[149]

Straight Guy’s longing for a portable charger bank was beyond words. Charge bank, his fountain of life, his spring of happiness. Before Glasses Guy could say anything, Straight Guy had reached for it joyfully and connected to his phone.

With the same soft smile which is usually the defining characteristic of an upperclassman, Glasses Guy followed them without a word.

Not far away from the front door stood the landmark teaching building.

“Wow! I wanna take a photo here! Could you please take this building in?” asked the class entertainment commissary. Before he answered, she had passed her phone to Straight Guy.

Facing the camera, she smiled a bright smile.

Straight Guy did accordingly.

“Ok! Done! ”

She took her handset from him. The moment she looked at the screen, her face darkened.

“Excuse me, guess I went M.I.A in the photo?” asked the girl.

Straight Guy came over to have a look. The picture embarrassed him too. He searched for a bit.

“Uh…I found it! Here, the black dot under the building. Have you found it? ”

An awkward silence fell.

“Nope, hold yourself! Remember, murder is a crime,” the commissary thought to herself.

[150]

Hearing the funny talk between them, Glasses Guy proposed, “let me try.”

He took the phone over, touched open the BeautyCam (a popular app in China which featured multiple filters), and then asked, “Are you ready? ”

The girl, who was still boiled with rage, forced down the anger simmering in her and cracked a faint smile, which was captured by Glasses Guy. This photo flattered her so much that she felt an obvious change underway in her mind.

“So beautiful your campus is!” she said to Glasses Guy. “Would you please accompany me to look around if you are available now?”

“My honor,” he nodded friendly.

Some steps away Domineering Guy and Coquettish Guy were watching them in secret.

“Do you really believe she will make a difference?” asked Coquettish Guy.

“Sure,” answered Domineering Guy. “She was none other than the first girl our bro fell for in his puberty.”

[151]

Woman is a capricious species. Not until Glassy Guy took nine photos for the commissary to post on her WeChat Moments did she recall the task Zhou Ming (Domineering Guy) entrusted to her.

“I’m exhausted by the high heels. Zhou, how about finding a place to have a rest?” she suggested.

“Uh-ok,” Straight Guy looked around but only teaching buildings came to his sight. “Let me see if there is any study lounge available.”

His words really made her bristle with anger.

“Isn’t there any café at such a prestigious college like yours?”

He suddenly got enlightened, remembering there was one cafe bar just two blocks ahead. And his mind was brought to those days when he always tried to please her but in vain.

A little discouraged by the girl’s complaints, he then said in timid voice, “But you can’t walk at all, right?”

“Then you can bike me over there”, she responded with a forced smile.

He looked at her up and down, and asked seriously, “What’s your weight?”

This question hurt very much. She turned away and went away.

[152]

Nevertheless, no matter what happened, he treated the girl in a different way from others for she was his first love. He invited the girl to sit on the bench by a flower bed before going to buy some milk tea.

Out of politeness, Glasses Guy said, “Leave it to me. What would you like?”

Straight Guy stopped him immediately. “That’s nonsense. You two just have a rest here. I’ll be back soon.”

Then he was off like a shot.

The lass sat on the bench watching him vanishing out of her sight, her head tilted to one side with her hand holding her chin.

“Zhou yang is very simple,” said Glasses Guy.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “He was too simple so he has no clue how to get along with girls.”

Deep in thought, the Commissary said emotionally, “Actually, Zhou can be very eligible…sometimes.”

Glasses guy took a glance at her before saying, “He is eligible indeed.”

In a little while Straight Guy came back carrying two bags, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. Seeing that, the girl smiled and rummaged her handbag for tissue.

Straight Guy opened the two bags hurriedly, one containing three cups of ice drinks, the other a pair of “crystal” scandals made of cheap plastic which was beyond women’s aesthetics.

He took out the scandals, handed it to her and asked, “I saw you have sprained your ankles several times. This pair must be more comfortable. You’d better put on them soon.”

At the sight of the shoes in his hands, the poor girl grabbed the tissues in her palm tight with the corner of her mouth twitching.

“Not at the moment, thank you!”

[153]

In order not to hurt the simple boy, she finally received the “present”. She refused to have it on now for high heels always agree with a dress better, but she promised she would wear it every day in her dormitory.

Straight Guy examined the two pairs quite a while before concluding that scandals and a dress would also make a beautiful look.

“Maybe… it’s because I’m beautiful.”

“Yes,” he grinned, “You’re beautiful indeed.”

There finally came a stroke of romantic atmosphere which was only between couples. Glasses Guy said nothing, his face darkened and his eyes of deep shadows wandering between them.

[154]

On the afternoon, the Commissary asked Straight Guy to accompany her to go shopping. Glasses Guy wanted to go with them but, unfortunately, a series of calls came in at the critical moment, forcing him to leave.

He looked at Straight Guy with his soft staring eyes. The latter, a perfect fool who couldn’t understand him at all, did nothing but waved good-bye to him.

In the shopping mall, Straight Guy wanted to find himself a corner to sit playing mobile games till his partner ended her shopping binge, but before he said anything, the girl had dragged him in a menswear store.

And before he knew what happened, the girl had found some outfits that flatter his figure and pushed him into a fitting room. After quite a while of wavering, she chose one that suits him the best.

“Very good! Take it home! It suits you. And promise me that you’ll never ‘cos’ (cosplay) a teenage student any more! ”

Her words totally bewildered the innocent boy. When he was still trying to figure it all out, the girl had paid for it with her own card.

Having all those done, she heaved a sigh in secret for she thought herself no longer owed him nothing, though the money she just spent on him, strictly speaking, was from Zhou Ming. Then she said she got to go.

“Why not have dinner together?” asked the boy.

“Have you ever seen girls who want to lose weight to 40kg would have any dinner? ”

“No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen many girls in general to be honest…”

Before he could finish his words, she came over and poked at his face with one finger with a soft smile on her face.

“Zhou Yang,” she said, “You are so kind. But don’t be so kind to just anyone. Or you may be tricked one day.”

Then she turned around and went away with the plastic bag which contained that pair of scandals. She looked very happy as if she got a precious present.

[155]

The girl had gone. He felt empty. Then there came a text from Glasses Guy who asked if he had come back.

“No. I just saw her off. I’m near the subway station.”

“Have you had dinner?”

“Not yet.”

“Stay right there waiting for me. I’ll see you soon.”

The night deepened. Standing alone by the subway station in his new outfit, the old one holding in his arms., and watching the crowd hurrying back and forth, Straight Guy thought to himself, “It’s true that seeing an old flame makes one melancholy.”

The Commissary was really a good girl, but why they did not be lovers? As the Boss and little Chen have been with each other for four years, he was still single. Maybe, he was destined to be alone in a lifetime.

Glasses Guy came as quickly as his bike could carry him. He soon spotted from the bustling crowd his target which stood by the road with a bag in his arms like a puppy waiting for its owner.

“When did he change his outfit? It’s totally different from his former style. But he looks more lovely and … more attractive this way.”

He looked sad. What happened? Glasses Guy felt a spasm of pain in his heart. He wished the boy would never be sad again.

[156]

“Zhou Yang!” Glasses Guy called him before he parked the bike.

Hearing his own name, Zhou Yang looked in the direction of the voice and saw it was his upperclassman. He walked towards upperclassman quickly.

Watching the lonely puppy coming closer and closer, Glasses Guy suddenly knew what happened to him. He locked his bike immediately and then stroke along to meet his puppy.

“Upperclassman-“, said Straight Guy who still looked like in a daze.

“You must be hungry. Let’s have dinner.”

Straight Guy sneezed suddenly. He rubbed his nose and nodded, “Sure! Let’s go!”

Glasses Guy threw his own coat to Straight Guy, and took Straight Guy’s bag over and hung it on the handlebar of the bike.

“Come sit on the rear seat.”

[157]

They both did not realize that it would be this crowded everywhere on weekends for many people chose to dine out. They visited two restaurants but only to find both have no seat available then.

Straight Guy felt his sadness of departing from his first love intensified by hunger.

“Yang, craving for noodles? How about I make noodles for you?”

“Noodles? Sounds good! But where to?”

Glasses Guy chuckled, the soft sound along with the evening wind drifted into Straight Guy ears and passed through his body like an electric current.

“I rent a small apartment nearby,” Glasses Guy explained. “I’m busy starting my own business. There’re many things to deal with day and night. It may bother my roommates.”

“I’ll move in soon. In a few days”, he added.

Before Straight Guy understood what he meant, Glasses Guy continued, “It has everything we need. Now that it’s crowded everywhere at this time, we have no choice but go to my apartment.”

“Ok, good idea, and pardon me for any inconvenience!”  Straight Guy said quickly, before he sneezed again.