Chapter 9

It is inevitable to feel a tinge of envy towards those who can attract attention with every gesture and movement; such individuals must be favored by fate to be so exquisite in every aspect.

Suddenly, her eyelid twitched

Wen Jingran has a tall and upright stature, standing at least a head taller than Ruoyue. Even when standing straight without doing anything, the mere presence of this commanding gaze makes Ruoyue feel a sense of pressure.

His eyes are bright and luminous, like lights shining in the pitch-black night, soft yet radiant

One should gaze intently, as promised, at the game coins that fall into the machine and are pushed into the coin pool

Have you made up your mind?" He slightly bent down, elongating the final sound as he replied, "Mm.

As her momentum weakened, when she spoke again, she merely mumbled: "I kindly took you in for an entire afternoon, you..."

She is a very intelligent girl, always clear about what she wants and does not like to beat around the bush. However, when she pretends to be foolish, she is always like this, making it obvious that her mind is as clear as a mirror, yet you just cannot find a way to see through her.

As promised, it is a source of distress

She always felt that saying his name, which she had chewed over countless times and still found particularly pleasant, word for word was an act of disrespect

Reluctantly licking his lips, he said: "I do not want to make you feel uncomfortable, nor do I wish to jeopardize the more than twenty years of friendship between Zhenzhen and me"

Well... This statement is indeed true; she has not exaggerated it in the slightest

The rolled-up cuffs reveal his smoothly contoured forearms, with distinctly defined wrist bones, resembling a naturally sculpted work of art

It is certainly too late to take back the words. As agreed, Wei tilted his head and thought seriously for a moment before asking, "What stakes do you want?"

Wen Jingran looked at the expression in her eyes, which seemed to wish to dismantle the coin machine in a hurry, pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile, and asked, "Do you still need that room card?"

After all, this was one of the few times in her life that she had entered and exited the arcade, and it was her greatest gain from playing the coin pusher machine

Wen Jingran straightened her body, gazing into her eyes which held a hint of profound complexity that even Lian Ruoyue could not comprehend

The temperature of the central air conditioning is set a bit high, with heat being distributed from all directions, making him feel somewhat parched and dry in the mouth.

She touched her nose and felt that some things still needed to be said openly

As expected, I felt a chill in my heart from his glance, and suppressing the urge to avoid his gaze, I responded to him with unusual enthusiasm.

She rarely addressed him by both his first and last name. In her understanding of the concept of obligations, there is a hierarchy of age. Wen Jingran, being four years her senior, is not only her elder but also a 'senior brother' in the sense that he has been associated with Master Ying for some time as a disciple.

Where can one hide from debts so that everyone knows about it

I cannot remember what I said half a minute ago

As expected, it turned its eyes around in a rather ungrateful manner, shifting the blame onto the unsuspecting Zhen Zhen: "Zhen Zhen admires you greatly"

As if the blow to her at this very moment was not enough, Wen Jingran propped her elbow on the coin machine and cast a sidelong glance at her

As soon as her sentiments were expressed, a series of clattering sounds of coins falling echoed in her ears

The situation was as if the four game tokens in her hand could multiply endlessly as she counted them.

"Just give it to me when I ask for it." He chuckled softly to himself and urged, "Shall we start now?"

Out of the blue, I was caught off guard by Wen Jingran, who turned the tables on me, struggling desperately: "Well... let's see who drops more game coins."

Watching helplessly as one of the game tokens was pushed and stacked on top of the others, the token that was hanging on the edge showed no signs of being disturbed at all

Wen Jingran pressed her lips together

One should shake their head as agreed

In the blink of an eye, countless thoughts of response swiftly flitted through the mind as expected

That silent gaze, however, made Ruoyue instantly feel the pressure emanating from him

With this thought settled in her mind, she no longer maintained the posture of standing with her hands hanging down as if being interrogated for a mistake. Instead, she leaned slightly against the coin-operated machine and smiled, saying: "You should know Zhen Zhen."

I do not ask much of you. He knelt down, hooked the high stool behind him, and sat down accordingly

It must be that Wen Jingran has not had enough to drink, at this moment still remembering not to let oneself suffer losses

Wen Jingran pondered for a moment and asked, "Then why are you avoiding me?"

As promised, I licked my somewhat dry lips, took out two game tokens, and boldly exploited the ambiguous rules of the game to insert both tokens into the coin pusher in one go

The room card is lost ... ... She also lost a key.

As soon as I sat down, the sense of pressure around me significantly diminished

As promised, I felt a sense of relief in my heart and patiently waited for him to finish speaking

But in the end, she still resigned herself to fate, lowering her head and obediently conceding defeat

Holding the spilled game tokens as promised, unable to contain the excitement, they bent their brows and eyes, counting them one by one repeatedly several times

In nine out of ten instances when bad deeds are done as agreed, she is invariably involved, making it truly difficult for him not to have a deep impression of this girl

Ah? Such a direct question caught her off guard; she was speechless for a few seconds before she stammered a reply: "I have been looking at the exam questions all afternoon, it's a bit dull..."

She has just graduated from her master's program and is currently unemployed, with neither savings nor family wealth... She really cannot recall what keys she possesses that are so precious that Wen Jingran would be thinking about them.

Wen Jingran rolled up her sleeves

It is indeed somewhat inconsiderate to proceed with this matter as promised

Misled by her half-truths, he furrowed his brows and looked at her with an expression that was difficult to decipher

Wen Jingran slightly raised his eyebrows

He toyed with a game coin between his fingertips, carefully studying the coin insertion path and the angle at which it would drop. Just as he was feeling pleased with himself for having done so, he raised his hand and tossed the game coin in.

Amidst the crisp sound of coins falling, the faint whirring of the coin pusher can be heard.

Looking at the "collapse" of the coin pool that had accumulated her game currency, she felt a sense of helplessness and was almost in tears

Uh ... ...

Wen Jingran nodded

After a brief pause, seeing that Wen Jingran had no intention of responding, he could only brace himself and continue to add: "I just wandered around casually."

She might as well go to the front desk to ask the staff for a room ... She certainly does not have a second key to use as a wager

"Come to City S that night," he paused and casually mentioned, "Do you want to distance yourself from me?"

Should be somewhat confused: "What key?"

"You need a room card, I need a key." He raised his eyes, the light reflected in his gaze making his deep brown irises resemble clear, transparent glass.

He stood up and cast a cool glance at her as he lowered his head

As if caught in such a gaze, she was momentarily taken aback, and, feeling somewhat flustered, she averted her eyes from him and focused intently on the movement of the coin pusher, watching it push back and forth.

In the profound silence of the room, this sound was like a tremor that shook the mountains and struck the ground

Under the overwhelming pressure, I stubbornly continued to speak earnestly: "I was afraid of causing unnecessary trouble, which is why... I did not get off the car to greet you."

Before she could even cultivate a sense of frustration, another game coin fell from the opposite side, clinking as it was pushed into the coin pool, causing several coins to tumble down with a clatter

Wen Jingran raised her eyes, gazing at her with focused intent

She glanced at the coin-pusher machine in front of her as expected, then took another look at the highly enthusiastic Wen Jingran, feeling even more frustrated

It seems that it is indeed his fault

She always has the illusion that she has dug a pit for herself and is tirelessly jumping down into it

Wen Jingran could no longer bear to listen.

As much as I want to think it over, I still feel somewhat unconvinced: "Wen Jingran, don't you think your actions are rather ungracious?"

Then, she heard Wen Jingran let out a sneer, his smile enchanting, as he said to her word by word: "Do you still need me to teach you how to do this?"

Wen Jingran did not mind her suddenly changing the rules of the game at all, and with a smile, indicated for her to go first