Sneaking into an Internet cafe
As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of evening study, Cheng Xiaorui saw Chen Zihan clinging to the door frame of Class 2 (3) like a large dog. He had changed into an oversized short-sleeved shirt with a few spots of paint on it, apparently having just skipped an art club activity.
"Xiao Rui!" Chen Zihan came closer with sparkling eyes, the scent of minty mouthwash wafting in his face. "There's a new internet cafe about 300 meters from school. I heard it's decorated in a cyberpunk style, and the student prices are super cheap!" He gestured as he spoke, the silver bracelet on his wrist clattering. "Want to go explore over the wall?"
Cheng Xiaorui took a step back, his backpack strap slipping to his elbow, at his energetic performance. The scent of osmanthus wafted in from the window, mingling with the faint scent of acrylic paint on Chen Zihan's body, evoking the blend of warm tones on a palette. He'd be in a daze anyway, going back to the dorm... He lowered his head to tie his shoelaces, using the gesture to conceal a smirk on his lips. "Let's go, then."
As the two stealthily reached the perimeter wall, they found the iron gate wide open. The folding chair in the security booth was empty, with only a half-empty cup of goji berry tea steaming in front of the security screen. "God help me!" Chen Zihan grabbed Cheng Xiaorui's wrist and rushed out, their school uniform jacket billowing like a sail. The night breeze brushed past his ears, and Cheng Xiaorui could hear his own pounding heartbeat. The last time he'd run like this was in junior high, when he'd skipped class to catch rhinoceros beetles.
"Have Fun!" three hundred meters away, three neon signs flashed. The bluish-purple light pollution illuminated the asphalt like a cyberpunk street in a video game. The moment he pushed open the glass door, cold air mixed with the smell of instant noodles rushed in. He heard Chen Zihan gasp, "Holy crap!"
In my blurry vision, I could see three familiar figures perched on the row of gaming chairs by the window—Lu Ziyi's silver-gray headphones glowed coldly in the darkness, Zhao Dakun munched on spicy noodles with his feet propped up on the computer case, and Zhou Mingxuan's mechanical keyboard crackled. They were the only customers in the entire internet cafe, their three monitors glowing blue, like a bonfire in the wilderness.
"Could it be that the security guard was sent away by them?" Chen Zihan suddenly leaned close to Cheng Xiaorui's ear, his warm breath tickling his ears. This absurd conjecture made their shoulders tremble, and they finally couldn't help laughing, but quickly pretended to cough to cover it up. The network administrator behind the cashier didn't even look up: "It's twenty for the night, and I'll deposit my student ID here."
After choosing a double booth in the corner, Cheng Xiaorui noticed a melon seed shell from the previous guest still stuck in the cracks of the keyboard. Chen Zihan had already booted up and logged in, the blue light from the monitor illuminating his cheerful face. "Xiaorui, let me teach you how to play King of Glory."
When registering his ID, Cheng Xiaorui casually typed "Orange" with a dot after "Rivers" Chen Zihan's name. The moment they entered the team lobby, they both froze—the recruitment list prominently displayed:
1st Floor [Brother Kun, I am invincible] (Rank: Eternal Diamond III)
2nd Floor [Xuan Shao] (Rank: Eternal Diamond I)
3rd Floor [R] (Rank: Strongest King)
"..." Chen Zihan's mouse pointer hovered over the "Ready" button for three seconds, then finally, in a state of self-destruction, clicked it. Cheng Xiaorui stared at the solitary letter "R."
"It can't be such a coincidence, right? How did you do it?" Cheng Xiaorui asked, glancing at the three people in the distance.
“I ordered something nearby…”
As the game loaded, Cheng Xiaorui's support, Zhuang Zhou, slowly emerged on a fish, only to be met with taunts from the twin-tailed mage, Zhao Dakun, who taunted him on the microphone: "A badass fish from the fifth floor? You're done!"
Zhou Mingxuan's shooter followed with a sarcastic tone: "Don't come to the bottom lane to give up later." Cheng Xiaorui's hand shook, and Zhuang Zhou almost hit the defensive tower.
The entire game felt strangely divided into two worlds: Chen Zihan's opponent, Li Xin, darted across the map, deliberately swerving past the low-health Li Bai, Chen Zihan, and Lu Ziyi, while Cheng Xiaorui's Zhuang Zhou, like a lost whale, kept flashing and crashing into walls in strange places. It wasn't until the victory pop-up window appeared, and the MVP logo landed on the avatar with the ID "R," that Cheng Xiaorui realized his palms were sweating.
"Is this even possible?" Chen Zihan muttered as he clicked quit. Suddenly, he choked on his Coke and started coughing. A friend request popped up in the center of Cheng Xiaorui's screen: [R] Requesting to add you as a friend. The remarks column was empty, like the other person's eyes, which could never reveal any emotion.
"Let's go." Chen Zihan stood up suddenly, the wheels of his gaming chair bumping into the trash can behind him. "I suddenly want to eat oden." He dragged Cheng Xiaorui away, as if to escape something. Before the glass door closed, Cheng Xiaorui turned around for some unknown reason and saw Lu Ziyi take off his headphones. The silver-gray headset glowed like a blood moon under the neon lights.
The incandescent lights in the convenience store were blindingly bright. When Chen Zihan shoved the oden cup into Cheng Xiaorui's hands, the radish cubes were still sloshing in the curry broth. "Will you go to that internet cafe more often?" He bit into a cuttlefish ball, his tongue smacking from the burn. "I'm Li Bai, a real sly fellow! I'll teach you how to play next time!"
Cheng Xiaorui hummed, poking the fish roe on the tempura with a bamboo skewer, watching them pop. As Chen Zihan paid, coins jingled into the cash register.
On the way back to school, the two of them climbed over the wall, and Chen Zihan jumped down first to meet them. As Cheng Xiaorui was riding on the wall, he suddenly saw the lights on in the Academic Affairs Office and a silhouette that looked very much like the Dean's bald head. "Jump!" Chen Zihan, standing below, spread his arms, his T-shirt puffed up in the wind like an open parachute. As Cheng Xiaorui closed his eyes and jumped, he heard the cry of a night owl in the distance.
At the morning meeting the next day, five dejected figures stood in front of the oak door of the principal's office.
Zhao Dakun's shoelaces were undone and he didn't dare tie them. Zhou Mingxuan wore his school badge upside down. Lu Ziyi's collar still smelled of cigarette smoke from last night's internet cafe. Cheng Xiaorui stared at the dust marks on his shoes from scaling the wall. Standing next to him was Chen Zihan.
He heard the principal's leather heels tapping on the marble floor, like the countdown of the second hand. Chen Zihan secretly touched the back of his hand, and his fingertips were cold.
"Explain." The principal slapped the surveillance footage on the table. The five figures climbing over the wall were prominently circled in red. Cheng Xiaorui noticed that one of the photos was taken at 11:17 PM—the exact moment Chen Zihan caught him at the foot of the wall.
Chen Zihan said calmly, "Internet cafe."
The other four were stunned. No, he really dared to say that, Zhao Dakun said in a low voice.
"Internet cafe?" The principal widened his eyes.
"Playing games with friends." Zhou Mingxuan explained in a low voice.
"I understand." The principal took a deep breath. "The question is—how dare you?!"
Lu Ziyi finally took off his headphones and said lazily, "Principal, don't blame us."
"Whose fault is that?"
"Blame the surveillance camera," he said seriously. "Didn't they say the camera was broken last time? How come it's fixed this time? And last time, the angle could only capture the wall, but this time it's a high-definition camera, and it even captured Zhao Dakun's slow-motion fall."
Zhao Dakun: “…”
The principal closed his eyes, as if trying hard to restrain himself from throwing the things on the table.
"Okay, you're great," he gritted his teeth. "School Rule Seven," the dean's bald head gleamed brightly under the chandelier. "No one is allowed to enter or leave the school, and definitely not to climb over the wall. The five of you, each write a 3,000-word self-reflection, to be read publicly at next week's flag-raising ceremony." He paused, then suddenly pointed his pen at Cheng Xiaorui. "You, sweep the toilet for a month straight."
Cheng Xiaorui looked up suddenly. This punishment was quite tricky. He could feel the amused gaze from behind him without even turning around.
"This isn't fair." Chen Zihan suddenly took a half step forward, the golden badge of first place in the grade flashing on his collar. "Cheng Xiaorui is the provincial medalist in the Chemistry Olympiad, and he was second in the grade in this monthly exam. Why?"
"Just because he's ranked second in the grade, he violated the rules." The principal said coldly, his voice as precise as a scalpel cutting through the air.
"What if I'm the top student in the grade? Why don't I need it?" Chen Zihan questioned.
"You don't need it because you are the top student in the grade."
“…”
Laughter could be heard from the three people behind him. "What about them?" Chen Zihan still refused to accept it. The three of them immediately stopped laughing, their expressions serious and dignified.
"Then they sweep along too."
“……?”
The clock in the principal's office suddenly chimed nine. "Everyone, go back to class," the principal waved his hand as if to shoo away flies. As the five of them filed out, Cheng Xiaorui felt someone slip something into his pocket. It was Chen Zihan. He crept out from the corner of the hallway to see what was inside: an unopened strawberry lollipop.
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