NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51
Chapter 51: The Heart is Truly Tired
“Must we definitely play this? We still have several tokens left.”
“There are more than twenty here. Ah Fang, you’re so good at video games, surely you’ll be great at catching plushies too?”
“Um… Well…”
At this moment, Mei Fang felt extremely uneasy.
I’m good at playing games, but I only have theoretical knowledge about catching plushies; I don’t have much practical experience!
Who accompanied me to catch plushies in my previous life?
Neither my sister nor my childhood friend did. Could it be Zhang Ming from Ukonan?
“I’ll give it a try. If I can’t catch it, don’t blame me,” he said.
“Then come with me. I want you to help me catch this one!” Xia Yuan pointed to the cat plushie inside the machine.
Fortunately, Mei Fang had watched quite a bit of online novels and animations, learning many strategies that might or might not be useful.
For example, the strategy of pulling the claw tight then loosening it, making the claw stable by shaking it, using the tag to hook the plushie, and determining the position based on its center of gravity—
Mei Fang used half of his remaining tokens but failed to catch a single plushie.
“Oh, Ah Fang, you really aren’t useful. Let me do it myself. Don’t count on me.”
Xia Yuan wiped her nose and grumbled as she started inserting tokens again.
I gave Ah Fang a chance to show off, but he turned out to be so useless…
Maybe shooting isn’t my strong suit, but catching plushies—
I’ve been doing it since I was little!
Xia Yuan often went with her father to play the plushie machines, and her skill always amazed others.
“I caught it!” Xia Yuan cheered as the plushie was hooked up.
“Why did it slip?” Xia Yuan looked disappointed.
In fact, Xia Yuan’s father often gave money to the shop owner to secretly adjust the difficulty so Xia Yuan could enjoy the fun of catching plushies.
After three attempts, Xia Yuan only had two tokens left for her final try.
“You’re still no good,” Mei Fang seized the opportunity to mock her.
“It’s too cold today, my hands are shaking, I’m not in the right state!”
Xia Yuan glared at Mei Fang, then looked at the two tokens in her hand and called Lin You Xi who was watching someone race.
“You Xi, why don’t you give it a try?”
Lin You Xi nodded, “I don’t know how to catch these, can I just give it a shot?”
“Just give it a try. After this, we’ll go shopping.”
Lin You Xi took the token, inserted it into the machine, and began moving the claw when the timer started.
She always put her all into whatever she did, whether it was studying or playing games.
She focused intently on operating the joystick, gently adjusting its position.
Seeing her so serious, Xia Yuan and Mei Fang didn’t dare to breathe, just watching her closely.
Snap.
Lin You Xi calculated and directly dropped the claw.
She didn’t wait until the time ran out to drop the claw like Mei Fang had explained, where the claw would be tighter.
“It’s hooked! It’s hooked!”
“It’s falling! It’s falling!”
“It fell out of the outlet! Why didn’t it fall? Is it stuck?”
Lin You Xi and Xia Yuan both bent down to reach for the plushie. Since Xia Yuan was wearing a winter skirt, she instinctively held the back of her skirt to avoid showing her legs when bending over, and she had become quite skilled at it.
Thus, the two of them managed to get the only victory from this round—a small pig plushie.
But Xia Yuan originally wanted Mei Fang to catch the cat plushie.
“This isn’t the one you wanted, right?”
Lin You Xi apologized, “I only picked the ones that seemed easy to catch, and I realized it was wrong when I pressed the button.”
“No, I like this one too! As long as you caught it, I like it.”
Xia Yuan hugged the plushie tightly and begged Lin You Xi, “Can you give this to me? I really like it.”
“You like it, take it. There’s no need to ask me.”
Lin You Xi stroked her hair, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“I knew it, You Xi, you’re the best!”
Xia Yuan happily hugged Lin You Xi, and the two looked very friendly. Mei Fang watched, feeling quite content, but Xia Yuan gave him a glare, “Ah Fang, you don’t want this piggy, do you? I already claimed it.”
“Who’s competing with you…”
Mei Fang tapped Xia Yuan’s head, “Are you done playing now? You still want to go shopping, make sure you don’t stay out too late.”
“Okay, okay!”
Xia Yuan walked with the piggy plushie and Lin You Xi, chatting and laughing. When they passed a women’s clothing store, Xia Yuan walked up to Mei Fang and placed the piggy plushie on his head.
“This piggy suits you well! Hold onto it for me while I and You Xi go shopping.”
“You two were talking about buying stationery and book covers earlier, right? Shopping for clothes means waiting for a long time, doesn’t it?”
Xia Yuan waved her hands quickly, “No, we’re buying small clothes, it won’t take long.”
“Small clothes? What’s that?”
“Small clothes are—”
“Yuan Yuan, why are you telling Ah Fang this?”
Lin You Xi, who rarely got nervous, pulled Xia Yuan aside, trying to stop her. But Xia Yuan seemed indifferent.
“It’s fine if Ah Fang knows, we’ve grown up…”
“In short, it’s… not good.”
Seeing Lin You Xi’s shy expression, Mei Fang immediately understood what they meant.
So girls call these intimate undergarments things like bras? It’s kind of cute.
After all, girls start developing at twelve…
Mei Fang waited for Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi to finish shopping and then headed to the supermarket in the mall. He was asked to carry the bags, and Lin You Xi warned him not to peek inside.
After leaving the supermarket, Lin You Xi and Xia Yuan disappeared again. Mei Fang carried large bags in both hands and a piggy plushie on his head, looking extremely comical.
Besides the items he originally intended to buy, there were various snacks and small trinkets.
This is what it’s like to have childhood friends.
Serving Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi.
Sigh, it’s truly exhausting.
The heart is tired.
Why must I endure this suffering?
As a reincarnated person, I could have dominated the business world, becoming a giant alongside the big three, or ruled the gaming industry, becoming a legendary mentor!
Just as Mei Fang was lamenting his unfortunate fate, Xia Yuan came running over, still holding something behind her back.
“What did you buy? I don’t have any hands to help you now.”
“Nothing, nothing.”
“What’s behind your back?”
“This…”
Xia Yuan revealed the small bag she was carrying, “This is your reward for accompanying us today! Eat it while it’s hot. Don’t think I only know how to order you around and not care for you.”
She specially bought some tangyuan for Mei Fang.
“Just this? Are you trying to feed a puppy?”
Mei Fang complained, “And look at me now, I don’t have any hands to hold it either. There’s nowhere nearby to sit and eat slowly.”
“Don’t complain. Open your mouth, I’ll feed you.”
Without hesitation, Mei Fang opened his mouth, and Xia Yuan scooped a spoonful of tangyuan, ready to feed him.
“Ahh—”
“Ow!”
Xia Yuan suddenly turned and ate it herself, sticking out her tongue and making faces at Mei Fang after finishing.
“Playing with me!”
“No, no, don’t be mad.”
Xia Yuan continued feeding Mei Fang with the same spoon. After Mei Fang ate a few tangyuan, he asked:
“Where did You Xi go?”
“She went to the clothing store to pick up some small things, she’ll be back soon.”
Xia Yuan fed Mei Fang the tangyuan and saw some juice dripping from his mouth. She quickly took out a tissue and carefully wiped it, not minding how close she was to Mei Fang.
Mei Fang could clearly feel Xia Yuan’s special fondness for him, but based on his six years of knowing Xia Yuan, it was hard to say this was adult-level romantic affection. Instead, it was something Xia Yuan believed was normal for childhood friends.
Was she wrong?
Mei Fang had no other real-life references, so he couldn’t say Xia Yuan was mistaken.
However, they had experienced more together, spent more time together, and Mei Fang had promised that Xia Yuan could act freely in front of him.
Perhaps they were slightly closer than other childhood friends?
But honestly, there’s nothing to envy…
To those who want to be reincarnated, remember, don’t waste your youth like me.
Mei Fang silently thought to himself.
Today is a day to encourage everyone to show love. I hope you can be as loving as me and not favor any particular female lead. Help me by giving all the hearts, thank you.
End of Chapter 51