NOVEL WEB Chapter 77
Chapter 77 Aren’t You Afraid I’ll Get a Stomachache? No worries, I’ll Buy You Some Laxatives!
Shen Muyan was dragged by Lu Xiyao onto a children’s pirate ship. For the little one, stepping onto the dragon-headed pirate ship marked the beginning of an exhilarating adventure.
As the ship’s body slowly rose, the surrounding world seemed to gradually fade away, leaving only the sound of the wind whistling past and the expanding view of the cultural center park below.
Lu Xiyao shouted excitedly.
“Wow! Wow!”
Meanwhile, Shen Muyan, standing behind her, turned a little pale. She was slightly afraid of heights but didn’t say anything, gritting her teeth and getting on the pirate ship. Looking back, she realized she rarely accompanied her daughter on these kinds of activities.
A child’s childhood needs companionship, once these moments pass, they are gone forever.
As the pirate ship reached its peak, it suddenly plummeted as if swept by a violent storm, bringing an unprecedented sense of weightlessness and thrilling speed.
In that instant, all worries and stress vanished, leaving only pure joy and screams echoing in the air. The little one, along with the other parents and children, was utterly delighted. Only Shen Muyan’s face grew increasingly pale.
When the ride ended, the little one stepped off the pirate ship with steady little strides, while Shen Muyan leaned against the railing.
“Mom, let me help you. Are you okay~?”
The little one blinked her big eyes.
“Mom, are you afraid of heights?”
She couldn’t understand why Shen Muyan looked so unwell. After all, even a little child like her was fine—why would an adult feel unwell?
In the past, when Lu Qin accompanied her on the pirate ship, nothing happened to him. The little one didn’t understand the term ‘fear of heights’.
Shen Muyan clutched her chest, feeling a bit nauseous. She had eaten too much for dinner earlier. However, she had finally played something her little one loved. The little one used Shen Muyan’s phone to buy her a bottle of mineral water.
After resting for three minutes, Shen Muyan felt much better. At this point, Fang Ya came over with three ice creams. The little one clapped her hands excitedly. She had just eaten one yesterday, and now she got to eat another today—what a happy and blissful life for this little cutie!
“Yao Yao, darling, the vanilla one is yours, the avocado one is for President Shen, and the chocolate one is Aunt Fang Ya’s.”
The little one took her ice cream cone with both hands and started licking happily.
“Thank you, Aunt Fang Ya~!”
“I can’t eat it. I’m too full,” Shen Muyan said, waving her hand.
Lu Xiyao’s eyes lit up with joy.
“Then can I have two?”
“No, you can only have one. Eating too much will make your stomach hurt,” Shen Muyan said seriously.
“Then who’s going to eat the other one?” Fang Ya asked, holding two ice creams in her hands.
“You eat it,” Shen Muyan replied.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll get a stomachache?” Fang Ya asked.
“No worries, I’ll buy you some laxatives.”
Fang Ya’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“Slip of the tongue—I meant I’ll get you some montmorillonite powder,” Shen Muyan said.
“That’s more like it,” Fang Ya nodded.
Suddenly, realizing something was off and about to argue, Shen Muyan quickly pulled Lu Xiyao along and walked away. After finishing her ice cream, the little one wanted to play bumper cars.
Sure!
In a large circular arena, more than 20 bumper cars were packed together. Shen Muyan and the little one shared a car, while Fang Ya drove her own. At first, everything seemed normal, and the bumper cars were quite fun.
After a while, several dads spotted the high-profile mother-and-daughter duo in their car and stared wide-eyed, seizing every opportunity to crash into them.
Originally, bumper cars were meant to bump into each other—you bump me, I bump you.
But when seven or eight bumper cars ganged up on one, it became a bit strange.
Shen Muyan and Lu Xiyao’s car was like a ball being tossed around.
“Oops, sorry!”
“Oh no, my bad!”
“Be careful, miss,”
Some bumper car drivers would say with feigned politeness after bumping into them. Their intentions were obvious—they just wanted to grab Shen Muyan’s attention.
Shen Muyan, who had just recovered from her nausea after the pirate ship ride, felt her stomach flip again.
Fang Ya noticed Shen Muyan being ‘ambushed’ and came over to help, but now there were two ‘balls’ being tossed around instead.
In the end, despite the 30-minute time limit, the three of them only lasted 10 minutes before stepping out.
Lu Xiyao, too, seemed quite disappointed with the experience. She hadn’t bumped into anyone herself but was hit so many times she began questioning life.
“Strange, when I played with Daddy, it was so much fun—bumping into everyone!”
“Why is it that when I play with Mommy, so many people bump into us?”
“Beauty brings trouble,” Fang Ya muttered, rubbing her sore neck from the collisions.
“Huh?”
The little one tilted her head, not understanding the meaning.
Shen Muyan pinched Fang Ya.
“What nonsense are you saying in front of the child?”
Later on, the little one dragged Shen Muyan to try out the Phantom Sky VR park. Shen Muyan couldn’t understand why a little girl would be so fond of thrilling and adventurous games. Fang Ya wasn’t interested in playing and sat on the side scrolling through her phone while waiting.
The mother and daughter entered the VR cockpit, put on their headsets, and experienced ten minutes of Phantom Saucer and fifteen minutes of Dark Chariot. Both were similar to 3D roller coasters, but with added elements, making the experience even more intense.
By the end, the little one was as composed as ever, but Shen Muyan was already on the verge of collapse, feeling as if her nausea had reached her throat but unable to throw up.
At that moment, she felt that giving custody to Lu Qin had been the right choice. She was better suited for making money and supporting the family—childcare wasn’t her forte.
At 7:40 PM, Lu Qin finished his street food stall shift, apologizing to over 20 customers who couldn’t get their fried noodles. The frustration of missing out on food was palpable, as if they’d just started dieting, eaten nothing but a cucumber for dinner, gone jogging, and passed by a barbecue stand without a wallet or phone—utter despair.
One grumpy customer shouted in frustration, mimicking a line from a movie.
“Are you kidding me? If Old Wai next door finds out, he’ll think I can’t afford to eat! How’s this little bit of fried noodles supposed to fill anyone up? Bring me a whole sack, one sack per person!”
The people around looked curiously at him, wondering who he was yelling at.
Lu Qin walked over calmly.
“There’s a customer penguin group. We announce the stall location there every day. Want to join and line up earlier next time?”
“Join! Not joining would be stupid!”
The grumpy man nodded without hesitation. “Boss, will you have twice-cooked pork tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Great!”
Lu Qin gave him the group number and told him to apply, then went to find Shen Muyan and the others.
His three-wheel food truck was parked in a roadside spot with the keys removed. Surveillance cameras were everywhere, so theft wasn’t a concern.
On the way, Lu Qin received a message—Li Xue had sent the seat numbers for the performance. Lu Qin asked if he could have two extra seats, and Li Xue said no problem.
When he found Shen Muyan and the others, they were at the mall playing with a claw machine. Shen Muyan didn’t look well, standing behind them holding an Ultraman plush toy.
Fang Ya and Lu Xiyao were at the claw machine, moving the joystick. Seeing the claw machine, Lu Qin remembered that one of the system rewards he’d received was a claw machine skill that boosted his accuracy by 80%.
He had won many rewards back then, and this particular skill had been pushed to the back of his mind.
“You okay?” Lu Qin asked while walking over to Shen Muyan.