Chapter 274: Near Those Who Flock

“Hurry, hurry! Old Zhou, circle around back, there’s one hiding behind the door!”

“Well done! Playing with the wind at our backs is exhilarating!”

“Old Ren, why the hell are you just standing there not moving? Did you secretly bring a textbook to study?”

“One minute left, this round is a sure win. Watch me go taunt the other side, I’m on a roll today!”

“Admin, admin! Where are you? I’m in the zone, treat everyone in the cafe to…”

Mid-sentence, everyone in the internet cafe took off their headphones, looking at the ordinary young master Cao with anticipation.

Internet cafes in ’09 had the best atmosphere. You may not know my name or age, but as long as we can game together, we’re friends.

This led to frequent occurrences of rich bros getting excited from gaming or lucky draws, waving their hand to add an hour for the whole cafe or buying everyone a bottle of iced tea. Not unusual at all.

Based on these internet-addicted youths’ experience, they likely encountered another rich guy willing to treat everyone.

“Please show off my results to the whole cafe, and get me four more sodas, Pepsi, the sweet kind!”

The youths immediately cursed, “Damn, what a dog! I thought a rich guy was treating our time, turns out it’s an idiot!”

Cao Guangyu didn’t care, taking a sip of the soda, “Brothers, I’m pumped, let’s pull an all-nighter?”

“I’m gonna spend all night watching Pleasant Goat? Get lost, it’s already 9:30, I’m going back to the dorm to sleep!” Jiang Qin pushed aside the keyboard and stood up.

“Old Jiang, people like you who don’t game are really missing out on a lot of joy in life.”

Jiang Qin patted his shoulder as he got up, “But you’ll never experience the joy Dad finds in real life.”

Cao Guangyu’s face darkened. “If finals weren’t coming up, I’d insist on gaming through the night no matter what.”

“Let’s not do it tonight, can’t make it. We coming back tomorrow?” Zhou Chao couldn’t help asking.

Cao Guangyu smacked his lips, pondering, “Let’s see about tomorrow. Had enough fun today, I think I can get into focused studying mode tomorrow.”

Ren Ziqiang, who had been standing beside them listening, suddenly spoke up, “Uhh… I’m going to buy some smokes.”

“Old Ren, smoke less, it’s bad for you.” Cao Guangyu put on a brotherly air. “Right, Old Jiang?”

“What you said has an uncanny resemblance to the ‘smoking is harmful to health’ warning on cigarette packs.”

As he spoke, Jiang Qin couldn’t help glancing in the direction Ren Ziqiang left, thinking the cafe sold cigarettes, he could just turn around and buy them, why go out of his way to the supermarket next door? Strange.

After returning to the dorm, the night was already quite late. Jiang Qin did over a dozen sets of ab exercises, then wiped his sweat and took a cold shower before getting in bed.

The F3 also climbed under their covers, deciding to study hard tomorrow and ace the finals, securing 2nd place in their major!

But in the middle of the night when Jiang Qin got up to use the bathroom, he suddenly noticed what seemed to be a faint light coming from Ren Ziqiang’s blanket.

Old Ren’s bed was directly facing the balcony, with his feet pointing toward everyone else in the dorm. Jiang Qin didn’t notice the light on his way to the bathroom, but caught a glimpse of it on his way back.

So he quietly reached out and gently lifted Ren Ziqiang’s blanket, peeking inside.

The peeking was mainly to avoid any awkward situations, but the next second, their eyes met.

“…”

“…”

Ren Ziqiang was lying prone under the covers with printed review materials underneath him, two finger lights wrapped around his fingers, looking a bit awkward.

These kinds of lights had just gained popularity in recent years. Very small, with an elastic strap on the body that could be tied directly onto fingertips. They came in all colors.

Jiang Qin raised an eyebrow, “Bought two finger lights at the supermarket?”

“Bro Jiang, I swear I wasn’t targeting you!” Ren Ziqiang bent his five fingers, swearing on the lights.

Jiang Qin couldn’t stop laughing, “You’re gaming at the cafe during the day but studying by lamplight at night to backstab your roommate, aren’t you afraid of getting wrecked?”

“Endure hardship for 3-4 days, show off for a whole semester!” Ren Ziqiang was like a merciless assassin.

“Damn, I have no words. I remember you were pretty honest as a freshman, who infected you to be so devious?”

“Those close to cinnabar are red, those near Jiang are fowl.”

“…”

“You better mean diligent by that last word.”

Jiang Qin walked away grumbling, turning over and climbing into bed, then had sweet dreams all night.

The next morning, Cao Guangyu got out of bed in high spirits, feeling refreshed and eager to hit the books.

Indeed, with only three days until the exam, it’d be lucky to get through all the material once in such a tight timeframe. Any later and there really wouldn’t be time to review.

But who knows what was up with that weirdo Old Ren, as soon as he got up he kept going on about last night at the cafe, eloquently describing Cao Guangyu’s godly plays over and over until Cao Guangyu’s chest was so puffed up it could rest on the table.

“Cao bro’s crouch shot, tsk tsk tsk…”

“Cao bro’s bunny hop, tsk tsk tsk…”

“Cao bro’s flick shot, tsk tsk tsk…”

Old Cao was so flattered he was feeling restless. Finally slamming the table, “Let’s go to Flying Dragon, I’ll show you those plays again today!”

Jiang Qin looked up when he heard this, “Old Cao, better not, finals are coming up, you want to fail?”

“It’s fine Old Jiang, reviewing for 3 days vs 2 days doesn’t make much difference, I’ll just pull an all-nighter!”

To be honest, Ren Ziqiang’s moves since early morning had indeed grabbed Cao Guangyu right by his weakness. Old Cao was an out-and-out showoff who loved hearing any kind of flattery, wishing he could reenact it for you.

How could you possibly stop someone who regarded showing off as life itself?

“Old Zhou, let’s go together!”

“Wait a sec Cao bro, let me hang up my bitter melon first!”

Jiang Qin coughed, “Chao ah, you didn’t have any notable moments last night, doesn’t matter if you go or not, stay and review.”

Zhou Chao pursed his lips, “Bro Jiang, thinking of them playing games at the cafe, I can’t calm down to study.”

“…”

Jiang Qin clicked his tongue, feeling a bit mournful. The old saying was right, ‘good advice is hard to get through to this damn ghost’. But you can’t say it directly or Ren Ziqiang would definitely get a fat beating.

He started this studying-in-secret conflict himself, but the three of them were still at each other’s throats. Truly baffling. Could it be that no one could tell who the class enemy actually was?

Jiang Qin turned and left, going to 207 and having a blast studying with Feng Nanshu all morning.

And to be fair, the newly in love really hits different. Learning with zest and relish.

In late June, the sun was scorching enough to kill. Luckily Jiang Qin timed things precisely, wrapping up offline promotions early. Otherwise, he’d probably get flayed alive in this weather.

And taking advantage of this short time, the group-buying Wanzhong branch also drafted a promotional outline that Wei Lanlan forwarded to Jiang Qin.

But Jiang Qin didn’t look at it, because finals were here and there wasn’t enough time to study as is. Absolutely not enough.

On Friday, Cao Guangyu came out scowling after finishing his last exam, feeling empty-headed with his mind full of headshots.

“Old Jiang, I think I’m going to fail this time, might even get dismissed. Will you treat me to a farewell meal?”

“No.” Jiang Qin was ruthless.

Cao Guangyu felt awful. “I was going to treat you last time, how can you have the nerve not to treat me?”

Jiang Qin side-eyed him, “Because I’ve got thick skin.”

“?????”

“Besides, didn’t I tell you not to go to the cafe? You puffed your chest out so much it could rest on the table, insisting on showing off your moves again. Who can you blame for failing?”

Cao Guangyu pursed his lips silently, turning to Zhou Chao, “Let’s retake it together next semester.”

“No thanks Cao bro, I think I should be able to scrape by the passing line.”

“How?”

Zhou Chao took a deep breath, “It’s all thanks to being diligent normally. You’re always going out to date whenever, but I’ve been attending class properly. Might not score high but passing shouldn’t be an issue.”

Cao Guangyu was insanely jealous, gritting his back molars. “Then I’ll only have Old Ren to keep me company.”

Ren Ziqiang also came out of the classroom at this time, eyes so dark he looked like a panda, like a walking corpse brushing past them, with only one thought in mind – rush back to the dorm to catch up on sleep.

“Why does he look like he’s about to die? I feel like even anatomy professors at med school aren’t as pale as him.”

Jiang Qin paused, “You’ve seen anatomy professors before?”

The corner of Cao Guangyu’s mouth twitched, “Have you forgotten which department Ding Xue is in? How could I miss out on exciting stuff like that?”

“Holy shit, Old Cao you’re playing some messed up games huh? Even taking your dates to the morgue?”

“No, that’s not it!”

Just then, Zhou Chao suddenly put on a serious face as if he thought of something, “Old Ren has been in this state the past 3-4 days and is getting worse. Something’s fishy, he must be studying in secret at night.”

Jiang Qin’s eyes widened in surprise, “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

“I noticed it when I got up this morning. There were two finger lights on his desk. I thought they were fun so I fiddled with them a bit, but they were both out of power.”

“What the hell? No way, I’m going to find that bastard and get to the bottom of this!”

Cao Guangyu darted out with Zhou Chao close behind, body leaning forward, arms swinging, running like a ninja from Naruto.

Jiang Qin stood on the steps in front of the academic building, watching with amusement until he couldn’t help feeling a bit teary-eyed.

This is what normal college life should be like, right? Three square meals a day without worry, just thinking about having fun all day, full of laughter and curses. Not like himself, only knowing to do business, with nothing but a pocket full of money, leading a dull life.