June 22, 2000, Thursday Guan Xuchen got up at 6:30 a.m., took a bus back to campus from home, then jogged to the lecture hall in Building 3, arriving just in time for the first two periods of College Chinese.
Professor Cheng, who taught the English majors of the 1999 Cohort, glanced around at the students below and said calmly, "Let's take attendance first... Fan Zirui!"
"Present!"
"Ouyang Jingqi!"
"Present!"
......
"Guan Xuchen!"
"Present!" Guan Xuchen raised his right hand and replied loudly.
"Shan Kai!"
No response.
"Shan Kai!" Professor Cheng called again.
Still no response.
Frowning, Professor Cheng marked an "X" on the attendance sheet.
"Wen Yuwei!"
No response.
"Wen Yuwei!" Professor Cheng called again.
"Here! Here! Here!" Wen Yuwei's hurried voice came from the classroom doorway. He bowed to Professor Cheng, then jogged over to Guan Xuchen's desk, sat down breathlessly, and whispered with a smile, "Tommy, you came back from home so early?"
"Yeah, William. Wipe your sweat first." Guan Xuchen handed him a pack of tissues, pointed at his shirt, and kindly reminded him, "You've buttoned your shirt wrong."
Wen Yuwei took the tissues, thanked him, then looked down at his shirt buttons and said sheepishly, "I woke up late this morning and was in such a rush..."
Guan Xuchen watched as Wen Yuwei rebuttoned his shirt and whispered, "Did you watch another football match last night?"
"Yeah!" Wen Yuwei's face lit up with excitement. "Last night's France vs. Netherlands match was amazing—they scored five goals..."
Mid-sentence, he noticed several girls looking his way. He smiled apologetically, lowered his voice, and said helplessly to Guan Xuchen, "Ah, too bad you don't like football. Otherwise, you could've watched it with us."
After taking attendance, Professor Cheng shook her head disapprovingly. "My husband watches the Euro Cup too, and I sometimes join him. But watching games shouldn't interfere with work or studies! The number of absent boys this week is even higher than last week—it's totally ridiculous! I want to praise the boy students who watched the game last night but still made it to the first class today. But please tell your roommates: if you miss three classes, you can forget about passing this course!"
Wen Yuwei stuck out his tongue and looked visibly relieved after hearing that.
During the break after the first period, Fan Yueming walked over to Guan Xuchen's desk and asked coldly, "Guan Xuchen, do you know what Gao Xinglang has been up to lately?"
"Busy—busy with what?" Guan Xuchen was completely confused and stammered in response, "N-not busy with anything, I think? What's the matter?"
Fan Yueming fumed, "Tell him that if he only cares about watching football matches and playing video games, he shouldn't bother contacting me anymore!"
With that, she stormed off.
"What on earth!" Guan Xuchen watched her retreating figure and muttered under his breath, "He's your boyfriend. If you have something to say, just tell him directly..."
"He's just watching football matches and playing video games. Why get so mad?" Wen Yuwei commented casually, then added with a hint of confusion, "But Prince Lang didn't show up when we played basketball with his roommates last weekend. I hope nothing's wrong with him."
YOU ARE READING
Love Me in Another Universe
General FictionIt was such a long time ago that you don't even remember why you fell for that person in the first place. You just remember stubbornly that you were once deeply in love with someone with that name... It's a story about the bond between two Chinese b...
