Getting Caught Up In His Cycle Of Passionate Love - Chapter 4
Alright, Xu Tao Yue admitted that the most exciting place was the arcade. Crane games, e-sports, and dance machines were all on this floor.
After buying her clothes, Xu Tao Yue happened to catch a mall event. Her eyes darted around, and she smiled mischievously at Lu Que. When they went up a floor, her eyes lit up, and she couldn’t hide her grin.
The novel’s plot!
The legendary arcade, a holy place for couples on dates!
Xu Tao Yue was full of internal drama, already imagining the sweet, romantic scenes they’d have.
Lu Que would put his arms around her, gently pat her head, and say in a charming, sexy voice, with doting eyes, “You’re so clumsy, you can’t even do this. Let me help you.”
Pink hearts would float around them. Xu Tao Yue would gently place her hand on his, which was on the crane game joystick, and stare at him with wide, blinking eyes.
Then…
Then, Xu Tao Yue couldn’t hold back and let out a villain-like laugh. Just thinking about it made her drool. She didn’t even notice her lewd grin was aimed right at Lu Que.
Lu Que: “…”
Lu Que was speechless. He waved a hand in front of her face. “Xu Tao Yue?”
Then, a terrifying thought crossed his mind: Is she going to eat me?
Xu Tao Yue suddenly snapped out of it, raised an eyebrow at the frightened Lu Que, and grabbed him, heading for the arcade. She bought two hundred coins without hesitation.
Lu Que had no choice but to let her have her fun.
She handed him her coins. “Help me.”
“You can’t do it yourself?” Lu Que was a little surprised.
“Nope,” Xu Tao Yue answered matter-of-factly. She had bad luck; these things were basically impossible for her.
Lu Que rested his hands on the crane game machine. “What’s in it for me if I get you one?”
Xu Tao Yue weighed the coins in her hand and decided she had enough to try on her own. She flatly refused Lu Que.
“Actually, I think I can do it myself.”
Forget the cheesy novel plot. She didn’t want it. Give Lu Que a reward? Not even if he used his good looks to tempt her.
Xu Tao Yue was stubborn. She walked around, trying everything, but didn’t get a single prize. She even earned a lot of ridicule from the kids.
“Sister, do you even know how to play?”
Xu Tao Yue nodded. “Of course I do!”
Lu Que tried to hold back his laughter as he watched her boast to the children.
“I’m a master of crane games, I’m the best!”
A little girl with sparkling eyes, holding a pile of dolls she’d just won, said honestly, “But, Sister, I’ve been watching you for a long time, and you haven’t gotten anything.”
Xu Tao Yue: “…”
Lu Que covered his mouth, crouched down, and whispered something to the little girl. Xu Tao Yue strained her ears but couldn’t hear a word.
Whatever he said, the little girl looked at Xu Tao Yue with newfound admiration and then ran off.
“What did you tell her?”
“None of your business.”
Xu Tao Yue snorted and continued to mess with the machine. Lu Que sighed, put in three coins, and with a casual flick of the joystick, the claw perfectly grabbed a little pink pig.
He handed it to her. “Come on, it’s time to go back.”
Xu Tao Yue stared at the pink pig, but instead of following Lu Que, she turned and put her last coin into the machine.
She couldn’t believe she couldn’t get just one.
She swung the claw and pressed the button, aiming for the capybara in the very center.
And, as expected, it didn’t grab it.
Xu Tao Yue: “…”
Ye Wan felt a pang of disappointment. “Why is your luck so bad?”
If she’d won it and given it to Lu Que, it would have been a perfect little moment to heat things up.
Xu Tao Yue sighed, hugged her pink pig, and flopped onto the bed.
“These hands are useless! I can’t get anything! And the kids made fun of me!”
Ye Wan saw that it was already past 1 a.m. and lay down next to her. “Well… if you can’t, maybe you could beg Lu Que to win one and then give it to him.”
That was a terrible idea.
A truly terrible idea.
Xu Tao Yue: “…”
Actually, it’s not a bad idea.
Xu Tao Yue thought for a moment and then nodded. “That’s a great idea.”
During the morning meeting, Xiang Baie specifically warned the whole class, “Everyone, be careful when observing plants, especially near water and high places. Safety first.”
Then, she glared at Lu Que. “Especially some students, don’t have any more accidents. You really manage to give me a surprise every day.”
Lu Que nodded, pretending Xiang Baie wasn’t talking about him. “Got it!”
Xu Tao Yue: “…”
The two of them returned to the cactus. For some reason, Xu Tao Yue suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. “Lu Que, I feel like this place is cursed.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s just leave?”
“And go where?” Lu Que didn’t care; it was just a task they had to complete.
Just then, a girl skipped up to them. “Excuse me, do you know where the restroom is?”
Xu Tao Yue tilted her head to look at her. The girl’s appearance was very familiar: a classic doll-like face, long black hair down to her waist, and she was pretty. Her voice was familiar, too!
Then, she heard someone running up behind them. “Why did you run off so fast?”
“Song Mo.”
Xu Tao Yue immediately became alert. “!!!”
Song Mo!!!
The original female protagonist!!!
And the guy with her must be the original male protagonist, Zhou Yu!
The main couple who went through a whole bunch of drama—physical abuse, emotional abuse, abusing Lu Que, and abusing the readers—and still ended up together.
Xu Tao Yue went into full alert mode, quickly putting herself between Lu Que and Song Mo. She gave a fake smile. “The restroom is over there.”
“Thanks. Are you students here, too?”
Hearing her say that, Xu Tao Yue was on guard but still tried to maintain a smile. “Is there something you need?”
“No, I just thought you looked familiar,” Song Mo said with a smile. “Well, we’ll get going then. Thanks, kids.”
Xu Tao Yue let out a sigh of relief when she saw them leave. Then she smacked Lu Que’s arm. “It’s all your fault.”
Lu Que: “???”
Xu Tao Yue was silent. Was the female lead fated to cross paths with Lu Que? Was there really no way to change the plot?
Lu Que sensed her tension. “What are you thinking about?”
The more Xu Tao Yue looked at his face, the angrier she got. “Why do you have to be so good-looking?”
Lu Que: “?”
“You’re so weird.”
On the way back, Xu Tao Yue didn’t mention the crane game. She just felt flustered. Lu Que tried countless times to figure out how he’d offended her, but he couldn’t come up with anything.
She didn’t even bother him about listening to English vocabulary on the way back.
Lu Que handed her his headphones. “Do you want to listen?”
Xu Tao Yue shook her head listlessly. “I don’t want to listen to English…”
“?”
“Every time the first word is ‘abandon’… but I don’t want to abandon it.”
Lu Que withdrew his hand. “Abandon what?”
Xu Tao Yue looked at him with a meaningful gaze. “The ending.”
“Huh?” Lu Que didn’t understand.
“Forget it. You wouldn’t get it.”
Xu Tao Yue shook her head and went back to thinking about the female lead.
When she’d read the original novel, the female lead’s love life was a major draw. The book’s main tag was “female lead is a heartthrob.” Lu Que was just an insignificant side character.
There wasn’t much about Lu Que’s story; most of the writing focused on his later success. There was almost no romance between him and the female lead.
He was forced offline in the later stages because he refused to cooperate with the main couple.
So, they had already met back then?
Xu Tao Yue had been so focused on Lu Que’s plotline that she hadn’t paid much attention to the relationship between the main couple.
Lu Que had no idea where Xu Tao Yue’s obvious mood swing came from.
Xu Tao Yue lowered her gaze. And this wasn’t even a key plot point. Why did it happen at this time?
Did she still have a chance to change his ending?
She didn’t know. She was afraid her actions would cause a butterfly effect.
Xu Tao Yue was listless even when she was writing data in the classroom. Ye Wan pulled her aside. “Are you okay?”
Xu Tao Yue nodded. “I’m fine.”
Xia Xiangyang handed her a piece of candy. “Have some candy to clear your head.”
Xu Tao Yue took it. “Thanks.”
Lu Que’s eyes darkened a little. “Let’s put the data together and start filling out the forms.”
Xu Tao Yue nodded, pushing her worries aside for now.
That evening, Ye Wan gave Xu Tao Yue something. “What’s wrong with you today? You’ve been so down.”
“I read a novel,” Xu Tao Yue said, deciding to talk to Ye Wan.
“Oh?”
“The basic plot is about a girl who travels into a book and tries to change a side character’s story. Suppose… and I mean suppose… that person was you. Do you think you would succeed?”
Ye Wan shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Why not?”
“Because the moment I traveled into the book, everything would be different. How could I know what would happen next?”
Xu Tao Yue’s eyes lit up.
That’s right!
The moment she entered the book, it became a new story.
She hugged Ye Wan tightly and shook her. “Thank you, Wanwan! I get it! You’re my little lucky star!”
Ye Wan didn’t know what was going on.
Oh well. As long as she’s happy.
The next day, when Xu Tao Yue was back to her usual playful self, Lu Que finally let out a sigh of relief.
He’d been worried that her brain, which was already as smooth as a koala’s, had gotten even smoother after falling into the water.
Xu Tao Yue sat down and gave Lu Que a wink. “Morning, student Lu.”
Lu Que ignored her, turning his back to rest on his arms. Xu Tao Yue was used to being ignored. She shoved her bag into the desk and bumped into something.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Lu Que secretly turned around to watch her reaction.
Xu Tao Yue pulled out a pile of lollipops from her desk and asked Lu Que, “Why are there so many candies in my desk?”
Lu Que: “I don’t know. Maybe someone’s crazy.”
Xu Tao Yue tilted her head to look at him, then suddenly understood. “Ah~ Lu Que, guess who the crazy person is.”
Lu Que: “…”
Xu Tao Yue: “Could it be that someone has a crush on me?”
Lu Que: “…”
Xu Tao Yue: “Lu Que, what do you think?”
Lu Que buried his head in his arms. He couldn’t stand her teasing. He said in a grumpy voice, “Don’t you like candy? Eat more.”