Kiana swung his hand, just about to say something else, when she suddenly realized there were a lot more people around.
The dance machine was, after all, an activity for extroverts; anyone playing it would attract attention.
Without them noticing, a circle of people had gathered around the dance machine. There were young couples, groups of students, and passersby holding up their phones to take pictures.
And everyone's gaze was focused on... Kiana.
"That perfect score just now was amazing..."
"She has to be a pro, right? Those moves were too fluid..."
"And she's so pretty! The one with white hair!"
"Is it dyed? It looks so natural..."
"Dance again! Dance again!"
People in the crowd started cheering them on.
Kiana paused for a moment, then smiled a bit bashfully.
She was actually quite used to this feeling, and quite liked it, too.
After all, as a Kaslana, being acknowledged, admired, and liked was perfectly normal.
However, Shu had told her before they left that no matter what happened, she should listen to him and let him handle it...
Just as Kiana turned to Shu, wanting to ask for his thoughts, some different voices suddenly emerged from the crowd.
"It would've been great if it was two perfect scores."
Another voice chimed in.
"That guy wasn't doing well at the start, but he caught up later. I wonder if he just messed up at the beginning."
"He should be able to get a perfect score too, right? But I feel like the chances are slim."
"Should we ask that girl if she wants to switch partners? I know someone who's really good—"
Kiana's expression froze.
At the same time, she felt the hand that had been passively held by hers suddenly tighten, forcefully gripping her hand in return.
Although it wasn't just blindly squeezing, Kiana could feel Shu's hand was incredibly stiff, so tense he didn't dare make any other movement.
Shu's face hadn't changed; he still wore that same calm expression.
But in his eyes—
Kiana saw sharpness.
Like a sharp blade bared from its sheath, its cold glint indiscriminately pressing down on everyone around him.
Except her.
Kiana felt Shu's breathing grow heavy, his heart rate speed up, and his palms begin to sweat.
His body was trembling slightly, but it wasn't the result of exhaustion from the dance machine, nor was it the fear of social anxiety exposed to the light of day.
It was as if he was preparing for a battle, as if he would draw a weapon the very next moment...
Wait.
The feeling of lightness on top of her head made Kiana's heart jolt abruptly.
Shu was absolutely not the kind of person to casually show such hostility to passersby, so the reason he was so vigilant right now was because—
Her hat had fallen off!
Kiana hurriedly reached back and grabbed the sun hat hanging behind her, pressed it firmly onto her head, and then hid behind Shu. Clinging to his arm, she lowered her head, trying her best to hide her face.
At the same time, a few people in the crowd started moving forward.
It was the ones who had suggested "switching partners"; it seemed they really wanted to come over.
From behind Shu, Kiana gave his hand a gentle tug.
It was just a very small movement.
But to Shu, it was a signal.
He didn't give anyone a chance to speak. He simply reined in the cold glint in his eyes and, for the first time, pulled Kiana forward a step.
"Excuse me, please let us through."
Shu's voice wasn't loud, and his wording could even be described as humble, but every word was crystal clear, and his tone left no room for argument.
His head was slightly lowered, showing absolutely no intention of further communication. Coupled with Kiana's obvious reluctance to show her face, it was hard not to suspect that if someone went against his wishes right now, he wouldn't hesitate to throw a punch.
The onlookers instinctively stepped back to both sides, clearing a path for the two of them.
Holding Kiana's hand, Shu walked straight through the path.
No stopping.
No looking back.
No extra interaction of any kind.
Kiana followed behind him, her head lowered, the hat brim covering most of her face.
She could feel those gazes still lingering on her, but not a single owner of those gazes dared to speak.
Because Shu's other hand was tightly clutching his own chest.
That hurried appearance looked exactly like a sick person in distress.
The two walked all the way to a quiet area in the corner of the arcade before Shu finally stopped.
He raised a hand to support himself against the wall, rested his forehead against it, and closed his eyes, trying hard to adjust his state.
His breathing was still heavy.
His heartbeat was still fast.
He knew the emotion that had just erupted from him was a bit extreme. Every part of his body had been clamoring for a riot in that moment.
In that fleeting instant, his emotions had slid seamlessly from feeling pretty good about Kiana's praise straight to the brink of rage.
But Shu still managed to recognize his own abnormality.
They were clearly just a few non-malicious, ordinary comments, yet he had actually reacted so excessively... This wasn't right.
He needed to regulate his emotions. Fortunately, he had forcefully suppressed them just now, and Kiana had helped him leave the scene promptly, giving him a place to slowly digest the emotions that had almost exploded.
Standing beside Shu, Kiana looked at him, full of worry.
Because Shu made almost no effort to hide his state from her, Kiana could feel his discomfort almost equivalently.
Suppression, self-erosion... He hadn't let the agitated emotions in his heart spill out in the slightest. Even at the peak of his emotional explosion, Shu was able to suppress himself and use humble words to communicate with others.
"Shu..." Kiana tugged his hand. Shu opened his eyes and looked at her wearily.
"I'm sorry."
The weariness in Shu's eyes vanished abruptly, replaced by astonishment.
"What?"
"I'm sorry." Kiana poked her fingers together awkwardly. "Did I get a little too carried away?"
Shu didn't speak.
"I know you don't like crowded places," Kiana said, "but I was so happy just now that I forgot, and I even dragged you up to dance and get stared at by so many people..."
She paused.
"And... I didn't even keep my hat on properly... even though you already told me I couldn't be exposed..."
"I'm sorry, it was my fault... let's go home."
Shu stared at her blankly.
She seemed to have... misunderstood something, right?
But... it was fine if she thought that way.
"It's nothing." He forced a somewhat strained smile. "I just felt a little unwell, that's all."
Kiana could tell at a glance that he was forcing himself, and her heart ached even more.
How could that kind of emotion just be 'feeling unwell'? And how could it be so easily digested alone?
But Shu was just putting on a brave face, and the more he did, the more Kiana felt she had been far too willful just now.
"I'm really sorry..." She lowered her head weakly, her whole body seeming to wilt, pouting in disappointment.
Shu shook his head.
"It's rare for us to come out, and you haven't had enough fun yet, right?"
"But you—" Kiana was getting genuinely anxious. How could he treat an issue like this so lightly?
"I'm fine," Shu interrupted her directly. "I just need to rest for a bit."
Kiana looked at him and fell silent for a few seconds.
"Then... alright!"
"But if you still feel unwell, you have to tell me!!"