The Serious and Crazy Woman
Chapter 13/14
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Yang Chen, An Xin, and Hui Lin all enjoyed their barbecue lunch. Yang Chen honestly felt more at home doing menial tasks like this, as he looked much more relaxed than working in the office.
Yang Chen was even considering convincing Lin Ruoxi to abandon Yu Lei International, and follow him to the market to sell mutton skewers. They could even rent a storefront. However, such a beautiful dream was in the end only a dream.
Lin Ruoxi on the other hand tasted nothing in her food.
She was contemplating about a novel she had read. The main actress was a professor who married an officer in the military. Due to the overly large difference in culture, the professor had always felt that her husband was unbearably vulgar, but failed to give up on that man. At the end of the novel, the professor was still with her husband, but she didn’t manage to think of a reason to have been able to accept this ‘vulgar’ husband.
Lin Ruoxi used to feel that the professor was straight-up contradicting herself. Why wouldn’t she divorce the man when he was so incompetent? Finally after all this time, she herself has come to the realization. When it came to matters between men and women, logical reasoning was often not the thing to turn to first.
Seeing the half-naked, farmer-looking man sitting on the wooden chair beside her who didn’t even bother wiping his oily mouth with a tissue as he used his arm instead, Lin Ruoxi couldn’t help but sigh deeply. She took a stack of tissue and pa.s.sed to Yang Chen. “Don’t use your hands. They’re dirty now.”
Yang Chen grinned. “I’m used to behaving this way. Even bowls were considered a luxury for me back then, let alone using tissues, so I subconsciously wiped my mouth with my hand.”
Yang Chen received the tissue and vaguely wiped his lips.
Although Lin Ruoxi was curious about the life Yang Chen had lived in the past, she chose not to pry. She only knew a thing or two about him. She felt that Yang Chen would tell her if he felt the need for her to know. It should be mentioned that the fellow was a really talkative man.
Since he hasn’t told me about it before, he may feel that there’s no need for me to know.
Lin Ruoxi lowered her head as she smiled gently. Her G.o.ddess-like, elegant face looked particularly touching, but she was holding a half-eaten chicken wing in hand, causing her to look a little strange.
Unfortunately, no one had noticed her smile.
After having lunch, a bunch of pa.s.sionate servers who had been ready to work came out of nowhere can cleaned all the trash.
Lin Ruoxi fronwed and said to one of the servers, “Ask your manager to stop sending people to follow us. This is no different from being monitored. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”
The server remained quiet for a while in fear. He bowed down and lowered his head before stammering, “Bo—boss Lin, please forgive us. It’s not in our intention to monitor you. We just want to serve you as you almost never come here…”
Lin Ruoxi waved her hand to signal them to leave. She had to behave in a dignified manner in front of her employees.
“Elder Sister Ruoxi is so impressive,” An Xin said softly.
Yang Chen looked at her in a playful manner. “Oh is this how you view her as well?”
“Of course,” An Xin said seriously, but the intention to laugh in her eyes betrayed her.
After the meal, Yang Chen put on his outer coat. He actually enjoyed being half-naked while standing in the cold wind. He often did so when on missions in Siberia. During that period, he even had to draw messy lines on his body using black ink, to camouflage himself in the dark forest. Not only did it help him avoid certain beasts, he could also secure a kill in an ambush.
These moments felt like they had just happened yesterday. However, currently, he had gotten a stunning wife and multiple beautiful lovers, not to mention he had become an office worker.
Yang Chen didn’t find his current life monotonous, to go to work every day and come home for dinner. He even felt more content this way.
Of course, if would’ve been perfect if his wife was willing to cooperate by getting along with his lovers.
The four slowly made their way along the lake with the winds sweeping through their hair. It smelt of mud and leaves, but the smile on Hui Lin’s face had never dispersed. She described to An Xin and Lin Ruoxi regarding her experiences when she lived in Emei Mountain, so the three ladies were chatting unstoppably.
Judging from the situation, the decision to bring Hui Lin out was right.
There was a small rest station nearby, mainly for weary guests to rest before continuing. The mini store was selling steaming-hot herbal eggs, dried tofu and some beverages.
However, since it was still lunchtime, the rest area was pretty much empty. Only an old man wearing a tank top was left to tend the business.
There was a mini game station outside the store which had attracted the attention of the ladies.
The stairs used as a display were filled with cartoon dolls. It was a game where if the partic.i.p.ant managed to hit a doll down from the stairs using plastic b.a.l.l.s, it was theirs.
Such a game was basically everywhere in a playground, but Lin Ruoxi, Hui Lin, and An Xin hadn’t seen it very often, so this particular one peaked their interests.
At the top of the stairs stood a snow-white, huge polar bear doll which looked incredibly eye-catching due to its round feature.
An Xin wasn’t too excited, unlike the child-like Lin Ruoxi and Hui Lin. This was especially the case with Lin Ruoxi. Back then, she had taken a good interest in the dumpling back at the store, which led to Yang Chen taking part in the challenge. Now that she had noticed the huge polar bear, Younger Sister Lin’s eyes illuminated.
Yang Chen knew that Lin Ruoxi was too embarra.s.sed to suggest partic.i.p.ating in the game, so he said, “The game looks quite interesting. Since we have time, why not we have a go at it?”
Elation filled Lin Ruoxi’s eyes, but she still remained expressionless. “I’m fine with anything. Hui Lin, do you want to play?”
Hui Lin nodded her head forcefully of course. Thus, they approached the old man before Yang Chen asked, “Grandpa, how much do you charge for this game?”
The old man pointed at a small, wooden signboard. There were words written by a writing brush: Five bucks for two tries, ten bucks for five tries.
“Then I’ll pay 30 bucks for now. Each of you can have five tries,” Yang Chen said as he took out a fifty-yuan note from his pocket.
The old man appeared to be feeling cold. He s.h.i.+vered lightly as he received the money. After giving Yang Chen a twenty-yuan change, he then pa.s.sed a basket to each of the ladies.
“Girls, stand behind this table to throw. Whether or not you hit one depends on your luck. I recommend you to aim for the small ones, and leave the big ones untouched. It’s very unlikely that they fall even if you managed to hit one,” the old man advised.
The plastic b.a.l.l.s were hollow, so the force that it exerted when thrown was very low. In addition to that, their weight made it so that the wind was able to push it much easier. So, it was quite tough to hit a doll at the seemingly short distance.
Hui Lin was the first one who stood behind the table. She practised martial arts. Although she didn’t excel in using hidden weapons, her strength and accuracy were still extraordinary.
Whoos.h.!.+ The first ball she threw managed to hit a small teddy bear at the center down.
Shocked, the old man clapped and praised, “Wow, not bad at all!”
Hui Lin smiled sweetly as she waited for the old man to pa.s.s the teddy bear to her. She then threw three more b.a.l.l.s, but missed all of them. With her fifth and final ball, she hit a doll yet another time which was a little pony. The grandpa picked it up and gave it to Hui Lin.
Yang Chen could tell that Hui Lin intentionally missed most of her attempts. Softly, he whispered to Hui Lin, “Why didn’t you aim for the huge polar bear? You only had to use a little internal energy to hit it down.”
Out of shyness, Hui Lin blushed when Yang Chen’s hot breath hit on her ear. She carefully glanced at Lin Ruoxi who wasn’t paying attention to her, before saying, “I’ll leave the huge bear to Elder Sister. She seems to like it more than I do. Also, it’s difficult for the grandpa to take care of a store in such a cold weather. I have the gift of martial arts. I don’t want to take advantage of him.”
Yang Chen revealed a so-I-see expression. He simply touched Hui Lin’s ponytail and said, “Only you would be so kind.”
Hui Lin felt that a deer was banging around in her heart after Yang Chen touched her hair. To her, such an action was incredibly intimate.
However, Yang Chen failed to notice her response. He was focused on An Xin who was the second one to play.
An Xin wasn’t as strong and accurate as Hui Lin. She failed to hit a single doll after five tries. Pouting, she said to the old man, “Grandpa, I want five more b.a.l.l.s,” as she took out a ten-yuan note from her leather purse.
The old man was naturally pleased. After receiving the money, he pa.s.sed five more b.a.l.l.s to An Xin.
An Xin wasn’t disappointed this time. She managed to hit the smallest teru teru bōzu and was satisfied enough, so she didn’t plan on playing more.
“Good luck Elder Sister Ruoxi.” An Xin didn’t forget to put up an act to encourage Lin Ruoxi when she came down from the platform.
Lin Ruoxi hummed in acknowledgement. She wasn’t bothered to reply An Xin. Taking a deep breath, she took her basket and came to the table, looking rather nervous. Her huge, watery eyes were fixed on the huge polar bear at the highest spot.
“Elder Sister is really serious,” Hui Lin said.
An Xin walked over and said softly, “Her gaze doesn’t look like she wants to hit the polar bear door, but shows her bloodl.u.s.t for polar bears instead. Sigh… she looks more and more like a little girl.”
At this moment, Lin Ruoxi had finally finished preparing her combat emotion. Taking out a plastic ball, aiming at the polar bear, she released it with all her strength!
Whoos.h.!.+ The force was sufficient, but her ball flew to a different direction.
Lin Ruoxi’s cheeks instantly turned as red as a mature apple. Evidently, missing her attempts in front of her love rival, husband, and younger sister was something embarra.s.sing to her.
Lin Ruoxi chose to avoid looking at the expressions of the people standing around. She took out yet another ball and forcefully threw it at the polar bear.
Unfortunately, after throwing all of her five b.a.l.l.s, none of them even touched the polar bear, let alone hitting it down.
Without hesitation, she took out a fifty-yuan bill from her purse and gave it to the old man. “I want 25 b.a.l.l.s.”
The old man happily accepted her money and gave her what she demanded before keeping the bank note into the pocket of his tank top.
With a basket full of b.a.l.l.s, she continued throwing the b.a.l.l.s forcefully at the polar bear. Unfortunately, no matter how she threw them, the b.a.l.l.s either headed to the left or the right instead of the center. She didn’t even manage to hit any other dolls.
Having thrown all 25 b.a.l.l.s, her face wasn’t red anymore, but appear a little pale instead. Her gaze revealed a frightening gaze of bloodl.u.s.t toward the polar bear.
“Grandpa…” Lin Ruoxi called. Her voice was enough to freeze a person completely. Even if the weather was already cold, the old man felt the air around him fall ten more degrees .
“Gi—girl… are you actually asking for more?” The old man was actually astonished. He had never seen such an unfortunate customer before. Lin Ruoxi didn’t even manage to hit the smallest doll with any of her 30 b.a.l.l.s.
Lin Ruoxi took out a hundred-yuan bill from her purse and said, “Give me 50 b.a.l.l.s.”
The old man didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. “Girl, I’m starting to feel embarra.s.sed seeing you throw like that and I’m not even the one that’s playing. Why don’t you keep your money, and I’ll give you a small one. Please don’t get mad, just treat today as your bad day.”
“No way!”
Lin Ruoxi’s face was freezing-cold when she yelled. She stared right into the old man’s eyes, which caused him to be horrified.
“I don’t believe I can’t even hit a small doll! Why is it that they can but I can’t? Grandpa, don’t talk about giving me one. I want to hit one myself!” Lin Ruoxi said in an agitated manner as she pointed at Hui Lin and An Xin.
Yang Chen smiled bitterly. He was well aware of Lin Ruoxi’s personality, otherwise she wouldn’t have worked so hard in Yu Lei just to prove that she was capable to lead the company.
Today, Yang Chen noticed he had underestimated Lin Ruoxi’s desire to win. The girl was so determined just to get a small toy.
When one thought about it, Lin Ruoxi might’ve started treating An Xin as her enemy. She wasn’t willing to lose to An Xin in any aspects. Moreover, she had never liked to admit defeat. She wouldn’t give up so easily in getting the polar bear she liked.
The pitiful old man was dumbstruck. Judging from her gaze, she looks like she wants to murder someone instead of getting dolls!
However, there was not much the old man could say. Furthermore, it was more money for him. Thus, he gave Lin Ruoxi two huge baskets containing 50 b.a.l.l.s in total while shaking his head.
Lin Ruoxi placed the two baskets in front of her as she continued launching attacks at the polar bear. She was basically firing cannons as she unstoppably tossed the colorful plastic b.a.l.l.s.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard Lin Ruoxi tried to aim, or how much strength she exerted, the b.a.l.l.s failed to hit the dolls.
“Girl, please don’t focus your attention on the big bear anymore. It looks like an easy target, but it’s also the furthest one from you. Why don’t you try aiming for the small ones? They’re closer and easier to get,” the old man suggested. He wasn’t willing to see the beautiful girl throwing tantrums anymore.
Lin Ruoxi bit her lip as her eyes looked resolute. “No, I have to hit the big bear!”
At this moment, Lin Ruoxi had used up all her 50 b.a.l.l.s. Thus, she took out 200 yuan from her purse and said, “Grandpa, I want 100 b.a.l.l.s!”
The old man felt helpless, but there was nothing he could do. Therefore, he delivered a hundred b.a.l.l.s to her.
It wasn’t easy to finish throwing a hundred b.a.l.l.s. Lin Ruoxi took a short break each time after throwing around ten b.a.l.l.s. The cycle soon lasted for more than half an hour.
Hui Lin and An Xin almost cried during their wait. They found it unbelievable. Even if one had their eyes closed, wouldn’t they have at least hit something, anything?! Even the closest ones would have been struck
When Lin Ruoxi finished throwing her b.a.l.l.s again, she took out 400 yuan from her purse to ask for 200 b.a.l.l.s. However, the old man was so terrified that he paled.
“Little Girl! I beg you. I’ll give you the big bear and all the other dolls. All of their values combined total up to less than 400 yuan!” the old man confessed. He was petrified by Lin Ruoxi. Why must there be such horrifying customers in this world?! he thought.
“Ruoxi, do you want me to help you? Treat it as a gift from your husband,” Yang Chen said after approaching her. If he allowed her to play again, the sky would’ve turned dark before they could return to the resort.
Lin Ruoxi looked at Yang Chen with disdain. “What is it? You don’t believe that I could hit one as well? An Xin could hit one, so why can’t I? I refuse to lose.”
Yang Chen rubbed his face as he felt speechless. He couldn’t just say something like, “But you’ve already lost,” could he?
This time, Lin Ruoxi basically s.n.a.t.c.hed 200 b.a.l.l.s from the old man. She placed them all on the table, forming a little mountain.
Lin Ruoxi stretched her arms before continuing to cause the b.a.l.l.s to fall like rain…
Nothing is absolute in the world. Just like how a man may survive a rain of bullets, Lin Ruoxi had failed to hit a single doll after four or five hundred b.a.l.l.s.
In this season, the daylight hours weren’t very long. After Lin Ruoxi finished throwing all 200 b.a.l.l.s, the sun had started setting…
Lin Ruoxi looked sombre. A horrifying aura exuded from her gorgeous face, especially from her black pupils which looked like they could shoot fatal blazes.
The old man had hidden himself in the store. He wasn’t willing to take any money from her anymore. He only hoped that the girl could leave as soon as possible.
Yang Chen saw that both Hui Lin and An Xin had started daydreaming together. This had to stop now. He walked forward and pulled Lin Ruoxi’s arm. “Let’s go, there’s no need to play anymore. Who gets this p.i.s.sed over a toy on a trip?”
Although Lin Ruoxi was still unwilling to give up, she knew that she had gone over the line. She stared at the unwavering polar bear angrily before nodding. “Wait for me.”
Soon, being gazed upon by Yang Chen, Lin Ruoxi walked to the store and placed ten bucks on the table before saying to the old man who dare not stare her in the eye, “Grandpa, I’ll use ten bucks to buy ten of your plastic b.a.l.l.s.”
“Ah?”
The old man doubted his hearing. He cried, “Girl, why are you still here? I’m an old man who may get a heart attack from your antics!”
“No, I want to buy your b.a.l.l.s and go back to practise. I’ll come again after I’m done practising,” Lin Ruoxi said strictly. “Keep the big bear for me. I will get it no matter what.”
This time, not only the old man was astonished, even Yang Chen, Hui Lin, and An Xin were all dumbstruck.
An Xin drew a cross in front of her and said softly behind Yang Chen, “Hubby, I will behave myself in the future. I don’t want to compete with a crazy woman like this for a man… She’s this horrifyingly serious just to get a toy, if I s.n.a.t.c.h her husband away, someone is going to die and that person will be me.”
Dissatisfied, Yang Chen complained, “What ‘crazy woman’ are you talking about? Don’t say it like that.”
An Xin stuck her tongue out before pouting her mouth. Evidently, she didn’t feel guilty for putting it this way. She secretly glanced at Lin Ruoxi who was carefully choosing plastic b.a.l.l.s. It was the first time heartfelt fear had surfaced in her eyes.