566. Xiong Da
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All afternoon, Lin Nan found herself surrounded by a symphony of snores.
Especially from Tu Junhui, whose portly frame already turned him into a snoring machine. After a few drinks, he cranked it up to eleven! The snores were so thunderous that Lin Nan noticed several curious students outside the dorm peeking in like it was a live-action freak show.
Fortunately, the front door was frosted glass, so they couldn’t see in, and Lin Nan had thoughtfully double-locked it to guard against any busybody like Zheng Qian sneaking in.
With nothing better to do, Lin Nan decided to tidy up the dorm, and then she opened Xiong Da’s computer, ready to dive into some games.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to head back to her rental. It was just way too risky to leave the dorm without a proper cover; the dorm supervisor might have it out for her, and if she got caught, she’d end up being hustled off to Zheng Qian for a stern talking-to.
Sure, the odds were that nothing serious would happen, but humiliation? No thanks!
As for climbing the fence, without any magic or backup, she was totally stuck.
Sighing softly, she glanced at the figures on Xiong Da’s shelf and muttered, “Is Xiong Da going to get even more lost in the anime world after this?”
His first crush had betrayed him, which hit this shy and introverted guy hard. If he couldn’t shake off that shadow, he’d likely become a full-time hermit worshipping 2D characters.
The real question was: how to help him step out of that shadow?
Lin Nan wasn’t exactly a guru in the romance department, but she spent enough time online to know a thing or two — even if she hadn’t exactly lived it.
After some thought, she figured maybe Xiong Da should find a girlfriend? Or maybe let Tu Junhui play boyfriend for a while?
Just imagine Tu Junhui’s two-hundred-pound self smothering Xiong Da’s skinny hundred-and-something pounds…
Yikes! Now that’s an eye sore.
Lost in her wild thoughts, she was jolted back to reality by a rustling sound behind her. Turning around, she saw Chen Yao sitting up, propped against his arms.
He hadn’t drunk much, being in a steady relationship and all. Going overboard when you have a girlfriend leads to a very unwanted beating, so he’d crashed for a two-hour nap that left him with a headache.
“Lin Nan…” His voice was gravelly, and his head was pounding. “Got any water?”
Lin Nan jumped from her chair and hurried to pour him a cup of water that had been ready for ages.
Chen Yao had gotten up from his makeshift bed and looked down at the three still drooling on the floor, chuckling bitterly. “d*mn it, I pretended to sleep and ended up actually sleeping.”
“Well, who told you guys to drink for three to four hours? Mixing hard liquor and beer? You guys are just asking for trouble,” Lin Nan replied, mock-grumbling as she handed him the water. “What if one of you ends up with a perforated stomach? I told you not to drink or smoke, but look at you all today!”
“Xiong Da was bummed, so I just had a drink with him, what’s the harm?” Chen Yao took a big gulp from the cup and glanced back at the snoring Xiong Da on the floor. “They’re my only two bros left.”
Back in high school, he had quite a few drinking buddies, but they all scattered the moment they graduated, the type to only hit you up online if they needed cash.
He used to have a close friend, but that guy is now his girlfriend.
As for Tu Junhui and Xiong Da, after living together for a year and a half, they knew each other inside and out, making them feel like real brothers.
Tu Junhui might have a big mouth, but he was the definition of loyalty, always stepping up whenever there was trouble. Xiong Da might seem like the stoic iceberg of the group, but he had his quirks; he’d once made a silly face to cheer Lin Nan up while attempting to comfort her.
“You got any ideas?” Chen Yao asked, his head still pounding. He found a spot to plop down and questioned Lin Nan again, “Xiong Da isn’t going to get over this easily.”
“I think he needs a girlfriend! Tu Junhui knows a lot of people, maybe he…”
Chen Yao interrupted her, “But Xiong Da’s personality… He wouldn’t say a word to a random girl. He needs someone who’s into him and willing to pursue him!”
“Look at your own magical powers…”
Lin Nan frowned. Sure, she had magic, but most of it was still locked away.
Besides, using magic to solve this kind of life challenge felt a bit off.
“How about I use magic to find a random girl on the street and make her like Xiong Da?” she suggested, then quickly dismissed the idea with a shake of her head.
Too sleazy!
“Honestly, I think we should find Xiong Da something to keep him busy, so he forgets about this whole mess,” Lin Nan declared suddenly, a light bulb going off in her head. “If he’s busy, he won’t have time to wallow in his sadness. Once he gets through it, he won’t feel so bad anymore.”
Chen Yao nodded thoughtfully, “Like games?”
“No way, he plays mobile games every day, but he barely does anything challenging; it’s just shooting the breeze and pulling cards.”
Finding something truly engaging for Xiong Da to distract him from the heartbreak was the goal.
Chen Yao also thought it was a good idea, but they stumbled on the crux of the issue: what could they find that would both fascinate Xiong Da and keep him so busy he’d forget his heartache?
“Maybe he just needs to chill for now?” Chen Yao shook his head, “It’s only the first day. Let’s give it a few days and see if he pulls himself together.”
“True.” Lin Nan suddenly remembered: Xiong Da had only been betrayed for a single day; of course he’d be feeling crushed.
But man, he’d already drunk himself silly twice in one day! With how flushed he looked when he was drinking, he might have a minor allergy, or his body just didn’t deal well with alcohol.
She brought this up to Chen Yao as a reminder. “No more booze for him over the next few days! At this rate, if he keeps chugging down beer and liquor, it’s only a matter of time until he ends up in serious trouble.”
Lin Nan had originally thought that after getting back to school, she could just hit the books and prepare for finals. But after only a day back, first there was Pan Maoxin with family drama potentially bringing on a new stepmom, which left that poor guy unfocused, and now her own bro was heartbroken while his boyfriend drowned his sorrows in alcohol.
“I get it. Starting tomorrow, no more drinking for him,” Chen Yao sighed heavily.
At that moment, Da Gou and Tu Junhui began to stir and wake up, one after the other.
Da Gou had some stuff to handle at the shop, and came in only to slip away like a shadow, leaving Lin Nan to wonder if he was just there for the free booze and barbecue.
Meanwhile, after splashing some water on his face, Tu Junhui joined Lin Nan and the others to vent about Xiong Da’s situation.
He was genuinely furious. When Xiong Da first started dating that girl, Tu Junhui had quietly checked her out himself and thought she was pretty cool. He’d often egged on the shy Xiong Da to go find a girlfriend, all while he endured the lonely watch over the dorm.
Even when Xiong Da had strolled around texting his girlfriend, he had left Tu Junhui hanging.
And now, just like that, Xiong Da had been betrayed.
With the alcohol still coursing through him, Tu Junhui furiously counted the sins of Xiong Da’s ex, lamenting heartbreak with all the intensity of a soap opera character.
If only Xiong Da had spent the last month gaming or duo-queueing with him instead of chasing after that girl, he would have already leveled up beyond in-game status!
