055 Little Tang’s Contribution
Among the boys who participated in this mixer, the thin, bespectacled otaku Tang Hexing was almost the most inconspicuous one.
In terms of looks, he certainly couldn’t attract the girls’ attention like Wang Ke. In terms of words and actions, he didn’t have Sun Xingsi’s slickness. He couldn’t even bring himself to be as occasionally lively as Fu Hanwen. And Fu Hanwen even had a couple of go-to songs that won him applause at the KTV, and he even managed to strike up a real conversation with a certain girl because of it.
Tang Hexing could only silently eat from the fruit platter. He didn’t like popcorn, so this was his only option. The problem was, it wasn’t just that there was only a fruit platter; the watermelon and honeydew in the fruit platter had also been taken by the boys trying to curry favor, leaving only oranges and cherry tomatoes. Well, one was sourer than the other.
Looking around, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness and a strange sense of regret—why did he have to get involved in this mess? Wouldn’t it have been better to stay in the dorm and play games?
The one holding the microphone now was Sun Xingsi, who was singing “Cold Icy Rain Randomly Hits My Face” with great emotion. As Tang Hexing listened, he strangely felt a sense of resonance and emotion, even though Sun Xingsi was off-key…
When the song ended, Tang Hexing couldn’t help but applaud and cheer, “Well sung!”
Sun Xingsi glared at him, his face clearly saying, ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’, which showed that the person in question was still very self-aware.
Tang Hexing withdrew his hands and scratched his head a little awkwardly.
Sun Xingsi looked at the corner where Tang Hexing was, estimated the distance to the nearest girl, and instantly understood some of his awkwardness.
Then Sun Xingsi pressed the pause button on the song selection station and said into the microphone, “Should I order some beer to liven up the atmosphere?”
Fu Hanwen was the first to agree, shouting loudly, “Waiter, bring the wine!”
The girl in front of him was amused again, and Fu Hanwen was instantly filled with pride.
Sun Ruimin also shouted, “Exactly! Hurry up with the drinks, we can’t wait!”
Two boys around Sun Ruimin were trying to strike up a conversation with her, but they couldn’t make her laugh. They didn’t know why Senior Sister Sun, who had been all smiles during dinner, now looked as if she had been dealt some kind of blow…
About fifteen minutes later, Sun Xingsi led a waiter in. And on the waiter’s cart were two cases of beer and nearly thirty glass cups.
Each case had 24 bottles, so two cases were 48. It looked like a lot, but each bottle was actually smaller than the beer commonly seen in supermarkets. Choosing these two cases of beer had really taken a lot of thought from Sun Xingsi. The alcohol content couldn’t be high, otherwise, it would be easy for things to get dangerous; the price of the beer couldn’t be high, otherwise, the students who were splitting the bill afterward would definitely protest. So he had spent a full ten minutes choosing and finally found this one in the KTV’s promotional section for drinks.
The waiter left, and everyone had a bottle of beer in their hands. Even the students who didn’t want to drink took a bottle, opened it, and poured themselves a glass, at least to put on a show.
“Come, come, cheers!”
Under Sun Xingsi’s lead, the students all raised their glasses with a smile and drank.
In a corner of the crowd, Tang Hexing was also smiling, but the moment the beer went down his throat, that smile became bitter—well, the beer wasn’t good either.
But for some reason, not long after he swallowed it, he felt a little light-headed.
Tang Hexing hadn’t drunk much before. After all, he was a middle school student before, and the opportunities to drink were too few. Even at occasional class gatherings, he would take a small sip and not want to drink anymore. But tonight, holding the glass, he suddenly had the urge to drink it all in one go.
So he really did. He downed the whole glass.
Putting down the glass, Tang Hexing looked around. It seemed that still no one had noticed him.
So he filled his glass again.
**
At 1:53 a.m., Wang Heng felt that his situation was becoming more and more critical.
Pei Ningle had turned off her computer, yawned, and asked with a bit of charming naivety, “Where are you sleeping tonight? Are you still going back to the dorm?”
Alert!
Wang Heng immediately replied, “Of course I’m going back to the dorm.”
Pei Ningle glanced at her phone and rubbed her eyes. “But it’s almost two o’clock. Is your school still open?”
Wang Heng: “It is, of course it is. The dormitory building too. Although the doors are closed after lights-out, you can get in just by swiping your meal card. Besides, where would I sleep if I didn’t go back? You only have one bed here.”
Pei Ningle pointed to the sofa. “I can sleep here. I was so tired last night, I just slept here.”
Wang Heng still shook his head. “Forget it. I’m a guy visiting your place. It wouldn’t be right to squeeze you onto the sofa.”
Pei Ningle patted the sofa cushion and asked again, “If you go back now, won’t you disturb your roommates?”
Why is this girl’s mind so sharp tonight? What’s going on?
With strong vigilance, Wang Heng replied, “I won’t. There was an event tonight. My roommates should all be at the KTV. The KTV is open until the early morning. They probably haven’t even finished yet.”
“Your roommates…”
Before Pei Ningle could finish, Wang Heng’s phone suddenly rang. He took it out and saw that it was from Fu Hanwen.
Could this be an assist from a roommate? he secretly hoped.
He answered the call and heard Fu Hanwen say, “Hey, Wang Heng, are you back at the dorm? Come out quickly! Little Tang is blacked out and puked everywhere! This drunkard is really hard to carry. Wang Ke and I can’t carry him. Teacher Wang, come and help!”
Well done, Tang Hexing! I’ll give you credit for this!
Wang Heng deliberately turned the phone volume to the maximum, so that the girl beside him could hear Fu Hanwen’s voice.
So after hanging up the phone, he put on a helpless look. “See? My roommates are really waiting for me, and they urgently need my help.”
Pei Ningle yawned again. “Then you should hurry back. Be careful on the road at night.”
Just like that, with the cold sweat on his back not yet dry, Wang Heng walked out of the residential building.
**
When he arrived at the KTV entrance, Wang Heng didn’t see the girls, only a group of male classmates.
Fu Hanwen explained to him, “The girls have all gone back. They called two taxis. We’re just discussing what to do with this guy.”
Following the direction Fu Hanwen pointed with his chin, Wang Heng saw Tang Hexing hugging a tree and crying his heart out.
“Little Tang…” Wang Heng asked carefully, “What’s wrong with him?”
Just as he finished speaking, he heard Tang Hexing shouting incoherently, “You’ve lived for five hundred years, you must know… those foolish mortals… what is love…”
Wang Heng looked at the tree Little Tang was hugging. “This little tree is five hundred years old?”
Fu Hanwen covered his face and said, “Don’t mention it. Little Tang is drunk. He seems to think that tree is Nibutani Shinka.” (A character from the light novel and anime series Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions)
Wang Heng: “…What Shinka?”
Wang Ke: “Don’t worry about the details. It’s a 2D female character.”
The three roommates looked at Tang Hexing, their faces filled with sympathy… and embarrassment.
