I'm in high school, is my dating system working correctly?

sorry.

I regretted asking as soon as the question left my mouth.

Cheng Bailu, how could you be so stupid? Why would you ask such a question?

My mind was filled with the regret of missing the plus or minus sign in the conditions of the last big math problem.

Cheng Bailu opened her mouth slightly, but couldn't say anything.

She didn't know why she thought of Zhou Qianyun and had to bring her up at this time, but she just couldn't help it.

Messed up.

As expected, I'm still not suited for it...

"And what about Zhou Qianyun? She has no right to receive gifts except on her birthday."

Lu Yu didn't take it to heart and chuckled lightly.

Teacher's Day doesn't count.

The prize she won on the receipt wasn't a gift; it was a distribution of spoils.

"what?"

Cheng Bailu then revealed a silly expression, like that of a questioning otter.

"Come on, let me show you your brother Yu's genius claw machine skills."

Lu Yu took a step.

Cheng Bailu pursed her lips and followed.

Without saying a word, Lu Yu scanned the code and charged the machine ten times.

Cheng Bailu had never played a claw machine before, and she was a little at a loss when facing the machine.

"You, use this to control the direction, then use this claw to reach out. Don't grab the toy directly, grab the tag on top..."

Lu Yu succinctly shared his insights.

With a slight nod, Cheng Bailu began operating the machine.

They missed.

"Not bad, that's accurate on the first try."

Lu Yu peered inside.

Again.

It's empty again.

"This time it's a little off-center, we might need to go a bit further in, but it's not a big problem."

Lu Yu went around to the side to check the distance.

Air Force again.

"There might be something wrong with the machine, let's try again."

As a result, they failed to catch him ten times in a row.

Damn machine, it has no sense of propriety.

Lu Yu knew that these claw machines were set up so that you could only win once every few tries. The couple who had triggered the guaranteed win before were now likely to just be used as bait.

but......

He stared intently at the machine.

A subtle irregularity caused a slight throbbing in his temples, which he used in conjunction with [Basic Listening] to probe the internal workings of the machine.

There are probably six more attempts, and the seventh attempt is the minimum, with a success rate of over 90%.

"...Why don't you do it?"

Cheng Bailu was a little afraid to look Lu Yu in the eye, so she lowered her head and gave up her seat.

"Okay, which one do you want?"

Lu Yu gripped the control stick.

"...?"

Cheng Bailu stared blankly at Lu Yu's profile.

So he really did want to give me a ride just now... but I...

I was so ashamed I wanted to disappear.

Cheng Bailu used to think that the metaphors in textbooks like "find a crack in the ground" to crawl into were a bit exaggerated, but when she was in this predicament, she really wished for a crack in the ground, with a trash can over there, so she could hide in the trash can...

"What's wrong?"

Lu Yu's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Hmm, then I'll take this one. It's closest to the window, so it should be the easiest to reach."

Cheng Bailu felt her cheeks burning and a tingling sensation. After a moment's thought, she pointed to the cat plush toy that she felt could fall into the window if she touched it a couple of times.

But Lu Yu didn't move.

"I'm asking you which one you want, not which one is the easiest to get."

The girl was stunned.

She looked at the cat plush toys inside the machine.

What she really wanted was the little pear-shaped cat doll, but it was inside and looked very difficult to catch.

So, in order to save money and to prevent Lu Yu from failing, she subconsciously chose the option that was simpler, less troublesome, and less inconvenient for Lu Yu.

Cheng Bailu has always been like this since she was a child.

She was always the most worry-free, the most sensible, and the one who required the least concern.

Because she had long since learned to carefully hide what she truly wanted, so that no one would discover it.

An elder in my family once told me, "Aim high and you'll get somewhere in the middle; aim for the middle and you'll get somewhere below; aim low and you'll get nothing."

Lu Yu turned his gaze to the machine.

"Anyway, what I mean is, don't settle for second best. At worst, I won't want it."

Cheng Bailu looked at the claw machine.

Lu Yu's face was reflected in the glass, and the two looked at each other in the mirror.

The girl pursed her lower lip, nodded almost imperceptibly, and then pointed to the little pear-shaped cat in the pile of dolls.

"I...I want that little pear-shaped kitten."

Because he looks like Ayu.

His true feelings were not fully revealed.

Because of fear, they cannot get an equal response.

If you only ask for a little, you can easily be satisfied.

For me, this little bit of happiness is enough.

"Okay, your wish has been received. Now, the God of Claw Machines, Lu Yu, will grant your wish."

Lu Yu pushed the control stick.

Cheng Bailu became nervous.

They missed.

They missed.

They missed.

They missed.

It had already been lifted up, but it fell down just before reaching the exit.

They missed.

"...Lu Yu."

Cheng Bailu initially wanted to say forget it, but then she remembered what Lu Yu had just said and felt that if she backed down here, it would be disrespectful to Lu Yu.

"After thinking about it, I realized that people really do have to rely on themselves."

Lu Yu stopped his hand, which was preparing to grab for the seventh time, and gave up his position.

"You come this time, I feel confident we'll win."

"Me?"

Cheng Bailu subconsciously took a half step back, but when she met Lu Yu's gaze, she was swayed by the certainty in his eyes.

"Then I'll give it a try."

The girl approached the machine, reached out and touched the control lever, then glanced back at Lu Yu.

"Hmm, how about you help me?"

I'm still a little insecure.

"Okay."

Seeing the girl's expression that said, "If you don't come to help me, I'll just stay here all day," Lu Yu came up behind her, reached out, and grasped the upper part of the control stick.

The palm overlapped with the girl's slender and delicate palm.

It's cool, soft, and smooth.

moment.

Cheng Bailu straightened her body.

No, that's not what I meant. I meant to say...

Words could no longer flow from his mouth.

My ears were ringing, and my heartbeat was louder than the background music of the claw machine.

She felt as if Lu Yu was shielding her from behind, making it even harder to breathe.

The boy's warm breath fell on his ear, like osmanthus wine that had been aged for many years, intoxicating just by smelling it.

"Notice."

Lu Yu was completely focused on the claw machine, reminding Cheng Bailu to move her left hand. To him now, the girl's hand and the joystick were essentially the same.

A person who wants to win will not have a smile on their face.

He didn't think that using the abilities the system provided for this kind of thing was a waste of his talents.

King You of Zhou used the beacon fires to amuse the feudal lords just to make Bao Si smile.

Lu Yu used his cheat-like abilities to make the girl in front of him happy for one night; there was no better deal in the world.

"......good."

With her arm numb, Cheng Bailu moved in sync with Lu Yu's movements. She didn't know whether she was the one operating the device or Lu Yu was using her hand to cast a spell.

All she could see was the paw moving to the top of the little tabby cat next to the exit.

"according to."

Lu Yu's voice seemed to come from a very, very far place.

The claws descend.

It's as if I can hear the world whispering its secrets.

The ring on the cat's head was hooked, and this time, its paws were no longer limp, but firmly and resolutely grasped the doll that the girl wanted most.

bang-

Until the little pear blossom cat doll fell into the entrance/exit.

Cheng Bailu felt like she was dreaming.

What I wanted most, I finally got into my hands through my own efforts.

She had only experienced this feeling before when studying.

And now.

The lucky cat plush toy was being taken out by Lu Yu and handed to him.

"Here, this is for you."

Lu Yu smiled gently.

"I said I would definitely take it."

*

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