One day, sometime when the project had progressed halfway, Han Jiakang came to the practice base. His att.i.tude on that day seemed a bit different from before. His head was low, and he looked a bit hesitant.

Li Xun waited ages, but Han Jiakang still didn’t speak.

Zhu Yun snuck a glance from the side. He hadn’t come to deliver another of those rotten ideas, had he? Oh please G.o.d, say he hadn’t.

After dawdling awhile, Han Jiakang finally said, “Can I work here with you guys?” He seemed a bit apologetic as he spoke softly. Only those right beside him could hear his words. Gao Jianhong and Zhu Yun exchanged glances, and then they looked at Li Xun.

Han Jiakang quickly added, “Just for this project. Because… I’m pretty much the only one on our side working on it. Running back and forth isn’t very efficient. If we’re in the same place, it’ll be easier to communicate.”

That would…indeed increase efficiency.

Li Xun scratched his face. Then he pointed to the last empty spot at the table.

Han Jiakang sighed in relief. “I’ll go get my things then, and I’ll be right back.”

The three of them were sitting together, with Zhu Yun between the boys. After Han Jiakang left, Li Xun got up and told Zhu Yun, “Switch seats with me.”

Ah? As Zhu Yun packed up her things, she couldn’t help wondering why. Was he still bothered that his project had been stolen away, and so he didn’t want to have to look at Han Jiakang?

Li Xun packed up his laptop and switched seats with Zhu Yun. Then he said to Gao Jianhong, “Since you two are sitting next to him, study him when he works. He’s very skilled with front-end development, and he has a great understanding of HTML and CSS. Looking at his layouts, he should have some background in design. Learn from him.”

Li Xun kicked Zhu Yun’s shoe under the table and asked with some contempt, “What are you zoning out for? Especially you. Don’t just spend every day thinking about how well things perform. Are you really female? Can’t you put some effort into appearances?”

Hey, I’m pretty good looking.

Do you even know my three measurements, you a.s.shole. If I took my gla.s.ses off and put on some makeup, all those other girls like Liu Sisi would have to stand on the sidelines.

Li Xun asked, “What are you thinking about?”

…Nothing.

Zhu Yun silently returned to writing code. A short while later, Han Jiakang returned to the base with his belongings.

At first, Zhu Yun had been apprehensive about Skeleton Senior, but later, slowly, she came to realize that things weren’t like she’d originally imagined.

Han Jiakang’s work ethic could rival Li Xun’s. Moreover, just as Li Xun had said, his abilities shouldn’t be underestimated, especially when it came to front-end development. Zhu Yun watched as he programmed and found out that those colorful embellishments on the page weren’t from some kind of template. He was writing those things all out.

When Han Jiakang first started, he was rather quiet. As he got to know everyone, he became more cheerful. Even after Han Jiakang arrived, well, Li Xun still took on the biggest workload. But Han Jiakang was full of knowledge and very willing to help. Most importantly, his att.i.tude was tiers above many other smart kids.

Before even a week had pa.s.sed, Wu Mengxing and the rest of the seminar group were warmly embracing their senior.

The days grew colder as autumn arrived.

On one cool evening, the project was finally completed.

That evening, a trip was made to the Languan headquarters. Zhang Xiaobei included, there were five people headed to meet with the representative from Languan. Sitting beside the computer, their discussion lasted into the night. They went around the group and took turns speaking. A final test was conducted, and they discussed subsequent maintenance updates as well. In the end, everyone’s mouths were parched, regardless of how much water they drank.

Zhang Xiaobei seemed to have more to discuss with the representative, so she sent Li Xun and co, as well as Han Jiakang, off on their own.

When they left the building, the wind was raging.

Zhu Yun’s skin tightened as the wind blew at the sweat beads on her skin. In a bit of a trance, she felt like an insect molting its old sh.e.l.l.

Li Xun lowered his head and lit a cigarette. In a slightly hoa.r.s.e voice, he said, “Let’s go. My treat.”

Zhu Yun wondered why Li Xun always brought them to places like bars and karaoke rooms, places that never saw the light of day.

The boss at the bar seemed to know Li Xun, as the two smiled and chat a bit.

The group headed inside and Li Xun ordered drinks. He put one bottle down in front of Zhu Yun. Against the deafening sound of the band on the stage, Li Xun shouted to her, “Princess! Drink!”

Zhu Yun’s face froze.

Li Xun looked at her expression and laughed jovially as he tossed the beer to her. Zhu Yun rushed to catch it.

“This is gla.s.s, not plastic!” She held the chilled bottle in her arms as she shouted back to Li Xun, “What happens if you break it?!”

Li Xun moved over to her. His eyes were colder than water, and they s.h.i.+ned more brightly too. He scoffed at her and said, “Then it breaks. What’s the big deal?”

Zhu Yun seriously wanted to flip the table.

There were twenty bottles lined up atop it. Li Xun grabbed one and raised it up for a toast. Seeing this, the other two boys each grabbed a bottle, and then all three looked over to Zhu Yun.

Look at them, forcing an honest girl to debauchery.

Zhu Yun had a drink with everyone. She didn’t have a good alcohol tolerance though, so just one bottle already made her tipsy. The three boys were drinking happily, and Han Jiakang even shed some tears of joy.

Mmh…

Wait, tears of joy?

Zhu Yun rubbed her eyes and stood up. Li Xun and Gao Jianhong also momentarily stopped their dirty jokes.

At first, Han Jiakang had been sobbing quietly, but in the dark room, with loud music playing, he started to cry without restraint. His crying grew louder until his tears could power a village. (t/n: Or more precisely, his crying grew as loud as a waterfall, on a mountain, that could power a village)

Zhu Yun looked at Li Xun and Gao Jianhong, and Li Xun pointed at her.

What does that mean? I have to take care of it?

Zhu Yun sighed. Then she moved over to Han Jiakang’s side and pat his back. “Senior, are you okay? What’s the matter?”

Even tears of joy shouldn’t be this extreme.

Han Jiakang couldn’t stop crying as he stuttered, “Tomorrow… I-I have to… the advisor… move (house).”

“……”

Zhu Yun tried to a.n.a.lyze his words. Crying. Moving. Do you have a crush on Zhang Xiaobei? Your taste is rather particular…

“There’s another project too. I can’t finish all the things I have to do… If I can’t finish them, I can’t graduate…”

So that was it. Zhu Yun handed him a napkin, and Han Jiakang blew his nose and wiped away his tears.

With the help of some alcohol, he was letting out all his bottled up grievances.

“I’ve already been a graduate student for three years. My cla.s.smate’s been at it for four years. For an entire year he didn’t go to cla.s.s, and instead had to do the advisor’s bidding. His work on his thesis has been pushed to a standstill, but she won’t let him go. She won’t let him graduate. Just look at what I’ve become.” He pulled out his phone, trembling as he showed Zhu Yun some pictures.

Zhu Yun was shocked. So he wasn’t born a skeleton.

“She made my cla.s.smate teach her cla.s.s for her. It’s been an entire year, but she only gave him 800 yuan! And he had to kiss her a.s.s to get it too!”

Zhu Yun said, “If you don’t want to do it, just don’t.”

“It’s not that simple! The advisor is close with the school administrators, and she’s also close with the city’s education board. How could my friend and I dare to offend her.”

Han Jiakang held his face in his hands. “It’s our fault for being so naive back then. She said she was training us, but it was all for money! If it’s a project that earns money, she’ll definitely try to nab it! Her programming skills aren’t good enough, so she works us like dogs!”

Han Jiakang lifted his head and looked at Li Xun. “I’ll tell you the truth. She’s the one who stole the Languan project from you. She’d heard from Teacher Lin about what you were doing, and that you were doing well and would land the project. Then she contacted the company with the school’s name. On the day of the presentations, we didn’t have anything. I only found out that f.u.c.king day that we’d be working on the project!”

Zhu Yun turned to look at Li Xun, who was leaning on the sofa, drinking beer. He looked as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

“I’m so sorry. Every day, I would come asking for programs and data, because of her. I’m ashamed to even show my face!” Once Han Jiakang got stirred up, he started revealing all his secrets.

“Hey, hey!” Zhu Yun quickly grabbed onto him. “Calm down first.”

Beer, tears, and snot all mixed together. Han Jiakang looked pitiful.

But he wasn’t done talking yet. “Let me tell you. The only thing she’s good at is promoting. Even with my eyes closed, I can tell you what she’s telling that Languan representative.”

Han Jiakang impersonated Zhang Xiaobei’s voice. “I know a few friends in the media. They have a favorable impression in the industry and can help you write an article. How about we both make an appearance. It will help to promote your website as well. Win-win for the both of us!”

“And then—” Han Jiankang pat his thigh. “Just wait for it, when the article comes out. I guarantee it, your names won’t appear anywhere! In the end, this project will be credited all to her!”

Han Jiakang looked angrier than anyone else present. He started stomping his feet. “That b.i.t.c.h! b.i.t.c.h! b.i.t.c.h! My entire f.u.c.king graduate career has been ruined by her!”

Zhu Yun looked at Han Jiakang, who had completely lost control of himself.

“If it’s so troubling, wouldn’t it be better to leave?” she asked.

Han Jiakang sat there, staring into the distance, looking lost. Finally, he said, “No, I need the degree.”

Zhu Yun finally heard Li Xun laugh from the side. He was only now responding to all of Han Jiakang’s vexations? She turned and saw Li Xun waving her over. Han Jiakang had already fallen asleep on the sofa, so Zhu Yun moved over to Li Xun’s side, waiting for his brilliant idea.

“Did you hear it?” Li Xun’s eyes were glistening. The more he drank, the more they glistened.

“What?” Zhu Yun asked.

Li Xun pointed to his ear.

He said a lot of things. You’d have to give me some idea of which particular thing you’re talking about so that I can a.n.a.lyze it.

Seeing Zhu Yun’s still-confused face, Li Xun laughed. He straightened up and leaned against the sofa. Then he said, “And Ren Di even told me you were her friend.”

Suddenly, something clicked in her head. His one sentence had flipped her world around, from this stressful and difficult here to that wild and roaring there.

Zhu Yun turned. On the stage, a band was performing. And then, Zhu Yun spotted a familiar face in their midst.

She’d already forgotten Han Jiakang’s words. She could only see a girl with heavy makeup on her face. The only sound left in her ears was a smoky, husky voice.

People surrounded them. They shouted, screamed, went crazy. Gao Jianhong was drinking. Han Jiakang was in a drunken slumber. Li Xun was hidden in the darkness.

Zhu Yun stood up from the sofa and stood on her tiptoes to see Ren Di, to listen to her sing.

The world told me that the sky is blue, the gra.s.s is green, that she was warm.

She also told me that the road is wide, that G.o.d is kind, and that she was perfect.

Zhu Yun couldn’t see Ren Di’s expression clearly, but she would probably be smiling. Her smile was more ostentatious than Li Xun’s. More sarcastic too.

Zhu Yun sat back down on the sofa. Li Xun held up a beer. Zhu Yun picked up a bottle from the table and the two of them clinked bottles and downed their drinks. She couldn’t drink it all, but she kept drinking anyway. As the world spun around her, Ren Di’s stirring voice seemed to melt.

……

I told the world to just shut it.

And the world told me, believe it or don’t.