480. Catching Plush Toys
“Hey, sneakers really are the best!”
Ning Chu strutted ahead, her eyes sparkling as she scanned the storefronts on either side of the street.
Dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt tucked into her high-waisted skirt, she looked effortlessly chic, emphasizing her slim waist and accentuating her curves. She could feel the admiring glances from passersby; at first, it made her nervous, but she was used to it by now.
With a pretty face and a great figure, any outfit she wore drew attention.
She turned back to Wen Yang, who was casually strolling behind her. “I remember there’s an arcade nearby. I want to catch a few plush toys to take home.”
Wen Yang smiled, his tone gentle. “Just don’t get too carried away.”
“I won’t! I’m a absolute pro at catching plush toys, you know!”
With their destination set, Ning Chu eagerly pulled Wen Yang toward the arcade.
Nowadays, arcades often had fancy names like “Anime City,” making it seem like they were straight out of an anime, but inside there were just various arcade machines.
“After this, let’s swing by the snack street… and then head to the internet cafe?”
They had planned a shopping spree, but after just a few steps, Ning Chu found the idea of the internet cafe way more exciting.
The easily amused girlfriend was music to Wen Yang’s ears.
On their way to the arcade, Ning Chu grabbed a few local snacks, and soon Wen Yang’s hands were filled with an absurd amount of food.
Even though it was a holiday, the arcade wasn’t very crowded, especially the section with the claw machines which looked nearly deserted.
Ning Chu cradled her snack box while scrutinizing the prizes inside the claw machine. She soon zeroed in on a plush shark. “This one! Scan and pay! Wen Yang, get ten tokens first!”
“Is ten enough?”
“Of course! If it doesn’t work, I’ll just switch it up.”
She put down her snacks, stretched her wrists and arms, and assumed a serious expression, as if preparing for finals rather than a fun game.
Once Wen Yang loaded the tokens, Ning Chu positioned herself in front of the claw machine, nervously locking her gaze onto the claw, analyzing the best angle to grab a toy.
The claw descended wobbily, grasping the plush toy, then lazily lifted it up, only for the toy to plummet back down with a “thud.”
After a few more rounds of the same frustrating scene, she couldn’t help but scream, “d*mn it!”
“It’s rigged,” Wen Yang tried to console her from the sidelines.
“I don’t believe it! So close! Five more tokens!”
He figured that similar plush toys probably sold online for around twenty bucks, and they’d be higher quality and bigger too…
But seeing Ning Chu roll up her sleeves with determination, he couldn’t dissuade her and quietly continued feeding the machine.
In her eyes, the claw was blatantly sabotaging her efforts, which only fueled her frustration. Meanwhile, Wen Yang was captivated by her adorably tense expression.
After several failed attempts, she sighed heavily, opting to abandon the game.
“Just bad luck…”
Looking up at Wen Yang, she squinted and suddenly asked, “Wen Yang, what do you like about me?”
“You’ve asked me this before?” He approached the tricky question with caution, trying to evade it. “How about you? What made you like me?”
He playfully asked, “It can’t just be my stunning good looks, right?”
“Right, right! So narcissistic!”
Ning Chu rolled her eyes. Even though Wen Yang was indeed handsome enough to silence her friends…
But after a while, she couldn’t see what was so special about him; his well-built body brought her way more joy than that pretty face.
She turned toward another claw machine, and Wen Yang was thankful to have dodged a b*llet.
For guys, such questions were a minefield; unless they hit the jackpot with their compliments, they’d just provoke Ning Chu’s ire.
“Maybe it’s because I used to be all alone?”
Ning Chu fiddled with the claw machine and suddenly opened up, “No friends, no family… Always by myself.”
“Then something happened that turned me into who I am now… and you showed up.”
She hung her head, casually snagging a plush toy, but there was no joy on her face. “At first, I was resistant. I thought I might not actually like you, just depend on you. But then I thought, since everything’s already a mess, if I didn’t hold onto you, I might never find the right person again.”
Having only been together for a few months, she honestly didn’t know if Wen Yang was the right person for her.
“Going forward and supporting each other really does make things so much easier.”
She looked up at his face, a hint of shyness in her expression, a faint blush on her cheeks. “I mean, this isn’t so bad, right?”
At least it was way more comfortable than her past life.
She had finally managed to shake off the fears of turning into a girl.
Wen Yang gently ruffled her hair, his smile softer than usual. “So you picked the right guy. Great taste!”
“Heh~ My mom thinks I’m blind for picking you, you broke loser!”
But as Ning Chu glanced back, she realized that whether it was getting transported to this parallel universe or becoming a girl, falling for a guy, or descending into this situation… her life seemed to be getting better and better.
“What’s just money? Don’t you trust your male protagonist?”
Wen Yang chuckled as he took the plush toy Ning Chu had just caught, very willingly becoming her bag carrier.
“Aren’t you the one lacking confidence? I’ve always thought you could do anything, you know?”
With a toss of her head, Ning Chu’s hair brushed against his face, sending a light sting along with a whiff of shampoo fragrance.
“Got a plush toy! Let’s go online!”
“No one just strolls from shopping to the internet cafe.”
“Today, you’re taking me flying! We’re definitely going to rack up some major points! I always blame my laptop for my terrible gaming skills!”
Wen Yang quickened his pace to catch up. “Then we can eat the rest at the internet cafe?”
“You eat, I’m full.”
“……”
One hand clutched the plush toy she just caught while the other dangled several plastic bags filled with snacks. He sighed helplessly.
Although he certainly had a big appetite, it felt like Ning Chu was raising him like a pig.
…
Meanwhile, in Lily’s home, the sounds of mahjong were already echoing.
“Nine characters!”
“One bamboo!”
“Hu!”
“Seriously! How is it always Lily? You’re too good!” Yan Xinya jumped up, incredulously leaning over to see the tiles that Lily had just laid down. “No wonder you’re confident enough to play strip mahjong! Good thing we’re just playing for money…”
Qian Qian nodded vigorously in agreement.
If they were playing for clothes, everyone in the room would have been left in nothing but their underwear by now.
Truly, Sister Lily was something else!
