The computer science class just finished not long ago, and there were only a few students who stayed behind to work on their assignments.
Lu Yan walked to the classroom door and found that the student in the yellow T-shirt had already left.
Trying to find someone in such a large campus was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but Lu Yan couldn’t delay clarifying that he was not Xiao Heng.
Recalling the alarming headlines just now, the reputation of senior Xiao might really be ruined if this matter continued to drag on.
So, Lu Yan picked one among the few students who stayed behind. He casually sat down next to him and struck up a conversation, “You haven’t finished either?”
The student focused on typing the last two lines of code, clicked run, and nothing happened on the screen.
“Yeah,” the student said in frustration, running his hand through his hair, “Have you submitted yours already?”
With many people in the class, it was normal not to know everyone, especially since everyone usually went back to their dorms after class. So, a “stranger” like Lu Yan striking up a conversation didn’t arouse suspicion.
Moreover, this “stranger” behaved so naturally, as if he were really a part of the computer science department.
“The content of this class is quite difficult,” Lu Yan nodded, “hard to digest.”
Lu Yan casually chatted with the student. In less than three minutes, Lu Yan extracted all the personal information about the student in the yellow T-shirt from his mouth.
“Are you talking about Xu Ye? He went to the cafeteria to eat. He usually loves the braised chicken on the first floor of the cafeteria, it’s really delicious. After eating, he might go to the internet cafe for a while. I don’t know about your dorm’s internet, but ours has been having some issues lately…”
Indeed, the student in the yellow T-shirt was waiting for his braised chicken at the school cafeteria.
However, as he waited, his left shoulder suddenly felt a weight, and an arm casually draped over his shoulder. Then, he met a face that he might never forget in his lifetime.
Xu Ye: “…”
Lu Yan: “Hey.”
Xu Ye was on the verge of a breakdown. He wanted to turn and run, but the braised chicken wasn’t ready yet, leaving him in a dilemma. “Bro, what do you want?”
Lu Yan pressed his shoulder, turning him entirely towards himself and attempted to explain, “Friend, let me—”
Xu Ye wanted to say, ‘Who the hell is your friend? I really have no interest in men.’ However, Lu Yan covered his mouth with his hand, silencing the words that haven’t come out yet, “Just be quiet for a moment.”
“…”
People were bustling in the cafeteria.
After Lu Yan briefly explained the situation, Xu Ye felt dizzy, “No, so you’re not him? You’re just his substitute, oh no, his class substitute… then why did you say those things to me?”
“I really don’t have any inappropriate thoughts about you,” Lu Yan lowered his arm from Xu Ye’s shoulder, pointing to the window, “Your chicken is ready.”
Xu Ye carried the braised chicken and found a seat with Lu Yan sitting across from him.
“Our band is still in the underground stage at the moment. We’ve released three albums before.”
“Besides rehearsals, we also take part in commercial performances.”
Although Lu Yan usually seemed unconventional, speaking casually and unpredictably, when it came to this, he put aside those expressions, “Although it may seem abrupt, I really want to invite you to join. If you’re interested, just consider it. Have you ever been in a band before?”
Xu Ye paused in the midst of picking up a piece of chicken. After a while, he said, “No.”
“I play bass as a personal hobby, kind of like playing games for fun but never thinking about becoming a professional gamer,” Xu Ye said with his head lowered. Only then did he look up at Lu Yan, “Sorry, I don’t have that intention.”
Lu Yan didn’t say anything more.
He couldn’t use the same tricks as Scar: Have you ever felt lost in the classroom? Do you also have a hidden music dream in your heart? Xiongdi, follow me.
Continuing the conversation seemed unnecessary. Lu Yan handed a business card to Xu Ye, “No problem. If you change your mind, just give me a call.”
Xu Ye took the business card and found it filled with words: “Ghostwriting and singing, musical notation transcription, personal customization.”
“A great song! Crafted with heart!”
“Professional team, affordable prices. You won’t be deceived or experience any losses. Let yourself truly experience what real value is!”
“…”
“Upside down,” Lu Yan said, “On the other side.”
Xu Ye flipped the business card, and the other side simply read: “Vent Band’s lead vocalist, Lu Yan.”
“Looking for a bassist.”
Being a substitute class attendance is as profitable as the small cabbages in the field.
Lu Yan felt like he was experiencing the legendary Mercury retrograde.
On the other hand, the weather was consistently good, with the sun lingering until five or six in the evening.
Lu Yan sat on the return bus, leaning uncomfortably against the window while dozing off.
The scenery outside rushed by, and as the sunlight dimmed, the downtown area was cast in a layer of gray.
The nap wasn’t very comfortable.
When he got off the bus and returned home, he rubbed his neck and tore off a page from the calendar hanging on the wall, realizing that only six days had passed since Labor Day.
Huang Xu and the others arrived at the station the next night. After getting off the train, Huang Xu posted a photo of the station’s exit in their group chat. The slogan at the train station entrance read, “Qingcheng Welcomes You.” In a voice message, he reassured, “Don’t worry, Yaoming and I have already arrived.”
Lu Yan crumpled the torn page from the calendar in his palm, forming a paper ball. Looking at the fresh page behind it, he told himself in his heart: “This is just the beginning.”
The road towards the future still is long.
What do these trivialities even count as?
He threw away the torn page and decided to cook some noodles. As the water heated up, he opened the C University forum, only to find that the three trending articles on the homepage were already gone.
In its place was a clarification post.
After some thought, Lu Yan opened the messaging app and transferred the two hundred yuan he received from the young master back.
Lu Yan: [Transfer]
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Lu Yan: [I won’t receive the check.]
Wljb Lfcu’r gfqis mjwf lc delaf ijaf.
Ljio jc tbeg ijafg, tf agjcrofggfv yjmx atf mtfmx, klat akb jvvlalbcji kbgvr.
Wljb Lfcu: Rb cffv.
Cr j reyralaeaf mijrr jaafcvjca klat qglcmlqifr jcv wbgji ybecvjglfr, Oe Tjc kjr jvjwjca jybea gfaegclcu atf wbcfs. Coafg jii, tf wjvf atf qfgrbc ojwber bnfgcluta bc atf rmtbbi obgew; la kjr fwyjggjrrlcu ab jmmfqa offr.
This childish back-and-forth, one transfer and one refund, repeated three times.
Lu Yan: [Accept it.]
Xiao Heng: [I said no need.]
Lu Yan: [You accept it.]
Xiao Heng: [How annoying are you?]
Xiao Heng: [Damn it.]
After a few times, when Lu Yan tried to transfer the money again, a red exclamation mark directly popped up in the chat box.
[Don’t bother me if there’s nothing wrong has activated friend verification, and you’re not their friend yet.]
“…” This young master was quite ruthless.
He was probably genuinely annoyed.
Lu Yan casually clicked “send friend request,” and after the verification went through, he didn’t bring up the issue of transferring money to Xiao Heng again.
When the water boiled, a message from Xiao Heng came on its own. It was a screenshot of a conversation with someone named Old Hu.
Old Hu: [Xiao Heng.]
Old Hu: [Come to my office tomorrow.]
Old Hu: [I looked at your homework, it’s very touching. I didn’t know you admired me so much, like the endless river…]
Then Xiao Heng sent another message: [What nonsense did you write?]
What else could he write?
Lu Yan touched his nose. He wrote a long and elaborate rainbow fart to Professor Hu, praising him in various ways, and diverged from the class content wherever he pleased.
Lu Yan replied: [I wrote an ode to the soul engineer of humanity.]
Xiao Heng: [Return the money.]
Earlier, Lu Yan deleted him as a friend to avoid accepting the two hundred yuan. Now, the two words “return the money” popped up, and the contrast was too obvious. Although it was a bit unkind, Lu Yan couldn’t help but want to laugh.
He transferred the two hundred yuan again.
He found that Xiao Heng was just venting, and he didn’t actually accept the money.
Xiao Heng: [What else did you do?]
Worried that he wouldn’t believe it, Lu Yan vouched for his integrity, repeating: [Really nothing.]
Xiao Heng didn’t immediately reply to this message. After more than half an hour while Lu Yan was washing dishes at the sink, his phone screen lit up. Since he didn’t unlock it, only a small box popped up on the lock screen with a few familiar sentences:
Xiao Heng: [I have many years of part-time experience.]
Xiao Heng: [Responsible for substitute class attendance, ensuring customer satisfaction.]
Finally, there was a cold smile: [/Smile].
“…”
It was the job declaration he sent to Xiao Heng before.
This expression overlapped with the disdainful chuckle from earlier in the day when Xiao Heng squinted at him and said “guitar.” Lu Yan felt like he was being mocked.
He turned off the tap and was about to put the bowl away, when he remembered something.
He still hadn’t returned the bowl he borrowed from 601.
These past few days, he discovered bits of information about the women in 601 from some neighbors. The entire building now knew of the strange woman who came and banged on the door to make a fuss.
Although the residents in the building didn’t openly say much, there was certainly some discussion behind the scenes.
The most common saying was that she worked in a foot massage spa.
Those kinds of places could be seen everywhere on the streets at night. From the outside, the entire parlor was covered with a special blue tinted glass film, and female therapists would sit on the sofa or stand at the door wearing short skirts.
Lu Yan hesitated for a few seconds.
He wasn’t someone who liked to meddle in others’ affairs, but after owing too many favors this time, he felt like he needed to.
In the end, he unlocked his phone screen and typed a few lines: [By the way, 601 usually returns around noon. If you want to find her, you can come in the afternoon, or I can let her know for you.]
This time, Xiao Heng didn’t say he didn’t need it.
Lu Yan thought it might be because they bumped into each other a few times by chance, and they weren’t entirely strangers, especially since they shared the same name.
Xiao Heng: [Got it.]
After Xiao Heng replied, he lowered his head and looked at the small head leaning against his leg. The child just finished drinking milk and was sleeping soundly. His eyelashes were like fans, and with each breath, a faint sound could be heard.
The spacious house was cold and desolate, devoid of any vitality.
Frowning, he considered pushing the little head away, but in the end, he didn’t. Instead, he placed his hand on the back of the child’s head and gently patted it.
Chapter 10: “Return the money”
The computer science class just finished not long ago, and there were only a few students who stayed behind to work on their assignments.
Lu Yan walked to the classroom door and found that the student in the yellow T-shirt had already left.
Trying to find someone in such a large campus was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but Lu Yan couldn’t delay clarifying that he was not Xiao Heng.
Recalling the alarming headlines just now, the reputation of senior Xiao might really be ruined if this matter continued to drag on.
So, Lu Yan picked one among the few students who stayed behind. He casually sat down next to him and struck up a conversation, “You haven’t finished either?”
The student focused on typing the last two lines of code, clicked run, and nothing happened on the screen.
“Yeah,” the student said in frustration, running his hand through his hair, “Have you submitted yours already?”
With many people in the class, it was normal not to know everyone, especially since everyone usually went back to their dorms after class. So, a “stranger” like Lu Yan striking up a conversation didn’t arouse suspicion.
Moreover, this “stranger” behaved so naturally, as if he were really a part of the computer science department.
“The content of this class is quite difficult,” Lu Yan nodded, “hard to digest.”
Lu Yan casually chatted with the student. In less than three minutes, Lu Yan extracted all the personal information about the student in the yellow T-shirt from his mouth.
“Are you talking about Xu Ye? He went to the cafeteria to eat. He usually loves the braised chicken on the first floor of the cafeteria, it’s really delicious. After eating, he might go to the internet cafe for a while. I don’t know about your dorm’s internet, but ours has been having some issues lately…”
Indeed, the student in the yellow T-shirt was waiting for his braised chicken at the school cafeteria.
However, as he waited, his left shoulder suddenly felt a weight, and an arm casually draped over his shoulder. Then, he met a face that he might never forget in his lifetime.
Xu Ye: “…”
Lu Yan: “Hey.”
Xu Ye was on the verge of a breakdown. He wanted to turn and run, but the braised chicken wasn’t ready yet, leaving him in a dilemma. “Bro, what do you want?”
Lu Yan pressed his shoulder, turning him entirely towards himself and attempted to explain, “Friend, let me—”
Xu Ye wanted to say, ‘Who the hell is your friend? I really have no interest in men.’ However, Lu Yan covered his mouth with his hand, silencing the words that haven’t come out yet, “Just be quiet for a moment.”
“…”
People were bustling in the cafeteria.
After Lu Yan briefly explained the situation, Xu Ye felt dizzy, “No, so you’re not him? You’re just his substitute, oh no, his class substitute… then why did you say those things to me?”
“I really don’t have any inappropriate thoughts about you,” Lu Yan lowered his arm from Xu Ye’s shoulder, pointing to the window, “Your chicken is ready.”
Xu Ye carried the braised chicken and found a seat with Lu Yan sitting across from him.
“Our band is still in the underground stage at the moment. We’ve released three albums before.”
“Besides rehearsals, we also take part in commercial performances.”
Although Lu Yan usually seemed unconventional, speaking casually and unpredictably, when it came to this, he put aside those expressions, “Although it may seem abrupt, I really want to invite you to join. If you’re interested, just consider it. Have you ever been in a band before?”
Xu Ye paused in the midst of picking up a piece of chicken. After a while, he said, “No.”
“I play bass as a personal hobby, kind of like playing games for fun but never thinking about becoming a professional gamer,” Xu Ye said with his head lowered. Only then did he look up at Lu Yan, “Sorry, I don’t have that intention.”
Lu Yan didn’t say anything more.
He couldn’t use the same tricks as Scar: Have you ever felt lost in the classroom? Do you also have a hidden music dream in your heart? Xiongdi, follow me.
Continuing the conversation seemed unnecessary. Lu Yan handed a business card to Xu Ye, “No problem. If you change your mind, just give me a call.”
Xu Ye took the business card and found it filled with words: “Ghostwriting and singing, musical notation transcription, personal customization.”
“A great song! Crafted with heart!”
“Professional team, affordable prices. You won’t be deceived or experience any losses. Let yourself truly experience what real value is!”
“…”
“Upside down,” Lu Yan said, “On the other side.”
Xu Ye flipped the business card, and the other side simply read: “Vent Band’s lead vocalist, Lu Yan.”
“Looking for a bassist.”
Being a substitute class attendance is as profitable as the small cabbages in the field.
Lu Yan felt like he was experiencing the legendary Mercury retrograde.
On the other hand, the weather was consistently good, with the sun lingering until five or six in the evening.
Lu Yan sat on the return bus, leaning uncomfortably against the window while dozing off.
The scenery outside rushed by, and as the sunlight dimmed, the downtown area was cast in a layer of gray.
The nap wasn’t very comfortable.
When he got off the bus and returned home, he rubbed his neck and tore off a page from the calendar hanging on the wall, realizing that only six days had passed since Labor Day.
Huang Xu and the others arrived at the station the next night. After getting off the train, Huang Xu posted a photo of the station’s exit in their group chat. The slogan at the train station entrance read, “Qingcheng Welcomes You.” In a voice message, he reassured, “Don’t worry, Yaoming and I have already arrived.”
Lu Yan crumpled the torn page from the calendar in his palm, forming a paper ball. Looking at the fresh page behind it, he told himself in his heart: “This is just the beginning.”
The road towards the future still is long.
What do these trivialities even count as?
He threw away the torn page and decided to cook some noodles. As the water heated up, he opened the C University forum, only to find that the three trending articles on the homepage were already gone.
In its place was a clarification post.
After some thought, Lu Yan opened the messaging app and transferred the two hundred yuan he received from the young master back.
Lu Yan: [Transfer]
Lu Yan: [I won’t receive the check.]
Xiao Heng’s reply came in quite late.
Half an hour later, he transferred back the check, with two additional words.
Xiao Heng: No need.
As a substitute class attendant with principles and moral boundaries, Lu Yan was adamant about returning the money. After all, he made the person famous overnight on the school forum; it was embarrassing to accept fees.
This childish back-and-forth, one transfer and one refund, repeated three times.
Lu Yan: [Accept it.]
Xiao Heng: [I said no need.]
Lu Yan: [You accept it.]
Xiao Heng: [How annoying are you?]
Xiao Heng: [Damn it.]
After a few times, when Lu Yan tried to transfer the money again, a red exclamation mark directly popped up in the chat box.
[Don’t bother me if there’s nothing wrong has activated friend verification, and you’re not their friend yet.]
“…” This young master was quite ruthless.
He was probably genuinely annoyed.
Lu Yan casually clicked “send friend request,” and after the verification went through, he didn’t bring up the issue of transferring money to Xiao Heng again.
When the water boiled, a message from Xiao Heng came on its own. It was a screenshot of a conversation with someone named Old Hu.
Old Hu: [Xiao Heng.]
Old Hu: [Come to my office tomorrow.]
Old Hu: [I looked at your homework, it’s very touching. I didn’t know you admired me so much, like the endless river…]
Then Xiao Heng sent another message: [What nonsense did you write?]
What else could he write?
A thousand words, and a myriad of flattery.
The idiom roughly tls to “Pierce through a thousand layers; pierce through ten thousand layers, but don’t pierce through flattery” and basically means flattery is something everyone likes to hear.
Lu Yan touched his nose. He wrote a long and elaborate rainbow fart to Professor Hu, praising him in various ways, and diverged from the class content wherever he pleased.
Over-the-top compliments.
Lu Yan replied: [I wrote an ode to the soul engineer of humanity.]
Xiao Heng: [Return the money.]
Earlier, Lu Yan deleted him as a friend to avoid accepting the two hundred yuan. Now, the two words “return the money” popped up, and the contrast was too obvious. Although it was a bit unkind, Lu Yan couldn’t help but want to laugh.
He transferred the two hundred yuan again.
He found that Xiao Heng was just venting, and he didn’t actually accept the money.
Xiao Heng: [What else did you do?]
Worried that he wouldn’t believe it, Lu Yan vouched for his integrity, repeating: [Really nothing.]
Xiao Heng didn’t immediately reply to this message. After more than half an hour while Lu Yan was washing dishes at the sink, his phone screen lit up. Since he didn’t unlock it, only a small box popped up on the lock screen with a few familiar sentences:
Xiao Heng: [I have many years of part-time experience.]
Xiao Heng: [Responsible for substitute class attendance, ensuring customer satisfaction.]
Finally, there was a cold smile: [/Smile].
“…”
It was the job declaration he sent to Xiao Heng before.
This expression overlapped with the disdainful chuckle from earlier in the day when Xiao Heng squinted at him and said “guitar.” Lu Yan felt like he was being mocked.
He turned off the tap and was about to put the bowl away, when he remembered something.
He still hadn’t returned the bowl he borrowed from 601.
These past few days, he discovered bits of information about the women in 601 from some neighbors. The entire building now knew of the strange woman who came and banged on the door to make a fuss.
Although the residents in the building didn’t openly say much, there was certainly some discussion behind the scenes.
The most common saying was that she worked in a foot massage spa.
Those kinds of places could be seen everywhere on the streets at night. From the outside, the entire parlor was covered with a special blue tinted glass film, and female therapists would sit on the sofa or stand at the door wearing short skirts.
Lu Yan hesitated for a few seconds.
He wasn’t someone who liked to meddle in others’ affairs, but after owing too many favors this time, he felt like he needed to.
In the end, he unlocked his phone screen and typed a few lines: [By the way, 601 usually returns around noon. If you want to find her, you can come in the afternoon, or I can let her know for you.]
This time, Xiao Heng didn’t say he didn’t need it.
Lu Yan thought it might be because they bumped into each other a few times by chance, and they weren’t entirely strangers, especially since they shared the same name.
Xiao Heng: [Got it.]
After Xiao Heng replied, he lowered his head and looked at the small head leaning against his leg. The child just finished drinking milk and was sleeping soundly. His eyelashes were like fans, and with each breath, a faint sound could be heard.
The spacious house was cold and desolate, devoid of any vitality.
Frowning, he considered pushing the little head away, but in the end, he didn’t. Instead, he placed his hand on the back of the child’s head and gently patted it.
Chuu-nim, you accidentally posted the chapter twice in the same doc! (ﾟοﾟ人))
Thanks for the chapter!! I can’t wait to see where this goes.
The chapter seems to have been repeated 😖