Lend Me Your Shoulder - Chapter 15
Chapter 15
In the noisy, heavy-metal background of the arcade, Lu Yanbai still carried an aloofness that clashed with the surroundings. The neon lights flickered on his cheeks, resembling floating duckweed on a clear blue lake.
But with just a slight brush, those things that didn’t belong to him still didn’t belong to him, and he remained clear and untainted.
It really was a bit like what Xiang Wei said — a banished immortal stepping out of an ancient painting.
The next second, the “banished immortal” parted his thin lips and asked her, “What are you doing here? Don’t you have classes this afternoon?”
Xu Yeyu: “…………”
She licked her lips, “It’s not like I have classes every day. Occasionally when I don’t, I come out to relax a bit.”
He nodded faintly, cold and clear, “No need to write?”
Truly worthy of Professor Lu — two simple questions, and she choked twice.
Xu Yeyu: “I-I do need to write. I came here to prepare for writing; there’s a plot point I can’t handle well, so I had to come check it out.”
She then asked, “And you? What are you doing here?”
Xiang Wei sat beside her, but her face was hidden behind the huge machines, so Lu Yanbai didn’t see her.
At this moment, Xiang Wei whispered to Xu Yeyu, “He wouldn’t just say ‘something to do,’ would he?”
Xu Yeyu secretly stepped on her foot, “Don’t talk nonsense. The professor isn’t that kind of person.”
Was this kind of near-nonsense answer something Professor Lu would say?
The next second, Lu Yanbai responded calmly, “I do have something to do.”
Xu Yeyu: “……”
Xiang Wei covered her mouth, laughing.
Xu Yeyu pinched Xiang Wei, then persistently asked him, “What exactly is it that you have to do?”
Lu Yanbai paused, thinking he couldn’t set an example of idleness for his students who only played around, then said, “My family wants a bookshelf from the prize pool, so I’m helping them win the lottery.”
“Oh,” Xu Yeyu pressed on, “Family? Is it your sister?”
It was unlikely that older siblings would want such a thing; it should be a younger sister, probably still quite young.
Lu Yanbai didn’t say anything, which counted as tacit agreement.
Xu Yeyu glanced to the side and found a small boy nearby.
The boy leaned against a chair, remarkably still in such a noisy environment, snoring with drool trickling down.
…
“This is your…?”
Professor Lu’s family genes aren’t like this, right?
As expected, Lu Yanbai shook his head during a break in setting a record, glancing sideways: “No, she went to buy something.”
Just now, after wandering around a bit, he settled down here, and Lu Wanyi went to play elsewhere. Playing, she got thirsty and said she wanted to go buy Yakult.
He replied, “Yakult makes you thirstier the more you drink,” to which the little girl retorted with a “hmph” but still went off happily.
Since that incident, Lu Wanyi has become addicted to Yakult.
He always worries that there isn’t enough Yakult, carrying a pack wherever he goes to feel at ease.
Maybe some trauma was conditioned.
Xu Yeyu said “Ah” softly, thinking to herself: no wonder he takes extra care of others compared to ordinary people—he has someone to look after beneath him.
She stood up, and Lu Yanbai had already started a new round.
In an arcade, if someone’s skills are even a little good, people gather to watch. Everyone loves entertainment, which is why there’s always a crowd around the dance machine.
So, Lu Yanbai hadn’t been seated long before a large group of onlookers gathered.
Most were young girls, initially just browsing, but then surprised to see how handsome the guy sitting here was.
Xu Yeyu’s sharp eyes caught a pink-haired girl waving to her friend, “Come look! This guy’s way hotter than the one at the dance machine!”
Xu Yeyu snorted coldly.
Xiang Wei: ?
The pink-haired friend hurried over from the dance machine side.
Whispers buzzed among the crowd:
“His hands are so beautiful—long and slender.”
“His face too, carved so perfectly, so handsome and three-dimensional.”
The next stage’s music started, but Lu Yanbai remained unaffected, fingers still pressing the keys.
Thinking further, Xu Yeyu added, “His hand speed isn’t bad either.”
Xiang Wei glanced at her suspiciously, “…Why are you blushing, Xu Yeyu?”
Xu Yeyu: “I’m not.”
“Not? Look at yourself in the mirror!”
Xu Yeyu took out a mirror, glanced, then closed it after a while.
Xiang Wei: “See?”
“See what?” Xu Yeyu asked.
Xiang Wei rolled her eyes, “How red your face is! What else were you staring at so long just now?”
Xu Yeyu smiled sheepishly, “When I first looked in the mirror, I was stunned by my own beauty, so I just admired myself—sorry.”
Xiang Wei: ??
Xu Yeyu pretended to take the mirror again, “Want to admire yourself too?”
“No thanks, I can’t handle it, I’d probably throw up my lunch.”
“…”
Within those minutes, even more people gathered around Lu Yanbai, their eyes overflowing with admiration, almost all starry-eyed looking at his face and hands.
Xu Yeyu felt a little annoyed.
That inexplicable rising possessiveness spread, like a precious treasure suddenly unveiled to the world, drawing all kinds of gazes.
She didn’t want others to look at him that long.
Only she could look at him openly like that in the office.
And, how dare they covet his hands?
Before she realized it, her body was already moving her out from behind the arcade machine.
Lu Yanbai spared her a glance.
Xu Yeyu scanned the crowd behind him, then, facing their somewhat envious gazes, spoke to Lu Yanbai—
“Does your hand hurt?”
Lu Yanbai frowned, “…What?”
Xu Yeyu leaned in a little, blinking, “After playing so long, do your hands hurt? Want to wear gloves?”
“…”
Failing to entice, Xu Yeyu chose to “coerce”: “You can’t sit too long; it’s easy to get cervical spondylosis and lumbar disc herniation.”
Lu Yanbai: ?
“You should play something else,” Xu Yeyu’s voice lowered, “A man’s waist is important…”
“………………”
She added quietly, “Really, if you don’t think about yourself, think about your future…”
“Enough,” Lu Yanbai, irritated by her pestering and coinciding with the end of the round, stood up, “Not playing anymore.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up, “Good. Protect your waist, protect a man’s dignity.”
Xiang Wei also stepped out from behind the machine, face dark, afraid Xu Yeyu would say something outrageous if she didn’t stop her, “…Enough.”
Lu Yanbai left the black and white keyboard. Seeing him go, the crowd reluctantly dispersed.
Xu Yeyu enthusiastically pulled Xiang Wei to play claw machines.
While playing claw machines, Xiang Wei leaned on the table, “So, Xu Yeyu, what nonsense did you tell Professor Lu just now?”
“I didn’t,” Xu Yeyu complained, “I told the truth. Isn’t the waist important? We need it for walking and stuff. If your waist is bad, you can’t sleep well. You guys read too much into it and blame me—I’m so wronged.”
Xiang Wei sneered, “I think Professor Lu was just in a good mood not to hit you.”
Xu Yeyu searched for a target in the claw machine, “I’m just a caring and respectful student to my professor. What do you know?”
Xiang Wei: “Are there students with improper thoughts about their professor?”
“…”
“Stop bothering me,” Xu Yeyu scoffed, “I’m going to catch a doll. I bought a ten-yuan claw machine cheat before; now I’ll show you.”
After choosing a target, Xu Yeyu moved the joystick to hover above the doll.
Then—quick as lightning—she shook the joystick a few times and pressed the button.
Xiang Wei: “What’s the principle?”
“Not sure. It was taught that way inside,” Xu Yeyu smiled, “Maybe it shakes it dizzy, then grabs it when it’s not paying attention.”
She stared at the claw: “Watch me succeed.”
The claw went down, then grabbed nothing.
“……”
“Ten yuan wasted?” Xiang Wei crossed her arms, “Did you get scammed?”
Xu Yeyu: “…”
Xu Yeyu scratched her ear, unwilling to give up, tried five more times with no luck.
She leaned against the glass, pouting, “Xu Yeyu encounters a life’s Waterloo. This is too hard.”
Xiang Wei patted her shoulder and pointed aside, “Look, Professor Lu is here again.”
Xu Yeyu turned her head just in time to see Lu Yanbai grab a small dinosaur.
She couldn’t help but exclaim.
She thought Lu Yanbai was just lucky, but soon he grabbed a little minion.
Xu Yeyu walked over and leaned on the right side of his booth, “Are you the arcade killer?”
Just then, he caught a Totoro.
Xu Yeyu was awestruck, “How do you do it?!”
Lu Yanbai replied calmly, “Practice makes perfect. Your method isn’t bad, you just haven’t mastered it.”
Xu Yeyu nodded, her eyes sparkling like stars.
In the end, Lu Yanbai caught eleven dolls.
Yes, eleven.
When the man lowered his head, focused on moving the joystick, there was a contained yet expansive kind of boyfriend energy.
Xu Yeyu thought for a long while, then took something out from her bag and quietly brushed Lu Yanbai’s sleeve, hinting, “I’ll trade you a Yakult for one doll, okay?”
He shook his head, “No need.”
She thought he was unwilling and wanted to raise the stakes, but he took out a hyaluronic acid duck from his hand, then handed over the other ten dolls to her: “Take them all.”
?!
She was flattered, even took a step back, “Why?”
“I don’t need the others.”
Lu Wanyi only wanted that one duck; she already had the rest.
“The duck was just at the bottom; I had to clear the obstacles first.”
Though he explained that, when he handed over the dolls, Xu Yeyu felt an inexplicable moment of being cherished.
He caught so many dolls but gave almost all to her.
She blinked and blurted out, “Being your girlfriend would definitely be very happy.”
Lu Yanbai’s hand paused, the doll hanging from the strap swung slightly, drawing a tiny arc in the air.
She looked up at him; at the moment their eyes met, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
Xu Yeyu hurriedly grabbed the doll from his hand and pushed the Yakult into his arms.
“Thank you for the dolls, here, this is for you.”
The girl’s soft fingertips brushed lightly over his palm, like a feather’s gentle scratch, sliding from the center of his palm to the side.
Lu Yanbai’s side glance caught only the strands of her hair lifted by the breeze as she dashed away.