After locking the door, Tao Zhiyue walked down the narrow corridor one after another with Huo Ran. He always felt like he was dreaming.
The surroundings were very familiar, but because of Huo Ran's appearance, everything seemed different.
"That day you counted the steps as you walked up here, and you counted fifty-two."
His voice echoed in the small stairwell.
"You forgot it when you sobered up, but I remember it."
"Now I have stepped on the steps you counted."
Tao Zhiyue followed behind him, listening to him attentively. The ordinary gray steps under his feet also took on a different color.
Outside the residential building, some neighbors were walking their dogs and children in the community, and from time to time they looked at the unfamiliar face Huo Ran with curiosity.
Huo Ran was used to such looks and continued to speak excitedly: "Shall we take the bus? I just found the bus stop. It's very convenient. Just turn left after leaving the community."
"Did you come here this morning?"
"Yes, I took an early flight here. I slept very well last night, so I am not sleepy and feel energetic."
Tao Zhiyue thought about the fact that the other party responded promptly after he woke up and sent a message. He couldn't help but ask curiously: "Where were you when you were waiting for me to wake up? What if I get up very late?"
"When you replied to me, I was shopping in the supermarket and happened to see the white-stemmed water spinach you mentioned. It tasted delicious."
"I came here directly from the airport and walked around the area. The atmosphere is really good. And when I was walking on the road, I felt very happy when I thought that you had also seen the same scenery."
"I went to the supermarket, convenience store, and bus station, and they were all very good. There was also a park a few minutes away from the community. Many people around me were walking there, so I followed them to take a look."
"The scenery in the park is beautiful, many people are doing morning exercises, and white gardenias are blooming everywhere, which are very fragrant."
At this point, Huo Ran turned his head deliberately and said ostentatiously: "I also met a little girl about three or four years old who praised me for being handsome."
Tao Zhiyue laughed when he heard this particularly familiar description: "Is she catching butterflies?"
"How did you know?" Huo Ran was surprised. "She stayed on the lawn, waiting for butterflies to fly over and then tried to catch them. Her arms were short and chubby. People passing by would laugh when they saw her. She was so cute."
Tao Zhiyue couldn't help laughing and said, "Because she also praised me for being handsome."
"This kid really has good taste!" Huo Ran immediately concluded after hearing this, "No wonder he's so cute."
"Are you praising me or yourself?"
"Of course we praise together!"
The streets were lined with green trees, casting spots of light on the ground. Huo Ran walked beside him, his brisk voice falling into the sultry summer air.
The sun is bright and hot.
Tao Zhiyue felt that this scene was very familiar, but he couldn't remember it.
It just felt like a dream come true.
They walked onto the bus together and sat side by side in the two-person seat at the back, the wind blowing in through the open window.
Everything that Tao Zhiyue had experienced alone was quietly refreshed and another character was added.
"There's only one train at this station, so take it first and then transfer. We can use this time to discuss where to go."
"I turned off the game and went to sleep yesterday, so I didn't have time to make a guide." Tao Zhiyue was a little embarrassed. "I usually stay at home too much, and I don't know much about northern Shanxi. I can't think of any place to go right away."
The content of a date for couples is actually very simple. The most common ones are eating, shopping, and watching movies. There are also some popular escape rooms, board game halls, amusement parks, etc., which also cater to everyone's interests.
Jinbei City is famous for its food, and most of its attractions are natural scenic spots, former residences of celebrities, and the like. There are no particularly fun places.
"It's okay. I've done my homework!" Huo Ran said confidently, "I did some serious research this time. The movies released recently are not good. The only one that was hyped up was just marketing. So I won't watch any movies today."
"For dinner, we can go to Nanshan Road together in the evening. I can recommend you a lot of delicious food."
"What about during the day?"
"During the day, of course, we play games!" Huo Ran said firmly, "There was no winner yesterday, so we can have a good game today!"
Huo·Strange desire to win·Remember the original intention.
When he arrived at the entrance of the largest video game arcade in Jinbei City, Tao Zhiyue breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, I didn’t go to the Internet cafe.
The last time Tao Zhiyue went to an arcade was when he was in junior high school. He was taken there by a classmate who loved to follow the fashion the most.
He was a nerd at that time and didn't know how to play games. His most profound memory of this was that he accidentally mistook a game coin for a real one while riding a bus. He was shocked after putting it into the coin box and was so embarrassed that his face turned red.
Later, there were no more classmates with such enthusiasm, nor did I have the leisure to spend time in such a place.
At that moment many years later, in the dazzlingly lit video game arcade, dynamic music filled the air.
Huo Ran stood under the brightest light and waved to him excitedly.
It’s like going back in time and reconstructing life.
So he smiled back and walked quickly forward.
Huo Ran was buying game coins at the self-service coin machine. Tao Zhiyue stood beside him, staring intently at the exit where the shiny game coins were spitting out.
Huo Ran secretly observed his expression: "You seem very happy."
"Yeah, very happy." Tao Zhiyue nodded.
"That's good. It seems I made the right choice." Huo Ran was also happy. "You make games, so you must like playing games very much. That's why I chose this place."
"It's a good choice." Tao Zhiyue asked him casually, "Will you accidentally use the game tokens as real coins?"
Huo Ran examined it carefully and said, "Now that you mention it, it really does look like a one-dollar coin."
"I remember one time when I was a kid, I mistook the small round lottery ticket given out in elementary school for a coin while riding the bus. I didn't do well on the test that day, and I was so panicked that I didn't notice that the feeling in my hand was wrong at all."
"The lottery ticket was thicker than a regular coin. I was distracted while trying to stuff it into the coin slot. It wasn't until the driver couldn't stand it anymore and asked, 'What are you doing, kid?' that I realized what was going on."
"It was so embarrassing. I had always insisted on going to and from school alone, but after that day I gave up and always asked the bus driver to pick me up because I was afraid of meeting that bus driver again."
As Huo Ran sighed, Tao Zhiyue smiled with his eyes curved: "You are so silly."
He corrected her: "I was stupid when I was a child, but I'm not stupid now."
"Oh, the nesting dolls for security check..."
"No nesting dolls!"
"Matryoshka dolls are so cute, why not make nesting dolls?"
Huo Ran was speechless. He awkwardly picked up the plastic bowl full of game coins, took his hand and walked into the crowd.
Tao Zhiyue was held by him, and his palm once again felt his ever-warm warmth.
All the gazes of others became insignificant background colors.
He thought about it and whispered in Huo Ran's ear: "No wonder Mosquito likes you so much."
"I like you too."
Huo Ran paused.
Fortunately, the lighting in the room was bright enough to hide the blushing faces of both of them in the colorful colors.
Tao Zhiyue quickly changed the subject: "Let's play basketball first. Next time you can have a one-to-one match."
Huo Ran replied dazedly, "Okay."
Two people each occupied a basketball machine and started playing by inserting coins.
Tao Zhiyue basically doesn't play basketball, and his shooting is not very accurate, he can only make one out of two or three. Huo Ran next to him is very accurate in shooting, he always makes the shot, but his facial expression is wandering, it all depends on the muscle memory of his body.
Tao Zhiyue looked at him and laughed: "I can imagine how you tried to stuff lottery tickets into the coin box when you were a kid."
Following the sound, Huo Ran turned his head slowly and threw the basketball into Tao Zhiyue's basket.
I actually won.
The basketball from outside rolled down with a thud. Tao Zhiyue picked it up and threw it back, his voice shaking with laughter.
"Great own goal!"
Huo Ran only then realized what a stupid thing he had done and turned his head back in silence.
After Huo Ran regained consciousness, they played rhythm music games, shooting games, and racing games.
In his normal state, Huo Ran is good at everything he does. His motor nerves are particularly well developed, and he doesn't miss a single note when beating the rhythm, which attracted a lot of onlookers.
The same goes for shooting and racing. Tao Zhiyue was at the average level, while Huo Ran on the side was the best, having surpassed all the other players by a full lap.
Seeing Huo Ran concentrating on the road ahead, a strange idea flashed through Tao Zhiyue's mind.
This is probably the only place where you can see Huo Ran "driving" with your own eyes without worrying about any danger.
When the game was over, Tao Zhiyue asked him, "Do you like to drive yourself?"
"Normally, I rarely drive myself now because I can't be distracted." Huo Ran was immersed in the joy of speeding, "But I like playing racing games, it's very exciting."
"Then we can come here often to play in the future."
Huo Ran's eyes lit up, "Do you like to play too? Then you can buy two machines and put them at home so you can play anytime."
… I almost forgot that Huo Ran also has the ability to make money.
The game coins were quickly used up, and Huo Ran actively went to buy more. Tao Zhiyue, on the other hand, was holding a pile of lottery tickets that he had won from the game, and his obsessive-compulsive disorder kicked in, as he carefully sorted them into a stack of uniform length.
In the end, by the time the lottery tickets were folded, Huo Ran had not returned yet.
Could it be that he is lost
Tao Zhiyue stood up to look for it, but after only taking a few steps, he saw Huo Ran holding an empty plastic bowl, standing in front of a coin pusher that a stranger was playing, absorbed in the game.
He walked over curiously, wanting to see what attracted Huo Ran.
The gameplay of the coin pusher is very simple. Players just need to keep putting in game coins. There will be random obstacles on the falling path of the game coins, causing them to fall in various strange postures. If they can fall into the constantly moving special entrance, they can trigger a lottery.
During the lottery, different patterns on the screen will be randomly arranged and combined. If you are lucky enough and the same pattern appears in a regular arrangement, a large number of game coins will drop from the machine as rewards.
All the game coins invested and rewarded will be accumulated in the game coin pool below the machine. Every time a new game coin falls in, the pile of shiny coins will be pushed outwards, teetering on the edge of the table, as if they will fall in pieces in the next second, rolling out of the machine and becoming the player's spoils.
The middle-aged man who is playing now has an excited expression. The jackpot in the machine has been piled up very high, and it will be all poured down in a few minutes, so he is putting extra effort into stuffing coins into the coin slot.
Tao Zhiyue had unknowingly become absorbed in the activity, staring intently at the game coins that were about to fall from the edge of the table.
He and Huo Ran each occupied one side, nervously watching the battle situation in the machine, not daring to breathe.
A few minutes later, the area around him and Huo Ran was gradually filled with people.
Some people are watching the thrilling coin pushing process, some are watching their eye-catching appearance, and some just like to watch people crowding around.
The middle-aged man who had finally triggered a large amount of game coins during the lottery, contentedly put the coins that had rolled down into a plastic bowl. He turned back inadvertently and was almost frightened to death by the crowd of onlookers.
Huo Ran followed him and turned around, also startled.
When he came to his senses, he saw Tao Zhiyue who had appeared beside him at some point.
The two looked at each other blankly and couldn't help laughing.
After having a quick lunch in the mall, Tao Zhiyue and Huo Ran returned to the arcade with a very unanimous opinion and fought with the coin pushers for an entire afternoon.
It was not until night fell that they reluctantly left the video game arcade and headed for Nanshan Road, the most famous food street in northern Shanxi.
"I won three second prizes! I lost a lot of coins, but unfortunately I never triggered the grand prize." Huo Ran couldn't forget it. "It's strange that such a simple game can be played for so long."
"Because of randomness and the illusion that rewards are within reach." Tao Zhiyue tried to analyze rationally, "Many games with simple gameplay attract people because of this."
"This is the first time I'm so addicted to playing games." Huo Ran nodded. "It feels similar to gambling. I always feel that good luck will come in the next second and I can win all the rewards. Fortunately, my father has always taught me not to touch those things."
"So you must never trust your own self-control, because it is a weakness of human nature."
"That makes sense. The coins I won just now have been deposited into my membership card. That's really convenient. When will we come again next time?"
"Next weekend? You shouldn't be busy with work then."
"Great, I'll definitely win the jackpot next week!"
"It must have been me who typed it out. You have a dirty hand."
“I hit three second prizes!!”
“But I hit seven.”
“… When you win the jackpot, we can use these coins to continue racing!”
"Speaking of which, with all the lottery tickets as rewards, what should we exchange them for?"
"I saw a really big teddy bear in the prize exchange area. Let's exchange it for that, one for each of us."
"You are so childish."
"You clearly nodded just now!"
In the joy of playing games with your lover, rationality and self-control are not worth mentioning.