Chapter 195

"The guy's right—having fun is what matters most when you go out."

The female boss's eyes sparkled with a certain longing.

After ten years of vending, her heart had grown as cold as her bank balance.

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian scanned the prizes on the stall, filtering them by their forty-yuan cost.

After calculating, she realized that unless she won a large plush toy, this trip would definitely be a loss.

Though she didn't know what Jiang Nian was up to, some instinct made her agree—and silently prayed she'd at least break even.

When Jiang Nian and Xu Qianqian received their rings from the female boss, the couple ahead had already finished.

He missed entirely, tossed a ring into emptiness, and walked off with a tiny consolation prize, whining.

Jiang Nian thought that if the prizes were replaced with Gonben, he might keep tossing until he hit one.

"You go first—ten rings each."

Xu Qianqian nodded, fixed her gaze on a small plush toy, and threw. After three rings, she finally caught it, exhaling in relief.

The boss's twenty-yuan consolation prize was ugly—like a watermelon rind stomped underfoot.

She didn't want it; she intended to earn a small or medium plush through her own skill—just two would make it worthwhile.

As for the large plush, Xu Qianqian decided to wait and see. If she won the small and medium ones, she'd use her final rings to try for the large one.

The female boss, with nothing else to do, provided ample emotional support from the side.

Watching Xu Qianqian's fourth ring sail toward the medium-sized cat plush, she sucked in a sharp breath.

"Ah!... So close—just a little bit!"

Xu Qianqian frowned tightly, threw three more—each one barely missed.

The female boss beamed; in under ten minutes, fifty yuan had slipped easily into her hands, and she felt giddy.

"Sis, why not try for a bigger plush? Medium ones are too hard to hit—go big, maybe you'll get lucky."

In truth, those plastic-wrapped large plushes had been slightly tampered with—only a handful of rings thrown at once might snag one.

Throwing one at a time was just throwing money away—two yuan per try, two yuan per try.

Xu Qianqian remained unmoved, switched to small plushes, and threw four rings—two landed. She said calmly.

"So-so."

The female boss laughed—these were wholesale, less than two yuan each on average. She beamed and stepped forward to hand Xu Qianqian the won plushes.

"Sis, hitting three is already impressive."

Xu Qianqian was annoyed, but she wasn't good with strangers. So she imagined the boss as Jiang Nian and shot her a sidelong glance.

"Hmm... yeah, I hit three. So, does that affect my chances of getting into a 985?"

The female boss: "..."

The female boss didn't understand scores, but she knew the best universities had numbers—like 233, 886.

And this girl? Clearly a brilliant, obedient type—even if she scribbled a solution to a multiple-choice question, someone would copy it without hesitation.

Jiang Nian's lips twitched; he cleared his throat to break the awkward silence.

"Boss, I've never played this—so if I hit it, I just take it, right?"

"Exactly," the boss shifted her gaze from Xu Qianqian. "Hit it, you take it. Hit them all, you get them all."

"Oh, so my odds are better if I aim for the big plush?"

"Sure, little guy, give it a try," the boss beamed. "It's all luck—throw more, maybe you'll hit one."

Xu Qianqian stepped aside, tugged Jiang Nian's sleeve, and whispered a warning.

"You can't hit the big ones—aim small. Higher chance of hitting."

The knockoff plushes were bizarre and varied; Jiang Nian glanced and didn't recognize any. A weird hybrid copyright aesthetic—worthless anyway.

The medium plushes visibly had better quality; the large ones were fluffy, about half a person's height.

Closer still, there were prizes like tissues, drinks, and snacks.

Jiang Nian had no interest in those. Under the boss's smiling gaze, he casually tossed one ring. It arced through the air and landed squarely on a large plush.

The air froze— the female boss was utterly stunned.

What the fuck, there's a scam!

No, damn it, this is black eating black!

Does luck even exist in this world? First ring, hit the large plush—this was the very first batch I stocked on day one!

Back then, I wasn't this crooked—and it hadn't even been opened from its plastic bag!

Fresh! So fresh!

Xu Qianqian was stunned too. Did it really just happen that easily? Had she missed something? Was something skipped?

Either way, the dumb, grinning cat plush landed in her hands—brand new, still sealed in plastic.

"Boss, I've got nine rings left. Want to buy one back for five yuan?"

Jiang Nian's voice snapped her out of it; Xu Qianqian turned to look at him.

The female boss hesitated, then shook her head. No one stays lucky forever—just like how she sometimes bought rotten eggs at the supermarket.

"Rings aren't bought back—keep throwing."

Jiang Nian grunted, flicked his wrist—and hit another bear plush.

"Oh wow, hit again."

The boss's face darkened—this round was surely a loss. Two large plushes cost nearly forty yuan combined.

Xu Qianqian was stunned too—now she was sandwiched between two large plushes.

She hesitated whether to drag Jiang Nian away, but before she could decide, he moved again.

The boss was going mad, watching the ring fly toward the large plush she chatted with every day after work.

No! Don't put it there!

The ring hung on the dog plushie's ear, stopping in an extremely bizarre state.

The female owner knelt down, violating her own principles, and paid thirty-five yuan to reclaim Jiang Nian's remaining seven rings.

They slipped out after afternoon dismissal; they had to return for evening self-study at 6:20 p. m. and couldn't stay out long. Besides, the three large plushies couldn't be brought back to the classroom—they had to go home first.

On the way home, the streetlights flickered on.

Jiang Nian rode his electric scooter, two large plushies stuffed in front, held in place by his legs.

Xu Qianqian sat on the backseat, hugging one large plushie, speeding home, several pirated plushies crudely stuffed into the trunk.

The evening breeze brushed against her, and Xu Qianqian felt everything was unreal.

An hour ago she was sitting in the classroom solving problems; now she sat on the back of an electric scooter, hugging a large plushie.

Five yuan had bought her three large plushies and several small ones, and she knew clearly these plushies were all for her alone.

The streetlights glowed dim yellow, whirling past in the wind. Xu Qianqian bumped her head against Jiang Nian's and raised her voice slightly.

"How did you throw it so accurately?"

"What?" Jiang Nian didn't hear.

"You…" Xu Qianqian called out, then deflated. "Never mind."

Jiang Nian twisted the throttle, accelerating slowly, tilting his head slightly, his voice blending into the wind.

"Pretty impressive, huh, Brother Nian?"

"Pfft!" Xu Qianqian rolled her eyes at him. "I don't like plushies. Take them back yourself."

"What use would I have for them? A footstool?" Jiang Nian slammed on the brakes, turned around, "I practiced for a week just to win these for you—I'm repaying you, not giving you offspring… I mean, repaying a debt."

"Repaying what debt?" Xu Qianqian was confused, ignoring his stupid slip of the tongue.

"That math strategy you prepared for me before last semester's exam. I pay back every debt." Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow, flicked his hair, and restarted the scooter.

…

Jiang Nian barely made it to evening self-study as the bell rang.

It was all Xu Qianqian's fault—she dawdled, insisting on arranging the three plushies just right. Didn't she say she didn't want them? Her hypocrisy was now fully exposed.

As soon as he sat down, Jiang Nian grabbed a bottle of mineral water and gulped it down. Only then did he calm down, lifting his head to glance at the brightly lit classroom.

Zhang Ningzhi glanced at him curiously and couldn't help whispering.

"Where did you go this afternoon?"

Jiang Nian caught his breath and answered honestly.

"I went to play ring toss with a pretty girl."

Zhang Ningzhi slumped back onto her desk, thinking: Fine, if you won't tell me, then don't.