Chapter Fifteen
The game coins in the basket were gradually consumed, and the redemption tickets piled up like a small mountain completely filled the basket.
The two of them tried almost every game in the arcade, and most of them were games that Huo Yuzheng was good at.
There are also areas where he's not good at, such as the rhythm game machine he just played.
Whenever Huo Yuzheng encountered a project he wasn't good at, Mo Wansheng could secretly chuckle for a long time.
Compared to her initial restraint, she has become completely unrestrained.
With only a few game tokens left, Huo Yuzheng gently shook the basket. "Want to exchange some more game tokens?"
Mo Wansheng stuffed the newly dispensed voucher from the machine into the basket in his hand.
"We've played enough. What do you want to play with the remaining coins? Let me see, what else haven't we played?"
She looked around, searching for places they hadn't set foot in.
Finally, her gaze settled on a basketball shooting machine in the corner.
They haven't tried this yet.
Huo Yuzheng followed Mo Wansheng's gaze and tentatively asked, "Want to play that?"
The two walked to the basketball shooting machine. Mo Wansheng turned to look at him, cleared her throat, and hesitated.
She finally spoke up, "Actually, I'm not very good at this."
"Give it a try?" Huo Yuzheng suggested.
An awkward expression appeared on Mo Wansheng's face.
She shook her head. "I played it once when I was in college, and I lost terribly."
"As long as we have fun, winning or losing doesn't matter."
Mo Wansheng's lips were visibly frozen, because this wasn't a matter of winning or losing. It was a matter of her simply not being able to make the shot.
Losing is okay, but getting a zero is really shameful.
"I'm not playing, I'll just watch you play." Mo Wansheng stuffed the two game coins in her hand into the basketball shooting machine in front of Huo Yuzheng.
She crossed her arms and gazed at him silently.
"Then watch carefully."
The basketball rolled from the shooting machine to Huo Yuzheng's hand, which he quickly picked up with his large hand. He exerted a slight force with his wrist, aiming at the moving basket.
A perfect arc, and the basketball goes into the basket.
Then with a bang, it was put back into the machine and returned to his hands.
The first ball was specifically demonstrated to Mo Wansheng.
From then on, every shot hit its mark.
He throws each ball in with his right hand, while his left hand is responsible for returning the retrieved basketball to his right.
The movements were fluid and seamless, a series of actions.
One ball after another went into the basket; he barely gave any of them a chance to breathe.
The score displayed on the basketball shooting machine keeps increasing.
Mo Wansheng's gaze was originally focused on those slender fingers; his hands were large, making it easy for him to grab a basketball.
Like a chick pecking at rice, her head moved with the basketball, first her hand, then in the air, and finally into the basket.
But this kind of repetitive observation is really too tiring.
She stopped and unconsciously focused her gaze on Huo Yuzheng's profile.
The arcade's colorful lights cast shadows that make the space appear even more three-dimensional.
That beauty mark adorned this perfect face.
When time was up, Huo Yuzheng finished the game with an extremely high score.
He turned to look at Mo Wansheng, who was standing to the side; she was clearly stunned.
Their eyes met, and Mo Wansheng quickly looked at the frightening final score.
She asked blankly, "Is it over?"
"Okay, it's over. But is there something on my face?"
Mo Wansheng chuckled twice, changing the subject, "There's nothing special about it, it's just that you're so amazing, how did you train like that?"
Practice makes perfect. The more you practice, the better you'll get.
"Give it a try, I'll teach you." His words carried a hint of encouragement.
Huo Yuzheng saw the longing in Mo Wansheng's eyes at the beginning.
Whenever he went to play other games, he noticed that Mo Wansheng would always glance at the basketball shooting machine.
She wanted to try, but she seemed to be avoiding it.
“I can’t.” Mo Wansheng stretched out her hand, spreading her five fingers. “Take your hand out.”
Huo Yuzheng obediently spread his hands out, just like her.
A large, bony hand and a slender, fair hand hang facing each other in the air.
Mo Wansheng stretched her hand forward a little and pressed it directly against Huo Yuzheng's large hand. "Look, you catch the ball so easily. I can never hold the ball properly, let alone make a shot."
She was clearly backing out.
"Having big hands is at most an advantage; if your hands are a little small, you can still make up for it with skill."
Huo Yuzheng could see that her eyes were beginning to waver, oscillating wildly between trying and not trying.
He knew she was just one push away.
His large hand naturally enveloped Mo Wansheng's hand, and he guided her hand, mimicking a throwing motion.
Then, with his other hand, he found a spot in her palm. "Look," he said, "this can be used as a point of leverage."
My palms are itchy.
Mo Wansheng was stunned for a moment, and wanted to withdraw her hand.
However, Huo Yuzheng showed no intention of letting go.
He repeated the instruction several times until she developed a certain fixed and ingrained muscle memory before releasing her right hand.
"Try it. The same applies to your left hand. It doesn't matter if your hands are small; you can use both hands to exert force at the same time."
Huo Yuzheng inserted two coins into the machine in front of her.
The timer on the basketball shooting machine is ticking away, and basketballs are raining down.
Mo Wansheng was a little stunned, but still picked up a basketball, somewhat at a loss for words.
Huo Yuzheng stood behind her, his hand guiding her arm as he slowly raised it, finally stopping at a suitable angle.
"You can grip firmly with both hands. Try using your wrists to apply gentle pressure."
He added in his gentlest voice, "No one will laugh at you even if you fail."
Mo Wansheng's gaze followed the movement of the basketball hoop, and a voice in her heart urged her on, "Clang!"
The basketball slammed smoothly into the basket.
She succeeded!
Huo Yuzheng released her arm.
Mo Wansheng picked up the next ball, got into position, but before throwing it, she turned to look at him.
She wasn't sure if she could make the shot again without his guidance.
"Just give it a try," Huo Yuzheng encouraged.
Mo Wansheng nodded, focusing all her attention on the basket and the ball.
A basketball hoop, a ball, a hand, and a line.
Following his instructions, she applied gentle pressure, and the second ball went in successfully.
Huo Yuzheng praised, "Not bad."
His usually expressionless face broke into a smile for her at that moment.
Mo Wansheng instantly got excited and tirelessly threw the basketball towards the hoop.
Although many shots hit the rim and fell off, quite a few shots still went in.
The first round ended, and the results weren't great, but they were undoubtedly much better than when she was playing around in college.
Her arms were getting a little sore.
Huo Yuzheng took out his last two game coins. "Want to play again?"
Mo Wansheng happily shouted back, "Let's play!"
She never tires.
Many things, once successful, will lead to the desire to repeat countless successes.
Because a single success can bring a sense of confidence.
Mo Wansheng was thoroughly enjoying herself.
After playing two rounds, my cheeks were already slightly sweaty.
She wants to come again next time.
"Want to play more? If you do, I'll go exchange some more game currency."
Mo Wansheng swung her aching arms. "No, I'm tired. I'll come again next time. Today was great!"
"Okay." Huo Yuzheng rolled up the newly issued exchange ticket and stuffed it into the basket.
A whole lot of spoils.
The two walked together to the exchange counter, where there were two shelves.
The items on the shelf on the left were somewhat childish for their age; they were cheap electric watches, stationery toys, and the like.
On the other side of the shelf were small appliances and currently popular blind boxes. This half was clearly more valuable, and the points listed on the label below were quite substantial.
Huo Yuzheng asked, "Is there anything you'd like to exchange?"
The machine processed their redemption tickets, which totaled approximately 290,000 points.
With so many points, you could easily buy all the "childish" toys on one side, or pick out a few from the other side.
Mo Wansheng took a liking to one of the blind boxes, which was a collaboration with a game.
She pointed to a corner of the shelf, "I want that one."
"Okay, is there anything else you'd like?"
In the end, she spent about half of her points to acquire several blind boxes from the same IP series, and left the rest for Huo Yuzheng to handle himself.
He didn't make many choices; he simply chose the small appliance with the highest points and redeemed it.
The staff packed up the blind boxes and small appliances, and handed over a roll of paper redemption tickets that had not yet been entered into the system; these were their remaining unused points.
Huo Yuzheng took the roll of tickets and prepared to insert them into the points entry machine next to him, so that they would be directly recorded on the game card.
"Wait a minute," Mo Wansheng called out to stop her.
She then tore off a small piece from the roll of exchange tickets.
"alright."
She gazed at the small voucher with satisfaction, a bright smile on her face.
The unremarkable ticket was carefully tucked into the inner pocket of her small bag.
Huo Yuzheng looked at her curiously, "What's the use of that ticket?"
Mo Wansheng blinked her delighted eyes. "It's a secret."
Her voice was full of joy.
Huo Yuzheng was slightly taken aback. Her smile was so infectious, as if she was showing her dedication to protecting the secret world.
That one glance captivated him for a moment.
He didn't press further; he figured she must have her reasons.
The remaining vouchers were exchanged for points.
"Let's go back together."
Huo Yuzheng carried two large bags of spoils, and Mo Wansheng followed behind him as they walked together to the underground parking lot.
They didn't call the driver in advance.
Huo Yuzheng was driving, while Mo Wansheng sat in the passenger seat.
She hummed a little tune all the way. She was in a very pleasant mood.
Huo Yuzheng couldn't help but ask, "So happy?"
"Of course!" Mo Wansheng answered without hesitation, "I played them all! Of course I had a great time! I've always wanted to find someone to play all the arcade games with!"
"Thank you, Mr. Huo!"
Huo Yuzheng chuckled lightly and said with a hint of mockery, "I should be thanking you for coming out with me."
Mo Wansheng ignored his polite words.
She only expressed what was in her heart. Happiness is genuine happiness.
"By the way, Mrs. Huo."
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Mo Wansheng turned her head to look at him, puzzled.
"Did you come here often during your university days?"
"Yes, I come here often."
"Then why not try the basketball shooting machine?" Step by step, Huo Yuzheng finally asked the question that was on his mind.
Her smile faded slightly. Although it wasn't a big deal, it eventually became a small thorn in her side.
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