Chapter 28.2
A heroic-looking young girl was squeezing the steamed-bun plushie in her hands until it was almost deformed, circling around beside a cold-faced young girl who was operating the machine. She looked even more nervous than if she were the one playing, only short of pressing herself against the glass of the machine.
“Eh, eh, a little more to the left. Right. Ah, what a pity. Again, again.”
“Forward, forward. You can do it. This time will definitely work. Ah… what a pity… just a little bit…”
Perhaps because of Xie Shuyun’s “interference,” or perhaps because of the two girls’ high looks, more and more people gathered around them.
By the time Cheng Lingxue failed on her fifth try, the surroundings had grown even noisier. Those sounds made Cheng Lingxue’s brows furrow slightly. She turned her head, wanting to tell Xie Shuyun that she wanted to leave.
But at that moment, she felt a warm body lean against her back.
Her eyes shrank slightly. She turned her head a little and saw Xie Shuyun’s enlarged face.
At this moment, Xie Shuyun was standing behind Cheng Lingxue. Her taller body circled Cheng Lingxue within it, as if she wanted to wrap Cheng Lingxue’s whole person inside.
Her nose was filled with that person’s scorching breath. There seemed to be a faint trace of lime wine lingering at the tip of her nose, making a blush appear on Cheng Lingxue’s cheeks.
“You…”
Before she could finish speaking, the hand Cheng Lingxue had on the control stick was covered by a large hand. Scorching heat came from that person’s palm, as if it wanted to melt someone.
“Let’s do it together. This time, it’ll definitely work.”
Xie Shuyun stared closely at the white steamed bun inside, her tone full of firm seriousness. She did not notice the abnormality on the face of the person in front of her at all.
Cheng Lingxue lightly bit her thin lip.
Xie Shuyun’s warm breath kept falling against her neck. Every breath gave Cheng Lingxue an electric shock-like feeling. The strength in her body seemed to be drawn away, and she leaned softly against Xie Shuyun.
This feeling of reliance made Cheng Lingxue extremely uncomfortable.
But the machine’s starting music sounded. The hand holding hers applied a faint force, attracting Cheng Lingxue’s gaze and moving her attention back to the machine, following the swaying claw above.
“Right here. There’s definitely no problem…”
Xie Shuyun’s murmur sounded beside her ear. The confidence in her tone smoothed over Cheng Lingxue’s somewhat restless heart and extinguished the irritation caused by all her repeated failures just now.
“Now! Press it!”
Hearing Xie Shuyun’s shout, Cheng Lingxue subconsciously pressed the button with her right hand.
The claw immediately spun and dropped, pulling at everyone’s heartstrings. Then the claw grabbed—
Thump.
It was the sound of something falling into the prize chute.
“We did it!”
Xie Shuyun was as happy as a child. She did not even go to look at the plushie that had fallen into the chute. Instead, in excitement, she grabbed Cheng Lingxue’s slender waist and spun her around once in place.
The beautiful, cold young girl was lifted up. Her light figure, paired with her black hair fluttering gently from the spin and the swaying hem of her skirt, made her look like a fairy, like an alluring little spirit, and even more like a beautiful painting.
The people around them who had not yet left could not help taking out their phones to capture this unforgettable scene.
Their eyes were full of admiration.
But the person involved was not very happy.
Although she was happy they had caught the plushie, being suddenly lifted and spun around by Xie Shuyun was still something Cheng Lingxue could not accept.
The feeling of her feet leaving the ground made her uneasy. She tightly grabbed the clothes on Xie Shuyun’s shoulders, her fingertips turning slightly pale.
After one circle, she could not help raising her hand and slapping Xie Shuyun’s shoulder, her tone containing a trace of anger.
“You! What are you doing? Hurry and put me down!”
“Hahaha, sorry, sorry. I was too happy.”
Xie Shuyun also knew she had lost control a little. She quickly put Cheng Lingxue down and lowered her head, speaking apologetically.
But only she herself knew that her hands, hidden behind her back, were quietly clasped together, as if wanting to retain the feeling of having touched Cheng Lingxue’s waist just now.
Soft, yet not lacking elasticity.
It was a feeling she absolutely could not have imagined.
She wanted…
She wanted to do it again…
This thought made Xie Shuyun’s face turn red. She quickly took a water bottle from her small backpack and drank a mouthful.
The cool liquid flowed down her throat, easing her fluctuating emotions and extinguishing certain thoughts she should not have.
Cheng Lingxue lowered her head and patted her clothes.
Before she could lift her head, a white steamed bun appeared before her eyes.
Different from the first one Xie Shuyun had caught, this one had heart-shaped eyes and a kissing expression.
She did not immediately take it. Instead, she stretched out one finger and rubbed the steamed bun.
Almost without using any force, her finger sank into it and was then gently bounced back out.
This feeling was novel to Cheng Lingxue. She also understood why Xie Shuyun had kept kneading the other one earlier.
“Take it. This is your result today.”
As she said this, Xie Shuyun silently changed “your” to “our” in her heart, and her mood became even better.
“Cough, cough. Excuse me.”
At this moment, a voice came over.
It was a male beta wearing the store uniform, with a name tag that read “Manager” hanging on his chest.
“Is something the matter?” Xie Shuyun asked.
“Because you two are new customers in our store, I wanted to introduce the event we’re currently holding.”
As the male beta spoke, he pointed toward the counter not far away. On top of it were dozens of giant plushies. The smallest were half a person tall, while the largest were even taller than a person.
“These are the prizes for the event. There are three sizes. As long as you catch twenty, twenty-five, or thirty plushies within the time limit, you can exchange them for the corresponding prize.”
“This…”
Xie Shuyun hesitated a little.
If they participated, it might take quite a bit of time. The number of plushies they had to catch was not small either.
But when she wanted to ask Cheng Lingxue’s opinion, she found that Cheng Lingxue’s attention had shifted from the white steamed bun and followed the manager’s gesture.
She realized that what Cheng Lingxue was looking at was not those cute big cats or big dogs.
Instead, it was a deep blue giant shark wrapped in a large plastic bag, its tail tied to a beam.
Uh…
Lingxue likes this?
This kind of preference seemed a little different from ordinary people’s…
Xie Shuyun blinked. After thinking for less than three seconds, she turned her head to the manager, who had not yet left, and said,
“I’ll participate. What’s the time limit?”
“Two hours.”
The manager’s eyes lit up. Then he raised two fingers and gestured to all the claw machines.
“As long as the plushies are caught from the machines, they count. However, the two you caught just now do not count. Would you like us to start timing now?”
“Mm. Then start timing now.”
That shark’s eyes…
look a little like Xie Shuyun’s…
Cheng Lingxue stared blankly at that shark.
Actually, because it was wrapped in a plastic bag, it looked a little blurry overall. But she still felt that some part of it was similar.
By the time she came back to herself, cheers and applause had already sounded around her.
Only then did she realize that even more people had gathered around at some point. Her relaxed brows furrowed again, and she wanted to call Xie Shuyun to leave.
But unexpectedly, that person was rolling up her sleeves and energetically catching plushies. Several baskets beside her already had six or seven plushies inside, but Xie Shuyun showed no sign of stopping.
“What are you doing?”
Coming to Xie Shuyun’s side, Cheng Lingxue asked softly.
“Ah, I’m participating in the event. Please wait for me. It’ll be done soon.”
Without looking at Cheng Lingxue, Xie Shuyun’s gaze stayed fixed on the descending claw. Even so, she did not forget to give Cheng Lingxue a smile.
In the next second, another plushie fell into the chute, and she bent down to take it out.
“That alpha is so handsome. Totally my type.”
“Me too. But that omega is also really pretty. They’re probably a couple. Wow, she got another one!”
“She probably plays often. Her technique is really practiced. So amazing. I might not even get one after dozens of tries.”
Listening to the others praise Xie Shuyun, Cheng Lingxue’s hands tightened slightly around the white steamed bun.
She should have been happy, but when she heard some omegas talking about wanting to go up and strike up a conversation, a faint sourness rose in her heart.
Her gaze wandered over Xie Shuyun’s face.
The other girl’s appearance was already top-tier to begin with. Now that she was focused on catching plushies, her eyes sparkled, as if starlight shone within them. The smile on her face drew people closer, making them want to touch her and come into contact with the warmth she radiated.
She really is too eye-catching…
Cheng Lingxue’s fingertips holding the white steamed bun tightened slightly. In a spot no one else could see, they sank deeply into it.
Her black pupils gradually darkened.
No one knew what she was thinking.
More than an hour passed before Xie Shuyun finally completed the challenge within the time limit. Under everyone’s gaze, she carried several baskets of plushies to the counter for counting.
Actually, there was no need to deliberately count them, because the employee in charge of timing had been standing beside them.
Very quickly, Xie Shuyun obtained the right to choose a prize. Without hesitation, she directly chose the giant shark.
“It’s really soft.”
Taking the deep blue giant shark, which had been removed from the plastic cover, from the employee’s hands, Xie Shuyun was amazed by its softness. The fine plush was also hard to put down. Xie Shuyun rubbed it several times before quickly coming to Cheng Lingxue.
“Lingxue, look. We got the plushie. This is the one you wanted, right?”
Half of the heroic young girl’s face was almost covered by the shark, but her brown eyes were full of smiles. They were actually somewhat similar to the shark’s big black eyes.
The shark Cheng Lingxue had seen earlier had been hanging by its tail with its head down. Now that Xie Shuyun had turned it around so its head faced upward, the shark’s lower jaw immediately dropped by a palm’s width, revealing white pointed teeth inside.
So the shark’s mouth could open.
But the corners of the shark’s mouth had been designed to curl up slightly. This made its open-mouthed smile carry a bit of silly charm.
When matched with Xie Shuyun’s excited grin, it felt…
somewhat similar.
Did she want the shark?
Not entirely.
But the fact that it looked like a certain someone made it seem rather worth bringing back.
Looking at it, a trace of amusement flashed through Cheng Lingxue’s eyes. But she quickly pressed her lips together, suppressing the corner of her mouth that almost curved upward.
Not noticing the cold young girl holding back a smile, Xie Shuyun saw that Cheng Lingxue was not taking it and felt a little confused.
She could not help hugging the shark and moving a little closer, wanting to poke her head over and see what Cheng Lingxue was doing.
As a result, she felt her hands sink as something pressed down on them. She instinctively steadied herself.
An itchy sensation came from her arm.
Lowering her eyes, she saw strands of black hair, dark and glossy, shining under the lights.
They were Cheng Lingxue’s hair!
So the person leaning over was Cheng Lingxue?
The thought flashed through her mind, and Xie Shuyun was so frightened she did not dare move.
Her feet opened slightly, afraid that if she fell, Cheng Lingxue would fall to the ground too.
Only when the weight on her arms slowly lightened and the itch gradually left did Xie Shuyun poke her head out from beneath the shark’s fin.
She saw the cold young girl lightly stroking the shark’s soft belly. A faint blush had appeared on her fair face, probably because her face had been pressed against the shark just now and felt stuffy.
“It’s pretty nice, right? Do you want to hold it yourself?”
Although Cheng Lingxue had not said anything, from her movements and expression, Xie Shuyun could sense that she seemed to really like this shark.
This made Xie Shuyun very happy too.
She pushed the plushie toward Cheng Lingxue again. Her eyes shimmered with the light of mischief.
Before the other girl could react, she stuffed it into her arms, filling Cheng Lingxue’s embrace with the shark plushie.
The young girl’s arms were spread wide, but she could not wrap them around the shark’s chubby waist at all. In her palms, she was also holding a white steamed bun in each hand.
She was a little shorter than Xie Shuyun. While Xie Shuyun could still barely see over it, Cheng Lingxue was almost entirely blocked, with only a little of her dark eyes showing. There was even confusion inside, as if she had not yet figured out what had happened.
And because Xie Shuyun had stuffed the shark over with such force, the girl’s hair had lifted slightly and was only now slowly drifting back down.
One strand fell onto the girl’s nose. Her nose twitched slightly, and she turned her head to give a tiny sneeze.
“…Pfft…”
Xie Shuyun finally could not hold back and laughed.
This was the first time she had seen Cheng Lingxue look so flustered. She looked like a child forced to hug a huge plushie—pitiful, yet reluctant to let go.
Hearing Xie Shuyun’s laughter, Cheng Lingxue’s beautiful eyes widened slightly.
She also knew she had become a joke in the other girl’s eyes. But hugging such a huge plushie, she could not act. She could only lightly press her lips together and secretly think about how to make this person suffer later.
She actually dared laugh at her!
Eek!
Suddenly feeling a little cold, Xie Shuyun shrank her neck and rubbed her arms. She was about to take the shark plushie back.
A joke was fine in moderation. She could not possibly let Cheng Lingxue carry it back like this. After all, she would not be able to walk properly at all.
But before her hand could touch the plushie, a figure staggered out from the side and crashed into Xie Shuyun.
A faint jasmine fragrance entered her nose. It seemed to be the scent of pheromones, making Xie Shuyun’s body stiffen slightly.
“Wu… that hurts…”
A soft cry came from her chest. The figure moved away from Xie Shuyun, finally revealing her true appearance.
It was an omega girl who looked rather sweet. Light makeup made her looks a little better, and her misty eyes added a bit of pitiful charm.
Looking at the omega girl covering her reddened nose with a pitiful expression, Xie Shuyun scratched her head and still asked,
“Are you okay?”
“Ah, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern. But Big Sister, what about you? I accidentally bumped into you. Are you hurt anywhere?”
The omega girl lifted her head. Her voice was soft and delicate, pleasant to hear.
But why did Xie Shuyun feel a cold wind around her?
She quickly stepped back, avoiding the omega girl’s touch, and waved her hand.
“I’m fine. Since you’re okay, then I’ll go fir—”
Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, the omega girl had already cried out in surprise.
She looked at the shark plushie Cheng Lingxue was holding, which was even bigger than herself and almost covered her entire body. Her eyes were full of longing.
Then she turned and looked at Xie Shuyun with worshipful eyes.
“Big Sister, you’re amazing! I really want that big bear plushie!”
As she spoke, the omega girl pointed at the golden teddy bear on the counter, which was no smaller than the shark plushie. She blinked pitifully, pressed her hands together, and begged Xie Shuyun.
“Please help me, okay?”
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!