Ye Qingli's eyes widened. "Why did you buy so many? We won't be able to use them all."
She had intended to pay, but he didn't even think before buying.
The clerk smiled at her. "Our store is part of a chain. If you have leftover tokens, you can use them at other branches."
"Let's go." The tokens dispensed from the machine, all falling into the small box in Xiao Yu's hand. He bounced it lightly, and the coins clinked.
Since he had already bought them, Ye Qingli pursed her lips and didn't say anything else.
The arcade was spacious, but there were only a few types of machines. Many spots were empty, so they could play whatever they wanted. Xiao Yu nodded toward a machine nearby. "Do you know how to play racing?"
Ye Qingli looked over. The machine had motion sensors. She had played it before with classmates, but it was so long ago that she barely remembered. What she did recall was that it was terrifying—the steering wheel felt light and unresponsive, and as soon as she turned it, the car would careen out of control.
"Not really," she admitted.
"Me neither. Great, we'll have a match." Xiao Yu said as he reached into the box for tokens.
Ye Qingli watched him feed the tokens into the slot. "A match? What if you lose?"
She was actually bargaining with him, asking what would happen if he lost.
Xiao Yu was intrigued. "Are you so sure you'll win?"
"No, it's just that a match should have consequences for the loser, right? That makes it more fun." Ye Qingli said seriously.
Xiao Yu almost laughed at her expression. He leaned against the machine, crossing his arms. "Then what do you suggest?"
"The loser has to grant the winner one request," she said.
"Fine." He agreed without hesitation.
They both got into the seats. Ye Qingli entered the menu to choose a car model. There were several colors; she wanted something cool and sharp. Xiao Yu wasn't as picky. He pressed random buttons, then waited for her patiently.
After selecting, the game loaded. While waiting, a little boy nearby tripped and spilled his tokens, some falling on Ye Qingli. She jumped.
Then she heard laughter. Ye Qingli picked up the tokens and returned them to the boy, then turned to Xiao Yu. "What are you laughing at?"
He was laughing so hard he couldn't stand straight, pointing at the big screen.
On the screen, the girl's eyebrows were slightly raised, her eyes curved into crescents, and her mouth was wide open in shock, showing a row of white teeth.
So silly.
"..." She had forgotten about the photo function.
Ye Qingli's face instantly turned as red as an apple. She looked at Xiao Yu's screen. Even though it was just a blurry side profile, his sharp jawline gave off a youthful vibe despite the unclear features.
Compared to that, she looked ugly.
"Are we still racing or not?" Ye Qingli pouted.
Xiao Yu sat up, still smiling. "Of course."
The loading finished. As soon as they stepped on the gas, the seat started shaking violently. Ye Qingli hadn't played in a while. She remembered it was scary but forgot how terrifying it could be.
She wasn't good at driving in games. Now she was even more nervous, frowning and sweating. The car in the screen crashed wildly, and her seat jerked along. Ye Qingli didn't dare lean back; she sat on the edge, the seatbelt pulled taut. When the car flew off the track, she felt like she might fly off too.
In contrast, Xiao Yu played effortlessly. He accelerated and drifted perfectly, never hitting the walls. He even had time to laugh at Ye Qingli. It was almost leisurely.
The torturous two minutes finally passed. The rankings: first and last. Obviously, Xiao Yu was first. Ye Qingli didn't care about the rankings anymore. As soon as it ended, she slumped over the steering wheel, her heart pounding like it would burst out of her chest.
"Are you okay? Getting last place wore you out," Xiao Yu laughed. He took out his phone and snapped a photo of the result screen, especially zooming in on Ye Qingli's big face shot. Satisfied it was clear, he unbuckled his seatbelt.
"You said you didn't know how to play, but you're good. You tricked me." Ye Qingli muttered, displeased.
"I've only played once. I didn't expect you to be so bad," Xiao Yu said, getting off. He walked over to her, rubbed his chin, and looked at her amusedly. "What punishment should I give you?"
"..." She had shot herself in the foot.
Before she could answer, Xiao Yu said, "How about a squat?"
Just that simple.
Ye Qingli couldn't believe it.
But she had gotten off easy. Afraid he might change his mind, she quickly did a squat, then did an extra one.
"One for free," she grinned.
"You're quite generous," he smiled back.
Ye Qingli figured she'd win at least one game out of so many. And since his punishments were so simple, she didn't mind doing extra. However, the opposite was true. No matter what they played, she never won.
She got off the motorcycle, laughing in frustration. "Didn't you say you didn't know how to play?"
Xiao Yu didn't see the problem. "Some I've never tried. Who knew they'd be so easy?"
"..." She didn't know what to say.
Ye Qingli spread her feet, ready. "How many this time?"
"No more punishment. I want you to promise me something."
Ye Qingli was taken aback. "Huh?"
"Stay away from Huang Xu from now on. He's not a good person," Xiao Yu said. He knew it was abrupt to say something like that out of nowhere, but his instincts urged him to speak. He bit the inside of his cheek. "I can't explain it all right now, but you have to trust me. You—"
"Okay," Ye Qingli nodded. Her next words were serious and solemn. "I trust you."