Chapter Forty-Nine: The Arcade

His feelings were a bit complicated; she really seemed determined to win. Should he let her? They were almost at the finish line. He thought that if Yu Qian lost, she probably wouldn't enjoy this trip to the arcade as much. In the end, his heart softened, and he subtly slowed down a little at the obstacle.

That tiny reduction in speed was just enough for Yu Qian to catch up. Sure enough, she noticed that Zhou Jingchen had slowed and immediately pressed the acceleration button to surge ahead.

"I won, I won!" she exclaimed, jumping off her seat and throwing her arms around Zhou Jingchen in delight.

"Yes, Qian Qian, you're amazing. You won, so you get to make a request," he answered, gently stroking the girl's hair with great tenderness.

"My request is really simple—play every game I want to play with me!"

His hand paused for a moment; he had a bad feeling about this. Judging by how excited Yu Qian was about the racing game, most of her favorite activities were probably the thrilling kind.

"Come on, you two lovebirds, if you’re done, move out of the way! Why are you standing around showing off your affection?" Just as Zhou Jingchen was about to bargain, a voice interrupted them.

He looked up to see a couple, both with green-dyed hair, wearing black skull T-shirts and ripped jeans, looking quite displeased.

Of course they were unhappy—they had come to play the racing game, only to find the pair still lingering there after finishing, occupying the spot. It was really annoying!

"Uncle, I’m just an elementary school student. How could I possibly be his girlfriend?" Being mistaken for a couple clearly upset Yu Qian.

She hadn’t agreed to be Zhou Jingchen’s girlfriend yet.

Zhou Jingchen ran his hand through the girl's soft hair and smiled gently. "Come on, didn’t you want to try the other games too?"

Hearing this, Yu Qian, who had been unhappy, suddenly looked at him with sparkling eyes. "You promise?"

"Can I refuse, silly girl?" he replied helplessly.

"Hehe, Zhou Jingchen, I like you so much! Mwah!" Having received a clear answer, Yu Qian cheerfully dragged him off toward the shooting games.

Zhou Jingchen shook his head and followed, a fond smile on his face.

Since he’d promised to let her play to her heart’s content today, Zhou Jingchen let himself relax and tried out every game that interested him as well.

For the games Yu Qian wanted to play but didn’t have the skill for, Zhou Jingchen simply took over and played for her.

After making their rounds, the pile of tokens in their hands hadn’t diminished—in fact, they had even more than before.

The two looked at each other, a bit bewildered. They came here to have fun, not to make money. Why had they won so much?

"How about we try all the games we haven’t played yet? Even the simple ones?"

"Sure!" Yu Qian had no objections. She turned decisively and led him back into the arcade to conquer the rest of the games.

The arcade staff groaned at the sight of them. It wasn’t their fault for dreading these two—honestly, they were just too much!

Whenever they had their eyes on a prize, they insisted on taking first place, even claiming the grand prizes that had been gathering dust for years.

Yu Qian couldn’t carry all the toys herself, so she simply called her family’s driver and instructed him to take everything back home.

"Come on, there are still so many games we haven’t tried. Let’s keep going! Stop daydreaming," she urged, tugging him along toward the dance machine. She’d had her eye on that game for a while, but Zhou Jingchen had kept a tight rein on her and she hadn’t had a chance to get near it until now.

Zhou Jingchen felt a faint ache in his temples. She’d never learned any other kind of dance—would she be able to handle the dance machine?

She dropped a token in and set the song to random.

She wasn’t intimidated by the different styles. Even if the genres varied, the basics were the same, and she had a solid foundation—nothing to be afraid of.

The moment the music started, Yu Qian seemed to transform, her expression serious and focused as she executed each move perfectly.

Zhou Jingchen thought that, standing on the stage, Yu Qian was a hundred times more beautiful than usual.

Beautiful and cute—he just wanted to kiss her, hug her, and lift her up high.