Chapter 23: The Path Narrowed

Wu Dahai stared at Qingling, the chaotic lights of the arcade reflecting on her beautiful but indifferent face. There was no flirtation, no shame, but complete indifference.

This woman! She's not simple at all!

Wu Dahai's gaze slowly moved, sliding from her face down her snow-white neck, then to the chest wrapped in a white school uniform. Beneath the uniform, a full, curved silhouette could be seen. At the second button, it was slightly strained, and if one looked closely, they could even see the faint imprint of the edges of her undergarments beneath the school uniform.

This was truly the chest of a real human girl! A well-developed eighteen-year-old beauty's chest!

Wu Dahai swallowed, feeling quite shameless—this was not a dream!

The two men beside him wore unfriendly expressions. He knew they were despising and even secretly envying him. He was aware that he was a perverted old man, but at this moment, he took pride in being one!

With a nervous and devout heart, Wu Dahai slowly reached out his hand… he was about to reach paradise and experience the ultimate bliss.

But before he could make contact, a merciless punch slammed into his nose. He staggered backward, taking two steps.

It wasn't over. Qingling raised her long leg and kicked Wu Dahai in the abdomen. Wu Dahai felt a sharp pain in his stomach, then his legs buckled, and he fell to his knees.

Qingling looked at Wu Dahai, who was kneeling at her feet, still not satisfied.

She grabbed his hair and said, "You little brat, are you tired of living? What were you about to do?"

Wu Dahai was dazed. "Wait! You're the one who said I could touch you…"

"Touch what?" Qingling asked.

Gao Yang realized that Qingling's secondary personality, Qingling, had come out. This Qingling had misandry; there was no way she would let Wu Dahai touch her.

Wu Dahai looked innocent. "Touch… your chest…"

"You worm! Go eat shit!" Qingling gave Wu Dahai's head a sharp knee strike.

Wu Dahai was thrown to the ground, knocking over several chairs.

Gao Yang, who had been watching the drama unfold, quickly moved forward to pull Qingling away, realizing things could really get out of hand.

"Qingling, stop."

"Don't touch me!" Qingling slapped him in the face, but Gao Yang was already prepared and dodged.

"You worms! What did you bring me here for?!" Qingling yelled, then suddenly paused, her expression becoming calm and cold.

She looked at Gao Yang, who was nervously watching her, then glanced back at Wu Dahai, who was groaning on the ground. "What happened just now?"

"Qingling came out," Gao Yang said.

Qingling frowned slightly. "It's fine, let's continue."

"Continue my ass!" Wu Dahai, supported by Officer Huang, stood up, clutching his bleeding nose. He angrily said, "You women sure can turn on a dime!"

"There was a little accident," Qingling explained.

"If you didn't want me to touch you, just say so. I didn't force you!" Wu Dahai was still mad. "Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're a beauty! If you hit me again, I'll really hit back!"

Qingling thought for a moment. "Let's play again. If you win this time, I'll have them tie me up, and there won't be any accidents."

Gao Yang was shocked: You're so harsh on yourself! You're the one gambling!

But Gao Yang knew, even if they lost again, Qingling's secondary personality, Qingling, would definitely come out to "renegotiate."

Over the years, Qingling had always protected the weaker Qingling, but in times like this, Qingling had always been the one to protect the extreme side of Qingling.

After exchanging glances with Officer Huang, Gao Yang decided to wait and see how things unfolded.

Wu Dahai's anger suddenly subsided. He hesitated but then calculated in his mind: he'd already been beaten, what's a couple more hits? If it worked, it'd be worth it! Dying under the pomegranate skirt is still a stylish death!

He looked at Qingling. "Beautiful, is this true?"

Qingling nodded.

"Let's do it, let's do it!" Wu Dahai wiped the blood from his nose, sitting back down by the arcade machine.

This time, Qingling was much more skilled. She sat down, inserted the coin, and selected the characters in one smooth motion.

It was still Haohmaru vs. Oichi.

Wu Dahai, controlling Oichi, launched an aggressive attack from the start. Qingling, however, relied on four moves: standing defense, crouching defense, light slash (A), and medium slash (B).

This time, she made no mistakes at all, her reactions so fast they were measured in microseconds.

Wu Dahai threw everything he had at her, but he was up against an emotionless machine. No matter what moves he made, she immediately responded with the optimal defense.

Block. Counter. Or they would exchange blows and trade damage.

Wu Dahai couldn't get any advantage. His health bar was constantly lower than Qingling's.

In the end, time ran out, with no one being knocked out, but Qingling's health was slightly higher, and she won.

Wu Dahai understood Qingling's strategy now.

In the second round, he didn't take the initiative but planned to play defensively. However, Qingling stood firm like a mountain, not moving. Since Wu Dahai had already lost one round, another draw would count as a loss.

Wu Dahai got anxious. Half the time passed, and he finally took action. But as soon as he attacked, he fell right back into Qingling's rhythm. The match quickly ended, again with no one knocked out, but Qingling's health slightly higher.

Three rounds, two wins. Qingling won.

Gao Yang initially thought Wu Dahai would get angry, especially since he'd lost and ended up with nothing. But Wu Dahai only paused for two seconds, then stood up with a smile, brushing off his hair.

"You won," he said generously.

Qingling was satisfied. She stood up. "This game is interesting."

"The chest touching, does that still count?"

"You didn't win," Qingling said, her face emotionless.

"Fine, I'll admit defeat."

Wu Dahai was surprisingly easygoing about it. He turned to Gao Yang. "Last round, isn't it your turn?"

Gao Yang looked at Officer Huang, who shrugged, unable to help. He then looked at Qingling, who left the arcade room with the words, "I'm going to calm Qingling down."

Gao Yang smirked inwardly: I'm definitely the main character, coming in for the final round.

He glanced around the remaining games: King of Fighters 97, Dino Crisis, Electro Master 2, Three Kingdoms Battle, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Metal Slug, Pirate Hook, and Snow Brothers.

Although he had played them all as a child, he wasn't particularly good at any of them. After thinking for a moment, Gao Yang pointed to a slot machine in the corner. "How about this?"

Wu Dahai froze for a moment, looking at him in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Sure," Gao Yang nodded.

After all, it's better to bet on luck than skill.

"Oh no," Officer Huang seemed to recall an unpleasant memory and held his forehead.

Wu Dahai smiled, giving Gao Yang's shoulder a regretful pat. "Brother, the path's gotten narrow, huh?"