Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 253: Chapter 236: Eat, Play and Have Fun

”Shall we go check out the claw machine?” He Wenyu said, holding a little pig plushie with an excited face.

It was the weekend, at its busiest time, especially at the amusement centers in busy areas, where all the children were excitedly crowding together.

”I’m going to catch that one.” Luo Qianqian pulled Gu Yanzhi and Chu Ci toward a machine with big plush toys, ”Look at this one, it’s both pretty and big, it totally beats Xiao Yu’s catch.”

The group split into four teams; the first comprised Jiang An and Zhang Jingjing, the undisturbed couple who went to play on their own; the second consisted of Zhang Sheng, Ye Chen, Yang Weizhuang, and Pei Yuhao, who went to play arcade games; the third was Luo Qianqian, Chu Ci, He Wenyu, Jiang Qian, Qiao Xiyang, Gu Yanzhi, and Pei Yutian, though it also split into two, with the new third team made up of Luo Qianqian, Chu Ci, and Gu Yanzhi who hadn’t won anything, and the fourth team, He Wenyu, Jiang Qian, Qiao Xiyang, and Pei Yutian, who each had their own winnings.

He Wenyu watched Luo Qianqian being stubborn, not even accepting his gift, insisting on catching one for herself.

”Then I’ll catch this one.” Chu Ci eyed the small dolphin nearby with a delighted face.

”You go for it, I’ll try to catch this little one over here.” Gu Yanzhi nodded, knowing Luo Qianqian wouldn’t stop until she caught one herself.

”Hey, haha, ah, ohhh...” He Wenyu and the others had lost interest in catching anything themselves, just listening to Luo Qianqian’s solo screaming as she watched the plush toy get caught and then drop again, caught and dropped, in a never-ending cycle.

”Are you planning to make it bounce out?” Qiao Xiyang couldn’t bear to watch the tumbling toy anymore.

Luo Qianqian continued to feed coins without looking up, ”Am I to blame? It’s its fault for being shaped like this, top-heavy and hardly fitting into the claw. I really can’t tell if it’s the claw’s fault, the toy’s fault, or the fault of this world.”

”It’s my fault, why did I even bring you to a place like this?” He Wenyu held his forehead, ”Someone please hurry up and catch something, or we’ll still be here when they close.”

Luo Qianqian begrudgingly made room from the optimal spot she had occupied. She wanted to give up, but having tried for so long, wouldn’t leaving now be too embarrassing?

”I’ll give it a go.” Qiao Xiyang shook his head, girls are troublesome.

Under Qiao Xiyang’s control, the claw obediently passed through the plush toy’s clothes and grabbed its body, easily dropping it out. Following that, he also caught Chu Ci’s small dolphin and looked at Gu Yanzhi with a mischievous smile, ”Hey, need a hand? Helping a lady is chivalrous, but boys, well, they don’t get help for free.”

Gu Yanzhi rolled his eyes and effortlessly snatched the little rabbit plush, he was just concerned about Luo Qianqian feeling embarrassed, okay?

”I’m not talking to you guys, you don’t know what friendship is.” Luo Qianqian took the plush toy but generously rolled her eyes at Qiao Xiyang, ”Let’s gather everyone and go eat.”

”See, as soon as you catch something we’re allowed to go.” He Wenyu shook his head and quickly stepped forward, hooking his arm through Luo Qianqian’s, ”Look at your round thing, where is it as cute as a pig?”

”You’re the pig, this one looks great and it’s fluffy.” Luo Qianqian said nonchalantly, ”Group One is still not done, let’s go find Group Two first...” Spotting the pink bubbles around Jiang An and Zhang Jingjing, Luo Qianqian decisively turned her head and walked toward the other end of the arcade zone.

”Hey, is this place adults only? Then how did they get in?” Luo Qianqian, noticing the boisterous boys and the bronze plaque by the entry, felt a surge of exasperation, then she sneaked up behind them, gesturing to the others, and said in a stern voice, ”ID cards out! Police inspection!”

Pei Yuhao jumped in fright, then turned to see Luo Qianqian laughing so hard she was almost bent over, he was speechless, ”Are you done playing?” Seeing the prizes in everyone’s hands, he understood the outcome, ”Let’s battle again some other day.”

”You gave me a fright, I really thought...” Zhang Sheng patted his chest, looking at the dolls in everyone’s hands, ”You went to play with that? How much could we have bought with the money spent on catching these?”

”It’s about the sense of achievement, okay?” He Wenyu clapped Zhang Sheng on the back, ”Can’t you talk? Don’t dampen our spirits.”

”Exactly, looking for a beating, aren’t you, Qianqian? Let’s not feed him later.” Jiang Qian huffed and turned her head away, not bothering with him anymore.

”Yeah, we’ll eat while he watches, we sit while he stands, and if we get bored, he can sing us a song, okay?” Luo Qianqian suggested, barely containing her laughter.

He Wenyu strongly agreed, nodding incessantly, ”That sounds splendid.”

”Come on, ladies, isn’t an acknowledgment of my wrongdoing enough?” Zhang Sheng pleaded with a sour face towards He Wenyu and the others. Luo Qianqian stepped aside, not accepting the gesture, her face full of disdain.

”Who are you calling?” Luo Qianqian said indignantly to Zhang Sheng.

”What, Princess?” Zhang Sheng opened his mouth, struggling for words for a moment before continuing the conversation.

”Are you referring to the drinking companion kind?” said He Wenyu, also catching on, his face sporting a mischievous grin.

”So... a noble lady?”

”We’re Han Chinese, not Manchu.”

”... a demure lady of good family, would this work?” Zhang Sheng was at a loss for words.

”Sorry, we’re from a humble background...”

”A pure and innocent girl.”

”Are you guys debating or what? Just call her a little fairy, that’s fine,” Luo Qianqian couldn’t stand it any longer.

”And what about the guy? A little immortal? It reminds me of that ’Divine Water,’” He Wenyu curled his lip but didn’t say anything more.

”For guys, it’s just ’handsome.’ Call someone ’handsome,’ and any guy will turn around,” Luo Qianqian snickered.

”Are you suggesting everyone thinks too highly of themselves?” Gu Yanzhi laughed, ”I’m not that narcissistic.”

”You wish, even a ’hey’ people think it’s directed at you...” Qiao Xiyang exposed him.

”Alright, let’s call those two and go eat. What should we eat?” Luo Qianqian blinked and looked around at everyone.

”So, do we still need to think about what to eat for a while?” He Wenyu’s eyes widened, ”Let’s just eat whatever they serve at the third food outlet we come across.”

”Good idea.” They called Jiang An and Zhang Jingjing over, and the group started counting.

The first was sandwiches, which looked good. The second was pizza with quite a crowd, and the third... ice cream???

”We’re eating this for a meal?” Luo Qianqian said, her face twitching as she looked at He Wenyu.

He Wenyu averted his gaze guiltily and looked at the ground, ”How about the next one?”

”The next one’s donuts, the next after that’s afternoon tea. Across the street, there’s Sichuan hotpot and fast food,” Gu Yanzhi walked ahead, looked at all the storefronts, and said.

”It’s half-past twelve now.” Luo Qianqian looked at her watch and frowned, then had a flash of inspiration, ”Shall we have hotpot? It’s festive, and they even have ice cream there.”

Her article fees were definitely not enough to cover the meal, but fortunately, Luo Shufan had generously thrown his wallet to Luo Qianqian before leaving the house.

”I’m stuffed.” After paying the bill, Luo Qianqian collapsed into her chair contentedly, ”I’ll go buy a couple of notebooks later to organize notes for my brothers, and then I’m pretty much done. What are you guys planning to do?”

”You’re coming with me; your brother said you can’t roam around alone.” He Wenyu, rubbing his belly, also looked quite satisfied.

”Oh right, to go with you to get glasses,” Luo Qianqian nodded her head, ”Let’s just go our separate ways after that, I’m not in the mood for fun... I’m too full.”

”You ate the least.” Looking at the heap of leftovers on the table, several boys averted their eyes, thinking they could eat more but failing to do so.

Chu Ci smiled, ”I have a class later, so I should get going too.”

”We need to return home and study this afternoon...” Pei Yuhao sighed, looking at his younger brother.

”Misery loves company.” Pei Yutian sympathetically looked back at his elder brother.

”Good luck, fellas, your high school life beckons you, parentheses, provided that you work hard in junior high, end parentheses.”

”That’s like saying, your college life is going to be wonderful, parentheses, provided you almost die from overwork in high school, end parentheses, it’s the same thing.”

”Don’t say that, it’s better if they look forward to high school a bit,” Luo Qianqian shared a smile with He Wenyu.