After scrubbing the ashtray and drying his hands, the phone rang.
Jangxia Tongzhi glanced at the caller ID—it was the golden retriever.
Ah, bad boys aren't bad all the time.
Sure, they skipped class, loitered around, picked up part-time gigs to fund their hobbies… but the difference was, bad boys gathered regularly. Just to confirm they were still them—the same rebellious little punks.
Honestly, Jangxia found the whole ritual kind of performative.
Still, his little gang was made up of decent guys. And more importantly—they were super useful in critical moments. Cough cough, very handy indeed.
So of course, the necessary socializing had to be done.
It was the weekend, after all.
The usual: afternoon at the arcade to grind some records, grab a bite together, and then, when the night fell quiet, ride motorcycles down a deserted stretch of road like berserkers on a wind-fueled rampage.
Lately, Jangxia had been wrapped up in more pressing matters—like "how to make ghosts give up CPs" and "how to trick spirits into signing contracts voluntarily."
Between that and his regular truancy, he'd totally lost track of the day of the week.
Almost ghosted the gang this week...
Jangxia answered the call.
By that point, Golden Retriever and the others were already at the arcade.
He promised to be there soon and headed out.
Originally, he expected a totally normal day.
Who could've guessed—just as he reached the arcade entrance, the ghost baby suddenly jabbed him, excited.
Jangxia flinched and followed its pointing finger.
Across the road, shaded by trees, sat a black Porsche 356A.
…That car looked familiar.
…And those cold, murderous eyes peeking through the crack in the window? Even more familiar.
Jangxia locked eyes with the boss in the car. His step faltered.
With the ghost's help, he wasn't all that scared of Gin anymore.
Still, Gin was the kind of boss who pays him a year's salary in one go.
Meanwhile, here he was, on his way to waste time in an arcade… it felt like catching your teacher, mop and bucket in hand, scrubbing the classroom—while you sat cross-legged nearby, playing video games.
Career-wise, a little painful.
Jangxia hesitated.
But after a moment, he thought: Gin didn't come find me—so clearly, it's got nothing to do with me. No reason to walk over on my own.
With that, he took another step toward the arcade.
As he walked, he glanced back.
Gin exhaled a puff of smoke, then silently rolled the window up.
…Maybe he was silently judging this arcade nonsense as a waste of time.
…Maybe he envied Jangxia for being able to chill on weekends.
…Or maybe he just didn't want to be recognized.
Either way, with the dark solar film cutting off Gin's gaze, Jangxia instantly felt more relaxed.
He headed straight into the arcade and casually tossed the ghost baby to the floor.
The ghost baby understood its master perfectly.
Even as it fell, it flapped its little arms and glided toward Gin's direction, then floated across the street toward the Porsche.
Driver's seat was empty—Jangxia figured Vodka must be off running errands. Gin probably wouldn't leave until he got back.
Haven't seen him in days… Gin's gotta be radiating fresh murderous aura by now…
This kind of opportunity doesn't come often. Would be a shame not to harvest it.
Even if it didn't do much, it was still a little stress relief for the overworked boss.
Completely reasonable. Very ethical. Extremely professional.
Jangxia found a window seat and sat down at a game machine.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the ghost baby scurry across the street, scamper up the car via the tire, stick itself to the window, and squeeze inside.
Jangxia half-heartedly jiggled the arcade joystick, pretending to play.
A loud Game Over rang out nearby.
Next seat over, Golden Retriever stared bitterly at the words flashing on-screen.
He restarted the game and glanced over at Jangxia—
And was stunned to see his boss grinning at his own screen.
Golden Retriever's eyes lit up. "You broke the record? What's the new score?!"
He leaned over eagerly—
Only to see Jangxia's screen also flashing Game Over.
Except… his boss had a bold zero sitting smugly in the top-right corner.
Golden Retriever: "…"
He stared for a moment, then realized—
Other people get 0 points because they suck and crash at the start.
But his boss was different.
This had to be a new form of challenge!
—Controlling the plane, avoiding all the point balls, getting zero points, and still surviving to the end without hitting a bomb?
Twice the things to dodge!
An elite-level maneuver!
Inspired, Golden Retriever sat up straight, reinserted his coin, and restarted.
This time, he didn't chase the score balls. He dodged everything—points and bombs—trying to keep that zero perfect.
Points and explosives flew across the screen as he frantically maneuvered—
Just ten seconds in, he accidentally nicked a golden ball.
The zero became a "1."
Golden Retriever: "!"
...Damn. That was hard.
Totally a gameplay invented by the boss!
…
Jangxia was still keeping an eye on the Porsche.
After a minute or two, he saw the ghost baby return, dragging a streamer of shimmering murderous aura behind it as it floated back.
When it reached his feet, Jangxia bent down, picked it up, and tucked away the aura with great satisfaction.
He shifted his focus back to the arcade, pulled out two coins, and got ready to restart.
Just as he was about to drop one in, something felt...off.
Jangxia looked over his shoulder cautiously.
At some point, a whole circle of little brothers had gathered behind him.
All of them were watching him with starry-eyed admiration—who knows what stories they'd spun up in their heads while he was spacing out.
Jangxia: "…"
He paused, then decided not to insert the coin.
Instead, he grabbed the nearest little brother, dragged him over, and plopped him in the seat.
Standing behind like a coach, he patted the kid's shoulder. "You watching? Your turn. I'll supervise."
Time to see what these middle school delinquents had been cooking up in their brains...
Glossary:
Golden Retriever – A nickname for one of Jangxia's younger gang members. Refers to his hair color and personality.
CP – Short for "coupling pair"; used in fan culture to refer to romantic pairings or "ships."