188: Chapter 188 It got smeared with cream.

The ball rolled out straight, slicing precisely into the pocket with a satisfying clatter of impact...

Strike!

“Whoa!” Xia Ningle couldn't help but clap her hands.

“Another strike! Wenhan, have you been secretly training in every sport imaginable?”

Xiao Wenhan watched the numbers jumping on the scoreboard, the corners of his mouth curving into a barely perceptible arc. “This... it's mostly a matter of practice makes perfect.”

“I don't care, I don't care! Master, won't you take me under your wing? Teach me your secrets!” Xia Ningle leaned in, pressing her hands together in a prayer gesture, her eyes blinking rapidly.

She once again wore that expression—a mix of playful pestering and genuine admiration. Xiao Wenhan found himself completely defenseless against that look.

He walked over to her side and pointed at the lane. “When you release the ball, don't use too much force with your wrist. Just follow the natural momentum of the swing...” He explained the key points as concisely as possible.

Xia Ningle listened intently. When she tried again, she was indeed much better than before. Although she only knocked down seven or eight pins, it was enough to make her jump for joy. “It works, it works! Look!”

She turned excitedly toward Xiao Wenhan, her smile so bright it was dazzling.

Xiao Wenhan looked at her cheeks, which were flushed from the exercise, and her sparkling eyes. His heart skipped another beat, and he could only nod. “Mm, very good.”

After several rounds, Xia Ningle's score steadily improved. Although she still couldn't match Xiao Wenhan's stable performance of getting a strike in almost every frame, she clearly enjoyed the process of improvement and the instant gratification of knocking down the pins.

When the final game ended, the scoreboard showed Xiao Wenhan leading by a large margin.

Xia Ningle looked at the score and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Sigh, a total defeat! But I'm thoroughly convinced!”

She picked up a small commemorative badge provided by the table and handed one to Xiao Wenhan. “This is for you, the champion's reward!”

It was a small metal badge printed with the club's logo.

Xiao Wenhan took it, his fingertips brushing against her slightly warm palm.

“Thank you.” He gripped the badge in his hand; the slight chill of the metal seemed to take on her warmth.

As they walked out of the bowling alley, the setting sun had already dyed the horizon with a layer of warm orange.

“I had so much fun today!” Xia Ningle stretched, her tone carrying the laziness that follows a day of full enjoyment.

“Go-karts, archery, bowling... Wenhan, let's come back again next time, okay? I need to practice more. I have to win a round against you next time!”

The strands of her hair were gilded with a soft golden edge by the sunset, and the lines of her profile looked exceptionally soft in the twilight.

Xiao Wenhan looked at her, and the noisy crowd around them seemed to fall silent.

“Okay.” He heard himself answer, his voice a few degrees softer than usual.

“We'll come back next time.”

Hearing this, Xia Ningle turned her head and gave him a big, unreserved smile—a smile even more brilliant than the evening clouds on the horizon.

Xiao Wenhan's fingers, holding that cool badge, quietly tightened.

The afterglow of the sunset stretched their shadows long, intertwining them into a warm picture on the sidewalk.

Xia Ningle skipped across the cracks in the floor tiles, then suddenly remembered something and turned around, walking backward to face Xiao Wenhan.

“Tell me, if I practice for an hour every day, how long will it take to catch up to your level?”

A mischievous light shone in her eyes, as if she were already plotting some 'grand plan for revenge.'

Xiao Wenhan raised an eyebrow slightly, pretending to think seriously. “With your talent... probably about three years and five months.”

“What?!” Xia Ningle widened her eyes exaggeratedly.

“Who are you looking down on! I clearly improve super fast!”

Her huffy appearance made him unable to stop himself from chuckling.

“Just kidding.” He slowed his pace to walk side-by-side with her.

“Actually, you learn very quickly, it's just...”

“Just what?” she pressed, leaning closer. The faint scent of shampoo from her hair drifted over with the wind.

Xiao Wenhan averted his gaze, the tips of his ears heating up slightly. “It's just that sometimes you're too hurried. Bowling requires a sense of rhythm, not just strength.”

Xia Ningle nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly pointed to an ice cream shop on the street corner. “Then as an apology, buy me an ice cream, okay? Matcha flavored!”

Without waiting for his answer, she had already jogged over, the hem of her skirt tracing a cheerful arc in the air.

Xiao Wenhan watched her back and shook his head helplessly, but his eyes were filled with a tenderness he hadn't even noticed.

There was a small queue at the entrance of the ice cream shop. Xia Ningle stood on her tiptoes to look at the various flavors in the display case, chattering away with her evaluations.

“This one looks delicious! Ah, that one isn't bad either! Wenhan, what flavor do you like?”

“Original is fine.” He actually rarely ate sweets, but looking at her excited profile, he suddenly felt that making an occasional exception wouldn't be bad.

When she handed over the double-scoop matcha ice cream for him to take the first bite, Xiao Wenhan hesitated for a moment.

Xia Ningle held up the ice cream, looking at him with sparkling eyes, a bit of green cream still clinging to the corner of her mouth.

He leaned in slightly and took a bite from the spoon in her hand. The fresh fragrance of matcha melted in his mouth, the sweetness just right.

“How is it?” she asked expectantly, as if she had made the ice cream herself.

“Very good,” he answered softly, his gaze falling on that speck of cream at the corner of her mouth.

Possessed by a sudden impulse, he reached out his finger and gently wiped it across the corner of her lips.

Both of them froze at the same time.

Xia Ningle's face instantly turned bright red, like the most vivid sunset cloud in the sky.

Xiao Wenhan also jerked his hand back, his fingertips burning and his heart pounding like a drum.

“That... there was some cream on you.” For once, he was somewhat incoherent.

A subtle silence spread between the two, yet it carried a certain sweet tension.

Xia Ningle lowered her head and bit the spoon, her eyelashes trembling slightly, but the corners of her mouth quietly lifted.

In the end, she was the one to break the silence, deliberately saying in a lighthearted tone, “As a punishment, you have to hold it for me!”

Xiao Wenhan looked at the gradually melting ice cream in his hand, then at her profile—she was deliberately looking away, but her face was flushed. He suddenly felt that this evening was more beautiful than any other moment.

They walked slowly along the street lined with plane trees, the setting sun casting mottled shadows through the gaps in the leaves.

Xia Ningle took small bites of her ice cream while excitedly talking about the day's fun events, gesturing animatedly when she reached the exciting parts.

Xiao Wenhan mostly listened quietly, responding occasionally.

He noticed that when she got excited, she would unconsciously grab his sleeve. This discovery caused his heart rate to become irregular again.

While passing a boutique, Xia Ningle was attracted by something in the window and suddenly let out an “Ah!”

“Wait here for a second!” Xia Ningle said, then ran inside.

Xiao Wenhan stood where he was, watching her gesture something to the shop assistant. Then, she happily paid and ran back, mysteriously hiding her hands behind her back.

“Close your eyes!” Xia Ningle said, slightly out of breath, her eyes as bright as brilliant stars.

Though puzzled, Xiao Wenhan cooperated and closed his eyes.