"Got it, got it! It's so annoying!"
"Hang up!"
Zhang Shaoqing impatiently finished the call, kicked open the balcony door, and stormed into the room, grumbling angrily.
He glanced at Wang Jie, who was playing games at the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down, his legs shaking in irritation.
The only sound left in the dormitory was the noise of Wang Jie playing his game—clicking keyboard and mouse sounds, with the noisy background music making everything irritating.
"Turn down the volume, can't you? It's so annoying!"
"...."
When the chaotic noise stopped, the dorm became so quiet that the only thing audible was the sound of students walking by outside in the corridor. Zhang Shaoqing suddenly thought the noise wasn’t so bad.
He sighed in frustration, turned his head to glance at the game icon on his computer screen, but didn’t feel the urge to open it.
The pressure from his mother, demanding he break up with Qianqian, the fear of soon leaving school to enter society, and the low pressure always emanating from Wang Jie after a breakup... even though he usually didn’t care much ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) about anything, Zhang Shaoqing now felt like he could hardly breathe.
Especially with that controlling mother of his.
"Damn it, Ning Chu was so great..."
Zhang Shaoqing mumbled, lying on the desk.
Even though that guy always liked to meddle in others' business and was so awkward when comforting others, at least he was someone to confide in, not like Wang Jie, who was always so closed off.
But unfortunately, Ning Chu was a succubus who already had a boyfriend, no longer the little boy who lived in the dorm.
As he was thinking, there was a soft knock on the door.
"What’s the point of knocking? Just kick the door open!"
"What if they're inside not wearing clothes?"
"It’s not like we haven’t seen them before~"
Zhang Shaoqing looked at the door and then glanced down at himself, only wearing underwear, his torso exposed.
"Wait a minute! Damn! What is a woman doing in a male dormitory?!"
"If I want to come, I’ll come! I’m coming in!"
"Wait two minutes!"
The atmosphere, which had just been suffocatingly silent, immediately became lively.
In a panic, Zhang Shaoqing opened the wardrobe and randomly grabbed a shirt to throw on, while Wang Jie hurriedly put on his pants and turned off the movie he’d been watching.
Not even a minute later, the door cracked open, and Ning Chu’s little head peeked in, looking inside with a suspicious expression. "Raids!"
"Raid your mom!"
Fortunately, it was summer, and the clothes were light. It didn’t take more than a few seconds to get dressed.
Both Wang Jie and Zhang Shaoqing were dressed, although their clothes were a bit disheveled.
The door was pushed open, and Wen Yang walked in with a large box of beer. Ning Chu followed behind, her big eyes scanning the room, which she hadn’t visited in a while.
"It’s so cold~ Turn the air conditioning up."
Entering the dorm was like coming home for Ning Chu. She quickly found the air conditioner remote, pressed a few buttons, and turned the temperature from sixteen degrees to twenty-six.
"Damn it! You're always so picky! It's so hot! Don't mess with the air conditioner!"
"My stomach hurts, so it’s a miracle I didn’t turn it off."
Zhang Shaoqing muttered curses under his breath while his gaze shifted to the beer Wen Yang had brought: "Coming to fight the rich again? Barbecue or something?"
"Grilled fish!"
"Why do you care? Wang Jie, what do you want to eat?"
"I’m not eating."
Wang Jie replied sullenly, but Wen Yang quickly grabbed him by the neck and yanked him up from his chair.
Ning Chu had already set up a folding table and small stools in the middle of the dorm, excitedly calling out, "Hurry up, hurry up, we bought some marinated dishes, let’s eat while we wait."
"I already ate."
"Then just drink with us." Wen Yang pressed Wang Jie’s shoulder and made him sit down at the small table.
Zhang Shaoqing obediently sat down, grinning as he opened the food containers. While eating, he asked, "At least you remembered to bring some gifts, not bad."
"Isn’t it a son’s duty to bring something nice?"
Ning Chu stood to the side, leaning against the iron-frame bed ladder, arms crossed, watching them.
"Aren’t you eating?"
"I’m not eating. I already said my stomach hurts."
She helplessly rubbed her aching stomach. After getting her period, her appetite was poor, and there was no way she could drink beer or sodas.
Wen Yang opened the beers for everyone and explained, "She’s not feeling well today. I didn’t want her to come, but she insisted on joining."
"Yeah, what’s a woman doing in a male dormitory?"
"I’m afraid you’ll get drunk and nobody will clean up your mess."
"Heh~ If you’re feeling sick, just go to sleep, why are you joining the fun?"
"Who needs you to care?!"
Seeing Ning Chu and Zhang Shaoqing start arguing again, Wen Yang shook his head helplessly and looked at the quiet Wang Jie.
He picked up a bottle of beer and lightly clinked it with Wang Jie’s: "Cheers, have a drink."
Wang Jie didn’t look very energetic. He took a sip of beer, and after just one bottle, his face was slightly flushed, and his gaze had a vague, dazed look.
Seeing this, Wen Yang slowly asked, "So, what happened? Tell me?"
The usually shy Wang Jie, slightly tipsy, finally opened up: "It’s not really an argument, it’s just that her family insists on a bride price, and they won’t accept anything less..."
"Bride price? How much?" Zhang Shaoqing immediately leaned in, "So you two are planning to get married?"
"Not yet. After so many years, we’ve got to talk about these things."
"Then what did your girlfriend say?"
Wang Jie smiled bitterly: "She’s already done her best, but her parents won’t budge..."
Zhang Shaoqing smirked at Ning Chu, stoking the fire: "Hey, how much is your bride price? Can Wen Yang afford it?"
Ning Chu hadn’t thought about this issue, but after a moment of reflection, she nodded: "I think my bride price is also quite a bit, maybe a few hundred thousand..."
Wen Yang didn’t expect that he was the one who got pulled into this. As soon as he heard that number, his face unconsciously tightened.
To buy a house, a car, and still have to pay a bride price...
Just thinking about it made his head hurt.
Just a moment ago, Wang Jie had a pitiful look, but now he patted Wen Yang’s shoulder with a smirk: "It’s fine, we’ll just make money slowly."
The tone had an unmistakable sense of schadenfreude.
Though his situation was tough, he still couldn’t help but feel relieved seeing someone else suffer more.
"You still have your parents to rely on, Wen Yang is really unlucky~" Zhang Shaoqing paused, then curiously asked, "Ning Chu, you’re from the provincial capital, right? I remember the bride price there is like, you have to return the dowry if the price is too low?"
Ning Chu smiled and nodded: "Yeah, my family’s pretty poor, we can’t even return the dowry. The bride price is just a token, a little something to show we care."
"Your mom won’t mind, right?"
"My mom? What would she mind? When she got married, she probably had to pay a dowry herself."
Wen Yang remembered his future mother-in-law’s past marriage and sighed in relief.
Now, Wang Jie had turned back into his pitiful self, frustrated and drinking more, and that bit of schadenfreude was gone.
He couldn’t believe he didn’t get to experience such good things...
