The little frog bracelets were indeed adorable—cute and childish. They might be a bit too juvenile for a three-year-old, but they were just perfect for the two of them, who were in their twenties. Wearing the little frog bracelets and holding hands, they continued their shopping spree.
When they passed by a lottery store, Yu Shuman bought two lottery tickets, one for each of them, and they played scratch-offs. Qin Ran initially eyed a fifty-yuan ticket, but seeing Yu Shuman buy a ten-yuan "Lucky Encounter" ticket, she followed suit and bought a ten-yuan "Green Gem" ticket. Yu Shuman didn't seem to have much luck with money—her entire ticket was filled with "Thank you for your participation."
Qin Ran leaned close to Yu Shuman, watching as she scratched off her entire ticket, not winning a single cent. Qin Ran hadn't done much scratching before, so she just comforted Yu Shuman by saying, "That's how it is for most people; you see, others aren't winning either." Yu Shuman just smiled, "I know, it's basically like donating to charity. You almost never win."
Yu Shuman saw that Qin Ran hadn't started scratching her ticket yet and urged her to hurry.
Qin Ran began scratching her "Green Gem" ticket using the scratcher provided by the store. Unlike Yu Shuman, who scratched off everything at once, Qin Ran took her time, scratching each section slowly. Halfway through, Qin Ran realized she had won something. When she finished scratching, Yu Shuman was surprised, "Xiaoran, you won five hundred!"
Her exclamation caught the attention of the store clerk, who came over and said, "How much? Let me see!" She reached out to take Qin Ran's ticket, and after confirming it, the clerk said, "Wow, you ladies have some good luck." She took five one-hundred-yuan bills from the drawer and handed them to Qin Ran and Yu Shuman.
Qin Ran accepted the money, still a bit dazed, while Yu Shuman remarked, "Xiaoran, you really do have some good luck." Qin Ran smiled; this was true—if she didn't have good fortune, she wouldn't have been bound to the wealthy tycoon system.
They took the five hundred yuan and headed to a claw machine arcade. They didn't spend it all—just exchanged two hundred yuan for tokens and went on a claw machine spree. Qin Ran had shown great skill at the lottery store, but when it came to claw machines, she was completely clueless and couldn't catch a single toy. However, Yu Shuman turned out to be a claw machine queen. She filled a little cart with toys, and within minutes, the cart's basket was overflowing.
The claw machine toys were small, only about ten to twenty centimeters tall, but they could be exchanged for larger toys. With the two hundred yuan in tokens, they caught around twenty toys. They kept three or four of the cutest ones and exchanged the rest for two big plushies.
Since they had so many toys, they couldn't carry them all, so they asked the arcade for a shopping bag.
The staff member apologized, "Sorry, but our shopping bags are five yuan each. Would you like one?" Qin Ran and Yu Shuman exchanged glances—they didn't want to spend the money, but since they were going to watch a movie later, they reluctantly agreed, "We'll take one."
Although five yuan wasn't much, especially for Qin Ran now, who wouldn't even flinch at spending five million, being forced to spend five yuan like this was frustrating—especially for a simple plastic bag. The toys were packed into the plastic bag, which had drawstrings that could be pulled to carry it like a backpack.
Yu Shuman carried the bag of toys on her back, the various-sized plushies piled inside, looking rather cute. Qin Ran shook off her annoyance and focused on being happy with Yu Shuman. Still, she made a mental note to come back and "cause some trouble" at the arcade.
Her way of causing trouble was simple: she would open a competing claw machine arcade right next door, set the machines to have a higher win rate, making it easy for people to catch toys, and offer free packaging bags for anyone who made a purchase. If someone won a toy, they would get a free bag to take it home.
Qin Ran knew that these days, business owners had to find ways to make money, but this kind of method only drove customers away and left paying customers feeling dissatisfied.
After their claw machine spree, the two went to the restaurant Qin Ran had reserved, choosing a table with a view. They arrived early, so there were more staff than customers. The staff led them to their table, and Yu Shuman placed the plushies in a seat. She patted the toys, clearly not letting the earlier incident ruin her mood.
Qin Ran ordered a few dishes and handed the menu to Yu Shuman, asking if she wanted to add anything. But the ever-thrifty Yu Shuman declined, saying what Qin Ran ordered was enough.
After the waiter left with their order, they sat in a brief, comfortable silence. The restaurant had a particularly nice ambiance, and the view was indeed beautiful. The November sky darkened early, and outside the window was a winding river, lined with streetlights that twinkled like stars.
To create the right atmosphere, the restaurant kept the lighting dim. With the indoor lights dimmed, the lights from outside reflecting on the windows added to the romantic mood. At this moment, the waiter came over, lighting the aromatic candle in the middle of the table, placing a glass cover over it, and pouring non-alcoholic sparkling drinks into their glasses, before serving the appetizer.
It was a creative Chinese restaurant, where style often overshadowed substance—something Yu Shuman normally wouldn't choose, but with Qin Ran, she was willing to try new things. The appetizer was hawthorn foie gras, presented with a touch of dry ice smoke, adding to the theatrics. The hawthorn was shaped into a triangle, hollowed out to hold the foie gras, topped with a mint leaf.
As the waiter served the dish, he explained, "This is our hawthorn foie gras appetizer. The French foie gras is encased in our homemade hawthorn jelly. The tartness of the hawthorn awakens the palate, and the foie gras melts in your mouth like ice cream. The combination offers a refreshing experience."
Qin Ran immediately moved the mint leaf to the side and tried the hawthorn jelly. After finishing, she exchanged glances with Yu Shuman—they both agreed it tasted just like regular hawthorn jelly. Next, they tried the foie gras. The quality was there, but the hawthorn jelly felt more like a gimmick.
After the waiter left, Yu Shuman whispered, "Xiaoran, why do I feel like we're paying a 'stupid tax'?"
"…" Honestly, Qin Ran felt the same.
In her previous life, she had eaten similar dishes but didn't think about them as a "stupid tax" because she had no idea how much regular hawthorn jelly cost. This time, after spending over a decade as a poor person, hawthorn jelly was one of the few affordable snacks she could buy. She knew exactly what it tasted like.
Now that she had tasted it, she realized there wasn't much difference between this and the five-yuan pack from the supermarket.
Qin Ran chuckled, "Manman, just think of me as a sucker."
The rest of the appetizers followed, and Qin Ran told the waiter not to bother explaining them anymore—the more they explained, the more Qin Ran felt like a sucker. The next dish was sautéed beef tongue with mushrooms, using mushrooms that Qin Ran was familiar with—king oyster mushrooms. The quality of the beef tongue was hard to discern since the mushroom sauce masked its flavor.
As they went through several dishes, all served on large plates with tiny portions, Yu Shuman felt more like she was eating a Western meal than Chinese food. Creative Chinese cuisine… so this is what it's like… Yu Shuman thought it might have been better to stay home, buy ingredients together with Qin Ran, and cook themselves. However, she wasn't the type to make a fuss; since Qin Ran had chosen this place for their celebration, she would enjoy it with a smile, never letting on that she felt otherwise.
After the meal, Qin Ran quickly went to pay the bill, and they walked hand-in-hand to the cinema upstairs.
At the cinema counter, Qin Ran exchanged their tickets, then turned to find Yu Shuman, still carrying the plushies, at the concession stand. She walked over just as Yu Shuman finished buying snacks, placing a cup of soda in Qin Ran's hand, "Let's go. I bought some food. I didn't feel full earlier."
Most people, even if they weren't full, wouldn't admit it—especially since Qin Ran had treated them to dinner. But they were a couple, and there was nothing they couldn't say to each other.
Qin Ran had a small appetite and was full, but while watching the movie, Yu Shuman kept sneaking food into her hands.
Qin Ran had booked VIP seats, which meant they had reclining sofas. These sofas had buttons that could raise the footrest, allowing them to watch the movie lying down. Yu Shuman was surprised, "There are seats like this?"
"Yep, watching movies lying down is really comfortable."
Qin Ran pulled Yu Shuman down onto the seats and lifted the armrest between them, removing any barriers between them. Yu Shuman was amazed, feeling like she was experiencing many things she hadn't seen before. In her previous life, Qin Ran hadn't known about these seats either. She only found out about them in this life while working part-time at a cinema.
But lying down to watch a movie wasn't a first for her. In her previous life, she had installed a home theater in her house, where she could watch movies however she wanted.
In their future home together, she planned to build a home theater too—just to watch Yu Shuman's movies as they were released, with Yu Shuman by her side.
As these thoughts ran through her mind, the movie started, and the theater darkened. Yu Shuman handed Qin Ran a piece of popcorn in the darkness. Qin Ran ate one, finding it sweeter than she expected… and more filling than the creative Chinese dishes they had earlier.
Even though Qin Ran said she was full and had a small appetite, every time Yu Shuman handed her something, she would eat it. By the time the movie ended and the theater lights came back on, they had finished the entire bucket of popcorn. Qin Ran even burped as they left the cinema.
Back in the underground parking lot, after getting in the car and returning home, Yu Shuman dragged Qin Ran downstairs for a run. She had skipped her workouts the past two days and drank soda and ate popcorn, all high-calorie foods. She needed to exercise and burn off some calories, or she would eventually turn into a chubby girl.
Not only did she work out herself, but she also dragged Qin Ran along.
The November night breeze was chilly, and Qin Ran's nose was nearly running from the cold. She couldn't keep up with Yu Shuman's pace and gave up after one lap, retreating to the lobby while watching Yu Shuman continue her run. After three laps, Yu Shuman returned to take Qin Ran's hand, and they went home together.