MTL - Hello, How Long Has This Been Going On?-Chapter 51

After locking the door and walking down the narrow corridor with Huo Ran, Tao Zhiyue always felt like he was in a dream.

Surrounded by an all-too-familiar environment, but because of Huo Ran's appearance, everything seemed different.

"You counted the steps and walked up that day, and you counted fifty-two steps."

His voice echoed in the narrow stairwell.

"You forgot when you sobered up, but I remember."

"Now I've also stepped on the steps you counted."

Tao Zhiyue followed behind him, listening to him intently, and looked at the ordinary gray steps under his feet, which also took on a different color.

After leaving the residential building, some neighbors were walking their dogs and children in the community, and from time to time they looked at the strange face Huo Ran curiously.

Huo Ran is used to this kind of gaze, and he is still talking enthusiastically: "Shall we take the bus? I found the bus stop just now, it's very convenient, just turn left when you get out of the community."

"Did you come here this morning?"

"Yes, I took an early flight, and I slept well last night, so I'm not sleepy, and I'm very refreshed."

The more Tao Zhi thought about the timely reply after he woke up and sent a message, he couldn't help asking curiously, "Where were you when you were waiting for me to wake up? What if I wake up very late?"

"When you replied to me, I was shopping in the supermarket and I happened to see the white-stalked water spinach you mentioned. It looks delicious."

"I came directly from the airport and walked around. The living atmosphere is really good, and when you walk on the road, you will be very happy when you think that you have seen the same scenery."

"I saw supermarkets, convenience stores, and stations, all of which are very good, and there is a park a few minutes away from the community. I saw a lot of people walking there, so I also went to have a look."

"The scenery in the park is very good. Many people are exercising in the morning. There are white gardenias blooming everywhere, which is very fragrant."

Speaking of this, Huo Ran deliberately turned his face to the side, showing off: "I also met a three or four-year-old girl who praised me for being handsome."

Tao Zhiyue laughed when he heard this very familiar description: "Is she catching butterflies?"

"How did you know?" Huo Ran was surprised, "She stayed on the lawn, and when the butterflies flew over, she tried her best to flutter. Her hands were short and chubby. People passing by would laugh when they saw her, so cute."

Tao Zhiyue couldn't help but said: "Because she also praised me for being handsome."

"This kid is really discerning!" Hearing this, Huo Ran immediately concluded, "No wonder he's so cute."

"Are you praising me or yourself?"

"Of course it's a compliment!"

The trees on both sides of the street were shaded, shaking off mottled light spots on the ground, Huo Ran walked beside him, his brisk voice fell into the muggy summer air.

The sun is bright and hot.

Tao Zhiyue felt that this scene was very familiar, but he couldn't remember it.

It just felt like a dream come true.

They got on the bus together and sat shoulder to shoulder in the back seat, with the wind blowing in through the open windows.

All the things that Tao Zhiyue has experienced alone have been quietly refreshed, and another character has been added.

"There is only one train at this station, so take it out first, and then change trains. Taking advantage of this time, we can discuss where to go."

"I turned off the game yesterday and went to bed. I haven't had time to do the strategy." Tao Zhiyue was a little embarrassed, "I'm usually too homey, and I don't know much about Jinbei, so I can't think of where to go."

The content of couples going out on a date is actually very simple. The most common things are eating, shopping, watching movies, and some popular escape rooms, board games, playgrounds, etc. It depends on everyone's interests.

Jinbei City is famous for its delicious food, and most of its attractions are natural scenic spots, former residences of celebrities, etc., and there are no particularly interesting places.

"It's okay, I've done my homework!" Huo Ran said confidently, "This time I did my research seriously. The movies released recently are not good. The only one that was praised as good is marketing, so I won't watch the movie today."

"For dinner, we can go to Nanshan Road together in the evening, and I can recommend a lot of delicious food for you."

"What about the daytime?"

"During the day, of course it's playing games!" Huo Ran said firmly, "Yesterday there was no winner, but today it will be!"

Huo Wei's desire to win and lose never forgets his original intention.

When he came to the gate of the largest video game city in Jinbei City, Tao Zhiyue heaved a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, not to go to Internet cafes.

The last time Tao Zhiyue went to the video game city was when he was in junior high school, and he was taken there by his classmate who loved to follow the trends.

At that time, he was a nerd and didn't know how to play games. The deepest memory of this is that he accidentally mistook the game currency for coins when he was riding the bus.

Later, I no longer had such enthusiastic classmates, nor did I have the leisure to spend time in such a place.

And at this moment many years later, in the dazzlingly lit video game city, dynamic music is everywhere.

Huo Ran stood under the most dazzling light and waved to him excitedly.

It's like going back in time, and refactoring your life.

So he smiled back and walked forward quickly.

Huo Ran was buying game coins in front of the self-service coin buying machine, and Tao Zhiyue stood beside him, staring intently at the exit where the shiny game coins were spit out cracklingly.

Huo Ran secretly observed his expression: "You seem to be very happy."

"Well, very happy." Tao Zhiyue nodded.

"That's good, it seems that I chose the right one." Huo Ran was also happy, "You make games, you must like playing games, so I chose this place."

"It's a good choice." Tao Zhiyue asked him casually, "Would you accidentally use the game currency as a coin?"

Huo Ran looked at it carefully, "When you put it that way, it really looks like a dollar coin."

"I remember one time when I was a child, when I took the bus, I took the small round lottery coupons issued in elementary school as coins. I didn't do well in the exam that day. I was so panicked that I didn't notice that the hand felt wrong."

"The coupon is thicker than ordinary coins. I was distracted and tried to stuff it into the coin slot. I didn't realize it until the driver couldn't stand it anymore and said, kid, what are you doing."

"It's so embarrassing. I always insisted on going to and from school alone. From that day on, I gave up and asked the driver to pick me up honestly, because I was afraid of meeting that bus driver again."

In Huo Ran's emotion, Tao Zhiyue smiled until his eyes crooked: "You are so stupid."

He corrected: "I was stupid when I was a child, but I am not stupid now."

"Oh, the matryoshka that passed the security check..."

"Don't dolls!"

"Matryoshka is so cute, why don't you use nesting dolls?"

Huo Ran was speechless, he picked up the plastic bowl full of game coins in embarrassment, took his hand and walked into the crowd.

Tao Zhiyue was pulled by him, and his ever-warm warmth came from the palm of his hand again.

All the eyes of others have become the inconspicuous background color.

He thought for a while, and whispered in Huo Ran's ear: "No wonder the mosquitoes like you so much."

"I like you too."

Huo Ran's footsteps paused.

Fortunately, the lights here are gorgeous enough to hide the blushes of two people in the colorful colors.

Tao Zhiyue quickly changed the subject: "Let's go play shooting first, this time you can face-to-face one-on-one."

Huo Ran responded in a trance: "Okay."

Two people each occupied a basketball machine, and the coin toss began.

Tao Zhiyue basically doesn't play basketball, and his shots are not very accurate. He can hit once in two or three shots, but Huo Ran who is next to him is very accurate.

Tao Zhiyue looked at him and couldn't help but smile: "I can imagine that when you were young, you insisted on stuffing lottery tickets into the coin box."

Following the sound, Huo Ran turned his head a little bluntly, and threw the basketball into Tao Zhiyue's basket.

Actually hit.

The outside basketball rolled down, Tao Zhiyue picked it up and threw it back, his voice trembling with laughter.

"Own goal!"

It was only then that Huo Ran realized the stupid thing he had done, and turned his head back silently.

When Huo Ran woke up completely, they went to play rhythm music games, shooting games, and racing games.

In a normal state, Huo Ran is good at playing everything, and his motor nerves are particularly developed. When he beats the rhythm, he doesn't miss a single note, which attracts a lot of onlookers.

The same goes for shooting and racing. Tao Zhiyue is at the level of ordinary people, while Huo Ran is on top, surpassing all players by a full lap.

Seeing Huo Ran concentrating on the road ahead, Tao Zhiyue had a wonderful idea flash in his mind.

This is probably the only place where you can see Huo Ran "driving" with your own eyes without worrying about danger.

At the end of the game, Tao Zhiyue asked him: "Do you usually like to drive by yourself?"

"Generally speaking, I seldom drive by myself now because I can't get distracted." Huo Ran was immersed in the joy of speeding, "But I like to play the racing cars in the game, it's very exciting."

"Then we can come here often to play in the future."

Huo Ran's eyes lit up, "Do you also like to play? Then you can buy two machines and keep them at home, and you can play at any time."

...Almost forgot, Huo Ran also has the ability to make money.

The game coins were quickly used up, Huo Ran was very active to buy them, while Tao Zhiyue was holding a large pile of lottery tickets won from the game, and he was obsessive-compulsive, carefully sorting them into a pile of the same length.

As a result, when the lottery tickets were stacked, Huo Ran hadn't come back yet.

It can't be lost.

Tao Zhi got up to look for it, and after walking a few steps, he saw Huo Ran holding an empty plastic bowl, standing in front of a coin pusher that a stranger was playing with, watching intently.

He walked over curiously, wanting to see what attracted Huo Ran so much.

The gameplay of the coin pusher is very simple. Players only need to keep putting in the game coins. There will be random obstacles on the path where the game coins fall, resulting in various falling postures. If they can fall into the special entrance that is constantly moving, they can Trigger a sweepstakes.

The different patterns on the screen will be randomly arranged and combined during the lottery draw. If you are lucky and the same pattern arranged regularly appears, a large amount of game coins will drop into the machine as rewards.

All the game coins invested and rewarded will be accumulated in the game coin prize pool under the machine. Every time new game coins fall in, the shiny coins piled up in the hills will be pushed out, crumbling on the edge of the table, as if the next It can fall in pieces in seconds, roll out of the machine with a crash, and become the player's trophies.

The middle-aged man who is playing now has a very excited expression. The prize pool in the machine is already very high, and it seems that it will be pushed down in minutes, so he redoubles his efforts to stuff coins into the coin slot.

Unknowingly, Tao Zhiyue also became fascinated, staring intently at the game coins that were about to fall from the edge of the table.

He and Huo Ran occupied one side, watching the battle in the machine nervously, not daring to breathe.

A few minutes later, people were gradually filling up beside him and Huo Ran.

Some people are watching the exciting process of pushing coins, some people are watching them with their bright appearance, and some people like to watch people crowding.

The middle-aged man who finally triggered a large amount of game currency reward during the lottery draw satisfactorily put the tumbling game coins into a plastic bowl, looked back inadvertently, and was almost frightened by the crowd of onlookers.

Huo Ran followed him and turned back, also startled.

When he came back to his senses, he saw Tao Zhiyue who appeared beside him at some point.

The two looked at each other blankly and couldn't help laughing.

After having a casual lunch in the shopping mall, Tao Zhiyue and Huo Ran returned to the video game city with very unanimous opinions, and fought with the coin pusher all afternoon.

It was not until night fell that they reluctantly left the video game city and went to Nanshan Road, the most famous food street in northern Shanxi.

"I played three second prizes! I lost a lot of coins, but unfortunately the grand prize has never been triggered." Huo Ran couldn't forget, "It's strange that such a simple game can be played for so long."

"Because of randomness and the illusion that rewards are at your fingertips." Tao Zhiyue tried to analyze rationally, "Many games with simple gameplay are attractive because of this."

"It's the first time I'm so addicted to playing games." Huo Ran nodded, "It feels like gambling. I always feel that good luck will come in the next second and I can win all the rewards. Fortunately, my dad has always taught me that I must never touch those things. .”

"So don't trust your own self-control. This is the weakness of human nature."

"It makes sense. All the coins I won just now have been deposited into the membership card. It's really convenient. When will we come back next time?"

"Next weekend? You shouldn't be busy with work then."

"Okay, next week I will definitely hit the big prize!"

"I must have typed it out, your hands are too dark."

"I hit three second prizes!"

"But I hit seven."

"...When you hit the jackpot, we can use these coins to continue driving the car!"

"Speaking of which, with so many lottery tickets awarded, what should I exchange for?"

"I saw that special big teddy bear in the prize redemption area, let's change to that one, one for each of us."

"You are so childish."

"You just nodded!"

In the joy of playing games with your lover, rationality and self-control are not worth mentioning.