Chapter 432 - 211: Shen Yuan’s Ideal Monthly Exam Results
Chapter 432: Chapter 211: Shen Yuan’s Ideal Monthly Exam Results
No sooner had Yang Ze said, "Christmas has nothing to do with us seniors," than Ah Jie instantly shook off the wistfulness he’d felt about the passage of time.
Ah Jie waved a hand grandly. "Tch! Who cares if there’s a holiday or not? We’re already here, so let’s find something fun to do, huh?"
With that, Brother Jie pointed to a crowded area. "Let’s go, let’s go! There’s an art toy store over there! Let’s go open some blind boxes! What if I get super lucky and score the chase figure on the first try?"
The suggestion was met with immediate enthusiasm, especially from He Zhiyu and Zhuo Peipei, who had a weakness for cute trinkets.
The whole group swarmed over.
Inside the brightly lit store, a vast wall lined with countless blind boxes was a dazzling sight.
Ah Jie rubbed his palms together, chanting under his breath, "Chase! Chase! The chase figure’s comin’ to papa!"
He picked a series, paid, and then, with an almost reverent sense of ceremony, tore open the packaging with trembling hands...
"Damn it!" Ah Jie yelled in outrage, staring at the unremarkable common figure in his hand.
"It’s all a ripoff!" Chen Mingyu and Yang Ze also opened their boxes, and, unsurprisingly, they all got common figures, letting out a chorus of disappointed sighs.
Still, the figures were well-made, so even the common ones looked pretty good.
Seeing the identical common figures in their hands and the utterly defeated look on Ah Jie’s face, Zhuo Peipei and He Zhiyu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
"Hey, hey!"
Ah Jie looked like he’d just had an idea. His eyes lit up with a mischievous glint as he turned to Shen Yuan and Li Zhi, the pair who had been staying out of the "raffle."
"Yuan, Sister Li! Come on, you two give it a shot! Let’s see if you’ve got the magic touch!"
Having been called out, Shen Yuan instinctively glanced at Li Zhi beside him.
The girl had her head turned, examining the rows of glittering display cases in the shop, seemingly uninterested in the blind boxes.
Only when she heard the commotion did she glance over at the brand-new blind box, decorated with a trendy figurine, that had been shoved into Shen Yuan’s hands.
Shen Yuan held the box and leaned a little closer to Li Zhi. A smile played on his lips as he whispered, asking for her opinion, "Li Bao, what do you say we pull a chase figure and make them die of jealousy?"
Li Zhi’s gaze shifted from an exquisite figurine in a glass display case to his face.
Her delicate features remained impassive, showing neither excitement from the lively atmosphere nor any obvious disdain.
She shook her head decisively, her voice clear and crisp. "I’m not doing it. It’s childish."
After a moment’s pause, the girl’s small chin lifted slightly, and her gaze swept pointedly toward several rows of colorful claw machines along the wall.
As if stating the obvious, with a hint of ’what’s the point of this stupid thing,’ she said to Shen Yuan, "It’s a waste of money. Instead of guessing patterns based on probability, we might as well go play the claw machines."
In the girl’s tone, playing the claw machines was somehow the sensible choice, while opening blind boxes was just a boring game full of "tricks."
Hearing Li Zhi’s words, Shen Yuan gave a wry smile.
’He was right. Between opening blind boxes and playing claw machines, there was no doubt which one Li Zhi would choose.’
"Alright, I guess opening blind boxes really is a game of chance," Shen Yuan said with a laugh. He patted the box in his hand, put it back on the shelf, and looked at Li Zhi. "But since Li Bao is so pretty, your luck would definitely be the best."
Li Zhi rolled her eyes at Shen Yuan.
Meanwhile, Ah Jie had perked up at Li Zhi’s suggestion.
"Claw machines? Awesome! Claw machines are great! We can see if Yuan’s still got his magic! He can’t tarnish his title as the Claw Machine King of Jiyang!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Chen Mingyu chimed in. "None of us have seen Shen Yuan’s claw machine skills before! For all we know, his ’Claw Machine King of Jiyang’ title is just a bunch of hot air."
Provoked by Chen Mingyu, Shen Yuan wasn’t about to let that slide.
"Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean, ’hot air’?! Follow me, and I’ll show you what it means to be the Claw Machine King of Jiyang!"
"Come on! Let’s go!"
The group left the bustling blind box store and headed for a claw machine arcade.
The arcade’s machines were a spectacular sight, stuffed full of all sorts of adorable plush toys.
Many of them were Christmas-themed, catering to the festive spirit of the approaching holiday.
The group exchanged some money for a modest amount of Game Coins. They were just there to have fun, after all; there was no need to spend a fortune.
Besides, claw machine arcades could get pretty expensive.
It’s not like a bunch of students had that much spending money, anyway.
They’d be better off spending that money on a couple of extra sodas from the school store.
Shen Yuan led Li Zhi on a stroll past the claw machines, until Li Zhi came to a stop in front of a machine filled with light brown, long-eared rabbit plushies.
"You like this one?"
Li Zhi gave a slight nod.
The moment Li Zhi nodded, Shen Yuan dropped a Game Coin into the machine’s slot.
For the most part, their version of the claw machine game was simple: Li Zhi would point out what she wanted, and Shen Yuan would win it for her.
Shen Yuan inserted the coin and began to play.
It had to be said that Shen Yuan had a near-supernatural talent for claw machines.
Aside from the few techniques Shen Yuan himself had mentioned before, he had an uncanny ability to win prizes with just a few Game Coins, even on machines where it was impossible to know when the guaranteed-win mechanism would trigger.
The Claw Machine King of Jiyang—a well-deserved title.
With the same number of Game Coins, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi won more prizes than Ah Jie’s group of three and He Zhiyu and her friend combined!
It was just absurd.
As they left the arcade, Chen Mingyu clutched a single penguin plushie with a crooked beak. He looked at the seven or eight bags of assorted plushies Shen Yuan was carrying, then hefted his own nearly empty bag, and finally shook his head in utter admiration.