The best of three rounds naturally went to Qin Tian.
Although the "Akina Mountain car god" was a bit of a letdown and really wanted to go easy, he couldn't help but find himself up against Xia Nuannuan, who was a total black hole in gaming. Not only did she keep crashing into walls, but she also kept veering off in the wrong direction as she played.
Let alone giving her a twenty-second head start, even twenty minutes wouldn't have made a difference.
"Aaaah, I'm not playing this anymore, it's too hard! Let's go, let's do something else," Xia Nuannuan said in frustration.
"Don't forget the milk tea," Qin Tian reminded her with a chuckle.
"Got it," Xia Nuannuan replied, rolling her eyes playfully.
Then, the two of them went to play other games.
Zombie shooting, water gun fights, the classic King of Fighters, Knights of Valour...
They played all sorts of games one after another. Even though Xia Nuannuan wasn't very good, she had a blast just mashing buttons, her pretty face always sporting a cheerful smile.
Xia Nuannuan's current looks and figure were undeniable.
Her lively and cute demeanor at this moment had also attracted a lot of attention.
If they hadn't been holding hands all along, looking like a couple, someone surely would have come up to strike up a conversation.
At this moment, they arrived at the basketball arcade game.
An arcade staff member stood nearby, holding a pile of red sachet amulets.
On the wall behind her, a poster announced an event: score over a thousand points in the basketball game, and you'll win a high school entrance exam amulet as a prize.
"Nuannuan, do you want this amulet? I'll give it to you?" Qin Tian asked, looking at Xia Nuannuan.
Xia Nuannuan's eyes lit up, and she nodded like a pecking chicken. She then glanced at the event announcement and said, "But this seems really difficult, doesn't it?"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely get it for you!" Qin Tian smiled confidently and asked the staff member, "We're both in our third year of high school, but we don't have our student IDs. Can we still participate in this event?"
"Yes, you can," the woman in the work uniform replied with a smile.
"That's good then," Qin Tian nodded and looked at Xia Nuannuan behind him. "Why don't you play first?"
"I don't know how, I definitely won't win the prize," Xia Nuannuan said, waving her hands repeatedly.
"It's okay, just treat it as playing for fun. We still have plenty of game tokens!" Qin Tian smiled and moved aside.
"Alright!" Xia Nuannuan nodded, walked forward, put in two game tokens, and started shooting hoops.
She truly seemed to have no idea what she was doing. Her shooting posture was off, and she missed the hoop with both of her first two shots. In a way, she was also quite remarkable.
As a result, she didn't even pass the first level before running out of tokens, scoring a mere 12 points. She had accidentally gotten a few shots in by chance.
"I'm so bad!" Xia Nuannuan blushed a little, feeling embarrassed, and said to Qin Tian beside her.
"It's okay, I'll teach you the shooting posture. You need to do it like this." Qin Tian picked up a basketball that hadn't been used yet and demonstrated the standard shooting posture for her. Then, he switched to a two-handed shooting posture and continued, "If you don't have enough strength, you can shoot like this."
Xia Nuannuan nodded thoughtfully.
"You try it," Qin Tian handed her the basketball.
Xia Nuannuan imitated the two-handed shooting posture he had just shown her and asked, "Like this?"
"There's a slight issue," Qin Tian stood behind her and raised his hand to help her correct her ball-holding posture. During this process, their bodies were almost touching, and Xia Nuannuan could even feel Qin Tian's warm breath blowing past her ear. Her cheeks quickly began to feel hot, and her head felt a little dizzy.
"That's it," Qin Tian, however, was not distracted. After helping Xia Nuannuan correct her posture, he noticed her face, which was as red as if it were about to bleed, and immediately realized the situation.
"Oh!" Xia Nuannuan responded shyly.
"Cough cough... um, try it again!" Qin Tian cleared his throat, pretending to be calm as if nothing had happened, and put in two tokens.
Xia Nuannuan bobbed her head and continued shooting hoops. This time, her posture was much better, but perhaps due to being a little distracted, she still failed to pass the first level.
Next to them was another couple, but they looked to be in their twenties and weren't students. The man had already shot several times, failing at the third or fourth level each time, still a bit short of a thousand points. The woman behind him was holding his jacket, her attention not on her boyfriend, but on Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan. The two of them were so striking in appearance, and more importantly, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, they looked very well-matched. Having witnessed everything that had just transpired, the innocent and beautiful affection revealed in their interactions made her unconsciously reminisce about her own lost youth. Her current boyfriend had been introduced to her by her family not long ago. She didn't have a great deal of affection for him, but she felt that his overall conditions were quite suitable, so they had been dating for a while.
"Ah, it really is a bit difficult!" the man said with a wry smile as he failed at the fourth level again.
The woman snapped back to attention and said with a gentle smile, "Then let's stop. You're sweating all over. Wait a moment." As she spoke, the woman took out a pack of tissues from her bag and handed them to him. "Wipe your sweat!"
"Sure!" The man took the tissues with a smile, wiped his sweat, and said, "It's because I play basketball less now, and my physical fitness isn't as good. Back when I was studying, this wasn't difficult at all."
"Yes, you've already done very well to reach the fourth level," the woman agreed with a smile.
"No, I need to drink some water and rest before continuing. I must get this amulet for you today, so you can give it to your cousin," the man said with determination, picking up the bottle of mineral water placed beside him.
The woman smiled, touched and a little helpless. "Perhaps we should just give up!" She had thought of her cousin, who was about to take the college entrance exams this year, after seeing those amulets. Little did she know, when her boyfriend learned of the situation, he insisted on getting it for her.
"No, no, no, trust me, I can do it," the man said confidently after taking a sip of water.
"Qin Tian, you should do it," Xia Nuannuan said to Qin Tian.
"It's okay, why don't you play a bit longer!" Qin Tian smiled.
"I'm not playing anymore. My arm is a little sore, and this is really too difficult," Xia Nuannuan smiled and gave up her spot.
"Alright, then I'll do it. I'll get this amulet for you."
"Mhm, mhm." Putting in two game tokens, Qin Tian started shooting hoops. Unlike the motorcycle game before, with his current physical condition, playing this shooting game gave him a significant advantage. Moreover, he knew how to play basketball, and his skills were considered quite good among amateurs. He also had a level 2 skill on his system skill bar. Qin Tian shot the ball very quickly, the sound of the ball entering the net was rhythmic, and his movements and posture were pleasing to the eye. By the end of the first level, he hadn't missed a single shot, and his score had already exceeded one hundred.
"Wow, amazing! So cool, keep going, keep going!!" Xia Nuannuan's bright eyes seemed to sparkle with countless little stars as she clapped her hands joyfully and cheered him on.