Endless Silver Machine

Ling pushed the trolley and slowly browsed the shelves in the shopping mall.

"What a blessing..."

She muttered to herself and put the only bottle of body wash left on the shelf into the trolley. All the daily necessities have been purchased, and the next step is the most important ingredients.

This is the first time I go shopping alone. To be honest, Ling didn't know how to choose ingredients. Even simple cooking methods have only been learned recently, let alone buying ingredients in person. Luo Luo usually makes these things, and Ling just follows her around the food area without paying attention to the selection criteria.

Now standing in the food area, looking at the various products, Ling stood there blankly, not knowing where to start. She had already put down her big words and rejected Aika's colleagues, but now she asked Aika's sister for help, but she still felt that it was unacceptable, so she did not take out the PDA.

As for Wei Xi... she probably doesn't know this knowledge either, and now that she is with Luo Luo, it's better not to let her know...

The few people closest to him couldn't rely on him. In this case, Ling had only one choice left.

…………

Aika and Qiu Ke's conversation gradually turned into small talk, and the initial heavy air had disappeared.

"...Ling looks strange?"

Unconsciously, the focus of the conversation shifted to Ling. Qiu Ke's ears twitched. She couldn't deduce anything from Aika's description. She made a gesture of thinking, but in fact her mind must be empty.

"Ah!" Xixi suddenly pointed at Aika and shouted, "It must be because of you that Sister Ling is in a bad mood!"

It sounds like it's really... no, no, Wei Xi should have solved that problem!

"I swear this time I didn't do anything!"

"Swear on your heart?"

"That's right!" Aika knocked on his chest confidently, "...Wait a minute, what does it mean to swear on your heart?"

"If you lie, your heart will explode."

"This kind of oath is too solemn!"

"If the consequences were not serious, wouldn't swearing have no effect?"

Abby smirked and shrugged.

"Can't we just ask her directly?"

Qiu Ke suddenly expressed this idea. She didn't know whether it was the result of careful consideration or whether she thought it was the simplest and said it casually.

This is indeed the most direct and straightforward method, and you can get the answer on the spot even after asking. But what Aika Aika wants is a reality that can uproot it. If Ling cannot be understood from the most fundamental perspective, then this answer will forever be shrouded in mystery. Such an answer is meaningless to both herself and her.

Abby and Xixi may not have discovered this yet, because Ling's disguise is so perfect. The classmates around them all thought that to the four of them, Ling was just an ordinary girl who could be called a close friend.

While thinking this way, Aika's hand unconsciously reached to the right side of her face. The traces left by the first encounter with Ling have completely disappeared, and the slightly hesitant knife did not leave an unhealable wound in Aika's heart. This is true for Aika, but what about her?

At home, Ling's position is undoubtedly the sister of Luo Luo and Wei Xi. Even Aika sometimes even has the illusion that she is his childhood sweetheart.

"Eh?"

Qiu Ke suddenly took out his PDA during the chat. Aika was still arguing about something with Abby and Xixi, and didn't notice this.

"Aika, what do you usually like to eat?"

"Huh? Why are you asking about this suddenly?"

"Because... as a reference."

Qiu Ke raised his fingers and covered the PDA screen on his chest.

"I basically eat everything. There's nothing I particularly like or dislike."

"This kind of answer won't work at all!" Qiu Ke moved closer to him anxiously, "There will always be some people you prefer, right? And then... there will also be people who will feel as if all their strength is being taken away just by looking at them. That kind of food...green peppers, green onions, green peppers and the like..."

"Qiu Ke, you just said green pepper twice, right?"

Aika wanted to make sure she heard correctly, but Qiu Ke immediately waved her hands desperately in front of her chest.

"No, no, it was so noisy just now, you must not have heard clearly!"

"We didn't talk just now."

Abby pointed at herself and then at Xixi, and she nodded in agreement.

"Qiu Ke, could you..."

"I'm not a picky kid...eh?"

With Abby holding her shoulders down, she was dancing on the sofa. After a while, she realized that the PDA she originally held in her hand had disappeared.

"Don't throw PDAs around. They can break easily, right?"

The PDA flew out in a parabola from Qiu Ke's hand, and was firmly caught by Aika in mid-air.

"Um?"

His eyes briefly glanced at the screen.

Sender: Ling

Qiu Ke, is it convenient now? I have a question I would like to ask. If possible, please don’t tell others that I have asked about this kind of thing... Doesn’t your family own a restaurant? Then you must know how to choose ingredients. Could you please teach me the selection criteria for some basic types of ingredients?

"..."

"It's finished, screwed up..."

Qiu Ke's ears drooped as if to cover Aika's sight.

"I know..." Aika turned Qiu Ke's PDA screen down and handed it back to her, "I will pretend that I didn't see it, and of course I won't tell Ling."

"Really……"

"Um."

Qiu Ke deliberately didn't look at Aika at this time, while reaching out his hand, taking back the PDA that Aika handed over, and then hugged it tightly to his chest.

"But does this question have anything to do with what I like to eat?"

Judging from this text message, Ling didn't know where to start because Luo Luo was not around. If he goes shopping with her, he might be able to help a little bit. After all, he also learned some knowledge in this area from Luo Luo.

Thinking of this, Aika suddenly felt a little bitter in her heart. When I was clearly rejected by Ling, I didn't know why that kind of unwillingness suddenly emerged. Perhaps it was because Luo Luo and Wei Xi were watching from the sidelines at that time, so this was due to boredom and pride.

I want to know how Ling feels and how she views herself...

"Because the only person who is with her every day now is you. And if I were to give examples one by one, it would take hours to finish, so wouldn't it be enough to just choose the food you like to start with? "

Qiu Ke's mind works very fast only at times like this.

"In this case……"

Aika told Qiu Ke about the dishes that impressed her most in recent days.

…………

When Ling was walking around the food section for the fifth time, the PDA she had been holding in her hand finally started to vibrate.

Sender: Qiu Ke

Aika said potatoes are fine. When you are choosing...

"..."

Ling's eyes stopped on the first sentence Qiu Ke sent.

Why does Aika's name appear here...

For a moment, she couldn't understand what was happening on the other side of the screen.

——Qiu Ke, where are you now?

After a while, I received a reply.

——At home, the hot tea made by my mother is delicious.

——I'm at your door now.

This time, I didn't receive a reply from Qiu Ke after waiting for a long time.

Ling roughly guessed the whole story from Qiu Ke's reaction, and she sighed heavily.

Originally, he had been avoiding being known by Aika, so he bypassed Luoluo and came to Qiu Ke for help.

In the end, no matter what method he used, he and Aika were always connected by something invisible and intangible like "fate". Even though it was something she had known for a long time, she still...

It's so bad...

Ling complained softly.

There is no specific target, I just want to say this.

…………

As a result, everyone waited in the administrator's cabin until Ling came back. Qiu Ke was about to apologize to her face to face because she messed up what Ling asked her to do, but she accidentally flicked her forehead and was forgiven, and Ling also stayed the three of them at home to have lunch together.

Luoluo and Wei Xi's lunch will be settled at the "Moonlight Bath". If they don't stay, Ling and Aika will have to sit face to face at the dining table. So Ling would like to thank the three people who have been at home until now and haven't left yet.

But Luoluo said that she and Wei Xi would stay at the "Moonlight Bath" to help out all day long, so it was inevitable that Ling and Aika would be left alone in the room.

Just go back to your room... After Qiu Ke and the others left, Ling was filled with such thoughts. She hurriedly washed the tableware with warm water and placed them side by side on the display rack, letting the water stains drain off naturally. Then she picked up the peeling knife and rinsed the blade under the water with a rag.

This was already a familiar task. Ling just carried out the movements in his hands mechanically, but his thoughts had already drifted far away.

"Ling, that bottle in the refrigerator..."

Aika's voice suddenly sounded behind her, and his figure appeared at the door of the cooking room.

Ling's fingers suddenly felt a tingling sensation. At that moment, her thinking was slower than her movements, and the sharp blade cut her finger through the gap in the rag. She immediately pulled her hand out of the warm water, and the water droplets dripping from her fingertips were mixed with dark red.

Ling didn't pay much attention to this little bit of pain. She gave Aika a slightly reproachful look and put her finger to her mouth.

"Wait a minute! Wait for me..."

Aika stopped Ling's movements loudly. His figure disappeared from the doorway, and his voice gradually became distant.

Ling stood there blankly, her confused brain unable to understand why Aika was more anxious than herself. The hanging fingertips hadn't stopped bleeding yet, and the incision was much deeper than expected. When the second drop of blood dripped on the floor, Aika roughly pushed open the door, strode up to Ling, and carefully held her injured hand.

"This is not easy to deal with..."

Ling's blood stained Aika's hands at the same time. He used soft white gauze to gently wipe away the slightly condensed blood stains, trying not to touch the wound. Then he sprinkled the medicinal powder found in the hall on the wound. When the yellow-green powder fell on the wound, Ling narrowed one eye and frowned.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it's okay..."

When Aika raised her head to ask her this question, Ling immediately returned to her indifferent expression and turned her head to let him do what he wanted.

"Sorry, I haven't treated anyone else's wounds."

While talking, Aika used another piece of clean gauze to bandage the wound sprinkled with medicine.

"Do you know how to tie gauze?"

At the last step, Aika encountered difficulties.

"have no idea……"

Ling still didn't look at him. Doesn't your neck feel sore if you keep tilting your head like this? If it were a normal day, Aika would definitely tease her like this.

"Then I'll use the ordinary knotting method." He crossed the gauze at both ends, tied a slip knot, and then pulled it slightly to both sides.

"Does it still hurt? Do you want to tighten it a little more?"

"Didn't I tell you that it doesn't hurt? Even if you don't have to be so exaggerated, you will be fine!"

"If you don't handle it properly, even a minor wound can become a very serious problem if it is infected by something like bacteria." Aika let go of her hand, "Don't worry about it during this period of time. Let this place touch the water. As for housework, they and I can do it."

"Well...I'm going back to my room..."

Aika's voice was small in reply. Ling held the bandaged hand and quickly passed through him. When Aika turned her head, her sight only captured the tips of her golden hair.

The door to the cooking room was opened and then closed.

Aika stood up, and her brain, which had insufficient blood supply, felt dizzy for a moment. He walked to the edge of the pool and continued what Qi Ling had done half-finished.

Ling's blood stains were still stuck to the blade, which was washed away by warm water and slowly flowed into the sewer.

This was probably the first time Aika had spoken to Ling for such a long time after returning home. Even so, Aika was still not satisfied.

It's not enough. This way, it can't solve any problems at all.

I have to admit that from the first time she met Ling, Aika accepted her deep in her heart. Although her personality was the type that Aika couldn't handle, he had never had the idea of ​​"trying not to get involved with Ling." On the contrary, Aika hopes to get as close to her as possible. When taking care of Wei Xi, he also hoped to have a more relaxed relationship with her, but his relationship with Ling was of a completely different nature.

What is it about her that attracts you? If Aika were asked to give examples one by one in detail, he would be unable to say anything.

Because Ling's existence is so vague. It's so close, yet so far away.

…………