Chapter 243 - 129: Asserting Sovereignty

Chapter 243: Chapter 129: Asserting Sovereignty

Chen Yuan glanced at Old Deng. The man had just made thirty yuan off them, and now he was looking to squeeze out some more.

"Let’s go. I’m done playing."

Trying it once was enough for Jiang Wanyi. She didn’t want to waste too much money on something like this, and they still had plenty of game tokens left—enough to keep them busy for a while.

"The owner even said he’d give us a discount. I have to take this chance to make my wife happy, right?"

The tips of Jiang Wanyi’s ears turned red. She discreetly pinched Chen Yuan but didn’t correct him. Hearing him call her "wife" again filled her with a strange sense of joy.

’We’re carrying a child, and we were just walking arm in arm. Doesn’t that look like we’re a married couple? If I tried to explain, it would just make me look weird and our relationship seem unnatural.’

She was inwardly ecstatic, but she kept her expression neutral.

’I’m a grown woman, after all. I can’t let a few words from him make me giddy.’

"I can tell he’s a good man. Keeping your wife happy is more important than anything," the owner said, grinning at Jiang Wanyi. "You’ve got great taste. Men like your husband are a rare breed these days."

"You’re right!"

The owner scooped up six more balls. Jiang Wanyi knew he was just trying to fleece them for more money, but he was such a smooth-talker that his words made her blush.

"Tell you what, young man. Play a few more rounds, and I’ll give you a better deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"Normally, you have to sink six in a row to get the grand prize. Right now, if you just sink six balls total, I’ll let you take home the grand prize."

"In that case, I’ll buy a few more balls."

"You’re getting an amazing deal. A stuffed animal this big would cost you at least 200 outside."

Chen Yuan looked at the large goose plush on the prize shelf. It was definitely big—at least a meter and a half long. ’Over 200 is an exaggeration,’ he thought, ’but it’s got to be worth at least 150.’

"Fifty yuan for twelve balls. Sink a total of six, and you take home a grand prize."

"Fine."

Seeing Chen Yuan wanted to play, Jiang Wanyi scanned the QR code to pay the fifty yuan. ’We’re not at home,’ she thought. ’When we’re out, I should just go along with what he wants.’

The owner flashed a toothy, sly grin, the wrinkles on his face bunching together. He scooped twelve balls into a bucket and handed them all to Chen Yuan.

"Here, let me hold the baby. You go ahead," Jiang Wanyi said.

"It’s fine."

Holding the baby with one arm, Chen Yuan casually tossed a ball in. He moved so quickly that even Jiang Wanyi didn’t have time to process it.

The bouncy ball dropped into the large tub, swirled a few times, and stayed put.

"Huh?"

Jiang Wanyi’s eyes lit up.

’That wasn’t a fluke. It went in cleanly.’

The owner’s expression changed, too.

Three seconds ago: Grinning.

Three seconds later: Not grinning.

’Damn it, looks like I’ve run into an expert.’

THUMP!

He threw the second ball, and it landed squarely in the bucket again. Then the third, the fourth...

In less than a minute, all six balls had gone into the bucket.

"Boss, could you get that big goose plush down for us, please?"

"Uh... right... I’ll get it for you."

The owner reluctantly went to get the big white goose plush. But just as he took it down from the shelf, he heard a series of thumps.

He turned his head to see that Chen Yuan had already thrown in another three balls!

Followed by the fourth, the fifth, the sixth...

’His face turned green. ’You can’t just do this! This is a carnival game, not my wholesale supplier!’’

"Which one do you want? The ones on the top row should all be grand prizes," Chen Yuan said.

"Let’s get that Kapira one. The set with the big one and the small one. We can take them back for her to play with."

"I think the Stitch one is pretty good, too. Let’s play one more round and take them all."

Jiang Wanyi nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"No more! Stop playing! You’ve spent a total of eighty yuan and walked off with two of my grand prizes. I’m not letting you play anymore!"

The owner looked as miserable as a wronged widow as he gathered up all the balls, refusing to let Chen Yuan play no matter what.

"So you won’t let us play just because we’re good at it?"

"If you keep playing, you’ll bankrupt me."

With games like this, once you figure out the trick, your chances of winning are quite high. And Chen Yuan, with his personal cheat system, naturally couldn’t miss.

The owner was a sly old fox himself. Seeing Chen Yuan’s perfect accuracy, he knew he was dealing with a pro and certainly wasn’t going to take that gamble again.

"Alright, fine then."

Chen Yuan didn’t press the issue. For eighty yuan, winning two huge stuffed animals was a major win.

The two of them left with the plushies. Jiang Wanyi looked at Chen Yuan excitedly, her eyes full of girlish adoration.

"You’re amazing! You didn’t miss a single one. How did you do that?"

"There’s a trick to this kind of game. When you throw, if you put a spin on the ball, it won’t be able to bounce out," Chen Yuan said.

"Oh, so that’s how it is. You must have played this a lot before, haven’t you?"

"I’ve played a few times, yeah. There are tutorials for it online, too."

"If I’d known, I would have let you play the first round. We could have won another one."

"If I’d played the first round and won the grand prize, the owner would have just shut us down right there. Your turn was just bait to draw him in. He thought he was being clever, but he just shot himself in the foot."

"But either way, we won two stuffed animals."

Jiang Wanyi looked at Mili, wiggling one of the new plushies at her.

"Look, look! Daddy won these all for you. Isn’t he amazing?"

"Ahhh..."

Mili didn’t understand much yet, but at that moment, in Jiang Wanyi’s eyes, it was as if Chen Yuan was glowing.

Strolling along leisurely, Jiang Wanyi saw the motorcycle game.

"If you want to play, give it a try."

"I don’t know how to play this at all. I’d be too embarrassed to get on."

"What’s there to be embarrassed about? Of all the people here, very few actually know how to play. Everyone’s just messing around. Go on."

"No, no, I’ll pass. I’m wearing a skirt; it wouldn’t be very convenient."

Chen Yuan glanced at Jiang Wanyi’s outfit. It was very feminine, and he had to agree it wasn’t exactly suitable for hopping on a game motorcycle.