Chapter 201 - A Date After Class (4)

The gun controller was a lot heavier than Scarlet expected it to be. When they were in the holders, they looked like it would be light to carry because the exterior was made from plastic. Scarlet didn't think that it would weigh almost much as her training dumbbells and made a startled noise when she lifted it, amusing Edward to no end.

The other issue she faced was the lack of ability to see half of the screen. Being vertically challenged had a lot of shortcomings and this was one of them. Even though the kind arcade owner brought over a stool for Scarlet to get higher, she wasn't happy. There was no way for her to step on the foot pedal below from the stool even if she could see the screen. This game was trying to make her lose by default!

"Shall we try another game?" Edward asked after seeing his girlfriend struggle over how to get into a good position for the simple game.

For many others, this would have been an easy game to pass the time and have fun. However, the burning soul of a warrior in Scarlet refused to throw in the towel so easily. So what if she wasn't vertically inclined like her sister? History didn't discriminate against short people and some of the best performers on big stages weren't very tall. Take her idol Lady RaRa for example. She was only 1.55m tall. Even if Scarlet missed the 5 feet club by a little and was technically 4'11 (150cm), she was still a very popular performer and actress.

"No!" she insisted. "I will play this fair and square with you. Don't you dare go easy on me!"

The two men sighed and let Scarlet do as she pleased. Yet, Edward gave the arcade owner a grateful look when he stood behind his girlfriend just in case Scarlet lost her balance and fell. The man nodded in silent understanding and didn't mind giving the teen a hand with his spitfire girlfriend. She might be cute and small but there was definitely a huge fire burning underneath that sweet image. Perhaps this was the true thing that this youngster fell for. Edward didn't look surprised at the gap between the girl's looks and personality. In fact, he was very supportive of it and helped her out by checking if her shoelaces were firmly tied before they started.

Scarlet proved to be very creative with how she played the game despite her physical challenges. Edward and the arcade owner had severely underestimated her and Edward finally understood why the small actress had so much support from the Chinese netizens. Scarlet didn't use the stool as intended. Instead of using it as purely a stand to elevate her height, Scarlet turned them into an extension of her feet. The technique she used to balance on it was similar to those skateboarders and the arcade owner found it so incredibly amazing that he filmed their entire gameplay.

Scarlet's small stunt attracted crowds from outside who gathered outside the arcade, some even coming in to film her. However, for the couple who were in a competition and on their third boss fight, they didn't realise how much attention they were getting. While they wanted to rake up more points than each other, the couple had one similar intention. That old high score must be broken!

For Scarlet, she wanted to break that high score and leave their names there to commemorate their first date. It was a romantic notion and she didn't mind if she lost to Edward although she wouldn't be giving him the win without a run for his money.

For Edward, he needed to break that high score because his pride as a spy was on the line. What kind of spy wouldn't be able to shoot properly in such a predictable video game? The simulators that they used were a lot tougher. This was simple compared to it. However, the truth was how Edward still felt slightly salty over the whack-a-mole game. How did Scarlet beat him with an almost perfect score? He still couldn't believe that those thin arms were capable of holding out until now.

"Left!" Scarlet half-shouted in excitement when a new enemy appeared on Edward's side. They might be playing against each other but they still worked together as a team. Their coordination was so flawless that some of the couples watching them felt a sense of admiration.

The arcade owner noticed the crowd and was slightly nervous. This couple was truly good and in addition to breaking high scores, they were drawing his shop a lot more attention than it ever received in the last three years. Perhaps they were bringers of good luck!

Edward didn't know when he started to look out for Scarlet's screen more than his screen. Instead of snatching for the health pack, he told Scarlet to get it because she was on 30% health even though he had only 40%. The competition soon turned into a couple tag team as they slaughtered enemies and took turns weakening the boss.

Scarlet did her best to draw the boss' attention to herself when she saw that it was chasing Edward when he was trying to flee and reload. Whoever dares to bully her boyfriend would have to think twice. It didn't matter if this was only a game, Scarlet wasn't going to ignore it happening right before her eyes. The same went with her famous personas. Right now, she was enjoying the quiet romance but if someone leaked the news that Scarlet Wilde or Liu Xiu Wen was dating Edward Bayon and started giving him hell, she wouldn't hesitate to throw it all away to protect him. She would still find another way to get back at Anastasia without the shields of her famous identities.

Unaware about what Scarlet was thinking, Edward quickly hid to reload. He wouldn't let Scarlet face dangers alone even if it meant he had to lose and put himself on the line. Scarlet was worth it. She was worth all of it.

Quickly, Edward reloaded and timed his attack to sync with Scarlet's and cancelled the boss' AoE attack, giving Scarlet a chance to deal the finishing blow. The boss died with a horrible growl and the machine vibrated, indicating that they cleared the final stage of the game in their first attempt. Scarlet looked at the scores. She won Edward by a few hundred points because of that last boss kill and they actually managed to create a new high score like she intended to do.

Elated, she jumped for joy and forgot that she was still balancing on a stool dangerously.

Edward didn't have time to put the gun down when Scarlet lost her balance. He reacted out of reflex and caught her by the waist with one arm, stumbling a little backwards. Scarlet and Edward remained in an awkward half-hugging position for too long and time seemed to freeze until there were cheers and catcalls followed by thunderous applause.

Startled, Scarlet jumped and Edward snapped his gaze towards the sound. His expression reflected his surprise when many people were cheering for them and congratulating them for a new high score. Some even asked if they could take a photo with them and Scarlet paled very quickly.

Edward declined politely and Scarlet refused to let go of him, burying her face in his sweater as Edward politely thanked them and asked them to delete any pictures or photos of them for their privacy because they didn't like attention very much. The teen did his best to explain it politely and while most people were willing to comply, some were difficult and refused to delete it. Others have also already posted the video on their social media and Scarlet wanted nothing more than to run away even if they had unspent tokens.

Although Scarlet was confident that not many of her fans would recognise her with this getup, she was still afraid. Once Anastasia knew how she looked off the red carpet, he would most certainly try to find out where she was and zoom in on her, putting CEO Zhu's plan to waste. She still had to buy more time so that her partner-in-crime can collate evidence to involve the Chinese government to help with investigations.

Edward misunderstood Scarlet's action as her fear of being recognised as Liu Xiu Wen and glared at the uncooperative people, noting down their faces. The security camera in the arcade was working and he would pay Elfie to help him make these people's lives hell after their date ended.

"Come on," he whispered to Scarlet and kept her hidden from curious eyes. "Let's go. We will find another way to have our rematch if you want. Let's go somewhere quieter."

Scarlet agreed and Edward gave back all their tokens to the surprised arcade owner who felt bad that this had turned into such a chaotic situation. The man apologised profusely and before they left, he asked what Edward wanted to input for their high score.

The spy didn't think long and smiled. "Edarlet."

With that, he let the man puzzle over the meaning of the odd names while attending to other customers. Edward escorted Scarlet out and kept an eye on the guards tailing them to ensure that they resolved the situation about the pictures taken without their consent. For now, his priority is to find a quiet place so that Scarlet can recover.