Chapter 16: Five Thousand Per Punch

Chapter 16: Five Thousand a Punch

Xu Moxing finished the last bite of his cone and licked his lips.

"Want another one?" Su Lichen asked.

"I do." Xu Moxing looked at him, blinking. "Nah, I'll wait till I'm better."

Su Lichen said nothing, stood up, and went to throw away the trash.

When he came back, he saw Xu Moxing staring at a small stall not far away.

It was a balloon seller—colorful balloons floating above a crowd of children.

"Want one?" Su Lichen asked.

Xu Moxing shook his head. "I'm not a kid anymore. Besides, stuff for kids is probably overpriced."

Su Lichen glanced at the stall, then back at him, and turned to buy him a balloon shaped like a pink pig.

Holding the string, Su Lichen crouched down in front of him and tied it directly around his wrist.

"For me? How much was it?"

Xu Moxing was used to being frugal; he always thought about whether things were worth the money.

"It was no big deal. Between the two of us, buying a little balloon isn't going to lower our quality of life. Think of it as something I bought to cheer you up.

Being thrifty is a good thing, but if you're out having fun and you're still debating whether a balloon's worth it, you won't enjoy yourself.

Let's keep the penny-pinching for home. When you shop online, I'll definitely push you to find deals."

Xu Moxing laughed.

"Okay. I've been broke way too long, and I'm too used to being frugal. I shouldn't be like this when we're out. I'll try to change."

Su Lichen squeezed Xu Moxing's hand. They looked at each other and saw the affection in each other's eyes.

It was obvious they both wanted to do something that wasn't appropriate in public—like a kiss.

Nearby, children were shrieking as they chased each other, and parents were yelling.

Xu Moxing looked down. Su Lichen stood up and pushed him forward.

Ahead, there was a small slope. Su Lichen slowed down and pushed the wheelchair steadily down it.

The sun felt warm on their faces.

Xu Moxing squinted and suddenly said, "There seems to be a mall over there. Want to check it out?"

Su Lichen looked where he was pointing.

"Can you walk?"

"You're pushing me, I'm not walking." Xu Moxing said, completely unapologetic. "What, are you tired?"

Su Lichen looked at the back of his head. "No. Let's go have a look."

"Let's go!"

Xu Moxing raised his hand like he was charging forward, and the pink balloon bobbed with the movement.

The mall wasn't far. After pushing the wheelchair for ten minutes or so, they arrived.

There was a ramp at the entrance. Su Lichen pushed him up, and the automatic doors opened.

The mall was packed—looked like everyone was stir-crazy.

Su Lichen pushed him along slowly. They passed a bubble tea shop, and Xu Moxing's eyes lit up.

"I want some."

Su Lichen stopped and glanced at the menu.

"With your leg the way it is, have just a little? Half a cup?"

Xu Moxing looked up at him, nodding like crazy.

That look—Su Lichen couldn't say no to him.

Su Lichen walked to the counter.

From behind, Xu Moxing shouted, "I want the taro boba!"

Su Lichen glanced back and nodded.

When he came back with the milk tea, Xu Moxing was staring at a claw machine next to them.

"Here." Su Lichen handed him the milk tea.

Xu Moxing took it, stuck the straw in, and held it out for Su Lichen to drink first. "You get the first sip. There's a ton of taro at the bottom."

Su Lichen took a sip and pushed it back toward him.

Xu Moxing took a huge gulp and squinted his eyes. "So good."

As he drank, Xu Moxing eyed the claw machine. It was filled with various plush toys, some of which were actually pretty cute.

Xu Moxing wanted to try, but his first thought was still "is it worth it?"—after all, stuffed animals were pointless to him.

With claw machines, you can either try to catch one or just buy it—usually buying it is cheaper.

But even buying wasn't useful; they'd just collect dust at home. Xu Moxing usually only looked and never tried.

Su Lichen caught him looking and wheeled him straight over.

Without asking Xu Moxing, Su Lichen bought fifty tokens.

The machine rattled and spat out a bunch of tokens. Su Lichen grabbed a small basket and set it on Xu Moxing's lap.

"Wanna try? I'm not great at it either. Just mess around, no big deal."

Xu Moxing's first instinct was to ask how much it was, but he remembered what they talked about at the park and stopped himself. He nodded.

"Let's give it a shot. I've never won a plushie from one of these."

Since he was sitting down, Xu Moxing could only reach the shorter machines meant for kids.

Xu Moxing tried a few times but couldn't grab anything.

Su Lichen got a pink plush toy for him.

"That's so cute!"

Xu Moxing hugged the toy, overjoyed.

It took Su Lichen twenty coins to grab it; he wasn't much into claw machines either.

A little kid couldn't grab a doll and was throwing a tantrum at his parents. When he turned and saw the balloon tied to Xu Moxing's wrist, he cried even louder.

"I want that pink pig balloon too!"

"Nobody sells balloons here."

"Then I want that doll! Buy me coins! I want to grab a doll!"

The kid's father grew impatient. "You've already spent ten bucks trying. If you can't get it, just forget it! It's a waste of money!"

"Waaah..."

The kid burst into tears right away, lying on the ground and rolling around.

Xu Moxing and Su Lichen exchanged a glance, both seeing a bit of annoyance in each other's eyes.

Su Lichen pushed Xu Moxing away from the kid and his parents.

Xu Moxing didn't want to play anymore; he couldn't grab anything.

They still had some coins left. Su Lichen stood there, staring at the machine with a serious expression, like he was closing a million-dollar deal.

Xu Moxing was cracking up behind him.

Su Lichen glanced back at him, then turned around again.

He lifted it up, got it to the top, moved it toward the hole—and it dropped.

But it landed right at the edge of the hole, stuck.

Xu Moxing got excited. "Give it another shake!"

Two grown men were totally into the claw machine, with a young couple playing nearby too.

"I'll grab another pink one for you."

"No, I already have one. Go grab one you like."

"Then let's get a partner for this pink toy."

"How do you know which one is its partner?"

Su Lichen casually looked over the machine and picked a red-and-black toy.

"Who knows, who cares. We'll put it at home and say it is, so it is."

"..."

Xu Moxing was momentarily speechless, but then thought about it. "Yeah, can't argue with that."

Su Lichen grabbed three more toys before the coins ran out.

The kid was still throwing a fit.

Seeing Xu Moxing holding so many toys, the kid turned green with envy and started bawling again.

"I want a pink pig balloon too! I want pink toys! I want lots of toys! Waaah..."

The kid's father glanced at Su Lichen and Xu Moxing, loaded down with their toys. "Why would a boy want pink stuff? That's so sissy. Stop crying!"

Xu Moxing frowned.

Su Lichen, pushing Xu Moxing, added a comment.

"Oh, bro, you're absolutely right. No wonder you've raised your kid so well. Your thinking is really so advanced. Every parent should take notes from you. Your kid's definitely gonna be a huge success!"

Su Lichen said it so sincerely that the young couple nearby couldn't help but laugh.

That laughter didn't sound friendly; it was more like mockery.

This self-proclaimed 'tough guy' usually wouldn't dare pick a fight with a tall, strong guy like Su Lichen. So he turned his anger on the young couple.

"What's so funny?! I didn't say anything wrong!"

"No one said you were wrong. Can't we even laugh after my girlfriend and I grabbed a doll? Bro, not only do you control what colors people like, and now you're controlling strangers' laughter?"

The girl from the couple muttered softly, "Can't even handle your own kid, and you're meddling in others' business."

"You!"

The man was furious but helpless, ready to throw a punch.

Su Lichen called out, "Bro, there are cameras here. One punch is gonna cost you five thousand, plus lost wages and emotional damages. This friend of mine who likes pink is already injured. If you touch him and mess up his recovery, it won't just be a few grand. I'll make sure you end up behind bars, and you'll get to taste prison food."

The young couple was scared at first, but when they heard what Su Lichen said, they puffed out their chests.

"Exactly! My boyfriend and I can be witnesses. You were the one verbally abusing him first."

"If he hits you guys, we can testify for you as well."

Xu Moxing couldn't help adding.

The man's anger drained at the mention of five thousand for a punch.

Someone who wouldn't even spend twenty bucks on his kid for the claw machine calmed right down at the thought of paying so much for a fight.

First he was raging but helpless, looking for an easy target. Now he couldn't even rage, just had to hold it in.

Su Lichen pushed Xu Moxing away, and the young couple also took off to avoid the rude man losing it again.

The man dragged his kid up from the floor, the kid still crying. In the end, Xu Moxing could still hear the man hitting and scolding the kid, the sound fading as Xu Moxing left the mall.

The background noise was the sound of the man hitting his child, cursing and taking out his helplessness.