If Su Lian was the nation-ruining beauty Su Daji, then he was now the reluctant King Zhou of Shang being forced to attend morning court.
While others might lament that spring nights are too short and dawn comes too soon, he'd rather just hang himself from the southeast branch of a tree.
On a fine weekend morning at 8 AM - who in their right mind would be up at this hour?
Chi Wang got out of bed and changed his clothes, then grabbed the electric megaphone and heavily knocked on the door of room 403.
Su Lian opened the door. As they made eye contact, he tilted his head to glance at the small pot beside him: "Perfect timing, the porridge is still hot."
"What kind of porridge?" Chi Wang straightened his back, highly alert.
The other roommates were still sleeping, so Su Lian lowered his voice: "I bought some new ingredients at the supermarket yesterday and developed a new recipe."
After buying a bunch of stuff and checking out, his wallet was back down to 59 yuan, falling below the poverty line once again.
He inwardly scoffed - Chi Wang should be grateful, as all the money earned had been stuck right back onto the sheep it came from.
Yet this person didn't seem particularly appreciative. Chi Wang just bent down to take a peek, catching a glimpse of a verdant green color emanating a simple vegetable aroma.
He quickly pursed his lips, feeling as if they had already anticipated that bland taste, and swiftly changed the subject: "Let's go, I'll take you out for some noodles."
For someone who drank spicy food like soup, vegetable porridge for breakfast was an insult.
Su Lian pushed him out, his tone leaving no room for argument: "No, you need to avoid spicy foods. Considering your injury, we'll skip the morning run today. After you finish drinking this, we'll study."
It was rare for him to string together so many words, and he even sounded quite kind-hearted.
Chi Wang tossed the megaphone onto the small sofa, sinking into despair: "How thoughtful of you. I really must thank you."
"You're welcome," Su Lian politely replied.
Twenty minutes later, the porridge was ladled into bowls, and the two sat facing each other at the small square table.
One had a calm expression, while the other looked miserable.
Chi Wang's facial expressions were hard to control, somewhat distorted: "It smelled quite fresh earlier, how did it start turning black? Where are the vegetables?"
"I added polygonum multiflorum powder and simmered rehmannia juice, then topped it with a few slices of American ginseng," Su Lian slowly explained. "It's good for blood replenishment."
Chi Wang was speechless: "Your supreme culinary skills have already evolved to combine Chinese and Western influences?"
Ignoring the question, Su Lian directly raised his hand to offer the spoon: "Or should I feed you?"
After a few seconds of silence, Chi Wang gave up and opened his mouth as if he had no hands.
That expression of resignation was just like someone with 200 kilos of explosives strapped to their body about to blow up a pillbox.
The thick porridge with its mix of flavors rolled down his throat. Chi Wang swallowed it with difficulty, unable to tell whether it was more lethal than the previous health concoction.
He had a very reasonable suspicion that Su Lian's ex broke up with him because they were forced to drink some strange concoctions every day.
This guy probably had his heart broken and gradually developed an antisocial psychology, starting to indiscriminately strike back at the world in retaliation.
Chi Wang let out a soft tsk and pursed his lips slightly, the small gesture keenly caught by Su Lian.
"What's wrong, too bland?"
"...No, the flavor is just right."
Raising his eyelids, his gaze met the other's head-on. Chi Wang felt a bit guilty inside, inexplicably cowed.
He also found it strange - normally he wasn't afraid of anything, yet he didn't dare to bicker with Su Lian.
Was he afraid of being beaten up? But his own fists were quite tough too, no one could beat him.
Perhaps he simply didn't want to see a look of disappointment on Su Lian's face.
Lost in thought, he was force-fed more than half the bowl of porridge.
Chi Wang licked his lower lip and said against his true feelings: "I'm full."
Su Lian gave an "mm" in response: "Alright, I'll start once I finish eating."
He calmly lowered his head, holding the small bowl and slowly finishing the rest of the porridge.
Chi Wang stretched out his long legs, tilting his head to watch him, thinking that the differences between people could really be this great - the world was truly fair after all.
Gifted with an exceptionally handsome face, yet cursed with a sense of taste like death - perfectly reasonable.
It wasn't until the bowl was empty that he realized they had once again shared a single spoon and split a bowl of porridge.
Chi Wang: "Don't you find me dirty?"
Su Lian: "?"
"The spoon," Chi Wang raised his hand to point, reminding him, "You said before that you're a clean freak."
His hand paused, and Su Lian slowly took the spoon out and placed it in the bowl, mercilessly turning the tables: "I do find it disgusting, but there's only one spoon, so I had to reluctantly make do."
Before the other could speak, he quickly added: "If it weren't for your injury, who would care about you?"
Chi Wang smiled teasingly: "So this incredibly thoughtful wake-up service is also to repay kindness?"
Su Lian was stumped for words, unable to retort. After a long while, he finally gave an "mm" in response.
Chi Wang got excited and casually pressed the button on the back of the chair.
The mechanical voice began to loop, playing over and over in the empty dormitory.
Su Lian: "..."
When he recorded it, it had sounded fine, but now listening to it seemed so idiotic.
"Where did you record this? The little rhyme is quite catchy."
Chi Wang picked up the megaphone and brought it to his mouth, experimentally saying "hello" a few times.
Su Lian didn't really want to recall the recording scene. When he returned to the dorm after buying the megaphone, the room was empty.
So he drew the curtains, closed the door and windows, locked the door to ensure he wouldn't be disturbed, and then stood in the center of the echoing bathroom to record that message with a blank expression.
He recorded it three times, choosing the slowest version, and set it as a timed alarm.
Chi Wang shook the megaphone: "How about I record one for you too?"
"No need, my biological clock is very accurate."
"It's only polite to return the favor, don't be shy. But this megaphone of yours is too expensive - you could buy four for a hundred yuan at the shop by the school gate."
Su Lian maintained his expressionless face, recalling the seller's pitch: "It's different. This one can be remotely controlled and timed, with dual solar and battery charging for ultra-long standby time."
Chi Wang: "..."
After a long while, he finally gave a solemn evaluation: "High-end."
-
Thanks to being woken up early by the megaphone, Chi Wang started studying and doing exercises from early morning, miraculously completing his weekend homework for the first time ever - truly touching.
During evening self-study, Gu Anjiu leaned over past Lin Yan to urgently call out to Song Jiaci: "Little monkey, let me copy your math. It's an emergency, I need to turn it in soon."
"Oh, wait a sec." Song Jiaci slowly opened his schoolbag and lowered his head to search.
With a thud, Chi Wang arrogantly tossed a book over: "Here, copy this."
Gu Anjiu flipped to the right page and exclaimed in surprise: "Damn, you're pretty quick today. Did you make friends with another top student?"
"I did it myself, bastard," Chi Wang said nonchalantly as he lazily twirled his pen.
As he said this, he slightly raised his chin, unable to hide the hint of pride in his expression.
The two people in front simultaneously turned their heads, with amused expressions like they were watching a hippo eat a watermelon at the zoo.
Gu Anjiu: "Best joke of the year."
Lin Yan: "The comedy show wouldn't be the same without you."
"Screw off, if you don't believe me ask Su Lian," Chi Wang nudged the person buried in exercises with his arm. "Isn't it true that I painstakingly wrote it out stroke by stroke?"
Su Lian coldly responded with a sound, his pen not stopping as he wrote formulas.
Gu Anjiu hesitated: "So are the answers reliable?"
Chi Wang slammed his pen on the desk: "Teacher Su supervised me doing it, what do you think?"
"Then it must be reliable. I won't even try to express my immense gratitude." Gu Anjiu quickly changed sides and started frantically copying the answers at lightning speed.
With ten minutes left until 10 o'clock, Li Guoqing strolled in with his hands behind his back, pointing a finger: "You four, come out with me."
Feeling the gaze on him, Gu Anjiu raised his head with a bitter expression: "Teacher, I haven't finished copy- I mean, writing my homework yet."
"You need these five minutes?" Li Guoqing's expression was very serious as he spoke concisely without further explanation: "Come out."
The group stood up and left the classroom, lining up in the corridor at varying heights.
Li Guoqing's gaze swept back and forth over them before he coldly snorted: "You've really outdone yourselves. As students of the prestigious Third High School, you got into a fight and ended up at the police station. I just praised you last week and now you're acting out - are you particularly happy about slapping me in the face?"
With the matter exposed, Chi Wang rubbed his nose and explained: "There were extenuating circumstances. They provoked us first."
"You think I don't know about the circumstances?" Li Guoqing raised his hand to rub his balding head, with a calm expression as if he had seen through everything. "If you had been the instigators, it would be me and your parents - five people standing in the office right now."
Hearing this, sensing the situation wasn't too serious, the group secretly breathed sighs of relief.
Gu Anjiu cautiously tried to gauge the teacher's intent: "So, what exactly do you mean? Are you planning to praise us or scold us? Give us a clear answer first?"
"Getting cocky, are we? Still looking for praise?" Li Guoqing mock-kicked at the air, laughing as he scolded, "You'll definitely be punished. For group fighting, each of you will run 1000 meters. Chi Wang, for sneaking out on Friday night, another 1000 meters."
He paused, turning his gaze to Chi Wang: "Since you're injured, the others will split your punishment laps. Let's settle this today."
The implication was clear: run the laps, and the matter would be over.
Chi Wang interrupted: "That's not necessary. I injured my arm, not my leg. Besides, I bear the main responsibility."
"So you do know you're mainly responsible."
Li Guoqing gave him a light smack: "Don't be cheeky. Let me ask you, if you're all brothers, and you went out together, why did someone come back injured? Aren't they responsible for not protecting their friend? When your brother is hurt, shouldn't you take his punishment?"
Faced with this barrage of questions, Chi Wang had no rebuttal: "We should be punished, but I don't want others to take my place."
Li Guoqing looked at him intently, enunciating each word: "Watching them take your punishment is your punishment. I know you're the leader, and I want you to remember: others can be rash, but you can't. You're responsible for the safety of the brothers who trust you unconditionally."
Chi Wang fell into silent contemplation.
"Don't just rush in when something happens. Fighting and using your fists won't solve problems," Li Guoqing lectured, then added with a compassionate tone, "Two thousand divided by three isn't easy to allocate. I'll reduce it a bit for you. I'm a Chinese teacher, not great at math, so let's make it 3000 meters each."
Your math is truly impressive.
"..." Su Lian couldn't be bothered to correct him. "Fine."
With Su Lian agreeing, the other two nodded in compliance.
As the bell rang, students gradually left for home. Li Guoqing supervised the group as they headed to the track to begin their punishment run.
Darkness had fallen, with only a few street lamps illuminating the area. Chi Wang stood silently at the edge of the track, his chin slightly raised, watching his friends sprinting on the running track.
"Teacher, let me join them," Chi Wang said, moving towards the track, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Li Guoqing pulled him back, calmly saying, "When you do something wrong, you must face the consequences."
Chi Wang said nothing, clutching his school jacket and watching his friends on the track with pursed lips.
Gu Anjiu, being a bit overweight and out of shape, was already panting after half a lap. Lin Yan had to drag and pull him along, creating a scene of touching solidarity in adversity.
Su Lian, on the other hand, ran with light, swift steps, far ahead of the others.
But having run once before that day, 3000 meters would likely be tough on them too.
The sky grew darker, with thick clouds rolling in. A crack of thunder, and suddenly fine raindrops began to fall. Summer in Fog City was just like this, changing as dramatically as a Sichuan opera, different from one moment to the next.
The fine, dense rain seeped into shirt collars, dampening clothes and chilling skin.
Li Guoqing gave him a push: "Your wound can't get wet. Go inside and take shelter."
Chi Wang turned his head to look at the bandage on his arm: "What about you?"
"Not properly supervising and educating you is my failure too. Getting rained on is my punishment." Li Guoqing stood at the edge of the track, hands behind his back, gazing into the distance with an air of elderly wisdom.
The rain grew heavier, instantly forming small puddles on the once-dry track, splashing with each impact.
Chi Wang hesitated for a second, then said sincerely: "You're a good teacher, but I can't let my friends take punishment while I watch. I'm going to run with them."
"Learned your lesson?" Li Guoqing asked without turning around.
Chi Wang gave a firm "Mm," and strode into the pouring rain.
Su Lian was running through the rain when he suddenly noticed it had stopped falling on him. Looking up, he saw a blue and white school uniform jacket shielding him from the downpour, creating a small dry space.
He turned to look at Chi Wang. Rainwater was dripping steadily from his jaw, even wetting his eyelashes. His thin shirt clung to his skin, almost but not quite transparent.
Su Lian's face hardened: "What are you doing here? We said your wound can't get wet."
Wiping rain from his face, Chi Wang grinned cheekily: "I'm covering you, so I won't get too wet. Besides, aren't we supposed to share in both joy and hardship? How could I let you take my punishment?"
Again with the 'sharing joy and hardship.' This guy really took it to heart, always following through on his words.
Su Lian was stunned for a moment. His gaze fell on the damp bandage, and he couldn't help but curse: "You idiot, the wound will get infected."
"Then let's finish running quickly, no dawdling." Chi Wang held the school uniform over their heads with both hands and started running, splashing through puddles on the track.
Gu Anjiu and Lin Yan followed suit, taking off their jackets to use as umbrellas, running wildly through the rain while holding their clothes over their heads.
Perhaps caught up in the moment, someone suddenly laughed out loud: "Running together in the rain like this, it's actually pretty damn exhilarating."
Lin Yan laughed along: "You must not have been punished enough."
"Chi Wang, hurry, only a thousand meters left," Gu Anjiu puffed as he caught up, the four of them now running side by side.
Su Lian's left arm brushed against Chi Wang's injured one. Through their rain-soaked T-shirts, he could feel the damp, uneven texture of the bandage.
He turned his head to look at Chi Wang, who had shifted almost the entire jacket to cover Su Lian, leaving half his own body exposed to the rain, his shoulder completely wet.
Chi Wang asked with concern: "Can you keep going?"
"I'm not that delicate," Su Lian replied, looking ahead and keeping pace.
They sprinted through the rain, racing towards the finish line of their final lap. The wind and rain lashed their faces, making it almost impossible to see the path ahead.
Though they were in a sorry state, it was, as Gu Anjiu had said, truly exhilarating.
By the time Su Lian met Chi Wang, they were already much older, grown up and mature.
They had missed out on each other's most youthful years, never having the chance to be reckless and carefree together.
Chi Wang's behavior was childish, even rash. From a doctor's perspective, Su Lian could list thirty harsh criticisms without pausing for breath.
But at this moment, feeling the warmth radiating from the person beside him, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
Youth is always willful and spirited, seemingly free from worries, unconcerned about tomorrow or the future.
As they ran side by side, splashing through the same puddles, Su Lian felt a little closer to the seventeen-year-old Chi Wang.
Much later, when Su Lian recalled this scene, he realized that this compromise, this lowering of his defenses, was actually an inexplicable stirring of the heart.
"Alright, punishment's over. Make sure you attend class properly tomorrow." Li Guoqing, worn out by these kids' antics, had been watching with a mixture of exasperation and concern.
He waved his hand, calling them back: "Hurry back to your dorms and take a shower. Don't catch a cold."
"Thank you, teacher," Gu Anjiu waved from a distance.
The group hurriedly took shelter in the covered walkway next to the track, completely soaked, and made their way towards the dorms.
Reflecting on their prematurely ended punishment, Su Lian wiped the rain from his face and said softly, "Old Li is pretty nice."
Gu Anjiu nodded in agreement: "Old Li's all bark and no bite. He couldn't bear to see Chi Wang run with his injury."
"I didn't join you guys as a ploy for sympathy," Chi Wang laughed, throwing his arms around the three of them in a grand gesture. "Brothers enjoy together and suffer together."
Concerned about the wound, Su Lian glanced at his arm: "As soon as we get back, remove the bandage and redress it."
Chi Wang patted his forearm, smiling: "It's fine, I'm tough. I can handle it."
Back at the dorm, Su Lian didn't even change his clothes before pulling out the first aid kit and placing it on the small table.
The damp bandage was unwrapped, revealing the slightly wet wound. It had indeed gotten wet.
He pressed his lips together, saying nothing as he applied new medicine and wrapped a fresh bandage around the arm.
"Are you angry?" Chi Wang asked, lowering his lashes and nudging Su Lian's leg with his toe.
Su Lian kept his focus on the wound, not looking up: "No."
"Then why do you look unhappy? Are you mad that I didn't listen to you?"
For all his apparent carelessness, Chi Wang was more perceptive than most, able to read the subtlest cues.
He continued: "Even though you're furious, you're also moved by my commitment to sharing hardships, so you didn't stop me, right?"
Su Lian sighed: "You've said it all. What's left for me to say?"
Remembering Su Lian's previous statement "I don't have any friends," Chi Wang lowered his eyes and smiled gently, saying, "Old Li acts tough but is soft-hearted, and so are you. Your face is colder than anyone's, but your actions are gentler than most. Honestly, it's others' loss if they don't consider you a friend."
Hearing the comfort in his words, Su Lian's heart softened, and he accepted it fully: "I understand."
A knock sounded at the door. Chi Wang got up to open it, and before he could react, a group of boys noisily swarmed in.
Some were carrying skewers, others held drink cans, and they all pushed and shoved their way into room 404 as if rushing to a show.
Su Lian: "..."
To an outsider, it might have looked like some kind of human de-evolution phenomenon.
Chi Wang called out, hooking an arm around one of them: "What are you guys up to?"
"We heard about your heroic deed, how you beat up those troublemakers until they ran away with their tails between their legs. As expected of our Third high school's top dog," said the boy at the front, named Qi Tian, who was the sports representative of class six. "We just heard you came back from running laps as punishment, so we're here to welcome you back and celebrate your big victory."
Chi Wang laughed: "What's there to celebrate about this?"
"It's a matter of pride. People used to say that everyone at Third high school is just a bunch of nerdy bookworms with glasses. After this incident, I bet no one will dare look down on us when we go out," chimed in a bespectacled boy next to him, casually handing Chi Wang an ice-cold can of cola.
Su Lian stood on the outskirts of the crowd, observing coldly, thinking to himself that Chi Wang really did have good relationships with others.
"Our Third high school is the best at studying, and now we're the toughest at fighting too! We're just awesome!"
The group of boys chanted their slogan as they plopped down on the floor haphazardly, forming several messy circles.
Gu Anjiu, hearing the commotion, rushed over from next door: "Damn, you guys have food and didn't call me!"
"We knocked on your door, but you weren't there. Song Jiaci said you were in the shower," Qi Tian generously shared a grilled sausage with him. "You must be tired from the fight, have this to replenish your energy."
Chi Wang sat on a high stool, holding the cold can of cola, and turned to look at Su Lian: "You just got caught in the rain, want to take a shower first?"
"It's fine, I have a strong constitution, I can handle it," Su Lian echoed Chi Wang's words from ten minutes ago.
Chi Wang pulled a towel from a nearby shelf and draped it over Su Lian's wet head: "At least dry your hair first."
"Oh my, how come no one's helping me dry my hair?" Gu Anjiu touched his own head, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I guess this is all you get from friends you've known for over a decade."
Chi Wang glanced at him sideways: "Did you bandage me up?"
That one sentence shut the chubby boy up, and he angrily stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth.
Someone brought up Su Lian's name: "Lian-ge is amazing too, with such good grades and such a brutal fighter. He's truly well-rounded in both academics and combat. He's definitely the god of our Third high school!"
The praise was so effusive that for a moment, no one knew how to respond.
Su Lian picked up a can of Fanta and clinked it against another: "Thanks."
"As expected of Lian-ge, fierce in action but few in words," Qi Tian gave a thumbs up.
The group of young men began chattering about the night of the fight, with Gu Anjiu gesticulating wildly as he recreated the scene, embellishing the story more and more exaggeratedly.
He seemed intent on portraying himself as a reincarnation of Lu Bu or Xiang Yu.
Su Lian slowly sipped his drink, listening to their wild chatter without joining in. He didn't feel awkward; it was actually quite comfortable.
Chi Wang occasionally handed him skewers, asking in a low voice, "Are you finding this boring?"
"It's fine, they're quite amusing," Su Lian raised his eyes to look at the noisy group of boys. Having transferred here just over half a month ago, he had barely exchanged two words with many of them and felt quite unfamiliar.
He was used to being a loner and didn't see much need to force interactions. Even with his former dormmates at Eighth high school, they had only been nodding acquaintances.
Chi Wang leaned slightly against his shoulder, giving him a rundown on who had done what memorable thing in the past. These unfamiliar faces seemed to come alive with the stories.
It felt as if he had been quietly incorporated into Class Six, becoming an ordinary yet indispensable member. The feeling wasn't bad at all.
"How do you get along so well with everyone?" Su Lian looked up and asked him. "You remember everyone's characteristics?"
Chi Wang's eyes curved into a smile, his face full of charm: "Oh, I have too many friends. Are you jealous?"
"Jealous my ass," Su Lian's expression changed, and he suddenly choked on some chili from the skewer, coughing violently.
Chi Wang bent his leg to step on the high stool, leaning down to pat Su Lian's back: "Slow down, do you need some water?"
Su Lian's face turned red, and before he could reply, he started coughing again.
The others around them scrambled to find an empty cup and get some water, creating a chaotic scene. In the midst of this confusion, someone accidentally knocked the electronic speaker on the small tea table to the floor.
With a click, the back switch turned on, and the voice that had been tormenting Chi Wang all morning began to play emotionlessly in room 404.
"Reflect on yourself three times a day: Have you studied today? Have you exercised today? Did you go to bed early and wake up early today?"
"Don't be lazy, don't degenerate, don't indulge in pleasure. Get up quickly and go to class."
Chi Wang: "..."
Su Lian: "..."
The room fell into a brief silence, with only the speaker's emotionless broadcast of the embarrassing alarm, accompanied by a slight electric buzz.
"Wang-ge, your alarm content is quite sarcastic. It makes us feel guilty drinking and eating skewers here," Qi Tian broke the silence, pointing and chuckling awkwardly. "You guys, have you all studied today? Exercised? Gone to bed early and woken up early? All you know is to eat and drink here. Don't indulge in pleasure, did you hear that?"
Someone couldn't resist adding: "We heard. From tomorrow on, no laziness, no degeneration. We'll study hard and get up for class."
Everyone burst into laughter, falling over each other. Chi Wang was extremely embarrassed and reached out to turn off the speaker switch.
However, the voice that was supposed to stop after playing three times began to loop again.
Lin Yan: "Wait, this voice..."
Su Lian's heart skipped a beat.
Song Jiaci: "It... it sounds familiar..."
Su Lian's breath caught in his throat.
Amidst the commotion, Gu Anjiu's voice rang out like a thunderclap: "Isn't this Lian-ge's voice? I'm sure I'm not mistaken, it's Lian-ge, right?"
As if someone had pressed a start button, all ten-odd boys turned their heads in unison, their gazes fixed on the red-faced Su Lian, their expressions a complex mix of emotions.
Su Lian, still pressing on his chest from the coughing fit, thought to himself that he had forgotten to check his horoscope, but today was probably a day of great misfortune.
For some reason, he recalled a line from a movie he had watched long ago.
When can a person be considered truly dead?
Some say it's when a bullet pierces their heart.
Some say it's when they're forgotten by others.
But for him, there was only one kind of death – social death in front of all the boys in his class.
Cool guy: Wants to grab a knife to cut something before committing suicide.