In the dimly lit hall, rows of neat computer screens emitted only a few glaring lights. The faces in the light were all young and should have been full of youthful vigor, but at this moment, most of them were shrouded in an air of decay and impending death, which gave them an elegance and profundity that did not match their age.
Song Fei was one of them, but he insisted that this result, which was completely contrary to the temperament of a successor of socialism, was the fault of this internet cafe—the sofa seats with peeling and mottled leather, the computer desks whose original color was extremely difficult to identify, the black keyboards with dirt hidden in the gaps, the wired mouse that was no longer smooth to slide, plus the extremely dim yellowish-brown ceiling light that made it impossible for even Pan An to sit here without being completely blind from every angle.
In the post-internet cafe era, where smartphones are ubiquitous, this shop still proudly stands with the spirit of the early 2000s. Every time Song Fei steps inside, he has a surreal feeling of time travel, as if he's back to his glorious days in third grade, sneaking out to internet cafes to play games after his parents fell asleep. Of course, that glorious period ended with a good beating from his loving father. But to be honest, even back then, the internet cafe's decor was more avant-garde than this one.
Nowadays, not many people come to internet cafes anymore. Song Fei thinks that the fact that this shop has been able to stay open until now is thanks to their school's lights-out and internet-cut-off policy. Although mobile phones can still connect to data after the power and internet are cut off, as a highly self-disciplined person who has never disregarded the "We recommend browsing under Wi-Fi, rich people please do as you please" prompt, if he wants to watch a live game or something in the middle of the night, he can only turn to this internet cafe, which is the only one within a ten-mile radius.
"On cold nights I often dream of you, with your white hair and youthful face. Thousands of years have passed since then. Who will accompany you on your journey westward, singing all the way..."
A harsh, rugged rock voice suddenly rang out, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet hall where there were few people. Although it was his own phone ringing, Song Fei was still startled; the caller ID showed Wang Qingyuan.
"What's wrong?" As both roommate and buddy, Song Fei knew that the other person wouldn't call to bother him for no reason.
"Hurry back, the dorms are being checked," Wang Qingyuan said succinctly.
Song Fei's first reaction was to look at the time on the monitor: "It's already past ten o'clock!"
"Checking at this time is perfect; anyone who hasn't come back is definitely not home all night."
"Damn!" What era are we living in that they still check for people not returning home at night? And this is actually the first time Song Fei has stayed out all night this semester. He's never been this accurate with his aim!
Without wasting a second, Song Fei decisively logged off the machine—live-streaming the event was valuable, but the overall evaluation was even more important. If the counselor remembered you, you'd have nowhere to turn to for help in the years to come.
Song Fei's university is located on the outskirts of the city, about 20 or 30 miles from the city center. It was originally a county, a vast expanse of barren mountains and wilderness. In the past two years, with urban expansion, it has been transformed into a new campus for many universities in the city. It's called a university town, but it's still incredibly desolate. All the surrounding amenities are still lacking. Song Fei's school is located at the very back of this new campus; further ahead, it's completely deserted. The nearest neighboring university is four bus stops away. The school faces south, with only a few shops across the main road from the south gate. The other three sides are surrounded by pastoral scenery, making it almost unbearable for students.
The internet cafe where Song Fei stayed overnight was also located in this area, so after coming out, he crossed the road and slipped into the school gate.
But the long journey has only just begun.
Land is incredibly valuable in the city center, so the old campus always felt cramped. However, this isn't a problem at the new campus. Want to run long distances? Why bother running laps on the track? From the school gate to the dormitory, fulfill your dream of running like the Oriental Deer!
Tick-tock.
The crisp WeChat notification sound came from his pocket. Song Fei, who was still running wildly through the night, took out his phone and read the voice message. It was Wang Qingyuan again: "Where are you? They've already found our floor. This time it's the student union and the departments working together. They're quite a big operation."
"Just passed the physics building... Whew... Give me cover... in a minute!" Releasing his thumb, the message was sent successfully in a flash.
Song Fei quickly put her phone back in her pocket and then went even further to let loose.
Seven minutes later, dormitory 440 in Building 2 of the men's dormitory finally welcomed his travel companion. However, an invasion had already occurred, and the travel companion plunged headfirst into someone else's arms.
"Song Fei, you're back!" Teacher Jia, the counselor from the School of History and Culture, stood in the center of the dormitory with a beaming smile.
"Good evening, Teacher Jia!" Song, a student from the Tourism Management Department of the School of History and Culture, stood at the dormitory entrance with great enthusiasm.
The teacher and student stared at each other for a few seconds, and the former asked first, "Where did you go?"
The latter replied without hesitation: "The toilet."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Song Fei saw his three other roommates either facepalming or rolling their eyes, and his heart sank.
Sure enough, Teacher Jia's smile became subtle: "The three of them said you wanted to eat instant noodles, but the hot water bottle in the dormitory was empty. There was a classmate in a dormitory upstairs who took the same elective course as you and you got along well, so you went upstairs to borrow hot water. However, because the three of them didn't know which dormitory the classmate was in, they couldn't go up to call you. Also, you only borrowed hot water, so you didn't bring your phone."
Song Fei swallowed hard: "This reason for not being in the dormitory is really... full of meticulous details."
Teacher Jia glared at him, clearly already aware of what was going on. These days, those who can be counselors are no ordinary people; they have to outwit and outmaneuver hundreds of students every day. Even ordinary people become hardened warriors.
Song Fei chuckled, shamelessly getting away with it.
Teacher Jia ignored him, walked to the door, and sincerely greeted the student union members who had already checked to the end of the corridor: "Students, the student who went to the restroom in room 440 of the History Department is back—"
Soon, four student council members returned with pens and notebooks. Song Fei was drinking water when she suddenly saw a familiar face and choked, almost coughing up her lungs.
Teacher Jia was startled and mercilessly criticized, "Why can't you even drink water properly?"
Song Fei was in a terrible state and quickly put the water down. He could feel Qi Yan watching him. If it were before, he would have looked back. They both had the same nose and two eyes, so who was worse than whom? But right now, he had just "returned from the toilet" and had made such a strong impression. In contrast, Qi Yan was a key member of the student council and a member of the red armband inspection team. The contrast was too stark.
Damn, how could I forget that guy is in the student council?
While Song Fei was muttering to himself, the inspection team was counting heads. It should have taken only three to five seconds, but the team didn't leave after they finished. To be precise, all three of them had left, but Qi Yan was still standing in the room.
Not only were the guys in 440 confused, but even Teacher Jia was baffled: "Is there any other problem?"
Qi Yan has striking features, especially when he smiles. He is both sunny and handsome, making it easy for people to like him. For example, right now: "Teacher Jia, this time, in addition to checking for people not returning home at night, we may also check for high-power electrical appliances."
Qi Yan's tone was very tactful; he said "maybe" when he clearly meant "must investigate," as if he were discussing it with the person he was speaking to.
This slightly humble attitude was very pleasing, and Teacher Jia immediately waved his arm: "That's a must, the school has a clear rule against unauthorized use of electricity, investigate!"
Talking wasn't enough; Teacher Jia also took the lead in inspecting the area with great righteousness.
Qi Yan followed behind without saying a word.
The four friends in group 440 looked at each other, while the other three were confident.
The dormitory was a tiny space, and checking it wouldn't take more than two minutes. Teacher Jia quickly finished her rounds, empty-handed, with a satisfied look on her face. Qi Yan, however, stopped beside the desk under Song Fei's upper bunk, looking thoughtful.
Teacher Jia was puzzled: "What's wrong?"
Qi Yan pointed to the laptop on the table and the computer case standing under the table: "This is a bit strange... Since we already have a laptop, why do we need a computer case?"
Teacher Jia was speechless. This question, both in terms of its significance and its answer, was beyond his syllabus.
Qi Yan squatted down, took out the computer case, laid it flat, and under Song Fei's gaze that seemed to want to burn him to death, he clicked and deftly removed the side cover.
Teacher Jia's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. It was as if Qi Yan hadn't opened a computer case but dissected an alien—he could tolerate the case having no motherboard, no fan, no RAM, and no hard drive, but hiding three electric kettles, two electric kettles, and a hair dryer, and more importantly, being discovered by someone, how could he tolerate that?!
"Song, Fei!!!"
"Teacher Jia!!!"
Although the calls were heartfelt and the leg-hugging was persistent, the counselor eventually kicked Song Fei away and signed his name after "440 prohibited electrical appliances were checked, a total of 6 items" in Qi Yan's notebook.
The misuse of electrical appliances is as common in universities as dating. At most, the appliance is confiscated, a verbal reprimand is given, or at worst, a public announcement to the entire college or even the whole university, and that's it. But the three guys from 440, who had finally seen off the inspection team, couldn't understand how they had been exposed. Although the computer case was under Song Fei's desk, he actually only had one electric immersion heater; the rest belonged to the other three. Ren Zhe, in particular, as the owner of the imported hair dryer, was practically heartbroken: "What's going on? You can tell just by looking? You have Sharingan!"
"It's amazing..." Xiang Yang looked at the empty wreckage of the computer case still on the ground, still feeling a sense of unreality.
Wang Qingyuan glanced at Song Fei uncertainly, but said nothing.
Song Fei almost ground his teeth to powder.
Finally, after enduring until 11 PM when lights out, Song Fei, who had climbed into his upper bunk, hid under the covers, opened WeChat, and started frantically typing on his phone—[Are you fucking bored?! !!! ...
No amount of exclamation marks could express Song Fei's overwhelming desire to greet Qi Yan's ancestors.
The reply came quickly: "[When you're in the world of martial arts, you're not always in control of your own destiny.]"
Get lost! This is just you using your position for personal revenge!
Do we have a grudge against each other?
One sentence from him shut Song Fei up.
Did they have a grudge? Not at all. Although their relationship was short and not very pleasant, they did have passionate and fiery moments. Occasionally, they would whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears, like secretly showing off their skills at hiding illegal electrical appliances. Even though they eventually broke up peacefully on WeChat, they could still nod to each other when they met in the cafeteria while holding their food trays. Everything seemed harmonious.
To this day, they have broken off all pretense of civility and formed a deep-seated blood feud.
Song Fei's phone vibrated again. She assumed it was Qi Yan sending a second provocative message because he hadn't received her reply, but it turned out to be Wang Qingyuan—[It's him?]
Wang Qingyuan was the only one in the dorm who knew he wasn't straight, and also knew he'd recently started dating a guy from the same school, but he hadn't said anything specific, and the guy wasn't one to pry, so he didn't ask any further. All he knew was that they broke up after a short time. What happened today might be completely baffling to others, but for Wang Qingyuan, the academic genius, it all clicked in no time. As a mediocre student, Song Fei was utterly impressed—[Hmm.]
[He's quite handsome.]
[What good is it? It can't be eaten.]
What did you see in him in the first place?
[Generous.]
[...]
Song Fei didn't understand what those little bits and pieces meant. He thought he might not have expressed himself clearly. His so-called generosity didn't mean being willing to spend money on him, but rather that the person seemed mature, generous, and acted appropriately. Of course, he later discovered that these were all illusions.
Sighing, Song Fei picked up her phone again, ready to send another message to her roommate to explain, but then another message came through—
I'm sleepy, going to sleep.
This usually means the topic is over. Song Fei pursed her lips, thinking to herself that it didn't matter anyway. It was all in the past, and she couldn't even talk to Qi Yan, who was involved, about it, let alone Wang Qingyuan... Wait!
Song Fei slammed her phone close to her eyes, scrutinizing it closely. She realized that her hand had trembled while typing the message to Wang Qingyuan, and only the character "大" (da, meaning generous) had been sent; "方" (fang, meaning fair/generous) had vanished without a trace. Therefore, the current chat history was—
What did you see in him in the first place?
[big]
[...]
I'm sleepy, going to sleep.
Don't sleep! Let me explain!