The mood picked up, and the private room grew incredibly lively.
Yao Tao was getting a little carried away herself.
"Another rocket!" she cried, jumping for joy. She slapped two paper strips onto Zeng Rou's and Han Qinglu's foreheads. "Thanks for your patronage!"
[Whoa, my precious He Bao's luck is unreal!]
[More wins than losses!]
[I'm on a roll! I'm going out to buy a lottery ticket right now, aaah-]
"I'm done, I'm done!" Zeng Rou had the most paper strips on her forehead. "Zhao Yixiao, you jinx! Didn't you wash your hands before coming out?"
Zhao Yixiao gave a dry cough. "Well, He Zhen just has good luck!"
"All right, all right, you've stuck plenty of those on other people's heads too!" Han Qinglu was having fun as well. "You two are so loud. Just play one last round to wrap things up."
"Then let's play Old Maid!" Yao Tao suggested.
[Pure luck!]
"You're certainly enthusiastic." After losing so much, Zeng Rou's little-princess temper had flared up. "I wouldn't have guessed you got this wild when you played."
Yao Tao immediately settled down.
*[!]*
[I got carried away!!!]
[Ah, I knew I shouldn't let myself get carried away!]
[Last time, those twins dragged me into a game, and I almost gave away that I could tell them apart.]
[Damn it!]
Yao Tao stole a couple of glances at He Zhen.
[I'm doomed. He Zhen likes sweet, well-behaved girls. My image!]
He Zhen's hand paused.
What sweet, well-behaved image did Yao Tao have left in front of him?
She was noisier than a summer cicada.
Still, He Zhen didn't find her all that annoying.
And... what twins? Were they Yao Tao's friends?
He Zhen began to grow curious about Yao Tao's social circle.
As far as he remembered, she had always been alone. He had never seen her hanging out with any friends.
Yet every time he turned around, he could always spot Yao Tao.
He had thought Yao Tao didn't have any friends.
"Let's play one round. After that, it'll be time to eat and head home."
*[!]*
[Damn it!]
Yao Tao instinctively checked her phone. It was already nine!
[Oh no, oh no, it's my fault! I completely lost track of time!]
[Waaah, my precious He Bao, Mommy's sorry!]
[I can't save your stomach!]
[Come to think of it, maybe I can't save my own stomach either!]
Watching her look as though the sky had fallen, He Zhen couldn't help wondering: would his future self really have half his stomach removed?
"Okay, one round, then dinner. What do you say, Little Peach?" Zeng Rou rallied, looking ready to avenge her losses.
"Sure." Yao Tao made an OK sign.
[Let's duel!]
[I'm sitting in He Zhen's spot!]
[May the goddess of luck shine upon me!]
Three minutes later, a large paper strip with a turtle drawn on it was stuck to Yao Tao's forehead!
"Hahahaha!" Zeng Rou felt thoroughly refreshed.
Yao Tao was struck speechless.
[This defies all logic!!!]
[There's no way I'm this bad!!!]
"Little Peach, you're surprisingly easy to fool!" Zeng Rou laughed delightedly.
[I'm not easy to fool!]
[I just had a bit of bad luck!]
[Aaaah, I should've stuck with the one on the left!]
[Hesitation means defeat!]
[Waaah.]
"All right, all right," Han Qinglu said. "We can play again next time. Let's order some food. We've been eating snacks this whole time."
"Go ahead. Have them tidy up so we can eat!" Zeng Rou flopped onto the sofa and queued up a song while she was at it.
Yao Tao watched the staff come in and clean up. A few adjustments to the lighting, and their night of karaoke and dancing instantly turned into a dining setting.
With a press of a switch, the tabletop rose. The sofas were shifted, and a clean, tidy dining space appeared.
Zeng Rou put down the microphone and switched the screen to Crayon Shin-chan.
It was like a little family gathering!
[Damn it!]
[Turns out I'm the clown!]
[You can do that?!]
[A nightclub turns into an upscale restaurant in seconds!]
Their order was soon settled, and the leftover cake was taken away to be packed up.
Yao Tao admitted that she was like Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden.
She really hadn't seen much of the world!
"It's been ages since we stayed out having fun this late," Han Qinglu remarked.
"Sorry," He Zhen apologized.
Thinking about it, he really had been blowing them off for quite a while.
"Hmph, hmph." Zeng Rou huffed twice. "Let's invite Wei Fang and Tang Zhao next time. Didn't he get a girlfriend too? They should come hang out with us."
"What was his girlfriend's name again?" Zhao Yixiao couldn't quite remember.
"Li Yajun," He Zhen said. "She's a really nice girl."
"I think I remember her." Han Qinglu joined the conversation. "Didn't she want to join the student council?"
Han Qinglu looked at Cheng Yu.
"I don't remember. Too many people came," Cheng Yu answered honestly.
"Hahaha, as if Cheng Yu would remember any other girls," Zhao Yixiao teased.
"Exactly. There are only two kinds of girls in her eyes." Zeng Rou held up two fingers. "One is you, and the other is every other girl!"
"Zeng Rou!" Han Qinglu was still terribly embarrassed.
Starting with Tang Zhao's girlfriend, they gradually got talking.
He Zhen missed the times when their whole group got together.
"How are you doing? Are the three of you still getting along?" Han Qinglu asked He Zhen.
"Pretty well." He Zhen joined in the conversation while also listening to Yao Tao's mental postmortem.
That was right. Unable to get a word in, Yao Tao had gone off to analyze her game.
As she went over it, she bought a 648-yuan top-up.
He Zhen reflexively glanced at Yao Tao's phone screen.
A gacha game?
[Damn it, I still should've picked the left one.]
[Waaah, forget it, forget it. I'll top up 648 to calm down.]
[One 648 top-up. Don't let me down, SP!]
Unfortunately, her luck brought her nothing but pity pulls, and even those...
[Even my pity pull is a duplicate!]
[Aaaaaah-]
[Let it all burn. I'm tired.]
[There's no hope left in life. I'll just have to marry you by force.]
[I'll exchange for a card.]
[That's life. If you can't get something, you have to use the power of money.]
[The power of money is all I have left.]
[And even that power is running dry!]
[My heart hurts.]
Amused by what he heard, He Zhen leaned a little closer. "Want me to do a pull for you?"
Wei Fang had always liked asking him to pull things in games for him.
He Zhen thought his luck seemed pretty good.
*[!]*
Yao Tao's eyes instantly lit up.
[Right!]
[My precious He Bao is the second male lead, after all!]
[His luck should be absolutely insane, aaaah!]
[Now, no peeking at other girls' phone screens next time, okay?]
[Nobody spoils you like I do!]
"Then do one pull." Yao Tao held up one finger and offered He Zhen her phone.
[Let a miracle happen, so I can marry one more!]
He Zhen tapped the screen.
The next second, Yao Tao's scream nearly blew the top of his head off.
[Holy shit, you're my god!-]
[Who gets two SPs from a mixed pool, aaaaah? I do, I do, I do!!!]
[Aaaaaah, this ridiculous luck!]
[Oh, you're my precious darling. I want to pin you down on the sofa and kiss you until you cry!!!]
[Oh my god!]
[My life is complete!!!]
[All four SPs, collected!!!]
[Waaaah!]
Yao Tao's eyes were so red they were almost purple!
He Zhen's ears were so red they looked ready to bleed.
He knew Yao Tao was just excited, but his heart still couldn't help skipping a beat.
[You're my precious darling!]
[I love you to death, you know that?!!!]
[Damn it, I can't get too excited!]
"An otome game!" Zeng Rou leaned over for a look too. "Holy crap, He Zhen, your luck really is amazing. Do a pull for me too!"
"I was wondering why Little Peach looked like she wanted to gobble you up. Haha, two SPs!"
Zeng Rou immediately whipped out her phone. "Get me a set too!"
"Little Peach, who's your favorite?" Zeng Rou looked at Yao Tao, her own eyes shining.
[Oh, this is embarrassing. I, I... I'm a fan of every guy in all eight major otome games!]
[Hehehe!]
[I'm not fickle. I just love every one of my men equally and deeply!]
He Zhen: suddenly calm.
Before you continue