No Coins, How Can I Catch

Jiang Yunlu was genuinely worried.

She feared that Lin Mo might view her the same way he saw Zhou Youbai.

So after sending Zhou Youbai home, she immediately had Uncle Zhao, the driver, bring her back.

The round trip took nearly two hours.

By the time she arrived, the group had already moved to another mall.

Uncle Zhao clearly understood how much his young mistress valued these friends.

So he drove at a decent pace, and upon arrival, hurried to the Häagen-Dazs at the entrance to buy ten servings of ice cream.

He then handed them to Jiang Yunlu.

"Uncle Zhao, what's this for?"

"A small gift. Your friends will surely like it."

Jiang Yunlu nodded and quickly headed upstairs.

They were currently playing in the arcade on the fifth floor.

Taking the elevator up, Jiang Yunlu didn’t go straight into the arcade. Instead, she exchanged a hundred yuan for game tokens at the entrance.

But the moment she stepped inside, she spotted Lin Mo leaning against a machine, watching the others play.

Even Xie Yuling was on the dance machine, while Chu Miaomiao was trying her luck at the claw machine nearby.

The rest were either playing King of Fighters, Dynasty Warriors, or shooting games.

Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Yunlu quickly made her way to Lin Mo’s side.

"Hey! Why aren’t you playing?" She handed him an ice cream cup.

"Didn’t want you to get lost," Lin Mo replied casually, taking the small cup—about the size of a palm.

If she remembered correctly, one of these tiny cups cost over eighty yuan.

Ten of them meant over eight hundred yuan spent.

Watching Lin Mo naturally open the cup and dig in, Jiang Yunlu let out a small sigh of relief.

"Lin Mo, do you think Zhou Youbai is a bad person?"

Lin Mo turned to look at her.

"It’s just her pride acting up. That guy, Ye Haoran, is pretty handsome. His family might not be well-off, but he’s probably popular at school.

Zhou Youbai, on the other hand, comes from money. Her grades are average, her skills unremarkable, and while she’s decent-looking, her wealth is her biggest asset.

After getting together with Ye Haoran, she grew more insecure. So she used money to prop up her pride, twisting her feelings in the process."

Hearing this, Jiang Yunlu recalled how Zhou Youbai had cried the entire car ride home, insisting how much she loved Ye Haoran.

Lin Mo’s explanation about pride matched Zhou Youbai’s behavior perfectly.

"Then… do you think they’ll just… break up?"

Jiang Yunlu was still concerned about her friend, even if her personality wasn’t the best.

"Hard to say. In situations like this, most guys wouldn’t tolerate it. If your friend turns into a doormat and eventually wins him back, how would she look back on this chapter of her life?"

Lin Mo didn’t offer any solutions.

For Ye Haoran, this might actually be a relief.

Judging by how his friends mocked Zhou Youbai, they’d clearly been unhappy with the relationship for a while.

If the bros are telling him to break up, it’s probably for the best.

Jiang Yunlu lowered her head, lost in thought.

Lin Mo patted her shoulder.

"Don’t worry about how others see you. You’re you, she’s her. Everyone knows what kind of person you are."

Having her thoughts laid bare, Jiang Yunlu flushed.

"N-no, I’m just… worried about my friend."

"It’s fine." With that, Lin Mo grabbed a handful of tokens from the basket in Jiang Yunlu’s arms.

These game tokens cost two yuan each, but in reality, you could also use one-yuan coins in the machines.

Of course, getting caught would be troublesome.

Lin Mo walked over to the claw machine where Chu Miaomiao was playing.

Chu Miaomiao wasn’t a claw machine expert, but she’d exchanged a dozen tokens just to try her luck.

So far, she’d come up empty.

Lin Mo casually inserted a token and went for it.

These claw machines were rigged—only after a certain number of attempts would the claw actually have enough grip strength to secure a prize.

In short, it was all about guaranteed drops.

But most people gave up after a few tries, essentially handing the win to the next player.

A cheap trinket worth a few yuan might take over a dozen—or even dozens—of tokens to obtain.

Some greedier operators tweaked the claw’s strength to a frustratingly precise level, making players feel like they were just one try away, only to leave them empty-handed after burning through tokens.

Lin Mo’s attempt was effortless. He didn’t even bother aiming, just went straight for the largest plushie at the bottom.

The claw’s grip was stronger than a mousetrap.

As the oversized plushie dropped, Jiang Yunlu clapped. "You’re amazing!"

The plushie didn’t seem to be from any famous brand, but it was an adorable black cat.

Lin Mo pulled it out and handed it to Jiang Yunlu.

"Since I used your tokens, it’s yours."

Hugging the giant plushie, Jiang Yunlu’s cheeks turned pink as she looked down at the black cat.

It wore a gray scarf and had a resigned expression in its eyes—almost like Lin Mo himself.

But Lin Mo didn’t linger on the claw machine. Instead, he glanced at Chu Miaomiao’s latest failure.

She’d been so close to grabbing a prize this time.

But the claw automatically loosened on its way up—utterly infuriating.

With only one token left, Chu Miaomiao pouted.

Then, a hand snatched the token from her grip.

"Which one do you want? I’ll get it for you."

Lin Mo nudged her aside with his hip.

Chu Miaomiao eagerly pointed at the plushie she’d almost gotten—a somewhat goofy-looking Qiao Ba with a slightly sleazy grin.

What kind of taste did this girl have, liking a Qiao Ba like that?

Still, Lin Mo inserted the token and went for it.

Jiang Yunlu, still hugging her giant cat, felt a twinge of displeasure at first. But remembering how Chu Miaomiao had wasted over a dozen tokens without success, she pitied her.

She, too, hoped Lin Mo would grab that Qiao Ba.

After all, it wasn’t as big as her cat.

For some reason, both girls instinctively believed Lin Mo could do it.

And he did.

If you’re cheating, what’s a claw machine prize?

Chu Miaomiao squealed, spinning in circles with the plushie in her arms.

She looked like an overexcited teenager.

Wait—wasn’t she actually just a teenager?

Her figure was misleading.

Just then, Geng Xiao popped up out of nowhere.

"Lin Mo! I want one too!"

Lin Mo spread his hands.

"Huh? What?"

"Tokens! No tokens, no prize!"

Geng Xiao felt a flicker of irritation. Back in the day, people would always buy tokens for her at arcades.

Earlier, she’d tagged along with Chu Miaomiao, who’d bought twenty-five tokens and shared half with her.

But those were long gone.

Now, even Chu Miaomiao was out of tokens, leaving Geng Xiao with nothing.

So she quickly said, "Fine, I’ll buy some. But you have to help me get a prize!"

With that, she dashed toward the entrance.