PANT - Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Ordinarily, Su Tianxue was absolutely not the type of woman to kiss someone in public. But today was different. In the span of a single day, it seemed she and Shi Ning had already been through too much. From the escape room to the shopping mall, and now here.
Su Tianxue didn’t hold back her kiss. She reached out, grabbed Shi Ning by the collar, and pulled her close, intending to plant a kiss on her cheek.
But it was as if Shi Ning had timed it perfectly.
The moment Su Tianxue leaned in, Shi Ning turned her head, like a hunter lying in wait for its prey, capturing the kiss at that precise instant.
With Shi Ning’s cunning move, a simple peck on the cheek turned into a deep kiss.
Under the sun, Shi Ning raised her handbag to block the glaring light coming from the upper right, also preventing it from hurting Su Tianxue’s eyes.
The shadow of the bag fell over them, casting their faces in a mix of light and dark.
Shi Ning’s tongue swept away a trace of moisture from the corner of Su Tianxue’s lips. She calmly accepted Su Tianxue’s embarrassed and annoyed gaze and sighed, “Wife, you’re so sweet.”
Su Tianxue: “You won’t die if you stop being so shameless.”
【Her own wife’s roast, hahaha!】
【The big ice cube and the shameless beauty, I’m dying of laughter!】
【I hate couples who are all lovey-dovey in public, it’s so annoying. If you have the guts, come to my house and kiss just for me! What’s the deal with kissing outside all day long!!】
【This is your Shi-nu task counter: Kissing achievement currently [2/10]. Unlocked back-of-the-foot kiss and deep kiss. What other new tricks are there~~】
【Might as well just kiss each of her ten fingers, lol.】
Shi Ning naturally took Su Tianxue’s hand and said with a grin, “But I’ll die if I don’t stick to my wife for a day.”
Shi Ning: “Could you bear that?”
Su Tianxue: “Weren’t you living just fine before you had a wife?”
Shi Ning: “No, I was living without a soul!”
Shi Ning: “You are my light, the fire of my life, my—”
Su Tianxue: “Have you been infected by Xin Ya?”
Shi Ning pouted.
Su Tianxue: “Alright, let’s go in.”
【The one hundred ex-girlfriends waiting in line are watching you.】
【Speak human to humans, speak ghost to ghosts, and speak sweet nothings to your wife, huh?】
【Xin Ya: What does this have to do with me??? I’m not the source of a cheesy pickup line epidemic??】
At Su Tianxue’s words, Shi Ning hummed in agreement and led her inside by the hand.
When they reached the entrance, a staff member who had been prepared for some time was waiting. Seeing them, she smiled and greeted them, then introduced herself, “Hello, you two. I’m the guide for this exhibition. You can call me Xiao Wei.”
Shi Ning smiled brightly. “Hello, Xiao Wei.”
Xiao Wei’s cheeks flushed slightly.
Su Tianxue, her face cool, gave a polite nod.
【Classmate Shi, I advise you to tone it down a bit. How can you be so flirty with your wife right beside you? This won’t do!】
【I now seriously suspect that part of the reason for Sister Su’s low spirits is seeing Shi being such a social butterfly.】
【You’re a limited-edition social butterfly in this dazzling world~~ Beauties are just a bit more daring, a bit more bold~~ A song for Ms. Shi from Jolin Tsai, “Butterfly.” Please behave yourself, Ms. Shi.】
Led by Xiao Wei, the two stepped into the exhibition hall.
The first thing that appeared before them was a long, dark corridor.
Xiao Wei picked up two pairs of VR glasses and handed them over. “Now, please put on our special glasses and stand on the conveyor belt.”
Shi Ning looked down and saw a conveyor belt under her and Su Tianxue’s feet, stretching infinitely into the distance. It wasn’t moving yet.
Shi Ning stepped onto it.
Remembering that Shi Ning was afraid of the dark, Su Tianxue put on her VR glasses and silently took Shi Ning’s hand.
Feeling the warmth, Shi Ning’s lips curved into a smile. She also raised her hand and pulled the VR glasses from her forehead down over her eyes.
Everything she could see was darkness.
Xiao Wei’s voice came slowly from the side.
“Are you two ready to begin our galactic journey?”
Su Tianxue hummed softly in acknowledgment and tightened her grip on Shi Ning’s hand.
Xiao Wei smiled. “Then, please enjoy this wondrous and boundless universe.”
As Xiao Wei spoke, the dark image before Shi Ning and Su Tianxue began to change.
It was as if they had become astronauts floating in space, or perhaps they were in a special spaceship, gazing out through strong, clear glass.
They could see a single, piercing point of light suddenly appear in a darkness so quiet it was terrifying, so silent it was frightening.
This point of light grew larger and larger, and at the same time, the sound of an explosion erupted in their ears.
The conveyor belt beneath their feet seemed to vibrate. The immersive experience brought by the VR was utterly breathtaking.
Shi Ning and Su Tianxue’s hands were clasped tightly together.
Sensing Shi Ning’s nervousness, Su Tianxue explained softly, “Don’t be afraid. This should be a presentation of the Big Bang.”
Xiao Wei, who had just been about to give the introduction: Why do I feel like my job has been stolen?
She looked at Su Tianxue. The woman was wearing VR glasses, her expression serene, a faint smile on her lips. In that smile was a sense of yearning, of longing, of a fervor that had almost never appeared on Su Tianxue’s face before.
To allow the audience to share the experience, the production team provided them with similar prepared footage. Although the quality and content of the footage couldn’t compare to what Shi Ning and Su Tianxue were seeing in the exhibition, and the effect of VR was inevitably different from 2D, even so, these wondrously surreal and impactful images still managed to touch the hearts of the viewers.
At the moment of the Big Bang, all the colors in the world were insufficient to describe the splendor and fantasy of that instant.
It was the violent collision of countless known and unknown substances, a frantic interweaving of time and space, a moment where miracles were born from miracles.
【So stunning…】
【Even though I heard my teacher talk about this in science class as a kid, seeing it again, it still feels so magical. All things in the world came from this.】
【When is this exhibition opening to the public and selling tickets? I want to go too, sob.】
【As an astronomy enthusiast, I wish I could jump into the screen right now and snatch the glasses from Shi Ning and Su Tianxue! Ahhh!】
Shi Ning was equally stunned by the scene before her and couldn’t help but let out a small gasp.
Su Tianxue’s voice came softly, tinged with a bit of emotion.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
In the face of nature’s absolute magnificence, all human words seemed pale.
Su Tianxue chuckled softly. “Actually, the Big Bang is just one of the hypotheses about the origin of the universe. For a long time, the ‘Big Bang’ theory of the universe’s birth has been widely accepted in the astronomical community.”
Shi Ning was curious. “So, there are other hypotheses?”
Su Tianxue: “Of course. The exploration of the universe requires a spirit of skepticism, and we can’t lose our imagination either. Even with the widely accepted Big Bang hypothesis, countless astronomers are still exploring other possibilities for the origin of the universe.” [Note 1]
“Skepticism can help us distinguish between illusion and reality; we can use doubt to test whether certain speculations are correct.”
“Imagination, on the other hand, can take us to broader worlds.”
“Without imagination, humanity would be at a standstill.”
Shi Ning could tell.
Su Tianxue was truly captivated by this, and she truly loved astronomy. She gazed at the stars that had existed for billions of years as if she were gazing at the eternal, unchanging pursuit that resided in her heart.
Whenever Su Tianxue talked about things she liked, about the career she loved, she became more talkative.
Before Shi Ning could even ask, Su Tianxue continued, “Some people believe the universe expanded after the Big Bang to its current vastness. But others believe that before the explosion, the universe was in a state of contraction. The explosion was like a critical point for the universe. It shifted from contraction to collision, similar to a rebound.”
As Su Tianxue spoke, the starry sky before Shi Ning’s eyes was expanding endlessly, spreading out from the point of the explosion, dyeing the entire world with brilliant light.
To face such greatness alone would be stunning, awe-inspiring, and would also make one reflect on the smallness and loneliness of humanity.
One might even fall into a state of melancholy.
But as Shi Ning and Su Tianxue stood under this miracle, holding hands tightly, Shi Ning suddenly felt that the loneliness that came from the universe, that had traveled across countless light-years to reach her, was completely dispelled in that instant.
She wasn’t gazing at the starry sky alone.
Su Tianxue was still by her side.
The conveyor belt beneath their feet suddenly stopped, marking the end of the first part of the exhibition.
Shi Ning pulled off her glasses and saw Su Tianxue still looking back at the path they had just taken.
Shi Ning: “If you like it, should we go back and walk through it again?”
Su Tianxue shook her head. “No need.”
She said, “One must always look forward.”
Moving forward meant more specific, clearer astronomical sights.
Shi Ning’s astronomical knowledge was just enough for her to recognize the eight planets of the solar system, and not much more.
Seeing her standing confused in front of a star chart, Su Tianxue walked over, glanced at it, and told Shi Ning, “This is the star chart for the autumn sky.”
Su Tianxue raised her hand and pointed to a pattern on the side. “This long, somewhat winding one is Draco.”
“And this one, almost surrounded by it, is Ursa Minor and Polaris.”
Shi Ning was curious. “Is this the legendary Polaris that can help you find your way once you find it?”
Su Tianxue smiled. “You could say that.”
Shi Ning: “Is Polaris always the same?” Shi Ning muttered, “Why do TV shows from every era have a scene about finding Polaris? Does Polaris never change?”
Su Tianxue: “Polaris is not unchanging. In fact, every so often, the specific star that Polaris refers to changes. It’s just that because Polaris is so far from Earth, the changes that occur are almost negligible to us on Earth who are looking for it with the naked eye.”
As Su Tianxue gently explained this to her, Shi Ning’s gaze couldn’t help but fall on Su Tianxue’s side profile.
She was so serious, her eyes shining with purity.
Shi Ning couldn’t remember the last time she had seen such a look in someone’s eyes.
When Su Tianxue spoke of the starry sky, her eyes lit up as if she could devote everything to it.
Su Tianxue paused and turned to look at Shi Ning, noticing her gaze was fixed on her. She smiled apologetically. “Sorry, did I talk too much?”
“It’s okay,” Shi Ning said with a smile. “I like listening to you talk about these things.”
Su Tianxue: “I was worried you’d find it boring.”
Shi Ning: “How could I?”
“If it’s possible, Su Tianxue, teach me how to recognize the stars in the future.”
Shi Ning suddenly said this.
Su Tianxue looked back at her, puzzled. “Why the sudden interest in the starry sky?”
Shi Ning: “I can’t really say. I just really want to know what’s so charming about something that can captivate you so much.”
Hearing Shi Ning’s words, Su Tianxue was taken aback for a moment, then led Shi Ning forward into another part of the venue.
This was the presentation area for Stephan’s Quintet.
Su Tianxue reached out, mesmerized, and gently traced the drifting points of light along the galaxy.
“I’ve been looking up at the starry sky like this since I was very young.”
Su Tianxue wasn’t one to eagerly share her experiences, but everything she saw and felt in the exhibition today moved her.
Human technology had advanced to this point.
Through data and imagination, all the galaxies could be presented with special effects and animation.
Reaching this point today was thanks to the efforts of every person who explored the truth and pursued the stars.
Yes.
What was so captivating about stars?
Su Tianxue had asked herself this question before.
Sometimes, she would stand on the balcony and look up at the sky. When the weather was bad, she couldn’t see anything. With just the naked eye, spotting one or two stars was already a matter of luck and something to be grateful for.
Humans have imbued stars with romantic meaning, but for Su Tianxue, stars were far more than just romantic.
When she was little, her parents were never home and rarely called to check on her. Sometimes, even her living expenses would be delayed.
Only her grandmother, only her grandmother raised her.
Her grandmother ran a bookstall near the school.
Before Su Tianxue turned eight, Su Wanxing hadn’t appeared yet.
She played alone and studied alone since she was a child. After school, she would sit at her grandmother’s bookstall and read. Back then, her favorite things to read were astronomy magazines. She might not have understood them, but the dark, mysterious things in the pictures made Su Tianxue curious, and they made her see a version of herself.
She was always like that, staying alone in a dark room.
Later, her grandmother probably noticed her interest in astronomy magazines. At night, she would often take her to the balcony, holding a cattail fan, and they would lie on a rocking chair, fanning themselves and watching the stars together.
At first, it was her grandmother who taught her to recognize the stars.
When she grew up, it was Su Tianxue who taught her grandmother to recognize the stars.
When her grandmother was busy, Su Tianxue would watch the stars alone.
Over time, the stars seemed to become her friends.
Friends who might appear today, and might not appear tomorrow.
Su Tianxue truly faced the magnificence and romance of the starry sky in middle school. Because her grades were so good, her teacher sent her to a math summer camp. Her parents were initially unwilling to let her go, but when they heard it was free and that she could even win prize money for good results, they relented.
Her parents gave in.
Her grandmother packed a lot of luggage for Su Tianxue and secretly tucked fifty yuan of spending money into her bag. The money was all saved up from fifty-cent and one-yuan coins, earnings from the bookstall, and also from selling a large sack of plastic bottles that her grandmother had collected when she had free time.
Her grandmother said that since she was finally going out to have fun, she shouldn’t be too frugal and should buy things she wanted, things she wanted to eat.
Su Tianxue didn’t spend a single cent.
She clutched the money and lay on the grass at the campsite.
The valley was wide open. Looking up at the night sky, it was as if thousands of stars had appeared in an instant. They twinkled in the sky, striking a chord deep within Su Tianxue’s soul.
All the questions that had been buried in her mind since childhood popped up one by one.
She wanted to know why stars appeared, and where they went after they died.
The stars became her companions in her silent, lonely moments, just like her grandmother.
They also became her strength.
So much so that for a long time afterward, Su Tianxue had no particular feelings about the word “loneliness.”
Having spent too much time alone, silence had become her instinct.
Having gazed at the stars too many times, she had almost absorbed their essence into her bones. Solitary, cold, proud, hanging in the sky, never pitying the people on the ground.
It wasn’t so much that she loved the stars, but rather, she loved the version of herself that pursued them.
But Su Tianxue would never tell Shi Ning these things.
Regardless of whether there were cameras behind her or thousands of viewers waiting, she would never say it out loud.
As Su Tianxue silently watched the starry sky on the screen, Shi Ning was watching her.
She was captivated by the unspoken thoughts in Su Tianxue’s eyes.
For a moment, she was also afraid.
Afraid that Su Tianxue would also turn into a star, transform, and fly into the night sky, and then she would never be able to catch her again. Even if she climbed to the highest mountain peak, she wouldn’t be able to touch a star.
Shi Ning quietly reached out and took Su Tianxue’s fingertips.
Su Tianxue came back to her senses and looked down.
The way their fingertips touched, pieced together, also looked like a small constellation.
As the two walked forward, Shi Ning suddenly stopped.
Su Tianxue paused and looked back at her. “What’s wrong?”
Shi Ning pursed her lips. “Can I kiss you?”
Before Su Tianxue could react, Shi Ning had already lifted Su Tianxue’s hand and kissed the fingertips she was holding.
Only after kissing them did Shi Ning feel the weight in her heart lift.
The empty space was filled.
【This is your Shi-nu task counter: Kissing achievement currently [3/10]~~】
【I really want to go to this exhibition with my girlfriend and kiss under the starry sky. Ahh, but I don’t have a wife, and I don’t have a ticket to the exhibition.】
【Hey, why don’t we organize a fan meetup? We can all go to the exhibition together.】
【Wow wow wow! I support this!!!】
【Damn, why do I feel like the meetup will just turn into an offline CP-shipping and matchmaking event!!】
That day, Shi Ning felt like she had seen more stars than she had in her entire life.
After walking around, she told Su Tianxue that her favorite astronomical phenomenon was still the Roche limit.
Su Tianxue was a little surprised. “Why?”
Shi Ning shrugged. “I don’t know. I just think it’s… very epic.”
If two stars get too close, their distance less than the Roche limit, then one celestial body will tend to break apart, begin to disintegrate, and eventually be annihilated in the universe, becoming the other celestial body’s ring.
This was the explanation Su Tianxue had given Shi Ning.
Listening to it, Shi Ning felt that it was like a description of her and Su Tianxue.
They each had their own planets, their own orbits. Once they got close, one of them would have to start changing, to start transforming.
A baptism of being shattered to pieces in exchange for an eternal embrace.
Yes.
Very romantic.
She liked it a lot.
While Shi Ning and Su Tianxue were enjoying the exhibition, the live comments were frantically trying to get their attention.
【Shi, Lao Shi, CEO Shi, can you spare a moment to look outside the exhibition hall? Two people have been waiting for you for a long time.】
【I’m dying of laughter, why are Su Wanxing and Zhu Yu standing outside like paparazzi!】
【Zhu Yu probably never thought she’d see this day, lol.】
It turned out that Zhu Yu and Su Wanxing, who had just finished their date at the recording studio, had borrowed someone’s phone, saw the live broadcast, and rushed over.
Not understanding the situation, they thought it was a simple exhibition and that they could just buy tickets and go in. But when they arrived, the main gate was tightly shut.
The security guard was extremely professional. Even when Zhu Yu took off her mask and hat to reveal her identity, the guard’s expression remained unchanged, as if to say: Who are you?
Damn it!
Being a celebrity is useless!
Can’t even use my face to get in at a time like this!
At Su Wanxing’s insistence on getting the gossip, the two had no choice but to stay outside the exhibition hall, peeking in to see what Shi Ning and Su Tianxue were doing.
Although Zhu Yu repeatedly tried to make some noise to get Shi Ning’s attention so they could get into the exhibition and not have to stand outside, enduring the sun’s baptism and scorching heat…
It was obvious that Shi Ning’s attention was entirely on Su Tianxue, with not a single bit to spare, let alone enough to notice Zhu Yu outside.
There was nothing they could do.
The two could only pitifully press themselves against the window outside. When their faces were pressed against the glass, their pretty noses were squashed out of shape, looking like Pigsy’s snout.
The live comment viewers felt sorry for them and spammed the chat, begging Shi Ning to notice the two and let them in.
But things didn’t go as planned.
After finishing the exhibition, just as their date was about to end, Shi Ning and Su Tianxue were walking back. As they neared the entrance, they finally saw Su Wanxing and Zhu Yu’s faces, looking as devastated as if they were at a funeral, drenched in sweat…
Shi Ning: “What are you two doing here?”
Zhu Yu: “A coincidence, just a coincidence.”
Shi Ning: “How long have you been here?”
Su Wanxing also lied, “Not long, not long.”
Shi Ning and Su Tianxue exchanged a look. Both were smart and figured out what had happened at once.
Shi Ning pretended to remind them gently, “Hey, if I’d known you were coming, you should have given me a call. I would have had someone come get you.”
Su Wanxing gritted her teeth in anger.
Did she need Shi Ning to tell her that!
Wasn’t it because their phones had been confiscated by the production team that she and Zhu Yu had no other choice?!
Hindsight is 20/20!
Su Wanxing was so angry she couldn’t see straight.
Shi Ning chuckled secretly, then said, “You haven’t had dinner, have you? How about I treat you?”
Su Wanxing agreed in a heartbeat. “Yes!”
“I’ll pick the restaurant!” Su Wanxing quickly added.
Today, she had to make Shi Ning pay dearly to vent her frustration.
Seeing her childish tantrum, Shi Ning and Su Tianxue exchanged a look and both shook their heads with a smile.
Zhu Yu said slowly, “Since we’re going to eat, why don’t we invite Xin Ya and the others too?”
Su Wanxing: “What if we interrupt their date?”
Zhu Yu smiled. “As long as you say Shi Ning is treating, they’ll definitely come.”
【Zhu Yu: Got ‘em!】
【Hurry up and interrupt them!!! If you don’t, I’m afraid those two will sweep the entire amusement park!!!】
At Zhu Yu’s suggestion, Su Wanxing borrowed a phone from the production team and called the group where Xin Ya and Zhou Lu were, contacting a staff member. The staff member quickly answered the phone.
Before anyone could speak, the panicked voice of the amusement park game area owner came from the other end of the line.
Owner: “I say, you two young ladies, are you still going to play the ring toss?”
Zhou Lu’s voice was very calm. “Yes.”
Xin Ya huffed twice. “Boss, you opened this shop to do business. We’re patronizing your business now, why aren’t you happy about it?”
The owner’s voice was trembling. “This isn’t how you patronize a business!! You’re about to win all the dolls from my stall!”
On this end of the line, everyone was puzzled by the conversation.
The staff member who answered the phone cleared his throat and explained, “Here’s what happened. Xin Ya and Zhou Lu were playing the ring toss game. At first, Xin Ya missed and was looked down on by a primary school student next to her. To get back at them, Zhou Lu started playing. And the result…”
Su Wanxing: “The result?”
The staff member wanted to laugh but had to hold it in, afraid the owner’s glare would slice him to pieces.
The staff member said with a straight face, “The result is that she’s about to win all the prizes at the owner’s stall.”
Su Wanxing exclaimed, “She’s that good?!”
Zhu Yu glanced at her calmly. “I was pretty good at this when I was a kid too.”
Shi Ning was puzzled. “What’s ring toss?”
Hearing her question, everyone turned to look at her and asked in surprised unison, “You don’t know?!”
Su Wanxing’s voice rose several decibels. “You don’t know what ring toss is?”
Shi Ning shook her head.
Su Wanxing: “Then what did you play as a kid?”
Shi Ning thought for a moment. “I went to Disney, Universal Parks, theme parks.”
Zhu Yu was heartbroken. “Is this the wealth gap?”
Su Tianxue: “Do you want to try it?”
Shi Ning nodded. “Yes!”
Su Tianxue: “Then let’s go meet up with Xin Ya and the others directly, and after we’re done playing, we can have dinner near the amusement park?”
Su Wanxing didn’t forget the main point. “Okay, okay, but Shi Ning has to treat!”
Shi Ning: “No problem.”
Zhu Yu: “Wait, there’s a problem. Can we still get tickets if we go at this time?”
Shi Ning: “Which amusement park?”
Zhu Yu took out her phone, searched, and showed it to Shi Ning. “This one, Fun Town.”
Shi Ning said, “Oh. No need to buy tickets.”
Su Wanxing was silent for a moment, then, remembering Shi Ning’s persona in the “future,” she said slowly, “Don’t tell me this amusement park is also yours.”
Shi Ning smiled and snapped her fingers.
“Bingo!”
Su Wanxing just wanted to roar at the sky.
She hated the rich!!!
The staff member told Xin Ya and Zhou Lu that Shi Ning’s group was coming to find them, and at Su Wanxing’s signal, emphasized that Shi Ning would be treating them to dinner.
Zhou Lu: “Come quickly, come quickly, we welcome you.”
The owner’s face instantly turned pale.
These two women were already more than he could handle.
Why were more people coming?!!
【Hahahahahaha!】
【Owner: Don’t come!!! Spare me!!!】
【How the women of a romance show ransacked an amusement park.】
The group headed to the amusement park. Shi Ning made a call in advance, and as soon as they arrived at the entrance, someone was there to receive them.
As Su Wanxing sat in the private tour vehicle, she couldn’t help but complain fiercely, “This evil capitalism.”
Shi Ning glanced at her. “Then you can get off and walk?”
Su Wanxing immediately gripped the railing in front of her and shook her head frantically. “No.”
“I love capitalism,” she said with a serious face.
Zhu Yu turned her head to hide the smile in her eyes.
Everyone took a ride around in the vehicle, getting a feel for the amusement park’s atmosphere, and then immediately went to find Xin Ya and Zhou Lu in the game area.
The game area had many stalls set up.
Besides the ring toss game, there were also claw machines and shooting games.
All sorts of small games were available, and each stall was surrounded by children.
The sudden appearance of several stunningly beautiful women, each with a different style, attracted a lot of attention.
Su Wanxing scanned the area and spotted Xin Ya and Zhou Lu. “They’re over there!”
It turned out that Xin Ya and Zhou Lu had already cleared out the ring toss stall and were now sitting on a nearby bench, resting with their arms full of prizes.
Su Wanxing ran over, amazed. “You won so much?”
Xin Ya was overjoyed to see them, her eyes practically glowing. “Can we go eat now?”
Su Wanxing explained, “My sister and Shi Ning want to play a bit more. Want to play with us?”
The light in Xin Ya’s eyes vanished, and she shook her head slightly.
Zhou Lu seemed thoughtful, then picked up an onion-head doll and dangled it in front of Xin Ya. “Look, isn’t this cute?”
Xin Ya took the doll and said in a deep voice, “Being cute isn’t a long-term plan, but loving you is.”
Su Wanxing: “…”
Heh.
Su Wanxing: “You two take your time resting. I’m going to find my sister.”
【Why does this woman have so many cheesy pickup lines in her head!!】
【Su Wanxing, look at Zhou Lu’s expression, please take her with you.】
【Zhou Lu: Someone save me.】
The ring toss had been completely cleared out, so Shi Ning couldn’t try it.
Su Tianxue noticed her expression, silently walked over to the owner, and seemed to discuss something with him.
Before long, the owner’s stall was once again filled with various toys and gifts.
The owner picked up a megaphone and started attracting customers.
Su Tianxue walked over to Shi Ning, who was watching Zhu Yu battle a claw machine. “Want to play ring toss?”
Shi Ning hadn’t expected Su Tianxue to remember that. She smiled and said, “Okay.”
Shi Ning invited Zhu Yu, “Want to join?”
Zhu Yu’s face was filled with obsession. “No, I’ll go over after I grab this damn sad puppy.”
Su Wanxing sighed slowly. “But you’ve already put in twenty tokens.”
Zhu Yu looked aggrieved. “Just one more, the last one?”
Zhu Yu had a pair of particularly moving puppy-dog eyes. The corners of her eyes drooped, and whenever she deliberately acted cute or begged for something, she would reveal that pitiful, puppy-like gaze.
Su Wanxing had seen it many times on screen.
But today was the first time she had faced such a look from Zhu Yu directly.
Su Wanxing averted her gaze and handed all the tokens in her hand to Zhu Yu.
“This is all I have.”
She said awkwardly, “If you can’t get it, then forget it.”
Zhu Yu broke into a brilliant smile. “I’ll definitely get it.”
“You wanted it, didn’t you?”
Su Wanxing hadn’t realized that Zhu Yu was so persistent in getting the sad puppy because she had casually mentioned wanting it earlier.
She cleared her throat. “I didn’t want it that much.”
“Actually, Zhu Yu.”
“Hmm?”
As she replied, Zhu Yu was concentrating on the claw inside the glass case, her brain working at high speed, estimating what this grab would likely catch.
Su Wanxing’s voice sounded in her ear.
“I wanted the sad puppy because I think it looks a lot like you.”
Su Wanxing didn’t know if Zhu Yu was aware of this meme.
Sometimes, fans would photoshop her face onto the sad puppy.
However, to Zhu Yu’s ears, this statement, when rounded up, became:
—I want you.
Zhu Yu’s hand trembled. The sad puppy she had finally managed to grab fell out of the claw as it suddenly shook.
……
Sob sob sob!!!
Zhu Yu was on the verge of a breakdown.
Su Wanxing quickly stood on her tiptoes and patted her on the head, comforting her, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Look, Shi Ning is even more useless at ring toss than you are.”
Zhu Yu paused. “Really?”
Su Wanxing said seriously, “Really.”
Seeing that Zhu Yu seemed to be placated instantly, she thought to herself, Sure enough, the best way to solve someone’s pain is through schadenfreude.
Su Wanxing followed Zhu Yu to the ring toss stall and found that Shi Ning had almost no rings left, with only the last two remaining.
A primary school student next to them was laughing heartily. “Shame! Shame! So useless!!”
Shi Ning: “…”
Her fists clenched.
She gritted her teeth and threw the ring forward. It flew out, went very far, and ended up hanging on a tree.
The primary school student laughed even more wildly. “How did that happen!!!”
Shi Ning: …
Zhou Lu walked over to Su Tianxue and said quietly, “Can you empathize with me now?”
There was a reason she, Zhou Lu, had ransacked the ring toss stall!
Su Tianxue nodded almost imperceptibly.
“I’m not playing anymore.” Shi Ning wanted to give up.
Su Tianxue grabbed her wrist. “Let me try one?”
After Shi Ning nodded, Su Tianxue took the ring from her, stood still, and tossed it out.
The ring landed perfectly over a small gift box.
Shi Ning let out a shriek and hugged Su Tianxue, kissing her on the cheek.
【This is your Shi-nu task counter: Kissing achievement currently [4/10]!】
【She got it!!!】
【As expected, we needed our Sister Su to step up!!】
【As we all know, Zhou Lu is amazing at ring toss, and Zhou Lu is a 1. By that logic, Su Tianxue is amazing at ring toss, so, I get it, Su Tianxue is a 1.】
The owner handed over the gift box. Shi Ning wanted to give it to Su Tianxue, but Su Tianxue said, “You open it and see.”
Puzzled, Shi Ning gently opened the gift box.
Inside the box were two small sculptures of celestial bodies.
These two small planets were slowly approaching each other and, as a result, were slowly disintegrating.
Shi Ning froze.
Su Tianxue said softly, “It’s a souvenir from the exhibition earlier. I chose this one.”
Shi Ning looked at the small celestial sculpture. “The Roche limit?”
Su Tianxue: “Yes. Do you like it?”
Shi Ning smiled. “I love it.”
Su Tianxue: “Happy now?”
Shi Ning was so happy her tail was about to wag its way to the sky. She wanted to hug Su Tianxue and kiss her some more when suddenly, a woman’s voice came from the crowd.
“Shi Ning, what are you doing here?”
Shi Ning turned around in confusion and saw a woman in a slip dress, arm in arm with a friend, looking at her in surprise.
Shi Ning: …Who is this?
Then, the woman’s face broke into a smile, and she ran towards her.
“You’re back in the country!”
Shi Ning immediately dodged.
The woman stumbled and ended up hugging the stall owner.
Owner: ???
The woman turned her head, looked at Shi Ning, and said with a hint of coquettishness, “Why’d you dodge?”
Shi Ning: “…Hello, do I know you?”
Su Tianxue: “An ex-girlfriend?”
Shi Ning: …????
No, no, no.
Wife, let me explain!
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