Page 334
Page 334
Huaiyin could clearly hear their conversation.
"Hey, Dou Tang, that girl was so pretty!" Dou Tang
One of her friends glanced back secretly, then quickly turned back, exclaiming, "Holy crap! She looks like she's watching us!"
Another person chimed in, "Looks like they're from a nearby school? Go ask Qiuqiu for her!"
Huaiyin looked around in confusion, but didn't see the pretty girl that the others had mentioned.
At that moment, Dou Tang's voice came through: "Really? Don't let anyone hear you talking."
He turned his head slightly to look at Huaiyin, then quickly turned it back.
Huaiyin was certain that he had made eye contact with him just now.
"Holy crap!" Dou Tang shrank back, looking at his companions with a face full of surprise: "I made eye contact with her, what do we do! You guys better keep your voices down! We're sure she'll notice!"
Hearing this, Huaiyin took a deep breath.
I can... interact with others? Isn't this a dream? Aren't I invisible in dreams?
This isn't just a simple playback of memories, but a dream based on those memories?!
After figuring this out, Huaiyin's breathing became heavy. She tried to call out to the elderly Mr. Ren in her heart, but received no response.
Mr. Ren has rarely appeared since the Pingjiangmen incident. He seems to have fallen into a deep sleep and needs the nourishment of evil spirits to wake up again.
“Hmm…” Huaiyin’s eyes lit up.
In other words, I can now interact with my former brother without being disturbed?
"Hurry up, hurry up..." Young Dou Tang tugged at his friends, wanting to leave as soon as possible, because it was really embarrassing to be overheard talking about someone behind their back.
"Where are we going?" His companion put his arm around Dou Tang's neck. "You still owe us a big adventure, don't you?"
Dou Tang blushed instantly and strained his neck, saying, "Really? When did this happen? How could something I don't even know be true?"
"You fucking... are you going or not?" The two men pointed at Dou Tang's face from the left and right and said fiercely.
"Fine, I'll go..." Dou Tang muttered twice, rubbed his face, and said, "Just want Qiu Qiu, right? Sigh, it's easy for people like you to be rejected when you go to ask for her."
"At times like this, it's time for me, the school heartthrob, to step in!"
He patted his face twice, put on a cheerful and gentle smile, suddenly ducked down, broke free from the arms of his two best friends, turned around gracefully, and arrived in front of Huaiyin in a few steps.
"Hi, sorry to bother you." Dou Tang was a little embarrassed, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she nervously touched the tip of her nose.
Are you from a nearby school?
Huaiyin smiled as she stared at Dou Tang in front of her, her eyes sparkling, as if she wanted to remember every detail on the person's face.
I never knew my brother could smile like that... He looks so happy and youthful, a sight I'd never see in the real world.
Looking at Dou Tang in front of her, whose appearance was so different from reality, Huai Yin felt her heart start to beat faster, thumping loudly.
Dou Tang looked at the somewhat dazed girl in front of him, blinked, and said, "Uh... this... classmate?"
"Eh, ah!" Huaiyin jolted, snapping back to her senses, and shyly raised her hand, saying, "Y-you, hello, I'm not a student from around here... I'm... I'm here for tourism!"
"Tourism?" Dou Tang scratched his head, somewhat puzzled. "It's really rare to see someone come to Shijiazhuang for tourism..."
Then, he flashed a proud smile, revealing his white teeth, and patted his shoulder: "So, do you need a guide? Let me introduce myself. I'm Ren Doutang, a local from Shijiazhuang. If you want to travel, I know the way to anywhere!"
"Huh? Is it really okay?" Huaiyin looked at Doutang, then at the two boys pretending to be passersby not far away.
Dou Tang noticed her gaze, coughed twice, and walked in front of Huai Yin to block her view. His face was slightly red as he said, "About what happened earlier... I'm sorry. My friends are a bunch of idiots. Please don't take it to heart."
Seeing Dou Tang so shy for the first time, Huaiyin couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
Chapter 252 The boy, still deeply in love
"My name is Kiryu Kawana, nice to meet you." Kawana stared intently at Doutang with bright, shining eyes.
Dou Tang felt a little embarrassed by her gaze and turned his head away, not daring to meet her eyes directly. He said, "Ah... this name, hey, four characters? It sounds like a Japanese name!"
Huaiyin leaned closer to Doutang and said with a grin, "Yes, I am indeed from Japan. Ren, may I call you that?"
Dou Tang was somewhat surprised: "But your Chinese is so good..."
Huaiyin didn't feel anything at all. In her opinion, Doutang was actually speaking Japanese. Perhaps Doutang also thought she was speaking Chinese.
Dreams are amazing, aren't they?
Huaiyin smiled and said, "Really? That's great."
"Well, brother... Ren Jun, I overheard your conversation with your friend just now~" Huaiyin said with a mischievous smile, looking at Dou Tang.
Perhaps because she was in a dream, or perhaps because she had witnessed a different side of Dou Tang, Huaiyin had become much more proactive and deliberately said such things to tease Dou Tang.
Dou Tang blushed, feeling very embarrassed.
Huaiyin continued, "Qiuqiu... I remember it's a social networking app. Hmm, this kind of flirting is quite common in Japan, but it doesn't seem to be very common in China?"
"Common?" Dou Tang suddenly turned his head and looked at Huai Yin.
In that instant, Huaiyin seemed to see the Doutang she knew so well beneath that body.
A fierce, tiger-like majesty flashed in his eyes, while simultaneously revealing concern for Huaiyin and... a certain possessiveness.
Huaiyin shuddered and swallowed hard.
She then took a half step back and caught her breath.
But then, a sweet feeling welled up inside me.
He must care a lot about himself, so when the topic of striking up a conversation came up, even if he was dreaming, he suddenly woke up for a moment.
The current Dou Tang seemed to appear only for a moment because Huai Yin mentioned the word "pickup," and the majesty and aggression in his eyes vanished in an instant. Then, the young Dou Tang said with some surprise, "Is what they say in the manga true? Pickup is really a very common phenomenon in Japan?"
Huaiyin waved her hand and said, "Yes, but I haven't experienced it."
“My personality… isn’t that appealing.” She shook her head with a smile. “Anyway, you don’t need to worry about it.”
"So, shall we exchange contact information?" Huaiyin asked with a bright smile.
Young Dou Tang looked delighted and asked, "Is it okay?"
"Of course!" Huaiyin reached into her pocket and pulled out her current cell phone.
Dou Tang, who was standing in front of me, was also rummaging in his school uniform pants. He first pulled out a bunch of small parts, keys, change, and even tissues.
Then came a small, thick phone. Although it was a smartphone, it definitely didn't look like it came from this era.
He looked at Huaiyin's phone, paused slightly, and said, "Wow, your phone looks so high-tech. Is it a new model?"
"Hmm? Um..." Huaiyin chuckled to brush it off, then opened her phone and was surprised to find a new app on it, which looked like the Qiuqiu that Doutang had mentioned.
The app's icon is a black and white penguin with a red scarf, holding an AK assault rifle, and looking fierce.
Huaiyin discovered that the dream seemed to become more self-consistent as she interacted with Doutang, so the two successfully exchanged contact information.
During this time, Huaiyin kept slowly approaching Doutang. With her exceptional sensitivity to smells, she could detect a strange aura emanating from Doutang, which was even more... energetic and vibrant than he was in real life.
Sometimes, Huaiyin would feel that she was a bit abnormal because of this.
Young Dou Tang put away his phone and said with a smile, "Thank you, Kiryu Kaine, but I have to go now, my friend is still waiting for me."
"By the way, if you're looking for any tourist attractions in Shijiazhuang, just let me know, and I'll skip class to take you! Oh, and I have the next two days off!"
He patted his chest triumphantly, and Huaiyin noticed that he was smiling almost constantly at this moment, looking really... cheerful.
The more cheerful Dou Tang was in the past, the more heartbroken Huai Yin felt for him in reality.
What exactly happened to turn him into that person?
Dou Tang turned to leave, but Huai Yin reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
He turned around, puzzled, only to see Huaiyin blushing and saying, "Um... right now, I want to find a place to play. Can you come with me?"
"I just arrived here and I don't even know where I am... Can you help me?"
Dou Tang blushed immediately. He pointed to his companions and said, "I... I should say hello to them first?"
Huaiyin nodded, timidly loosening her grip on Doutang's sleeve. Her eyes were brimming with tears and emotions, making Doutang's heart flutter.
He ran towards his friends in a few strides, his face flushed as he looked at his two best buddies and exclaimed excitedly, "Brothers, it's over, it's over, I've been hooked!"
"Huh? What's going on?" one person raised an eyebrow.
"Tell us, tell us quickly," another person urged.
Dou Tang swallowed hard and said, "She said her name is Kiryu Kawana, she's from Japan, and she's here for tourism! I need to get her QQ number!"
"She promised that when I'm traveling here, I can be her guide!"
"And she even asked me to come play with her, right now!"
Upon hearing this, the two best friends both hissed in unison.
One of them looked pitiful and said, "Brother, if you get your kidneys cut, remember to call the police."
Another man patted Dou Tang on the shoulder and sighed, "If you really want to go, the brothers won't stop you. Anyway, most people can't beat you."
"But you have to be careful, we're not adults yet, let's not cause any deaths."
"What do you mean, 'caused someone to die'?" Dou Tang slapped the hand off his shoulder and clicked his tongue. "You're just jealous, aren't you?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" one person nodded frantically.
The other person took out his phone: "If you're going, hurry up and go, don't keep your dad from eating."
Dou Tang kicked the man and said, "Fine, I'm outta here."
He said goodbye and returned to Huaiyin's side, smiling as he said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Huaiyin peeked at the two people leaving not far away and laughed, "You two have such a good relationship, aren't you? That must be your good friend?"
"Ah, that's true." Dou Tang nodded, watching the two figures disappear into the distance, and chuckled. "They're one of my few good friends. To be honest, I'm not exactly a popular person."
You'll become even less popular in the future...
Huaiyin silently grumbled to herself, then asked, "Brother... Ren Doutang, where is this place?"
"Here?" Dou Tang spread his hands: "Isn't this just a night market? If I had to say..."
It's similar to festivals in Japan, with all sorts of stalls and vendors. Isn't that obvious?
Chapter 253 Those Cherished Fragments
This is the first time Huaiyin has fully experienced a Chinese city.
The bustling crowds, the vibrant night market, the smiles on people's faces... Huaiyin takes in all the aspects of human life in this other world.
She followed behind Dou Tang, watching him raise his hand to introduce everything around him. His eyes shone with pride and enjoyment, and Huaiyin was certain that he deeply loved this place.
Dou Tang held a small paper bowl containing black cubes sprinkled with seasonings: bright green cilantro and pale green pickled beans, along with snow-white garlic juice, making the faint pungent smell a welcome contrast.
"This is a specialty of China, stinky tofu. You've probably heard of it, right?" Dou Tang smiled and held it up in front of Huai Yin, looking somewhat expectant.
Huaiyin smiled and took it, saying sweetly, "Thank you, I've heard of it."
What a joke! I've eaten fried locusts with you outside, why would I be afraid of fried stinky tofu?
But... offering stinky tofu to a girl I just met makes me realize why my brother said he wasn't popular...
Huaiyin picked up a bamboo skewer, forked a piece of stinky tofu, and put it in her mouth. The tofu, fried to a crispy perfection, exploded in her mouth, releasing its savory juices. Combined with the pickled cowpeas and garlic sauce, the flavor was incredibly layered and the texture was extremely complex.
Dou Tang asked with concern, "How is it? Is the food to your liking? Don't force yourself if you can't eat it!"
After enduring the initial stench, Huaiyin suddenly grew to like the snack, squinting her eyes and smiling, "Hmm, I can accept this flavor."
Upon hearing this, Dou Tang grinned foolishly again.
The two found a small table behind a stall and sat down. Dou Tang asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to eat?"
"Hmm... what's that?" Huaiyin pointed to a stall in the distance.
Dou Tang turned his head and said, "Oh, grilled skewers and fried skewers? Shall I go buy some for you?"
At this moment, Huaiyin reached out and grabbed him, saying, "Wait, you, you don't have much money on you, do you?"
Dou Tang still looks like a student. He just reached into his pocket and found only some change. Even in her dream, Huaiyin couldn't bear to let him continue to pay for her food.
Huaiyin reached into his pocket and, sure enough, some banknotes appeared in his pocket as he had just spoken and made those movements.
It seems that as long as I do something suggestive enough about the fight in the dream, I can influence the direction of the dream!
Huaiyin stuffed some money into Dou Tang's hand without saying a word, saying, "Ren Jun, consider this money as payment for taking me out to play!"
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