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by 陈年奶泡"I'd love to." Shi Boren stretched his arms. "With such a large villa, I have no idea how many years it would take me to save up for it."
Rustling.
The cardboard box was opened.
The television was new, wrapped in plastic, wide and large with a row of rotating volume buttons beside it.
Seeing the size of the TV, Gan Yizu offered to help. However, he was surprised to see Zhou Fengxu lift it on his own. "Brother Xu, be careful not to strain your back."
"No worries," Zhou Fengxu placed the TV on the coffee table.
Before anyone could turn around, Shi Boren jumped into position and probed curiously, "Brother Xu, where are you two with Ning Ning? Have you held hands?"
Gan Yizu was also intrigued and quickly joined in. "Yeah, how many dates have Brother Xu and Sister Ning been on?"
Feeling a bit awkward under his friends' scrutiny about his romantic progress, Zhou Fengxu replied, "No hand-holding or dating yet. I haven't even confessed my feelings."
For a moment.
Shi Boren froze, and after a moment, he finally reacted, placing his hand on Zhou Fengxu's shoulder. "What? You've liked Ning Ning for so long, but you haven't confessed yet?"
"There hasn't been a good opportunity," Zhou Fengxu replied, already clueless about relationships, compounded by the numerous cases in the Major Crimes Unit.
"Confessing needs a good opportunity? You can do it anytime, just say something like 'I like you, I want to spend my life with you.' It's simple."
Zhou Fengxu shook his head; he had more to consider.
Firstly, he was unsure if Ning Ning had any affection for him or if she held any aversion. A hasty confession could easily ruin their friendship.
Regardless of whether they could be together, he didn't wish to distance himself from Ning Ning.
Secondly, in his understanding, a relationship was a serious matter. He should give ample respect and space to the woman involved.
If he could be with Ning Ning, he hoped that every day would be significant and romantic.
Thus, the timing of a confession was crucial and couldn't be taken lightly.
"Ahh, it's really you guys." A sweet voice interrupted them.
Chu Yuening poked her head in and found that the three people in the living room were all looking at her. She blinked curiously, "What's going on? Are you discussing Star Wars?"
"We're discussing something else," Zhou Fengxu stood up. He glanced at the weather outside, where the sun was shining brightly in a clear sky.
"It's the weekend, let's not waste it. How about we go out and have some fun?"
At the mention of going out, Chu Yuening's brows relaxed into a smile, "Let's go!"
An hour later.
In Wan Chai, at the most renowned arcade, the sounds of intense gaming filled the air.
Four people, each with their own arcade machine.
Shi Boren held a bowl of oden, slurping loudly, "Ning Ning, the fish balls are delicious. You should try them."
Chu Yuening placed the paper bowl on top of the arcade machine, both hands busy controlling the game joysticks, leaving no time for eating.
Zhou Fengxu played the game with one hand, his gaze fixed on the arcade screen. He skewered a fish ball from Ning Ning's bowl and fed it to her, "Give it a try."
Chu Yuening devoured it in one bite, her gaze still fixed on the screen. Finally, a "KO" echoed.
She put down the game controller, pretending to be calm as she picked up the paper bowl, her heart actually pounding with excitement. The corners of her lips couldn't help but curve upward.
Arcade games were incredibly entertaining! No one had ever told her that gaming could be so thrilling.
Unable to contain herself, she turned to the man sitting beside her with a relaxed expression, "Officer Zhou, I beat you. You may excel in sports, but when it comes to games, you're no match for me."
Zhou Fengxu released the game controller and gazed at the defeated character on the screen, "Yes, you did win."
Upon seeing the smile on Chu Yuening's face, he also couldn't help but smile.
He felt that losing this round was worth it.
"Let me, let me!" Shi Boren eagerly approached with his paper bowl.
Seeing him come over, Zhou Fengxu made space and moved to sit beside Chu Yuening.
Shi Boren placed the paper bowl on the game console, rolled up his sleeves, and declared, "Wrestling King, I'm an expert. I don't believe you can beat me now."
Zhou Fengxu sat behind, holding a tray of oden, skewering fish balls with a long stick and feeding them one by one.
Two hours later.
Shi Boren slumped on a arcade machine in despair, "Heavens, how can a novice defeat a ten-year veteran? That's unjust. Ning Ning, you've been hiding your gaming prowess all along, haven't you?"
"Not at all," Chu Yuening chewed the fish balls, blinked, "I've never played any games before."
In this modern era, with daily fortune-telling and feng shui consultations, where would she find the time to play?
"I can still give it another try, I don't believe I can't win even once out of so many rounds." Shi Boren picked himself up again, only to have his shoulder tapped. He turned to see Zhou Fengxu's handsome face, smiling.
"Don't embarrass yourself, if you're not tired, she is."
Shi Boren's heart was utterly crushed. He grumbled as he followed behind, "Brother Xu, you weren't like this before."
It was already dark.
After a day of fun, as they were on their way back home, they passed by a cemetery.
Shi Boren's playful expression suddenly froze. He looked at the graves in the forest and said, "Brother Xu, I want to go in and see my parents."
Zhou Fengxu replied, "Let's go together."
The four of them soon stood before the Shi family's graves.
Shi Boren crouched down and smiled at his parents' photos on the tombstones. "Dad, Mom, the trial hasn't ended yet. I was planning to wait until Lei Zizheng was convicted before I told you this."
"But I can't wait any longer."
He leaned closer to the tombstone, embracing it with both arms as his eyes moistened. "When I was little, and other kids at the orphanage would bully me, I would come here to find comfort, to look at your faces when I was sad."
He hadn't had an easy time at the orphanage.
Due to his traumatic experience of witnessing his family being killed, he was quite introverted, which led to him and Shi Pingzhi being ostracized by the other children.
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