Love O2O: Getting to know you again, in real life

The Destination

(chapter post date 11/14/20)

Weiwei and Xiao Nai stand there at the shopping mall's mezzanine. And the computer science department's genius and basketball star can barely understand all his new feelings.

So instead, he just grabs Weiwei's wrist and says, "Come with me."

She scurries up to follow him. They're side by side again.

They're approaching one long end of the shopping mall. And Xiao Nai says,

"Here we are." He steadies Weiwei's shoulders and turns her around a corner.

They're standing in front of an arcade. There's neon light and the sounds of machines bleeping inside, and it's full of kids squealing and teens bent forward jamming the buttons on arcade game machines. There are boys trying to use claw machines to get their girlfriends stuffed animals. Weiwei almost laughs.

Further in, there are classic video game machines. Mortal Kombat. Pac-Man. Galaga.

Weiwei turns to Xiao Nai. And the beauty's eyes are gleaming with the happiness of a child. Nai breathes a sigh of relief inwardly.

I made the right choice bringing her here.

Weiwei almost runs forward, now grabbing his wrist.

Pulling him inside. They run toward the Mortal Kombat video game.

Turning to Xiao Nai, she says to him, "This was one of the first games I ever learned to play." Her eyes are glowing.

"No wonder you're so fierce in combat," Xiao Nai replies. "Your first game was a fighting game!"

"Let's PK?" asked Weiwei.

Nai laughs for a moment. "OK." Then he nods toward the counter. "I'll buy us game tokens."

"How about we split the cost?" says his goddess.

Xiao Nai shakes his head. He doesn't know anything about the rituals of going on dates. But he does know that he wants to give Weiwei all sorts of things.

He wants to buy her a phone. He wants to buy her more snacks. And dinners. And breakfasts. And clothes. Clothes and shoes from that "Pucci" or "Gucci" store they just walked past—

Whatever that store was named, he can't remember it name now. But he'd happily buy her anything from those boutiques, if she really wanted.

Moreover, he really really wants to buy her a house someday.

He loves that they share a virtual home together in Dreams of Jianghu and has already found himself imagining a next step...

... What would it be like to go home after work in real life, and have the front door opened by a radiant and smiling Weiwei?

He puts all those thoughts aside.

The first step is to buy video game tokens. So Xiao Nai says firmly to Weiwei, "No, we're not splitting. I'm buying."

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Weiwei watched as Xiao Nai's head moved through the crowd over to the cashier. There was a line. It seemed there was a couple up at the front that was arguing with the cashier. The girl kept pointing at a large white stuffed bear, and the cashier kept shaking his head and pointing at her prize tickets.

Xiao Nai smiled a wide goofy smile, from across the room. He was waiting in line, but he kept looking at Weiwei.

She felt suddenly shy, seeing his strangely happy face. She didn't want to disappoint him. He just looked so...

... smitten.

A year ago, he was the distant, cold genius and star athlete of the school. Now he was almost... a little defenseless around her. It made her stomach flip-flop, to think about how much things had changed. In some ways, it'd felt safer to see him aloof.

It'd been safe when he was a distant idol. Unattainable.

Now, seeing the famous senior Xiao Nai this goofy-looking and vulnerable ... because of herself?  it was almost like a rug was being pulled out from under her feet.

So Weiwei smiled back and gave a small wave. But then quickly turned her focus to Mortal Kombat, trying to ignore the fact that the guy who'd brought her here was still watching her with a smile, from across the crowded arcade.

Meanwhile, an older kid and a younger kid had walk up to the game machine.

The little kid said fiercely to the tall and wiry one, "If I beat you, you have to stop taking my allowance all the time. OK?"

The teen sneered. "Are you kidding!? There's no way you'll defeat me. I actually got on the leaderboard on this machine, like, last year."

"Fine," said the smaller kid. "Well I WILL beat you, older brother."

Weiwei watched with interest.

The older brother said, "I'm not even going to play you. It's just a waste of a token. I can't believe you're even here following us around."

"Just give me a chance!" said the little kid. "I've been practicing."

The older kid just snorted. He looked like he could be an older high school student. Maybe a bit just younger than Weiwei.

"Please!?" said the little kid.

Weiwei felt her protectiveness rushing in. She couldn't help herself, and stepped up behind the both of them. "Please, just let your brother play you," she said gently.

The big brother spun around. "Who are you?" He looked Weiwei up and down. Then he turned and said to his kid brother. "You can't even beat a girl like her! Why would you think you could beat me!?"

And with that, Weiwei's anger flared, inside. The punk's words touched a nerve. Why did everyone give her one glance and then assume she was terrible at video games?

These assumptions from strangers. They were non-stop. It was exhausting.

But Weiwei stayed calm on the outside.

"I tell you what, mister," she said. "If I can beat you, then you stop taking your brother's allowance, OK?"

He looked at her dismissively. "Waste of a token," he said, once again.

"I'll pay for it," she said. "How much is a token?" She took out twenty yuan and waved it at him.

The high-school punk stared at her through narrowed eyes.

Then he said, "I'm not going play a girl."

"What," said Weiwei. "You scared? If you can beat me so quickly, it'll just take a minute."

And with that she stood right at the console, next to the jerk, giving him a steady stare before turning her gaze to the screen.