079. Tu Junhui’s Birthday【3/26】
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Today just happens to be Tu Junhui’s birthday! He was originally planning to treat everyone in the dorm to some crawfish and barbecue, since last year Chen Yao and Xiong Da offered treats on their birthdays.
As for Lin Nan, her birthday falls during summer break.
Lin Nan quickly calmed down. What started as an angry frown turned into a cheerful smile when she heard she wouldn’t have to pay back any remaining debts.
After a couple of rounds of five-man matches with the four in the dorm plus Dong An, Tu Junhui checked the time and handed his phone to Lin Nan. “How about a pound of crawfish per person? And for barbecue, order what you want.”
“For barbecue… anything works, right?”
Lin Nan said that, but didn’t hesitate to order pricey items like chicken legs, frog legs, and squid skewers. It had been a while since she had eaten barbecue, but after recently having an all-you-can-eat grilled meat session, her craving had subsided. After ordering about thirty items, she returned the phone to Tu Junhui.
“So, what on earth is in your medical examination report that’s so scandalous?” Tu Junhui took the phone back, still jabbering, but when he looked up and saw Lin Nan’s face darkening again, he quickly moved toward Chen Yao. “Chen Yao, order your barbecue.”
Although the school dorms close the doors after ten at night and the main gate is completely locked to prevent any entry or exit, the fences surrounding the school had been cut up by delivery people from outside. Basically, any normal-sized human could slip through sideways, and the school had no plans for repairs.
This led to many students sneaking out after roll call to spend the night out. Tu Junhui had even pulled off that trick twice with friends from the gym club, partying all night at a bar.
But this semester, he wasn’t planning to hit the gym anymore; he’d pretty much lost contact with the club.
Lin Nan was scrolling through her recent gaming win rates with the mouse, and she had to admit, magic really was useful. Her win rate used to hover around fifty-five, but in the last month, it soared toward eighty.
If it weren’t for her obsession with playing Yasuo, her favorite ‘happy hero’ when solo queuing, her win rate might be even higher.
The downside? She used to play all day, sometimes even pulling all-nighters, but now she was exhausted after just two or three rounds and didn’t even want to move her fingers.
Propping her weary hands on her chin, she stared enviously at the food videos on her screen, swallowing her saliva every now and then.
Meanwhile, Tu Junhui had already placed the order and started arranging several suitcases to create a makeshift table, looking quite pleased since it was his birthday.
“Chen Yao, want a smoke?” Tu Junhui finished setting up his snack station and pulled out some leftover milk wine from the cupboard. “It’s my birthday! Who’s joining me for a drink?”
“I’ll skip the smoke and join you for a drink,” Chen Yao replied, lounging back with his legs crossed.
The atmosphere in the dorm finally returned to its usual chaotic buzz, with Chen Yao grinning like the cat that got the cream. You see, during the five-man matches, Lin Nan had been unusually quiet, making the usually fun games painfully dull.
Xiong Da was allergic to alcohol, so Tu Junhui turned his attention back to Lin Nan, but as soon as he looked over, she quickly shook her head in refusal.
This time, there was no spell to unlock; Lin Nan didn’t need any liquid courage, and frankly, she wasn’t interested in booze. To her, the smell of alcohol was just as repulsive as cigarette smoke.
“What a shame,” Tu Junhui sighed, but Lin Nan didn’t seem to harbor any grudges about earlier.
They ordered from a restaurant at the back gate of the school, and within half an hour, the delivery person had dropped off the crawfish and barbecue.
The four sat around the suitcase table with their chairs, and as soon as Lin Nan saw the bright red crawfish, she didn’t wait for Tu Junhui to say anything—she eagerly slipped on her gloves.
“Hey, isn’t it true that you don’t usually eat crawfish?” Tu Junhui suddenly asked.
“What makes you say that?” Lin Nan recalled saying something like that and worried he might want to eat her portion. “I mean, I eat it less often because de-shelling is a hassle.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re broke,” Chen Yao chimed in with a chuckle.
Well, when all is said and done, it really was the lack of funds.
Lin Nan felt a pang in her chest when she thought about her meager bank balance. Plus, with no allowance for the next few months, life felt utterly hopeless.
The bigger issue was her quick spending habits.
Cola for meals, vaccinations, toys. Plus, she had to take a bus home this Friday, which would cost her over two hundred round trip. Luckily this month her allowance was sufficient, and she managed to squeeze some cash out of her “little uncle.” Otherwise, she might genuinely have had to survive on instant noodles this month.
That crawfish was likely the only decent meal she would enjoy for a while… Didn’t she think the same way about her last barbecue?
Thinking that, Lin Nan polished off her crawfish at a speed that surprised even herself. But after only two, she looked up to see her dorm mates had already devoured five or six.
“How do you guys eat so fast?”
“You eat so little normally,” Tu Junhui enthusiastically demonstrated with a crawfish to prove he truly had a change of heart. “Look, you just s*ck it, twist it, and squeeze a bit, and the meat comes right out.”
“…”
Lin Nan clumsily tried to mimic Tu Junhui’s technique, but the soup-soaked crawfish was incredibly slippery in her hands, and the moment she applied pressure, it shot out and landed on the floor.
Clearly, she wasn’t cut out for eating anything with a shell. Should she learn a peeling spell?
She mourned the fallen crawfish for two seconds, only to have a complete shrimp tail suddenly appear in front of her eyes. She turned up to see Chen Yao handing it over.
“Hey, if you keep this up, you might as well eat just a few before they’re all gone.”
Lin Nan’s heart soared; what a solid best friend she had!
Tu Junhui, glancing over, froze for a moment then hurriedly offered the freshly peeled crawfish he’d just made to Lin Nan.
“You’ve already sucked it…” Lin Nan exclaimed in exaggerated disgust.
“d*mn it, that hurt my feelings!” Tu Junhui grumbled as he shoved the crawfish into his mouth.
Xiong Da remained silent, but after observing the trio’s antics, he pondered for a moment and quietly peeled a crawfish for the downcast Tu Junhui, delivering it with his typical icy expression. “Happy birthday, gift from me.”
“Now that’s a unique gift,” Tu Junhui’s chubby cheeks twitched, but he didn’t refuse, too busy to speak. He just opened his mouth wide, “Ah~”
“Disgusting…” Xiong Da shivered in horror and unceremoniously tossed the shrimp tail into the broth. “You can fish it out yourself.”
“Mine now!” Lin Nan was quick to scoop it up.
This late-night feast turned out to be exceptionally satisfying for Lin Nan. With someone helping her peel crawfish, the skewers were delicious, and a sip of the cola that Tu Junhui bought made her feel downright blissful, as if she were celebrating her own birthday.
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Waking up from a nap, my roommate told me he had a mild fever and was heading to the clinic. I’m feeling a bit panicky.
