Chapter 897: Tossing a Coin (1/2)
As expected, it was windy and chilly when we stepped out into the open.
”I wonder if Aunt Wang’s food stall is open today? It’d better be, or we’ll have to eat fast food at KFC. I hate KFC…” He Yi said worriedly.
”It should be.”
I replied confidently, ”Thirteen and I went there for a drink before. Aunt Wang and her husband were laid-off workers, but they have a son studying in high school and another in university. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how much education costs. For the sake of their sons’ future, I’m sure they’ll open their stall even if it’s New Year’s Day.”
Beiming Xue blinked. ”But when I was chatting with Li Chengfeng and the others in the guild channel, they told me that it’s pointless to study in a university. They said that even if you graduate you’ll still be working for others, and sometimes not even that.”
I replied with a bitter smile, ”True, but this is the only out us poverty babies have.”
He Yi chuckled. ”Yeah. How can a poverty baby compete against a trust fund baby if they couldn’t even complete the National College Entrance Examination?”
I sighed dramatically and said, ”Can we talk about something else, please? My heart hurts…”
Murong Mingyue stared at me. ”Your little sister is hurting too…”
I immediately wrapped an arm around Beiming Xue’s shoulders and said, ”She’s insulting you, little sister! Quick, 1v1 her and teach her a lesson! Don’t worry, I’ll cheer for you and provide you with emotional support!”
Murong Mingyue rolled up her sleeves menacingly, ”Hoho? You dare challenge me to a fight? I may not be able to beat Lil Beiming in the game, but I’m a martial arts expert in real life!”
Lian Xin asked, ”Martial arts expert? What style are you?”
He Yi snickered. ”Oh yeah, didn’t you boast to me about being an expert in bed, Mingyue? Is that your style?”
Murong Mingyue: ”...”
……
The carefree conversation continued a bit longer until we reached the street corner. Just as expected, the small food stall wrapped in tarpaulin was still open. It was very late in the night, and our friendly neighborhood bylaw enforcement officers had all returned home already. This was also the only time hard workers like Aunt Wang could show themselves and conduct some small business to survive in this ruthless world.
I parted the curtains and entered the small but warm stall and saw Aunt Wang’s familiar face. She smiled at me and said, ”Ah, it’s you four.”
”Hi, auntie. Can you serve us some side dishes and one Erguotou for me? It’s cold today...”
”Sure!”
After we took a seat, Beiming Xue asked me, ”You’re drinking at this time, big bro?”
I replied, ”It’s easier to sleep this way. Don’t worry, it’s only a sip or two.”
”In that case, we’d like to have a drink too,” He Yi and Murong Mingyue said in unison.
He Yi chuckled. ”Silly girl, I can drink an entire bottle of Erguotou and not even feel it. Your boss has been doing this for a long time, you know.”
At the side, Aunt Wang’s husband was wielding his ladle and frying pan above the roaring flames with great proficiency. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that cooking was a deep technical skill. He used vegetable oil to cook his food, and we the customers had a full view of the cooking process from start until the end. Aunt Wang’s business might be small, but it was one with a conscience and a heart.
Some time later, a good number of delicious dishes were served on the table. Aunt Wang knew that we were rich, and it was practically impossible to mistake He Yi and Murong Mingyue for a poor person. Their attire alone put them at the level of gold collars who weren’t lacking in money at all. In fact, the only reason they even showed up here was completely because of silly ol’ me.
I fed myself a piece of green pepper fried pig heart and took a sip of Erguotou. Ah, nighttime moments like these are always so enjoyable...
The girls ate heartily, and He Yi and Murong Mingyue shared some of the liquor I had ordered.
A few minutes later, a new group of people pushed away the curtains and walked in. They were dressed like students, and it was clear that they were quite young and innocent. At the very least, they could call me, a young man who already had several years of ups and downs in society like me, old, and it wouldn’t feel out of place in the slightest.
……
The five students sat down at a table not far away from us. However, they paid us no attention because the lighting was dim, and the girls were donning thick down-filled garments and facing toward them with their backs.
”F.u.c.k, I almost slipped and pierced my butthole on the pointy rails when climbing the gate…” said a student with a crew cut.
Another student wearing a leather jacket laughed. ”Why didn’t you? That would’ve made for a good show! Anyway, I wonder who’s the f.u.c.ker in the WEL committee who thought that holding a full-day preliminaries was a good idea. This would’ve s.u.c.k.e.d if we didn’t manage to squeeze our way into the Top 256. One of you, take a screenshot of our line-up and post it on our school’s forums later, okay? Gotta boast that nice-looking achievement!”
Crewcut dude replied, ”It is a boast-worthy achievement. We got taken out by none other than Stranger of Three Lifetimes’ team! I can’t wait to return the hot air those idiots from the engineering faculty kept blowing at us already, pooh…”
However, another student with dyed yellow hair shot down his revenge fantasy mercilessly. ”Boast-worthy? Didn’t you see the forums? The moment I logged off, I saw someone from the engineering faculty posting a thread and claiming that one of their third-year teams managed to enter the Top 128 before they were defeated by the Fruit Knife Goddess, Wind Fantasy’s team. Now that’s a boast-worthy achievement. Our result is nothing compared to that.”
”Wind Fantasy’s team? Really? F.u.c.k…”
Leather jacket dude said sadly, ”I heard that Fruit Knife Goddess is a student at Suzhou University of Science and Technology. I wonder if it’s true? I could die happy if I could catch a glimpse of her even once in real life…”
”You pathetic man!”
Crewcut dude roasted his mate mercilessly before saying, ”Well, a friend of mine who studied there did confirm that the Fruit Knife Goddess is a super beauty, but it’s better for all our hearts if we just forget about it. The Fruit Knife Goddess’s dad is no ordinary person, and her bodyguards occasionally show their faces in the university. If it wasn’t for them, she would’ve been swooped away by some thirty-year-old guy a long time ago…”
……
Beiming Xue bumped my arm when she heard this and teased me, ”You hear that, big bro? Someone’s aiming for your quasi-girlfriend! Don’t you have anything to say about this?”
I took another sip of liquor and grumbled, ”The falling flowers are yearning for love, but the heartless brook ripples on…”