State of Mind

After the game finished downloading, seeing the two girls sitting in front of the computer ready to play, Ye Shuang sat on the edge of the bed pretending to start working, his expression serious and focused, with a slight frown on his brow.

In reality, he was looking at the photo Chen Qin had just sent him—while inwardly marveling at how bold she was, he also found himself thinking, Were you really that big? I never noticed when we were kids, and I didn't specifically look at the beach either.

For some reason, he couldn't help but look now.

Although Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou were facing the monitor, they were actually stealing glances at Ye Shuang out of the corners of their eyes, looking rather sneaky.

Brother, he wouldn't be peeking secretly, would he...

Looking at his serious demeanor, it didn't seem like it.

It must be work-related matters. Brother's expression is like a saint's; he probably wouldn't do something so sneaky.

Even though that photo was quite bold, thinking about it carefully, wasn't it about the same level as a swimsuit?

Yet, wearing a swimsuit doesn't bring this kind of shameful feeling. The atmosphere really is incredibly important.

"Was Sister Chen Qin always this bold in front of Brother?" Tang Keke muttered. In her impression, Sister Chen Qin had always been mature and steady, occasionally a bit domineering.

This cute, tongue-sticking-out, acting-cute side was completely unexpected. But she had to admit, it was a look that would make even a girl's heart flutter wildly.

Sister Chen Qin probably only shows this girlish side in front of Ye Shuang, right?

"This won't do, I need to think of a countermeasure?" Tang Keke's self-appointed "strategist" brain began to spin furiously. She vaguely felt the scales of victory beginning to tilt.

"Ahhh, why did there have to be a photo?" Tang Keke clutched her head. This kind of half-revealing, half-concealing attack was too powerful!

"What's wrong with the photo?" Bai Yuyou asked softly from beside her.

"Don't ask. Just know that men like this sort of thing," Tang Keke whispered, lowering her voice.

Like this sort of thing...

Bai Yuyou seemed to understand, yet not quite, then mimicked the gesture.

A little while later, the game was fully downloaded. Since Ye Shuang had purchased a large data plan in advance, they wouldn't get hit with overage charges.

Tang Keke checked the computer's hard drive and found it had 4TB of capacity, so there was no need to worry about space.

"Forget it, It Takes Two, launch—" Tang Keke pressed the start button. As the screen lit up, she selected her character.

The story of It Takes Two is simple: a couple is about to divorce, and their daughter, unwilling to see her parents split, makes a wish to a book for them to get along better.

The book then turns the couple into tiny figures—the two players—and they go on a series of adventures inside the house, ultimately rediscovering their love.

It's an extremely well-received co-op game, but Tang Keke had never finished it.

If you asked why...

She didn't really have friends to play with...

Even the vacuum cleaner level she had passed earlier was played with her cousin.

"The highest specs for a game are, first, a 90-series graphics card, and second, a friend to play with. Now that I have both in my grasp, a mere 'It Takes Two' will be easily conquered!" Tang Keke declared grandly.

"Oh?"

"This is jump, see." Tang Keke taught Bai Yuyou how to use the controller. "This is move, and this adjusts the camera."

Bai Yuyou didn't understand. She controlled the husband character, constantly bumping into the wall. And because she wasn't used to the controller's camera, her half of the screen was moving around chaotically.

"Come on, Yuyou, jump up here."

"Jump..." Compared to Tang Keke effortlessly hopping onto the crate, Bai Yuyou would jump a few times, fall to the floor, and then get lost.

After teaching her for a while longer, Tang Keke couldn't help but say, "Yuyou, can't you remember these few buttons?"

Bai Yuyou blinked her eyes. "I..."

She tried again, but it was still very difficult for her to get the hang of it.

"Keke, you're pushing Yuyou too hard," Ye Shuang spoke up at this point. This kind of game, using a controller to adjust the camera, was second nature to Keke, but for Bai Yuyou—she needed to get used to both the 3D perspective and the controller operation.

There's a learning curve. Both 3D games and controllers require time and effort to learn.

"But..." Tang Keke had tried her best to teach, yet she still felt a sense of helplessness.

Now she understood why some guys online said teaching their girlfriends to play games was so incredibly difficult.

Ye Shuang smiled and then said, "Start with the simplest games first. Play a simplified version of 'It Takes Two.'"

"Simplified version?"

"Mm." Ye Shuang reached out, exited the game directly, and then opened a browser. He typed "4399" into the search bar and clicked on the two-player games section.

"Here, 'Fireboy and Watergirl,' see the resemblance? A two-player co-op," Ye Shuang said with a laugh. The two games actually shared a similar essence.

Tang Keke suddenly understood. "Oh, so we start with 2D games?"

"Right. We used to play this during computer class when we were kids." Ye Shuang couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. Back then, school could be boring, and computer class was the happiest time, especially when the teacher said "free activity," which would make the whole class cheer.

Computers were quite precious back then too. You even had to wear shoe covers to enter the computer lab, afraid that dust would affect the machines.

It seems nowadays, there's even the concept of "the balance of dust and electricity"; you basically don't need to worry about dust anymore.

Just as Ye Shuang said, starting with 2D games makes picking things up much faster because you don't have to worry about camera angles.

Once the two girls started playing, they quickly became immersed.

Although the graphics were simple and the gameplay repetitive, it was still a novel experience for Bai Yuyou. As for Tang Keke, who was there to accompany Bai Yuyou, she found it quite fun as she played along.

"Yuyou, Yuyou, you control the mechanism, yes..."

"Hop, I'm jumping over."

"Keke, come here."

"I'm coming."

Watching them like this, Ye Shuang was momentarily lost in a daze, as if seeing his childhood self, Chen Qin, and others gathered around a computer taking turns playing, with the loser giving up their seat.

They would also play games like "Seer," a Pokémon-like game, battling each other during computer class, and there were even all sorts of rumors and legends.

Back then, they were carefree, and their dream was simply to be able to play games every day.

As children, they longed to grow up, but as adults, they fantasize about returning to childhood...

"Brother, do you want to play?" Keke suddenly turned her head, interrupting Ye Shuang's thoughts.

"Me?" Ye Shuang, who had been watching from the side, smiled faintly. "No need, you two play. I don't actually like playing games that much."

"So Brother doesn't like playing games?"

"Maybe not." Ye Shuang reached out and gently patted Bai Yuyou's head.

I'd buy sweet osmanthus, load up on wine, but it's never again like those youthful outings.

The things he once loved to play the most seemed to have lost their former charm as he grew older, along with the state of mind he had back then.