of the arcade, next to the claw machine, where the two sides had first met, several delinquent girls lowered their heads dejectedly.

"Sorry."

I'm sorry!

"Sorry..."

The apologies from the delinquent girls echoed throughout the room.

Although they still looked unwilling, they had no choice but to agree. Li Yaqing took the initiative to ask them to apologize together. Under pressure from their leader, they finally obeyed.

The last person to apologize was Li Yaqing herself.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Liang."

Her apology may have been influenced by pressure from Larkspur, but it also contained genuine emotion. "I, in the end, betrayed my promise."

"I said I would be your friend, but because of my jealousy, I chose to hurt you and corrupt you. I know that no matter the reason, it was wrong."

"Perhaps I shouldn't have struck up a conversation with you in the first place. I wanted to be the savior, but in the end, I became the one who hurt you the most."

I'm so sorry.

After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look at the Larkspur, only to see that it was just staring at her expressionlessly, showing no sign of affirmation. She had no choice but to lower her head again.

"I'll find a way to return the money you gave me. If you resent me, you can curse me however you want. If you need to... then hit me. Just vent your anger however you like. I was wrong!"

"So, even though it might sound disgusting, and I don't have the right to say it, I wish you all the best and hope you find what you're looking for!"

"What did you say to them, senior?" Hearing Li Yaqing's words, Xia Liang turned her head and looked at Larkspur with some doubt.

Larkspur shook his head expressionlessly. "Nothing."

"Well, I don't think I have anything to say."

After a moment's thought, Xia Liang lightly tapped her foot. "Now that it's over, let's go."

"Don't you need revenge?" Larkspur asked.

"Revenge? There's no such thing as revenge."

Xia Liang said nonchalantly, "Anyway, from the moment I deleted them from my phone's contact list, they were just a bunch of strangers to me."

She looked at Li Yaqing and smiled calmly, "So you don't need to apologize to me. Who you are? What you're thinking? That's your business, I don't care at all."

After saying this, she gently tugged at the Larkspur's sleeve and turned to leave.

Larkspur already understood Xia Liang's meaning, so she didn't say anything more. She simply picked up the basket of game coins in her other hand and placed the remaining game coins in front of Li Yaqing.

"This is..." Li Yaqing lowered her gaze, somewhat puzzled.

"Encouragement is also a reward."

"Ha?"

"The apology was passable; at least you explained where you went wrong. So, these game coins are a reward for you refraining from making any underhanded moves at the end of the competition."

Pushing the basket forward, Larkspur withdrew her hand, put one hand on her hip, and scrutinized the other. "Back then, you were almost ready to stop me, but you didn't actually do it, right?"

Her words made Li Yaqing pause.

"Does this kind of thing even deserve a reward?"

After a long pause, she gave a self-deprecating laugh, "You... you really have low expectations of me."

"So, this is a reward, a reward for your ability to compete fairly and face defeat squarely."

Slightly softening her tone, Larkspur said to her earnestly, "If possible, no matter how you've lived your life before, I hope you remember this choice you made, and remember this courage to face failure."

"You may have made many mistakes and missed many opportunities, but it's not too late to start many things now."

"You are all still children, with a long road ahead in life and countless opportunities to 'start over.' Remember this courage; perhaps it can be the Qidian of your new life."

"If I see you again in the future, I hope to see a reformed girl, not a delinquent who continues to wallow in depravity. Otherwise, I might have to meddle in your affairs."

After saying that, she turned around and followed Xia Liang towards the crowd.

Li Yaqing was left standing there, holding a basket of game coins, staring blankly in the direction the two had disappeared.

Only after Larkspur and Xia Liang had disappeared into the crowd did she slowly sit down on the ground, looking at the basket in her hand with a complicated expression.

"Is it really too late to tell me all this now?"

The initial version of this chapter was 6,000 words. Due to its poor expression, it has been revised and supplemented to reach 10,000 words. This may cause errors in the placement of chapter notes. Please understand.