Snow Flower, Fire Storm

III

THIS YEAR, BEIJING

Someone gave his shoulder a sharp jab. "Oi, wake up!"

"Mmm..." Xie Xiao nuzzled his face into the nest he made with his folded arms, his chin resting upon the smooth tabletop. He could vaguely smell coffee and peanuts and hear pages turning somewhere close to him. He shifted in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable position to relieve the stress on his back and kept on sleeping.

"He's unbelievable!" remarked a different voice. "Look at him, sleeping like a log while the rest of us are going crazy trying to cram the syllabus for the exams. Does he have no fear he might fail the exams?"

"Shen Fudong, do you really think it's possible for Xie Xiao to fail an exam?" asked a third person, cheerfully, but Xie Xiao easily detected the sarcasm and the subtle hint of envy laced in his voice. Having lived for two thousand years he'd turned into a great judge of human character. It was easy for him to pick up on allusions and innuendos, to see past the masks people wore and decipher the true intent of their hearts. On surface Li Hang appeared good-natured and easy-going, but what most people sitting around the table right now didn't know was beneath the facade he was ferociously competitive. "He can fool around all he wants and he'll still be in the upper ranks."

"Too true," sniffed a fourth voice. "Brother Xiao is really admirable."

"I don't see what's so admirable," muttered Li Hang. "Honestly, I don't think he's fit to be a doctor. I will bet he has his parents paying the college big money so he can keep taking the course."

"Are you really willing to bet?" asked Wen Kai, who'd stayed quiet all this time. "I bet five hundred bucks that he got in on merit."

There was a moment of silence. "Well," said Li Hang, sounding unsure now that Wen Kai had spoken up. Everyone knew Wen Kai loved money. He wouldn't make a bet if he thought he might lose. "Just forget it."

"Alright, alright," interrupted a female voice. "Let's get back to studying. If Xie Xiao doesn't want to study that's his business."

"Are you sure?" asked Qi Ming from somewhere farther away from the rest of the group. "He's been sleeping ever since all of us got here. That's a total of five hours. Besides, unlike the rest of us he gets eight hours of sleep every night. If he keeps sleeping any longer he might as well be dead."

"Whatever," mumbled Li Hang. "Qin Xiang is right. It's his business."

"Hey you guys, I can hear you all, you know?" said Xie Xiao sleepily.

"We know," said Shen Fudong.

"You're all so shameless. Gossiping about me right over my head."

"Don't put me with them," said Ren Weiwei faintly. He was the one who said Xie Xiao was admirable a little while ago. "I'm not like them."

All of a sudden blaring pop music filled the air. Xie Xiao heard the person sitting closest to him start a little. He covered his ears with the inside of his arms. These people were really not letting him sleep.

"Qi Ming, stop that horrendous sound right now!" roared Shen Fudong louder than the music. "Some of us are trying to study here."

"What do you mean horrendous sound? It's Feifei's top song of the year," admonished Qi Ming. "It's godly music. It's very relaxing. You should thank me for playing it for you losers after all the boring studying you have been doing."

"Shut that thing or get out!" yelled Shen Fudong undeterred.

It was impossible for anyone to sleep through this amount of noise. Xie Xiao jerked upright in one move and surveyed his classmates, wearing an expression that screamed how utterly unimpressed he was.