Chapter 6: The World Is Not Worth It

Words : 1516 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 6: Chapter 6: The World Is Not Worth ItCoins piled high collapsed with a loud clatter, drawing the attention of many onlookers. A little girl carrying five stuffed toys also came over, running up to Chen Feng, her face full of admiration and envy. "Uncle, you’re amazing! You won so much all at once. This coin-push machine is really tough to beat—I’ve been playing here for months and haven’t seen anyone win money on this machine before. Can you teach me how you did it? I promise I won’t tell anyone." The little girl was quite forward. Chen Feng ignored her and squatted down to collect the fallen coins into a plastic box. This time a total of over three thousand coins had burst out, which, being exchanged at a one-to-one ratio, essentially amounted to more than 3,000 dollars. The surrounding spectators all looked on with envy. The game tokens were ostensibly not allowed to be exchanged for cash but there were always people willing to purchase them under the table. Sure enough, someone nearby came over and whispered, "Boss, are you selling these coins? 2,000, I’ll take them all." "Go on, get lost. He’s not selling." Chen Feng didn’t say anything, but the little girl angrily shooed the man away. The man glanced at the little girl, didn’t say much, and turned to leave. "Uncle, don’t sell the game coins cheaply. If you really want to sell them, sell them to me, I won’t let you suffer a loss." Chen Feng couldn’t help but give the little girl a look, thinking she must be well-off, and said, "I’m not selling, I’m just here to have fun, not to make money." "Uncle, you’re really a master!" The little girl praised him again. Chen Feng continued to pack the game coins, one plastic box obviously wasn’t enough, so he ended up filling three. Three plastic boxes stacked together were quite heavy, and Chen Feng could only carry them with both hands. After that, Chen Feng stopped playing gambling-oriented arcade games, and instead played racing and shooting games. However, he barely spent any game coins after a few rounds. Then he tried the dance machine, which was a device Chen Feng had never played before; he couldn’t dance and had no sense of rhythm. But, wasn’t he going to die soon? Before death, trying it out didn’t seem bad. Sure enough, relying on luck was useless on the dance machine. Without a sense of music or rhythm, he couldn’t dance well, and the game ended quickly. Many people around Chen Feng laughed heartily as they saw him flustered and fumbling aimlessly, especially a few kids who laughed the loudest. Chen Feng remained calm about this. "Go on, get lost! Didn’t you all start off the same way? What’s so funny?" It was the little girl again, stepping in to defend Chen Feng, and she had somehow procured a large plastic bag to put the stuffed toys in, holding it with one hand. "Uncle, let me help you. I’m really good at this," she volunteered to help, suggesting a doubles dance. Chen Feng didn’t refuse, nodding, "Okay, I’ll provide the game coins." "Great." The little girl smiled sweetly. Coins inserted, the double dance started. However, within half a minute, they were both out. "Uncle, loosen up," the little girl advised like an experienced mentor, "If you want to play the dance machine, you need to have the spirit of being shameless. Don’t be afraid of embarrassing yourself while dancing. The more you dance, the better you’ll get, and the more confident you’ll become." Chen Feng chuckled, "You’re right. Let’s go another round." "Hey, Uncle, we’re waiting here. It’s our turn now." A young guy nearby complained discontentedly. "Go, all of you just wait over there." The little girl, quite streetwise, grabbed a handful of game coins from Chen Feng’s plastic box and gave them to the young guy. The young guy immediately smiled broadly and, with a few buddies, politely left. "Uncle, you don’t mind, do you?" Turning back, the little girl stuck her tongue out at Chen Feng and asked. "I don’t mind, I have so many game coins anyway, I wasn’t planning on taking them with me. You can help spend some." Though the little girl seemed impolite, through this interaction, her nature seemed pretty good. "Uncle, you’re truly generous. I consider you my friend now. Let me start teaching you." And so, the little girl really took it upon herself to teach Chen Feng how to play the dance machine. During that time, several groups of people came over wanting to take turns playing, but she sent them all away. Chen Feng actually took learning seriously and, with a thick skin, improved immensely after a few more rounds. Chen Feng suddenly felt a bit addicted, and the little girl was filled with a sense of achievement. So the two of them monopolized the dance arcade machine, playing for over two hours. Both of them were quite tired at this point, their feet starting to hurt, so they didn’t continue. Next, the little girl took Chen Feng to play other arcade games, knowing her way around the arcade quite well. After doing a round of games, Chen Feng felt incredibly satisfied. And since the little girl didn’t have to spend her own money, she was all smiles. When the arcade’s speakers announced it was closing time, they finally stopped playing and walked toward the exit together. "Uncle, will you come to play again tomorrow night?" the little girl asked hopefully. Chen Feng shook his head, "No. I might not come again at all." He had only two or three months of free time and didn’t want to waste too much of it at the arcade. Playing freely tonight was enough. He had plenty of other things to do. "Why not? You seemed to really enjoy yourself tonight. Why not come and play again?" The little girl was somewhat dissatisfied and disappointed. "I have other things to keep me busy. You should be busy too, right? You’re in junior high now, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you be studying instead of hanging out in arcades all day?" Chen Feng didn’t want to say that last part, but seeing as they had met tonight and she had spent several hours playing with him, he couldn’t help but say it. "Who says I have to study? Mind your business!" The little girl immediately snapped back, showing her true colors. Chen Feng shook his head, clearly not wanting to argue with a little girl, and changed the subject, "I’ll give you the rest of these Game Coins. Do you want them?" "Ah, Uncle, you’re not joking, right? That’s a lot of Game Coins," the little girl said, surprised. Chen Feng had at least over two thousand Game Coins left, equivalent to over two thousand in cash. "I told you, I won’t play anymore, and I can’t refund them. I don’t want to sell them cheaply, so I might as well give them to you." "Oh, but Uncle, you don’t have any ulterior motives, right? I’m still young," the little girl said half-jokingly, feigning fear and caution. "Get out of here!" Chen Feng couldn’t help but rough up her hair, turning her hairstyle into a mess. The girl screamed and tried desperately to protect her hair, and Chen Feng felt much better. "Do you want them or not? If not, I’ll just leave them here." "Of course I want them! Why wouldn’t I? This is compensation for messing up my hair." The little girl stated confidently. "Alright. I’ll transfer them to your card at the counter. You have a card, right?" "Of course." They quickly went to the counter, counted the Game Coins, totaling 2593, and transferred them to the little girl’s membership card. At the counter, Chen Feng finally learned the little girl’s name: Qin Xiaorou. After the membership card was set up, they left the arcade and the mall, standing on the roadside. It was already past ten o’clock at night, and Chen Feng asked with concern, "Did you come out alone tonight?" "Why do you ask?" Qin Xiaorou replied defensively. Chen Feng suppressed the urge to ruffle her hair again and straightforwardly said, "You’re out alone at night, don’t your family worry? Don’t you have school tomorrow?" "Mind your business," Qin Xiaorou shot back, giving Chen Feng a glare before quickly running off. Damn! Chen Feng stood stunned for a while before realizing just how uncouth this wild girl was. She could turn her back in an instant and leave without a second thought. After spending an entire evening playing games together, and after he had given her over two thousand in Game Coins, she just turned her back callously. What’s wrong with the world? Is everyone this indifferent? Can’t people trust each other a bit more, show a bit more warmth? Are all the new generations this heartless? Standing on the street corner, Chen Feng pondered sorrowfully and felt that the world was hardly worth it.

Chapter 6: The World Is Not Worth It

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