Chapter 49 Nathan Is Her Lucky Star
Kendall had studied at Crestwood University for four years and had a decent understanding of the surrounding area.
Since Nathan rarely left the house, the number of times he'd gone shopping was even rarer.
Kendall walked slowly down the street with Nathan, her peripheral vision scanning the shops on both sides for anything fun.
She paused when they passed a claw machine arcade and asked Nathan with a smile, "Did you like the small nightlight I gave you that day?"
Nathan had been holding the corner of Kendall's clothing, his body close to hers. When Kendall stopped, he stopped, too.
Hearing Kendall's voice, Nathan hesitated for a moment, then reached into his bag and pulled something out.
Kendall saw that it was indeed the small nightlight she had given him in the elevator before.
Last time, when Kendall went to the Sinclair family home, Victoria had repeatedly mentioned that Nathan carried the nightlight everywhere, even keeping it on the dining table while eating, and wouldn't let anyone else touch it.
Kendall had thought Victoria might be exaggerating, but seeing Nathan bring the nightlight out with him today... he really must like it.
Kendall's gaze fell on the nightlight resting in his palm. It was only worth a few dozen dollars, a leftover prize from a university event.
Kendall had found it quite pretty and, since it was glass, she'd paid for one. Such a delicate item was usually favoured by girls, but since Nathan liked it so much... perhaps he might also like the fluffy toys in the nearby claw machine?
Thinking this, Kendall led Nathan to the claw machine. She pointed a finger at the adorable, clumsy-looking plush toys inside and said to Nathan, "Do you like them? I'll claw one out for you."
Nathan's eyes were focused on Kendall's outstretched hand. Her skin was smooth and fair, her fingers slender and white. She wore no nail polish, her nails neatly trimmed and clean, revealing a healthy pink tone.
Seeing that Nathan didn't reply but kept staring at the claw machine, Kendall assumed he liked the plushies inside. She took out her phone, scanned the code, and bought some game tokens.
Kendall hadn't played this kind of machine much before, and bringing someone to claw toys was a first. She dropped about ten coins into the machine, but her unfamiliar technique resulted in failure every time.
While Kendall was playing, Nathan, who rarely paid attention to things he wasn't interested in, finally focused. Seeing Kendall fail several times but continue to put tokens in the machine without discouragement, Nathan stared thoughtfully at the swaying claw inside the machine.
Kendall noticed Nathan watching intently, so she moved slightly to the side and asked, "Want to try it?"
"It's very simple. I just put the tokens in. You hold this... and gently rock it, and the claw inside will swing, then grab the toy and drop it here... and it's ours," Kendall explained step-by-step.
Nathan nodded, raised his hand, and gripped the small joystick, rocking it side to side a few times.
Then, Kendall saw the claw, which had been so weak in her hand, suddenly swing out when Nathan used it and actually grab one of the plush toys. However, halfway to the exit, the toy slipped and fell out of the claw.
Kendall quickly comforted Nathan. "It's okay, it's okay. There are still plenty of tokens left. You can try a few more times."
Nathan pursed his lips, his eyes darkening slightly, and he tried again.
Kendall didn't know how he worked that small joystick, but the claw, suspended in mid-air, managed to accurately grasp the same toy that had just fallen halfway down. It wobbled as it carried the small plushie above the exit. The claw released, and the plush toy immediately dropped out.
Kendall looked at Nathan in surprise. 'A coincidence?'
Kendall picked up the small plushie that had fallen out and praised him unreservedly. "Wow, you're amazing! You got it on your second try! What great luck!"
Having been praised, the expression on Nathan's face became visibly happy, and even his beautiful amber eyes sparkled. He gripped the joystick, bent down, and continued to play.
Aside from his first mistake, Nathan didn't miss again, managing to claw out seven or eight small plush toys in a row.
When there was only one chance left, Kendall asked Nathan to let her try. Predictably, the claw became soft and powerless under her control, failing to even grasp a small foot of a plushie.
Kendall looked at her empty results, then at the small pile of plushies Nathan had won: "..."
Nathan noticed Kendall's gaze, assuming she liked them, and immediately stuffed all the plushies into her arms. Then, he tightly grabbed the corner of Kendall's clothing again, making it clear he wasn't really that interested in the small things.
Kendall looked at him, then pointed to the claw machine next to them. "How are you so good? Have you played before?"
Nathan shook his head.
Kendall supposed that made sense. Nathan hadn't even left the house before and disliked interacting with the outside world, so the probability of him playing a claw machine was even lower.
But if this was Nathan's first time playing the claw machine, and he was this skilled, Kendall could hardly imagine how strong his calculation ability must be.
Although she didn't understand claw machines well, she knew they were generally run by preset programs, and successfully winning a plushie was largely a matter of chance.
Yet Nathan, after only watching her operate it a few times, turned that chance event into a certainty.
From a certain perspective, this was a display of high-IQ genius.
She just wondered if the Sinclair family had noticed his talent in this area.
Kendall lifted the pile of toys Nathan had won in her arms and strode forward. "Let's go! I'll take you to play something else!"
Nathan's eyes lit up. Grabbing Kendall's sleeve, he quickly followed.
The location where Kendall and Nathan were was truly a university town. Besides Oakhaven University and Crestwood University, there were five or six other universities nearby.
Of course, Kendall's goal wasn't to take Nathan to a university to play. She brought him to the nearby Joyful Arcade, a popular gaming center among young people.
Even though it was Wednesday, there were quite a few people playing at the Joyful Arcade. Judging by their bright, youthful looks, many were likely students from the nearby universities.
Kendall went to a nearby shop and bought two quality bags, putting all eight or nine small plushies into them. She glanced at Nathan's hand, which was still holding onto her sleeve. Kendall thought for a moment and then chose a 'kid-walker' from a pile of goods, an anti-loss child safety rope.
Nathan must be rarely going out, causing him to feel lost in unfamiliar crowds, which is why he was so dependent on grabbing her sleeve.
With the harness, he shouldn't feel so insecure.
After paying, Kendall fastened one end of the blue harness to her own wrist, then took Nathan's hand and fastened the other end to his wrist.
Nathan lowered his head, looking repeatedly at the harness connecting him and Kendall's wrists.
The thin harness closely linked him and Kendall together, making their relationship seem clearly out of the ordinary.
For some reason, Nathan found the blue harness increasingly pleasing to the eye.
He walked beside Kendall, no longer reaching for her sleeve, but instead obsessively focusing on the harness.
Watching him follow her obediently with his head down, Kendall couldn't help but feel like she was walking a very large dog.
The two large bags of toys were temporarily stored in a locker.
Kendall went to an automatic vending machine and purchased many game tokens, then generously split the tokens with Nathan, whose hands were now empty.
Kendall then led Nathan to play various different arcade machines, one by one. Kendall wasn't a big gamer, but she was good at fighting games. She led Nathan to a less crowded corner to play.
They each took a controller, controlling two characters fighting against each other in the game.
Kendall patiently taught Nathan once, thinking she'd go easy on him if he wasn't proficient. However, after the first two minutes, when Nathan was clearly clumsy, the character he controlled began punching faster and faster, with increasingly rapid evasion and reaction skills.
Kendall's eyes lit up, and without realizing it, she put all her concentration into the game. When the game ended, Kendall looked at the time and realized they had been playing for over ten minutes!
Moreover, a crowd of onlookers had gathered around them, clearly attracted by her and Nathan's spectacular match.
Two young, beautiful girls were staring intently at Nathan. One of them was about to go forward and ask Nathan for his number, but she stopped when she saw the anti-loss harness intimately connecting Nathan and Kendall's wrists.
Kendall hadn't noticed any of this. Feeling highly satisfied after playing a game with such intensity after a long time, she wanted to pull Nathan into another round. Still, she worried that the large crowd behind them might affect Nathan.
Kendall put down the controller and led Nathan away.
As she pulled Nathan past a row of claw machines, Kendall suddenly paused. Not far ahead, a young couple was standing happily playing a claw machine.
The young man playing was handsome and stylish, and the girl beside him, dressed in a Lolita-style outfit, was delicate and petite, looking especially cute.
The two looked very well-matched.
Kendall's eyes settled on the very handsome young man, and she suddenly smiled.
'What was the saying? Search high and low only to find it effortlessly right under your nose.'
'This was it!'
She had wandered all over Oakhaven University without finding Ali, but she ran into him here!
Nathan was truly her lucky star today. He not only helped her earn money but also helped her run into the mission target.
> [Congratulations, Host, for discovering the mission target, Ali. Ali, with sixteen simultaneous relationships, extorted, intimidated, and deceived ten girls out of millions in funds.]
> [You have 3 hours to capture him and bring him to justice. The reward for completing the task is 5 days of life and 50 karma.]
(End of Chapter)