Chapter 24 The Difficult Decision

The overnight booth had a sofa for two. After a few games, exhaustion hit. While she watched a mindless soap opera, I passed out on the table—too tired from a day of running around, KTV, and socializing. I'm no god; sleep was non-negotiable.

Waking, I thought I was dreaming—until seeing Little Cabbage asleep on my lap. Overnights drain stamina; I'd sworn off them after last Saturday's Crossfire marathon, but this counted as a "special case."

Needing the bathroom, I couldn't move with her on my legs. Her laptop played on, her smooth face flawless, gentle breaths audible. The internet café echoed with keyboard clicks and snores—why suffer here when dorms exist? At least I had a beauty beside me.

Studying her face, I saw traces of my high school crush..."You're awake? Your lap's comfy," she said, breaking my trance. "Just woke. Hated to disturb you," I lied, pushing aside memories of my rejected crush."What time is it?"My beat-up phone was fuzzy, but the computer read "just past 3 AM." She stayed put, driving me nuts—if I got a "reaction," she'd think I was creepy. "Um... could you sit up? I need the restroom."She rose, and I bolted to pee—bliss. In the mirror, I looked haggard. Back at our booth, she wiped her face with a wet wipe, purse open—full of makeup, unlike Yang's veggies, Xiaohua's novels, or Dong Yulan's... who knew?

Bored, I opened LianLianKan, the "cruel" game where pairs vanish. "You play this baby game?" she teased."For kills when bored.""Me too. Wanna race?""Nah, I s*ck—how else do you think I win at QQ Dance?" I joked."Only 'cause your cheats are good." She gave up, returning to Let's Watch Thunderstorms, crushing on Zhang Han. I logged into QQ Dance, mind numb.

Dawn came, bringing a desperate urge to crash in my dorm bed. Shaking Little Cabbage awake, I said, "Time to go sleep."She rubbed her eyes: "Already dawn?" We packed silently—she sleepy, me awkward. At the dorm gate, few people lingered."G'night, I'm beat.""Thanks for staying up." She stood on tiptoe, kissed me, and dashed into her building.

Stunned, I stood there—my first kiss. Normally, I'd be too excited to sleep, but exhaustion won.

Waking to an empty dorm in the afternoon, hunger struck. Yesterday's KFC and hotpot weren't enough. Staring at instant noodles—braised ribs, mushroom chicken, seafood, spicy beef—I couldn't choose. Calling Xiaohua: predictably, they were online.

I resorted to a rhyme: "Little white rabbit, white and bright..." Chose seafood, but I'd had that yesterday. "Big rooster, so bold..." Picked mushroom chicken. Nah—went with braised beef. I really was losing it.

Anthony once said: "There will always be periods when life feels so comfortable it's disorienting."

I must have been bored out of my mind after that "sumptuous" dinner of instant noodles. Strolling to the back playground, I saw a sea of balls—basketball, badminton, ping-pong, soccer, shuttlecock. These folks were definitely killing time, claiming to exercise but really hunting for 邂逅 (encounters). "The drunkard's intent isn't on the wine." Bored, I "rolled out" and headed back to the dorm.

Alone in the eight-person dorm, I felt that familiar void. Was it loneliness, emptiness, or just... boredom? That's when I decided it was time for a girlfriend. Dialing Little Cabbage, she picked up immediately.

"Awake yet?""Been up. I'm the only one in the dorm.""Eat yet?""Yep, braised ribs...""Fancy!""...flavor instant noodles.""You jerk—stop teasing!""Habits. Did you eat?""Eating tomatoes. Enough about food—we're not pigs.""College is eat-play. Since I can't out-play you, should we discuss studying?""Don't mention studying—it gives me a headache.""Study hard, get a good job, find a partner.""Hehe, like you need to worry." The girlfriend topic left me tongue-tied. Maybe I'd already accepted her? I hung up, lost in thought. Did I like her? I never wanted to play with feelings. The more I thought, the sleepier I got...

The Crossfire semi-final notice arrived for Monday afternoon. After lunch, we stormed Epoch Internet Café. Reigning champions from the prelims, our team had a rep.

" Heard that team in prelims was insane—opponents forfeited mid-match!""Nah, they played dirty, drove opponents nuts.""Still need skill to win like that. Our team got wrecked trying to camp.""Pray we don't draw them.""Same—we'd die confused." (All fictional, any resemblance is coincidental.)

Arriving last, Little J drew the lot and returned beaming: "We skipped semis—straight to finals!""Opponents forfeited?" Lord Wu asked."More like Little J got played," Xiaohua joked."Nine teams in semis—we got a bye," Little J explained.

"No wonder—since I stepped in dog sh*t by Angel Lake, luck's been riding with me," I muttered."You stepped in dog sh*t?" Chuanchuan heard."Accidentally. Maybe related to my 桃花运 (romantic luck).""Of course—dog sh*t by 'Angel Sh*t Lake' isn't ordinary," Lord Wu laughed."Is it from Heavenly Dog under Erlang Shen?" Xiaohua asked.

I summed up: "I'm the 285th reincarnation of Yang Jian.""More like the 250th—only a moron would say that," Xiaohua sniped.

After teasing, we hit another café to practice. "Reviewing old knowledge brings new insights."

Post-practice, I lingered at dusk, listening to If At That Time. "If we'd only met as strangers, why grieve parting..." hit hard. Life's random sadness made me question my sanity, but online said this meant maturity. Then Little Cabbage called—telepathy?

"Free? Hang out.""At the library. Come over.""Be there in a song." She arrived before the track ended.

Ignoring her, I stared at a weird rooftop. "What's wrong? Did I do something?" She panicked, pulling out her phone. "Need an ambulance?"

The song ended. "So, what's up?" She sighed in relief."Why ignore me earlier?""You said 'a song's time.' I had to finish the song first.""Is that a joke? I almost called 911!" She was p*ss*d, but I saw concern.

Autumn here isn't as cold as home, but the gales feel like north winds howling—seriously, the wind is relentless! At dusk on the playground, couples cuddled sweetly as we strolled the track.

"Why free today?" I watched the breeze ruffle her hair, which she smoothed back."No one was in the dorm, and I wanted to chat." She turned to me. "Why are you free?""We had a competition, got a bye, went straight to finals. Now just walking off lunch." I looked at the darkening sky.

She nodded, and we walked in silence. "Do you use Rejoice shampoo?" I asked, eyeing her sleek hair."How'd you know?" she blinked."Lucky guess.""Nope, it's Pantene!" She laughed."Uh... close enough." I forced a smile. "Aren't you cold?" She wore stockings—I disliked them, thinking they were too revealing."Nah, winters here are mild." She missed my point.

"I, um... think I like you too," I blurted, awkward in matters of the heart."Really?!" She beamed."Yeah."

What followed needs no detail—she took my first kiss. As evening self-study approached, we headed to class. At the door, I blurted: "I don't like girls in stockings," then dashed inside. Life is funny—what we crave often feels ordinary when we get it.

In class, Lord Wu nudged me: "Where've you been?""Got a girlfriend," I shrugged."Seriously? Teach me your tricks!" Jealousy dripped from his voice."Simple: step in dog sh*t by Angel Lake. Worked for me—first my crush asked me out, then this, then Crossfire bye.""Superstition's illegal, like spreading Falun Gong," Xiaohua cut in."Falun Gong? The cult that fucks people over?" I deflected."Stay on topic!" Xiaohua scolded."Guess it's charisma? Crossfire was pure luck." I shrugged.

"Time to hunt—good cabbages are taken, only stalks left," Xiaohua declared, eyeing a girl.

As others scattered, I headed for the bathroom, colliding with a girl drinking milk. It spilled on me."Don't worry, OMO detergent works!" she chirped."Then I'll punch you till your kidneys fail—Liuwei Dihuang Wan cures that, sugar-free. Deal?""You can't. I'm better than you." She posed to fight. Seeing her build, I backed down.

Back in class, my wet pants sparked jokes: "P*ss*d yourself?""Girl spilled milk.""Liar! Your luck turned to sh*t!" Lord Wu jeered."Guess so," I sighed, enduring the laughter.