Zero-Cost Shopping

At noon, Ye Shuang took the two fishes and Little Yezi out for lunch.

"Where's Mommy?" Sitting in the passenger seat of the car, Little Yezi hugged the seatbelt and turned her head to ask Ye Shuang curiously. After all, they were in the same company, so why not bring Chen Qin along?

"She is going abroad later, so she doesn't have time to eat with us." Ye Shuang just smiled faintly.

"Mommy needs to eat, otherwise she'll get very, very skinny and won't be able to eat anything," Yezi whispered.

"Is that so?" Ye Shuang didn't really take Little Yezi's words to heart. After all, the little girl's memory was still a mess, and he had no idea who her real mother was. He only hoped the police station could provide some news.

Meanwhile, the two fishes were rummaging through Bai Yuyou's little treasure trove, munching crunchily on snacks. Bai Yuyou herself actually ate the least; she was either feeding the fishes or the dog.

Ye Shuang also took out his phone and called Chen Qin.

"Hello, Ah Ye?"

"Have you eaten?" Ye Shuang asked.

"Not yet, I'm not really hungry either." Right after Chen Qin finished speaking, Yezi reached out and tugged at Ye Shuang's arm, as if wanting to say something, "Food."

"Have Kou Kou get you something to eat." Seeing this, Ye Shuang said to Chen Qin, "Didn't you promise me you'd eat properly?"

"That bowl of noodles this morning made me so full."

"Eat a little more."

"Alright... go get me something to eat, just a little bit." Over the phone, Chen Qin's voice could be heard instructing Kou Kou.

After chatting for a few more sentences, Ye Shuang put down his phone and glanced at Little Yezi beside him. "She is eating properly now."

"Hehe." Little Yezi smiled, looking very cute.

Ye Shuang found a pretty decent restaurant. Although it was a dining establishment, perhaps because it was a workday, there weren't many people inside.

"Hello, how many in your party?"

"Four, including this little kid." Ye Shuang added, "Please arrange a booth for us."

"Okay."

After taking their seats, just as Ye Shuang was holding the menu and thinking about what to order, he felt a sudden weight on his thighs. He paused for a moment, then looked down and realized that the two fishes had actually stretched their legs over and were stepping on his knees. They had even taken off their shoes at some point.

"You two, is this really comfortable?" Ye Shuang personally thought eating in this posture would be very uncomfortable.

"Well, it's alright." An Shiyu propped her cheek up with one hand.

"Alright, I'll change positions." An Shiyi moved a bit, and Ye Shuang immediately felt something and grabbed her ankle. "Hey, where are you planning to put that?"

"Somewhere softer," An Shiyi said.

"..." Ye Shuang remained expressionless, but his fingers tickled the soles of the two fishes' feet. An Shiyu's body almost jumped up, her knees even bumping against the underside of the table. As for An Shiyi, although she was also ticklish, she showed a disdainful expression.

"Is that it?"

Ye Shuang tickled her once more, and she immediately retracted her foot.

"I really can't even get a moment of peace eating a meal." Ye Shuang calmed down and asked Little Yezi beside him, "What do you want to eat?"

"This, meat." Yezi pointed at the menu. "I also want corn and pork rib soup."

"Mm, okay." Ye Shuang smiled.

An Shiyu said, "Stir-fried beef noodles, pineapple bun with butter."

Ye Shuang then asked An Shiyi, "And you?"

"Stir-fried pork noodles, buttered pineapple."

Ye Shuang: "..."

"One steak, one stir-fried beef noodles, one pineapple bun with butter, one stir-fried rice noodles with lean meat, and a pineapple salad." Ye Shuang told the waiter beside him, pausing for a moment before adding, "And give me a serving of Sorrowful Rice."

"Okay."

Soon, the dishes were brought up one by one. Ye Shuang looked at Yezi beside him; she was already skillfully using a knife and fork to cut the steak, arranging the pieces neatly like dice. She didn't look like she needed to be worried about at all.

She probably isn't a child from an ordinary family, Ye Shuang thought to himself. After all, many kids her age wouldn't necessarily be able to take care of themselves like this.

It's just that her appetite is a bit large.

But being able to eat is a blessing. Anyway, there was already a big foodie at home, so having one more little foodie was no problem at all.

Looking at Little Yezi, Ye Shuang couldn't help but smile.

Would his own future child be this cute?

Hasn't it been said that a daughter's looks take after her father? Ye Shuang considered his own appearance to be quite passable, so if he had a daughter, she should be just as cute.

"Mister, your smile is so disgusting. Did you awaken some special fetish?"

"Indeed, you're smiling a bit creepily."

Across the dining table, the two fishes looked over, feeling that the way Ye Shuang was looking at Yezi was weird.

"I'm being affectionate, okay?" Ye Shuang immediately said, feeling a bit speechless. "A loving gaze!"

"Loving..." An Shiyu looked at An Shiyi beside her.

"Isn't that a word only old grandpas and grandmas use? As expected, Mister isn't just old in age, even his heart thinks he's old." An Shiyi sighed.

"He reeks of old man."

"Indeed, he's already so old yet unwilling to sign a marriage certificate. A golden bachelor," An Shiyu agreed.

"I'm so sorry for being old," Ye Shuang stared speechlessly at the two fishes.

While Ye Shuang was bickering with them, Yezi beside them looked up at them while eating her steak, but she quickly lowered her head again, as if thinking about something.

After lunch ended, Ye Shuang was in no rush to return to the company. Instead, he took Yezi for a walk in a nearby mall to digest their food, but mostly he wanted to see if Yezi could recover some memories by coming into contact with different things.

"Wow, claw machines." At this moment, Yezi noticed the claw machines in the arcade area and immediately pressed herself against the glass, looking in curiously.

"So kids really do like this kind of thing?" Ye Shuang stroked his chin.

"Pikachu." Yezi pointed at the plushie inside, then asked Ye Shuang, "Daddy, can I have this?"

"Of course you can. Come, Yezi, let me show you my skills." Seeing the Pikachu plushies inside, Ye Shuang smiled, paid the money, and then grabbed the joystick to control the claw machine.

Accompanied by exciting music, every time his claw grabbed a plushie, it dropped it right as it started to lift.

Back and forth, he spent a full hundred yuan without managing to catch a single Pikachu.

"Pikachu can't come out..." Yezi leaned against the glass, seemingly a bit disappointed.

Ye Shuang coughed dryly, a bit embarrassed.

Was the interval for this claw machine set that high? Why wasn't there a single pity payout?

"So weak." x2

The two fishes beside him said in unison.

"Then you guys try?" Ye Shuang said.

"Is there a reward?" An Shiyu asked.

"Easy to say." Right after Ye Shuang said that, considering that the pity payout might trigger soon, he added, "If you can get a plushie out within three tries."

"Isn't that simple? I won't even need one." An Shiyu showed a dot-eyed expression.

"If you can catch it in one try, I'll grant you a small wish," Ye Shuang said, refusing to believe it.

An Shiyu stood in front of the claw machine and immediately began digging into her skirt pocket—just as Ye Shuang thought she was reaching for her phone to pay, she pulled out a thin piece of wire instead.

"Mhm." An Shiyu slipped the wire into the claw machine's keyhole. With a few quick twists, she unlocked the glass door and pulled it open.

"Here." Reaching straight in, An Shiyu grabbed the Pikachu plushie and handed it to Yezi, who was staring up at her in a daze.

"Zero attempts needed."

"I didn't ask you to shoplift it?!"