Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!

Chapter 112: Chapter 97: You Actually Came Back?

On the street, a small dart throwing stall.

Lin Lu just stood there amid sighs of frustration, helplessly watching as Cheng Zhu threw a dart that hit her target.

The score of the dart wasn’t high, only the fourth ring, which showed that his skills weren’t really that great.

But that didn’t matter anymore, did it.

Only a fool would focus solely on scoring high at a time like this. Even if you hit a high score, what then?

Could scoring on the target really score points in her heart?

The stall’s owner was a middle-aged uncle.

To be precise, with this kind of stall, and also those that involved throwing rings to win dolls, it seemed that the owners were mostly uncles.

Cheng Zhu’s languid “aiyo, I missed” was also overheard by him.

However, the difference was that Lin Lu’s attention had just been entirely on her own target, seriously calculating her total score.

But the stall owner did watch Cheng Zhu stealthily aim and then, with the swiftness of lightning, throw the dart at the girl’s target, hitting it by complete surprise!

In Cheng Zhu’s view, the same action, taken at different times, had different effects.

You had to time it precisely at the moment she calculated her total, for that was the prime opportunity!

It’s just like in gaming; the rhythm, truly matters.

It’s like getting a kill in a game, taking down the opponent once. But sometimes, that kill is more critical, more decisive in winning or losing a game, more meaningful than any other that came before.

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When Cheng Zhu had shared this piece of knowledge in his past life, he used gaming as an example, because some fools could only understand it that way.

So, if you throw your dart at her target during her throw, the effect would be a bit less impressive.

But doing it at the last moment like this, she would first be shocked, then delighted, and her emotions would experience a significant fluctuation.

The scruffy middle-aged stall owner really didn’t care about these youngsters’ little romances. What he thought was, “With that move, should I count her score or not?”

“By the rules, it really missed; it shouldn’t count.”

“There really isn’t any reason to give her a prize.”

Lin Lu looked towards Cheng Zhu, only to find that he wasn’t looking at her at all.

Cheng Zhu had one last dart in hand and was now aiming steadfastly.

“This last dart is critical. I was definitely going to win the third prize, but then such a big mistake happened,” he was still pretending, yet subtly highlighting the sacrifice he made.

“Tch!” Lin Lu responded to his words with a scoff, her hands behind her back, fingers clenched together, and her right foot lightly kicking the ground.

“You scoff, but you might as well count up my score. Look at my target, only eight darts, but not much less than yours,” Cheng Zhu pointed at his own target.

“Whatever! Let me check, let me check!” Lin Lu moved closer to his side, a half-step closer, and started tallying.

The middle-aged stall owner was kind of in a hurry. Others would have thrown twenty darts in the time it took them to throw ten.

But no one was lining up now, so he was indifferent.

To be precise, having people playing at the stall actually attracted more attention from passersby.

“Did your little brain figure it out yet?” Cheng Zhu looked down at her and smiled: “You’re just five points away.”

“Hmph, as if you’re guaranteed to score high with your last dart,” Lin Lu said.

“How about a bet?” Cheng Zhu immediately went along with her line of thought.

“Fine, let’s bet! What are we betting on?”

“You name it,” Cheng Zhu slowly put the dart down and stopped aiming.

Middle-aged owner: “…”

To him, Cheng Zhu’s last dart would determine if he’d get a small prize, whether he’d have to ‘bleed’ a little.

He had been eagerly watching.

“Then… let’s bet dinner!” Lin Lu didn’t think up an overly outrageous stake.

“Sure,” Cheng Zhu looked at her, then threw the last dart with his right hand directly, a blind throw.

The motion was suave and cool, the arc beautiful, and it ended up missing the target smoothly.

“Yes!” Lin Lu pumped her fist excitedly, then taunted, “That’s what you get for showing off! A blind throw!”

Cheng Zhu just shrugged it off, saying, “Right, you thought that throw just now was cool too, right?”

“Get lost, get lost! You didn’t score at all, and you still have the nerve to talk!” Lin Lu laughed, revealing small dimples, as she teased him.

The scruffy stall owner began to step forward, ready to charge them and inform the pair that they didn’t win any prizes.

Cheng Zhu, however, at this moment, took out a cigarette from his pocket, casually placed one in his mouth, then tapped the cigarette box with his finger, ejecting one and offering it to the middle-aged stall owner.

“Boss, want one? I don’t have a lighter, can I borrow some fire?” he said casually, raising his eyebrows slightly.

This kind of street vendor was actually quite savvy. As he took the cigarette, he lifted a pile of small prizes, saying, “Beauty, choose one, these are all third-tier prizes.”

Lin Lu’s attention was immediately captured.

Truthfully, if it weren’t for the fact that they were prizes, she wouldn’t have given them a second look in a store – they were all cheaply made.

But that’s just how people are; if it’s a prize, then suddenly it’s different.

The voice actress girl was picking energetically, in high spirits.

Cheng Zhu waved off the lighter from the stall owner, indicating that he didn’t smoke, then stuffed the cigarette back into his pocket.

The cigarette was a good one; after forking over the prizes, the middle-aged stall owner stood to the side, puffing smoke on his own.

In the end, Lin Lu chose a cheap third-tier prize from the pile of mess: a little “Pig Hero” figurine, also quite ugly.

“This one!” she held it up high and showed it to Cheng Zhu.

“Another pig,” Cheng Zhu commented drily.

“Mind your own business!” Lin Lu put it down and tucked it into her bag.

When she got home, she planned to place it next to her [Cheng Zhu] figurine.

In the end, it was Lin Lu who took the initiative to pay.

After leaving the stall, she lifted a finger towards Cheng Zhu, saying, “Remember, you owe me a meal!”

“Alright,” Cheng Zhu shrugged nonchalantly.

Let the girl win, and she wins.

Just like that, a matter-of-fact excuse for a date next time was set.

…

…

The two strolled on this lively street for about ten more minutes before turning back.

On the way home, they ran into Lin Lu’s female classmate and her boyfriend.

“Lu Lu!” The girl greeted her warmly.

“Ah! Yuqing!” Lin Lu also immediately waved back and looked at the boy beside her, gossiping, “And who is this?”

“My boyfriend,” the girl named Zheng Yuqing looked towards her boyfriend and said, “Jinming, this is our Technology University’s famous beauty, Lin Lu!”

“What are you talking about!” Lin Lu was embarrassed to be introduced that way.

Zheng Yuqing sized up Cheng Zhu with a smile and said, “Lu Lu, it’s rare to see you not with Shen Qingning. So, who is this?”

Cheng Zhu responded first, “Hello, Cheng Zhu, freshman from the Information School.”

“Eh? I feel like I’ve heard your name before… Where did I see it…” Zheng Yuqing’s brain started turning rapidly.

But Lin Lu interrupted, “Ah, we won’t interrupt your date. Come on, Cheng Zhu, let’s go! Bye Yuqing!”

She feared the other might blurt out teasing remarks.

After all, her relationship with Cheng Zhu wasn’t like theirs. Better to be spared from the jests.

However, Cheng Zhu was indifferent, slowly catching up to Lin Lu while waving goodbye to the couple.

Zheng Yuqing watched the tall and handsome boy, suddenly exclaiming, “Ah! I remember now!”

Her excitement startled her boyfriend.

“I saw him on the school forum. Back then, there were rumors that Shen Qingning had a freshman boyfriend! It’s him, Cheng Zhu!”

Jinming: “Huh?”

He was a bit confused but somehow found himself admiring the junior looking at his back.

After some thought, Jinming said to Zheng Yuqing, “Don’t spread rumors in class. They might just be normal friends. Look, they weren’t holding hands or anything intimate.”

“Don’t let Lin Lu and Shen Qingning start thinking badly of you.” Jinming knew his girlfriend’s tendency to blab; she could accidentally offend people.

“What! You have the wrong idea about me,” Zheng Yuqing replied.

Although she said that, she took her boyfriend’s words to heart.

“But that junior is indeed handsome!” Zheng Yuqing couldn’t help saying, “He must be over six feet, right?”

“Huh? Am I not handsome?” Jinming delusionally retorted.

“You? You’re okay too!” Zheng Yuqing teased with a chuckle.

“Let’s go, I’m gonna get you later!” Jinming made a face at her.

The couple was heading to a love hotel outside the campus.

For ordinary students, this was a significant expense each month.

“So gross!” Zheng Yuqing laughed and teased, leaning into his embrace and on tiptoes, whispered, “I’ve got a surprise for you today!”

With that, she pointed inside her jacket.

Jinming’s eyes widened, and breath grew heavy.

Meanwhile, Boss Cheng, who had walked far away, was unaware that the senior who had just greeted him was a new customer of his shop.

…

…

Under the moonlight, Cheng Zhu and Lin Lu quickly walked back to the claw machine shop.

Lin Lu opened the door of her white Audi and first placed her bag and milk tea inside.

Then she turned to Cheng Zhu and said, “So, I’m going then?”

“Yeah, go ahead. Text me when you get home.”

“OK, bye!” She smiled and waved at Cheng Zhu before sitting in the car.

Cheng Zhu stood outside and could see through the window as she pulled the seatbelt across, then watched helplessly as the seatbelt got stuck.

This kind of woman could be a co-driver killer, easily distracting the driver.

After starting the car, Lin Lu caught a glimpse of Cheng Zhu still standing there and immediately rolled down the window again to wave goodbye: “I’m off!”

Cheng Zhu nodded slightly under the streetlight.

Only then did the car leave the parking spot, heading home.

On the way, she skipped songs in the car, ending up listening to some upbeat tracks.

When Lin Lu got home, she saw Shen Qingning with her legs crossed, sitting on the couch, elegantly crossed at the ankles.

The cool beauty had her arms wrapped around her chest, leaning back on the couch, looking up at Lin Lu as if waiting for her daughter to come home, emanating a formidable aura, and said calmly,

“You’re back?”

…

(ps: First update, thanks to [轻信丶] for the alliance reward, there will be an additional chapter today.)