Chapter 67: You're Overthinking It!

Chapter Sixty-Seven: You’re Overthinking It!

University life was vibrant. There was military training, a welcome party for freshmen, weekly Friday dances, an English corner, basketball and soccer teams, a literature club, a cinema—

University life was also incredibly dull. Compared to high school, students suddenly had far too much free time at their disposal. Not knowing what to do with it, they slept, stared into space, read novels, dated, played cards, or immersed themselves in games—

Hua Ming was next door playing “Fight the Landlord.” The loser had to stick notes on their face. The other two already had their faces covered, but Hua Ming, taking advantage of his broad face, had the most notes and yet still managed to keep one eye visible.

“Come on, come on!” Hua Ming shouted excitedly. “Hurry up and play your cards. After two more rounds, I have to get back to my precious baby. She hasn’t seen me in hours—she must be angry by now—”

“Hua Ming, I need to ask you something,” said Li Shangang from Class Two. “We have a pot—can we borrow your rabbit for a bit?”

“Get lost, you heartless brutes,” Hua Ming cursed. “My little darling is my lover, my spring, my second life. I’d rather let you carve off a piece of my butt than let you lay a finger on her—”

“Do rabbits even have fingers?” Zhang Tao asked with a grin.

“Feet, ears, head—none of it!” Hua Ming responded firmly.

Bang—

Someone flung the dorm door open. Liang Tao poked his head in and yelled, “Boss, quick! Number Two is getting cornered at the campus gate!”

Anyone else would have been baffled by these nicknames. But in college, calling each other by numbers was all too common.

Hua Ming was startled. He tossed his cards on the table and shouted, “Number Three, you’d better not be lying. Otherwise, I’ll skin you alive.”

“Would I joke about something like this at a time like this?” Liang Tao shot back, annoyed. “Believe it or not. If you’re not going, I am.”

With that, Liang Tao dashed downstairs. Li Yu’s short figure followed close behind, not even bothering to close the dorm door.

“Damn it! Who dares mess with my Number Two?” Now Hua Ming was convinced. He glanced around the room, rushed into the bathroom, and grabbed a mop. With a stomp of his foot, he knocked off the mop head, shouldered the wooden stick, and charged out.

“Who’s their Number Two?” Zhang Tao asked.

“Tang Zhong,” Li Shangang replied.

“No way, that’s our class monitor—Brothers, let’s go check it out!”

As Hua Ming ran, he called out, “Number Three, how did you find out?”

“Big-Eye Li called. He said he saw Number Two getting surrounded while eating wontons,” Liang Tao explained. “Boss, you’ve got notes on your face.”

Hua Ming ripped them off, freeing his eyes. “No matter. Now I look more intimidating.”

———

By the time they reached the gate, they saw a crowd heading toward the snack street.

That’s when they knew something had really happened to Tang Zhong.

They sprinted faster than ever.

They were quick, but when they finally made it through the crowd, the confrontation was already over.

Strangely, they saw Tang Zhong emerging from the public restroom, while a group clustered outside as if hoping to catch a glimpse of him peeing.

“Number Two, you okay?” Hua Ming ran up, stick in hand, concern in his voice.

“I’m fine,” Tang Zhong replied with a smile. Seeing Hua Ming’s sweaty face, still dotted with bits of paper, he was genuinely touched.

Liang Tao was panting as he arrived, asking what had happened. Poor Li Yu made it at last, bent double and too exhausted to speak. These were his brothers.

Nan University was huge. Sprinting from the third-floor dorm all the way to the gate was no easy feat.

Spotting Li Dapeng and the others, Hua Ming growled, “It’s that bastard Qiao Lei again, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Tang Zhong nodded.

Hua Ming’s face turned dark, and he cursed, “Where is he? Today, I’m breaking that punk’s three dog legs!”

“In there,” Tang Zhong pointed at the men’s restroom behind him.

Hua Ming was stunned. “What’s he doing in there?”

“Maybe he was thirsty,” Tang Zhong replied.

Hua Ming didn’t catch the hidden meaning, but hearing that Qiao Lei was still inside, he gripped his stick and charged into the bathroom.

Liang Tao, worried that Hua Ming couldn’t handle Qiao Lei alone, followed in to help.

Soon, the two of them came back out, their faces a complex mixture of emotions, yet both keeping silent.

Qiao Lei’s friends, not hearing any noise from him, feared something had happened inside. No longer afraid of Tang Zhong’s retaliation, they dashed past him into the restroom.

Then, they were utterly shocked by the scene they found.

As the stench of urine hit them, they snapped out of it.

“Brother Lei—” They rushed over and hauled Qiao Lei out of the urinal, where his head had been plunged.

The public restroom was far from clean, and two urinals were clogged, urine filling the trough to the brim.

Tang Zhong hadn’t been able to force Qiao Lei’s head into a toilet, so he had shoved his face into the urinal instead.

Qiao Lei’s face, nose, eyebrows, and mouth were all smeared with yellowish urine. His hair, soaked, was dripping wet.

As they lifted his head, urine ran down onto his clothes, pants, and the floor, making him reek so badly that it was nauseating.

His friends were just young students—none of them could bear the stench. They each backed away, covering their noses, leaving him kneeling there, retching.

Finally, one of the smarter ones ran out, bought several bottles of mineral water, and poured them over Qiao Lei’s face and hair—

One bottle, two bottles, three bottles—

His head was a little cleaner, but the stench on his body only grew stronger.

He snatched the last bottle, gulping it down.

Pfft—

He spat all the water out in one go.

He tried drinking more, but the taste of urine still lingered in his mouth.

He drank again, but the bottle was already empty.

“Get more,” Qiao Lei shouted.

The boy nodded and rushed off again.

Qiao Lei looked around, overcome with misery, then burst into tears.

His mind was childish; Tang Zhong’s methods were all too mature.

———

“Let’s go,” Tang Zhong said.

Hua Ming and Liang Tao didn’t move, their eyes fixed on the restroom door.

“No need to watch. He won’t be coming out for a while,” Tang Zhong told them.

“Let’s wait anyway,” Liang Tao said. “There’s nothing to do back at the dorm. When he comes out, we should give him a round of applause. You know, out of the billions of people in China, not everyone has the guts to drink urine.”

“Or we could grab some barbecue and beer across the street?” Hua Ming was eager not to miss the spectacle. After all, Qiao Lei had caused trouble time and again, and this time had ambushed Tang Zhong with a gang while he was alone. Seeing him end up like this was pure delight. “Come on, I’ll treat.”

“I’ve already eaten. Not hungry,” Tang Zhong declined. He didn’t want to stick around like a monkey in the zoo and be gawked at.

“Then just a drink.” Hua Ming clung to Tang Zhong’s arm, pleading, “Come on, little brother, dearest brother, just humor us—if I don’t see his face when he comes out, I’ll lose a few kilos from the heartbreak—”

“You could stand to lose some weight,” Tang Zhong retorted, jabbing where it hurt.

Hua Ming was about to argue when his eyes suddenly widened, his face turning odd as he stared past Tang Zhong.

Liang Tao sensed something too; following Hua Ming’s gaze, his pupils dilated and his face flushed as if he’d downed several drinks.

Tang Zhong turned around and saw Su Shan, who had vanished earlier, reappear before him, a sports bag slung over her shoulder.

She held a cup of apple juice, sipping from it in small mouthfuls. “All done?” she asked.

“All done,” Tang Zhong replied.

Then, she handed him a cup of juice from her left hand. “You bought me wontons, so I’ll buy you juice.”

Tang Zhong took a sip, managing only a wry smile.

Orange juice. Tang Xin’s favorite drink.

“I’m heading back,” Su Shan said, waving before briskly turning away.

“I’ll walk you back,” Tang Zhong offered.

“I’ll go too,” Hua Ming blurted, but Liang Tao grabbed him by the arm.

“Why are you holding me back?” Hua Ming protested. “Don’t you want to go?”

“I do,” Liang Tao grumbled, “but I’d rather not get tossed into the restroom by Number Two.”

Remembering what he’d seen in there, Hua Ming shivered.

“Is that Su Shan?” Hua Ming asked.

“You don’t even know who she is, and you want to walk her back?” Liang Tao snapped. What he saw was more shocking than watching Hua Ming pluck, clean, and hotpot his rabbit—how could Su Shan be with Tang Zhong? And she’d even bought him juice?

“It can’t be Su Shan,” Hua Ming insisted. “How could Su Shan possibly like Number Two? Think about it—what’s so great about him? Looks? He’s not as handsome as you. Charisma? Not as good as me. Money? Not as rich as you. Wit? Not as funny as me. Chasing girls—neither of you can compare with me. Maybe Su Shan’s just trying to get close to Number Two so she can get to know me? Honestly, this girl is clever. My opinion of her just skyrocketed.”

“You’re overthinking it,” Liang Tao replied with a roll of his eyes.