Chapter 36: The Emperor’s Necktie

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“Watch your mouth!”

Zhou Zhexiao tilted his face to one side, putting on the obedient expression he reserved for the dorm supervisor. “Was I not watching my mouth?”

Xia Chiyi took a bus into the city and stopped at a shopping mall. He picked out a tie. The design was ordinary enough, though it had a few delicate details, and he asked the sales clerk to wrap it simply.

He followed the address sent to him on WeChat. Looking up, he realized that the Sichuan restaurant had an impressively large storefront. From the dining hall, he could see customers ordering their food. When he glanced at the prices, he found that a single serving of fish in boiling oil cost a staggering 188 yuan.

Xia Chiyi suddenly felt that the boiled fish at the little restaurant near campus—the dish Little Fatty always complained was never enough—was actually a bargain. It cost only eighteen yuan, and if one serving was not enough, they could simply order two!

When he entered the private room, it was already packed with people. Laughter filled the air, and there were both old classmates and unfamiliar faces.

Class monitor Xiao Yu sat in the very center, wearing a ridiculous-looking hat and a shirt that suited his figure extremely well.

Perhaps because he had finally escaped the pressure of the college entrance examination, Xiao Yu looked radiant. Even the acne on his chin had vanished.

His hair had once been fine and limp, always plastered against his forehead. People often said it made him look dull, like a wooden fish.

Today, however, he looked completely different. His hair was fluffy and slightly curled, dyed chestnut brown, making him look fashionable while setting off his fair complexion. Even his unruly eyebrows had been carefully groomed.

The moment Xiao Yu saw Xia Chiyi, his eyes lit up. He waved energetically. “Chiyi! You finally made it! Come over, come over—sit here!”

He patted the seat beside him, and Xia Chiyi hurriedly sat down.

The other old classmates began teasing him as well.

“Xia Chiyi, the monitor wouldn’t let us touch the fish until you got here!”

“Exactly! We’ve been eating cold appetizers for over twenty minutes. If you didn’t come soon, I’d have been full from eating radish peels!”

Xia Chiyi pressed his palms together apologetically. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. The coach wouldn’t let me go!”

At that moment, the unfamiliar-looking young man sitting across from him spoke up. “Understandable. Ningchang University’s basketball team is this year’s dark horse. Your coach, Ling, must be especially strict.”

Xia Chiyi followed the voice and looked over. The other young man wore a loose hoodie and had broad shoulders; it was obvious that he was tall and powerfully built.

Xiao Yu patted Xia Chiyi on the shoulder and introduced him. “I forgot to introduce you. This is Chen Hao, a fellow student from my department and a member of our university basketball team. The two beside him are Jiang Yang and Li Jia.”

“Oh, right… Hello!”

Xia Chiyi knew that the monitor had gone to the University of Finance and Economics, but he had not expected him to be so familiar with the basketball team. The two university teams were about to face each other in a match. Was this what people meant by running into an old enemy on a narrow road?

The other side had three players, while he was alone. He had practically been double- or triple-teamed already. How was he supposed to break through?

“Hahaha! Don’t tell me you’re already thinking of running away?” Chen Hao laughed heartily.

“You’ve already reached the three-point line. You either shoot or drive through—no backing down!” Jiang Yang raised a hand. “I play shooting guard. At first, I thought I’d be facing you at the same position, but then I found out you can even play point guard. I can only admit defeat.”

Li Jia did not seem particularly talkative, but he still pointed to himself. “I play point guard. Hopefully, I can test myself against you in Tuesday’s match.”

Since they were so straightforward, Xia Chiyi stopped being self-conscious and began chatting with his old classmates. Whenever the players from the University of Finance and Economics asked how Ling Huanzhen had improved Ningchang University’s level, Xia Chiyi answered honestly.

Under Jiao Yingfeng’s strict supervision, Xia Chiyi had not eaten anything fresh and spicy in a long time. His appetite opened wide all at once.

The class monitor noticed and generously ordered several more dishes.

“Sorry. We’ve been training especially hard lately…” Xia Chiyi said sheepishly.

Xiao Yu leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Don’t worry. Even if you wanted to eat an entire cow, I could afford to treat you.”

Whether it was the scent of his shampoo or the fragrance of laundry detergent lingering around his collar, Xiao Yu carried a very distinctive aroma. When he leaned back into his seat, the scent lingered in the air. Xia Chiyi realized that it was probably men’s cologne.

A new hairstyle, more refined clothes, and even cologne?

Even Xia Chiyi, who could be rather obtuse, could tell that the class monitor was probably dating someone.

But the entire table was occupied by men. Could it be that the monitor had not brought his girlfriend along even for his birthday?

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Everyone enjoyed the birthday feast, and the karaoke venue was not far away.

In the enormous private room, several of Xia Chiyi’s high-school classmates were tone-deaf microphone hogs. They nearly screamed the Sichuan food he had eaten right back out of him.

To save their ears from further torture, someone suggested playing Truth or Dare.

As today’s birthday boy, Xiao Yu could be king, and he would decide the dare each round.

Everyone rolled dice. The person with the lowest number had to answer a question from whoever rolled the highest number. If they could not answer, they had to complete the king’s “dare.”

The “truths” in this kind of game were usually things like who one’s first love had been, whether one had ever confessed, whether one had ever kissed anyone, and so on. Xia Chiyi thought that his middle-school years had been a blank wasteland as far as romance was concerned. What did he have to fear from a game like this?

Who could have guessed that, among all those people, Xia Chiyi alone would roll a two, immediately drawing a chorus of jeers.

“Xia Chiyi, did you secretly like anyone in high school? Was it the Chinese-class representative?”

“Exactly! That time her uniform sleeve got caught on a nail, you were the first one to rush over and help her!”

“You like artsy girls, don’t you?”

Xia Chiyi could not possibly defend himself against so many voices at once.

At that moment, Chen Hao from the university basketball team spoke up. “Xia Chiyi doesn’t have to answer your questions. He only has to answer mine.”

Xia Chiyi let out a breath of relief and looked at Chen Hao as though he had just been rescued. Since Chen Hao had not been his high-school classmate, surely he would not join in by asking about the Chinese-class representative.

“My question is this: in Monday’s game, will you be playing point guard or shooting guard?”

Everyone let out a disappointed groan, while Chen Hao merely curved his lips into a smile and watched Xia Chiyi with one hand resting on his knee.

“I… I don’t know.”

Chen Hao glanced at his teammates and laughed. “This guy says he doesn’t know what position he plays. Do you believe him?”

“Of course not.”

“What’s there to hide? Chen Hao specially gave you an easy question!”

Xia Chiyi sighed helplessly. “I really don’t know. Coach Ling hasn’t announced the starting lineup yet. I don’t even know whether I’ll be sitting on the bench.”

Chen Hao bit down on a candy cigarette, making a sharp crack, then looked toward Xiao Yu. “Hey, Your Majesty, this guy isn’t being honest. Give him a difficult dare!”

“Haha, all right… I’ll sit on your back, and you do three push-ups,” Xiao Yu said.

“How can three be enough? It has to be ten! Your Majesty, are you playing favorites with your high-school classmate?”

“Your Majesty, if you keep acting like this, you’ll have a hard time at the University of Finance and Economics. When the student-council election comes around, you’ll lose the votes of the entire basketball team!”

Although Xia Chiyi knew they were only joking around, he did not want to put the class monitor in a difficult position. He stood up and twisted his waist. “Fine. Ten it is!”

Everyone slapped the table and began making an even greater racket.

“Xia Chiyi, you’re getting cocky!”

“Even if Xiao Yu is thin, he still weighs a hundred pounds!”

“If you can’t get up, you have to drink ten bottles of beer!”

Xiao Yu had initially been smiling, but now a worried expression appeared on his face. He leaned close to Xia Chiyi’s ear and whispered, “Don’t push yourself. What if you get injured before the game?”

“It’s fine.”

After saying that, Xia Chiyi lay down and got into position for the push-ups.

Chen Hao and the others exchanged glances.

If the kid could not get up, it would not be their fault for bullying him.

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Xiao Yu sighed and carefully settled onto Xia Chiyi’s back with his legs crossed. He had expected Xia Chiyi to wobble, but the other boy was astonishingly steady.

His back remained perfectly straight, and neither his shoulders nor his legs shook in the slightest.

“If I’d known this was going to happen, I would have eaten less tonight,” Xiao Yu said guiltily.

“You’re so thin. You should eat more.”

With that, Xia Chiyi began doing push-ups.

“One! Two! Three!”

“Not bad, Xia Chiyi!”

Xiao Yu lowered his eyes and happened to have a clear view of Xia Chiyi’s shoulders and the back of his neck. Without thinking, he placed a hand lightly on Xia Chiyi’s shoulder, then quickly withdrew it, afraid of disturbing his balance.

“Four! Five! Damn, he can really do it!”

“Eight! Nine! Ten!”

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the private room, and Xiao Yu quickly climbed down from Xia Chiyi’s back.

“Man, you’re seriously impressive!” Chen Hao applauded with genuine admiration.

“I’ve already thought of my next question. How exactly does your team train physically?” Jiang Yang was stunned. He had not expected Xia Chiyi, who looked like a pretty boy, to be so strong.

“Hahaha, there’s no way you can answer that one with ‘I don’t know’!”

Xia Chiyi straightened his clothes and smiled. “I can’t be the one rolling the lowest number every time. If I roll the lowest again, I’ll answer you honestly.”

Another round of the game began. At last, Xia Chiyi did not roll the lowest number, and he could sit back and watch everyone else make fools of themselves.

At half past nine, his phone rang. Zhou Zhexiao’s name flashed across the screen. Taking advantage of the noise, Xia Chiyi slipped out of the private room and answered the call at the end of the corridor.

“Hello? You’re not really coming to pick me up, are you? I can get back on my own!”

“Ling Huanzhen regrets letting you go to the reunion.”

“What? Why?”

“He heard that your class monitor is a student at the University of Finance and Economics.”

“…So what?” Xia Chiyi laughed. “Is he worried they’ll feed me barbecue that gives me diarrhea?”

“I’m already here. Which room are you in?”

Xia Chiyi felt a headache coming on. He was not a child, and he certainly was not going to reveal important information to the opposing team, was he?

After hanging up, Xia Chiyi passed the emergency exit and unexpectedly heard a familiar voice from inside.

“You guys have gone far enough. I know Xia Chiyi. If he says he doesn’t know something, then he genuinely doesn’t know.”

Was that Xiao Yu? Who was he talking to?

“You’re pretty protective of him. We didn’t even do anything to him. Don’t think I didn’t notice—you were distracted when you sat on his back, weren’t you? Did you like him back in high school?”

That voice had to belong to Chen Hao from the university basketball team.

Why did he sound so strange? Had he eaten too much vinegar-seasoned cabbage?

“Hey, it’s my birthday today. Do you really have to be like this? He’s just an old classmate.”

“All right. But you even took the birthday present your old classmate gave you aside and opened it by yourself. Just remember that I’m your boyfriend, and that’s all that matters.”