Chapter 112 - 105: No Choice but to Take the Initiative

Chapter 112: Chapter 105: No Choice but to Take the Initiative

Xiao Ran smiled gently. "I advanced. It’s all thanks to you."

’To be honest, with such a pitifully low word count, he hadn’t expected to advance at all.’

But to his surprise, he had actually advanced—and with the highest score in his group, no less.

"How can you say it’s thanks to me? You’re the one who’s so talented," Yan Xici said, her face flushing with shyness.

’She was still flustered from the kiss just now.’

’After all, it was the first time anyone had ever kissed her like that!’

Xiao Ran shrugged. "Alright, enough about the book. What should we do next?"

’It’s still early anyway, just past six. There are still hours before bedtime. We’d just be sitting around if we went home, so I might as well take Yan Xici to do something she enjoys.’

Hearing this, the girl blinked and affectionately linked her arm with Xiao Ran’s. "How about we go play the claw machines?"

Usually, when she went out with her friends, they’d just watch movies, play claw machines, or get coffee.

’Maybe I should take Brother Xiao Ran to play the claw machines!’

"As you wish!" Xiao Ran said with a smug look, glancing at the girl snuggled up against him. After leaving the theater, they headed toward the arcade up ahead.

The girl tugged on his arm and said in a soft, sweet voice, "By the way, Brother Xiao Ran, I don’t want to get a job..."

’He’d been urging her to focus on job applications lately, but she didn’t want to work for someone else at all. The thought of having to work with a bunch of strangers made her feel completely uneasy.’

Hearing this, Xiao Ran stopped in his tracks, looking at her with astonishment. "Why?"

’You have to get a job after graduation, one way or another. When he had just graduated, he’d been so excited at the prospect of working that he couldn’t sleep at night. This girl had good grades and a great personality. Someone like her might not get a promotion and a raise right away, but she would definitely be able to get along with management and build good relationships.’

"I... I want to focus on making videos..." Perhaps afraid of being scolded, her voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was almost inaudible.

Xiao Ran was taken aback for a moment.

’Honestly, making videos was a pretty good side hustle, but turning it into a full-time career and actually making money from it was no easy feat.’

’Even though you can casually scroll through any major platform and see videos with tens or even hundreds of thousands of likes, the reality is that countless other videos are never seen. You don’t get much traffic until you’re popular. The video industry today is a completely different beast than it was a few years ago.’

’A lot of aspiring influencers start by sinking a ton of their own money into it. Of course, some make it without spending a dime, but those are the rare exceptions. Yan Li worked in this industry, so Xiao Ran naturally understood a bit about it.’

’Honestly, he wouldn’t recommend it, but that was his opinion, not hers.’

’Since she had told him this, she must have thought it through. Besides, she was still young, so there was no harm in giving it a shot. She would stop on her own if she realized the path wasn’t viable. Or, who knows, maybe she’d actually get famous.’

"Have you thought it through?" Xiao Ran asked, looking at her seriously.

Staring into his sincere eyes, Yan Xici paused. She had thought he would try to talk her out of it, but instead, he was asking if she had thought it through.

She pursed her lips and sniffled. "Mhm."

’She’d been thinking about it for a long time.’

Xiao Ran nodded. "Alright. Since you’ve thought it through, then just do what you want to do."

At his words, a flicker of disbelief shone in the girl’s eyes. "You... you agree?"

Xiao Ran blinked nonchalantly. "Why wouldn’t I agree? It’s your life, after all. I have no right to interfere."

’Besides, it’s not like she’s doing anything illegal or immoral. What reason would I have not to support her?’

"That’s wonderful! Thank you, Brother Xiao Ran!" Delight slowly dawned in Yan Xici’s eyes, and a joy she couldn’t hide spread across her face. She was so, so happy.

’I knew it! Brother Xiao Ran is the best to me!’

’I just knew it!’

Seeing her so excited she looked about to jump for joy, Xiao Ran reached out and fondly ruffled her hair. "Alright, let’s go play the claw machines."

’His mom had been visiting recently, and Xici had spent a lot of time with her, taking great care of her. He’d seen it all and taken it to heart.’

’Since they were out now, Xiao Ran felt he should let her relax and have some fun.’

"Okay!"

Yan Xici was so happy that her steps became jaunty and light. Watching her skip along cheerfully, Xiao Ran couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

The arcade was very close to the movie theater, and they arrived in just a few minutes. One hundred yuan bought eighty game tokens.

Wanting the girl to have fun, Xiao Ran generously bought two hundred game tokens, which were loaded into a small yellow basket.

The girl peered inside excitedly, her eyes darting between the people on the dance machine, others on motorcycle games, and some at the coin pushers. The place was packed with men and women, and it looked incredibly lively.

"Come on, let’s go play the claw machines!" Xiao Ran said decisively.

’To be honest, he was no expert at claw machines. After all, he rarely came to places like this. If she hadn’t wanted to come, he probably wouldn’t have visited an arcade once in the last five years.’

’The last time he’d come here was back in middle school.’

"Yay~" Yan Xici was buzzing with excitement, her big eyes darting from one thing to the next, the very picture of a curious kid.

Xiao Ran took her small hand and led her toward the claw machines.

"Which one do you want?"

At his question, the girl began to carefully inspect the rows of claw machines. There were little dolphins, little tigers, little rabbits, and even little dolls with cat ears. There were many types; each machine generally contained only one kind of plush toy, but they all came in different colors.

They all looked so cute.

The girl was dazzled by all the choices.

’She felt like she liked every single one!’

Seeing her pacing back and forth in front of the machines, a hesitant look on her face, Xiao Ran understood.

’She must like all of them.’

’In that case, I’ll just start with the first one.’

With that thought, he decisively inserted three tokens into the nearest machine—it was three tokens a try.

As the claw began to move, the girl’s heart leaped into her throat. She took tiny, quick steps to get closer to Xiao Ran, her eyes fixed eagerly on the little dolphin inside. "Get that one! The blue one! The blue one’s closest, it’ll be easy to grab!"

Hearing her, Xiao Ran unhesitatingly maneuvered the mechanical claw, lowering it toward the little blue dolphin. As the claw gently tightened, it actually picked the dolphin up.

Even Xiao Ran was a little surprised. ’Well, what do you know? My luck is actually good for once!’

’And here he’d bought two hundred yuan worth of tokens just to win a plushie!’

’Unbelievable. He’d actually succeeded on his very first try!’