Chapter 164: Two Eye-Catching Oddballs

(1)

On Saturday, the big tent market street was so bustling it made people hesitate to go in.

At the entrance, the newly opened Wawa House was packed with girls—some had come with friends, others had brought their boyfriends along.

But among this crowd, the most eye-catching were An Yin and Zhu Ying.

Though there were plenty of others dressed up nicely, their styles were all fairly ordinary—not nearly as striking as the short-skirted JK uniforms.

Even if the two of them had just been wearing their regular school uniforms, they’d have stood out; let alone dressed like this…

As they made their way into the shop, they drew countless glances, making An Yin so nervous she tensed up—terrified someone she knew would spot her here.

“Wow, that outfit… looks so much like…”

“Like what? Why are you staring!”

“Ahem, I wasn’t, I wasn’t, you’re much prettier anyway…”

“That girl’s really cute, which school is she from?”

“No idea, but she’s really adorable.”

An Yin, stiff and awkward, followed behind Zhu Ying, finally stopping in front of a Capsule Machine that no one had taken yet.

The Capsule Machines here worked by directly inserting a Coin, with no need to exchange tokens.

There were all kinds, too—not just the classic metal claw machines, but also ones where you cut ropes, or push Prize Capsules with lucky numbers like a Coin Pusher, and even ones with electronic screens simulating balloon-popping…

This one was just like a Coin Pusher.

An Yin lowered her head, doing her best to ignore the intense stares from everyone else.

“Inside the Prize Capsule, there’ll be a lucky number. If it says ‘Thank You,’ that means you didn’t win. Every other number matches a prize.”

“Have you noticed everyone’s staring at us?”

“Ahem!! Isn’t it your fault? Now I’m an eye-catching oddball too…”

“What? You should enjoy being admired! It makes you even prettier, you know.”

“Yeah, right.”

“It’s true!”

“Even if it is, I don’t really care… The main thing is… There are so many people here, I can barely breathe.”

“Pfft, are you getting shy?”

“If someone from school runs into us, I’m doomed!”

Unlike the Carrefour in the new district, this place was more affordable and really popular among students—especially kids from No. 2 Middle School, who mostly lived nearby.

On weekends, it was always crowded.

The Carrefour and the bustling new street were more for adults with money to spare…

“It’s fine! I’ll cover for you if you get caught,” Zhu Ying said, smiling brightly, “Right~ An Yin little sister.”

“Don’t—don’t call me that!”

“Okay, okay, so let’s play this one?”

“Hm?”

“The Coin Pusher style Capsule Machine. I feel like we might get something good.”

“It’s still one Coin per play, but it seems hard to win.”

“Let’s give it a try!”

Zhu Ying said brightly, sliding a Coin into the Capsule Machine.

The pusher at the top started moving, shoving a pile of Prize Capsules toward a round hole.

With a noisy clatter, some of the Capsules rolled down to the second layer.

There was no pusher on the second layer, just a slanted shelf so the Capsules would keep moving by inertia, knocking more Capsules toward the lower layers.

On the very bottom was another pusher, constantly working to shove Capsules along.

But it didn’t always push them toward the exit—most often, the Capsules would get nudged into the edge troughs instead, and then they’d get blown back up to the top layer for recycling…

“How’s it going, Xiao Jing? Did any drop?”

“Uh… Not a single one dropped.”

“Seems pretty tough.”

“Wanna try a different one?”

“Well, I only brought ten Coins anyway, so let’s stick with this! You wanna go next?”

“You play first…”

So Zhu Ying put another Coin in.

During the complicated pushing process, finally, a few Prize Capsules dropped out of the exit.

Excited, Zhu Ying scooped them up and laid them out on the Capsule Machine’s platform.

“Want to open them together, Xiao Jing?”

“I think… maybe let’s spend all the money first, and open them all at the end?”

“That’s good too—it’ll be even more of a surprise.”

Zhu Ying nodded, and soon another “clunk” of a Coin sounded in the Capsule Machine.

“This time, let’s hope a bunch fall!”

“…Only one fell.”

“There’s still hope!”

“The bottom layer can’t push anymore.”

“Dang it, let’s go again!”

“Didn’t drop…”

“Again!”

“Ah, three dropped this time—looks like three.”

“Here, Xiao Jing, wanna do the rest?”

“Me? I’ll give it a try…”

“Wow, Xiao Jing! You got like a dozen to fall, didn’t you?”

“It’s because a bunch built up before, so now they all came out at once.”

“Let’s keep it up! I think we can get even more!”

“Why not just use up the rest now?”

“Let’s!”

After another series of clattering Coins and Capsules tumbling out, a satisfying pile grew on the Capsule Machine’s platform.

Even though they hadn’t opened any yet, just seeing all those Prize Capsules was strangely satisfying.

“Xiao Jing, let’s open them together?”

“Okay.”

“Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. Why are they all ‘Thank You’?”

“Told you this machine’s the hardest! Not only do you have to get the Capsule to drop, but you need to get a lucky number inside.”

“I opened five, all ‘Thank You’. So annoying. How about you, Xiao Jing?”

“Me too…”

Almost all the Capsules had been opened, and not a single prize—leaving them feeling pretty empty-handed.

Usually, if something dropped out of a Capsule Machine, it meant you’d won.

But this machine just didn’t play by the rules.

“Last one—! Hey, I won! Number 25!”

“Hey, don’t shout so loud, now everyone’s staring at us again!”

“Don’t worry about it, Xiao Jing!”

Zhu Ying quickly pushed the empty Capsules into the recycling slot, grabbed the winning Capsule, and pulled An Yin by the wrist, dashing up to the counter.

“Don’t celebrate too soon. What if it’s nothing good…”

“Don’t be such a downer, Xiao Jing!”

“Number 25, right? Let me see…”

The young male staffer turned and looked at the shelves behind him, scanning for the spot labeled ‘25’ on the far left.

That entire shelf, up to the divider, was filled with the same style of Rabbit Plush Bag.

Unlike the usual fluffy, round bunny plushies, these were longer and less furry—almost like they were made from felt.

“There are three colors—Pink, White, and Black. Pick whichever you want.”

“Um—Xiao Jing, you pick.”

“Huh?”

“I was planning to give it to you anyway.”

“Anything’s fine for me…”

“No way, you have to choose one!”

“Then… how about… Black?”

An Yin scratched her cheek, mumbling, “This Rabbit Plush Bag, it really looks just like…”

“Great~ Black it is!”

The staffer smiled and handed An Yin the Rabbit Plush Bag wrapped in colorful plastic, adding, “This isn’t just an ordinary plushie, it’s actually a bag. There’s a hidden zipper on the back, so you can put things inside. Not much, but still, haha…”

“Oh, that’s pretty useful!”

“I don’t think so.”

An Yin muttered quietly, accepting the Rabbit Plush Bag and, urged by Zhu Ying, tore open the plastic to take out the bunny inside.

“The bag’s… really not very big.”

“But you can put your keys and phone inside!”

“Yeah, if I keep them in my skirt pocket, it always feels like my skirt will fall off.”

“Huh, why are you carrying a cassette?”

“Ahem! It’s nothing!”

An Yin stiffly zipped the bag, then turned it over and over in her hands, mumbling, “…It doesn’t even have a strap.”

“So you’ll have to carry it in your arms?”

“No way.”

An Yin awkwardly picked it up by its two bunny ears—she always thought carrying plushies was just too girly.

“Holding the ears like that, it looks so pitiful.”

“It’s just a toy…”

“But won’t you break it?”

“Probably not, it feels pretty sturdy.”

An Yin gently shook the plush bunny by its ears and hurried out of the Wawa House—she just couldn’t stay in there any longer, not with everyone staring at her…

But as soon as she stepped down the stairs and was about to call Zhu Ying over, a far too enthusiastic greeting suddenly rang out from behind: “Hi!! Little sister!”

“Whoa!!”

An Yin jumped in fright, whipping around, only to find herself surrounded by three girls all much taller than her, who looked like high schoolers or maybe freshmen in college.

“So shy!”

“Yeah, she’s really cute. She really looks like Sora!”

“…Huh?”

An Yin’s nerves vanished.

She looked at the girl who’d just spoken, her eyes lighting up with surprise.

“You’ve played Yosuga no Sora too?”

“Yeah! You’re cosplaying, right? Where’s your wig? Couldn’t afford it?”

“No, no, I’m not cosplaying… I just happened to wear this.”

“If you had the wig, it’d be perfect. What a pity.”

“Do I really look that much like her? The one you just mentioned…”

Her companion asked curiously.

“Sora! Sora!”

The girl with the bigger build and rougher skin leaned in closer.

“You’re just so cute, can we take a picture with you?”

“Eh?”

“Xiao Jing—what’s going on?”

Zhu Ying’s voice finally drifted over.

“Ah… They, um, want to take a picture with me.”

“Wow, there’s another one, and she’s so pretty too.”

“One’s cute, one’s pure!”

“What’s the difference?”

“There’s a big difference!”

An Yin looked helplessly at the three noisy girls.

“Well… If we’re going to do this, let’s hurry, okay? There are too many people here.”

“Help me take the photo!”

The big-boned girl shoved her phone at her friend and excitedly hopped over to An Yin’s side, bending down a bit.

“Let’s get a picture together first!”

An Yin had a bad feeling…

—Why is there suddenly a line forming behind us?!