I'm a senior in high school, and the Emperor Development System has arrived!

Chapter 144 I can be both a scholar and a culinary expert, capable of both savory fare and culinary prowess.
Having escaped Li Bin and Zhou Xinglun's "pursuit," Chen Zhou and Bai Qianqian exchanged a smile, and the tense atmosphere vanished.

Chen Zhou took Bai Qianqian's wrist again:

"Let's go, let's keep exploring, there seem to be lots of activities ahead!"

The two walked through the bustling crowd, where all sorts of outlandish costumes and lively stalls dazzled the eye.

Soon, a burst of enthusiastic cheers and applause came from the main stage area.

A performance was taking place on a small, makeshift stage, brightly lit.

As the familiar accompaniment began, the song title instantly popped into Chen Zhou's mind:
"Blue Bird" (ブルーバード)

Chen Zhou's eyes lit up, and he quickly led Bai Qianqian over.

In the center of the stage stood a beautiful figure.

She wore a white dress, her long black hair cascading down her shoulders, her makeup exquisite, and she focused intently on her performance.

Upon seeing the girl, Chen Zhou paused slightly, then clicked his tongue:
"As expected of the school beauty of No. 2 High School, her charm is as undiminished as ever!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Qianqian cast a curious glance at her:
"She...she's also from No. 2 Middle School?"

Chen Zhou nodded, then asked in surprise:

"Zhao Ruyi, the one who performs as the finale at the New Year's Eve gala every year."

Bai Qianqian responded with an "oh":
"So...it was her all along!"

Zhao Ruyi's outfit at this time was different from her outfit during the school performance; she looked more fashionable.

But after Chen Zhou reminded her, Bai Qianqian remembered.

Under the spotlight, Zhao Ruyi's radiance was indeed dazzling, exuding confidence and attracting a large number of tourists to stop and take pictures.

Chen Zhou's gaze lingered on the stage for a few more seconds.

This is truly a case of getting close to people through E.

After the song ended, thunderous applause erupted from the audience. Zhao Ruyi bowed in gratitude, her smile sweet.

Chen Zhou also withdrew his gaze and pulled Bai Qianqian away from the main stage area:
"Let's go, there seems to be something interesting to see up ahead."

Not far from the main stage is a lively interactive game area.

A large crowd had gathered around one of the large basketball machines, with the game rules written next to it:

Number of balls hit / Prize
10 consecutive successful shots: Custom figurine
30 consecutive successful shots: Custom-made doll
50 consecutive successful shots: Custom-made pillow
100 consecutive successful shots: 1288 red envelope
Shooting Challenge: 10 RMB per person, no time limit
"Hey, that's interesting."

Looking at the game rules, Chen Zhou became interested.

This basketball machine is the same model used in ordinary arcades; the shot distance is only two or three meters from the basket.

If you're skilled, making ten or more shots in a row is definitely not a problem.

The organizers of this event saw that most of the attendees were stay-at-home men with poor athletic ability, which is why they launched this kind of event.

Unfortunately, he ran into Chen Zhou.

He stared at the 1288 yuan cash bonus, his desire growing stronger.

"Want to...want to play this?"

When Bai Qianqian saw Chen Zhou stop and noticed a crowd of onlookers around the machine, she felt a little intimidated.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Chen Zhou smiled confidently, took out his phone, scanned the QR code to pay, and showed it to the bearded shopkeeper next to him.

The bearded boss looked at Chen Zhou's physique and asked:
"Practice?"

Chen Zhou grinned but didn't say anything.

The bearded boss chuckled, said "Good luck," and started the machine.

The machine's counter light came on, and the basketball rolled off the conveyor belt.

Chen Zhou flexed his wrists, stood behind the shooting line, and fixed his eyes on the basket.

Bai Qianqian stood a few steps behind him, watching him nervously.

Chen Zhou picked up the first ball and flicked his wrist slightly—

"Shh!"

Hollow into the net.

"Bang!" "Bang!"...

"Shh! Shh! Shh!"

The sound of basketballs swishing through the net echoed repeatedly, drawing gasps of amazement from the surrounding spectators.

Wow! Sasuke is so handsome!

"That accuracy! Amazing!"

"Look at his physique! His Sasuke cosplay is amazing!"

"..."

The sound of the basketball swishing through the net was crisp and melodious, like a perfectly tuned metronome, without the slightest pause.

Chen Zhou's movements were concise and efficient: catching the ball, jumping, flicking his wrist, and shooting—so fluid it was as if he had practiced with that basketball machine a thousand times.

Before the sweat could even break out, the counter had already jumped to double digits.

"Eleven, twelve, thirteen... Wow! It's fifteen!"

"Wow! This guy has a really steady hand!"

"..."

Many girls dressed in cosplay outfits shouted:

"He's 25, and he looks so cool in that revealing outfit!"

"Sass is cheering on her husband!"

"Honey, I'm a master of both cooking snails and cucumber salad, can I have your WeChat?"

"..."

Hearing the blatant cheers from the side, Bai Qianqian's eyelashes trembled slightly, her face flushed, and she looked at Chen Zhou, who was focused on shooting hoops.

He's really popular.

"Shh! Shh! Shh!"

The sound of the basketball hitting the net was crisp and rhythmic.

"Forty-seven! Forty-eight! Forty... Wow!! Fifty!"

"That was awesome! Sasuke-san, that shot was just like in the manga!"

"Honey! Look over here! Look over here! Go, honey!"

"..."

The female cosplayers watching became increasingly excited, screams rising and falling, and some even boldly moved closer to Chen Zhou, trying to get his attention.

The attention of the crowd and the explicit terms of address caused Bai Qianqian, standing behind Chen Zhou, to catch her breath slightly.

Her fingers, which were gripping the hem of her clothes, curled slightly, and her lips were pursed.

A subtle bittersweet feeling quietly spread through my heart.

Seeing that the progress bar was already halfway through, Chen Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, patted the basketball on the ground, and tried to get a feel for it.

Only then did he realize that he was surrounded by a crowd watching him shoot.

Among them was a group of JK girls dressed in black and white stockings cheering him on.

Although the cheers were loud, the quality was really not impressive.

All of them combined don't even equal one Lu Mi.

After Chen Zhou smiled and nodded, he said to Bai Qianqian, who was standing beside him:
"Is this technique alright?"

"Great!"

A single line of dialogue drew countless gazes to Bai Qianqian, causing her face to instantly turn bright red.

"Wow, Sasuke is so cool, I didn't even notice Hinata was there."

"Her expression is so incredibly accurate!"

"So cute!"

"..."

The above are the feelings of the male group, but the voices of the female group are quite different:

"No...this woman looks like she's faking it. Sass, tell your husband not to be fooled by her!"

"That's right, honey, look at me! I'm the innocent young girl!"

"How can Sasuke be with Hinata? I, Sakura, am the rightful one!"

"..."

Seeing Bai Qianqian's unpleasant expression, Chen Zhou's face darkened, and his gaze swept over the group of JK girls.

In an instant, the previously noisy noise subsided, and they turned their heads away guiltily.

Chen Zhou smiled slightly:

"Ignore them, I'll speed things up and get this done quickly so we can leave."

Upon hearing this, Bai Qianqian nodded gently.

However, just as Chen Zhou was about to continue shooting, the bearded boss suddenly smiled and reminded him:
"After you make 50 shots, the basket will move, so be careful."

Upon hearing the boss's words, the onlookers became indignant:

"No way, it can move? That's outrageous!"

"Exactly, even a stationary basket is difficult, let alone a moving basket. Who's going to win the 1288 yuan red envelope?"

"Thank goodness I didn't participate, otherwise who would have gotten those 1288?"

"..."

However, the bearded owner didn't care about the opinions of the onlookers. He pressed the button in his hand, and the basket moved as expected.

The basketball hoop of the basketball machine began to slide smoothly from side to side. Although the amplitude was not large, the rhythm had completely changed.

The originally regular and smooth "swish" sound started to have a slight pause.

A worried sigh rose from the crowd:

"Oh no, this is even harder now." "I knew it, 1288 isn't that easy to get."

"What a pity, your shots were so accurate earlier."

However, Chen Zhou in the room only frowned almost imperceptibly, and then the corners of his mouth curled up into a more focused smile.

He slowed down his shooting pace and became more cautious with each shot.

Five consecutive shots.

Still, all three hits were successful!

The onlookers were shocked:

Wow! Awesome!

"Such strong dynamic vision?!"

"He can still keep up!"

"..."

The cheers erupted again, even more enthusiastically than before!
The moving basket did not stump Chen Zhou; instead, it added a more dazzling level of technical skill to the shooting show.

……

Backstage.

Having just finished her performance and changed back into her everyday clothes, Zhao Ruyi is interacting with viewers in the live stream on her phone.

"Yes, we just finished singing 'Bluebird,' and the atmosphere was amazing!"

She smiled sweetly at the camera.

The live chat was filled with comments like, "Ruyi's wife is the most beautiful!" "She sang so well!" "Sing another one!"

Immediately, seeing the large group of people behind Zhao Ruyi, many viewers in the live stream became curious:

"Ruyi, Ruyi, what are they doing over there? Shall we go take a look?"

"So many people!"

"Let's go, let's go join the fun!"

"..."

After finishing her commercial performance, Zhao Ruyi had planned to take her fans to the comic convention.

Seeing the commotion, she naturally went along with it and led the audience into the crowd.

Squeezing through the crowd, Zhao Ru, with her striking appearance and spotlight effect, quickly arrived at the front row, just in time to see Chen Zhou make another precise shot.

Wow! I won again!

She instinctively raised her phone, flipped the camera, and aimed it at Chen Zhou, who was focused on shooting a basketball.

The live stream chat was filled with comments:
"It looks like you're winning prizes by shooting hoops. You get a reward for every hoop you shoot a certain number of times in a row."

"But this is a mobile basketball hoop! That's way too difficult!"

"He's a Sasuke, and he's really handsome!"

"..."

Zhao Ruyi turned the camera to the counter on the basketball machine, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw 76:

"76 in a row? That's amazing!"

Upon seeing this number, the live stream chat was flooded with comments:

"Holy crap! Is this some kind of cheat? 76 consecutive baskets while moving?"

"The cheat code isn't that small."

Holy crap! That shooting motion! Those muscles! I'm drooling!

"Southern Copper upstairs, authentication complete!"

"You guessed right! Does Ruyi's wife know him? Help me get his WeChat, and I'll give you a sports car in return!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ruyi couldn't help but ask:

"Zun Du Fake Du?"

She only earns 300 yuan per commercial performance, while a sports car worth 1,000 yuan would still earn her 500 yuan even if the platform took half.

The person in the comment section quickly said:

"Seriously, I'd be so sure, I bet your whole family dies!"

Zhao Ruyi glanced at the fan's level; he was a long-time fan, and a thought began to form in her mind.

She said to the fan:

"Okay, I'll try it in a bit."

As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted from the surrounding area.

It turns out the counter had reached 80!

Meanwhile, the bearded boss standing to the side was covered in sweat, his eyes fixed on Chen Zhou's shooting posture, hoping for a mistake.

However, the day did not fulfill everyone's wish.

Chen Zhou's movements remained incredibly precise.

80, 82, 85, 89...

The voices of the onlookers trembled:
"97! 98! 99!"

The air seemed to freeze.

Chen Zhou grabbed the last ball, took a deep breath, and fixed his gaze on the basket that was sliding to the right.

Shot!

The orange ball drew a slightly tricky straight line in the air!

"Bang... Swoosh—!"

Wipe the plate and get into the net!

The crisp sound was like a victory horn!

100!

Wow!

The crowd erupted in deafening cheers and applause! The earth shook!

"Awesome! One hundred goals!"

"It's amazing!"

"1288! 1288!"

"That's incredible, Sasuke!"

Zhao Ruyi's live stream was also flooded with comments:
"Awesome!"

"I bow down to the master!"

"The boss is crying his eyes out in the toilet!"

"..."

The bearded boss's face fell completely, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

But with everyone watching, he couldn't possibly break his promise for a little over a thousand yuan.

Chen Zhou showed his QR code for receiving payments, and Chen Zhou had no choice but to scan it.

Upon receiving the red envelope, he immediately looked up and calmly gazed at the boss:

"The boss is generous. However..."

He held the money in his hand, speaking casually:

"I want to play another game!"

"puff--"

Someone nearby burst out laughing:

"Your boss is inhuman, now look what you've got, karma's coming your way!"

"Every cause has its effect, and your retribution is me, hahahaha!"

"Damn, this is what you call karma in this lifetime!"

"..."

The boss's face instantly turned from green to white, his lips trembling:

"Brother! Big brother! Please, give me a way out!"

His voice was almost trembling with tears. Ignoring his shame, he grabbed Chen Zhou's arm and dragged him a couple of steps to a less crowded area, pleading in a low voice:
"Brother! You're my own brother! I'll accept the 1288! I'll admit defeat! Look at my small business..."

"If I play just one more game, my stall will have to close down! Please, have mercy! Please have mercy!"

Seeing his cold sweat pouring down his face and his pale complexion, Chen Zhou finally managed a sly smile.

He was deliberately trying to scare the boss.

Chen Zhou's gaze swept across the pile of prizes and landed on the giant Hello Kitty doll, which was as tall as a person and covered in pink and white.

That was the most eye-catching and cutest prize in the entire event, clearly designed to attract players.

"It's okay if you don't play."

Chen Zhou gestured with his chin toward the doll.

The boss followed his gaze, his eyes lighting up as if he had grasped a lifeline!
"This is for you! This is for you! Just consider it... just consider it... to make friends! To apologize!"

He was incoherent, then rushed over and used all his strength to grab the giant Hello Kitty, stuffing it into Chen Zhou's arms like a precious treasure.

This doll is almost as big as Bai Qianqian.

Chen Zhou, holding the unusually large and adorable creature, turned and walked towards Bai Qianqian, who had been quietly waiting to the side with her mouth slightly open.

He tucked the Hello Kitty into Bai Qianqian's arms, then said with a smile:

"Here, this is for you!"

(End of this chapter)