Chapter 7 She Really Knows How to Handle Him
"You know how to play the claw machine?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Su Jiuyue's eyes. She stared intently at Gu Qiu's profile, then reached into the small basket she was holding, took out a handful of tokens, and placed them in front of him.
"I wouldn't say I'm an expert, just know a thing or two."
Gu Qiu smiled, picked up three tokens, dropped them into the machine, and stared with total concentration at the movement of the cutter inside.
"Actually, when it comes to this cutting machine, a lot of people fall into a misconception."
While adjusting the position of the cutter, Gu Qiu explained to Su Jiuyue.
"Most people think that with this cutting machine, you're supposed to actually cut through the string. But the machine is programmed by the manufacturer—if you want to cut that string, you have to spend a fortune and leave it up to sheer luck. A lot of people spend enough money to just buy the plush toy outright, yet they still can't cut it down. So the correct method should be..."
Seeing that the cutter had moved to the exact right spot, Gu Qiu pressed the button with lightning speed.
As the cutter inside slowly advanced, Su Jiuyue saw it.
The guy wasn't trying to cut through the string holding the plush toy at all. Instead, he was intentionally positioning one side of the cutter's blade against the cord, using the forward motion of the blade to saw through the string.
You have to admit, the effect was exceptionally good.
With the friction of the blade going back and forth twice, a noticeable tear immediately appeared in the cord.
"Use the movement of the cutter to let the blade saw through this string. Scissors and cutting are just a mental trap meant to mislead players into falling for it, blindly following the rules and walking right into the trap set by the business."
Looking at that tear, the corners of Gu Qiu's mouth lifted slightly.
"Now, just repeat this two or three times, and we should be able to get this plush toy."
"Little guy, not bad!"
Su Jiuyue stared in surprise at his face. That confident expression gradually merged with someone in her memory.
"No choice, I'm a poor student, so I always have to find these unconventional little tricks. If I had money, I'd just throw cash at it."
Gu Qiu was entirely focused on adjusting the position of the cutter blade, completely unaware that the stunning older beauty beside him had been staring at his face the entire time.
As the cutter slowly retracted, he looked at the frayed thread holding by a mere thread, let out a sigh of relief, and then turned to look at Su Jiuyue.
"Do you want to take this last one? You don't even need the blade to touch it; just a gentle brush from the scissors and it should drop."
"Ah? Oh!"
Rarely, Su Jiuyue actually spaced out. It wasn't until she saw Gu Qiu stepping aside from the joystick and button that she snapped back to reality.
Moreover, this stunning older beauty, who usually looked calm and collected with everything under control, actually grew nervous as her hand grasped the joystick.
Seeing her like this, Gu Qiu couldn't help but chuckle. Whether it was because of the atmosphere or simply being too dense to care, he directly placed his hand over the small hand Su Jiuyue was using to grip the joystick.
Su Jiuyue never expected her crush to suddenly grab her hand like this. Her breath caught, and her usually flawless facial composure instantly collapsed.
The corners of her eyes, which normally carried an alluring curve, now vaguely shimmered with moisture, and a girlish blush appeared on her cheeks.
At this moment, Su Jiuyue had completely lost her usual charming and provocative older-sister demeanor, looking instead much more like a young girl experiencing love for the first time.
"Don't be nervous, just brush against the string."
Unaware of her unusual state, Gu Qiu simply guided her small hand, pressed the joystick, and kept his eyes locked on the movement of the cutter inside the machine.
"Right here, press it."
As his voice sounded right beside her ear, Su Jiuyue reacted quickly. Without a second thought, she pressed the button on the claw machine.
Just as he had predicted, the string holding the white fox plush toy snapped completely under Su Jiuyue's operation, and the toy tumbled down right along with it.
"Excuse me, could you help grab the plush toy in here, please? Thank you!"
A smile broke out on Gu Qiu's face as he called over a nearby staff member to open the glass case and retrieve the plush toy.
"Here, I'm giving this to you. I don't know what you like, so don't mind it..."
Accepting the fairly large fox plush toy from the staff member, Gu Qiu handed it over.
His dense, sage-like moment had ended. Looking at Su Jiuyue's nearly flawless, pretty face, he nonchalantly looked away, feeling his ears grow somewhat hot.
Clasping the fox plush toy, Su Jiuyue stared blankly at its fluffy, round face. After a long moment, she raised her head, a brilliant and charming smile blooming on her face.
"The little guy put some thought into this~ I love it~"
With that, she reached out, gently tapped her own red lips with a finger to pick up a trace of lip gloss, and then—to Gu Qiu's disbelief—lightly pressed it against his lips.
"This is your reward~"
???
Feeling the soft tactile sensation on his lips, Gu Qiu's brain directly entered a state of system crash.
Gu Qiu.exe (Not Responding)
Instinctively, he pressed his lips together, licking away the sticky lip gloss on them.
It tasted sweet, with a hint of chocolate.
"You..."
Gu Qiu's mouth opened and closed, words failing him on the verge of speech.
Could this... be considered an indirect kiss?
Wait, why all of a sudden...
Even if she really was interested in him, they hadn't even started dating yet... Shouldn't girls have a certain sequence or progression for this kind of thing?
He wasn't a girl, nor was he Su Jiuyue, so he had no way of knowing what she was thinking.
It wasn't that Gu Qiu was immune to women, but rather that reality had dealt him too heavy a blow.
"Why are you standing there frozen~ Little guy? Did you fall for older sister?"
Su Jiuyue returned to her previous charming and domineering state, pulling Gu Qiu out of his non-responsive status.
He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible, and said:
"N-no, nothing... Just... spaced out."
The moment those stammering words left his mouth, Gu Qiu knew he had failed at staying calm.
This was an indirect kiss from a consummate older beauty, after all; who could possibly withstand that?
For someone like him, a virgin who had never been in a relationship, it was an even greater challenge.
"Oh~ spaced out, I understand, I understand~"
Su Jiuyue smiled craftily as she used the fox plush toy to block the lower half of her pretty face, the stunning corners of her eyes curving into an attractive arc.
"Older sister really likes the little guy's gift..."
With that, she leaned close to Gu Qiu's ear, lowered her voice, and softly recited word by word:
"I'm going to treat it like the little guy and put it on my bed... hugging it to sleep every single day~"
!!!
Hearing this, Gu Qiu completely crashed.
In his mind, a vivid scene slowly materialized: she was wearing a nightgown, her smooth and fair slender legs wrapped around his waist, and her soft jade arms looped around his neck.
His breathing grew gradually more erratic.
"Alright, alright~ I won't tease you anymore~"
Su Jiuyue smiled as she reached out, stood slightly on tiptoe, and gave Gu Qiu's head a vigorous tousle. Cradling the plush toy in her arms, she tilted her head and said with a cheeky grin:
"You still have a lot of tokens left, don't you want to play?"
"Uh... let's play."
Gu Qiu realized that he truly could be handled by her every single time.
It really wasn't that his willpower was weak.
He just felt like this beautiful older woman seemed to have known him for a very long time and understood him inside out. No matter what, in any given situation, she could always pinpoint his weak spot with absolute precision.
An illusion... It must be an illusion...