"No need."
"It's fine, go ahead and eat!"
"Thanks."
Waiting, sharing food.
"The honey-glazed roasted full leg from the street stall is absolutely amazing. I think it's much tastier than those from chain stores, and yet you three aren't eating." Lin Li bit off the cartilage from the bone and chewed it with satisfaction.
"We can try it later when we walk around." Chen Yu Ying said with a smile.
Lin Li put the bone into a paper bag, then into a plastic bag, tied it up, rubbed his hands, and turned to ask the girls, "Got any tissues?"
"Here you go." The girls had tissues, and Chen Yu Ying quickly handed Lin Li a small packet.
"I'm a student too, give one." Bai Bufan opened his mouth to demand.
"Fifty bucks a sheet."
Lin Li, sitting on the ground, raised the price, thinking it's not unreasonable to sell sothing that belonged to Chen Yu Ying as if it were his own.
"Wait a minute, Lin Li, you still owe fifty bucks, you bastard!" Bai Bufan suddenly rembered.
"Oh, then this sheet is yours."
That made sense, Lin Li nodded and offered a tissue to Bai Bufan.
Bai Bufan reached out to grab it but found Lin Li holding it tightly, prepared to scold him when he noticed Lin Li wasn't focusing, seemingly deep in thought.
"Lin Li, what are you thinking about?" Bai Bufan frowned too.
"I'm suddenly curious."
With a puzzled expression, Lin Li said, "I noticed most tissues in the market are white or yellow. Why don't they make black ones? Historically, wasn't black supposed to be more durable?"
Ding, Qu, Chen, Bai: "?"
Can you even think of that?
"Maybe all the black ones are used to make QR codes for Jing Guan." Bai Bufan finally couldn't help but say after thinking for a long ti.
The girls curiously asked what Jing Guan QR code was, and after finding out, fell silent again.
In the group chat "Three People and a Dog," Chen Yu Ying's wooden fish head was dazed from the silence.
Not long after, ti passed, and when the music intended to draw people's attention started, the performance was about to begin, and the onlookers gradually gathered toward the stage.
The performance on stage began officially.
Instead of crosstalk or opera that young people aren't interested in, it was a variety show suitable for all ages, including blindfolded knife throwing, bamboo skewer balancing bowls, and human pyramid stacking.
Everything looked impressive and well-executed, clearly showing Xiling had put effort into it, drawing rounds of applause from the audience.
"One minute on stage, ten years of practice off stage." Bai Bufan sighed softly.
Lin Li glanced at Bai Bufan, surprised at his mont of seriousness.
"Just now, he was on stage for fifteen seconds, two and a half years off stage." Bai Bufan continued to sigh.
Lin Li: "?"
Takes back his comnt.
"Hey, Lin Li," Bai Bufan suddenly turned and seriously asked, "Why don't actors practice on stage? Wouldn't it be twice the result with half the effort then?"
"You'll understand when you play ranked gas." Lin Li chuckled.
Bai Bufan laughed, understanding the simple yet relatable answer imdiately.
"We'll take a twenty-minute break, and then present more exciting content. Thank you!"
After a series of performances for more than half an hour, the host responsible, holding a microphone, smiled and inford the audience, then led the perforrs off stage, seemingly to rest and prepare new props.
But it wasn't completely quiet, as another person took the stage.
"Everyone, it's boring to wait for twenty minutes like this. Instead, why don't we have a raffle? We'll send staff down to add everyone as friends...
...We are the This Life's Matchmaker Marriage Agency. After adding friends and the raffle, if you or your family and friends need our services, feel free to contact us, we..."
The true purpose revealed, it turned out to be an advertising interruption.
The five who were initially interested in the raffle lost interest instantly when they heard it was from a marriage agency and didn't bother listening further.
"Is there a lottery booth nearby? Let's test our luck later. I happen to have fifty bucks, my treat." Lin Li took out a fifty-yuan note, which Bai Bufan promptly snatched away.
Bad dog.
"Not here, but I think there's a physical store on Pinglu Street. We can check it out when we head back tonight. But for now, should we wait to watch the next part?" Qu Wanqiu inquired.
"Anything's fine."
All four echoed without strong opinions on staying or leaving.
At tis like these, no one wanted to be the decision-maker, so they all looked at Lin Li.
Lin Li took out his phone, glanced at Chen Yu Ying: "Class President, pick a number between 1 and 2. If you guess right, we'll stay and keep watching, if not, we'll leave imdiately."
—That's Lin Li's way of handling the situation. If it doesn't really matter, then leave it to luck.
"1?" Chen Yu Ying blinked and then gave an answer.
"You guessed right," Lin Li revealed the number on his phone, indeed a 1, and snapped his fingers: "So let's continue watching."
"Okay." Everyone accepted the result with smiles.
However, after so discussion, the girls decided not to wait idly but planned to take so photos by the river and explore nearby stalls.
Lin Li and Bai Bufan didn't follow, staying back to save seats — having a seat during a performance is better than standing.
The marriage agency staff also ca over: "You three, mind adding us on WeChat? We'll add you to the raffle group."
The reason it was three was because a random guy was sitting next to Bai Bufan.
"No, thanks, no need." Lin Li and Bai Bufan both waved them off, but the random guy added them.
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