Dalei's house was the same as before. Even the television set still had the same dent on top with a crack running down the screen. Just looking at it gave Xie Yu a sense of familiarity.
Da Mei had broken it by accident. At the time, he had jumped from shock and said, "It's not broken, no way..."
Da Mei had even concocted a plan to sell himself to repay the debt.
But Dalei had waved a hand dismissively and said, "There's no way it's broken. Even if it was, my mom would thank you. This television has a very strong will to live. Mom has been waiting for it to break so she has an excuse to get a new one for a long time... look, it's fine, isn't it?"
Xie Yu played for a while, then stopped. He pushed the pile of blankets on Dalei's bed into the corner, freeing up some space for himself, then sprawled with his back against the headboard and looked down at his phone where he had pulled up the class group chat.
[Liu Cunhao]: I'm telling you, my dad came home drunk last night. He hugged the toilet bowl, passionately called out my mom's name, and my mom nearly kicked him into it.
[Wan Da]: Your dad's a lot, isn't he.
[Luo Wenqiang]: Is he still alive?
He Zhao had woken up early and Xie Yu had received a text from him. Before he could reply, he saw He Zhao making his presence known in the group chat.
[He Zhao]: The two of you, stop messing around.
[He Zhao]: Compared to Hao-zi's dad, you're worse in every way. Do you want me to recite all your heroic deeds here?
Faced with the threat of blackmail, Wan Da immediately sobered up.
[Wan Da]: ...Ha ha ha, I... I just remembered I haven't finished my homework. Friends, see you later.
[Luo Wenqiang]: See you later.
Xie Yu watched as the two who had said 'See you later' surfaced again soon after, complaining that there was too much homework.
In the time they had spent idly chatting, they could probably have finished a problem set.
Zhou Dalei got bored of playing video games alone and saw that his Boss Xie seemed to be in good spirits. "What's got you so happy?"
"Group chat," Xie Yu explained succinctly. "Someone got drunk and thought the toilet bowl was his wife. Too much homework."
Zhou Dalei: "......"
Zhou Dalei: "Ah."
If not for Zhou Dalei's long friendship with this young master, he wouldn't have understood what on earth Xie Yu was talking about. Xie Yu hoarded his words like gold, and his conversation partner had to fill in the blanks for himself. He told stories in a roundabout manner, too.
After saying, "Ah," Zhou Dalei noticed that something was wrong. What was it?
"Damn it... your class group chat?" Two minutes later, Zhou Dalei tossed away the red and white controller and jumped up.
Xie Yu: "What kind of reaction is that?"
"A surprised reaction," Zhou Dalei said. "I... I would've never guessed."
Xie Yu thought about closing the chat, but He Zhao's words from last night kept echoing in his ears. About the class group chat, and about the study rep... Xie Yu hesitated for a while, then decided to leave a mark of his presence before leaving.
He went through the emoji list and found a rather warm, smiling face.
All the students in Class 2.3 who were online at the moment now saw in the chat window an expression that did not at all suit their youthful aesthetic sense of someone reserved, chilly, and with a mocking gaze.
