"What are you doing?"
A voice cut in between them. Li Xian and Lin Shiming both turned to find that Cheng Xin had appeared without either of them noticing.
His manner was as casual as ever, though as he spoke, he looked pointedly at Lin Shiming before averting his gaze.
"You're out? Good, then I'll be going."
With that, Cheng Xin took the piggy bank out of his backpack, shoved it into Lin Shiming's hands, and headed toward a nearby Instance entrance without looking back.
There was something sulky about his behavior, but Li Xian couldn't tell whether Lin Shiming had picked up on the unspoken message. He stood there without reacting, simply watching Cheng Xin walk farther and farther away.
After spending an Instance together, Li Xian had grown a little bolder around Lin Shiming. Seeing this, he quietly reached out and patted him on the back.
"Didn't you have something to say?"
Lin Shiming's face remained unreadable, but after a brief pause, he spoke two words to Cheng Xin's retreating back.
"I'm sorry."
By then, Cheng Xin already had one foot through the Instance entrance. At those words, he immediately stopped and stood still for a long moment.
Just as Li Xian thought he was about to respond, Cheng Xin turned around and said something none of them had expected in a grave voice.
"The Instance entrance... I can't get in."
?!
Not far away, Lin Shiming's expression turned serious at once. He quickly walked over to Cheng Xin, shoved the piggy bank back into his hands, and strode straight toward the entrance-
"Hey!"
Cheng Xin had no idea what was going on either, but Lin Shiming had only just cleared an Instance. What if this was just a temporary error...?
At that thought, he hurriedly reached out,