Standing before the claw machine at the entrance, waiting for Larkspur to return from the counter, Xia Liang unconsciously leaned closer to the glass case and looked at the blurred reflection of her face within it.
To her, an arcade was a place that felt both very familiar and rather unfamiliar.
As someone once widely known at school as a "delinquent girl," Xia Liang had visited the arcades on Electronics Street many times under the influence of those "friends" of hers. Or rather, aside from the occasional "part-time job," the arcade was one of her friends' favorite places to go.
And as the group's indispensable cash machine, Xia Liang had mainly been brought there to pay the bill.
They never asked Xia Liang what she wanted. They simply informed her of their next destination whenever necessary. Once Xia Liang had paid for them, they no longer cared where she went. Usually, they would play and chat among themselves, as though they had not noticed that someone was following behind them.
Xia Liang knew it was deliberate neglect and exclusion, but back then, she did not mind it.
After all, she had no other friends. The fact that these girls accepted her and were willing to let her stay by their side was already enough for her.
Even when she came to the arcade, she did not focus on the games inside. She could not understand where the fun in them lay, either. Most of the time, she simply followed beside the others, politely cheering and applauding at the appropriate moments.
Of course, the claw machine was an exception. Even back then, when her friends first brought Xia Liang to the arcade, she noticed the claw machine by the entrance. It stood in the most conspicuous spot, yet amid the stream