563. Dormitory
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At noon, when school was out, Lin Nan, with the assistance of her two musketeers, made a long-awaited return to the boys’ dormitory.
Admittedly, the boys’ dorm had been infiltrated by girls long ago. Though the dorm master was strict, he was just one person and, well, let’s face it, he wasn’t exactly the Energizer Bunny anymore.
So while Grandpa was busy washing pots and cooking, Lin Nan sneakily slipped inside.
As for leaving later, all she needed was Chen Yao to help her scale the fence.
Upon entering room 402, the first thing Lin Nan noticed was the overwhelming scent of smoke and alcohol that nearly knocked her back a few steps. She raised her head in utter confusion.
When did the dorm smell so… pungent?
“Last night, I kept Xiong Da company drinking and smoking until after 2 AM,” Tu Junhui said, while secretly relishing Xiong Da’s misfortune during class but having already consoled him in private.
Stepping into the room, she found beer bottles strewn everywhere and a couple of bottles of liquor on the table, not to mention cigarette butts scattered all over the floor. Lin Nan’s eyebrows jumped up and down like they were auditioning for a trampoline show.
“Is this really necessary?” Chen Yao asked, voicing her thoughts.
Xiong Da didn’t respond; instead, he just sat there, staring blankly at his collection of figurine wives arranged neatly on the bookshelf.
Lin Nan began to help clean up the disaster that was the dorm, glancing over at Xiong Da from time to time.
Honestly, she’d been keeping a close eye on Xiong Da’s feelings for his ex-girlfriend.
Once the reigning king of mobile games, Xiong Da hadn’t stopped typing away on his phone during classes or their previous group trip, constantly checking it like it held the secrets of the universe.
His usually stoic expression had also seen more smiles lately, albeit they were mostly goofy ones while chatting on his phone.
But really, what could you do when your bro got stolen from? You couldn’t exactly steal back, could you?
After stuffing two bags full of empty bottles and sweeping up the cigarette butts into the dustpan, Lin Nan finally plopped down in her spot, casting a glance at Xiong Da, who was face down and despondent on the table, locked in a silent stare-off with the wood.
“Why don’t we ask if there’s been some sort of misunderstanding?” Lin Nan suggested, breaking the silence.
“If I did that, the girl would just say her brother was dropping her off at school. This morning she was waiting downstairs to snag breakfast with Xiong Da. I think she’s just trying to have her cake and eat it too, while being curious about how Xiong Da would look after he figured out he’d been hornswoggled!”
Lin Nan and Chen Yao kept their mouths shut, directing their gaze at Tu Junhui, who was clearly in a storytelling mood.
“You guys know I’m involved in a bunch of clubs, right? Well, turns out one of the underclassmen in one of them is in the same class as Xiong Da’s ex. So I asked around, and apparently, this girl changes boyfriends like socks—she’s had over ten boyfriends in a year, and they’re all rich. Everything she wears is practically a trophy from her former conquests,” he said, letting the gossip flow like a fine wine.
Lin Nan blinked. So that’s how she’s raking it in?
Chen Yao shot a side-eye at Lin Nan, clearly reading her mind without words.
With his chubby little legs dangling, Tu Junhui casually tossed a cigarette on Xiong Da’s desk. “That’s why I’m saying we ought to get revenge; otherwise, how many more dudes will she trick? After pulling a fast one on Xiong Da, she just goes on living her best life? Talk about disrespect!”
Xiong Da glanced at the cigarette, then casually tossed it into the drawer—clearly, he was over the whole smoking thing after last night.
“What does Xiong Da mean by that?” Lin Nan queried, turning to peer at Xiong Da’s back.
“He doesn’t care.”
“Then why are we even stirring the pot?” Lin Nan scoffed.
If the man in question was indifferent, what could a bunch of bros do to right the ship?
But she was a girl!
Come to think of it, Lin Nan had met Xiong Da’s ex-girlfriend once on Tu Junhui’s prodding, and back then, she’d thought she was quite impressive—never would have imagined she’d pull a stunt like this.
After an awkward silence, Xiong Da finally got up and climbed onto his bed like a deflated balloon, throwing the comforter over his head as if it could block out the world.
Honestly, it wasn’t about getting revenge on the girl; it was more about consoling Xiong Da right now.
Seeing him lie there with that dead-fish stare, Lin Nan worried he might just lose it.
After all, introverts tend to feel things way more deeply.
So she piped up, suggesting, “What if we hit up KTV tonight?”
“Yeah! Xiong Da! Let’s go to KTV and unwind, maybe belt out a few tunes!” Tu Junhui chimed in, leaning over to peek at Xiong Da’s bed, “If we skip KTV, what about hitting up a bar? Or we could do a gaming binge at the internet cafe?”
Chen Yao also liked the sound of that and chimed in, “Or we could go to the beach for a buffet barbecue? Or hit the amusement park for some rides?”
The suggestions piled up, but Xiong Da remained mute, lying sideways on the bed, wrapped in a blanket, facing the wall, seemingly lost in thought.
Anyway, Lin Nan had never had the experience of being dumped after an epic betrayal—definitely not something to wish for.
Speaking of which, maybe she needed to keep her distance from Chen Yao in front of Xiong Da for a while?
Showing off their relationship in front of someone fresh from the breakup? That would certainly be a quick way to invite disaster.
Seeing Xiong Da quiet as a mouse, Tu Junhui decided to take the lead. “Alright, we’re going out tonight! We’ll decide where and what to do then!”
“Xiong Da, it’s just a girl. You haven’t been with her long enough to go all drama queen on us!” He clambered up to sit on the edge of the bed, looking down at the lump in the blanket that was Xiong Da. “No need to seek revenge on her or anything; drinking and smoking isn’t gonna fix things, let’s just go out and have some fun for a change!”
Though Tu Junhui sometimes got on people’s nerves, he was probably the most invested in their friendship in the dorm.
His usual mischievous grin was replaced with worry, moving away from the glee he’d been experiencing at Xiong Da’s expense. Seeing him like that made Lin Nan think that maybe he wanted to provoke Xiong Da into reacting, so releasing some pent-up frustration would be better than Xiong Da just staying mum.
Lin Nan grabbed a chair and sat next to Chen Yao, whispering, “What if we find him a new girlfriend?”
“Doesn’t look like he’d accept that right now,” Chen Yao frowned, his foot tapping nervously.
Just then, the dorm door swung open, and Big Dog strolled in with their takeout, beaming like a kid with a candy bar. “Next time, I’ll make sure to order from my place; I can get you folks a discount! But what’s up with the moody atmosphere in here?”
He plopped the bags down on Chen Yao’s desk, glanced around, and zeroed in on Chen Yao. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Lin Nan quickly interjected, shaking her head, fearing the news of Xiong Da’s betrayal would spread through Big Dog and turn into a dorm-wide gossip fest.
“Alright then, I’ll be off!” Big Dog pranced away.
If only Xiong Da had Big Dog’s carefree attitude, maybe he wouldn’t be feeling so low.
“Xiong Da, you want to come down and eat something?” Lin Nan called up to him.
“Not hungry, no appetite.”
She glanced back at Chen Yao, who promptly added, “How about coming down for a drink?”
Xiong Da sprang up, ready to get off the bed.
Earlier in class, he had mentioned it was all behind him, but it was clear he was still pretty bummed out.
