44: Arrogance is just a protective color.

Yu Heng stood up and grabbed his jacket from the sofa. "Let's go, let's get some food. I know a place in the mall with good Pickled Fish."

"Pickled Fish?" Qin Ya put away her phone. "Is it spicy?"

"You can choose mildly spicy." Yu Heng opened the door and looked back at her. "You can't handle spicy food?"

"Who says I can't handle spicy!" Qin Ya immediately retorted. "I'm super good with spicy food!"

Yu Heng found it amusing; this girl even had to be competitive about a meal.

The two walked to the entrance of the residential area and hailed a taxi. Yu Heng gave the name of the mall.

Since the new students had officially started school, the area had become quite lively, and even more taxis were running this way.

The air conditioning in the car was blasting. Qin Ya unzipped her down jacket a bit, revealing the light gray hoodie underneath.

"What does your mom usually cook for you?" Yu Heng asked casually.

"Just the usual stuff," Qin Ya said, looking out the window. "She sometimes works overtime, so I just order takeout for myself."

"Takeout every day?"

"What else?" Qin Ya turned her head. "She doesn't know how to cook many dishes anyway, and the ones she makes are terrible."

Yu Heng glanced at her through the rearview mirror.

"My dad knows how to cook, though," Qin Ya suddenly spoke again, her voice lower. "But he doesn't cook more than a few times a year."

Yu Heng didn't respond.

The car was quiet for a few seconds, with only the faint sound of music from the radio.

"What does your dad do for a living?" he asked.

"He's a teacher too!" Qin Ya said. "But he teaches at a high school in the city."

Yu Heng pondered to himself; it seemed this girl's relationship with her father wasn't great.

Or rather, they simply didn't spend much time together.

"Then who usually takes care of you?" he asked.

"I'm already this old, who needs taking care of?" Qin Ya said. "I just stay by myself."

"So you're this independent now," Yu Heng smiled, "because you've had plenty of practice."

"Exactly," Qin Ya turned her face away. "I'm already an adult!"

Typical of her to talk tough.

Yu Heng didn't call her out. Just then, the car arrived at the mall entrance.

The two got out and walked into the mall.

It was lunchtime, and the dining area was already crowded.

"This one," Yu Heng pointed to a shop ahead. "Let's go?"

Qin Ya looked up at the sign, said nothing, and followed him in.

The waiter led them to a window seat and handed them the menu.

Yu Heng pushed the menu to Qin Ya. "Order whatever you want."

Qin Ya opened the menu, her eyes scanning the prices. Her finger paused on a few expensive dishes, but in the end, she ordered the most basic Pickled Fish set meal.

"Just that?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Qin Ya closed the menu.

"Nothing else?" Yu Heng took the menu. "I think these Fatty Beef Rolls look good, and the Shrimp Paste..."

"Whatever." Qin Ya picked up her teacup and took a sip of water, looking out the window.

Yu Heng understood her perfectly.

This girl clearly wanted the good stuff but was too embarrassed to order it.

He waved for the waiter and added all the expensive dishes Qin Ya had been looking at, and also ordered a pitcher of fresh-squeezed juice.

"Why order so much," Qin Ya muttered, "we can't finish it all."

"If we can't finish it, we'll pack it up," Yu Heng said. "If your mom doesn't have time to cook tonight, you can just heat it up and eat."

Qin Ya froze for a moment, didn't respond, and lowered her head to fiddle with the tableware.

While waiting for the food, Yu Heng took out his phone. A message from the design shop said the first draft of the poster would be ready by 3 PM.

He replied with an 'okay' and looked up to find Qin Ya secretly watching him.

"What are you looking at?" Yu Heng asked with a smile.

"Who's looking at you," Qin Ya immediately looked away. "I'm looking outside."

There wasn't much to see outside, just people coming and going in the mall's atrium.

Yu Heng didn't call her out. He picked up the teapot and poured her some tea. "We're going to the arcade this afternoon. What do you want to play?"

"Anything," Qin Ya said. "It's just to kill time anyway."

"Did you go often before?"

"I went a few times with my dad when I was little," Qin Ya said. "But then he didn't have time anymore."

The topic of her father again.

Yu Heng noticed that every time her dad was mentioned, her tone became a bit awkward.

It wasn't pure dislike; it was more like disappointment.

"Did your dad promise you a lot of things he didn't do?" Yu Heng asked tentatively.

Qin Ya suddenly looked up, her gaze a bit fierce. "Why are you asking so much?"

"Just chatting," Yu Heng shrugged. "If you don't want to say, then don't."

Qin Ya bit her lip and said nothing. At that moment, the waiter brought the Pickled Fish, a large steaming bowl.

"Let's eat, let's eat," Yu Heng picked up his chopsticks. "Let's not talk about that."

Qin Ya picked up a piece of fish, blew on it, and put it in her mouth.

"How is it?" Yu Heng asked.

"It's okay." Qin Ya said so, but her chopsticks didn't stop.

"Here's some Shrimp Paste for you," Yu Heng put the freshly cooked Shrimp Paste into her bowl. "Their Shrimp Paste is handmade."

Qin Ya looked at the Shrimp Paste in her bowl and whispered, "Thank you."

Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. Rare—she actually said thank you.

Then he added a few more Fatty Beef Rolls to her bowl. "Eat more. We're playing for a long time this afternoon, so you need to keep your energy up."

"I'm not a child," Qin Ya said. "You don't have to keep serving me."

"Fine, fine, do it yourself." Yu Heng said so, but his hand still pushed the dishes that were far from her closer.

Qin Ya noticed but didn't say anything, burying her head in her food.

They ate for over half an hour. Qin Ya was clearly stuffed, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her stomach.

"Full?" Yu Heng asked with a smile.

"Yeah." Qin Ya nodded.

"Then let's go and walk it off."

After paying the bill, Yu Heng carried the takeout box, and the two walked toward the arcade.

As soon as Qin Ya entered, her eyes started darting around.

"Exchange for some tokens?" Yu Heng walked to the counter.

"Yeah." Qin Ya followed, looking at the wide variety of game tokens in the glass cabinet.

Yu Heng exchanged two hundred yuan worth of tokens, filling two small baskets.

Qin Ya took a basket and weighed it. The weight made the corners of her mouth curl up slightly, but she quickly suppressed it.

"What do you want to play?" Yu Heng asked.

"Whatever." Qin Ya said, but she walked straight toward the Basketball Machine.

Yu Heng followed and watched her insert the tokens. The machine started timing.

Qin Ya grabbed a basketball and shot. Her form was quite standard, but her aim was a bit off; several balls hit the rim and bounced away.

"That's not right," Yu Heng said from the side. "You need to use your wrist, not throw with your arm."

"None of your business." Qin Ya shot another one, but it still didn't go in.

Yu Heng couldn't watch anymore. He stood behind her, reached out, and held her wrist. "Look, like this, a flick of the wrist..."

He guided her wrist through a shooting motion. The basketball arched through the air and landed steadily in the net.

Qin Ya's body stiffened for a moment.

Yu Heng immediately let go and stepped back. "That's the feeling. You try."

Qin Ya didn't say anything. She picked up another ball and shot it according to the feeling she just had. The ball went in.

Her eyes lit up. She shot another one, and it went in again.

"Not bad, you learn fast." Yu Heng laughed.

"It wasn't hard to begin with." Qin Ya curled her lip.

When the round ended, she had broken her personal high score.

"Impressive." Yu Heng patted her shoulder.

Qin Ya shook her slightly sore wrist, and finally, she couldn't suppress it—a clear smile appeared on her face.

Although it was quickly withdrawn, Yu Heng saw it.

This girl is actually quite easy to please.

"What else do you want to play?" Yu Heng asked.

"That." Qin Ya pointed at the Dance Machine.

Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. "You know how to dance?"

"I'll give it a try." Qin Ya had already walked over.

A few young people were gathered around the Dance Machine. Qin Ya waited for the previous round to end, inserted her tokens, and stepped on.

Music started playing, a fast-paced Korean song.

Yu Heng originally thought she was just playing around, but Qin Ya immediately caught the rhythm. Her footwork was precise, and her movements were quite professional.

People around started clapping and cheering.

Qin Ya danced even more energetically. The hood of her sweatshirt swayed with her movements, and her face flushed from the exercise.

When the round ended, she got an A rating and stepped off the machine, panting.

"Impressive," Yu Heng handed her a bottle of mineral water he had just bought. "Have you practiced?"

"I studied at a dance class for two years when I was younger," Qin Ya unscrewed the cap and took a big gulp. "Then my dad said the tuition was too expensive and wouldn't let me go anymore."

Her father again.

Yu Heng noticed that she had mentioned her father particularly often today.

Probably because other children had their parents with them, while she could only come out to play with a boss she wasn't very familiar with.

"Do you want to continue learning?" Yu Heng asked.

Qin Ya was stunned for a moment. "Learning what?"

"Dancing."

"Why learn that?" Qin Ya screwed the cap back on. "It's not like it can put food on the table."

Typical pragmatic thinking, likely learned from her parents.

"If you like it, then learn it," Yu Heng said. "Not everything has to be for the sake of making a living."

Qin Ya glanced at him, didn't respond, and turned toward the Claw Machine.

Yu Heng followed and saw her staring at a Panda Plushie inside.

"Want this one?" he asked.

"Just looking." Qin Ya said so, but she didn't move.

Yu Heng smiled, inserted tokens into the machine, and manipulated the joystick.

He didn't get it the first time, almost got it the second, and on the third try, the claw firmly grabbed the panda and dropped it into the exit.

"Wow!" Qin Ya couldn't help but cry out.

She crouched down, took the panda from the exit, held it in her arms, and stroked its fur.

Looking at her like that, Yu Heng suddenly felt that this girl was actually quite simple.

A single doll could make her this happy.

"Thank you." Qin Ya held the panda, her voice much softer than before.

"Don't mention it," Yu Heng said. "Which other one do you want to catch?"

Qin Ya pointed to the rabbit in the adjacent machine.

Yu Heng inserted more tokens. This time his luck wasn't as good; it took five tries to catch it.

With the panda in one arm and the rabbit in the other, Qin Ya looked a lot softer.

"What else?" Yu Heng asked.

Qin Ya looked at the remaining tokens in the basket. "Let's not play anymore. Save the tokens for next time."

Quite the planner.

"Okay," Yu Heng nodded. "Then shall we sit over there for a while?"

There was a row of rest chairs in the corner of the arcade. The two went over and sat down.

Qin Ya placed the plushies on her lap and checked the time on her phone.

"It's past three o'clock," she said.

"Your mom said she'd pick you up around five or six," Yu Heng said. "It's still early."

"Yeah." Qin Ya responded, stroking the panda's ears.

Yu Heng looked at her profile. This girl's Tsundere attitude was a protective shell; she was simply starved for affection and afraid to show it.

"Yu Heng." Qin Ya called him.

"What is it now?"

"Next time..." Qin Ya's voice was very small. "Can we come play again next time?"

"Come whenever you want," Yu Heng said. "As long as you finish your livestreaming tasks, you can come anytime."

"Oh." Qin Ya responded, then said dully, "Actually, the arcade isn't even that fun."

Yu Heng checked the time. "Let's go. We'll browse the bookstore downstairs while waiting for your mom."

"Bookstore?" Qin Ya looked up. "Why go to a bookstore?"

"To kill time," Yu Heng stood up. "Or would you rather keep sitting here?"

Qin Ya stood up holding her plushies. "Then let's go."