149. Top Ten Singer Competition
Alipay has quite a few promotions, and Lin Nan once hit the jackpot during a campaign, raking in over twenty bucks, all thanks to the “Collect Five Blessings” tradition around Chinese New Year.
Sure, most of the later activities he participated in only brought in a few dimes, but hey, if he could just casually earn enough for a bottle of cola and waste a little time, why not? As a student, he had time coming out of his ears!
Of course, the main task of a student is studying, and Lin Nan here is a prime example of what not to do.
He casually bought a piece of Alpine candy at the convenience store using Huabei and snagged fifty cents from the app. With a happy grin, Lin Nan recalled which canteen supported Huabei because he had a mission: to squeeze out every last cent from Jack Ma’s pockets this month!
When he returned to the Grand Playground where the event was happening, Lin Nan noticed Tu Junhui and Xiong Da had already vanished – probably back in the dorms playing games.
But Chen Yao was supposed to be… Turning around, Lin Nan realized Chen Yao had mysteriously disappeared as well. Squinting into the distance, he could make out a figure heading toward the dorms.
What the heck?
He glanced back at the students gathered in front of the singer competition stage and then at Chen Yao’s retreating figure, his face contorting into a dilemma.
The stage for the Top Ten Singer Competition was buzzing with excitement, and he could almost see some abandoned red packets flying around.
Lin Nan looked left, looked right. If he just walked a few hundred meters forward and blended into the crowd, he could snag some free red packets, but…
Suddenly, it felt like every student around was watching him, and he felt exposed, like he’d been stripped n*ked in the middle of the street.
He nervously searched for someone familiar to hide behind but found no one. There were zero hiding spots around. It felt like he was bare and vulnerable on the busy sidewalk.
Oddly enough, when he strolled alongside his roommates, he felt calm and composed. But alone out here? He felt incredibly shy and awkward.
His face flushed as he contemplated the allure of the red packet shower against the retreat option of escaping back to the dorms. Torn between embarrassment and potential wealth, he wrestled with his options.
Sure, most of the red packets would just have a few bucks, but what if one of them contained a hundred? If he returned to the dorm, he’d lose all chances of snagging that cash and have to endure playing duo with Chen Yao, who was renowned for his steadfast 0-16 jungle score.
But there was something thrilling about this dilemma.
His cheeks burned brilliantly as he shuffled toward the dorm building.
Forget it, I never have good luck anyway. The big red packets are probably going to be snatched up faster than I can blink.
With his head down and steps quickened, Lin Nan made his way to the dorm, suspiciously glancing around with the corners of his eyes. When he was with his roommates, he never realized just how many glances he got from passersby — it felt like they were all stealing covert looks as they walked by, and he couldn’t even tell if anyone figured out he was a guy…
Then again, if they were students on the forums, they should already know I’m a dude, right?
But most students probably couldn’t care less about forums, and as far as he could tell, none of his classmates had any known obsession with them.
With his head lowered, Lin Nan hurried into the dorm, feeling a bit safer… only to lift his gaze and spot the dorm manager smoking and eyeing him like he was an interesting specimen.
That old dude…
Lin Nan sighed in exasperation. He was always a background character in class, even after his transformation where no one could tell him apart from the girls. Life was good until this old man decided to put him on the counselor’s radar.
He tried to ignore the staring and rushed into his own room.
As soon as he entered, he shot daggers at Chen Yao, who awkwardly gestured to his computer, saying, “The counselor suddenly made me do a document!”
“Why now of all times? You could’ve told me you were leaving!”
“But you’re back now, aren’t you?” Chen Yao had known Lin Nan long enough to be aware that he wasn’t one for seeking out social scenes.
Lin Nan was still miffed. He huffed and returned to his computer, stealing a glance at Tu Junhui, who was glued to an anime, looking like he wanted to smash the screen.
Seriously? What kind of emotional train wreck is this guy watching?
Lin Nan wasn’t really into anime, booted up his computer, and was momentarily lost on what to do next.
The Top Ten Singer Competition was on over at the playground, and while it was a bit of a trek away, the shrieking sounds of some questionable singing made their presence known.
Although the school had poured resources into this event, the amplified sound was utterly overshadowed by studio-recorded music, and with all the varying talent on stage, the first song had Lin Nan cringing.
After finishing his episode, Tu Junhui yanked off his headphones, cursed up a storm at the barely audible vocals, “What the heck? People are charging money to sing, but this is a crime against humanity!”
Though Lin Nan thought it wasn’t that bad, it was still, at the very least, the finals, so the level should be decent… right? But the audio distortion was just ear-splitting.
After a long day of classes, Lin Nan was starting to wear out. He took off Chen Yao’s jacket and stood up to fish out his clothes for tomorrow from the wardrobe.
The weather was getting chilly, so he bypassed the short sleeves and grabbed a thin long sleeve instead.
Too bad it was barely over twenty degrees, not cold enough for a trench coat — if it had been, he could strut around in a black coat, draping a scarf and wearing sunglasses like he was in some Shanghai blockbuster! Talk about suave!
Most of Lin Nan’s pants were loose black casual ones, but thanks to a little extra width lately, his backside was getting a little, ahem, plump. Those pants were now stretching a tad more than necessary. Fortunately, Chen Yao’s long jacket covered him up well.
“Shower time?” Tu Junhui chimed in, already armed with a change of clothes. “Come on, let’s go!”
“Get lost! Why must you always compete with me for the shower? Can’t you be early for once?”
“I thought you’d want to hang out?” He blocked the back door with his large frame, determined that Lin Nan would not be the first one to shower.
Otherwise, the bathroom would smell like desserts, and he was still young and spirited. If it went on like this, Lin Nan might end up too exhausted to play any games.
