Genius Club

Chapter 1288: Chapter 5 Keep Your Word (Please vote for the monthly ticket!)_3

However.

The power of bratty children is the same in any era.

Especially in the US, where you can’t use a slap, a broom, or a feather duster... the bratty children there are even more reckless and immune to consequences.

"No, no! I want Alice now! I want her now!"

The little girl unleashed her passive skill, throwing a fit and wailing.

The little girl’s father was helpless too, directly negotiating with the stall owner, trying to buy the Alice doll outright.

The stall owner was savvy, knowing that the longer the standoff lasted, the more he would earn, and he refused to sell at any cost.

"Heh heh."

Lin Xian had taken in the whole situation, rubbing his hands together:

"It’s my turn to step in."

With that, he walked briskly toward the stall.

"What are you doing!"

CC quickly grabbed him:

"Are you crazy! You don’t have money to pay! The stall owners here are all in cahoots... if you try to dine and dash, they’ll definitely beat you up!"

"Besides, it’s just a kids’ game, why are you getting involved? Do you think you can shoot balloons and win bread or something?"

Lin Xian chuckled lightly:

"I definitely can’t shoot out bread, but..."

He gently removed her hand from his wrist and looked into her eyes:

"I can win you... a ticket to Brooklyn Heights."

CC’s eyes widened:

"What?"

This guy must be out of his mind!

In the blink of an eye, Lin Xian was already at the stall, while CC hesitated, unsure whether to approach or leave... she was in a dilemma, furrowing her brow and maintaining a safe distance, ready to react accordingly.

At the balloon shooting stall.

The little girl’s father and the owner were still arguing.

The owner said they could either keep playing or buy it directly for 5 US dollars; the stall prizes couldn’t match supermarket prices.

The little girl’s father said he understood, but 5 US dollars was simply outrageous; he was only willing to pay at most 2 US dollars, which was already quite a lot, considering a single round of the balloon shooting game cost only 10 cents.

Clack.

Lin Xian directly picked up the toy air gun, cocking it, and said to the owner in English:

"Boss, one round, please."

The owner, while haggling, glanced at Lin Xian:

"Go ahead, 10 cents a round, 10 bullets, settle up when you’re done."

Then he immediately turned back to the little girl’s father, pointing at the girl who’s still crying and stomping:

"5 US dollars! Not a penny less!"

Bang! Clack.

Bang! Clack.

Bang! Clack.

...

Beside them, there was a highly rhythmic sound of shooting and cocking, with each shot guaranteed to pop a balloon.

The little girl’s father and the owner paused their argument to turn and gape, dumbfounded, at Lin Xian, who was handling the situation with ease.

They saw.

This young Asian man holding the air gun as if it were a pair of chopsticks, without even the motion of aiming... Cock and shoot! Cock and shoot! All 10 balloons arranged in a row burst from right to left, with precision, not missing or deviating!

Bang!

With the last balloon popping, the round ended with all 10 shots hitting the mark and 10 balloons bursting.

Lin Xian gestured towards the Alice doll at the top of the prize shelf:

"Bring it here."

The owner’s face turned a mix of red and blue with gritted teeth, but in the end, he accepted his loss gracefully and handed down the large package containing the doll to Lin Xian.

Lin Xian bent down and smiled at the little brat... or rather, little angel, whose wailing turned into even more horror.

"Little angel, do you want it?"

"Hic!"

The little girl, hearing it was for her, immediately changed her expression, stopped crying, and nodded enthusiastically.

Seeing that their bratty child was finally pacified, the girl’s parents anxiously looked at Lin Xian:

"Sir, may I ask... are you willing to let us have the prize?"

Lin Xian handed the package to the little girl.

Then stood up and extended his hand to the girl’s father:

"2 US dollars, thanks."

The gentleman didn’t hesitate at all, placing two 1-dollar coins in Lin Xian’s hand and left with gratitude.

Heh heh.

Lin Xian chuckled inwardly.

What does using the emperor to control the feudal lords mean... Sure enough, it’s easy to earn money from kids.

Then he took out a coin and handed it to the balloon stand owner:

"Not playing anymore, give me the change."

...

CC watched Lin Xian’s trick, dumbfounded.

Lin Xian hummed a tune, happily walking towards CC, more joyous than when Rhein Company made billions:

"Look, see."

He opened his palm, where 6 coins of different sizes lay.

US dollar, 50 cents, 10 cents x4.

"Oh my..."

CC blinked in disbelief.

She truly hadn’t expected that this unassuming man from China... really seemed like a magician, earning 2 US dollars in just a few minutes!

Even robbing money wouldn’t be this fast!

US dollars... that’s a fortune!

She raised her head, looking at Lin Xian:

"Lin Xian, you’ve hit the jackpot! This 2 US dollars can last you a long time!"

Lin Xian smiled slightly:

"Living is indeed important, but for now, let’s set that aside and use this money to take the bus... to Brooklyn Heights!"

CC took a deep breath:

"You..."

She finally understood what Lin Xian meant when he said he would win her a ticket to Brooklyn Heights earlier.

Apparently, he wasn’t joking.

However.

She still shook her head:

"Forget it, Lin Xian, keep the money to buy bread, buy food."

"Whether it’s the Brooklyn Heights Promenade or Manhattan across the river, they will still be there for decades, even hundreds of years... they won’t run away just because we don’t see them now."

"You have to understand, Lin Xian, just because you’re lucky enough to earn money today doesn’t mean you’ll have the same luck in the future, so... don’t waste money on meaningless things, save it to fill your stomach later."

"No, it’s not meaningless."

Lin Xian said earnestly:

"Trying to fulfill every promise and keep every vow is the greatest meaning."

He looked up, at CC’s face, which overlapped with Chu Anqing’s smiling face in the passage of time:

"I promised you many things that I didn’t accomplish."

He remembered.

After returning from Mi Country from the World Hacker Competition, at the airport, he had promised Chu Anqing that they would visit the British Museum to see the displayed "The Sorrowful Einstein" and gather clues; at that time, Chu Anqing had eagerly volunteered to be his guide and was looking forward to the trip.

Didn’t accomplish.

At the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, on his birthday, Chu Anqing had made him a sweet cake, and he had promised to prepare a surprise gift for her on her 20th birthday.

Didn’t accomplish.

On the Skyspace Aircraft 20,000 meters above, in her last moments, Chu Anqing had written him a note, asking him to open it in a dream.

Didn’t accomplish.

He promised Chu Shanhe he would protect An Qing and bring his precious daughter back.

Still didn’t accomplish.

Ah...

Lin Xian felt a bit melancholic.

So.

Don’t make empty promises to CC.

Less bread won’t starve me; at worst, I can sing hymns at the church for food.

Unsure when CC might turn into blue stardust and vanish, hence cherish every moment now, fulfill the promises made.

"Huh?"

CC was a bit surprised:

"You didn’t promise me anything... we just met..."

"Alright, let’s hurry up."

Lin Xian interrupted her, grabbed her wrist, and ran towards the pier:

"Ah, before we take the bus, we need to go back to the street where we started and return the newspaper money to that little black kid."

Haha—

CC ran behind, amused:

"It seems you really are a man of your word."

"Of course."

Lin Xian climbed the long stairs, looking into the distance, remembering that short, stooped black kid:

"Hopefully... he hasn’t gone home to get scolded yet."