Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth

Chapter 47

As they walked through the shopping street, they stopped and bought seven popsicles from a small shop, one for each of them, and continued walking, chatting and laughing.

Shanglin saw it clearly, and Qiuxialin paid the bill in the end.

After passing the commercial street, turn left to find the police station, and turn right to find the United Shopping Mall. Despite its grand and imposing name, it's essentially an open-air market built behind a building. Barbershops, breakfast stalls, fabric shops, oil shops, grain shops, and small hotels—a melting pot of all sorts of people.

He handed the water and melon seeds to his other hand, stopped at the breakfast stall by the door, bought a layered pancake, wrapped in a thin sheet of oil paper, and ate it while holding it in his hand, his hands soaked with oil.

She ate with her head down, swaying as she walked forward. Without even looking up, she already knew perfectly well where Qiu Xialin and her group had gone.

Looking up, the aroma of sesame seeds from the layered pancake filled my mouth as I stared at the dirty door plaque:

Happy Arcade.

She had heard of this arcade.

In the relatively underdeveloped Zifang Town, Dajiale Arcade was the first comprehensive arcade to introduce game machines and open a video arcade. In the mid-1980s, there were already many arcades in the provincial capital, but in Zifang Town, the first one did not appear until the late 1980s. After that, arcades sprang up one after another like mushrooms after rain.

However, most of them are located in remote areas and are not large-scale.

She had been standing at the entrance for so long that several young men watching the game had been observing her for quite some time. Shang Lin smiled, swallowed the last bite of her mille-feuille, took out her wallet, and went inside: "Five yuan for game tokens."

The cashier was an older woman who first glanced at Shang Lin with surprise, then said nonchalantly, "Three for one yuan, I'll give you sixteen."

I entered the huge arcade amidst the surprised and scrutinizing gazes of the onlookers. The place was a chaotic mix of people, noisy and chaotic, mostly minors. I calmly glanced around and saw that most of them were students. Some were sitting and engrossed in their games, while others were watching. Many people were smoking while playing games, filling the room with a thick cloud of smoke and a pungent smell. Most of them were completely absorbed in their games, occasionally letting out a swear word.

After walking a few steps, I saw Qiuxia Forest.

They occupied five machines. Xia Lin sat on a high stool, operating the machines nimbly with his hands and staring intently at the screen without blinking. The other two surrounded him, offering advice from time to time: "Hit him! Hit him! Corner him!"

A waiter who had been watching her for a while came over with a smile: "Little sister, is this your first time here?" Shang Lin smiled slightly and pointed: "I'll sit over there."

Three or four arcade machines away from Qiu Xialin's group, there was one that had just been emptied.

She sat down, inserted a coin, and, with someone's guidance, fumbled to open a game called Super Mario. She was a complete novice, utterly clueless, and died after just a few rounds. Amidst the sighs of others, she expressionlessly inserted coins, died again, inserted more coins, and died again.

Soon all sixteen game coins were spent.

Shanglin spent another five yuan, and this time the other party gave her fifteen.

Soon, fifteen game coins were put in, and amidst the sighs of others, she expressionlessly spent another five yuan to buy fifteen more.

Although there were many people in the arcade, most of them were boys. Even the few girls there were mostly middle and high school delinquents. Someone as young as her, dressed neatly like a good girl, and carrying a bag of peanuts, was quite a rare sight.

There were many people playing, and many onlookers as well. Soon, seven or eight onlookers gathered around her.

Daqiang is a year older than Qiu Xialin. He and Erqiang are cousins. He and Qiu Xialin were childhood friends in Qiujia Village, growing up together. Although Xialin moved away from Qiujia Village, he would occasionally go back to play with them. Daqiang is eight years old this year and has just started first grade. Erqiang is the same age as him and is in the same class.

After finishing a game, I rubbed my eyes and noticed a group of people surrounding a girl playing a game. I peeked through the gap and thought, "Hmm, she looks familiar."

He gave the machine to someone else, ran next door to join the fun, squeezed through the crowd to examine it closely. It looked somewhat similar, yet not quite. Unable to make up his mind, and with the other person not even glancing at him, he thought for a moment, then squeezed out to find Qiu Xialin.

"Xia Lin, isn't there someone over there who looks like your sister?"

At this crucial moment, Shang Lin didn't even look up and said decisively, "Impossible, my sister went to the provincial capital for some business."

Daqiang was stunned. He looked at the room next door again, and it really did look like it.

"Is your sister wearing a pink top?"

Xia Lin scoffed, "Bullshit! She was wearing a white dress this morning, and I almost spilled milk on her clothes. I remember it clearly!"

I scratched my head. Oh, I must have misread it.

A little while later, his fifth-grade partner from the same school, named Chen Hao, ran over: "Qiu Xialin, something bad has happened! Why is your sister here?"

Shanglin scoffed, "What's wrong with you all? What are you afraid of? I told you my sister isn't in Zifang!"

Chen Hao was puzzled. "I didn't see wrong. It's clearly your sister."

He suddenly shouted, "Oh no, she's coming!"

Seeing an empty seat, Qiu Shanglin abandoned the machine he hadn't finished playing, walked past the dumbfounded Chen Hao, and sat down next to Xia Lin. He inserted coins and started the game.

Xia Lin, without even looking up, said, "What's wrong with you? How could my sister possibly be here!"

As he spoke, he looked up, turned his head to the side, and the game screen was still swaying in front of him. It took him a few seconds to focus and see the side profile of the person next to him clearly. He was stunned.

"sister?"

Am I hallucinating? I couldn't believe it. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. She had changed her clothes and hairstyle, but I was sure it was Qiu Shanglin.

Xia Lin's voice trembled: "Sister..."

Calmly watching himself die in the game, having used up his last game coin, Shang Lin exhaled, turned his head, and looked at his terrified younger brother:

"That's strange, why can't I ever beat this level?"

After asking the question to himself, not expecting anyone else to answer, he took out the half-eaten sunflower seeds from the bag, leisurely grabbed a handful and started cracking them open, saying casually, "You guys play, I'll watch."

Xia Lin felt his heart trembling and his legs shaking. The room was so hot, but he was sweating profusely.

What does Qiu Shanglin hate the most?

First, Qiu Xialin came into contact with and associated with petty hooligans, and was influenced by their bad habits.

Second, people who are so engrossed in playing games that they become obsessed.

Every time Shanglin heard that someone at school had been caught playing games by their parents or teachers, he would always disdainfully warn him not to waste his life at the arcade, and that he would be better off learning some martial arts with his brother.

What crime is it to knowingly commit a crime? Xia Lin couldn't imagine how her sister would deal with her.

Shanglin said amiably, "Don't just stand there, everyone. Chen Hao, right? Come on, go play the arcade games over there. What, out of money? Xialin, didn't I just give you fifty this morning? Give me whatever you have left." She could see clearly that out of the seven people, Qiu Xialin paid for almost everything. They followed his lead without question—what a generous spendthrift!

Xia Lin's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no, he even spent his sister's hard-earned money.

They are all old friends

She was actually very angry. As Xia Lin knew all too well, what she hated most was Xia Lin coming into contact with anything that was detrimental to his growth or could lead him astray. This was almost an instinct within her, and once she realized it, she couldn't tolerate it.

"If other people's children can do it, why can't I?" Qiu Xialin asked countless times.

She couldn't explain it, and she didn't want to. Other people's children can do it, but you can't—she admitted that if she were a mother, her parenting style would definitely be the simplest and most brutal kind, and it might even turn mother and child into enemies.

Too much of a good thing is bad—the principle in the book is clear and obvious, and she knows it well.

She convinced herself that she shouldn't become a frightened bird, and that she shouldn't control Qiu Xialin all the time. Letting him grow freely and experience the process that all children go through was the best choice.

Qiu Xialin was flustered and at a loss, but he didn't want to lose face in front of his friends. He was only seven years old, but he valued his reputation more than his life.

Shanglin looked at her younger brother's innocent face, which was feigning nonchalance under the dim light. She thought of him generously taking out money like a rich kid in a movie, calling people to buy game tokens and drinks. She thought of him smilingly accepting every penny given by his family and then spending it here. A feeling of despondency welled up in her heart, wave after wave, crashing against her heart.

When did he start learning to behave like this?

Despite the turmoil in his mind, Shang Lin maintained a smiling expression, took out his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and asked, "Want some peanuts? Have some peanuts."

Who would dare to eat it? Getting caught red-handed by Qiu Shanglin would be no different than being caught by Zhang Hongwei or Qiu Jianguo—no, even more terrifying.

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, Chen Hao tried to sneak away from the corner of the wall, but Shang Lin, who had sharp eyes, called out, "Hey, Chen Hao, come here."

What an excellent student with both good character and academic excellence!