69novels Page 469
Page 469
So he subconsciously wanted to go into the auditorium, to get some fresh air in the air-conditioned room... to calm down.
Gu Ran then withdrew his gaze. He was simply curious as to why the other person had been staring at them, so he asked them during hypnosis.
"Isn't the plane still forty minutes away? I was just about to drive to the airport to pick you up!" Su Xiaoqiang asked him happily.
"The plane arrived a long time ago, and I wanted to see you as soon as possible, so I teleported here." Gu Ran put Su Xiaoqiang down and brushed her braided hair across her fair neck, making her want to laugh.
"It tickles! Stop teasing me, hehehehehe!" Su Xiaoqiang, who was ticklish, punched Gu Ran's chest with her little pink fist, then took his hand. "Let's go home first?"
She wanted to go home and snuggle in his arms, to be pampered and act coquettishly; there were too many people here for her to do so.
"Okay!" Gu Ran reached out and pulled his suitcase, then gently squeezed Su Xiaoqiang's soft little hand with his other hand, feeling the warmth of her palm.
Su Xiaoqiang smiled, took his arm with one hand, and was about to say something to him.
Suddenly, a white Porsche Panamera stopped in front of them, and a small head popped out from the driver's seat.
"Oh? Gu Ran's back! That's great, no need to pick you up from the airport!" Liu Miaomiao gestured for the two to get in the car. "Quick, I have something urgent to do, get in right away!"
Gu Ran laughed: "If you have something urgent, why don't you go ahead by yourself? We can take a taxi back by ourselves."
"No!" Liu Miaomiao's attitude was unusually firm. "All of you, come up here! I need manpower!"
"What's wrong?" Gu Ran asked again.
"Let's talk after we get in the car!" Liu Miaomiao said.
Since that was the case, Gu Ran and Su Xiaoqiang had no choice but to get into the car.
After a semester apart, Liu Miaomiao's driving skills had improved considerably. She drove out of the school quickly and steadily, and then began to navigate the bustling streets of Shanghai at speed limits.
Soon after, they arrived at People's Square.
"What are you doing at People's Square? Want to eat fried chicken?" Gu Ran asked, following behind Liu Miaomiao.
"Stop talking nonsense, you'll know when we get there!" Liu Miaomiao forcefully pulled Su Xiaoqiang, who couldn't break free, so she had no choice but to forcefully pull Gu Ran along as well.
So, the three of them held hands and walked together, and Liu Miaomiao led them to an anime merchandise store in the underground mall...
"Help me draw a prize, I want that one!" Liu Miaomiao pointed to the blind box poster in the store. The prize for the S-rank was a figure of Enma Ai!
Enma Ai is the protagonist of the anime "Hell Girl". She is a helpful and kind girl who specializes in resolving grudges between people in the mortal world.
"Wow, this figure is a limited edition! It's 18 centimeters tall and even has a seat and a kimono design. It's really rare!" Gu Ran glanced at the poster and then asked the shopkeeper for the actual product to see.
The boss smiled and immediately showed Gu Ran the prize in its box.
"Hmm, it's quite exquisite." Gu Ran nodded.
This version of Enma Ai is depicted kneeling on the floor of a Japanese-style room, wearing a black sailor uniform, with a very elaborate furisode kimono draped behind her, its sash fluttering in the wind.
The workmanship of this figure is indeed excellent, and the paint finish is very natural.
"Right!" Liu Miaomiao glanced at Gu Ran as if she had found a kindred spirit. "Quick, help me draw this one. I have to get it today!"
"Drawing the prize, that's what I'm best at!" Gu Ran started rubbing his hands together, ready to pounce. As long as he rolled his eyes, the S prize in the box would be his for the taking!
Of course, he wouldn't let the boss lose money, so he bought more, just enough to make sure the boss got his money's worth for the figurines.
However, he was quite curious: how did Liu Miaomiao become a fan of Enma Ai? This Ai was practically a girl from the underworld…
"How much per shot?" Gu Ran asked the shopkeeper.
"Sixty yuan!" the shopkeeper laughed.
Gu Ran rolled his eyes. He estimated that the figure would cost more than a thousand yuan, but the Hell Girl IP didn't seem to be very popular in China. If there were fewer mass-produced units, it would probably be more expensive.
He glanced at the lottery tickets, ready to draw twenty in one go, but suddenly he stopped.
"Boss, isn't there something wrong with your remaining balance and the number of winnings?"
As is customary, for these figurine raffle tickets, after a customer has drawn a ticket, the merchant will post a list of the tickets that the customer has already scratched, so that later customers can see the remaining amount in the prize pool.
Currently, neither of the two S prizes has been awarded, only one of the four A prizes has been awarded, and two B prizes have been awarded.
According to the announcement, there should still be 2 S-rank prizes, 3 A-rank prizes, and 4 B-rank prizes in the prize pool.
Gu Ran rolled his eyes at the prize pool, which only contained one A prize; the remaining two S prizes and two A prizes had vanished!
Therefore, there is only one possibility: the store owner picked out all the S and A prizes from the prize pool and hid them!
Damn, he actually ran into a ticket seller who was hiding tickets.
This is actually a strategy employed by businesses to maximize profits. They first select the S and A prizes, and then only add the grand prize to the prize pool when most of the tickets have been sold.
Some unscrupulous merchants simply don't put them in, but sell them as their own figurines to make more money.
"So, how many tickets do you want to draw?" the shopkeeper asked them with a grin.
Liu Miaomiao asked directly, "How much was it for the whole thing?"
Chapter 546 He Won't Be Let Off So Easily
When the shop owner heard that Liu Miaomiao wanted to buy the whole thing, he paused for a second and immediately said, "If you want to buy the whole thing, you can only buy the unused ones, which will cost 9000 yuan in total!"
The unopened items are new items that haven't been drawn from the prize pool yet. It seems the boss knows that if the opened items are all bought up, the loophole will be discovered.
“Okay, I’ll take one.” Liu Miaomiao took out her credit card from her LV handbag.
Su Xiaoqiang, standing to the side, put an arm around Liu Miaomiao's shoulder, pinched her ear, and said, "Since you've already bought everything, there's no need for us to come and draw lots, right? Why did you ask us to come over?"
Liu Miaomiao tilted her head: "Because there are too many prizes for me to carry by myself..."
Since you've bought them all, then all the prizes, from the S-rank to the E-rank, and the final prize, belong to one person.
The boss was very happy with such a customer, so he went directly to the warehouse and got a new, pre-packaged box for Liu Miaomiao. She just needed to unpack it when she got home.
Liu Miaomiao glanced at the large box, then at Su Xiaoqiang, hoping to get some help from her friends.
Su Xiaoqiang glanced at Gu Ran and noticed that the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, a smile that was not quite a smile.
She was all too familiar with that smile; clearly, Gu Ran was plotting something wicked.
"Wait a minute." Su Xiaoqiang took Liu Miaomiao's small hand.
"Oh." Liu Miaomiao was puzzled.
"Boss, I'll try my luck." Gu Ran took out his wallet, only to find that he only had US dollars and credit cards in it.
He had just returned to China and forgot to collect his cash, but he didn't want to use his card and only wanted to come once to avoid the owner trying to cheat him.
Seeing this, Su Xiaoqiang immediately took out her wallet from her handbag and handed it to him.
Gu Ran took out sixty yuan and gave it to the shopkeeper, then immediately took a shot.
"Thank you for your patronage, and best of luck!" the owner said with a smile.
Then Gu Ran opened the only A prize in the prize pool.
The boss's face twitched.
"Wow, you're so lucky!" Liu Miaomiao looked at Gu Ran with envy.
Only Su Xiaoqiang knew that Gu Ran had the ability to see through things, so this lottery was like an open-book exam for him.
Thinking about it this way, Su Xiaoqiang seemed to understand what Gu Ran was going to do.
"Looks like I'm in luck." Gu Ran smiled and said to the shopkeeper, "Please give me the prize."
"Okay, okay." The boss didn't say anything and immediately went to give Gu Ran the A reward.
The A prize is a smaller version of Enma Ai, only with a sailor uniform, without the base.
The shop owner said to Gu Ran, "You're on a winning streak, want to try again?"
"Let me look at something else." Gu Ran smiled and walked to Gao Da's Ichiban Kuji.
"Oh dear, there are still 10 tickets left in the prize pool, but there are even two A prizes left!" Gu Ran said, picking up the lottery box. "Boss, I'll take these last 10 tickets! That way I'm guaranteed to win two A prizes and a final prize this time. It's pretty worth it!"
The boss was stunned. He had drawn the A prize ticket from the prize pool, but forgot to put it back!
If Gu Ran opens the lottery and finds there's no A prize, then his hoarding of tickets will be exposed!
He glanced at the three young men and could tell from their attire and demeanor that they were all wealthy people and of high social standing.
The shop owner immediately said, "I'm sorry, this is actually a defective set. The inner packaging is broken and I'm sending it back to the manufacturer. I've been busy lately and forgot to take it off the shelves. Please forgive me."
"I, I'll give you a new one, sorry, sir!" The boss gave Gu Ran a new one. Because it was brand new, the expensive prize tickets from the A prize pool hadn't been taken out and hidden away yet.
Gu Ran smiled and easily drew the four A prizes and four B prizes from the prize pool.
After paying the money, Gu Ran started the lottery draw.
"I'll help you open the lottery too!" Liu Miaomiao happily came over to help, enjoying the fun of opening the lottery as well.
"Wow, an A-level prize!" As soon as Liu Miaomiao tore it open, she saw the words "A-level prize" and her eyes widened as she excitedly looked at Gu Ran and Su Xiaoqiang.
"Looks like you're in luck, keep going!" Gu Ran smiled, then handed his phone to Su Xiaoqiang and winked at her.
Su Xiaoqiang understood immediately, picked up her phone, and quietly turned on the camera to start recording.
“A prize…B prize…A prize…” Liu Miaomiao peeled open the remaining seven tickets in one go, and they were all A prize and B prize tickets!
"Your luck is incredible! A set of four A's and four B's, and you actually got them all! Awesome, bro!" Liu Miaomiao patted Gu Ran's shoulder hard; she was genuinely happy!
Because it was Saturday, there were other customers in the store. Many people applauded Gu Ran when they saw him, and at the same time, they were very envious.
"Looks like I borrowed your luck." Gu Ran patted Liu Miaomiao's head, then handed the lottery ticket to the shopkeeper. "Redeem the prize for me."
"Okay, okay..." The boss's lips twitched, but he immediately redeemed the prize.
This kind of thing is a matter of mutual consent, and with everyone watching, he couldn't go back on his word, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do business on this street anymore.
Currently, the anime and manga fandom in China is still a very niche group. Being niche means that the circle is very small. The anime and manga fans who can afford to win a figure are all very wealthy. However, they are not fools. If the owner does not redeem the prize ticket, the news will quickly spread within the small circle, and he will be out of business.
The boss gritted his teeth, looked around, and found that many people were taking pictures of the newly opened Gundam prize pool, apparently recording Gu Ran's legendary feat of opening 4 A prizes and 4 B prizes at once.
Logically speaking, the prizes drawn by Gu Ran should be made public so that subsequent drawers can know the status of the prize pool.
So, under everyone's watchful eyes, many guests knew that Gu Ran's lottery set was no longer of any value, because the expensive items had all been drawn, and what was left were just stickers, towels, and other worthless things.
But this set was newly opened by the boss, and it contained 100 lottery tickets. After Gu Ran opened 8 tickets, there were 92 left.
This means that he won't be able to sell a single one of these 92 lottery tickets, which were priced at 4600 yuan each, and they'll all be stuck with him!
It's no use if he puts it back on the shelves after a while, because the store will announce how many sets it has stocked as soon as possible. This will attract customers to come and participate in the lucky draw sooner. Moreover, the small circles in big cities will remember this for a long time, unlike celebrity gossip which is easily forgotten.