Chapter 570: Chapter 570

They had changed into their casual clothes before leaving school because wearing uniforms was too conspicuous and the game arcade reeked of cigarette smoke, which would easily cling to their clothes. So today, Yiyi opted for a white cotton vest over a black cotton hooded sweatshirt, paired with baggy cotton-padded black track pants, white sneakers, and her hair pulled up in a carefree and stylish bun. Lastly, she slung a cute little black backpack over her shoulders, a wonderful understatement.

Black and white have always been fashionable colors. In the chilly early spring, Yiyi wore her fleece-lined sweatshirt for warmth. Not thinking one was enough, she added a white vest. She wasn’t a fan of jeans, so she usually wore sportswear, leading Aunt Ma to believe that she preferred sporting attire. In reality, she did indeed like it slightly more, a perfect match for her taste, demonstrating the keen observation of mother and son.

Yiyi had bold brows and large eyes and lived in an era without cosmetics or skincare products. She went with a natural bare-faced look daily. Her thick dark hair gleamed with natural luster and youthful innocence. If she ever chose to adorn her face, she would undoubtedly be a beauty.

Since starting high school, her life had stabilized and she had occasionally indulged in extra snacks, which had caused her to gain quite a bit of weight, rounding her face with baby fat. This made her appear both charmingly naive and cute. So, when she stood munching on chips between Lin Mu and Zhou Mo watching them ride motorcycles, the boys who recognized them couldn’t help but ask about her relationship with them.

Clearly, Lin Mu was well acquainted with many people there, seeming like a regular. There were fewer who knew Zhou Mo, but still some. Did these two good students also give themselves the chance to let loose and have fun?

It must be said, boys had a natural advantage when it came to gaming. Observing how transfixed they were made her envision, decades later, them as middle-aged men lounging on sofas, greasily playing games on their phones with the same concentration.

Because they had been seriously playing that same game, she got bored. So, she took a few Game Coins and went over to try the dance pad instead, jumping around. Unfortunately, she had never played before and felt completely out of sync, unable to keep up with the rhythm. After a few tries, she had burned through her handful of Game Coins in no time.

Just as she was about to step off, Zhou Mo, who had come over at some point, asked, "Do you want to try this? I can teach you!"

Yiyi quickly shook her head, "No, no, my reaction time is too slow; I can’t keep up. What’s upstairs?"

The gaming arcade was quite large, with two floors. While playing, she had noticed quite a few students heading upstairs, making her curious about what was up there.

"Upstairs is an indoor skating rink. Do you know how to skate?"

Skating, Yiyi admitted with an awkward expression, "No, I don’t."

"Come on, I’ll teach you." Zhou Mo casually grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the stairs. Yiyi thought of Lin Mu, "Shouldn’t we tell him?"

"No need, he’s busy competing with someone. He’ll call if he can’t find us."

Right, both of them had Xiao Lingtong, which were actually quite affordable at several hundred yuan each. She didn’t think they were that useful, so she planned to buy a mobile phone before graduation. After all, she would need a contact number for the national college entrance exam — she couldn’t leave it blank, could she?

Compared to the noisy floor below, the music upstairs was blaring, and the rotating lights made Zhou Yiyi a bit dizzy. It cost ten yuan per hour here, and on weekends, one had to buy a ticket. Thinking how it always seemed to involve spending money, she quickly pulled out her wallet, "I have money, let me treat you, okay?"

Zhou Mo saw her anxious expression, thought for a moment, and stepped aside. Zhou Yiyi sighed in relief and happily paid the money. As she was putting on her skates, Zhou Yiyi thought, "Should we call Lin Mu up here too?"

"No need, he’s not very interested in this. Do you know how to wear them? Can I help you?"

"Ah, no need, I can do it myself."

Zhou Yiyi took her own size, bent down to put on her skates, and then stood up immediately. She forgot that the shoes would slide on their own, shrieked, and lurched forward, but fortunately, Zhou Mo reacted quickly and caught her, which caused her to end up in his arms.

Zhou Yiyi blushed deeply, "Sorry, sorry, I forgot."

"It’s okay, everyone does at the start. Stand up and get used to it for a while. When you feel you can slide around, we’ll go inside. There are handrails inside where you can slide slowly."

They left their snacks at the front desk. Zhou Yiyi’s motor skills weren’t too bad. She got used to the speed and feel of the rollers at the spot and then, with Zhou Mo’s support, entered the rink. Inside, it was filled with young men and women. Some were dancing in the center—those were the skilled ones. A bit further out, mostly pairs of men and women holding hands, their pace slow, focused on practicing. As for those clinging to the barriers on the outermost rim, they were complete beginners. Mostly it was girls who didn’t know how to skate, while the boys, with stronger sports skills, could stand and skate on their own after fumbling for a while. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⸺fire.net

Zhou Yiyi initially wanted to hold onto the railings with both hands, but Zhou Mo held one of her hands and had her hold the railings with the other, instructing her to watch his feet and follow his rhythm.

The music inside was loud, and the lights dazzled, making her dizzy, but the floor was very smooth, and following Zhou Mo’s pace made her catch on quickly. However, occasionally stepping too big or moving too fast made it easy to stumble. Zhou Mo, thrown off by her movements, lost his footing when she sheepishly waved at him; suddenly, a girl behind them fell. Being too close, Zhou Yiyi screamed and leaned back, looking like she was about to fall flat. Zhou Mo spun around, pulling her towards him. Her whole body leaned against him, crashing heavily into the wall behind. After reaching the handrail, they both halted precariously.

Zhou Yiyi kept patting her chest, "My goodness, that was close. Lucky you reacted fast, otherwise I would have ended up sitting on that girl’s head!"

If she had really sat on someone and injured them, whose fault would it have been? Just thinking about it scared her. This little incident also made Zhou Yiyi feel that this place was a danger zone; she couldn’t continue practicing any longer.

Zhou Mo then got her through the hour, and they finally went downstairs. It was already seven in the evening. As they reached the bottom, Lin Mu was still playing, seemingly oblivious that they had gone upstairs for a round.

"Hey, Lin Mu, we should get going." Zhou Yiyi patted Lin Mu’s shoulder and turned around, only to be greeted by a girl with heavy smokey makeup and an explosive hairstyle yelling at her.

"Hey, what are you doing? We were having a good time. Why leave? Lin Mu, don’t listen to her. Sit down, let’s continue the PK. I don’t believe I can’t beat you!"