Chapter 1021: Conspicuous Bag
"That's true too..."
Chen Junnan muttered. The two of them continued staring at each other's fists. Just as they were about to release their grips, Chen Junnan suddenly shouted again: "Wait a minute!"
Tiantian and Yan Zhichun were both startled, staring at Chen Junnan.
"Sister Chun... I'm a bit scared..." Chen Junnan said. "I'm offering you my true heart here. You're not gonna give me a hairpin or something, are you?"
"A hairpin...?"
Yan Zhichun smiled softly after hearing this. She withdrew her left hand, took the hairpin from the back of her head, waved it in front of Chen Junnan, then put it back in place.
"Believe me now?" she said. "Any other questions?"
"Well..." Chen Junnan knew Yan Zhichun was no ordinary person, so he had to be extremely cautious. "Sister Chun, do you swear that what's in your hand is a 'character'?"
"I swear," Yan Zhichun said.
"A 'character' that can be used and scored in this game," Chen Junnan continued. "If not, may you gain sixty pounds."
Yan Zhichun hadn't expected Chen Junnan to be so childish, actually pulling out this kind of sworn oath routine.
"Fine, I agree." Yan Zhichun said helplessly. "But clearly you're the one who's least trustworthy. What if what you're holding is a chain?"
"How could that be..." Chen Junnan said.
"Don't move your right hand for now," Yan Zhichun said. "I want you to take out all your previous chains. Apart from the one dangling from your right hand, there's Wen Qiaoyun's one, and my one—at least two. As long as I confirm what you're holding isn't a chain, we'll trade immediately."
"Alright... wait a sec..." After saying this, Chen Junnan reached into his pocket with his left hand, pulled out two chains and threw them on the ground. Then he patted his pocket—no sound at all. "See? Pocket's empty. I returned all the other chains. If I'm lying, may I shrink sixty centimeters."
"Good." Yan Zhichun nodded. "Let's trade."
Once again, they placed their fists into each other's palms, then slowly opened their hands. Tiantian held her breath.
Two gray-black metal objects dropped from their fists into each other's palms.
They clenched their fists and simultaneously felt—what they held was truly a 'character'!
In this game, neither of them had lied.
The 'characters' in their hands had been warmed by the other person. Inside their clenched fists, the touch was hard, the strokes angular—real 'characters'!
"Sister Chun!" Chen Junnan said wide-eyed. "You're a person of honor! The green hills remain, the streams flow forever—we'll meet again!"
Yan Zhichun frowned, said nothing, clenched her fist, turned around, opened the door, and left.
"Tiantian, let's go!" Chen Junnan gripped his fist. "We got her 'character'! Let's hurry back to Old Qi!"
"Ah... okay!" Tiantian nodded. "But what 'character' did you get...?"
Chen Junnan didn't open his fist. He just squeezed it hard, then said: "Feels kinda twisty... not like 'horse' or 'chariot'... could it be... let's go!"
They quickly exited the room, passed through another door, and arrived at the 'Preparation Zone'.
Qi Xia had just seen off Qiao Jiajin when he saw Chen Junnan with an exaggerated expression, pulling Tiantian as he ran back.
"Old Qi!!" Chen Junnan yelled. "I, I, I..."
Without another word, he raised his right hand in front of Qi Xia and opened his palm.
"Look!"
In his palm was a character.
One he had never expected in a million years.
'Bag'.
The air reached an unprecedented stillness.
After a few seconds, Qi Xia stared at the 'character' in Chen Junnan's hand and asked: "What were you saying?"
"I..."
Chen Junnan looked at the 'Bag' in his hand, his expression even more dramatic than before.
"I bought a 'Bag' last year..."
Tiantian covered her mouth beside him. She didn't know why, but she wanted to laugh. Yet she also felt Chen Junnan was really unlucky, and laughing now would be impolite.
Chen Junnan's recent attempts had either gotten him chains or a 'Bag'. For anyone else, it would be devastating. But for Chen Junnan, it somehow seemed fitting.
"Interesting." Qi Xia said after a few more seconds. "Normally, when you snatch someone's 'character', you should take it all at once, right? I didn't expect someone could snatch back half of it. How did you manage that?"
Chen Junnan was silent for a moment, then said: "Old Qi, what if I told you this 'character' wasn't snatched back, but traded for... how would you evaluate this?"
"I wouldn't evaluate it," Qi Xia said.
"Great," Chen Junnan said. "Just great. I traded my own 'Handsome' for a 'Bag'. I'm not handsome anymore—now I've got a bag."
"Pfft..." Tiantian finally couldn't hold it in, almost bursting out laughing.
"No... I'm gonna die of anger." Chen Junnan said. "I need to go find her..."
"Wait..." Tiantian grabbed Chen Junnan. "What are you doing..."
"That Sister Chun played me for a fool! That's so uncool..." Chen Junnan said. "I've heard 'handsome' can be traded for food, but I never heard 'handsome' can be traded for a bag!"
"But you agreed with her..." Tiantian said. "As long as she gave you a 'character' that can be used and scored in this game, the deal was valid..."
"Huh? Did I say that?" Chen Junnan stared at Tiantian.
"Didn't you...?"
After hearing this, Chen Junnan's expression went completely dead: "Not only did I trade 'Handsome' for a 'Bag', I also blocked my own escape route?"
"Based on the situation, that's right..." Tiantian nodded. "You proposed the trade, you set the conditions. If you go find trouble with that girl now, wouldn't you be in the wrong...?"
"Well..." Chen Junnan handed the 'Bag' to Qi Xia and asked, "Can this be used...?"
"It's not impossible," Qi Xia said. "But we already have a 'Bag'."
Qi Xia took the 'Bag' and placed it on the 'Phoenix Holds the Writing Platform', scoring one point.
Total: ten points.
"It's still early," Qi Xia said. "It doesn't matter what 'character' you lost. After all, 'characters' can't be stored in the 'Preparation Zone'. They'll have to bring them out eventually. So don't worry. As long as we can create more 'characters' than them in the last minute, we win."
Chen Junnan thought for a moment, then asked: "Old Qi, two 'Bags'—is that a character?"
"Even if it were a character, how would you read it?" Qi Xia said. "I just tried with Fist. Guessing the wrong pronunciation deducts points."
"Well..."
"Don't worry," Qi Xia said. "Now Yan Zhichun's 'characters' are completely clear. Not only did she keep a 'Stone', but she also has 'Handsome'. The next time we see her, we can find a way to take her 'characters'."
After hearing this, Chen Junnan slowly rubbed his forehead: "Old Qi... I really am not cut out for using my brain."
"Oh?" Qi Xia looked at him. "And so?"