Guinaifen performed acrobatics, balancing a porcelain bowl on her head and supporting her entire body on one hand, showcasing astonishing balance.
She swallowed a long sword whole.
At the same time, she spun three handkerchiefs, not only with her hands but also with her feet; not only while standing but also while standing on her head... After watching the entire act, Bai Luan's most immediate thought was that Guinaifen probably wouldn't bite a lighter in her entire life, right?
Besides witnessing Guinaifen's impressive acrobatic skills, Bai Luan also spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
It was Bailu, who had just snuck away. She tried her best to hide her petite figure in the crowd, moving cautiously with a clear sense of "guilty conscience," yet she was completely captivated by Guinaifen's exquisite performance.
At exciting moments, she couldn't help but applaud enthusiastically with the crowd, her small face radiating pure joy.
However, as soon as the applause died down, she would suddenly snap back to reality, remembering she was still an "escapee." She would immediately tense up, her neck retracting, and her bright, expressive eyes darting around vigilantly, terrified of being discovered by people from the Dan Ding Division.
All of this combined made her look incredibly suspicious.
Hmm... I suppose the Dan Ding Division must have realized Bailu was missing by now, right?
On one side were the frantic Dan Ding Division physicians, searching for Bailu like a needle in a haystack on the massive Xianzhou; on the other side was Bailu, engrossed in Guinaifen's acrobatic performance. This contrast... Bai Luan's lips curled into a slight smile. This was truly amusing.
Perhaps his sixth sense kicked in. Just as Bai Luan was leisurely sipping his milk tea and secretly observing Bailu, the little girl suddenly turned her head, her gaze precisely meeting Bai Luan's.
Eyes met. What to do? Hmm... Being on vacation and too lazy to think of anything complicated, Bai Luan simply waved casually in Bailu's direction as a greeting.
Bailu seemed to recognize him—they had met once before she snuck out.
She was startled at first, then hurriedly placed a finger to her lips, making a "shush" gesture.
Following that, she pressed her palms together and bowed towards Bai Luan, her small face filled with a plea of "Please, please, don't tell anyone."
Bai Luan was amused by her pitiful yet adorable expression. He smiled and nodded, conveying a promise of "Don't worry, I won't say anything" with his eyes.
Seeing this, Bailu visibly relaxed, patted her small chest, and then turned back with peace of mind, continuing to immerse herself in Guinaifen's performance.
Soon, Bai Luan's cup of milk tea was empty.
Hmm, it was almost time to leave. Guinaifen in the livestream was still performing energetically.
After this livestream, she should be able to gain quite a few fans with her skills, right?
He couldn't help much, at most just temporarily drawing attention. As for how many people she could retain, that depended on Guinaifen's own abilities.
Bai Luan walked out of the crowd with his empty milk tea cup. At the moment he left, Guinaifen was juggling a dozen balls.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Bai Luan leaving. She felt his figure was slightly familiar but couldn't recall who it was at that moment.
But Guinaifen didn't think much of it then, merely attributing it to her forgetfulness and planning to think about it later. She then immersed herself wholeheartedly in her performance again.
Later that night, she suddenly remembered the incident and shot up from her bed, clutching her blanket.
I remember!
That looked like Yi Mu himself... He came to Xianzhou?
Why didn't I chase after him to get an autograph or something... Guinaifen fell into endless regret.
She suffered from insomnia.
Of course, that's a story for later; it's not yet that time.
Bai Luan tossed the empty milk tea cup into a trash can on Xianzhou, then fell into contemplation while looking at the trash can.
Had this trash can ever been rummaged through by a Stelle?
Never mind, it's something unknowable, so he wouldn't think about it.
Bai Luan wandered aimlessly on Xianzhou, watching the bustling streets.
He watched children playing and running, listened to vendors hawking their wares. For the first time in a long while, he felt a sense of a street from his previous life.
Thinking about it, it had been a long time since he had been to a place where he could live a stable life.
Although staying in the Space Station wasn't bad, it always had a lingering scent of work.
As for other places Bai Luan had visited, each was more significant than the last.
Suddenly arriving at a harmonious and stable Xianzhou felt out of place compared to the other locations.
Although Xianzhou had recently experienced a crisis, compared to places like Jarilo and Beta Star, it was already quite fortunate and peaceful.
However, he didn't come to Xianzhou just to be a loiterer.
He had already tasted what taro ball boba tasted like, and now it was time to move on to the next thing that interested him.
That was to see what differences there were between the Celestial Jade that Qingque was obsessed with and the mahjong from his previous life.
Since this was a well-known game on Xianzhou, Bai Luan quickly found a place specifically for playing Celestial Jade.
Bai Luan wasn't in a hurry to join. Instead, he stood aside and watched others play a few rounds. After a few rounds, Bai Luan figured it out.
This was mahjong, just with a different name.
Although there were no surprises, staying to play a couple of rounds of mahjong wasn't a bad idea.
Soon, Bai Luan found a spot where they needed one more player and sat down.
Win, win, and still win.
The worst-case scenario was a draw, with no one getting a winning hand.
Soon, the card players noticed something was off.
Winning once could be attributed to good luck, winning three times could be attributed to a hot streak, but winning for an entire afternoon, almost without losing... "Buddy, are you even bothering to pretend anymore?"
The players, whose scalps were numb from losing, began to gather around, staring intently at Bai Luan's hands, determined to catch him "cheating."
But I wasn't cheating at all?
It's just card counting, isn't it?
How hard can that be?
A deck of Celestial Jade has only 144 tiles in total. Subtracting the ones in his hand, and then inferring their possible combinations based on the tiles each player discarded, predicting the tiles they needed... it wasn't that complicated.
Didn't everyone play this way?
Bai Luan played Celestial Jade for an entire afternoon, dominating the game, and the onlookers watched for an entire afternoon.
They naturally couldn't catch Bai Luan "cheating" in the act.
Now they had to admit that even if Bai Luan was cheating, to not be exposed for so long under so many eyes was already very impressive.
Soon, a new challenger sat opposite Bai Luan.
Qingque.
Her face showed eagerness, saying that as soon as she got off work, she heard about a new star appearing in Celestial Jade, and she wanted to challenge him.
Bai Luan naturally had no objections. It was just a small puzzle game, requiring only a little thought, very relaxing.
Then, the four people at Bai Luan's table played until the sky outside gradually darkened, and Qingque, who had been radiant at first, started to look a bit wilted.
No one wants to keep losing.
Qingque felt trapped in a strange loop. No matter if her luck was good or bad, or if the tiles she drew were good or bad, she just couldn't get a winning hand.
This new star of Celestial Jade really had something going for him.
As for Bai Luan, he was very simple; he only had one thought in his mind.
Hehehe... Celestial Jade is so much fun.
One person's happiness was built upon the suffering of three others.
A new round began. Qingque drew the last tile, and the moment her fingertips touched the tile's surface, her eyes suddenly lit up!
Then, she began to arrange the tiles in front of her at a dizzying speed, her lips curving upwards uncontrollably, rising higher and higher—
Finally, with a loud "bang," she grandly pushed down the neatly arranged tiles in front of her!
"Aih—! Mahjong! Heavenly Hand!"
Bai Luan, who had just finished arranging his tiles: ... This time, he truly had no recourse.
Folks, it seems like I've been set up by fate.
What's the use of calculating if it comes to this?
The Child of Destiny is truly terrifying.
Bai Luan's lips curved into a helpless smile as he silently put down his Celestial Jade tiles.
He truly had no moves left.
Lost, lost to luck.
In the card room, a cheer erupted for Bai Luan's first defeat, mixed with exclamations of surprise, relief, and schadenfreude.
Heaven has eyes! Heaven truly has eyes!