When Xin Yunmao heard this, he pondered for a few seconds and surprisingly advised, "Let it go."
Seeing him trying to make peace, Chu Zhishui also put aside the little boy's remarks.
They were about to try something else, but unexpectedly, the little boy darted to the machine, inserted a coin just like before, and started operating the claw to catch dolls.
Xin Yunmao was ready to leave, but now he stopped, his gaze following the claw with great interest as he watched the boy's operation, wearing an expression that mimicked the boy's earlier smugness.
Chu Zhishui had no choice but to stay and watch the boy play.
The little boy was extremely focused. The plush toy fell helplessly the first two times, but on the third try, the claw gripped the toy and slowly moved toward the exit. It accidentally bumped into other toys along the way, causing one to tumble out unexpectedly into the prize slot.
The little boy picked up the plush toy and cast a casual glance at Xin Yunmao, now displaying all his pride.
Xin Yunmao: "..."
Seeing his displeased expression, Chu Zhishui consoled him, "It's okay, it's your first time playing. He probably comes here often."
"One more time," Xin Yunmao reached out his hand to her and said in a muffled voice, "Just this once. I can definitely do it."
"Alright," Chu Zhishui handed him a token, "It's fine if you don't succeed."
Xin Yunmao remained silent as he inserted the coin into the machine and gripped the control stick again.
As expected, the little boy hadn't left and continued watching him, the rivalry between them obvious.
This time, the claw firmly gripped the plush toy and glided toward the exit, similar to the previous attempts. Just when Chu Zhishui thought it would shake violently, the claw steadily reached the exit, decisively released its grip, and dropped the toy without a hitch.
Xin Yunmao smugly retrieved the toy, casting a sideways glance at the little boy in triumph.
Chu Zhishui couldn't help but examine him several times, suspiciously eyeing the claw machine, feeling something wasn't quite right.
Afterward, the human and the spirit tried other arcade games. Xin Yunmao wasn't skilled with electronic devices, so he struggled with these machines. When playing with Chu Zhishui, he consistently lost - either getting headshot in shooting games or getting lost in racing games; nothing seemed to go smoothly.
However, whenever the little boy appeared, Xin Yunmao would suddenly perform extraordinarily well. If the boy dared to try any machine, he would return to thoroughly defeat the troublesome child.
After this happened several times, the little boy noticed something odd. He glared at Xin Yunmao disapprovingly and accused, "Are you deliberately acting stupid in front of her and then coming over here specifically to beat me?"
The little boy hadn't expected Xin Yunmao to be so vindictive, and even suspected him of being calculating - acting like a beginner in front of Chu Zhishui but becoming ruthlessly competitive with him. Where was the justice in that?
Xin Yunmao: "Hmph."
Chu Zhishui sighed helplessly: "No, have you considered that he might not be pretending?" He was genuinely that clueless.
She felt that Xin Yunmao truly wasn't good at these games, and his sudden expertise when facing the little boy was probably just some spirit tricks.
Xin Yunmao and the little boy finally had their ultimate showdown at the gambling game machine.
This machine required continuous coin insertion to light up corresponding positions. If players could complete a row of symbols, it would dispense prize tickets. If all symbols in a row were lit up, the electronic display board at the top would flash in colorful lights, congratulating the player on winning the grand prize, with all machines in the row dispensing tickets simultaneously.
Many people would see the symbols almost complete and frantically insert coins, hoping to catch a lucky break, only to end up empty-handed, never able to complete the set.
The gambling machine was neither open nor transparent, with no way to know where the coins would land or what would light up. It was arguably the arcade owner's favorite money-maker. Chu Zhishui had never seen the electronic board light up when she came here as a child, and even now as a working adult, she still hadn't witnessed it, making her doubt the accuracy of the instruction manual beside it.
The little boy quickly found a machine with many lit symbols, trying to get ahead of Xin Yunmao. However, just as he managed to light up one machine and was about to boast to the bamboo spirit, he turned to see that his opponent had already lit up three machines!
Xin Yunmao leaned casually against the machine, looking at the little boy with a hint of mockery on his lips, his face practically screaming "Finally got you completely in my hands."
The little boy refused to accept defeat and tried to light up a second machine, but one symbol remained stubbornly unlit.
At this moment, Xin Yunmao leisurely walked over, casually dropped a coin into the machine, and with a click, lit up the final pattern.
The little boy looked up unhappily: "You played on my machine, so how can we count who lit up more?"
"Who lit up more?" Xin Yunmao glanced at him condescendingly and drawled, "The game's already over."
The next moment, the electronic boards above the entire row of gambling machines lit up, displaying not only dazzling winning animations but also playing festive celebration music. The loud speakers made it audible throughout the arcade, even catching the owner's attention at the counter.
The little boy stared in amazement at the row of machines, finally realizing that Xin Yunmao had lit up the entire row, with only his machine remaining. He gazed at the glowing winner's board in disbelief, then looked incredulously at Xin Yunmao, furrowing his brows and twisting his lips into an absurd and comical expression, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.
Like Chu Zhishui, he had never seen anyone win the gambling machine's grand prize.
Standing behind Xin Yunmao, Chu Zhishui punched his back and said exasperatedly, "You're really something."
Using spirit powers to play gambling games with a little boy was no different from hacking the system and cheating with the data!
She had sensed something was off earlier - he definitely couldn't beat the little boy with gaming skills alone, but with his spirit powers, there was no contest at all!
The entire row of lit gambling machines caused a sensation throughout the arcade, attracting many onlookers who gathered around in amazement. Countless prize tickets poured out like a tidal wave, with multiple machines operating simultaneously, streaming tickets as if emptying their entire inventory.
The owner rushed over in panic, equally unfamiliar with such a scene, and stammered, "Did someone win the grand prize?"
"Yes, it seems so," Chu Zhishui replied sheepishly.
Upon hearing this devastating news, the owner's face instantly turned pale as he stared helplessly at the sea of prize tickets.
Ordinary players could at most light up one or two machines, which would dispense a limited number of tickets that needed to be slowly accumulated to exchange for prizes. However, with an entire row of machines dispensing tickets, they could probably clear out the arcade's prize inventory and might even need to bring more from the warehouse.
The owner might overheat or break the counting machine just trying to tally up all the tickets on the floor.
Chu Zhishui held her head and tried to mediate: "How about this - don't bother counting the tickets, just show us what prizes are available, and we'll pick a couple of items."
Arcade prizes were typically just plush toys, thermal mugs, and at best, small speakers or bluetooth earphones - nothing too valuable.
Besides, since Xin Yunmao had used some tricks, this outcome wasn't entirely appropriate. The owner had deliberately loosened the claw to take advantage of the spirit lord, so the spirit lord cheated to break the gambling machine - they could call it even.
"Yes, yes, yes, please go to the counter and choose whatever you want from the display case."
The owner readily agreed to Chu Zhishui's suggestion, seeming afraid she might change her mind. He bent down to collect the tickets from the floor and stuffed them back into the machine after organizing them, since they hadn't been processed and could still be used.
After Chu Zhishui and Xin Yunmao left, many onlookers eagerly examined the gambling machine, holding coins with renewed interest.
At the display case, Chu Zhishui looked over the prizes, all categorized by price tier, originally meant for ticket redemption, but now unexpectedly turned into a self-service selection.
She asked, "What would you like?"
"I don't want anything, you choose," Xin Yunmao had no interest in these items; he had only played the gambling machine to spite the little boy.
Chu Zhishui surveyed the prizes, thinking about what people around her needed. She picked up a thermal mug, as Xie Yan's mug had recently cracked, and a pair of bluetooth earphones since Jin Yu had lost her earphone cord.
Finally, she picked up a plush toy of a panda hugging bamboo and teased, "Would this make you angry?"
It was a green plush bamboo stick with an adorable panda at the top. The panda was hugging the jade-green bamboo pole with its head tilted to one side, its round eyes sparkling like gems. This wasn't just a plush toy - it was also a shoulder massager that could be gripped by the bamboo handle to tap and pat away bodily fatigue.
Xin Yunmao glanced up, his Adam's apple bobbing as he muttered softly, "...No."
Chu Zhishui took out the panda-with-bamboo massager and, holding its jade-green handle, casually tapped it twice on Xin Yunmao's body.
Xin Yunmao quietly endured the tapping. Catching sight of the little boy from the corner of his eye, he suddenly said, "You come pick one."
The little boy, who had been following them in a daze, still shocked by Xin Yunmao's prize win, was caught off guard by this offer. His previously provocative attitude vanished as he carefully glanced at Xin Yunmao, then sneaked peeks at the prizes in the glass cabinet. He didn't respond immediately, appearing shy and conflicted, as if wanting but not daring to accept.
Xin Yunmao lifted his chin slightly. Now that he had his revenge, he mockingly said with a half-smile, "You only deserve to pick from what she left behind."
The little boy immediately showed a look of shame and refused to step forward no matter what: "..."
Chu Zhishui vigorously hammered Xin Yunmao with the small mallet, amazed at how petty this bamboo spirit could be: "Don't bully children!"
"I'll pick one for him," Xin Yunmao selected a bright green plush toy and took it from the cabinet, handing it to the little boy. "This suits you."
The little boy took it and saw it was a vegetable dog - a silly-looking green dog with green lettuce leaves around its head, as if silently mocking something, the meaning clear without words.
The little boy: "!!?"
"It's okay, you can pick another one yourself, just ask the shop owner. We're leaving now," Chu Zhishui gently consoled the shocked little boy while pushing the childish Xin Yunmao outside, commenting, "If you mess with his mind like this, he'll never come back and quit the arcade completely."
The little boy shouldn't have mocked Xin Yunmao in the first place - Xin Yunmao was the master of passive-aggressive behavior, it was like a novice challenging a grandmaster!
The human and spirit left the arcade, having used up all their game tokens, carrying their won prizes as they walked home.
The sky was darkening, with a gentle evening breeze. The clear sky was tinged with twilight's haziness, creating dreamy shades of light yellow, pale purple, and soft red at the horizon.
The river water sparkled in the sunset, and the street lamps on the long bridge had already lit up, adding more brilliance to this small city.
Chu Zhishui swung the bamboo mallet in her hand. Now that they'd left the arcade, she finally had the chance to ask, "How did you win the prize just now? And how did you beat that kid earlier? Did you cheat?"
"What do you mean, cheat?" Xin Yunmao frowned at her words and argued righteously, "I played with him using my real abilities, how can that be considered cheating? I told you before, as long as something exists reasonably in this world, I can make it happen."
"...Isn't that still cheating?"
"Cheating requires participation in the rules first. I don't need to follow the rules in the first place, so it can't be considered cheating."
When humans cheat, it's to gain personal benefits, but he didn't need any of that. Fame and fortune meant nothing to him; even beating a little boy at the arcade was more interesting.
Human society was no different from an arcade in his eyes. Whether it was money, status, reputation, or luck, they were all like gambling machines with adjustable numbers - just a flip of a finger could change everything, nothing difficult at all. This was why gods found it hard to understand human emotions. Behind unlimited power lay eternal numbness, where everything was within easy reach.
As long as something existed in heaven and earth and didn't shake the fundamental laws, he could make it happen.
"It's because you never ask me for wishes that you don't know these things," Xin Yunmao complained. "Every time you make a wish, it's just small stuff, like having me polish your shoes or wash chairs, or eating your leftover food. Never any serious wishes."
If she had wished for wealth, she'd probably be financially free by now, instead of still having to work.
Chu Zhishui solemnly said, "Excuse me, but eating leftovers has nothing to do with me. I still don't understand why you do that."
"It's because you make too few wishes."
"Well, I really don't have any wishes," Chu Zhishui said weakly. Seeing him looking gloomy, she added, "Okay, I'll make a wish now."
Xin Yunmao looked at her: "What?"
"From now on, no cheating when playing games with me," Chu Zhishui said discontentedly. "Otherwise, I'll never be able to win."
Xin Yunmao was stunned and defended himself quietly: "...I played fairly with you just now."
He had competed fairly with Chu Zhishui, only using tricks to deliberately annoy the little boy.
"I know, otherwise you'd have been beaten up already."
Xin Yunmao let out a soft snort.
The human and spirit walked onto the bridge crossing the river, and as their apartment complex came into view in the distance, they unconsciously slowed their pace.
Chu Zhishui looked up at the sky, admiring the twilight scenery in the last rays of light. "I heard there was supposed to be a heavy snowstorm with hail today, but it's this late and we haven't seen a single snowflake."
Xin Yunmao turned to look at her. She was wearing a pure white light cotton jacket that made her look like she was wrapped in soft clouds, somehow appearing quite adorable. He hesitated for a moment, his eyelashes trembling as he asked, "Do you want to see snow?"
Xin Yunmao didn't like snow much, which was why he'd arrange for days off, but he would never actually let it hail. Both heavy snow and hail were cruel torments for bamboo in winter, and if they fell on him, he would feel the pain as well.
"I've never seen snow in November before. I thought we might see some snowflakes, the kind that melts as soon as it touches the ground," Chu Zhishui certainly didn't want hail, but snowflakes were a winter specialty that was always attractive.
Xin Yunmao fell silent.
A moment later, as they walked slowly forward, snowflakes actually began falling from the sky, glittering in the streetlights, dancing leisurely in the breeze before disappearing into the rippling river surface.
Children's cheers could be heard from nearby: "It's snowing! It's snowing!"
"Waited all day just for this little bit," an adult nearby remarked.
The brilliant sunset glow and crystalline snowflakes complemented each other, as if golden powder was floating across the sky, making Huaijiang City look dazzling.
Chu Zhishui caught a floating snowflake and turned to look at Xin Yunmao with sudden understanding. She saw frost clinging to his jet-black hair, though the tiny bits of cold melted away in the blink of an eye. He gazed at her with gentle eyes, saying nothing yet saying everything.
His eyes were as lustrous as black jade, dark eyes, dark hair, dark clothes. Occasional snowflakes would settle on him, quickly dispersing in the wind.
She might never see him with white hair in her lifetime; she could only use her imagination to picture that scene through the gentle snowflakes in the sky.
She suddenly remembered a poem: "The sound of flying snow is most elegant among bamboo. On winter nights by the mountain window, listening to snow sprinkle in the bamboo grove, pattering softly, falling continuously, the rhythm lingering, delighting my pure hearing."①
Now she was truly listening to snow falling on bamboo.
Chu Zhishui stopped to watch the snow, unable to describe her current feelings, and said with certainty, "You did this, didn't you?"
Xin Yunmao stopped with her, staring at the snowflake on her hair by her face. Perhaps because it hadn't touched her cheek, that tiny ice crystal hadn't melted immediately, still playfully clinging to her.
"Whether it's arranging the day off or making it snow lightly, it was all you, wasn't it?" she asked in bewilderment. "But what's the point of it?"
She should have guessed long ago that these things were effortless for him; it was just a matter of whether he wanted to do them or not.
Xin Yunmao casually put one hand in his pocket while using the other to brush the snow from her hair, as calm as ever: "There's no point. But it makes you happy."
