Ye Yixi and Shen Qingran really got carried away playing. Two hundred game tokens were nowhere near enough. The claw machines alone almost cost the two of them sixty or seventy tokens. They tried again and again, and every time they thought they were about to succeed, reality told them it was all an illusion. Those mechanical claws were limp and weak, without any strength at all! Who knew what kind of experts could actually grab the dolls inside?
However, the two of them were not stubborn enough to keep hanging themselves from one tree. They turned around and played other games instead, almost going through every game in the arcade. In the end, they loaded another two hundred tokens. It was not until the place was about to close that they reluctantly left.
When they checked the time, it was already past 12:30 a.m.
Tall buildings filled their view. Even at night, the fast-paced city was still brightly lit and full of traffic. For many night owls, nightlife had only just begun.
Shen Qingran still seemed immersed in the games from earlier. She was full of energy, without the slightest hint of sleepiness. Ye Yixi had originally planned to drive back, but at that moment, she changed her mind again. After playing for so long, the food in their stomachs had already digested. Why not indulge a little and go eat a late-night snack?
Today, Shen Qingran was like a wishing well that granted every request. Whatever Ye Yixi said, she was willing to accompany her. Ye Yixi suddenly felt that this person seemed like a member of The Truman Show, trapped inside this novel’s seemingly beautiful but inescapable fixed character setting. Because of that, from childhood until now, there were many things she had never done, even things that were extremely ordinary.
“Have you ever gone out this late to eat?”
“What? Do you think I’m the kind of person who controls her weight very strictly?” Shen Qingran shook her head and retorted, “When friends hold parties at home, I also eat until very late before going back.”
Tsk, that was not what she meant at all.
However, Shen Qingran’s friends were probably all famous families from high society. A party they held must be quite extravagant.
Ye Yixi crooked her finger at her with a mysterious expression. “Then let’s go. I’ll take you to a small shop for something to eat!”
…
No matter where one was, there would always be places like food streets and small food stalls.
They did not drive their own car. Instead, they chose to take a taxi. Even in a Mary Sue novel world, this kind of place existed. The driver, who was very familiar with the area, sent Ye Yixi and Shen Qingran to their destination without another word.
The moment they got out of the car, Ye Yixi was pleasantly surprised. She really had not known that there was such a place nearby. It was somewhat remote but very lively. It looked completely out of place beside those cold, fortress-like skyscrapers.
A row of short houses were crowded together, some even old and shabby. Green moss crawled over the bricks and tiles, like the tree hole Alice found beneath the big tree in Alice in Wonderland, leading to a strange new world. The people sitting here and eating seemed to be filled with the warmth and smoke of ordinary life.
At this moment, Ye Yixi felt as if she had returned to the real world.
Shen Qingran was naturally not used to it. Her privileged family environment meant that since childhood, she had rarely come into contact with food from small stalls. At night, the crowd was even larger. This narrow path was almost packed shoulder to shoulder. When many people brushed past Shen Qingran, they nearly pressed against her body.
Shen Qingran subconsciously tightened her grip on Ye Yixi’s arm and leaned closer to her. Having an Alpha by her side really did make her feel much more at ease.
But she did not dislike this kind of place. Instead, she found it novel. Many people at the stalls laughed loudly, drank, and ate meat. Shen Qingran actually felt a trace of envy. She lowered her eyes and could not help sighing inwardly. This kind of state, where one did not need to pretend and could act freely, was truly something to long for.
Ye Yixi was suddenly gripped tightly by her and felt quite satisfied. It gave her the feeling of being needed by an Omega.
With red ears, she boldly held Shen Qingran’s hand and walked through the crowd. It was as if they were about to elope and hide away from the world…
Before long, they found a small noodle shop with empty seats, so they decided to eat their late-night snack there.
The tables and stools here were very low and placed in the open-air seating area. Under the lights, it had a unique charm.
“Miss Shen, we ate hotpot today, so let’s have something light in the middle of the night.” Ye Yixi smiled and pushed the menu toward Shen Qingran, signaling for her to order first.
Shen Qingran was somewhat at a loss. She looked over the handwritten paper menu, left and right. In the end, she ordered a bowl of small wontons in bone broth, while Ye Yixi ordered a bowl of plain scallion noodles.
The small shop served food very quickly. In about five minutes, two fragrant bowls of noodles were brought to the table.
Shen Qingran ate in small bites, her pace rather slow. When the soup entered her mouth, she only felt that it was extremely fresh and savory. She had never eaten at a place like this before. Her first attempt tasted so good that it truly exceeded her expectations.
As for Ye Yixi, she lowered her head and slurped her noodles on her own. Although the flavor was not as authentic as the shop downstairs from her home in the real world, she was already very satisfied. If the scallions were the kind she had grown herself, they would definitely taste even more fragrant!
It had to be said, the portions at this shop were truly generous. After eating, both of them felt full again. Ye Yixi even burped twice without caring about her image. She wiped the oil stain from the corner of her mouth with a napkin and said leisurely, “Miss Shen, I’m really a little full. Why don’t we walk around nearby for a bit, then we can go back?”
Shen Qingran also felt full. She touched her own stomach and felt that it was round like a ball. Subconsciously, she patted it a few times. Her slumped posture looked exactly like an old man.
“Alright. Then let’s walk a little more.”
…
At night, a gentle breeze blew over, making the air quite cool. The wind lifted both of their hair as they slowly strolled along the street. In the comfortable breeze, they unexpectedly began to feel a trace of ease.
After walking out of the food street and turning two corners, a wide road appeared before their eyes. Immediately afterward, there were tall buildings again, as if they had teleported from the countryside into a big city.
A small area over there was surrounded by a circle of people, making Ye Yixi curious. When she looked carefully, she discovered it was a ring-toss stall game with dolls.
Why dolls again?
Could it be that because they had stubbornly failed to catch any from the claw machines, heaven was giving them another chance?
Ye Yixi thought for a moment, then turned around and pushed Shen Qingran to play too.
“Miss Shen, which doll do you want? Want to try tossing a ring?”
“…My luck is bad. I couldn’t catch even one at the arcade, let alone here.” Shen Qingran shook her head, expressing that she had already lost interest in this. In truth, it was more that she had lost confidence in herself.
“Ah, it doesn’t matter. We’re just playing anyway.”
Before Shen Qingran could react, Ye Yixi had already stuffed several rings into her hands.
Helpless, Shen Qingran could only search around with her gaze. In the end, she locked onto a small gray bucktoothed lop-eared rabbit. It was ugly-cute and rather interesting. After choosing the doll, she aimed at the area and threw the rings in her hand one after another.
Then, as expected, with several clanking sounds, all of them bounced elsewhere. It was bad enough that she did not get a single one, but what annoyed Shen Qingran the most was that Ye Yixi was laughing beside her the entire time. She was even clapping while laughing. Shen Qingran could not keep her face from falling and almost threw a ring directly over Ye Yixi’s head.
“Hahahahaha, Miss Shen, it’s fine. This is very normal. You don’t need to feel embarrassed!”
“Since you’re laughing so happily, you must be very good at it. Why don’t you try?”
Shen Qingran said this through gritted teeth and handed all the rings to Ye Yixi.
And actually, Ye Yixi was quite confident. After taking the rings, she directly continued attacking the bucktoothed rabbit that Shen Qingran had failed to get earlier, as if it would become hers in the next second.
The result was the same as Shen Qingran’s.
She did not get even one.
This time, Ye Yixi could not laugh anymore. She rolled her eyes and returned the rings to the stall owner, muttering, “These rings are too small. They can’t catch anything at all…”
Now it was Shen Qingran’s turn to laugh at her.
She covered her mouth, her eyes curving like crescent moons. Ye Yixi, who had originally been unhappy, saw her laughing so hard she bent forward and backward and was shamefully charmed by it.
When this person smiled, it was practically dripping with honey.
So sweet and so cute…
Ye Yixi’s little heart skipped another hard beat at this moment.
Shen Qingran had truly been hit right in the funny bone by Ye Yixi’s confident attitude followed by instant failure. But when she saw Ye Yixi staring foolishly at her, she immediately became uncomfortable again. So she quickly restrained her smile.
Her expression changed as fast as flipping a book.
“Miss Ye, it’s very late. Let’s go back.”
The two of them had taken a taxi here. At this point, it was already too late, and they were both too lazy to return to the parking lot to drive their cars out. They decided to have their drivers bring the cars back tomorrow instead.
For safety’s sake, they finally decided to take a taxi home together. Ye Yixi would send Shen Qingran home first, then return herself.
There was no helping it. If Shen Qingran, an Omega, went home alone late at night, Ye Yixi really would not feel at ease. She could only think of this compromise.
By the time the taxi arrived outside Shen Qingran’s villa, it was already around two in the morning. On the way, Ye Yixi had been unable to hold on and had dozed off for a while. But when Shen Qingran got out of the car, Ye Yixi suddenly called out to her.
“Miss Shen, wait!”
“Is there something else?”
After getting out of the car, Shen Qingran’s head was also hazy, and she felt like she was about to fall asleep. Ye Yixi rummaged messily through her bag, then took something out and handed it to her.
Shen Qingran’s sleepiness instantly faded a little. Her face was full of disbelief.
It was actually that bucktoothed doll from earlier?
“When did you win it…”
“When you were calling the taxi. Also, I didn’t win it. I saw that you liked it, so I secretly bought it from the stall owner…”
Ye Yixi yawned, her eyes still sleepy.
Shen Qingran stared blankly at the doll in her hand. Unconsciously, she gently stroked it with her fingertips. Then she secretly glanced at Ye Yixi.
Something unclear began to sprout in her heart, and her cheeks started to heat slightly.
She really was a little shy.
At this moment, everything was dark, so Ye Yixi could not see Shen Qingran’s expression clearly at all. She zipped up her bag, said good night, and said goodbye to Shen Qingran.
The car drove away quickly, but Shen Qingran remained standing there for a long time.
Holding the doll, she faced the direction where the taxi had disappeared, bit her lip, and said in a very small voice:
“Thank you. Today was an especially, especially happy day…”
