Chapter 13
Chapter 13
The place Shen Ye took her to was an arcade.
Shu Yao felt that she was a very boring person. If Zhao Tiantian hadn't pulled her along at that time, her life would probably have been just about studying.
She had never even been to an arcade.
Looking around, most of the people there looked to be students around seventeen or eighteen years old. Because she was attending the opening ceremony today, she had dressed more formally, wearing a white casual shirt with a black miniskirt. The black skirt underneath looked like a sudden splash of black ink on a colorful oil painting.
While she was preparing herself mentally, Shen Ye had already skillfully exchanged a hundred game coins and handed the small hollow basket to her.
Shu Yao overcame that slight discomfort and weighed the basket in his hand. It was heavy, but when he looked around, he found that most of the projects were crowded with people, except for the whack-a-mole machine in the corner, which was neglected.
"Want to play that?"
Shu Yao smiled sheepishly: "But that feeling is for children to play with."
Shen Ye asked: "Have you played it before?"
Shu Yao: "No."
He took the basket from her hand and walked towards the whack-a-mole machine.
"You're still a child now."
*
The moment the Doraemon theme song sounded, Shu Yao did have the illusion that he was still a child.
But the difference is that children will find the gopher in front of them cute.
As Shu Yao beat them, he completely used them as a channel to vent his anger.
Go to hell with Lin Ruiyang!
Fuck his job!
"Bang" "Bang" "Bang"
His arms gradually began to ache and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his back, but Shu Yao felt that he was much more relaxed.
At the end of the third round, Shu Yao's record successfully made it into the top five.
The music slowly stopped, and Shu Yao remembered the person next to him.
She cleared her throat awkwardly and said, "You're just going to sit there?"
"Oh, I have to play with you."
Just as Chen Ye picked up the hammer, Shu Yao added, “No, I mean you can go play something else.”
“…” Shen Ye laughed angrily, “Just play this.”
OK.
Anyway, it's written here that two people can participate.
Shu Yao's left hand got a brief rest.
Unlike Shu Yao's immersive whack-a-mole game, Chen Ye looked like he was just watching a show, supporting his head with his left hand in a leisurely posture, but his right hand was just as fast.
After three rounds, the two successfully reached the top of the leaderboard.
Shu Yao's forehead was covered in sweat, which looked like it was sprinkled with silver powder under the light, and her pupils were like amber, with the corners of her eyes slightly raised, showing a rare and obvious enthusiasm.
Seeing her looking around, Shen Ye supported his head and asked, "What else do you want to play?"
Shu Yao pointed to the motorcycle next to him: "I want to play with that, but..."
She looked down at her clothes. Her hip-hugging professional skirt made it impossible for her to sit comfortably on the motorcycle.
Shen Ye's eyes glanced down slightly and then fell back on her face.
"stand up."
"Huh?" Shu Yao was puzzled, but still stood up obediently.
Chen Ye took two steps forward, his chest was within reach, and Shu Yao could even smell the faint mint scent on his clothes.
This action of breaking the normal social distance made Shu Yao instinctively want to step back, but something blocked him.
She looked down and saw that Shen Ye had circled her lower body with the thin coat he had just taken off and placed aside.
The thin material was not enough to keep out the cold, but it was enough to cover her exposed legs.
This time, she did not refuse like she did eight years ago.
"Thanks."
Shu Yao followed him to the motorcycle and saw him throw eight coins at once.
After getting on the motorcycle, she said sheepishly, "I've never ridden this before, so please don't mind if it's too bad."
"Won't."
After the game started, Shu Yao realized that Chen Ye's words of no choice might not be out of gentlemanliness, but because he was also very bad at the game.
The two chose a mountain road map, where obstacles would appear from time to time, such as flocks of sheep, rocks falling from the mountain, and so on.
Shu Yao was almost hit by a stone at first. When he turned around, he saw that the little man on the screen in front of Chen Ye was lying on the ground with stars in his eyes.
Shu Yao: “…”
She had no time to sympathize with others. The motorcycle continued on the road, stumbling and bumping before reaching the destination. After a while, Shen Ye also arrived.
Shu Yao glanced at him suspiciously: "You really can't do it?"
Shen Ye shook his hands, not seeming to feel embarrassed: “I’ve never played it.”
"So what did you do in high school?"
Shen Ye chuckled lightly, not very serious: “Fighting?”
Surprisingly, Shu Yao didn't show any disgust. She just said "Oh" lightly and nodded: "That's what they said at that time."
"them?"
"Just people from school."
Shen Ye’s right hand was on the handlebars of the motorcycle, unconsciously tightening and loosening it: “So that’s why you hate me so much?”
"I don't hate you."
Under Chen Ye's oppressive gaze, Shu Yao shrank his neck: "Well, at that time, it was indeed a little... I can't say I hated it, I was just a little apprehensive."
"Because I fought?"
"Um."
Chen Ye's mouth moved, but it was covered by the sound of music and Shu Yao didn't hear it at all.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, do you want to play?"
"Play." Shu Yao sat up straight, but was afraid that he would misunderstand. "By the way, that was in the past. I'm not afraid of you now."
Shen Ye chuckled, snapped his right fingers, pointed at her screen, and signaled that the game had begun.
Shu Yao withdrew his attention.
This time, both of them had made obvious progress. The little man rode his motorcycle fast on the mountain road, and all the unhappiness that had been pent up in Shu Yao's heart seemed to be blown away by the wind.
Two seconds difference.
Shu Yao won.
She let out an unconscious cry, feeling happier than ever before.
There was a young couple waiting behind him. Shu Yao felt embarrassed to monopolize the space for too long, and also thought that there might be more fun activities, so he got off the motorcycle holding his coat.
She unbuttoned the sleeves at the back and handed it to Shen Ye, who was still lazily leaning on the motorcycle: "I'm going to the bathroom, wait for me for a while."
Shen Ye nodded and saw Shu Yao walking out of the gate. Just as he was about to get off the motorcycle, he heard someone whistle at him.
"Dude, you're too new, how about I teach you?"
Shen Ye turned around and glanced at the boy, who looked like a college student.
He scoffed, "No time."
"Tell me, aren't you ashamed of being a man? You can't even beat a woman."
Shen Ye was about to step down the stairs, but when he heard this, he stopped abruptly.
He paused for two seconds, then got on the motorcycle again and said nonchalantly:
"Okay, let's play."
*
Shu Yao walked around outside for a while before he saw the bathroom.
When I came back, I happened to meet the young couple again.
But for some reason, the girl looked a little unhappy, and walked forward with a cold face and big strides.
Shu Yao passed by them and vaguely heard the girl shouting "shame on you".
The boy put his arm around her waist and coaxed her humbly: "Don't be angry."
Thinking it was just a small conflict between lovers, Shu Yao didn't take it seriously. When he walked into the game room, Chen Ye was leaning on his motorcycle and looking down at his phone.
Shu Yao walked up to him, glanced at the screen in front of him, and suddenly found that the ranking list had been refreshed.
She clearly remembered that the first place was still 2 minutes and 50 seconds.
Because the number 250 is a bit auspicious, she was deeply impressed.
How come it’s two minutes and three minutes now?
Thinking of the young couple standing behind them, Shu Yao asked in surprise, "Did that boy break the record?"
Shen Ye: “Yeah.”
Shu Yao suddenly understood. No wonder the girl was saying it was embarrassing. It seemed that her boyfriend didn't give her any face at all.
What a straight man of steel!
*
The one hundred coins were soon used up. Before leaving, Shu Yao received a Papadog doll from the store, saying it was a prize for breaking the Whack-A-Mole record.
People were coming and going in the mall. Shu Yao kneaded the yellow puppy in his hand and said with a smile, "Doesn't it look a bit like Biscuit?"
“It looks better than this.”
"No way."
Shu Yao had a thousand layers of filters for Little Biscuit. Just as she was about to argue about its appearance, a surprised voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Yaoyao?"
They both looked back at the same time.
Shu Yao stood there in a daze, even forgetting to loosen his right hand that was holding Papagou's head. Papagou's facial features were wrinkled and he looked pitiful.
"Aunt?"
My aunt hurried over, carrying bags of various kinds. Her eyes wandered between the two of us, and the smile on her face became more and more obvious. "Going shopping?"
Shu Yao felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to the top of his head.
The previous photos were originally sent to her mother by her aunt, and her mother only knew about them. After confirming that she had a boyfriend, it was impossible for her mother not to "report the good news" to her aunt.
Before her aunt could speak again, Shu Yao quickly replied, "Yes, aunt, why are you here?"
"Hi, Jia Jia is about to take the college entrance examination. I see that she is worried every day, so I thought of buying her a pair of shoes to cheer her up." As she said this, she raised the shoe bag in her hand.
"Is that so?" Shu Yao smiled calmly on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil.
"You are..."
"We just came out of the arcade."
"Oh." My aunt was about to continue when the phone rang. She looked down and smiled meaningfully, "My taxi is here. I'll leave now and not disturb you."
"Okay, goodbye, aunt."
Only after his aunt left did Shu Yao feel relieved.
Suddenly, an uncertain question came from above my head: "The way your aunt looked at me just now was... a little strange?"
Shu Yao hadn't expected him to be so perceptive. He looked up at his face for a long moment, then said seriously, "Don't you know how attractive your face is?"
Shen Ye:?
Is this a compliment?
*
After returning home, Shu Yao submitted his resignation letter in the company's backstage, and also printed a paper version, intending to hand it to Zhang Yanqiu tomorrow.
After finishing everything, Shu Yao felt relieved.
She lay on the sofa and habitually reached into her bag, but she couldn't find her cell phone. She searched the living room but couldn't find it either.
Shu Yao scratched the back of her head, remembering that she had used her cell phone in the arcade. It was probably on the way back that she was so distracted that she dropped her cell phone on the car when she got off.
Fortunately, WeChat on the computer had been logged in since the afternoon, and she sent a message to Chen Ye to ask.
Chen Ye quickly replied: [I'll go check in the car.]
Sure enough, it was forgotten on the passenger seat.
Shu Yao: [I'll go get it now.]
Chen Ye: [Send me the address.]
Shu Yao: [I can go get it myself. Sorry to bother you.]
Chen Ye: [If something happens to you in the middle of the night and your phone is still at my house, do you think the police will arrest me?]
Shu Yao: “…”
Shu Yao failed to refuse and could only send him the address.
Without a cell phone, Shu Yao could only watch TV for a while to pass the time and then went to the bathroom to wash his face.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. Shu Yao thought it was Chen Ye who had arrived, so he wiped the water droplets from his face and hurried over to open the door.
"Thanks……"
He stopped talking mid-sentence.
There were water droplets on Shu Yao's eyelashes and her vision was a little blurry. She wiped her eyes with a face towel and finally made sure that this was not an illusion.
"mom?!"
Shu Meiru walked in carrying a suitcase, her tone filled with gentle reproach: "Why didn't you answer my call?"
Shu Yao was so shocked that he came to his senses: "I left my phone in someone else's car and haven't got it back yet."
"You're still so forgetful." Shu Meiru glanced at the living room, put down her luggage bag and started packing. "Where's your roommate?"
"She's about to graduate, and her classmates in the department are organizing a trip."
"Oh." Shu Meiru didn't doubt it. She folded the takeout plastic bags on the table one by one and put them all into the storage box next to her.
"Mom, I can clean up myself."
"You can clean up? You say you can clean up when it's such a mess?" Shu Meiru sneered and didn't take it seriously.
Shu Yao felt helpless and knew that it was useless to refuse.
"Mom, why did you come here suddenly?"
"Your aunt said Jiajia is about to take the college entrance exam and doesn't have the energy to take care of the newborn Youyou. She asked me if I could come over and help out for a while. She took the trouble to introduce you to a date, so how could I refuse such a small request?"
"Where's my uncle? Can't he take care of me?"
"Your uncle is busy with work, where does he get so much time?"
"Where do you live then?"
"I'm staying at your aunt's house. Your uncle will pick me up on his way home from get off work later." Shu Meiru finished wiping the dining table and then turned her attention to the coffee table. She asked casually, "How are you getting along with that guy lately? I'm here right now, why don't you ask him out for dinner?"
Like waking from a dream.
Shu Yao felt like he was blowing up a balloon, which was getting thinner and thinner, and was now on the verge of exploding.
"We..." Shu Yao clenched her hands. She had decided beforehand that if there was any tendency to be exposed, she would have to take the initiative, so she blurted out, "We broke up."
Shu Meiru stopped.
She turned around and said, "Break up? Your aunt said you two were having a date this afternoon and everything was fine."
Shu Yao: “…”
She finally understood why her mother suddenly turned around and came over. It turned out that she came for a surprise inspection after hearing about this incident.
"We just had a fight and broke up after dinner this afternoon."
"Why?"
"My personalities don't match."
"What's the point of getting along? Personalities need to be adjusted. Just get to know each other slowly. How can you break up just because of a quarrel?"
Shu Yao couldn't help but ask: "Then you and Luo Jianhui have been working together for so many years. Have you succeeded in getting along?"
"Yaoyao, I've told you many times that your father and I are special cases. You can't assume that all couples are like this just because of this."
"Mom, do you want me to be happy or get married?"
"What's the difference between the two? I want you to get married because I want you to be happy! You're a girl, and without a man by your side, what will you do when you get old?"
"I don't need to rely on men. Are men reliable? What if I find someone like Luo Jianhui? Mom, you are the one who knows best that marriage doesn't mean happiness, but why do you always push me into it?"
"I..." Shu Meiru was really stumped this time.
It's the same old line over and over again: "Your father and I are special cases. Not all men are like your father."
Feeling that her mother's attitude had softened a little, Shu Yao also tried to restrain herself and analyze the situation as rationally and logically as possible.
"Mom, I know you're doing this for my own good, but can you also respect my own thoughts?"
Shu Meiru didn't say anything. She turned around and wandered around the coffee table, as if thinking about her words.
Suddenly, the footsteps stopped.
The temperature in the living room seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.
The sweet voices of the male and female protagonists on TV were annoying, so Shu Meiru turned off the TV.
"Shu Yao."
The tone dropped as he called out his full name.
Shu Meiru usually calls her by her nickname, Yaoyao, but once she calls her full name, it is a sign of anger.
Shu Yao didn't understand why her attitude suddenly changed again. He followed her gaze and saw the white envelope in her hand.
Her resignation.
Shu Meiru frowned and asked, "Are you going to resign?"
Shu Yao: "Yes."
"Why? Didn't you just get a promotion? Why did you suddenly quit again?"
"I..." Shu Yao didn't know how to explain, "I encountered some unpleasant things."
It was precisely these words that seemed to have lit the fuse of a bomb, causing Shu Meiru's anger, which she had suppressed with great difficulty, to erupt again in an instant.
She threw her resignation letter to the ground with a thud.
"Can you please give me some peace of mind?! I finally got a relationship, but it breaks up with me at the drop of a hat! I finally got a job, but I quit at the drop of a hat!"
"Tell me what you're going to do in the future, huh? You're already this grown up, and you're not married, and you don't have a job. Do you know what people will say about you if this gets out?! Between marriage and work, at least one of you should give me peace of mind, right?!"
Shu Meiru is actually a soft-tempered person and rarely speaks loudly. This is the first time she has ever been so angry.
Shu Yao couldn't help but raise his voice: "Why should I care what others think of me? Do I know them?"
"You!" Shu Meiru's face turned red with anger, and her eyes were filled with tears.
She raised her hand and wiped it away, then turned away in disappointment, her voice choking with sobs: "I really can't control you anymore! I raised you to this age by myself, and I thought you could enjoy life, but in the end you just piss me off like this."
Shu Yao felt as if all the strength in her body had been drained. She was not good at quarreling, and she didn't want to quarrel with her mother.
Whenever this happens, she can only choose to remain silent.
Until the mother calms down, then pretend nothing happened and return to superficial calm.
But those contradictions have never been resolved, and have been piling up in my heart, waiting for the next, more intense explosion.
A feeling of powerlessness enveloped her.
She leaned against the wall, her head hanging, her vision darkening, like a drowning person who had lost all desire to live.
“Ding~”
A piece of driftwood lifted her up.
Shu Yao's thoughts became clearer.
Because of the quarrel, she had almost forgotten about the cell phone incident. Thinking that Zhao Tiantian had returned early, Shu Yao turned around to open the door.
However, the figure outside the door made her feel cold all over.
Chen Ye was wearing a black sweatshirt, and the hat pushed down the loose hair on his forehead, with a few strands touching his eyelids. The dense water droplets on his shoulders and arms did not make him look disheveled, but made him look a little more wild.
Before Shu Yao could react, a surprised voice came from behind him: "Why are you here? Didn't you break up with Yaoyao?"
Meeting his surprised gaze, Shu Yao closed her eyes in despair.
It’s over!
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