“Is it that out of date?” I bought 50 arcade coins at the front counter (¥1 for 1) and blindly followed Ai Mi.
Ai Mi’s gaze swept across the musical arcade games.
“Do you want to play guitar hero?” I pointed and asked, “You can test your rhythm!”
“Hmph, it was already hard enough to get a day of rest. Do you think I would even touch anything related to music?” Ai Mi rebuked me for my lack of consideration, “Music is work, it’s not fun! I hate it!”
I turned around and caught a glimpse of a basketball hoops game. It made me a.s.sociate it with the upcoming basketball tournament and the bet I made with Niu ShiLi. A cold shiver ran through my body. I tossed two coins in the machine and was planning on touching up my skills while playing leisurely.
I couldn’t help with the fact the hoop was too low and the b.a.l.l.s were smaller than normal. A one minute countdown appeared after I tossed in a coin. 6 seconds have pa.s.sed, but I have yet to score a single point. I missed all three shots.
f.u.c.k, looks like I’m definitely going to have to drink the Fu Yan Jie with these skills! Should I drink a tiny bit of it every day along with dinner to get used to it?
I calmed my heart and finally found the feeling. I was able to score 5 consecutive b.a.l.l.s. The countdown timer had reached 47 seconds and a big red 5 was displayed on the scoreboard.
Ai Mi felt she was neglected when she saw me start to play basketball by myself and she said unhappily:
“Who allowed you to play that game? The number one thing I hate the most is music, the second thing I hate the most is sunlight, and the third thing I hate the most is ball-related sports!”
Huh? I could understand the first two. One is bothersome work and the other has UV rays, but what has ball sports done to you?
“Hmph, ball sports are dangerous! Don’t you know it hurts a lot when you get hit by a ball?”
I used a proper stance to shoot, but it didn’t go in.
“Would you be struck that easily?” I said, “Can’t you just avoid it?”
“You make it sound easy.” Ai Mi pouted, “It’s the same as your cheap existence, my body is extremely valuable. Even the ball understands, so they purposely strike me!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, “How is that possible! Clearly, it’s because you have no athletic skill. If you’re always worrying about a ball hitting you, then eventually it would happen!”
Ai Mi was angered when I questioned her, she waved her tiny fists in the air and said:
“It’s true! It’s already been proven by facts! It could be called Ai Mi’s third law! —— As long as I go to a place with b.a.l.l.s, I will have all sorts of intimate contact with them!”
I expressed disbelief, “You’re in a place with b.a.l.l.s right now. How come I don’t see you having intimate contact with them?”
“Hmph, that’s because I’m not close enough!”
After a moment of thought, Ai Mi summoned her courage and walked next to me to watch me play.
The countdown timer still had 22 seconds and there were 40 points on the board, far from a good score. I heard an auntie from downtown could score 256 points in one minute.
Every time the ball hit the rim or when the machine rolled the ball out, Ai Mi would always squint anxiously and reflexively raise her arms, but none of the b.a.l.l.s. .h.i.t her. The only one time when a ball came close, it was stopped by me in mid-air.
Because I caught all the b.a.l.l.s for her, it was like Ai mi discovered a new world. She also picked up a ball and aimed at the hoop.
“I… I want to try too! If it rebounds, you’re in charge of catching it!”
She shot before she finished her sentence, but because she did not use enough strength, the ball dropped before it reached the hoop.
Ai Mi pouted with dissatisfaction, but it seems she set a new record for the longest time without being hit by a ball. Thus, she picked up another ball and flung it.
It bounced around and repeatedly hovered around the rim until it actually went in. The score on the scoreboard increased by one.
“Ohh!!! I scored, I scored!!!”
Ai Mi jumped in joy, and in the process, her bouncing ponytails released golden rays of light and caused a group of people nearby to look at us. But it seems they were focused on a fighting game, so they quickly turned back around.
After she scored, Ai Mi immediately became smug and had an expression on her face as if to say ‘Ball games are nothing special’.
“I’m a genius! Even if it’s an uncouth sport, I can learn it easily by simply raising my arms! Okay, watch me score 100 points and create a new record. The people who come see my score later on will cry!”
There’s only 10 seconds left on the clock. You wouldn’t be able to score a hundred points even if I carried you right under the hoop!
But Ai Mi didn’t listen and picked up a ball in a blaze of fury. She flung it without even looking at the target. It missed by a mile and almost hit the young lady behind the front counter.
I ran over in a hurry to catch the ball and apologized to her.
The front counter lady politely nodded, and asked me: “What a cute kid, is she a mixed-race?”
She is definitely mixed, but whether or not she’s cute would vary from person to person. I was worried Ai Mi would be in danger standing in front of the basketball machine alone, so I nodded quickly and ran back.
As if the front counter lady just noticed my appearance, her gaze unconsciously shifted towards two safety warning posters.
The first one was ‘Be careful of pickpockets’ and the second one was ‘Abducting children is illegal’.
f.u.c.k, do I look like a human trafficker! Do you think I want to kidnap Ai Mi and ask her parents for a ransom! I might do it in an alternate dimension, but I definitely won’t kidnap my sister and ask my birth mother for a ransom in this dimension!
When I returned with the ball, Ai Mi was at a high point. It was like she didn’t even notice me leave. She consecutively tossed 5 or 6 b.a.l.l.s, but not a single one went in the net. However, three of them rebounded back towards her.
I quickly tossed the ball in my hands towards one of the b.a.l.l.s to reflect it in mid-air.
Then I caught one of the b.a.l.l.s before it hit Ai Mi’s nose.
In such a chaotic environment, Ai Mi actually tossed another ball. I looked at the trajectory of the ball, and it allowed the third ball through. It skimmed by the metallic shield and landed hard on Ai Mi’s forehead.
“Ow~~~~~~!!” The blonde-haired miss crouched on the floor and held her head in pain.
“You idiot!” Ai Mi shouted at me, “You’re my personal manservant, why are you worrying if a ball would hit someone else! It has nothing to do with you even if they get pummeled to death! Your only job is to protect me! How should you be punished for failing to protect me!”
The lady behind the front counter picked up the phone because she heard Ai Mi yelling but couldn’t make out the words. She might be debating on whether or not she should call the cops.
Are you still suspecting I kidnapped Ai Mi? You should know this cute mixed-race child just said I should ignore you even if you were pummeled to death by basketb.a.l.l.s!
After squatting for a bit in pain, Ai mi stopped playing. She wanted me to go ask how much it would cost to buy the basketball.
“Huh? Do you want to take it home as a souvenir?”
I asked.
“Who would want a souvenir of this shame!” Ai Mi stamped her feet in anger, “I want to take this criminal home and give it the death penalty! I can’t believe it dared to strike my head. I’m going to put it to death with 500 million degrees of heat!!!”
Hey, hey, the core of the sun is only 15 million degrees. You would have to leave the Milky Way Galaxy to find something over 500 million degrees! Are you going to fly into the cosmos to destroy a basketball? NASA would be crying since they always complain about their lack of funding!
Ai Mi stepped on the ball as if she couldn’t release her anger if she did not give it the death penalty. She wanted to step on it with her entire body and almost fell over, but I caught her from the side.
“Little girl….” The front counter lady walked over and said, “Can you please not step on the ball?”
Ai Mi glared at her. I’m guessing she was still angry because she was the reason the ball hit her forehead.
In order to not worsen the issue at hand, I picked up the ball under Ai Mi’s feet. I pointed to it and asked the lady:
“I’m sorry, it seems like we broke it. We could buy it, how much would it cost?”
The lady looked at the ball in my hand with doubt, “Umm… It’s a bit dirty, but it’s not broken.”
I shrugged and took out a ring of keys from my pockets. I firmly gripped a key between my fingers. It was a common technique used by hoodlums in street fights.
I was able to puncture the ball with some slight force.
I held up the remains of the basketball and asked:
“Now can I know how much it costs?”