0030: The Aruba Torture!

That night.

The last bus pulled over by the roadside, and Zheng Feng followed Bian Guanyue off.

He escorted her all the way into the pitch-black alley, muttering to himself, "Why haven't they fixed the streetlights yet?"

"My Maternal Grandfather asked the neighborhood office about it. They said they'd fix them once they had the money," Bian Guanyue said.

"It's just a few light bulbs. Dragging it out like this is ridiculous." Zheng Feng was especially irritated that night; nothing looked right to him.

"Thank you." Bian Guanyue pointed at the building. "I'm going upstairs."

Bian Guanyue was not someone who failed to appreciate kindness. Zheng Feng accompanied her to and from school every day and escorted her through the alley at night. She was genuinely grateful to him.

So, she had started talking to Zheng Feng more.

But Zheng Feng was not particularly happy about this change, because Bian Guanyue was closer to Chen Guiliang.

"Wait!"

Zheng Feng called out to stop her. There were some things he had to get off his chest.

Bian Guanyue, who had nearly reached the stairwell, turned around and asked, "What is it?"

Zheng Feng hesitated. "Chen Guiliang... isn't a good student."

"How is he not a good student?" Bian Guanyue felt somewhat displeased.

Zheng Feng said, "He doesn't focus on his studies. He often causes trouble, and he's gotten into fights at school several times. If the homeroom teacher hadn't pleaded for him, he would've been expelled long ago. He's still on probation at school."

"Has he ever bullied any classmates?" Bian Guanyue asked.

"He... probably has," Zheng Feng said, unclear himself.

Bian Guanyue stated seriously, "Zheng Feng, we're friends, and Chen Guiliang is also my friend. I think friends should say things directly to each other. They shouldn't badmouth people behind their backs."

Hearing the displeasure in her tone, Zheng Feng did not dare slander Chen Guiliang any further. He only muttered softly, "I'm afraid Chen Guiliang will lead you astray."

Bian Guanyue felt she should make things clear. "Zheng Feng, I know you like me, and I'm grateful that you walk me home every day. But we should focus on our studies and strive to get into better universities. Once you're in college, you'll meet girls better than me."

Though she had put it very tactfully, her meaning was already perfectly clear.

Zheng Feng stood there dumbly, filled with grievance and despair. He could not understand how he was inferior to Chen Guiliang.

Leaving everything else aside, they were already seniors in high school, yet Chen Guiliang had not even joined the Youth League!

(Chen Guiliang: Are you paying my membership dues?)

Bian Guanyue hurried home. Her Maternal Grandfather and Maternal Grandmother were watching TV in the living room.

"Guanguan's back!"

Her Maternal Grandfather immediately went to cut some fruit, while her Maternal Grandmother pulled her over to sit and chat.

There had been a parent-teacher meeting that day, where Bian Guanyue and Chen Guiliang had been singled out for criticism. The main issue was that they had left school directly on Friday afternoon without asking for leave in advance, and they had not registered with the security guard.

Her Maternal Grandfather and Maternal Grandmother had therefore learned that a boy named Chen Guiliang had accompanied their granddaughter into the city to get her computer fixed.

And that boy had already been placed on probation at school.

The elderly couple truly did not know how to advise her. They were afraid that one careless word might stir up their granddaughter's rebellious streak.

So they had put it off until now without saying anything.

Her Maternal Grandfather brought over the fruit and winked hard at her Maternal Grandmother, meaning, "You say it."

After hesitating again and again, her Maternal Grandmother swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

Her Maternal Grandfather could only step in himself. "Guanguan, you've been at your new school for a week now. Have you made any new friends in class?"

"There's a girl named Wang Siyu. We get along fairly well, and she lives over in Wealthy Garden. There's also a boy named Zheng Feng. His home is only one bus stop away from here, so we often go to and from school together," Bian Guanyue said.

Her Maternal Grandfather thought, Oh no. She just won't mention that Chen Guiliang.

Her Maternal Grandmother continued, "I know that young man Zheng Feng. His Grandmother worked at our cotton mill, and his grandfather worked at the fertilizer factory next door. Sigh, both factories went bankrupt, and his parents became laid-off workers too."

"His mother is quite capable," her Maternal Grandfather commented. "When she was first laid off, she shined shoes for people. Later, she set up a stall at the entrance to No. 7 Middle School selling cold rice noodles, cold noodles, and wolf-tooth potatoes. I heard she's made quite a bit of money these past two years."

"His father isn't bad either. After being laid off, he didn't just waste his days. At forty, he even switched careers and became a chef," her Maternal Grandmother added.

Bian Guanyue was not interested in any of this. After casually chiming in a few times, she picked up her schoolbag and returned to her bedroom to study.

She switched on her desk lamp and took out her pencil case and test papers.

When she unzipped the pencil case to take out a pen, Bian Guanyue saw that broken stone again.

It was snowy white, like fine jade.

Feeling playful, she used a gel pen to draw eyes, a nose, and a mouth on the stone. When she finished, she even labeled the little figure beside it: "Dumbass."

Outside Room 302.

Several bastards exchanged glances. They had clearly already discussed doing something nasty.

Chen Guiliang had no idea. Whistling "Dong Feng Po," he walked into the room.

"Get him!"

Xie Yang let out a roar, and several of the bastards pounced at once.

Before Chen Guiliang could even react, they had dragged and shoved him onto the bed.

Xie Yang grabbed him by the throat, while Xu Haibo and Liu Zhihong pinned down his arms. Li Yulin and Yang Cong held his legs.

Li Dongqiang pulled off his belt, folded it in half, and snapped it with sharp cracks.

Usually shy and timid, Yang Hao stood nearby with a grin, watching the excitement.

"Spit it out! Are you dating Bian Guanyue or not?!" Xie Yang began his interrogation.

Li Dongqiang lashed the bedframe with his belt and threatened viciously, "If you don't confess honestly, don't blame me for bringing out the torture."

Xu Haibo joined in, shouting, "Confess and be treated leniently! Resist and be punished severely!"

Chen Guiliang could only howl, "My lords, I've been wronged!"

"Still not talking?"

Xie Yang released Chen Guiliang, flicked his hair dramatically, and stood to the side directing them. "Bring out the torture!"

"Aruba! Aruba..."

The bunch of bastards laughed and chanted in unison, lifting Chen Guiliang and adjusting his position, about to slam his crotch against the bedframe.

Chen Guiliang cried out in terror, "Fuck! Spare me, you bastards! Your grandpa's confessing!"

"Talk, then. Don't waste time," Xie Yang urged.

Chen Guiliang said, "Don't get stir-fry for lunch tomorrow. I'll take you guys out for lamb soup."

Li Yulin roared, "You're at death's door and you still dare try bribing us?!"

"Exactly. You think we're short on one bowl of lamb soup?" Xu Haibo egged them on.

Chen Guiliang raised the offer. "Two meals! Two bowls of lamb soup."

"Now that sounds more like it." Li Yulin released Chen Guiliang's leg.

Yang Cong let go of the other one. "No backing out."

Chen Guiliang took the chance to wrench free his arms and fully regain his freedom. Half-joking, half-serious, he said, "I am pursuing Bian Guanyue, but there's still nothing definite yet."

The others gathered around Chen Guiliang as he sat on the edge of the bed. Those who could not squeeze in dragged over stools.

They surrounded Chen Guiliang and eagerly pried into what was going on between him and Bian Guanyue.

Xie Yang interrogated him. "Bian Guanyue never says more than three words at a time. She's icy and ignores everyone, so why did she listen to music with you?"

"I went with her to get her computer fixed," Chen Guiliang explained.

Yang Cong did not believe him. "That's it?"

"How complicated could it be?" Chen Guiliang shot back.

Xie Yang was full of regret. "Fuck, I should've skipped class and gone with her. What a wasted chance!"

Xu Haibo reminded him, "Xie Show-off, Bian Guanyue is our sister-in-law now. You're not allowed to have ideas about her anymore."

"Forget it. I'll go after Zhou Jing instead." Xie Yang voluntarily withdrew.

Liu Zhihong asked curiously, "Chen the Hero, do you know what Bian Guanyue's family does? Her phone and MP3 player are both really expensive."

"I don't know." Chen Guiliang shook his head.

After the group horsed around him for a while, the dorm lights suddenly went out, and the dorm supervisor yelled from the hallway outside for them to sleep.

They each returned to their bunks and took off their clothes, but now that the topic had started, no one was getting to sleep tonight.

So they switched into late-night dorm chat mode.

"Li Yulin, how are things progressing with Wang Yu?"

"How else? After evening study, we go on dates at Artificial Lake."

"I'm asking whether you two have done that."

"No. We just hug and kiss."

"What does kissing a girl feel like?"

"Yeah, tell us already. You're the only one in the whole dorm who's dating."

"Mm... I don't know how to describe it. It just feels really damn good."

"I've got my eye on Ou Yafei from the class next door. That chick is slutty as hell. She wears makeup every day, and in summer she dresses especially revealing."

"Xu Haibo, which girl do you have a crush on?"

"I don't have a crush. I'm going to study hard and get a girlfriend once I'm in college."

"Bullshit. You definitely do. Tell us, do you have a crush on Wu Meng?"

"Fuck, how did you know?"

"The way you look at Wu Meng is fucking wrong."

"..."

In the darkness, Chen Guiliang wore a faint smile as he quietly listened to his roommates chat.

Though the topic was a little raunchy, it brimmed with the beautiful fantasies of youth.

"Chen Guiliang, still no news about the New Concept Competition?" Xie Yang asked.

"It's still early," Chen Guiliang said. "There are hundreds of thousands of submissions. The organizers will be busy for a month or two."

Xu Haibo voiced his confusion. "Chen the Hero, why did you ask me such an easy math question during evening study hall today?"

"My first-year foundations weren't solid," Chen Guiliang answered perfunctorily.

Xie Yang exposed him at once. "The hell you mean your first-year math wasn't good? You nearly got a perfect score on the arts-and-sciences placement exam."

Chen Guiliang changed the subject. "Xie Show-off, did you sneak off to an internet café?"

"Yeah, you were eating shit, weren't you?" Xu Haibo remembered too.

Xie Yang rolled over to face the wall. "I'm going to sleep. You guys talk."

Li Yulin, the owner of a busted guitar, suddenly howled out a Byond song, complete with an electronic vibrato: "An iron wok, crying tears as it calls for a repaired ladle-wok, broken and chipped pots and ladles replaced with new ones, tossed about everywhere..."

"Why the hell are you howling like you're at a funeral? Go to sleep!"

The dorm supervisor barked from outside the door.

(Please vote with your guaranteed monthly tickets.)