After deciding to give up, I became popular

She really thought a lot, even thinking about what kind of face she should use to show off in front of Eriri, to properly show off her loyal dog boyfriend to that golden retriever loser, and use practical actions to show their affection in front of her, telling that golden hair that she has no chance at all and can only obediently be a loser.

Of course, if she performs a little better, she might share some private photos of Kouhai-kun for her to use as a side dish...

So she really, really thought a lot, and even felt that it might be pretty good to develop like this. Getting on the bus first and buying the ticket later is indeed too despicable, but it's really useful at certain times! Then, Kouhai-kun can make up for those regrettable parts later.

Thinking like this, she even looked forward to it, until she heard increasingly noisy sounds around her.

"..."

So why is it so noisy? Even the worst hotel wouldn't have this kind of soundproofing, right? And the sounds are completely different. If you listen carefully, you can even hear a few phrases like "Too bad, I didn't get it again," "Wow, I finally got this gashapon!" "Now, Shun Goku Satsu!"

"...?"

With a bad premonition in her heart, she finally bravely raised her head and began to look around.

Not far in front of her, a row of brand-new claw machines stood, and many combinations of couples or female friends were fighting wits with the machines. The gashapon machines on the other side were also quite popular, with groups of three to five people gathered in front of each machine, and some people occasionally exclaimed, "Hiss, I got it!" attracting envious glances from the otaku nearby.

However, these were all small scenes. The most lively area was the row of seemingly brand-new game consoles in front of her. Almost every seat was occupied, and the even more lively battle area had many spectators standing behind the players, constantly casting amazed glances at the screen, and occasionally excitedly raising their hands and shouting, "YA??DA??ZE??! Finish the game in one go!"

"..." Utaha Kasumigaoka was silent, unable to say a word for a long time.

Xia Chuanzhao, on the other hand, became extremely excited.

"I heard about this arcade a long time ago. It seems to be newly opened recently, and all the equipment is brand new, but all the old games from the past are complete. I came to see it today and it's indeed like that. I also heard that the owner of this store is an ultimate arcade fan. After getting rich from doing business, he returned to his hometown but found that the arcade he remembered was long gone, so he paid out of his own pocket to customize a batch of brand-new equipment. Then, in order to attract the young people of this era, he specially customized an additional batch of 'very easy to win' claw machines and gashapon machines, so now it's always crowded here..."

"As expected, this kind of atmosphere is more conducive to the feeling of gaming."

While introducing these things, Xia Chuanzhao's eyes were also full of uncontrollable passion. He couldn't wait to join in like these people.

Originally, his plan was to come here to experience it after buying various manga and new publications, but he was entangled by his senpai. But now, bringing her over to see it seems like a good choice?

At least, his senpai looks very shocked right now.

--At least, that's how it looks in his eyes.

In reality, however, the low-pressure aura emanating from Utaha Kasumigaoka was almost solidifying. Her legs trembled uncontrollably, wanting to step on something, and her eyes seemed to be covered with layers of haze, muttering words that the people around her couldn't understand: "Hehe... I knew it... As expected... Hehe... Unforgivable... Hehe..."

Her anger layered upon layer, and finally broke through the limit.

So she looked at Xia Chuanzhao beside her, who was holding a lot of game coins and thinking about what to play first, and whispered to him: "As expected of you, Scumbag-kun, your methods of toying with pure girls are always unexpected."

"Eh eh eh? Why? What did I do again?" Xia Chuanzhao was puzzled. Why did her address for him suddenly escalate in a fierce direction?

"Bringing a girl to this kind of place is terrible! It's really terrible!"

"Ah? No, didn't you say I could take you anywhere?" Xia Chuanzhao was also a little angry. She was the one who said OK, but when he took her to the place he wanted to go, she said he was terrible? That's too unreasonable?!

"How would I know you would bring me here! I thought you were going to take me to that kind of..." Utaha Kasumigaoka said anxiously. It was true that she said she would accompany him, but he should have at least explained where he was going first, right? She really thought they were going to a hotel!

"Ah? Go where?" Xia Chuanzhao was also confused, feeling that there was something behind her words, but she didn't want to tell him clearly.

"..." However, Senpai just pursed her lips, and then didn't say a word.

After all, she had imagined so much just now, how could she say it? Especially after discovering that the place was actually such an "all-ages" place, her original "dirty" thoughts became even more impossible to say.

She still wanted some face.

However, since she had already come, she could only turn her grief into strength.

"Tch... I'm going to play the claw machine," Utaha Kasumigaoka said expressionlessly.

She wasn't the kind of person who liked dolls or toys, but in this kind of place, the only thing that could pique her interest was this.

"Eh? But I want to play a bit first..."

"Claw machine," she repeated expressionlessly.

"..." So Xia Chuanzhao had no choice, he admitted defeat, he compromised.

"Then we'll come back to play arcade games later..."

Looking at the few mushroom-headed kids who looked like elementary school students happily battling in front of him, he had long been itching to try. However, since they came to play together, he couldn't possibly suggest something like "Then Senpai, you go play the claw machine, and I'll go play arcade games," right?

He felt like he would be scolded even more harshly.

200. The Greedy Kouhai-kun

Utaha Kasumigaoka was tentatively a literary girl, and her hobbies naturally leaned in that direction. She liked to read, and could even hold a book for an entire afternoon. She especially loved those romantic literary works, so she inevitably became someone who yearned for them.

Generally speaking, she rarely showed her face outside, but in order to enrich her works, she would occasionally try things that could improve her experience, such as trying out this claw machine.

After all, what she created was light novels, not traditional literature, so it was essential to come into contact with these activities that were popular among young people and also very popular among couples.

However, in reality, she wasn't good at this stuff, and had only experienced it once before, but at least she had basic knowledge.

Insert coin - manipulate the joystick - grab, all in one go.

Then, unsurprisingly, it missed.

And not just once or twice, but failed several times.

"Didn't they say these are claw machines that are relatively easy to win? Why can't I grab anything? Are they just scamming money?" Utaha Kasumigaoka was a little annoyed.

She wasn't that angry at first, but she felt like everything had been going wrong lately, and she even felt like she had been tricked by someone just now. Although she could recognize that this was entirely due to her overthinking, she was still angry and wanted to vent.

"Scumbag-kun, you come, but if you can't grab anything either... there's no need to continue staying at a store run by such a profiteer."

"There's no need to say it so harshly..." Xia Chuanzhao was a little helpless, which was why he reminded his senpai in the first place, knowing that she definitely wouldn't like this kind of place, but he didn't expect that she would already be a little impatient after just a while. "And I need to remind you that these tokens can't be refunded, okay?"

"It doesn't matter," Senpai Kasumigaoka just crossed her arms and said casually. "Anyway, it's not my money that's being spent."

"Isn't that even more excessive!" Xia Chuanzhao protested, he knew things wouldn't be so smooth.

However, he still stepped forward slowly and put the tokens in without much hesitation.

He really didn't have much confidence in getting it in one shot. After all, those rumors were just what he had heard, and maybe the "relatively easy claw machines" were just the merchant's marketing tactics. Therefore, he was completely prepared to give up at the moment. Fortunately, these tokens could be saved if they weren't used up, and he could take them out when he came back next time, but he didn't know when he would have the chance to come here again after today.

"Which doll does Senpai want?" Xia Chuanzhao looked back at her.

Since Senpai Kasumigaoka could take the initiative to come over here to insert coins, there must be something she wanted in this machine, so he might as well help her a little.

"It's like you can grab it if I tell you..." Utaha Kasumigaoka was unconvinced, but she still told him truthfully, "That panda, a little bit inside, with a funny expression on its face."

So Xia Chuanzhao looked in the direction she pointed, and sure enough, he saw a different panda doll, hiding in the middle of a group of brothers, being well protected.

"I guessed right, you girls really like pandas..." Xia Chuanzhao murmured.

After all, they were a special creature, and the key was that they were indeed very cute. However, almost all pandas came from a certain big country in the East, and the rest that were abroad were given out by way of lease or gift, because they themselves were a rare species that was very difficult to reproduce, so naturally not many could be given to foreign countries. Although there were indeed a few pandas in Tokyo, and one of them was a big star among pandas, in reality not many people could visit them.

Because they were so popular, if you wanted to visit them, you basically had to rely on luck. If there were too many people on that day, you might only be able to do it through a lottery. And in order to meet the needs of the people, various panda peripherals began to emerge in an endless stream, and they all sold very well. Therefore, it was completely okay to say that they were the most popular animal in the country.

However, compared to her favorite cute things, the vast majority of Utaha Kasumigaoka's attention was still focused on the more important person.

"You girls?" She frowned.

Who else liked pandas? Or should I say... who else had related things happen between her and Kouhai-kun?

She was very curious.

However, Xia Chuanzhao completely went his own way and began to do the work for his Senpai.

He first observed left and right, and after confirming again and again, he nodded and began to move.

Push the lever, control the lever, and carefully find the right spot. After confirming that everything was correct, he pressed the grab button.

He didn't show that he cared that much, but Utaha Kasumigaoka behind him became interested.

She silently observed the machine, watching the claw easily cross the dangerous terrain, and cross all the panda dolls, and finally hit—the bottom.

"..." Clearly, it didn't grab anything!

She thought Xia Chuanzhao was very strong when she saw him say so confidently and look like "pick whatever you want," but the result was that he was even weaker than her? He didn't even touch the panda's fur!

So Utaha Kasumigaoka immediately put on a disgusted expression, wanting to use this to mock him a little, but the next second she saw the claw retracting, and when it rose, it actually picked up a tag. The tag was firmly hung on the claw, and the entire doll also rose up with it. Finally, as the claw moved and released, the entire doll smoothly rolled out of the hole.

Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."

Is this also okay? She felt that the other party was playing a very new way to play.

But she refused to be convinced, so she shouted again: "This, this is a coincidence, right? How is it possible to do this..."

"The world is so big, there are all kinds of wonders," Xia Chuanzhao just shrugged.

To him, it was nothing. After all, he had practiced hundreds of times before. In order to become a "love expert," he would try his best to do everything well. Just grabbing dolls, the time he spent practicing was less than half the time he spent reading her books.

"I don't believe it! Unless you try again and grab another one using the same method!"

"Uh... but as for pandas, not many have those conditions," Xia Chuanzhao hesitated.

This method wasn't foolproof. It required the position of the tag to be good enough. The current situation of the other panda dolls couldn't do this at all.

"Then change to another doll..." Utaha Kasumigaoka shook her head very simply, and was about to say "grab one at random" when she saw a golden hair with a funny expression, so she suddenly had an idea, "That one, that golden hair is fine, I want it!"

So Xia Chuanzhao looked in the direction the other party pointed again, and then a subtle feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

This golden hair... um, hard to say.

Really hard to say.

So he simply pretended that he didn't understand anything and directly started.

As expected, because the position itself was also okay, he didn't spend much effort and clamped it out in one go again. Then Xia Chuanzhao simply gave the two of them to Utaha Kasumigaoka next to him.

"You can believe it now, right?" He didn't feel any relief, after all, he was facing Utaha Kasumigaoka, and he no longer expected her approval, but he was still somewhat happy that his skills were displayed.

“……” Utaha Kasumigaoka was still somewhat happy to receive the doll, but when she thought about how he had never shown her such strong claw machine skills before, her mood immediately soured. “Tsk, as expected of a Scumbag-kun, you're quite skilled at flirting with girls.”

No matter how talented someone is, they can't become a master of something they've just picked up.

Someone like my junior must have tried many times—that is, gone on countless dates with other girls—to develop this skill. Even if the truth isn't like that, at least Junior-kun practiced for someone, and she's very concerned about who that 'someone' is!

She can pretty much rule out that golden retriever, since she's not the type to like this kind of thing, someone who would like this and even go on dates with Junior-kun…

Is a sneaky cat she doesn't know!

Because she had been too focused on antagonizing Eriri, she had almost forgotten that besides that golden retriever, there were many potential enemies! Like that 'black-haired background character' she met the other day, although her chest was flat, her looks alone were a serious threat…

Damn it, why is her Junior-kun so good at attracting girls?

Isn't it enough that only she likes him?

201. Already an Old Relic

Seeing that Utaha Kasumigaoka's expression had improved after receiving the two dolls from her junior, Kanade Natsukawa simply struck while the iron was hot and suggested trying out the arcade games.

Utaha Kasumigaoka wasn't very interested in this, but seeing her junior so enthusiastic, she accompanied him. However, when Kanade Natsukawa invited her to join, she still shook her head and refused, saying that she only wanted to watch him play.

Seeing this, Kanade Natsukawa didn't say anything more, chose the game he wanted to play, and decisively inserted coins into the machine, immediately immersing himself in the game—he chose “The King of Fighters,” and the classic “97” version.

This is a fighting game that can be said to be world-renowned, with a huge worldview, character settings, and has produced many series of animations, comics, and peripherals. It is very popular. Although in recent years, it has been faintly overshadowed by another equally popular fighting game, its loyal fans still exist.

At least Kanade Natsukawa has purchased every series and has been actively participating in “ranked matches,” occasionally playing a game or two to reward himself when he's in the mood.

However, he is used to using a controller on a console, which is different from playing at an arcade, so he is a little unaccustomed to it now.

The specific manifestation is—he's playing terribly, and is being brutally beaten by the highest difficulty computer in front of a girl.

Kanade Natsukawa: “……”

It can be said to be very embarrassing.

Come to think of it, it seems that every time a girl watches him play, he can't perform to his full potential. Last time it was Mahiru, and this time it's his senior.

“Although I don't really understand, Junior-kun… you seem to be dying?” Utaha Kasumigaoka said with interest.

Normally, boys at this time should be encouraged, but for Utaha Kasumigaoka, opportunities to see her junior embarrassed are rare, especially since he sat down with a confident look just now, but now he's immediately sweating profusely.

How cute~

“N-No way! It's just that this computer is about to break down, okay!” Kanade Natsukawa retorted.