Close to graduation, when one easily grew melancholic, memories and sorrow regarding Tan Yao intensified. It was every time the five talked about love and girls, every time someone happened to glance at that upper bed that had already been empty for a very long time.

When the cla.s.s gathered to take photos, some students proposed it several times. Yet, Room 602 never took a group photo with their dorm room as the base unit.

In the words of Zhang Ninglang at the start of their fourth year, “There were several times when I asked for us to take a picture together, but you wouldn’t. Now, we can’t be all together again. I’m not doing it anymore. Do it yourselves, you jerks.”

That was the only time Zhang Ninglang had gotten angry with his roommates and Xu Tingsheng in their four years of university.

This little guy who was quiet most of the time truthfully treasured their meeting and relations.h.i.+ps more than bystanders knew.

There soon started to be a lack of places in internet cafes in town where people could stay overnight.

Being able to sit together in a row in internet cafes and interact verbally while playing games together-many people will only realise just how precious this is a long time later in the future as they reminisce on it time and time again.

When one day, you secure a first ever pentakill in your gaming life yet are just sitting alone in your room...without anyone to high-five you, vent your emotions, you will understand it then.

Campus.

There began to be many drunk guys lying by the roadside. Some supported one another, walking. Some boasted, spoke drunkenly, expressed their unwillingness for it all to end…

Couple after couple hugged and cried amongst the trees and on the plains of the student’s plaza.

The teachers began to impart to the students experience on how to act in their workplaces.

Some people tried to tell a certain someone something that they had been unable to say for four whole years, even though it was already meaningless.

Xu Tingsheng played a farewell match with the Yanzhou University school team. They had a meal together after the match. There, he got drunk and was lifted by some juniors on the team back to the dormitory...he vomited for a night, with Zhang Ninglang helping to look after him.

When Xu Tingsheng woke up the next day, Zhang Ninglang told him, “You were crying and causing a scene last night. You were crying very terribly.”

……

Once again, it was another meal centred around Room 602. Many familiar faces came, including students from their cla.s.s...finally, Lu Xu’s Chick Bao did not appear this time.

Actually, it had been long coming. While they could have broken up amicably at graduation, Lu Xu had ultimately turned it hysterical. Some people tend to blow up relations.h.i.+p problems, and Lu Xu was one of them.

Chick Bao had been with him for so long, arguing, breaking up, getting back together and arguing again time after time...it was actually rather commendable of her. Having hesitated for a long time, after all those arguments, she had ultimately still decided to return to her hometown to work.

While Lu Xu had yet to find a job, he had also decided to return to his hometown.

He often felt that the greatest problem that existed between the two was how he was from a distant county whereas Chick Bao had lived in the city with pretty good conditions since her childhood...while actually, the biggest problem was his att.i.tude.

When someone has overly strong pride, it is actually generally accompanied by a sense of inferiority. As soon as one falls into this state of mind and becomes overly sensitive, it gets normal for them to turn uncontrollable in relations.h.i.+ps.

Soon into the meal, Lu Xu got himself drunk.

In his drunken state, he insisted on teaching everyone how to bark like a dog, “Bow, wow, bow, wow, bow, wow…”

Three years ago, at another such gathering, the drunk Chick Bao had said, “Many people came to know their boyfriends or girlfriends through me...yet, I don’t even have a dog by my side.”

That day, Lu Xu who had similarly drunk a lot answered, “Bow, wow, bow, wow, bow, wow. I like you, Bao Peijun. I’ve liked you for a long time.”

This was the start of their story.

Now, the story ended with Lu Xu crying and snivelling when drunk, doing the same thing as he had done back then after having lost the person from back then.

It was true that Lu Xu might actually love Chick Bao a lot. Still, it was similarly true that at his age, he still did not know how to protect a relations.h.i.+p.

In this world, there is a sort of man who unfortunately has extreme pride and an intense sense of inferiority concentrated together. It is destined that loving them will ultimately see both sides bloodied and wounded.

In life, you are sometimes destined to end up never able to forget a woman only after having lost her with your own hands.

……

Lu Xu finally toppled over, completely drunk. Setting him aside, the remainder continued.

Li Xingming soon got more or less drunk too.

He went out to vomit.

Not long after, they had a din in the corridor outside.

When they heard Li Xingming’s voice there and rushed out from the private room, it was already only him who remained there.

“What happened?” Xu Tingsheng asked.

Sitting on the floor, Li Xingming touched his head, saying, “It’s nothing. I just ran into Yu Yayang.”

“The s.l.u.t was drinking with some people from gangs in the private room next door, dressed like a courtesan. Hugging here, touching there...her mother, how she was reserved with me, acting just like a virgin...her mother, she still hasn’t returned me the twenty thousand she cheated me of.”

“She saw me, and my brain must have been malfunctioning as I still smiled at her very foolishly. In the end, one of the men beside her asked: Who’s this ugly? She said: A fool who chased me before.”

“I said something in reply and then a man came forward and pushed me. A few of them pulled me by the collar, dragging me to the toilet and pressing me before the mirror...they asked me to take a good look at my reflection. After coming out, I was pushed a few times. Drunk and unable to stand steady, I just ended up sitting here.

He smiled rather piteously. It was not clear if it was self-deprecating or anything else.

“The h.e.l.l, why didn’t you yell?!”

“Heck, you’ve got to pay them back!”

The students from the other cla.s.ses cried.

“You didn’t retaliate, right?” Zhang Ninglang asked nervously.

Li Xingming slowly smiled, shaking his head.

“You did right. You should tolerate it. You just managed to pa.s.s the public servant exam. If some fight occurs and it blows up, there might be trouble with the final approval up top. It’s not worth it at all,” Zhang Ninglang said as he stepped forward and helped Li Xingming up.

His words actually made a lot of sense. Under normal circ.u.mstances...he would be right.

Still, he was actually wrong, because they had a roommate called Xu Tingsheng.

“Is it that I’m too not domineering usually?” Xu Tingsheng who had similarly drunk a lot suddenly said this out of nowhere after hearing Li Xingming’s words.

“Huh?”

Everyone turned to look at him.

Leaning against the wall, Xu Tingsheng said, “Your roommates, bros, I...I am Xu Tingsheng! What government checks are you afraid of? Even if you take wine bottles and down all of them today, with the police coming, I can still let all of you go to work like nothing happened...is this very difficult to think of?”

Unexpectedly, everyone nodded, saying, “It’s very difficult.”

It was not that they did not know of Xu Tingsheng’s capabilities. Rather, they had unknowingly gotten used to Xu Tingsheng never using these capabilities to be domineering, gotten used to him even partic.i.p.ating in fights in school himself bare-handed and in a fair manner…

“Now that I’ve said it, do you guys believe me then?” Xu Tingsheng asked.

“Duh,” The remainder answered.

“Let’s go vent this stifling grievance?” Xu Tingsheng looked at Li Xingming and asked.

Li Xingming nodded without hesitation.

“It’s fine then,” Xu Tingsheng said, “You’re someone who will be in the bureaucracy in the future. I can’t let you go feeling like a loser...I want you to go there merrily, to be someone superior and respected eventually.”

“Best if you reach the point where you are too high up for women like Yu Yayang to reach…”

Li Xingming walked over to Xu Tingsheng, similarly leaning against the wall as he raised his head and closed his eyes...then, he nodded forcefully, “Rest a.s.sured, Bro Xu. I wanna climb...I will definitely climb up well. Being looked down on, viewed as inferior...I’ve had enough of that.”

Xu Tingsheng patted his shoulder.

“So we advance like this?” Old Wai asked.

Xu Tingsheng hesitated for a bit and asked Li Xingming, “Huang Yaming is eating nearby. Do I ask him to call a few people over or shall we do it ourselves?”

“I want to do it ourselves,” Li Xingming turned to look at Xu Tingsheng, saying, “Still, we are fewer in number than them, and they’re in gangs. Here, Lu Xu is drunk, Lil’ Bro doesn’t know how to fight and Bro Yao...isn’t here. I myself am fine. Eating a few blows makes it even more exciting. I’m mainly worried about you all…”

“In that case, I’ll call Huang Yaming along and we’ll do it ourselves...do it hard,” Xu Tingsheng said.

With that, he walked off to the side to make a call.

They returned to their private room and waited for a while.

Hearing that there was going to be a fight and together with Xu Tingsheng too, Huang Yaming who was eating at a restaurant nearby soon came over, excited beyond himself.

“You asked me to come alone. So, I lied and said I was going to the toilet...otherwise, a whole bunch would have come,” Huang Yaming smiled as he said to Xu Tingsheng.

“It’s more exciting this way. It’s for my roommate...he suffered a real injustice earlier. He must vent,” Xu Tingsheng smiled, “Also, it’s been a long time since I last fought together with you.”

He grabbed an empty wine bottle. Huang Yaming did the same. As the two looked at each other, they both laughed excitedly.

Huang Yaming said, “It’s too bad that Fu Cheng isn’t here...otherwise, it would be the same as in the past.”

“Forget about him. He has a child,” Xu Tingsheng said, “Well, let’s go then?”

“This is enough? ...Is it okay?” A student asked worriedly by the side, seeing that only Huang Yaming had been added to the party.

“Relax, the two of us are very fearsome,” Huang Yaming did not blame him as he smiled brilliantly, “Later, the two of us will rush in first. You guys follow.”

“I’m going with the two of you,” Li Xingming said as he picked up another empty wine bottle.

Lu Xu who was still a bit wobbly and not too sober stood up and said, “I’m going too...I learnt taekwondo from my university girlfriend before. Ha!”

Xu Tingsheng looked at them both and Old Wai and the other guys who had already prepared themselves.

“That’s about it then. Lil’ Bro and the girls will stay behind...bros, let’s go.”

As Xu Tingsheng opened the door and prepared to rush out, Lil’ Bro, Zhang Ninglang, stood up, saying from behind them, “I’ll go too.”

“It’s not like you know how to fight. There’s no war potential,” Li Xingming was in a rare relaxed mood at this moment as he looked over and joked.

“Mine wasn’t counted initially...still, I’ll be subst.i.tuting Bro Tan’s part today,” Zhang Ninglang raised an empty wine bottle, making a rare joke as he smiled, “I’ll be possessed by Bro Tan later…”

Xu Tingsheng looked at him. He nodded, his gaze pleading.

“Alright then. Let’s go!”

Xu Tingsheng, Huang Yaming and Li Xingming were the first to rush out.

“Old Wai, you don’t have to come back if you don’t do well!” Li Linlin yelled at her boyfriend, wait, fiance from behind.

After their parents had met, they had truthfully already been engaged. It was just that the ceremony would only be held after graduation.

Xu Tingsheng kicked open the door of the private room that Yu Yayang was in. There were two girls inside, including her, and eight men…

Those people had just seen Li Xingming and tormented him earlier. Seeing this, they quickly reacted, four of them who were near the door standing up and rus.h.i.+ng over as they asked, “Your mother, what do you want?”

Seeing Xu Tingsheng, Yu Yayang tried to speak up and prevent the fight. Still, it was too late…

“We’re here to fight,” Li Xingming said.

As he said so, Xu Tingsheng slapped the light in the private room off. In this sort of place, it was not that one could not see with the lights off. Still, that instantaneous darkness caused the other side’s reactions to be dull…

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Three wine bottles directly downed three heads.

Bang.

The fourth opponent whom Xu Tingsheng had just been about to face fell.

Whether from nervousness or excitement, Lil’ Bro had rushed in too quickly. It was still not their turn, but he had already charged in…

Also, he had acted with extreme decisiveness.

The little fellow had leapt up and smashed down without any hesitation whatsoever...before falling into a daze as he clutched the broken wine bottle.

“Tan Yao possessed!” Huang Yaming murmured as he lunged towards the remaining enemies.

The remainder rushed in…

Fighting with a numerical advantage, the absolute upper hand in momentum and their people a bit crazy too...rather than a group fight, it was virtually a one-sided beating.

They came like the wind and left like the wind.

Tables and chairs clattered amidst the darkness, some shrieks and tragic cries resounding...the fight ended, and all was done.

“Remember me! Remember me!” Li Xingming yelled into the darkness at the end.

Xu Tingsheng knew that this yell was meant for Yu Yayang.

This girl had once played him like a fool. Today, she had even mocked him in front of other men...having formerly had no ambition and been lazy, Li Xingming had resolved himself to definitely become outstanding...she was the primary motivating factor for this.

Li Xingming wanted her to remember him because he still owed her these words for the future, “Thank you. Thank you, for looking down on me back then.”

……

They returned to their private room.

Lil’ Bro’s hands were still trembling. The rest looked full of excitement.

“Where’s Huang Yaming?” Looking around and realising that Huang Yaming was not back, Li Xingming felt a bit worried.

“He’s chatting with them over there. Relax, it’s fine,” Xu Tingsheng said nonchalantly.

Actually, he had already agreed on this with Huang Yaming on the phone earlier. While the two of them weren’t afraid of trouble, they had to worry about the others. So, Xu Tingsheng had planned for them to first fight before revealing Huang Yaming’s ident.i.ty, resolving all the problems that might crop up afterwards.

As for why they had not revealed it beforehand? If they had said that he was Huang Yaming or even just given them some time to look and realise that, this fight could not have happened. Or at least, it would not have been so satisfying.

In the other private room.

Where a fight had just transpired, the floor was a mess with people collapsed everywhere.

Huang Yaming turned on the lights, pulled over a chair to sit on and slowly lit a cigarette, “Let me introduce myself. To be honest, you should feel honoured that I could personally fight with you lot.”

None of those lying on the ground dared to rebut.

After all, he was Huang Yaming! The boss of Bright Brilliance, Wu Kun’s bro, Bingzhou’s Huang Twenty-four...over the past two years, his had been the most resplendent name in the dark side of Yanzhou’s society.