Page 49

As a girl, there was no need to hate boys, much less oppose an outstanding boy. But Chen Wanwan, who had always been surrounded by boys, was incredibly sensitive. More than anyone, she understood what the looks boys gave girls meant—ambiguous, shy, desirous, all kinds. That was why, the first time she saw Su Yan, the first time she met his gaze, Chen Wanwan felt her skin crawl and became deeply uncomfortable. Her intuition told her that this boy disliked her. How could she remain calm around someone like that?

After evening self-study ended, the students dispersed in a rush.

Su Yan and Lin Qiang packed up their things and went downstairs together, walking slowly toward the bike shed.

Their bicycles were parked close together. As Lin Qiang unlocked his bike, he said, "My dad asked whether I wanted to live in the dorms. I'm still hesitating. Su Yan, do you think dorm life is good? If I live there, getting to school in the morning would be easier and I wouldn't have to get up so early, but I could only go home on Fridays and Saturdays. That part really sucks."

Su Yan rummaged through his schoolbag for his keys and said bluntly, "If you can avoid it, don't live there. It's inconvenient, unhygienic, disharmonious, and likely to give you a nervous breakdown."

"Huh?" Lin Qiang was dumbfounded. What did living in a dorm have to do with a nervous breakdown?

Su Yan did not answer. He crouched down and quietly looked at his tire. Lin Qiang hurried over and asked pale-faced, "Did someone pull out the valve core again?"

Su Yan nodded and pushed his completely flat bike outward. Lin Qiang followed behind, cursing, "Who keeps doing such a rotten thing? Su Yan, next time let's take leave and stake the place out!"

Su Yan said nothing. By the light of the streetlamp, he pushed his bike across from the school. Next to the fried tofu stall opposite the school was a new bike repair stand. Su Yan walked over and handed the owner fifty cents. "Pump it up."

The owner glanced at Su Yan. "Kid, you come here to inflate your tire around this time every day. Is something wrong with it?"

"Nothing's wrong. Someone pulled out the valve core."

"Oh, oh. Damn, high school students do that kind of thing too?" The owner suddenly understood.

Once the tire was fully inflated, Lin Qiang handed him a bowl of fried tofu. Su Yan accepted it without ceremony and tasted it carefully. The fried tofu here was especially delicious, fragrant and piping hot straight from the pan. One yuan bought five pieces, and it did not leave you feeling bloated. During evening self-study, lots of people came to buy fried tofu every day. Unfortunately, ever since school started enforcing closed management, boarding students could not come out after evening self-study. Even if they wanted fried tofu, they could not buy any, cutting this stall's business by more than half.

Su Yan and Lin Qiang stood shoulder to shoulder beneath the streetlamp and ate. One bowl was not enough for Lin Qiang, so he bought another and gave Su Yan two pieces.

"Su Yan! Su Yan! Lin Qiang!" someone shouted their names.

The two looked up at the same time. Liang Kui, who had called for them, was leaning over the school's iron fence, stretching his neck and looking at them eagerly. "Help me buy some fried tofu! Buy ten yuan's worth and bring it over, thanks!"

Su Yan did not move. Lin Qiang laughed and cursed, "You'll eat yourself to death buying that much!" After cursing him, he obediently went to buy it. Ten yuan's worth of tofu was no small amount. The woman at the fried tofu stall beamed and worked the flat pan swiftly, adding tofu, seasonings, and chopped scallions. It took quite a while to prepare ten yuan's worth. She deliberately found several large disposable bowls, packed them up, slipped them into a plastic bag, and handed them to Lin Qiang.

Lin Qiang ran to the fence and passed them to Liang Kui. "Here. Can you even finish this much?"

Liang Kui chuckled and gave Lin Qiang ten yuan. "Of course not. There are more than a dozen people in the dorm. Thanks." Liang Kui glanced at Su Yan, who stood motionless beneath the streetlamp, then turned, jumped down from the fence, and headed straight for the dormitory.

Liang Kui could not have been more frustrated. Ever since the school introduced its damned rules, not only could he not go out for late-night snacks, he could not even walk Chen Wanwan home. After school, he could only escort Chen Wanwan to the school gate. Chen Wanwan did not say anything, but it was obvious that she was unhappy.

Liang Kui carried the fried tofu back to the dorm and called out with a grin, "The fried tofu's here! Anyone want some?"

"Yeah!"

"Good brothers!"

A whole group crowded around and polished off the fried tofu in no time. Liang Kui wiped his mouth, hummed a tune, found some clean clothes, and carried a basin to get ready for a shower. The moment he turned around, he ran into his roommate Huang Biao, who was carrying something that made his mind go blank.

Liang Kui was completely stunned. Huang Biao worriedly patted him. "Possessed?"

Liang Kui's eyes widened as he pointed at the thing in Huang Biao's hands. "What is that?"

Huang Biao let out an "Ah," then said shyly and awkwardly, "A chamber pot. You've never seen one? Well, hardly anyone uses these now, but the situation is special. Going to the bathroom at night is too troublesome, so a chamber pot is more convenient. I'll put it behind the door. At night, anyone who needs to pee won't have to run outside."

Liang Kui's body swayed. Behind the door—behind the door was his bed!

Fu Chao, another roommate, said disdainfully, "Huang Biao, are you stupid? That chamber pot is so small. Can it even hold one piss from you? There are twelve people in this dorm. How many of us don't get up to pee at night? At the very least, there'll be five pees a night. This chamber pot definitely can't handle that volume. At most, it can hold one and a half."

Huang Biao froze, carefully examined the chamber pot, then nodded in agreement. "You're right. It can't hold much. Then we'll make do tonight. I bought this chamber pot, so I'll be the only one using it. If any of you want one, I'll have my grandma bring them tomorrow. My family runs a general store selling daily necessities. We have plastic chamber pots and iron ones. The iron ones are a little more expensive and more durable, but they're not pricey."