Chapter 52

Chen Chun was speechless. “…Then you’re quite talented.”

As it turned out, a person could drink eight cups of water a day, but two cups of milk tea were genuinely impossible.

After the meal, Lin Linya only managed to finish the milk tea his junior had given him. He held the cup Chen Chun had bought for him, pretending to sip from the straw as they strolled to digest their food.

Chen Chun saw right through this and let out a loud, mocking laugh. Lin Linya played deaf and dumb, completely ignoring it. He even tilted his head and asked with feigned concern, “What’s wrong? Throat feeling scratchy?”

Chen Chun retorted sarcastically, “It’s nothing. I’ll just get better after drinking eight cups of milk tea.”

Some people who didn’t drink had already headed straight to the arcade upstairs. At Lin Linya’s table, a few boys had been chatting non-stop; they were too polite to leave first, which was why they were only getting there now. After a quick walk around revealed only clothing and specialty shops, the two of them went straight to the top floor by elevator.

The top floor of this shopping complex housed the arcade and a movie theater. The arcade was quite large, the best in this area, and since it was a weekend, it was predictably very crowded.

They waited in line and bought a hundred tokens. Chen Chun was promptly dragged off by Lin Linya to the claw machines.

Most of the people clustered around the dozen or so claw machines were couples or besties. Pairs of guys like them were a rare sight. Chen Chun, with his tall, muscular build and somewhat fierce buzz cut, looked particularly out of place among the dreamy, pinkish-purple lit machines.

Lin Linya did a full circuit before settling on one specific machine. He pressed his palms against the glass, eyes lighting up. “I want this one.”

A girl standing nearby overheard him and looked over curiously.

What greeted her sight was a tall, pale, handsome guy draped over the claw machine’s glass. The lines of his profile were smooth, his forehead full. He looked like he’d stepped right out of a comic, his focused, unblinking gaze fixed on the plushies inside.

The girl screamed internally.

Wasn’t this exactly the type that would charm her out of her last penny?!

Just imagine: a gorgeous boyfriend like this, looking at you with longing eyes, going, “Big sister, I want this one.” She figured that before her brain even registered it, her hand would already be out with her bank card. “My PIN is 1…”

Dizzily, she looked towards the plushie the handsome guy wanted, wondering what kind of little plushie could earn his interest.

When she got a good look, the corners of her mouth, which had been curling up uncontrollably, suddenly drooped. The light in her eyes went out, replaced by an eerie, abyssal calm.

Chen Chun had been leaning against a wall with his legs crossed, idly tossing a game token up and down. Hearing Lin Linya, his unfocused gaze shifted to the plushie, and he instantly felt dizzy.

He couldn’t help but complain, “So many machines, and you had to pick the absolute ugliest one?”

No wonder this claw machine was deserted. The other machines were filled with cute little bunnies, little pandas, little kittens. Only the one Lin Linya had his eye on was full of green, big-mouthed frogs. The frogs had ridiculously long legs, vacant expressions, and tongues lolling out. To top it off, they sported mohawk-like hairstyles, so ugly Chen Chun wanted to immediately check the designer’s mental state.

Lin Linya disagreed. “What do you know? I definitely wouldn’t want a plain ugly one. But one that’s this outrageously ugly? I have to get it.”

He’d already counted out 18 tokens from their little basket and stacked them neatly atop the machine. “Three tokens a try, six tries. Can’t I get it by then?” he muttered to himself.

No sooner were the words out than he smoothly slotted three tokens in. “Let me tell you, these mall claw machines have a trick. The claw starts out tight, but then right as it reaches the drop zone, it suddenly loosens.”

“It’s all about a clever flick, see? It’s not enough to just grab it.”

Lin Linya spouted theory after theory. Chen Chun watched from the side, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and his arms folded.

Seconds later, the hook descended, clamped onto the big-mouth frog’s head, then abruptly slackened its grip and gracefully departed.

Lin Linya: “…”

He fed in another three tokens, stubbornly saying, “I was just getting a feel for it, familiarizing myself with this particular machine’s mechanics. This time, I’ll definitely get it.”

Chen Chun snorted. “I don’t believe you.”

The dazzling pink and purple lights were dizzying. The urgent beat of the intense electronic music pounded against their eardrums. The sounds of people chatting and laughing around them all faded further and further away, like background music in a movie setting a mood.

Today was the day Chen Chun’s crush ended. He thought he should be feeling dejected, maybe off somewhere having a few drinks alone, lamenting his college life utterly devoid of romantic luck.

Instead, here he was, playing claw machines with a close, pretty boy, unable to wipe a silly grin off his face.

Lin Linya figured he was pretty clever. This time, instead of the frog’s head, he tried grabbing the tag on the frog to hook it up. But just as the claw neared the exit chute, it jolted violently, and the frog dropped.

In the end, eighteen tokens were gone, and not a single frog was caught.

Lin Linya said sourly, “This machine is rigged.”

With malicious intent, he resorted to the classic ‘can’t have it so I’ll scorn it’ tactic. “The big-mouth frog is super ugly anyway. I don’t even want it anymore.”

Chen Chun asked if he wanted to try a few more times. Lin Linya looked reluctantly at the frogs inside the machine and shook his head. “I still want to play other things. It’s fine if I can’t get one.”

A racing game right next to them happened to have an open seat. Lin Linya put in a few tokens and played a round. When he finished and came off the game, Chen Chun was nowhere to be seen. He walked around in a full circle but couldn’t find him. Passing by another machine, he saw a familiar crowd gathered.

Curious, he walked over. A few guys at the front, arms slung around each other’s shoulders, turned and saw it was him. They automatically parted to the sides, making room.

Before them was a giant coin pusher machine.

Lin Linya wasn’t surprised people liked playing this. What surprised him was the tall, slender guy standing in front of it.

Lu Qingyuan looked up, watching the images jumping and changing on the screen. A constant stream of tokens clattered down from the screen, creating a crisp, crashing sound. His watch-bearing hand rested on the button. His other hand braced against the game panel, veins prominent on the back of his curling hand.

Compared to the other loud, boisterous guys, the actual player was much calmer, even indifferent. His strong, straight nose and detached gaze made him appear aloof. When another boy next to him shouted something loudly, Lu Qingyuan frowned, glancing at him with displeasure.

Lin Linya was a bit surprised that Lu Qingyuan enjoyed this type of chance-based game. Saying nothing, he curiously lingered to watch for a while.

He could hear the guys next to him murmuring quietly. “How many tokens did he put in?”

“Dunno, seems like almost thirty. The numbers at the bottom are all stacked up.”

As soon as that was said, the guy beside Lu Qingyuan whooped. “Holy crap, Bro Lu is a beast!”

Tokens cascaded noisily into the payout tray. He opened the coin door and excitedly scooped handful after handful into his basket, which was full in no time. Someone who didn’t know how the coin pusher worked slung an arm around his shoulder and asked enviously, “Dude, how many did you get out?”

The guy, Lu Qingyuan’s roommate, laughed loudly. “Three hundred tokens.”

Lu Qingyuan hadn’t even glanced at them. He looked down, feeling very bored and weary. He was idly flexing a stiff wrist when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“That many? So impressive.”

He abruptly looked up. The delicately featured young man was standing amidst the group of guys, chatting with them. Noticing Lu Qingyuan’s gaze, he turned and waved.

They were all guys around the same age, so naturally no one minded a little physical contact in the crowd. Or perhaps they subconsciously wanted to be closer to him, captivated by his affectionate, kitten-like eyes.

Lu Qingyuan walked over, grabbing Lin Linya’s wrist and pulling him out of the crowd. No one else minded; the moment Lu Qingyuan vacated the spot, another eager guy immediately jumped in, daydreaming about hitting a big reward just like Lu Qingyuan.

Thinking Lu Qingyuan had something to tell him, Lin Linya docilely followed. Only when they were away from the crowd did Lu Qingyuan turn and lower his gaze to look at him.

“Senior Brother, it’s been so long since the last shoot. I missed you. Did you miss me?”

Lin Linya probably didn’t know Lu Qingyuan had been at the bar that night either. Lu Qingyuan didn’t bring it up, treating this as a reunion after a long time apart.

“Uh…”

In Lin Linya’s mind, he wasn’t really that close with this finance junior. He was a little puzzled but didn’t argue.

Lu Qingyuan smiled. He still hadn’t let go. The wrist in his palm was slender and fragile; the delicate, smooth skin was like a handful of fresh snow. A wrist like this should be incapable of resistance.

“Is there anything Senior Brother wants to play? I’ll keep you company.”

Just as Lin Linya was about to refuse, Lu Qingyuan cut him off. “Next time, may I trouble Senior Brother to model for me? I’ve been lacking inspiration for recent shoots. As thanks, tonight’s on me.”

He leaned in closer. “Please, Senior Brother.”

Lin Linya guessed Chen Chun had maybe run into a very pretty junior schoolmate and was off chatting with her. So he reluctantly nodded. “Alright, I was just about to play a shooting game. Want to come?”

The two arrived at the AR shooting machines, but only one single-player unit was left. Lu Qingyuan said very understandingly, “Senior Brother, go ahead. I’m a bit tired from the coin pusher. I’ll wait right here.”

Lin Linya gave him a small smile. “Okay.”

Lu Qingyuan stepped back and watched. Lin Linya put on the white AR headset. The screen displayed a zombie scene, and he raised the gun to react frantically. With the headset and earmuffs on, the small face only showed a sliver of his pale chin, his little mole, and his full, red, slightly pursed lips.

Lu Qingyuan didn’t pay much attention to how well Lin Linya played. His attention was entirely on the waist glimpsed through the oversized short sleeves whenever he lifted his arms, and the pale legs below his shorts.

If Lin Linya hadn’t sealed his five senses, he would probably have noticed the straightforward, appraising gaze of this clean-cut, polite junior.

Lu Qingyuan, one hand in his pocket, was watching Lin Linya play when his peripheral vision caught Chen Chun not far away. Chen Chun looked like he was searching for someone, an ugly frog plushie in his hand and a restless, irritated look on his face.

Lu Qingyuan knew Chen Chun. This self-proclaimed straight guy was Senior Brother’s classmate. He always seemed to show up around Lin Linya. The two were very close, a closeness that was irritating.

Just then, Lin Linya finished his shooting game and took off the headset and earmuffs. Emerging from the 5D game, he was still dizzy and disoriented. He stumbled as he stepped off the machine. Fortunately, his attentive junior caught him by the shoulders, pulling him into his arm.

Not far away, Chen Chun stopped in his tracks.

Lu Qingyuan used his fingertips to gently massage Lin Linya’s temples, then handed him a bottle of water and softly patted his back to soothe him. His tone was laced with amusement. “Are you feeling alright, Senior Brother?”