Walking through the arcade area, the sounds of machines echoed endlessly around them.
Rows of flashing lights turned on and off in sequence. Music and electronic effects overlapped, creating a chaotic noise that made it hard to even tell where anything was coming from.
Yet Xia Jiuwei seemed completely unaffected.
She kept peeking around curiously, swaying from side to side.
“What’s this one for?”
She turned back to ask, her tone genuinely curious.
Before anyone could answer, she leaned in closer on her own.
Like a child.
Lu Nian’an stood beside her.
Silent.
Just watching.
Watching her run through the shifting lights, watching her stop for every small novelty.
That focus—
didn’t feel like she was “playing.”
It felt more like she was confirming something.
Her gaze softened slightly.
She didn’t interrupt. Didn’t rush her.
She just followed behind.
As if guarding something fragile—
something that might disappear if she looked away for even a moment.
After a quick look around, Xia Jiuwei quickly locked onto something.
Her eyes lit up. She grabbed Lu Nian’an’s wrist and almost dragged her toward a machine.
“This looks super fun!” she said excitedly, pointing at it. “It plays music and rhythm games, and look—it’s round! So cute!”
The machine lit up in shifting colors. Its circular design was indeed eye-catching.
Lu Nian’an glanced at it and nodded slightly.
“This is maimai. You can register a card to save your records.” Her tone was calm and familiar. “Want to make one together?”
“Yeah!”
After a quick setup, they each got a card and inserted it into the machine.
“I’ll pick the first song!” Xia Jiuwei said eagerly.
She quickly selected a track she liked—but paused at the difficulty screen.
“Expert… Master… which one should I choose?”
She frowned slightly, hesitating.
“Start with Expert,” Lu Nian’an said from the side, steady as always. “Each song has three rounds. Take it slow.”
“Fair.”
The music started.
The moment the rhythm dropped, Xia Jiuwei’s movements were sharper than expected.
Taps, slides, transitions—smooth and almost uninterrupted.
When the song ended—
—Full Combo.
“Huh? That was pretty easy,” she said with a smug little smile.
“My turn.”
Lu Nian’an spoke calmly and selected her song.
She immediately chose—Master.
The difficulty spiked.
Faster rhythm. Denser patterns.
But her movements remained steady.
Composed, even.
When the final note ended—
The screen displayed the result.
—All Perfect.
“……”
Xia Jiuwei froze for two seconds, then frowned.
“Hey, that’s unfair!” she complained, though her tone was clearly half-laughing.
“Again.”
Third round. Both of them played side by side.
Same song. Master difficulty.
The music started again.
“You’re a beat behind,” Lu Nian’an said casually while playing.
“I’m keeping up!” Xia Jiuwei insisted.
The rhythm accelerated. Xia Jiuwei’s movements started to slip.
“Aah— I messed up again! There’s no way I’m getting All Perfect now!”
Lu Nian’an glanced at her, her expression shifting slightly.
A competitive instinct surfaced.
“I’ll help you.”
“Huh?”
Before Xia Jiuwei could react—
Lu Nian’an had already moved behind her.
The distance vanished instantly.
She reached out, gently holding Xia Jiuwei’s wrist, guiding her movements in sync with the rhythm.
“Here—follow the beat.”
Her voice was low, almost right beside her ear.
Xia Jiuwei froze.
Her ears turned red almost instantly.
She could clearly feel it—
the warmth behind her, the breath, the hand guiding her movements.
The rhythm she should have been focusing on blurred away.
Instead, her heartbeat became the clearest thing.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Louder and louder.
Lu Nian’an noticed it too.
That flush spreading from her ear downward.
And her own heartbeat began to lose rhythm as well.
The song ended.
The results screen lit up.
But neither of them moved away.
They stayed like that—forgotten, or unwilling to break apart.
After a brief silence—
“…Another round?” Xia Jiuwei asked quietly.
“…Mm.” Lu Nian’an replied.
She inserted another coin.
One song. Two songs. Three songs.
Time stretched.
But the distance between them never widened again.
Until people around them began to notice.
Someone nearby glanced over and lowered their voice, laughing.
A quiet voice came from nearby.
A faint whisper of “yuri…” drifted from somewhere behind them.
“They’re literally playing while hugging…”
Whispers spread like waves.
Only then did they seem to snap back to reality.
They separated at the same time.
And stepped back at the same time.
Their eyes met briefly—then quickly looked away.
The air still held a lingering warmth.
“…Let’s go to the next one,” Xia Jiuwei said first, slightly flustered.
“Okay,” Lu Nian’an replied calmly.
But as she turned, her fingers tightened slightly.
As if holding back something—
something that had almost crossed a line.
The rest of the time felt slightly dreamlike.
Lights still flashed. Music still roared.
They moved between machines—
fighting games, shooters, racing games, even flight simulators.
They laughed.
They teased each other.
Everything looked normal.
And yet—
something had clearly changed.
When Xia Jiuwei played a racing game, her gaze occasionally drifted sideways.
Lu Nian’an remained focused, steady as ever.
As if—
nothing had happened at all.
“….”
Xia Jiuwei bit her lip and looked away.
But something in her chest felt slightly unsettled.
—Why am I the only one thinking about it?
On the other side, Lu Nian’an pulled the trigger. The enemy ship exploded on screen.
Her expression remained calm.
But her rhythm was slightly off.
She knew exactly what she had done.
And she understood what that distance meant.
She shouldn’t have.
…but she didn’t regret it.
“You were late again,” she said casually.
“I wasn’t!” Xia Jiuwei shot back immediately, not even looking at her. “The machine lagged.”
Her tone was a little sharp.
A brief silence passed.
Then they both laughed.
That small awkwardness dissolved.
Time passed quickly.
Too quickly.
Before they noticed, their coins were almost gone.
The games ended one after another.
The crowd remained.
The noise remained.
But that closeness from earlier—
never returned.
If possible.
Xia Jiuwei lowered her head as she dropped her last coin in.
She didn’t say it out loud.
But she knew.
If possible—
she wanted that moment to last a little longer.
Even just one more song.
On the other side, Lu Nian’an watched the screen light up but didn’t press start immediately.
Her finger hovered over the button.
Still.
In her mind, it wasn’t the game she saw.
It was that moment—
the close distance, the flushed ears, the lost rhythm of her heartbeat.
She lowered her gaze.
As if suppressing something.
“Let’s go,” Lu Nian’an said. “Eat first.”