Wei Zijin's words slowly eased the tension in Wang Xiaoliang's rigid body.
His remark about "losing an argument" was less self-deprecation than a surrender after he had exhausted every last bit of strength.
How could anyone win an argument with a lunatic?
Wei Zijin said nothing more. She simply tightened her hold on his arm.
"Xiaoliang..."
Wei Zijin's voice was soft, tentative.
"Could you... tell me about Old Third?"
Old Third?
Where should he begin?
After thinking for a long time, Wang Xiaoliang began to recall:
"I'm... how do I put it? A bit slow to warm up. I seem hard to get along with, but once you know me, I'm actually all right."
"There were four of us in our dorm. By age, I was the second oldest."
"The four of us... were pretty similar, really. Quiet, a little introverted. Our eldest roommate was a bit better. He liked to brag and was a good talker. Fourth Brother was a gaming fanatic, and I was just the silent type."
"Only Old Third was different."
"Old Third's name was Zhou Tao. He was the only one in our dorm with a girlfriend. He had one right from the start of college. They'd been together since high school."
"He was so proud of it back then. He talked about her every day, how beautiful she was, how well she treated him. We all said he was bragging. Not one of us believed him."
"Later, I think it was the second semester of sophomore year, our dorm pooled some money to go out for a big meal."
"Old Third brought his other half, and that was when we met Liang Yanni."
"That was the first time we saw her."
"She was... really pretty, just like Old Third had said. She didn't talk