The Reincarnated OP Protagonist Is Now A 3rd Grade Student (Patreon)

Chapter 23: Do You Remember the Ding Dong Song?

An ominous foreboding...

On the day after descending from the rooftop, Chen An went through his routine just like completing a task. He got up, washed up, cooked breakfast for his still sleeping mother, hastily ate while enduring his mother's annoyed gaze, and then began his daily exercise.

However, despite repeating the things he was supposed to do, his usual calm was nowhere to be found.

Anxiety surged like waves, and one ominous feeling followed another, impacting his chest relentlessly. The unstoppable restlessness even made him feel an uncontrollable urge to blow up the supermarket that was currently playing the song "I Love You, Love You, Just Like the Mouse Loves Rice."

"What are you so uneasy about?"

The system sat on Chen An's shoulder, puzzled. "Didn't we solve all the problems? Lu Li gave up on blowing up the cram school, you've gained a friend to confide in, and you went through an unusual event. These are all good things, so why would you be anxious?"

"That's where the problem lies."

Chen An scratched his head and said with distress, "I don't even know where this unease is coming from."

"Could it be that you're just overthinking it?"

The system affirmed, "If you've forgotten something, then it means it wasn't that important to begin with."

"You're right."

After hesitating for a moment, Chen An vigorously shook his head, trying to shake off that inexplicable unease. He attempted to walk to northern primary school with a calm demeanor.

"Chen An..."

A voice, tinged with awkwardness and timidity, sounded. Chen An instinctively looked towards the source, and it was Lu Li, who he hadn't seen for a night.

Her hands were hidden behind her back, and she subconsciously rubbed them together. She appeared slightly awkward, completely unlike the determined girl from yesterday who wanted to send all the cram schools to the sky.

Seeing her familiar look brought back memories of a long, long time ago when he first encountered something risqué. He had been in a similar state then, overwhelmed by intense guilt, causing his heart to race uncontrollably. He wasn't sure whether to sit or stand.

Chen An gave a helpless smile, then took out his card deck from his backpack and showed it to Lu Li.

"It seems like I still have some time. Do you want to find a place to sit and have an enjoyable duel?"

"Huh?"

Lu Li exclaimed, "Is it really okay to do this right now?"

"Of course."

Chen An gestured for Lu Li to look around. "The reason why so many students from our school gather so early isn't because they're eager to start studying. Most of them are just wasting time in the most enjoyable way possible until class starts."

Lu Li looked around and hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'm afraid that if we start a duel and get interrupted by the bell, I'll be troubled by it during class. If I get distracted and get caught by the teacher, that would be bad... By the way, what are they all playing?"

"That's quite a lot."

Chen An pointed to a stall. "Look over there at the booth."

Lu Li followed Chen An's gesture and indeed saw a group of students around a stall. However, what was strange was that they didn't seem to be selling anything. They were just excitedly looking at it, and some were even gloating, exclaiming in envy.

"What's that?"

Lu Li looked with interest at the plastic board that was surrounded by the elementary school students.

"We call it 'Ding Dong Le' around here. You spend a little money to poke a hole, and then you take out the prize inside."

Chen An shrugged, "Most of the prizes are rubber animals the size of a fingernail. Only a very small number of lucky ones get cash rewards ranging from one to five yuan. As for the jackpot..."

Lu Li's eyes stared at the jackpot in a daze, and she subconsciously asked, "What is that?"

"A radish."

Chen An rubbed his chin, looking at the flashy robot in front of him, "It's the super radish from the Hundred Beast Squadron, Fang Dog Continuer. It's not just an ordinary Fang Dog King; it's the ultimate Fang Dog, Icarus. And from the craftsmanship, even in this era where money is still hard to come by, it's at least worth over a hundred yuan."

Lu Li touched her pocket with great interest. Chen An's tone was strange as he asked, "Do you want it?"

"Yes!"

"Unfortunately, you can't get non-tradeable items from this."

"Huh?"

Lu Li pointed at the stall with confusion, "But doesn't it say that you'll get it if you draw?"

"Words are written by people and aren't necessarily true."

Chen An pointed at the Ding Dong Le stall, "One yuan can be used to poke a hole in that Ding Dong Le board. I counted, and there are about seventy-four holes on that foam board. And the cost to make that Fang Dog King Icarus is estimated to be at least one hundred yuan. So, the only possibility is that the Icarus prize doesn't actually exist inside those holes."

"But if the Icarus isn't inside the holes, why would the owner put an Icarus there?"

The girl blinked in confusion, finding this 'complicated' matter hard to understand.

"Of course, it's to lure young boys who want the super radish to come and try their luck."

Chen An shrugged, "Even though this deceitful scheme humiliates my intelligence, I have to admit it's quite effective."

"Deceit... deceiving people? And deceiving children!"

Lu Li looked angrily at the stall's seemingly innocent owner, "I'll go back to the bank again and see if I can find another bomb. These cunning merchants are too despicable!"

"Um..."

Chen An looked at Lu Li with a bewildered expression. After a while, he shook his head, "Hey, when you encounter situations like this in the future, apart from rushing to the bank first, don't forget, we're the honorable children of taxpayers, and we have a slightly delayed god-level summoning skill—calling the police."

"Huh? Who wants to call the police?"

An interjected voice made Chen An look up in surprise. The mysteriously appearing beautiful older sister, Tan Jing, was squatting down, observing them with a playful smile. Chen An wasn't sure how long she had been eavesdropping, but her face couldn't hide her amusement.

"Stop messing around, Auntie."

Chen An rubbed his temples helplessly, "The small business owner is just trying to make a modest living. Can't you pretend you didn't see anything?"

"How can that be?"

Tan Jing rolled up her sleeves, excitedly saying, "These unscrupulous merchants who only deceive children need a lesson. Let me help you kids stand up for justice. No need to thank me; just say something good about me to your mother when you get home."

"Why do I feel like you're even more dangerous than these unscrupulous vendors?"

Chen An looked skeptically at Tan Jing, who seemed eager to give it a try. He then shook his head, "In any case, let me handle this. Auntie, please don't meddle."

"You?"

Tan Jing looked at Chen An in puzzlement. She even stood up and gestured to the height just above her waist, "What can you do to solve this?"

"It's simple, just get that Icarus."

Chen An pressed his knuckles eagerly, "To prove whether my skills have declined, let me use these Ding Dong Le holes as a demonstration."