Impossible Lovers

Wei Zhen was one of the first employees hired after the hotel's opening and also a management talent nurtured by Zheng Baozhu herself. It was because she had a capable assistant like Wei Zhen to help manage the hotel that Zheng Baozhu could pursue her dreams in the entertainment industry with peace of mind.

It was not uncommon for hotels to receive customer complaints, but raising a complaint because the claw machine couldn't catch a doll? Zheng Baozhu was curious to see who this gentleman was and why he was so passionate about it.

In the lounge area in front of the claw machine, there were two young men standing there. The man was wearing a black sheepskin jacket with a big collar and had short brown hair, giving off a handsome vibe. The one next to him seemed younger, dressed in a matching outfit, like a college student who hadn't graduated yet.

Zheng Baozhu's eyes lightly swept over the two individuals and walked up to the man with a smile, "Sir, are you the one who wants to complain about us?"

The man looked her up and down before asking with a slight tilt of his head, "And who are you?"

"I am the owner here. You can tell me if you have any questions," Zheng Baozhu replied.

"The owner?" The man seemed surprised that the owner of the place was a young and beautiful woman. He was momentarily stunned and then pointed to the claw machine behind him, "You came just in time. I want to complain that you are using this claw machine to cheat customers by making it impossible to catch the dolls!"

He said it with such seriousness, as though he already had concrete evidence of their deceptive practices. Qu Zhi didn't rush to leave; he put down the green plants and leaned casually against a nearby pillar, waiting to see how Zheng Baozhu would handle this challenge.

Zheng Baozhu remained composed and gestured to the wall decorated with photos next to the claw machine. She said to the man in front of her, "Have you seen those pictures? These are all the dolls that our customers have caught. There's also a whole wall full of dolls in my room, all of them were caught by myself using the same claw machine you're pointing at now."

"..." The man looked at the entire wall full of dolls caught by Zheng Baozhu and coldly snorted, "As the owner, you must have adjusted the claw machine to its maximum strength, so you can easily catch the dolls, right? Do you think I don't know how it works?"

Zheng Baozhu replied, "So you think that I adjusted the settings and that's why you can't catch the dolls?"

"Of course!" The man firmly believed that Zheng Baozhu, the unscrupulous owner, tampered with the claw machine, "Otherwise, with my skills, I would have emptied the machine in minutes. Do you really think nobody's watching your business? I'm calling to complain about you right now!"

"Haha!" Zheng Baozhu laughed and looked at the young man standing beside him, "Is it you who wanted to catch the dolls in the claw machine?"

The young man nodded in agreement; Zheng Baozhu looked back at the man with a clear understanding.

Isn't this just a case of a man trying to show off in front of the young man but failing and then venting his anger on them?

Men. Heh.

Zheng Baozhu smiled at the young man and asked, "Which one do you want?"

The young man pointed to a rabbit inside the claw machine and said, "That rabbit."

Zheng Baozhu walked up to the machine, inserted a coin, skillfully manipulated the controls a few times, and deftly grabbed the rabbit with one claw, placing it securely at the exit.

It all took less than ten seconds.

The man: "..."

Wait, what just happened?

Zheng Baozhu bent down, took out the rabbit, and handed it to the young man, "Here, it's yours."

"Wow," the young man exclaimed with delight, "Thank you, boss!"

"You're welcome," Zheng Baozhu smiled and turned to look at the man, "This gentleman, it seems like your skills weren't good enough."

The man: "..."

"Did you tamper with the machine?" The more the man thought about it, the more he felt that he was making sense, "This is your hotel, and you are so familiar with the machine. You must have tampered with it when I wasn't paying attention!"

"Haha!" Zheng Baozhu stepped aside, giving the man a stage to perform, "Then why don't you try again? I'll let you play for free."

"Pff, who cares if it's free?" The man sneered repeatedly, "Do you think I can't afford this little money? If you have the guts, let's compete somewhere else, not in your hotel. I'll pick another place."

Zheng Baozhu raised an eyebrow, "Compete in what?"

"Compete in catching dolls, but not in your store. We'll choose another place," the man, Tan Yao, said as if he wanted to redeem himself, "If you win, we're done with this matter. If you lose, I'll make sure your hotel gets enough complaints to shut it down!"

Zheng Baozhu chuckled, "Sure, why not?"

Let's see who loses face in the end.

Tan Yao saw the smug look on the other person's face and intentionally added a harsh remark, "Don't get too cocky. Believe me, I'll make you look bad in a moment."

"Look bad?" Zheng Baozhu casually swept her hair behind her ear and gave him a slight smile, "From childhood till now, Zheng Baozhu has never looked bad."

Tan Yao: "..."

The rest: "..."

Well... that's convincing.

For fairness, the location of the competition was chosen by Tan Yao. There was a large chain claw machine store in Starlight Park with lots of new dolls, including collaboration items with popular IPs.

Zheng Baozhu had no objections to Tan Yao's choice. Firstly, it was close to their hotel, and secondly, this chain store had a guarantee mechanism. If a customer failed to catch a doll within a certain number of attempts, the staff would directly give that doll to the customer.

Zheng Baozhu thought this kind of store was suitable for someone like Tan Yao, who had a big addiction to catching dolls. If he lost, it wouldn't be too embarrassing, and he might even get a guaranteed doll.

They all went to the claw machine store together. Qu Zhi was also dragged along by Liang Huaihui to watch the fun.

As soon as the store owner saw so many people coming in, he thought it was some big client. However, when he raised his head and saw Zheng Baozhu, his face turned pale with fright, "Miss Baozhu, why are you here again? Don't you have a claw machine in your hotel? You can just catch them there!"

Liang Huaihui considerately provided some background information, "Before we bought the claw machines for our hotel, Miss Baozhu used to come here to catch dolls. She was so skilled that the owner almost printed her photo with the word 'stop' at the entrance."

Tan Yao, who was ahead, overheard their conversation and felt a bit uneasy. His cousin pulled his sleeve and whispered, "Cousin, let's forget about it. After all, the shop owner already gave me a doll."

"How can we do that?" Tan Yao refused to back down, "This is about justice. We can't let innocent customers be deceived. Clearly, their machines have issues, and who knows how many people they've cheated already? We can't let more innocent customers be harmed!"

Zheng Baozhu paid no attention to their small talk and just smiled at the shop owner, "This gentleman is here to compete with me in catching dolls."

The shop owner looked at Tan Yao as if he was looking at a brave warrior, "Young man, why are you so reckless?"

"... What do you mean by that?" Tan Yao looked at him suspiciously, "It seems like the both of you are in cahoots, aren't you?"

Zheng Baozhu scoffed, "You chose this location yourself."

The shop owner couldn't be happier, "If you think we're in cahoots, you can go to another shop. There's an amusement park ahead. Why don't you go there to catch dolls?"

"..."

Tan Yao looked around the shop and decided to stay. There were plenty of doll machines inside. He picked two and said to Zheng Baozhu, "Let's go with these two. Whoever catches more dolls in ten minutes wins."

The shop owner quickly calculated in his mind. How many dolls will this Zheng Baozhu catch in ten minutes?

"I think three minutes is more appropriate. It's shorter but more exciting!" the shop owner suggested.

Tan Yao nodded and accepted the proposal.

They started their game together as the shop owner timed them. In less than a minute, Zheng Baozhu had already caught a doll, causing heartache for the shop owner.

As time passed second by second, Zheng Baozhu had already caught three dolls, while Tan Yao was still trying to catch his first one. He finally managed to position the doll properly and felt confident that he could succeed this time when the shop owner suddenly called, "Time's up! Let go of the claws!"

Zheng Baozhu released her grip, and as soon as the claws let go, the doll fell precisely into the chute.

Zheng Baozhu scored another win.

"Four to zero!" the shop owner announced loudly.

"..." Tan Yao felt defeated on the spot.

There must be an issue with the doll machines in this shop! He would complain together with others!

"Hey, cheer up," Zheng Baozhu took one of her winnings and handed it to Tan Yao, "This doll is for you. Be happy."

Tan Yao: "..."

"And this one is for you," Zheng Baozhu also gave a doll to Tan Yao's cousin and another one to Liang Huihui who came along, "This is for Huihui."

Qu Zhi was standing next to Liang Huihui. Seeing him, Zheng Baozhu hesitated for a moment, then hugged the last doll to her chest, "That's it."

Qu Zhi: "..."

Ha.

Finally, the farce came to an end, and the shop owner quickly escorted Zheng Baozhu out. Though Tan Yao was unwilling, he kept his promise and didn't bother Zheng Baozhu again. When they returned to the hotel, Meng Yaxin happened to be coming back from the strawberry field with a large basket of strawberries.

Seeing everyone holding a doll, she curiously asked, "Where did you guys go? Why is everyone holding a doll?" Then she noticed Qu Zhi empty-handed and asked, "Why doesn't Qu Zhi have one?"

Qu Zhi replied, "Because I'm not that childish."

Zheng Baozhu chuckled and handed her doll to Meng Yaxin, "This one is for you. I just caught it."

"Wow, really? Thank you!" Meng Yaxin happily took the doll and then remarked, "But don't you have a doll machine here?"

"That's a long story," Zheng Baozhu glanced at the strawberries Meng Yaxin had just picked, "Are those all from your picking?"

"Yes, I've tried them, and they're so sweet! Why don't you take some to enjoy?"

"Sure."

"How about you, Qu Zhi? Take some as well." Meng Yaxin was much more considerate in this matter and didn't intentionally leave Qu Zhi out.

"Thank you," Qu Zhi thanked and then lifted the potted plants he bought earlier, "I'll go up and put these things away first."

After he left, Zheng Baozhu took a small bag of strawberries and returned to her room.