### Chapter 211: Write Your Name on Smoke and Inhale It
“Hehe, who would’ve thought, who would’ve thought! This is interesting, really interesting!”
Ye Liang Chen swirled his beer in his hand, tilting his head with a bittersweet smile.
“I think you’re not that impressive,” Xue Shao Hua retorted as he lit a cigarette and let out a leisurely puff of smoke, raising his gaze to the heavens like a philosopher contemplating the meaning of life. Unbeknownst to him, he was rapidly leveling up his coolness factor.
Last time, Ye Liang Chen claimed that having Dragon Brother around ruined his game. But guess what? Dragon Brother wasn’t even near Hu Yu Ying and her crew this time, and what do we have? Hehe…
Before long, Ye Liang Chen confidently flipped his hair and downed his drink, each swallow making his Adam’s apple bounce like it was putting on a show.
When he finished, he did another hair flip and gazed into his empty glass: “The booze I took in, what comes out is maturity.”
He took a dramatic swig and with a fanciful sigh declared, “Just like that time I wrote in Penguin Space, knights and princesses.”
“Princesses have no idea how heavy the burden is for knights like me. No one knows, but I do.”
With a soft chuckle, he poured himself another glass. He looked at the golden beer triumphantly, raising it high: “Even after all the hardships, just to earn a smile from the princess! This drink represents my half-life sobriety and my love-fueled lunacy.”
With that, he guzzled it down in one go.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Xue Shao Hua couldn’t help but clap, clearly moved. “Drinking for my half-life sobriety, for my love-fueled lunacy? That’s the most boss thing I’ve ever heard!”
“Ye Liang Chen, sometimes you don’t even seem like a student. You act more like a seasoned adult. Those melancholic eyes, solo drinking like a pro, and these words—so mature!”
Ye Liang Chen casually waved a hand. “Maturity? Nah, I just see through the flashy world.”
“As for that ‘coolness’ you keep talking about, I have no idea what that is. It’s just my feelings spilling out.”
“If that’s what you call coolness, okay, I’ll take it.” With that, the corners of his mouth lifted with a hint of smugness.
With another hair flip, he added, “The truth is, there’s stuff you don’t know. What you see is just what I want you to see.”
Xue Shao Hua flipped his own hair, confused. “What do you mean?”
“It’s simple yet complex. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you; life’s nuances need to be experienced firsthand.”
To showcase his ‘depth’, Ye Liang Chen gazed off into the distance like a tortured poet, holding his beer up toward the moon. “Let’s put it this way, you’ve seen the surface, while I’m already soaring through the atmosphere.”
Even though he failed in front of Hu Yu Ying and the gang, the wisdom of a 28-year-old was effortlessly managing a college student like Xue Shao Hua.
What could an A-University student do at the end of the day? They’re all just laborers in their own dreams anyway!
With that thought, Ye Liang Chen downed another drink.
Seeing Ye Liang Chen almost gag, Xue Shao Hua frowned. “Maybe you should drink a little less. I don’t want to have to drag you home.”
Ye Liang Chen coughed violently but, to maintain his composure, only managed a nonchalant remark, “What’s the point of saving this drink? Am I supposed to use it for reminiscing or something?”
“Do you know what life redemption means, Xue Shao Hua?”
Xue Shao Hua shrugged. “What are you getting at? You’re saying you’re the redeemer?”
Snap!
Ye Liang Chen snapped his fingers. “Bingo! You nailed it!”
With a self-deprecating smirk, he continued, “Yes, I’m indeed a redeemer, and the three needy souls are Hu Yu Ying, Li Qing Xue, and Lin Wan Ning.”
“Don’t laugh; I know you don’t believe me right now.” Ye Liang Chen took a deep breath. “Time will prove everything.”
“Now, let me enjoy this rare joy for a bit.”
As he spoke, Ye Liang Chen rose and closed his eyes, spreading his arms wide, facing the moon up above.
In this peak of non-mainstream society, his words and actions might seem foolish in the future, but for now, they symbolized a spirit of freedom.
Xue Shao Hua couldn’t help but feel a little solemn. For some reason, every time he saw Ye Liang Chen doing this, he felt something sacred.
Especially right now, as Ye Liang Chen slowly drew his arms back and hugged himself.
“Though they’re currently bamboozled by Dragon Brother, do I look worried?”
With that, Ye Liang Chen flicked his hair, two fingers playfully resting on the bridge of his nose, and lifted his gaze toward Xue Shao Hua.
It was a gaze brimming with confidence—at least Xue Shao Hua could see the sparkle of belief in it.
“So what’s your plan exactly?”
“I’ve never liked a girl as much as I like Hu Yu Ying. Her looks and figure hit all the right spots for me; she’s like a gorgeous angel.”
At this point, Xue Shao Hua’s eyes showed a glimmer of regret. He couldn’t figure out why, despite being so exceptional—one of the top handsome guys in class—he could never catch Hu Yu Ying’s eye.
No matter how hard he tried to get her attention, it always ended in disaster.
He’d seen Dragon Brother before; sure, he was a little rough around the edges, but all he had over Xue Shao Hua was height and a bit more muscle. He felt he was only a smidgen less than Dragon Brother.
That smidgen could totally be compensated for by his sunny personality, charm, and humor—so why wouldn’t Hu Yu Ying ever throw him a glance or gift him one of those deep, soul-piercing smiles?
He just couldn’t wrap his head around it—why was it like this?
Clearly, he was way better than that Dragon Brother!
Ye Liang Chen chuckled, shaking his head in resignation as he strutted to the front counter. “Excuse me, beautiful lady, do you have a pen? I need to borrow one.”
With a dramatic hair flip and a confident smile, he dazzled the front desk beauty. Her lips twitched, and her toes curled in confusion, but her professionalism kicked in as she smiled and nodded, retrieving a pen for him.
Ye Liang Chen took the pen and turned to leave. Halfway there, he suddenly stopped, lifted the pen high, and without looking back, he called out, “Thanks!”
Back at his seat, Ye Liang Chen smirked. “Did you just see that beauty smile at me?”
Xue Shao Hua, clueless about Ye Liang Chen’s intentions, nonetheless nodded along.
“It’s just the way it is; that’s my charm. If I wasn’t a redeemer, I’d have tons of beautiful girls around me.”
With that, he twirled the pen in his fingers, then pulled out a cigarette and wrote three names on it.
In Xue Shao Hua’s bewildered expression, Ye Liang Chen lit the cigarette slowly, saying, “Writing their names on smoke and inhaling it… isn’t that a unique way of merging bodies?”
