Chapter 7

As for Lingwei,

she was a name that Chen Xin was unwilling to mention.

She entered his life during the darkest period of Chen Xin's life, shortly after his parents had passed away and his grandfather needed care in the hospital. Chen Xin was frequently visiting the hospital, where he met Lingwei, who was interning in the neurosurgery department at Jiangcheng People's Hospital.

Perhaps out of sympathy, or for some other reason, Lingwei paid special attention to Chen Xin, who had suffered a sudden tragedy but remained strong. Over time, they began to chat more, and as they got to know each other better, Chen Xin discovered that this young and beautiful doctor was actually a senior from his own school, just one year ahead of him.

Lingwei had a gentle and graceful personality, and her presence was a great comfort to Chen Xin during those difficult times. Her smile became the best medicine for his wounds. Chen Xin found himself increasingly drawn to her, and the time he spent talking to her while visiting his grandfather became his greatest joy.

Six months later, Chen Xin decided to confess his feelings, and the two, who had mutual affection, officially became a couple.

At the time, Chen Xin thought that Lingwei would be the love of his life.

Unfortunately, reality always trumps ideals. When Chen Xin was in his senior year of college, Lingwei had completed her five years of undergraduate clinical medicine, and her family arranged for her to study in France.

Lingwei begged Chen Xin to go with her, suggesting that his grandfather could be cared for by a nanny and that she could return to visit every six months.

However, Chen Xin ultimately refused, fearing that if he went to France, he might never see his grandfather again.

This led to a fierce argument. Both Chen Xin and Lingwei were stubborn, and neither could persuade the other. When Lingwei left for France, Chen Xin didn't even go to the airport to see her off.

In the following year, they maintained contact, but their arguments became more frequent, and both were emotionally and mentally exhausted. The outcome was predictable.

...

Finally back home, Chen Xin was still somewhat restless, unable to muster the energy for anything, even the coins could sense it.

Chen Xin walked around the room, remembering the newly opened arcade he had seen not long ago. He called out to the steel coin that was playing on the sofa, "Steel Coin, let's go out for a walk."

Steel Coin tossed a coin into the air, caught it in his mouth, and bit it, saying, "Dad, you look pretty hurt. Do you want me to find a woman to comfort you?"

Chen Xin glared at him, "You, a robot, know nothing. I'm going to the arcade. I think the taste of game tokens should be good. Are you coming or not? If not, I'll go alone!"

Steel Coin's electronic eyes flashed, and he scrambled to Chen Xin's side, saying, "Wait, wait, Dad, I'll go with you!"

...

When Chen Xin entered the Xingrong Arcade, he found that business was not as booming as he had imagined. The hall had six fruit machines, four Thunder Racing machines, two roulette machines, and some regular arcade games.

Chen Xin spent ten yuan to buy tokens. When no one was paying attention, he pressed a heavy copper-coated game token onto the surface of his wristwatch, and the token silently merged into it.

The watch vibrated slightly, and Chen Xin felt Steel Coin's excitement.

Chen Xin played a few rounds on the arcade games, reminiscing about games like Raiden, Metal Slug, and 1943, and then played Thunder Racing. He quickly spent most of his tokens.

Then he switched to a roulette machine and placed a bet. A staff member came over and whispered, "Sir, this machine doesn't return tokens. If you want to play a machine that does, follow me."

Chen Xin realized why there were so few people in the hall. He followed the staff member out the back door, down a corridor, and soon arrived at a small entrance.

A thick curtain hung on the door, and several burly security guards stood guard.

When Chen Xin entered the dark room, he was hit by a musty smell. In the room, which was about eighty square meters, over a hundred people were intensely playing nearly twenty betting machines. Several security guards stood nearby, closely monitoring the activities.

In the arcade, a game called Ball Toss was particularly popular, with many players buying hundreds of tokens and sitting around a machine called "Ball Toss Supreme," completely engrossed.

On the north side of the arcade, an eight-player "roulette machine" was flashing with lights, packed with people. A young man exchanged 100 yuan for 1000 points and won 200 points on his first try, but then lost all 1200 points in a few more rounds and had to recharge. On the east side, near the corridor, four machines similar to "Apple Machines" were placed discreetly, with staff members watching over each player.

On the other side, by the wall, five or six "Finger Point" machines were being played by several children under ten, who were enthusiastically playing "Landlord."

Chen Xin stopped at a machine called "Black and White Balls." In the middle of the machine was a square board with about 300 small holes of white, black, and red.

Around the machine were cabinets like a counter, with each player having black, white, and red cabinets. During the game, players placed different numbers of tokens in each color cabinet.

A staff member in the center of the machine handed a balloon about thirty centimeters in diameter to the player who had placed the highest bet. The player then threw the balloon onto the board, and the color of the hole where it landed determined the winnings.

On the wall, it was written that the odds for black and white were 1:1, while the odds for red were 1:10, but there were only about ten red holes.

About eight or nine people were fully engaged in the game, while many more were watching. The players' expressions varied depending on the outcome, with winners jubilant and losers dejected.

Chen Xin spent 250 yuan to buy two boxes of tokens and immediately placed all the tokens from one box on red, but lost everything.

The second time, Chen Xin was more cautious, placing only fifty tokens, but still lost more than he won. In less than an hour, he had lost all his tokens.

Chen Xin got up and went home, muttering about his bad luck. No one noticed that his wristwatch had silently disappeared at some point.

Late at night, Steel Coin returned, burping and picking his teeth with a coin, saying, "Dad, I'm so full!"

Chen Xin asked, "Did you eat them all?"

Steel Coin nodded, his electronic eyes flashing, and looked at Chen Xin expectantly, "Can we go again tomorrow?"

Chen Xin laughed and scolded him, "Glutton! This can happen once or twice, but not a third time. You need to be restrained, understand?"

Steel Coin nodded, seemingly understanding, "Then let's go once a month."

The next day, the Xingrong Arcade did not open, and it remained closed for the following days. It wasn't until a week later that the arcade reopened.

...

"At today's regular press conference at the White House, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs introduced the itinerary of the Chinese President Shijinfan's visit to the United States and the topics to be discussed during the meeting between the leaders of China and the United States. However, he refused to comment on the 'Dawn Goddess' incident, stating that internet rumors are unreliable."

"The U.S. Department of Defense stated that there is no such thing as a 'Dawn Goddess' strategic reconnaissance aircraft, and the 'Dawn Goddess' incident is purely an internet rumor."

"Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu, in response to the 'Dawn Goddess' incident, said that she has noted the media reports but emphasized that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has the confidence and capability to safeguard the country's territorial and airspace security."

"British Defense Secretary Liam Fox, in an interview, stated that there is no further evidence to prove that a U.S. military aircraft violated British airspace, and the British Ministry of Defense will maintain interaction with the U.S. within the NATO framework."

"France..."

"Russia..."

"Germany..."

Almost every country made a response.

Chen Xin sat on the sofa, yawning and watching the news program, where the commentator was enthusiastically discussing the 'Dawn Goddess' incident.

Compared to the public's intense reaction, the governments of various countries unanimously adopted a cold approach to the 'Dawn Goddess' incident.

This was understandable; many things can only be done, not spoken about. Once the truth is revealed, no one would be able to back down, and it would be detrimental to everyone.

In such a situation, as long as the government does not make a big fuss, the media and the public's enthusiasm would last only a few days before cooling down, becoming just another topic of conversation for ordinary people.

As Chen Xin propped his chin, considering whether to stir up the 'Dawn Goddess' incident further, Steel Coin came running out of the room, calling, "Dad, Dad,起点 gave me a message, asking me to contact the editor Yezi."

Chen Xin was taken aback and laughed, "It looks like we're about to sign a contract!"

Steel Coin smacked his lips, flipped onto the glass coffee table, and crossed his legs, "Should we sign it?"

Chen Xin said, "Of course, why not? When you earn a few million, I won't have to work so hard to support you!"

"Let's sign it quickly, let's sign it quickly!" Steel Coin jumped to Chen Xin's feet, pulling his pants, his eyes shining, imagining being buried in millions of one-yuan coins.

Chen Xin looked at him speechlessly, realizing that eating was Steel Coin's primary motivation!

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends