The central air conditioning in the shopping mall was really powerful, and the moment I stepped through the doors, I felt a refreshing coolness, with the heat of the dog days unable to show its ferocity in this place.
"Let’s get you a new hair tie," Qin Guanglin suggested, seeing that she was still wearing the panda hair tie and seemed happy, but thought it was a bit childish, and a new one would be better.
He Fang reached back to pinch the panda, feeling quite satisfied. "Why change? This one’s fine."
"Get a better one."
"I like this one."
"..."
Well, if she likes it, let it be, he thought. A hair tie is just a hair tie; the more childish, the cuter.
They browsed from the first to the third floor together, and indeed, He Fang was all about looking without buying. She would pause at anything interesting, and just when Qin Guanglin was about to pick something up to pay for it, she would pull him away.
"The fun of shopping is just walking around and looking at things with someone you like. If I wanted to buy something, I could just do it online from my dorm; why bother going out?" He Fang argued convincingly.
"So you walk around all day and end up with nothing; isn’t that a waste of time?" Qin Guanglin, holding her hand, looked around aimlessly, seeking something interesting.
"Waste of time? Are you saying that going out with me is a waste of time?"
"No, I’m not, don’t talk nonsense."
"Hmph." He Fang hummed through her nose. "Let’s rest up ahead."
Up ahead was the rest area of this level, quite spacious and equipped not only with benches but also with three rows of massage chairs. Qin Guanglin leaned in to take a look and turned to ask, "Do you want to try it?"
"Insert coins." He Fang was already prepared to sit down.
He stuffed in ten yuan, pressed a few buttons, and the massage chair began buzzing into action. Qin Guanglin stood to the side, watching her curiously. "How is it, fun?"
"Mm..." He Fang frowned slightly and then relaxed, showing a look of enjoyment. "Not bad."
"I’ll try it too." He got ready to sit down all eager.
"Do your own thing."
He Fang pointed a finger at the claw machine next to them. "Win me a Doraemon."
"... waiting." Qin Guanglin scampered over to the claw machine to insert coins. "I’m not bragging, but with this thing, I just need to... my mistake, wait, I’ll go again."
The claw shook and missed everything.
This little gadget wasn’t as simple as he had thought.
He Fang slightly tilted her head, watching him bent over and struggling with the claw machine, a smile appearing in her eyes. "Just admit you’re no good at it," she said.
"This thing is rigged." Qin Guanglin frowned at the bunch of blue fat men inside and stuffed in another twenty yuan. "I don’t believe it, I’ll catch one today for sure."
The claw machine was programmed in such a way that the claw would loosen for a moment as it lifted, dropping the toy, and after several loosened attempts, it would give a firm grasp as a guaranteed catch mechanism, ensuring no one left completely empty-handed.
In other words, if one is willing to spend, even the worst technique could trigger the guarantee and succeed in a catch, and then accumulate attempts for the next.
Unbeknownst to these facts, Qin Guanglin was somewhat lucky, as the previous player had already accumulated a fair amount. When he spent sixty yuan, he triggered the guarantee and deftly caught the blue fat man and dropped it into the square hole.
"This thing really requires some effort to catch," Qin Guanglin admitted, a bit embarrassed after boasting too much and succeeding only after many tries, scratching his head as he handed the blue fat man to He Fang. "It’s quite cute, not bad."
"You caught it so quickly?" He Fang received it with surprise and poked Doraemon’s belly. "Wow, you’re amazing!"
"Are you mocking me?" Qin Guanglin felt that she was making fun of him.
Sixty yuan to catch it, amazing my foot.
"It’s really amazing," He Fang raised an eyebrow at him. "I’ve seen someone spend over two hundred yuan to get one."
"That person is just bad at it. To spend over two hundred yuan on such a trifle... tsk," Qin Guanglin instantly felt better. "Doesn’t seem too smart."
It doesn’t matter how much money is spent as long as someone spends more than you.
"Indeed not too smart," He Fang agreed with a nod, looking at him. "Really bad."
"..."
A prickle of discomfort struck Qin Guanglin’s heart, but on second thought, he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, so he simply sat next to her, inserted a coin, and experienced the massage chair for himself.
He had often seen the chairs but never sat in one, mainly because he didn’t have the time or inclination, but now he finally had the chance to try it, excitedly hitting the start button.
"Ouch." He got a jab in his back right from the start and had barely recovered when his neck was tightly gripped, so he hurried to find the switch to stop it.
No wonder she frowned at first; it really wasn’t fun.
He Fang glanced over when she heard him call out and saw him reaching for the switch, so she quickly covered it with her hand, "Don’t waste it."
"I can’t do this, I’m not sitting anymore."
"You have to sit." She kept holding the switch and wouldn’t let go, "You’ll feel comfortable in a minute."
"Sigh~"
...
...
"My back and waist are killing me." Qin Guanglin complained, rubbing his neck as he got up from the chair.
He Fang stretched her limbs comfortably, "Why wouldn’t I? It’s just that you haven’t exercised in a long time."
"I just exercised with you last week," Qin Guanglin glanced at her, "Maybe because you’re so petite that..."
"Ptui, what do you mean ’just exercised with me’." He Fang rolled her eyes and cut him off, "That’s called hiking, don’t make it sound so unpleasant."
"Eh~ What are you thinking about?" Qin Guanglin realized what she implied after her comment.
"What?" He Fang gave him a sideways glance.
"What?"
"Hmph, shameless."
...
Qin Guanglin shrugged his shoulders innocently, as if it had nothing to do with him.
"Let’s go, watch a movie." He Fang grabbed his hand and headed toward the escalator.
It wasn’t time yet, he could only think about it.
When they reached the outside of the mall, the heat hit them in the face. Qin Guanglin had taken out an umbrella as they were leaving, and now, with a snap, he opened it over He Fang’s head.
"So considerate." He Fang smiled and leaned towards him, it was these little things in life that felt the warmest.
"Just telling the truth." Qin Guanglin accepted her praise without reservation, "Let’s go see what good movies there are."
The summer screening had already begun at the cinema, and he had even done some research the day before, preparing for it. He’d wait and see how He Fang would choose, and if she didn’t, he’d make a suggestion, no problem.
Halfway to the cinema, He Fang suddenly turned, "This way."
"Where are we going?"
"To watch a movie." He Fang smiled at him and pulled him forward.
"The cinema is over..."
Qin Guanglin stopped speaking halfway through, realizing there was another cinema ahead.
Private cinema.
"Going to this one?"
"Yeah, this one." He Fang pulled him directly inside.
It was Qin Guanglin’s first time at such a cinema; he couldn’t help but be surprised after curiously paying and walking in.
Isn’t this just a hotel with a movie feature?
"Ah~" He Fang jumped onto the bed with an exclamation, "Here you can lie down and watch, isn’t that great?"
"Uh..." Qin Guanglin looked around, "It does seem pretty good."
Private cinema, so it was just a cinema with private spaces, seemed like it was made especially for couples?
"Come here." He Fang propped her head with her hand, lying on her side on the bed, and beckoned to him with her fingers.
"What’s up?" Qin Guanglin’s heartbeat sped up slightly, making sure the door was closed properly before he approached.
When he got close, He Fang pulled him onto the bed and, sitting on top of him, stared at him, "What do you think I want to do?"
"Can we..."
"No, I said we’re going to do it harshly, so we will do it harshly."
"..."