After returning from my hometown for the New Year, my life was uneventful, nothing more than doing homework in my room every day, going out to eat at the meal, and then going to do my homework. It seems that there is not much to do for the rest of the day except for homework and eating, except for the occasional reading and playing with the phone.

That's good. After all, I wasn't interested in anything else, and I didn't really want to develop any new hobbies. It's enough to play mobile games with Mi Le, Ye Ruiyang and Brother Chuan every night, and the computer doesn't really want to touch it. Brother Chuan plays one or two games most of the time before going offline, and we always suspect that randomly matched teammates have no tacit understanding, but we can't find a teammate we know. To be honest, I also know how to play games, as soon as a stranger enters the team, I will immediately block his language and turn off my microphone by the way. In the final analysis, my skills are not good, and I cheat my teammates from time to time, causing everyone to lose all their efforts. Fortunately, they never scolded me. Especially Boss Ye, he is the best among us, even if he is a dozen or three, he can survive in a desperate situation. Once, all three of us were killed, but Brother Chuan shouted "Counterattack starts now", and Ye Ruiyang's indifferent boos came from the earphones, signaling him to be quiet. So, half a minute later, the enemies who killed us all fell under Ye Ruiyang's smoking guns. In addition to not complaining or scolding, Ye Boss has a very poor character when playing games, loves to bully people the most, and often throws flashbangs to deliberately dazzle our eyes - of course, when it is safe to do so. When it comes to critical moments, he never drops the chain, nor does he make trouble, and he always leads us to victory steadily. Even if he didn't win, he wouldn't blame anyone other than Brother Chuan. As if he was really going to cover us, as he said before.

Coincidentally, in the end, it was the teammate that my sister found for us. She saw the game icon on my phone and told me that she and Yue Yin were also playing. So I didn't think much of it, and after asking for permission, I pulled them into our four-player group. In the very beginning, we all showed a gentlemanly demeanor, and all the good equipment was given to the girls first, and when we were in danger, we took the initiative to stay behind the palace, and would rather sacrifice ourselves than let them retreat first. But over time, Boss Ye revealed his true colors. He went back to his old business and did his old business of flashing his teammates with flashbangs. He was getting more and more arrogant, I was driving the car, he threw flashbangs into the car, and once we fell off a cliff with a car. When my sister was there, he was more polite, but it was another thing for Yue Yin: he dared to throw Molotov cocktails at the floor where Yue Yin was when she was acting alone. Yue Yin didn't get angry much, although he scolded Ye Ruiyang every time, but it was similar to Brother Chuan's tone of scolding him. Maybe Boss Ye's strength is too strong, right? In fact, Yue Yin is not weak, he is better than several of us. This pair of "male and female" operations can always beat the other party to pieces, holding the head of the rat, leaving us to clean up the battlefield with a confused face.

Today, it must be Ye Ruiyang and Yue Yin who took Brother Chuan to play with their sister. It's not because I didn't finish my homework when school was about to start, but I completed all my tasks - I even read the reading list assigned by the teacher. Mi Le went back to Jiangyuan with his uncle and aunt yesterday, and I hadn't seen him for a while, and he called me out to play. In fact, it didn't take long, the winter vacation was only in the early twenties, we hadn't seen each other for more than half a month, and we heard each other's voices almost every day. But for me, it's been a bit long.

Make an appointment to meet at the subway station carousel in the city center. If it had been two years ago, it would have been KFC and others outside the subway station. Today, the storefronts are gone, and Jiangyuan's city center is expanding, as evidenced by the increasing number of exits from the subway station, which is one of the largest in China and Asia. However, with more passages and more exits, it is becoming more and more difficult for people to find their own way. Locals are even confused by the nearly 30 exits of the subway station. "See you at the big turntable", this has become a lazy and helpless way for our children.

I thought Millet would arrive before me, but I turned clockwise and counterclockwise around the turntable, and I didn't notice his figure. As he was hanging his head and thinking about why he was late, he was suddenly attacked from behind: I was unprepared and staggered as if I had been pounced on by a swift cheetah. When I looked back, he had two cans of Coke in his hand with a wicked smile, wrapped in a slightly fat orange down jacket, and grimaced at me arrogantly. I thought I would go up and give him a big hug when I saw him today, but now all I can do is a ravage of his hair. The subway station has a large flow of people, the two of us didn't make trouble, and the jokes were up to the point, if you ran around, there was a chance that you would bump into others. I don't want to be like that, I've always been a kid who is more afraid of being embarrassed than being punished. Reproach or disappointment from others can make me sick to death. Although I occasionally make mistakes, my parents usually take me home and clean up to preserve our family's self-esteem in front of outsiders. Even so, I was afraid of being punished by them in front of my brother. Every time I was punished, Xianxian came to comfort me, I was angry with him, and even fought him a few times, of course, every time I was beaten, and finally he apologized to me. I now understood where this inexplicable anger came from: I realized that he had come to comfort me knowing that I had been punished, and that I could not stand to be brought up again after I was humiliated, even if it was well-intentioned.

Miller is a kid with more self-esteem than me. He told me that what a person does represents not only himself, but also his education. He represents his family in society, his school outside of school, his team on the field, his hometown in other places, and his country and nation if he is abroad.

He's right. So, my purpose in rubbing Millet now is not so much to get revenge for his sneak attack, but to get a shaky hair out of his neatly combed hair.

By the way, what did he represent when he attacked me? I think it's just him? After all, he couldn't have attacked me on behalf of his hometown or his parents. I don't know why, but I giggle at the thought of it. As soon as he found out, my cheek was pinched again.

"Where are you going?"

Sipping Coke, we made our way through the crowds surging in the underground passages. Even if you are close to each other, you will be separated by oncoming people from time to time. On both sides of the road, there is the smell of all kinds of snacks, sweet and spicy, hot and cold, you name it. Seeing the skewers piled up like a hill, and before I could smell the thick spicy smell of red oil, my cheeks naturally became slightly hot, and my forehead had to sweat. Quickly turned his head, and saw the peeled corn and the kiwi fruit pressed into the juicer, and his cheeks were almost sour. But when you smell the refreshing sweetness of the Hong Kong-style dim sum shop, your nervous little face will immediately calm down, so that your eyes can be attracted by the fog of the cold drink shops that line up in winter. We're just passing through here, and I've passed through the chords countless times in the past, and I rarely stop to buy something. We always wanted to go somewhere else first, and then buy some of our favorite snacks when we passed by in the evening when we got home. At that time, there would be fewer people, and in the evening, in order to clean up the food that could not be sold, the store would give discounts or even give it away for free. However, every time we came back, either we couldn't eat anything anymore, or we had already spent all our pocket money.

Since two years ago, my pocket money has doubled, and one person receives two portions, and it seems that my parents have become accustomed to giving so much money to their children every week, and they don't want to cut half because there is one less person. I seem to have been given some kind of privilege, or they're telling me that you can spend a little more and do more of what you want, as long as you can be a little bit happier, a little more lively. I even believe that if I want more, they will give it to me. But I don't need to, I don't even know how to spend my share of money. I don't have anything to buy, I don't have any wishes to fulfill – if only my wishes could be fulfilled with money.

But today is different. After saving money for a semester, I handed over most of it back to my parents, asking them to transfer the corresponding amount to me on WeChat, and I took the rest of the cash with me. They made it up for me when they made the transfer, maybe I told them I was going to play with Mile, or maybe not. They didn't say anything to me, except to pay attention to safety, crossing the street not only to look at the traffic lights and zebra crossings, but also to look at the oncoming traffic in each direction. Every time I go out, I can talk about the safety precautions of these elementary school students for ten minutes.

I walked around the cinema for a while, and there were no particularly movies I wanted to see. The two of us walked aimlessly down the street, lined with brightly lit shops, and the light flowed to the ground. They sold all sorts of things that had nothing to do with us, and we landed in front of them like two doves, and then flapped their wings and flew away. The cold winter winds haven't eased its power as the time goes into March, but fortunately, both of our down jackets are thick enough to withstand it.

We found a video game store. Originally, I just wanted to take a look at it and leave, but the music and machinery in the store were so noisy that we both had to raise our voices even when we walked together. This shop was originally in the corner of the business district, and every time I came to play with the basketball machine. Time has passed, and the building where it was originally located has become a ruin, and it is surrounded by the blue façade of the construction site, revealing only the helplessness of the broken walls and the collapse of the ruins. But it won't be lonely for long, and the new steel and iron bones will rise from the ground, covering the new noise and prosperity.

What keeps us in the game store is its rows of crane machines. They stretch neatly from the doorway into the depths, taking up most of the store. We looked over one by one, almost touching our faces to the glass. There's Disney, there's Pokémon, there's Doraemon, there's Marvel and Ghibli, and these crane machines seem to be telling us: come and catch them, they're all here, what animation you've seen, what we've had. The bright lights and exciting music on the side tacitly cheered up everyone who stared at the dolls.

Millet's eager expression naturally led us both to the vending machine. Two dollars and three coins, I used to think that it was one dollar and two, and the price has increased. If you pay 30 yuan at a time, you can get 50, which is considered a discount.

Miller grabbed the corner of my coat and said don't buy too much, but we will buy fifty coins for fifteen dollars each.

I think it's less, it costs two coins to catch it once, and there are only twenty-five chances for fifty coins. To be honest, I've never caught a doll, and I can't guarantee a success in twenty-five times.

Miller said that he hadn't caught it once.

It seems that the two of us are the most amateur and the most popular guests with the boss, so why don't we buy more? I asked.

No. Miller said. That's enough. He rubbed his nose and smiled confidently.

After scanning the payment code, the game currency fell into our plastic cup. I fished out two of them and asked Miller what he wanted to catch, but he waved at me, not in a hurry, and observed. He was distracted and wandering aimlessly, and I followed him closely, occasionally sideways to avoid the other guests in the arcade. I really don't know what's going on in his head. After a while, he said to me, we don't have much money, just like hunters with few bullets, we have to seize the opportunity.

Miller is so strategic, full of confidence. And the so-called "grasp the opportunity" is actually to pick up the leaks, and wait for others to catch it for a long time and then immediately "fill the position", looking forward to "winning with one blow". This kind of thinking of winning by small and clever is also quite common on the football field.

I was led to a machine by Miller, and just now, a little brother left dejected after a few unsuccessful attempts. Miller tilted his head to observe the position of several dolls, all of them were Pikachu wearing Santa hats, yellow skin and red hats, so cute. Miller threw two coins in, pounded his waist for a moment, snapped the button, and his claws firmly clasped one of them, and then released it in vain the moment he lifted it. Pikachu reluctantly landed and flicked it lightly on his companion.

It's okay, come again. He muttered to himself and threw in two more coins. Now there are only twenty-four chances. He moved the stick again, and saw Pikachu fall down again with a smile on his face. I shook my head and made almost the same gesture as the little brother. On a regular basis, I think I'll walk away with a plastic cup to protect what little money I have left.

But after shaking my head, I chose to put my hand on Miller's shoulder and told him, go on, that's pretty much. So he didn't hesitate to put the money into it, and said to me, you can try it. I said I can't do it, you hurry up and catch it, we only have thirty seconds. Miller seriously moved his paw directly above the doll, and made sure that the paw was aimed at Pikachu, who was still smiling, from the glass on the side. And he said to me, Let's both press together. Ten seconds on the number board, I gently rested my palm on the button, Miller pressed his hand against the back of mine, and we both pressed down hard in unison as the number flashed to "5". The claws descended slowly, pinching Pikachu's body with unmistakable precision, and slowly rising again. We held our breath and waited nervously and anxiously for the final whistle to blow like a player defending our lead.

Pikachu was walking towards the gap in anticipation that connected to the outside world, and I almost heard it calling at us "Pika Pika". This time is very short, but my mind remembers countless past experiences, perhaps because I have too many regrets that are "just a little bit". I was even so sure that the claws would release just as I was about to reach the hole, and Pikachu mischievously fell off the edge, causing me to let out a sigh of disappointment. However, it didn't, and it steadily moved to the edge of the gap with Pikachu.

I can say that it is already ours. The moment the claw was released, Pikachu fell without hesitation, and Miller pulled it out from under the machine for the first time.

The moment we succeeded, Miller and I were about to jump for joy. We all thought of high-fives, and both hands clapped each other. The happiness brought by this doll makes me not envy anyone at all. Although when I look closely, its tail is open, and its expression is not as natural as I imagined, but in my eyes, a large bag of Pikachu imported from Japan is not as good as the one I hold in my hand.