Even though it was phrased as a question, the overwhelming power difference left Wen Xishu with no choice.
Scorpio had even turned John Leon, the protagonist, into a game.
Wen Xishu could only follow Scorpio’s suggestion and choose to reminisce about the past.
A new interface appeared, a sixteen-grid CG appreciation screen emerged.
"These are all snapshots of John’s life journey. If you piece them together, it makes a movie. Brother, you watch them first. I’ll wait for your decision."
Scorpio was very obedient, squatting next to John Leon, almost becoming part of the background.
And Wen Xishu clicked on the first picture.
...
...
cg01.
"Charles, let me play with you!"
A girl named Catherine looked at the Monopoly board game on the table, eager to join.
But Charles gave her a look of disdain:
"Get lost, get lost. This game is called Monopoly. Do you know how much my set of cards and board cost?"
Catherine lowered her head. In a time when prices weren’t outrageous, her daily allowance was three dollars.
One dollar in the morning could buy a chicken leg bread, and two dollars at noon could buy a hearty meal at school.
She really didn’t have the money to buy expensive toys.
John Leon glanced from afar and felt quite disgusted with Charles, saying:
"Catherine, let’s play!"
Catherine was a bit puzzled:
"Huh? John, do you have it too?"
John smiled:
"No, but it’s so simple, I can draw one!"
John then indeed drew a Monopoly board on white paper and carved a dice out of an eraser with a small knife, attracting a crowd of onlookers:
"Wow, John, you really drew it."
John’s hand-drawn Monopoly board was even more interesting, featuring many Wind City landmarks, their school, and each of their homes.
So when everyone played, they felt especially immersed, especially when acquiring someone’s house. Some boys would boast:
"Your house is mine now!"
Charles suddenly felt his Monopoly wasn’t so appealing anymore.
The final scene was a group of children surrounding John, sharing the simplest joys brought by the game with laughter and cheers.
...
cg02.
The screen quickly changed, now showing John in sixth grade. He looked much taller.
During this period, John’s favorite game was one called Bomberman. There was a two-player version of Bomberman Quest on Sega.
This story is simple; John came back late one night because he had been playing too late with his friends, missing an appointment with his father.
When he got home, his father was playing Bomberman Quest, already at the second boss stage.
Bomberman defeated a jumping pyramid monster using bombs.
John thought he was going to get scolded, but his father just said:
"Quick, I’ve been stuck on this stage for ages. Help me!"
John’s face lit up, and he immediately picked up the controller and squatted on the floor with his father.
This was the last scene of cg02. John, with a smile, squatting on the floor playing Bomberman with his father.
...
cg03.
"Still playing! Do you even know what time it is? How can you be so irresponsible?"
"I scrimp and save so you can study well, so why are you addicted to games?"
Because old game consoles would overheat if played too long, John would sometimes play games like crazy when his mom wasn’t home.
But his mom got smart. When she came home, she would touch the console and could tell how long John had been playing by its heat.
John was a bit defiant:
"But... but Dad plays with me for this long! Mom, some games need a long time to get through them."
"Then go live with your dad! Go!" his mom yelled hysterically.
This year, John was fourteen, and his parents got divorced.
His dad had racked up gambling debts and even stopped receiving his salary because it was garnished to pay off what he owed.
And it had been a long time since his dad played games with him.
His dad was now obsessed with a game from the East—mahjong. Later John found out there were video games for mahjong too, so he saved money by skipping breakfast for days to buy one.
He excitedly pulled his dad to play mahjong.
But that was the last time he played a game with his dad. Because no matter who it was, John could always see joy on their face when playing a game.
Childhood Catherine, his dad back in elementary school, all his friends... they were always happy when playing games because, in those moments, time was truly theirs.
But this time, he saw annoyance on his dad’s face.
It was much later that John understood. The game wasn’t boring; it just didn’t involve gambling.
His dad had been a good father and still was. But he had wronged his mom and the entire family.
In the end, his mom paid off his dad’s debts, and they divorced. John was placed under his mom’s custody.
John first learned that money could take away the joy of playing games from someone.