Chapter 6: A Doll for You
"Little one, are you really that attached to your old clothes?"
Su Jiuyue looked at the bag Gu Qiu was carrying, her expression full of disdain.
Gu Qiu glanced at the floral shirt and jeans tucked inside the bag and replied with complete sincerity: "I think these clothes still have some life left in them."
Even though he had bought the shirt and pants as a set for ninety-nine yuan, shipping included, on Pinduoduo, the fabric was surprisingly decent. They were comfortable to wear and hadn't faded at all. That was the only reason he couldn't bear to throw them away.
Seeing him like this, Su Jiuyue couldn't help but turn her head away so he wouldn't see, curling her lips in a pout. No matter the situation, this guy was always so hopelessly lackluster.
"By the way... where are we heading next?"
Gu Qiu had been wandering the mall with her aimlessly for a good while. Since this was his first time shopping with a girl, he didn't know her preferences and didn't dare to make any rash decisions, so he asked cautiously.
"Hmm... let me think."
Su Jiuyue rested her chin on her delicate hand, her beautiful eyebrows knitting together slightly. Her gaze fell on an arcade in the distance, and a smile blossomed on her face. She pointed a finger, signaling the dazed Gu Qiu to look over.
"How about we go play over there?"
"An arcade?"
Gu Qiu looked surprised. In his experience, girls usually weren't interested in places like this—well, unless they were into the dance machines, maybe. But he didn't have a better option. Instead of wandering around the mall like a headless chicken, it was better to kill some time in the arcade. He was mainly worried that if they kept walking around outside, this "big sister" might suddenly get inspired to buy him something else.
"If you won't be bored, then let's go."
"As long as I'm with you, I could never be bored~"
Su Jiuyue giggled and took hold of Gu Qiu's hand, her index finger lightly tracing circles against his palm.
A temptress. She really was a temptress.
The ticklish sensation in his palm almost made Gu Qiu lose his composure; his breathing grew noticeably heavier.
"Stop it. You're the school doctor, and I'm just an ordinary university student. How could that even—"
He didn't dare look at Su Jiuyue, keeping his head low as he spoke.
"What does being a school doctor have to do with anything? It’s just a job title, not like I’m a professor or anything. Nobody will gossip about us~"
"But, but..."
"Alright, alright~ I’ll stop teasing you. I'm going to go get some tokens, little one. You wait right here for me, okay?"
Watching Gu Qiu’s flustered face, Su Jiuyue covered her mouth to hide a laugh. She released his hand, gave his bowed head a light pat, and walked toward the token vending machine.
Seeing Su Jiuyue step away, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. It wasn't that he had gynophobia or anything, but this was his first time being in such close proximity to a woman, and she was such a powerful, commanding presence that he simply couldn't handle it.
Gu Qiu couldn't figure out Su Jiuyue's intentions at all. He was just an average college student, while she was a school doctor with a high monthly income. There was a gap in age, status, and income, which made it hard for him to believe she really liked him. It felt like a shut-in otaku suddenly meeting his favorite idol, only to be told by her that she liked him back. Anyone would think it was a prank, wouldn't they? So why was Su Jiuyue doing this?
"Um, excuse me..."
Just as Gu Qiu was standing there with his head down, deep in thought, a soft, sweet voice drifted over from his side.
He looked up to see a young girl dressed in a lolita outfit.
"Could, could I add you on WeChat?"Seeing Gu Qiu’s refined face up close made the girl’s heart beat even faster. Blushing, she lowered her head and held out her phone, displaying her WeChat QR code.
Having never been asked for his WeChat by a girl before, Gu Qiu was completely thrown off by the situation. He thought about refusing, but his momentary fluster left him at a loss for words.
"A-Qiu~ I'm back~"
At that moment, Su Jiuyue happened to return with the game tokens. Seeing the blushing, downcast girl and the flustered Gu Qiu standing beside her, she instantly understood what was happening.
*The little guy actually looks quite handsome dressed up like this. I suppose it's only natural he'd get asked for his WeChat.*
She immediately smiled, putting on an eager expression, and walked up to Gu Qiu's side. Naturally looping her arm through his, she let out a surprised murmur, as if only just noticing the girl:
"Oh~ A-Qiu? What's going on here?"
Her demeanor and tone were no longer seductive and teasing as usual, but had instead shifted to something pure and adorable.
Su Jiuyue blinked her pretty eyes and tilted her head in curiosity as she looked at the girl.
"Ah! I'm so sorry! I, I was just asking for directions! Sorry to bother you!!!"
Realizing the guy was already taken and that she had been caught red-handed, the girl's face turned even redder. She quickly put away her phone, bowed in apology, and ran off in a panic with her hands over her face.
*Phew...*
Gu Qiu let out a long sigh of relief.
Yet, almost immediately, he sensed something wasn't quite right.
His arm... seemed to be tightly wedged against something soft?
He looked down.
Sure enough.
"Uh... well... she's gone now. Can you... let go?"
To cover up his awkwardness, Gu Qiu reached up to scratch his burning cheek, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead.
"You really are a heartless little fellow, tossing your big sister aside the moment she's done her job~ How disheartening~"
As she spoke, Su Jiuyue released Gu Qiu's arm. Her expression and tone returned to their usual self as she cast him a deeply aggrieved look.
There didn't seem to be anything wrong with what she said... but why did it sound so terribly misleading?
Gu Qiu swallowed hard and immediately chose to change the subject:
"Did you spend a fortune again? How many tokens did you get?"
"Two hundred, oh~ That should be enough to play for a while~"
"Two hundred... well, that's not too bad."
Gu Qiu had been afraid that this mature beauty would pull off some extravagant stunt.
However, since she had bought this outfit for him this afternoon, shouldn't he thank her in some way?
Or rather...
He looked around and quickly found his target.
The claw machines.
Though not the kind where you use a metal claw to grab small dolls.
Instead, it was the kind where you use a pair of scissors inside the machine to cut the string holding the plush toy.
Machines like this usually held life-sized dolls. Surely no girl could resist the charm of a life-sized stuffed animal, right?
Gu Qiu smiled faintly and walked over to one of the machines. Inside was a pure white, life-sized fox plushie, which looked rather fitting for Su Jiuyue.
"Little fellow, are you thinking of cutting one out?"
Seeing him stop in front of the machine, Su Jiuyue pressed her lips together.
"I've played a few times before... but unfortunately, I never managed to win a single doll..."
Recalling her past track record, a trace of disappointment showed in her eyes.
The dolls inside were genuinely cute, but she genuinely couldn't win them.
"Is that so?"
Gu Qiu carefully observed the string holding the plush toy inside, and after a short moment, he smiled and said:
"Then how about I get that fox out of there and give it to you?"