Chapter 9: Two Bags of Snacks (1)

When I returned to the dormitory, the people in the dormitory were all ready to pounce. Julie commanded: “Close the door and hit the dog.”

The three people pounced.

I lifted my white flag at once: “Sisters, I was wrong. I definitely will reveal everything I know. I beg my great superiors to distinguish right from wrong and let this little woman off.”

The three people sat still and upright and began the interrogation.

“Name?” Wen Tao began the questioning.

“Zhou Lin Lin.”

“I didn’t ask for your name.”

“Oh, Fang Yuke.”

“How long have you known him?”

“Not yet for a full month.”

“Why did you let that Ru Ting get him?”

“It seems the two families are very close. They’ve both met the other’s parents.”

“I think you should let go of Xiao Xi and officially seek shelter from him.”

“Why?”

“Hogwash. If you seek shelter from him now, with a challenge, then you will have a feeling of success. From what I see of Ru Ting’s brand clothing and branded purses, she’s basically like a fake person. There’s no difference when you compare her to a model. I heard she rarely lives in the dorm, and has never even gone into the cafeteria. We even suspect she’s being kept as a mistress. It’s fine if she’s being kept as a mistress but why must she be provided for by a hot guy? It will be better if you’re the one who’s provided for by him. Then we can all benefit from associating with you.” Julie resentfully curled her lip.

“You have to think your worlds over. Maybe she’s being provided for by a rich merchant, and she also seduced Fang Yuke?” Wang Jie broke out the news, astonishingly. All the rumors in the world probably started like this.

I waved a hand at her: “Why do my sisters have so much interest towards this hot guy? Is it the pure appreciation of aesthetics or is it enmity towards Ru Ting?”

“Both.” This time, their hearts were pretty aligned.

“Really, I wanted to introduce her to Julie in the beginning. Wen Tao you can continue to seduce your teachers. They’ve all married, and you’re still so strongly attached so even if I introduced him to you, you wouldn’t cherish it; Jie’er you can go to the side too. **You don’t have to eat from this bowl, look at what’s inside the pot nor what’s cooking on the stove ”

**basically, don’t pay any attention to him

Julie hugged me fiercely: “It’s still Lin Lin who understands how to cherish people.”

“But let me first make it clear. I don’t have any complaints of being the third party but in the future don’t tell anyone that I’ve helped you with this before, otherwise there will definitely be retribution.”

“Don’t worry. If lightning strikes, I will block it for you. Plus, is Ru Ting really Fang Yuke’s girlfriend? When you went to eat, Fang Yuke and your distance was closer than his and Ru Ting’s distance. Maybe Ru Ting’s feelings are just her wishful thinking. A spoiled young woman like her is hard to wait upon.” Julie’s analysis was absolutely great.

“What about this? First you call him and ask if Ru Ting is his girlfriend. This way, I will not have a burden on my soul.”

“Am I crazy? If the other person says he is, then what should I say? Should I say, I hope you both have 100 years of happiness?” I retorted, annoyed.

“First try it. Counter the problems as you meet them. I believe in you!”

I was forced until I had no choice, so I could only call the cold killer on my cell phone.

The music played for a long time, when the phone finally picked up: “Hello, who is it?”

En, it was a girl? Ru Ting’s voice! I hadn’t thought that my first move would be so evil. How should I respond? I could only pinch my nose and ask: “Excuse me, is this Mr. Fang? I am from Daxing Insurance Company.”

The other end of the phone became fainter and fainter: “No wonder Yuke called this contact ‘Idiot’. Why doesn’t it sound like a guy or a girl…..” She put the phone down before she even finished the conversation.

My face immediately turned green, as I complained to the phone: “What do you mean “neither a girl nor a guy”? Birds of a feather flock together. Two people now have questioned my femininity. Where do I not seem like a girl??”

Julie, who was next to me, patted my shoulder: “When you’re listening, listen to the focal point, Lin Lin. The important point is that the other person has named you ‘Idiot’ on his contacts list. This is the point at which you should be angry. When she said you weren’t a girl or a guy when you pinched your nose, you don’t have to be so mad. Plus, I did go to the bathroom with you before, you are the authentic thing. Otherwise, why wouldn’t the great uncle in front of the bathroom not let you onto the 2nd floor?” (Peking University has a public bathroom. The first floor is for the men’s bathroom. The second floor is for the woman’s bathroom)

At first I hadn’t even reacted quickly enough. I even wanted to say ‘Only you uphold justice’, but later I realized something was amiss. When I thought it through, Julie had already crazily ran out of the dormitory.

Wang Jie patted the dust on her pillow. She began her meaningful and heartfelt words: “Lin Lin, let’s be serious. Why do you keep thinking of these matters when you’ve come to university?”

The moment I heard these words, I lowered my head like a conditional reflex. At the time, when Junior year had begun in university, the head of the school told me: “Zhou Lin Lin, I don’t know what is in your head. There is no abnormality, but if you don’t get into a university, that is the most important part, so you must pass the university entrance exam to get into an undergraduate school right? You know that our school is currently paying attention to questionable students like you, so are you willing to be content with this forever?” These words really caused me to think about things seriously. Thus, I made great efforts to prove to the teacher that I wasn’t a fluctuating student. I was a student who got good grades regardless of many twists and turns!

I eagerly promised and said, “Yes ah, we should focus on the midterms. In an instant, it turns out there are only a few days left and half the semester has already passed…..”

Wang Jie was speechless when she looked at me. Immediately she interrupted me and said, “Right, half of the semester has already passed but why are you not finished with Xiao Xi? If you are with Fang Yuke all the time, what official matters can you complete? Didn’t you tell Julie that you would get him within three months? Two months have already passed. I originally hoped that you could bring your act together over October 1 [1], but you were great, sleeping for 7 days! I really feel resentful towards you for failing to meet expectations and I am impatient to see improvement.

I looked at her, wringing her hands, and comforted her: “You rascal just wanted me to let go of Xiao Xi and pry open Ru Ting. Why is it that Xiao Xi and I have become a couple again now?”

Wang Jie pretended to be angry: “Then what would I do? Fang Yuke is already under Julie’s attack, do you have a portion? I’ll see exactly when you, this girl who is like lukewarm water, are finally ready to reach boiling temperature?”

I laughed: “Then what would I do?: I heard he went to Dalian over October 1. He just went to Beidahe and then to Dalian again. It seems he loves the ocean better. I also love the ocean.”

Wang Jie had no way to grab at me anymore: “Is there any use for liking the ocean? Then maybe you two people should watch the ocean together? What if Xiao Xi goes to watch the ocean with another person? Plus, have you ever met a guy who will go to the seaside when he has nothing to do? It must be that he was dragged there by a girl, and maybe they are watching the sun set and rise together, just like in Return of the Condor Heroes [2]. You should go cry.”

I choked for a moment. The Return of the Condor Heroes on TV whirled around through my head many times. I thought of seeing another person in his room, comforting someone else’s hair, holding hands with someone as they ran across the beach, and my heart felt like it had been emptied.

Wang Jie saw me not speaking and was afraid she had injured me. Lightly, she asked me: “Are you okay? I was just saying it randomly. Didn’t you already check if he had a girlfriend already? What about you call Fang Yuke again? Does Xiao Xi have a girlfriend?”

I dejectedly persuaded: “Is there something wrong with me? I asked whether this guy had a girlfriend or not from morning to dusk. Am I this unmarketable? If Xiao Xi really went to the beach with his girlfriend, I will, I will….”

Wang Jie didn’t move, waiting for me to say “to die in such a way that someone else also perishes” “First rape, then kill” “First kill then rape” and so on- bold visionary words. But I was afraid i let her down. I hatefully continued: “If they really went, I will sing “Listen to the Sea” [3] every night to you guys, and annoy you guys to death.”

But the moment I was provoked by Wang Jie, I felt I had to carry out this operation no matter what.

[1] October 1 is PRC day. Schools typically get 1-2 weeks of break for this occasion.

[2] Return of the Condor Heroes is an wuxia TV show. Find more details about it here.

[3] Listen to the Sea is a song that A Mei sang. You can find the video here.