Upon hearing the customer decline, the ride-hailing driver didn't say much more, turned around, and drove away.
Wang Peng walked toward the dormitory building. As soon as he entered the room, he was met with a scene that left him between laughter and tears. Wang Dong was busy posing Liu Qing, who was sitting on a stool, in all sorts of positions. Although Wang Dong had sobered up a bit since the ride, a hint of intoxication still lingered in his movements.
First, he posed Liu Qing like "The Thinker," then dragged Ye Chen over to the toilet and took photos of both of them. Perhaps because he was still dizzy, he hadn't noticed Wang Peng standing in the doorway until Wang Peng laughed out loud.
"What are you just standing there for? Come and help! Look at Ye Chen hugging the toilet, and look at Liu Qing—even when he's blackout drunk, he doesn't forget to pose. They must have spent eight lifetimes of good fortune to have a roommate as wonderful as me."
Wang Peng really wanted to laugh, but he decided to let Wang Dong finish his performance. The two of them decided to get Liu Qing onto his bed first. According to Wang Dong, Liu Qing was just posing because he was drunk, not because he was hyperactive.
Wang Peng climbed onto Liu Qing’s bunk while Wang Dong lifted him up. Whether it was on purpose or due to his drunkenness, Wang Dong bumped Liu Qing’s head against the iron railing—not once, but twice. Liu Qing’s forehead immediately turned purple. Hearing the "thump, thump" sounds, Wang Peng felt his own head ache. He made a mental note: if he ever got drunk in the future, he would absolutely not return to the dorm, and if he did, he would never let Wang Dong help him into bed.
After a long struggle, they finally got Liu Qing into bed. Wang Dong was completely exhausted. "Wang Peng, I need a rest, just a quick rest," he muttered, then sat on a stool and immediately began to snore.
"My god, he fell asleep so fast—even Liu Xiang couldn't move that quickly." Wang Peng patted Wang Dong’s head. "Wake up."
...
Wang Peng shook him again, but there was no response. He had a brilliant idea. He placed his phone on the table and turned on the video recorder.
"Wang Dong, wake up." Silence was the only answer.
"Wang Dong, Yanyan is here."
Wang Dong bolted upright so fast he nearly fell over. "Yanyan! I didn't drink, if you don't believe me, smell my breath."
Wang Peng pinched his throat and mimicked a "green tea" internet personality: "I don't want to smell it, you reek! Just get your roommates into bed first; it's too cold for them down there."
"Yanyan, you're so thoughtful. I'm so lucky to have you as my girlfriend."
Wang Dong dragged Ye Chen out from the bathroom, hoisted him onto his back, and began climbing toward Ye Chen’s bunk. Luckily, Wang Peng kept a close eye on them; when they nearly slipped, he grabbed them both to steady them and urged Wang Dong to keep climbing. Wang Dong successfully tossed Ye Chen into bed and even thoughtfully tucked him in.
"Yanyan, since I performed so well, won't you reward me? Give me a kiss."
Before Wang Peng could say anything, Wang Dong walked toward him. In a panic, Wang Peng reached out his index and middle fingers and brushed them against Wang Dong’s lips.
"Damn, is Wang Dong this disgusting usually?" Wang Peng thought.
"Yanyan's lips are so sweet," Wang Dong mumbled.
Wang Peng could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing. The sound startled Wang Dong awake. He shivered, then asked in confusion, "Where’s Yanyan? I just saw her a moment ago."
Wang Peng suppressed his laughter and said, "Yanyan left after she kissed you. You should hurry up and go to sleep."
Wang Dong climbed into bed and went to sleep. Wang Peng ended the recording, saved a copy to the cloud for future use, and then headed to bed himself.
***
The next morning, at 10:00 AM, Liu Qing woke up in pain. He sat up, dazed, his brain feeling like it was still booting up. He rubbed his face out of habit.
"Sss, that hurts." Liu Qing touched his head. "What did I do last night?"
He climbed down and went to the mirror, spotting two red bumps on his forehead. He poked them, confirming those were the source of his pain. "Can someone tell me what the hell happened?"
Silence was his only answer.
Liu Qing shook the other three awake. Only Wang Peng and Ye Chen responded; Wang Dong was still sleeping like a dead pig. Pointing at his head, Liu Qing asked, "What is this? Why do I have two bumps on my head?"
Ye Chen looked at Wang Peng, then at Liu Qing, looking completely lost, and simply laid back down to sleep. Wang Peng looked at Liu Qing’s head and laughed. "Big brother, are you trying to become the Bull Demon King?"
"Stop laughing! Wang Peng, you definitely know who did this. Tell me!"
"For the sake of dorm harmony, how could I possibly betray my roommate?" Wang Peng flicked his eyes toward Wang Dong.
Liu Qing followed his gaze and crawled onto Wang Dong’s bed. He reached under the covers, and a sudden "Ah!" erupted from Wang Dong.
"What the—!" Wang Dong opened his eyes and saw two horns looming over him. "Liu Qing, what are you doing?"
Liu Qing pointed to the bumps on his head. "Did you do this?"
Wang Dong couldn't help but laugh. "It wasn't me, I swear!"
"Who else could it be?"
"It really wasn't! I vaguely remember Wang Peng bringing us back. It must have been him; I don't know anything else."
"Wang Dong, I was kind enough to bring you home, how could you frame someone else?" Wang Peng interjected.
"Brother Liu, look at Wang Dong’s phone," Wang Peng hinted.
Wang Dong clutched his phone to his chest, terrified that Liu Qing would see the intimate photos of him and Yanyan. But he was no match for Liu Qing, and the phone was snatched away. Liu Qing used Wang Dong’s face to unlock the screen. The first thing that popped up was the photo of Liu Qing in his "Thinker" pose. Liu Qing swiped, and there was the photo of Ye Chen.
Wang Dong snatched the phone back.
"Then how did you know about it?" Liu Qing demanded of Wang Peng. Not giving him a chance to explain, he yelled, "Neither of you is getting away with this!"
A moment later, two miserable, helpless screams rang out, one after the other, from the third dormitory building.
...
"Don't forget to send me a copy of that photo of Ye Chen," Liu Qing said before walking out of the room.
As soon as he left, Wang Peng and Wang Dong burst out laughing. Liu Qing could hear them through the door, his teeth grinding in annoyance. But he couldn't win a fight against both of them, so whenever he felt like he was losing, he just reached up and touched the bumps on his head. "Just wait until I'm healed, I'll deal with you two then."
After Liu Qing left, Wang Dong woke Ye Chen up. With all the commotion, it was nearly noon. They had tickets for 3:00 PM. They needed to get up, pack, eat, pick up Wu Siyan, and then catch a taxi to Xinzhou Railway Station, which was quite a distance from Xinzhou University.
As the three of them left, one by one, Wang Peng lay in bed and sent a WeChat message to his senior.
【The Other Half】: "Senior, I heard from Liu Qing that he’s going home for the break. Are you going home too?"
【Half a Roast Duck】: "I’m not going back. Liu Qing is afraid I’ll get a tan, so he wouldn't let me go. I'm alone in the dorm and bored. Oh, and isn't it time to go pick up Xiaohuang? It's been so many days."
(Xiaohuang: ??? You finally remembered me after all this time?)
【The Other Half】: "I completely forgot! Senior, I’m coming to find you now. Let’s go to the pet hospital together."
Wang Peng got out of bed, washed up, swept the floor, locked the door, and headed out to meet her.