### 010. Competition?
It’s the third day at school, and it happens to be a Sunday.
Thanks to a wild all-nighter last night, the dormitory is quieter than a library filled with sleeping cats.
Around three in the afternoon, Lin Nan is stirred awake by his roommate’s noises.
Still half-asleep, he props himself up and looks down to see Tu Junhui already awake and at the balcony, brushing his teeth with the seriousness of a warrior preparing for battle.
Though woken, Lin Nan has zero intention of getting up. Instead, he wraps himself in his blanket, curls up his toes, and faces the wall to play with his phone.
His rolling around rouses Chen Yao, who, after a moment’s confusion, glances around the dorm and quickly snaps to full awareness. He leans over to peek at Lin Nan’s phone.
“What are you looking at?” he asks, eyes narrowing as if trying to solve the mystery of the universe. “How to be more manly?”
Lin Nan can’t be bothered and continues his quest for manly wisdom.
“You could grow your hair long and wear makeup; you’d totally have that ‘manly vibe’.” Chen Yao grins, clearly enjoying the mischief. “Don’t worry; back in middle school, you looked more like a girl, and I never saw you this stressed out!”
“That was just because I was short back then.”
“And you’re still not tall.”
“…..”
And just like that, their conversation fizzles out. Lin Nan gives him the silent treatment, while Chen Yao chuckles awkwardly. He senses something’s off with Lin Nan lately—he’s been quick to anger—so he jumps off his bed to wash up and play on his computer instead.
Tomorrow is officially the start of classes, and the campus has returned to its usual chaos. Lin Nan lays in bed, clearly hearing the hustle and bustle outside in the hallway.
Yet, his mood is as dark as a black cat in a coal mine. Last night at the internet cafe, Dong An had the audacity to say he looked like a girl! He tried hard not to let it bother him, but, deep down, it still stung.
Maybe I should just shave my head?
Lin Nan mutters to himself when suddenly Tu Junhui’s voice interrupts his thoughts.
“Don’t you still have deliveries to make? Did you go this afternoon?”
“!!!” Lin Nan sits bolt upright; suddenly, it all clicks. He forgot about his delivery like it was an annoying homework assignment!
He scrambles out of bed, ready to rush downstairs, but then remembers he zoned out last night playing games and completely forgot about the delivery. So…
He flops back down on the bed and sighs, “Forget it. Why bother with deliveries when I could just work as a waiter? Standing around all day is definitely better than running up and down stairs.”
“Besides, if the manager hasn’t called me yet, they’ve probably forgotten about me,” Lin Nan rationalizes, feeling rather smug. If the manager can forget him, then he sure as heck can forget about the obligations.
He rolls over onto his pillow when a sudden sharp pain jabs at his chest.
That reminds him of the recurring nightmare he’s been having lately, and his face pales a notch. He quickly checks under the covers.
Wait, am I gaining weight?
It’s only been a day! If this keeps up, I’ll end up…
Lin Nan’s thoughts spiral into panic. If he really sprouts a pair of…
I MUST stop this from happening ASAP!
Immediately, he hops online to research his unfortunate situation. Turns out, a lot of guys have similar issues. Tu Junhui, for instance, is a little on the heavy side, and you could probably classify his chest as a solid C-cup.
Solutions? For guys like Tu Junhui, just shedding a few pounds could flatten things out. But for Lin Nan, with these… developments, surgery might be the only answer.
He grimaces, promptly discarding that idea and pushing the whole issue deep into the “do not open” file in his mind.
Determined to tackle his morning routine, Lin Nan leaps out of bed and heads to wash up.
For Lin Nan and Chen Yao, living in the dorm is far more pleasant than being at home. Their busy parents keep them company less than a single potato, and being alone at home means cleaning, cooking, and basically dealing with life solo! But in school? There are games, activities, and so much noise—it’s practically a theme park of chaos!
“Anyone want to go for a run tonight?” Lin Nan asks through a mouthful of toothpaste, making him a tad hard to understand.
Yesterday’s delivery made him realize he needed to get into shape, and though he considered using ‘magic,’ that always felt a bit too risky. Plus, every spell requires unlocking with some annoying limitations. Much easier to just hit the gym instead!
“Nope,” Chen Yao mutters without even looking away from his computer screen.
“Not feeling the games or the midnight snacks?” Tu Junhui scoffs from his bed. “Ever since last semester when I lost weight, I realized all that time spent working out wasn’t worth skipping out on my gaming!”
This guy lost 20 to 30 pounds last semester, but spent the summer munching snacks and is now back at square one, confidence wise.
Xiong Da, on the other hand, is still snoozing in his bed without a peep. This dude is such a hermit; if it weren’t for classes, Lin Nan bets he could stay cooped up in the dorm all semester long.
Seeing no one’s interested in working out with him, Lin Nan starts to waver.
After checking various spells to boost stamina and muscle, he finds most have hefty restrictions, leading him to abandon that plan.
With a disgruntled pout, he mutters, “Fine, I’ll just go running alone.”
“By the way, the school’s top ten singers are holding auditions soon. Lin Nan, you in?” Tu Junhui suddenly pipes up.
“Not interested.”
“There’s a prize! I see you could use the cash for a new computer! If you make it into the top ten, there’s a consolation prize of a hundred bucks, and rumors say the first place gets a thousand!”
Prize money…
Lin Nan hesitates. But then, he remembers his voice sounds like a crow with a sore throat. He ultimately shakes his head. Plus, he doesn’t have the guts to sing in public!
“What about the esports tournament?” Chen Yao jumps into the conversation, recalling the annual event. He turns around excitedly. “The auditions start in November, and I heard the first prize is a champion skin and 5,000 bucks. That’s like a thousand each for our team!”
That’s not too shabby! True, it means gaming in front of a crowd, but as long as he’s focused, the environment fades away.
“You have no idea just how bad I am right now,” Lin Nan mutters hesitantly.
“Maybe you’re just going through a rough patch?”
No, he’s just plain awful right now!
Lin Nan spits out the foamy toothpaste, feeling a headache coming on. Once upon a time, earning money for a new computer was a breeze—doing gigs, delivering, and competing were all easy-peasy. But now, with his stamina and reaction times in the gutter, he feels like he can’t even do a thing to make cash!
“Why not give it a go?” Chen Yao encourages. “You’ve got half a month to practice, and if you’re in good shape by then, why not sign up?”
Sure, Lin Nan’s performance nearly made Chen Yao throw his keyboard last night, but they’ve been a duo since middle school, climbing their way to Diamond. Chen Yao worries that switching teammates might throw him off balance.
If Lin Nan can just find his old groove back—not saying he’d be unstoppable, but he could definitely dominate any duo at school.
“I’ll give it a shot,” Lin Nan finally admits, a glimmer of hope sparking in his heart. That thousand bucks? Enough for a decent computer that could run League of Legends at low settings.
If worse comes to worst, maybe he can unlock a spell to improve reflexes and speed?
Too bad Lin Nan can’t find anything in his memory resembling “turn lead into gold”—otherwise, he wouldn’t need to sweat over making money so much!
—
It’s around noon now. Expect updates around six in the evening. Two updates a day!
