The midday sea breeze was like a seventeen-year-old midsummer girl.
One moment it was gentle and warm, a soft breeze brushing across the face. The next second, it suddenly turned hostile, a wild wind howling, blowing everyone into a mess.
By the time they escaped back to the hotel, they looked at each other and couldn't help but smile at each other's "strong wind-backed" hairstyles.
After tidying up, everyone returned to the living room one after another.
"Ah… so boring!" Ivana flopped down on the sofa, legs kicking wildly. "Are we really going to sit in the room spacing out until dinner time?"
Van, who was packing luggage in the room, instinctively twitched his wrist when he heard this. His clothes almost fell to the floor.
Because he knew, every time this brat yelled "boring," it meant trouble.
Over in the living room, everyone's discussion continued.
"Right! Didn't we see a video arcade earlier?" Kiana suddenly bounced up from the sofa, eyes sparkling. "It's mealtime now, so there won't be many people!"
"Arcade?"
After hearing Kiana's suggestion, Ivana's eyes spun, and the corners of her mouth slightly lifted. "I think that's a great idea! Perfect for digesting food after dinner!"
Raiden Mei glanced at Van, who was tidying things up in the room, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear with her finger.
"I just checked. The arcade seems to open around six in the evening."
"Isn't that perfect!" Kiana picked up, "We can play for a bit, then have dinner, and go soak in the hot springs!"
At this time, Fu Hua finished packing and looked at the group, not sure what they were thinking.
Suddenly, Ivana popped up from behind at some unknown time, elbow resting on Fu Hua's shoulder.
"Old antique, surely you're not going to spoil the fun now, right?"
The named Fu Hua froze upon hearing that, instinctively pushing up her glasses.
"I… I'm fine with anything."
The arcade glowed with neon, noisy music mixed with game sound effects.
Kiana was darting around with a basket full of game tokens, like a rabbit let loose.
After looking around, she finally stopped in front of a row of claw machines.
She pressed herself against the glass, eyes shining as she stared at the limited-edition golden Homu deep inside.
A few minutes later, Kiana's thirteenth attempt still ended in failure.
The claw always missed by just a little, and the plush toy kept slipping off the edge of the hole.
Unwilling, she tried a few more times, same result.
In the end, she could only dejectedly glance at the Homu doll not far away, then turned her head to Van, eyes pitiful and pleading.
Meeting Kiana's hopeful gaze, Van got up from the nearby seat and slowly walked to her side.
"This one?"
"Mm-hmm!"
"Okay."
With the sound of a token being inserted, Van began operating the joystick.
His movements were very light, the joystick barely moving, until the final moment, when he jerked it suddenly.
The plush drew a strange arc and precisely fell into the hole.
"Wow!" Kiana excitedly hugged the shiny golden Homu, throwing herself at Van. "Van, how did you do that?!"
Van, smelling the light fragrance of the girl next to him, helplessly shook his head.
He thought, this Kiana girl is still so naïve and cheerful.
Clearly she possesses extraordinary power that can shape the world, yet she can still be this happy over a toy.
But looking at the girl spinning in delight before him, Van felt that everything he had done was worth it.
After a while, everyone gathered around a racing game.
Kiana naturally sat in the leftmost seat and called the others over.
"Come on~ There are five seats! One for each of us. Last place treats everyone to bubble tea!"
Van wasn't particularly interested in racing games, but in order not to spoil the mood, he still sat down in the driver's seat.
Of course, just to clarify.
It wasn't that he disliked this type of game.
It was absolutely not because, during missions in the Previous Era, he'd frequently crashed vehicles.
That said, even Van himself found it absurd.
He was always extra careful when driving, yet things always managed to end with the vehicle destroyed for all sorts of reasons.
Sometimes he even wondered if he had been possessed by that character from some zombie game, the one known as "wherever he drives, the road collapses".
(T/N: I think he's taking about Leon Kennedy)
"Three, two, one!"
With the countdown over, five machines simultaneously roared with engine noise.
Kiana's blue race car drifted wildly at the starting line, tires screeching.
Raiden Mei's purple sports car shot like an arrow, precisely cutting through the inner lane.
Ivana, driving a black SUV, deliberately drifted to block Van right at the front.
"You little brat, watch the road!"
Van yanked the steering wheel to dodge and ended up crashing into Fu Hua's red race car on the side.
Usually calm and composed, Fu Hua now gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning pale.
"Hahaha! Watch my lightning drift!"
Under Kiana's operation, the blue race car started swerving like a drunk, zigzagging in an S-curve.
In the end, it crashed violently into the guardrail, flipping three times in the air before landing.
Watching the tumbling car, Kiana only got more excited, flooring the accelerator with buzzing engine sounds.
In the end, Raiden Mei unsurprisingly crossed the finish line first.
Ivana and Fu Hua arrived nearly simultaneously.
Van, unsurprisingly, encountered all kinds of issues during the race again.
Luckily, he still made it to the finish line safely, no vehicle explosion this time.
Of course, it was just a racing game. It wouldn't actually show such ridiculous scenes.
Looking at his fourth-place result, Van first breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he seemed to remember something, and instinctively turned to look at Kiana's driver seat.
What greeted his eyes, a blue race car ramming into barricades like crazy.
Looking at Kiana's screen, with the message "15 obstacles destroyed" flashing, Van suddenly felt relieved this was just a game.
The game officially ended, and the final rankings were, Raiden Mei in first, Fu Hua second, Ivana third, Van fourth, and Kiana, unfinished.
So in conclusion, Van had to treat everyone to bubble tea.
Absurd, isn't it?
Even Van himself thought it was absurd.
Wasn't the deal that the last-place person would treat?
But now, somehow, he ended up being the one paying.
Of course, in the words of a certain Herrscher, "Ahem… I didn't finish the track, but I smashed 15 obstacles. In a way, that's first place too, right?"
'Fine, fine. Whatever you say.'
Van didn't argue with the little bug.
After all, she was his own girl, what's the point of being petty?
As long as she's happy.
Over here, Van shook his head with a smile as he went to buy bubble tea.
As he turned around, he noticed Ivana leaning in and whispering with the girls, but the noisy music drowned out what they were saying.
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