He imagined Si Wen acting coyly and cheering him on just like that other girl. He definitely would have been even more confident than that guy.

However, in the next second, the image in his mind shattered. He instead pictured Si Wen slapping his forehead. "You can’t even get a single doll? How are you so useless?"

Xue Xing couldn’t help but shiver.

Ugh... *That* was the real Sister Si Wen. A soft, cute girl? Not a chance.

Xue Xing snapped back to reality, standing before the claw machine. The one they were at was filled with adorable Nina Belle dolls dressed in all sorts of different outfits.

Xue Xing chose a pink Nina Belle closest to the prize chute and pressed the red button. The claw slowly descended and grabbed the doll, but as it rose to a certain height, it fell from its grasp.

His high hopes died in an instant.

But sometimes, a reversal could happen just that quickly. After the doll fell, its momentum caused it to bounce right into the prize chute.

Even Si Wen was shocked. "Amazing, I can’t believe that worked."

The moment he held the doll, Xue Xing’s heart pounded relentlessly. He couldn’t believe he’d actually managed to win one.

"Sister, this is the first doll I’ve ever won. I’ll... I’ll give it to you~" Xue Xing blushed, which, combined with his handsome features, made him look utterly adorable.

A girl nearby saw Xue Xing succeed and grabbed her boyfriend’s arm, shaking it. "Honey, look at her boyfriend! He’s so skilled~"

"Don’t worry, your boyfriend is even more skilled than him," he replied proudly.

"Hubby, go for it~"

Hearing his girlfriend call him "hubby," the guy felt an endless surge of energy. He rolled up his sleeves, inserted two Game Coins, maneuvered the joystick, and finally pressed the red button.

As the claw slowly descended, grabbed the little white rabbit, and then rose again, all four of them stared intently at it, afraid it would let go at any second.

Finally, it moved over the prize chute and dropped the rabbit.

The girl immediately clapped her hands with joy. "Darling, you’re so amazing~"

The guy shot Xue Xing a smug look. "Of course. Your boyfriend has real skill, unlike some people who just get by on luck."

"Let’s go try another machine," Si Wen said, pulling Xue Xing’s hand, clearly not wanting to deal with them.

"Sure~"

Xue Xing obediently followed Si Wen to another claw machine. This one was filled with large polar bear plushies. Since the arcade opened, no one had ever managed to win one.

Si Wen watched for a moment before deciding to give up. Xue Xing has only just started. If he plays something this difficult, he’ll just get frustrated. That would defeat the whole purpose of coming here.

"Sister, do you like this plushie?"

"This one is really hard to get. Let’s go try for something else."

"It’s okay, I want to give it a try."

"There’s no need. If I really wanted one, I could just buy it."

"Let me try," Xue Xing insisted.

Seeing his persistence, Si Wen let him be.

Just then, the couple from before came over. The girl was still holding the single white rabbit, which meant her boyfriend hadn’t won anything else. When they saw Xue Xing standing in front of the machine with the large plushies, the guy snorted. "Do they really think they’re lucky enough to win a big one? These aren’t like the small toys; they don’t just bounce out."

The girl also had her doubts. There’s no way they could be that lucky a second time.

Xue Xing inserted five Game Coins into the machine.

Five Game Coins wasn’t a small amount for him, but since Si Wen seemed to want the prize, he didn’t consider it a waste.

Unsurprisingly, his first attempt failed.

Xue Xing took a deep breath, ready to try again.

The guy next to them mocked him again. "See? I told you. Luck doesn’t last forever. Now you can’t get it, can you?"

"Hubby, I want that police bear! It’s so cute," his girlfriend cooed, pointing at a nearby machine full of police bear plushies.

Even though her boyfriend wasn’t as handsome as that other guy, at least he was more capable.

"Okay, Hubby will get it for you."

The police bear machine was back-to-back with the one Xue Xing was using. Both guys started playing at almost the same time.

On the other guy’s side, the first attempt failed.

Xue Xing’s second attempt also ended in failure.

"Xue Xing, why don’t we just call it quits?" Si Wen said, trying to stop him as he reached for more coins.

"Sister, please, one last try! Just one more, please~"

"Fine, one last try," Si Wen relented, holding up a single finger.

"Okay."

"One last try?" the other guy scoffed. "I bet he could use up all his Game Coins and still not win."

As he spoke, he inserted two more Game Coins and started his second round. A few seconds later, he failed again. Having failed twice now, he was growing impatient. They were running low on Game Coins.

They’d gotten one hundred coins and had already used over eighty of them, yet all they had to show for it was a single small white rabbit. What a rip-off. That hundred yuan could have paid for so many other things... like a hotel room. Besides, he had a feeling that if he couldn’t win the one she wanted, he’d end up having to buy it for her anyway.

Just as he was lost in thought, his girlfriend shrieked, "Oh my God, he won the large plushie! Darling, can we go try for the big one too? Please?"

The guy’s face fell. He looked over and, sure enough, saw Xue Xing bending down to retrieve a large polar bear from the prize chute.

"Sister, I did it!"

Although Si Wen didn’t shout and scream like the other girl, her expression made it clear that she was overjoyed. This was probably her happiest moment of the entire day.

"Not bad."

Receiving her praise, Xue Xing’s eyes curved into a bright smile, making him look so adorable one just wanted to ruffle his hair.

The girl from the other couple was staring straight at him.

Si Wen promptly stuffed the large plushie into Xue Xing’s arms, conveniently blocking his handsome face from view.

"Come on, let’s go play somewhere else."

"Okay~"

As Xue Xing left, the girl continued to stare at his retreating back, not even noticing her own boyfriend fuming beside her.

Wow, he’s so impressive... He’s good-looking, amazing at claw machines, and most importantly, so obedient. He does whatever his girlfriend says without arguing...

She glanced at her own boyfriend...

"Forget it. I’m not playing anymore. I’m going home," she announced abruptly.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"..."

Xue Xing followed Si Wen around the entire arcade, trying every single game.

"That was so much fun~" he exclaimed.

No wonder everyone loves coming to places like this.

"It is fun. After you get into Yanbei University, I’ll bring you here again. But you’re not allowed to come by yourself, you hear me?"

"Oh... but that’s a whole year away."

That’s such a long time...

"Let’s go. We’re going to Xiao Xi’s house now."

Hearing they were going to his sister-in-law’s place, Xue Xing’s mood instantly brightened. "Then let’s hurry up and find Sister-in-law!"

Seeing how eager he was, Si Wen remarked dryly, "You’re *this* thrilled about going to your sister-in-law’s house?"