Chapter 10 Video Games
The June sun softened the asphalt road. Feng Jian took the cold drink he had just bought and put it into Qianye's palm. When his fingertips touched the other's hot skin, he frowned and said, "I told you not to wear such a thick sports sweatshirt. You must be dying of heat now."
"None of your business," Yuan curled his lips, his eyes glancing towards the sporting goods store on the other side. "Senior Gan said he'll be here to buy sports wristbands today."
Kazama followed her gaze and saw several familiar figures reflected in the window of the sporting goods store: Momoshiro was gesturing in front of the mirror with a blue wristband on, Kikumaru was hanging on him and trying to snatch it, Oishi was standing by to try and stop them, and Kan was standing in front of the shelf, holding a weighted plate in his hand to measure the load-bearing capacity of each wristband.
"Oh no," Yuan quickly pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, "Why are they here too?"
Before he finished speaking, Tao Cheng had already pounced on him like a big golden retriever, "Kazama, Gen, why are you here too?"
Kikumaru poked his head out from behind him, his eyes lit up, "Wow, it's mango ice! Kazama, give me some~"
Before Kazama could even duck, the last box of ice cream in her hand was snatched away. She stared at Kikumaru as he tore off the label, scooped a large spoonful into his mouth, his two adorable little canine teeth exposed, his expression as contented as a cat stealing some meat.
"Eiji, this won't do..." Oishi advised, but was immediately cut off by the crushed ice that Kikumaru forced into his mouth. "Oishi, try it too, the mango smoothie is delicious."
"Well, it's really delicious..." Oishi cleared his throat, his earlobes slightly red, "Kazama, I can only invite you back next time."
Feng Jian waved his hand to indicate that it was okay, looked at the wristband in Tao Cheng's hand, the label of which had been removed, and sighed, "I told you to buy things, so why did you open the packaging in the store?"
"Because I think this blue whale wristband is very suitable for Eiji-senpai, don't you think so, Kazama?"
Before Kazama could even open his mouth, Kikumaru immediately got furious, "I don't want that! I want the purple cat's!"
"Purple is too old-fashioned, blue is more beautiful!"
"A Tao puts it on herself!"
The two of them started arguing with each other, and while dancing around, they knocked over the shelves next to them, and the colorful wrist guards and sweat bands on the shelves fell to the ground with a clatter.
Taocheng was the first to react. He tried to pick up the tilted shelf in a hurry, but he slipped on the scattered wristbands and almost fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Kikumaru hurried to pull him, and the two bumped into each other again. When he finally managed to stand firm, most of the mango ice in his hand had spilled, dripping stickily onto the blue whale wristband.
The big stone beside him had already turned to stone, and Gan was even muttering to himself, "Momoshiro, Kikumaru, compensate for the losses in the store: ten sweatbands, twenty-six wrist guards, a total of..."
He pushed his glasses up and continued calmly recording: "According to my observation, these twenty-six wristbands can be used to test the effects of different sweat components on the wristband material..."
"Don't add weird experiments!" Momoshiro and Kikumaru shouted at him in unison.
"Stop arguing, the clerk is here."
Kazama gently tugged at Momoshiro's sleeve, and the two of them froze, frozen like quails with their necks pinched. Oishi bowed his head and apologized to the clerk, "I'm so sorry, we'll pick it up right away."
Gan stepped forward to help and suddenly said, "Please help me pack up these wristbands that fell on the ground. We will compensate for all losses."
The clerk's face suddenly turned from gloomy to bright, and he turned around with a smile to pack the things.
Dashi stared at Gan with wide eyes, "Agan, are you serious?"
"It's perfect for experimental material," Gan raised his phone. "I've contacted Tezuka about the cost. He happens to be working out nearby and is on his way here."
Everyone's movements paused.
Oishi's mouth hung open, the words stuck in his throat. Momoshiro's eyes glazed over. "I've contacted President Tezuka..." Kikumaru swallowed, "He's on his way here..."
Fengjian subconsciously looked down at his clothes. Fortunately, they were in line with his character.
The "nearby" Gan mentioned was truly close. Less than five minutes later, the half-closed shop door was pushed open, and a summer breeze blew in, accompanied by a low, "What are you doing?"
When Kazama turned around, he met the frowning brows of the man at the door. The collar of his light grey sportswear was slightly moved by the wind, and the strands of hair on his forehead cast a faint shadow in the sunlight. It was Tezuka who had just finished training.
"President Tezuka!" Momoshiro shouted in panic, like a primary school student caught doing something bad by his teacher. Kikumaru even shrank directly behind Oishi.
Tezuka's eyes swept over the mess on the floor, the torn packaging hanging on the shelves, and the wristbands stained with smoothies, and his brows frowned even more tightly: "Put everything in order and go to the front desk to check out." His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable sense of oppression, "Also, the training volume will be doubled next week.
"Eh!" Momoshiro and Kikumaru wailed in unison, but didn't dare utter another word. They obediently squatted down to pick up the scattered wristbands. Oishi quickly followed to help, muttering "I'm so sorry" over and over again.
Gan took advantage of the opportunity to speak: "Tezuka, according to my data, doubling the amount of sweat produced by training is just enough to complete the material testing experiment with these wristbands..."
"Rejected," Tezuka said calmly, his eyes falling on Kazama who was hiding behind Momoshiro and trying to reduce his presence, and he adjusted his glasses.
When checking out, Kazama paid extra for a wristband. Kikumaru could vaguely hear Daishi complaining softly while pulling her. Gen poked her arm and asked, "Who are you buying this for?"
Feng Jian had a blank expression on his face, "Can't you buy it for myself?"
Yuan was amazed, but his eyes glanced at something else, and he said in an ambiguous tone: "Girls also like men's black wristbands. April, your taste has changed a lot recently~~"
"Don't guess blindly." Fengjian took a few quick steps forward with a stern face. Yuan laughed secretly behind her and deliberately raised his voice: "I didn't say who I bought it for, why are you blushing?" Fengjian's ears became even hotter.
As a group of people, carrying large and small bags, pushed open the shop door, the Tokyo summer heat rolled in like a wave. Momoshiro pointed to the game hall across the street and suggested, "Let's go play King of Fighters. The loser gets ramen!"
"Okay, okay!" Kikumaru pushed the big stone inside. Kazama wanted to refuse, but was pushed in by Gen.
She looked at the flashing neon sign and suddenly realized that Tezuka had followed her in and was standing in front of the basketball machine, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the edge of the machine.
"Senior Tezuka also plays this?" Kazama asked in surprise.
The other person shook his head and looked at her: "You are not good at this?"
Feng Jian recalled how he couldn't even hold the game controller steadily in his previous life, and felt a little embarrassed: "Hmm... Not really."
As soon as he finished speaking, Taocheng ran over with the game coins in his hand: "Kazama! Team up with me to fight zombies! If you lose, you have to treat me to the delicious fried ice cream that Yuan mentioned!"
"Taocheng, don't bully April!" Yuan's helpless voice came through the crowd.
Before Kazama could react, she was shoved into a game cabin. The zombies on the screen howled and lunged at her, and she frantically pressed buttons, only to miss the "jump" button and hit "shoot," sending her bullets blasting into the ceiling.
"Idiot! Left, left!" Taocheng was jumping anxiously beside him.
As Kazama frantically fumbled, she caught a glimpse of Tezuka's face curling slightly outside the game room. The smile was faint, like the surface of a lake ruffled by the wind, but it suddenly jolted her heart.
The game ended, and a big "GAME OVER" popped up on the screen. Tao Cheng wailed and fell on the machine: "No way!"
Kazama took off his headphones and found that Tezuka had stood next to him at some point, while Momoshiro had already gone to squeeze Kikumaru and Oishi.
She scratched her head, suddenly remembered something, put the handle in his hand, turned and ran towards the counter, and came back a few minutes later with a box of game coins in her hand.
"Tezuka-senpai, do you want to try? This is my first time too," Kazama pointed at the game console, a look of unwillingness to admit defeat in his eyes, "But Momoshiro just called me an idiot, so I have to win back no matter what."
Tezuka's eyes fell on the silver coins in her arms, and he nodded imperceptibly.
Time flies in the arcade, the sound effects of fighting games blasting through the air, the neon lights casting colorful specks of light across the ground. By the time they exited the arcade, the sky was already tinged with orange. Momoshiro patted his stomach, his hunger flaring, as the group clamored towards the ramen shop. Kazama, walking last, watched Tezuka's back in front of him and suddenly noticed that his pace was slower than usual, as if he were waiting for someone.
She quickened her pace to catch up, walking side by side with him. The evening breeze blew her hair, bringing with it the aroma of the ramen shop in the distance.
"For next week's match," Tezuka suddenly said, "Is your record book ready?"
"Yes!" Fengjian nodded vigorously, "I guarantee it will be accurate!"
Tezuka nodded slightly, his tone softening, "Very good."
The streetlights came on one after another, stretching their shadows very long. She looked down at the black wristband in her hand and suddenly thought that maybe not staying at home on the weekend wouldn't be so bad.
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