Bantang Internet Cafe was quite popular a few years ago. However, internet cafes in Yan City tend to follow this pattern: one will become exceptionally popular, drawing everyone to surf the web there. But after a year or two, it inevitably becomes outdated and is replaced by newly opened cafes boasting better equipment and a superior environment.
Plus, with the enforced smoking ban, internet cafes are particularly difficult to run this year.
Business had picked up in the last few days. Today, perhaps half of Bantang Internet Cafe's several hundred computers were occupied, with 95% of the users being high school students from various schools who had just finished their exams.
Brother Nan shrank down in her seat, sinking her entire body into the sofa chair. She then turned her head and blankly watched Zhou Li enter his ID number.
He used one finger, pressing each key individually, as if terrified of making a mistake, meticulously confirming each one before pressing.
Brother Nan found it a bit unbelievable.
Once Zhou Li had logged in, she glanced at her game program loading. A boy from another school greeted her; she nodded casually, then asked Zhou Li, "Do you play games?"
"I don't play computer games, but I'm pretty good with those other ones," Zhou Li replied.
"Which ones?"
"Those ones..."
Zhou Li made a twisting motion with his left hand, mimicking working an arcade joystick.
Brother Nan was quite surprised. "Oh… I didn't expect you to actually play arcade games! Are you into the Dynasty Warriors series, Metal Slug, or maybe King of Fighters and Street Fighter?"
"Err, COUGH COUGH, I'm just kidding."
"I thought so..."
Brother Nan smiled and then said, "Since you don't play games, how about I put on a TV show for you to watch for now? My game is about to start. Once we beat Class One's team, I'll take you to play against bots later tonight, or we can find a two-player local game."
"Mhm."
Brother Nan then leaned over to grab Zhou Li's mouse, opened a video player, and asked, "What kind of movies do you usually like to watch? Or are there any TV series you're in the middle of?"
"No."
Brother Nan grinned again. "No worries! I know a TV series that everyone loves—men, women, old, and young. You've probably seen it too, but it doesn't matter. This show never gets old, no matter how many times you rewatch it. I often put it on while I'm eating!"
"Mhm, thank you."
"No need to thank me!"
After Brother Nan finished setting it up, her own game also loaded. The team from Class One had already created a room and invited them to join.
A soaring musical score was already playing in Zhou Li's headphones. Grainy black-and-white footage showed a military plane flying past, dropping bombs that destroyed a house. Soldiers charged and civilians fled, all accompanied by a calm and powerful narration.
"On July 7th, 1937, the Japanese army launched a sudden attack on the Chinese forces at Lugou Bridge in Beiping..."
"February 1940..."
"The Balu Army's New First Regiment, under the command of Group Leader Li Yunlong, repeatedly led the entire regiment in counter-assaults against the Japanese forces. The battle was extremely fierce; the main peak position changed hands repeatedly, and both attackers and defenders suffered heavy casualties..."
"..."
Huai Xu gradually became engrossed.
Occasionally, Brother Nan would pat Zhou Li's arm. "Look at my awesome Jinx! If I don't absolutely demolish those brats from Class One, I'll unscrew my own head and use it as a chamber pot!"
Zhou Li turned his head and glanced. Huai Xu had often seen others play this game in internet cafes, and he himself had played it once. That time, the police had raided the internet cafe for an ID check, causing many to leave abruptly. One kid had run off without even shutting down his computer. Just as Huai Xu was getting into the game, the kid had returned. Huai Xu had pretended not to see him, so the kid had just watched silently from behind for the entire afternoon.
However, now that he was maintaining Zhou Li's persona, he didn't dare say much to Brother Nan.
After watching one episode, he quickly clicked for the next, just as Brother Nan's Nexus exploded.
The score was 2-16.
Brother Nan was completely unfazed and said to Zhou Li, "See? Even though we lost this round, *I* got 16 kills and only died twice! It's all my teammates' fault! Ah, what can you do? These idiots drank too much; their plays were a total eyesore!"
Huai Xu's eyes widened.
Brother Nan quickly started another game, saying into her headset, "This round I'm picking Draven! Watch me get a kill with every two axes!"
Huai Xu was struggling to keep a straight face.
The second episode ended.
Brother Nan: 3-13.
Noticing Zhou Li's gaze drift to her computer screen, Brother Nan sighed. "This round wasn't great. I *only* got thirteen kills. My fault for not carrying them harder."
Huai Xu nearly broke character.
...
After Zhou Li took a shower, he lay quietly on his bed, not worried about Huai Xu at all.
Usually, unless he had a lot of exam papers to get through, he would have fallen asleep by now. But tonight, for some reason, his mind was unusually active and refused to settle.
On his way back earlier, his mother had called him from overseas. With the college entrance exams over, she had called to ask how Zhou Li had done, whether his third year of high school had been exhausting, if he had lost any weight, and things like that. Towards the end of the call, her voice had clearly choked up, yet she'd tried to sound normal, pretending Zhou Li wouldn't notice.
This left Zhou Li feeling somewhat at a loss.
The hyacinth on his desk had long since wilted, now looking like an onion bulb. It was very quiet outside.
His mind replayed the deafening songs from the KTV rooms, then conjured images of the Demon world. He daydreamed about college life, pictured Mother Zhao's face, pondered what part-time job to find for the summer break, and recalled his own mother, whom he had seen fewer than ten times in his entire life. All sorts of thoughts tumbled through his head, keeping him in a state of restless excitement. He wasn't sure how long it was before he finally drifted off to sleep.
By six in the morning, he was already hovering on the edge of wakefulness.
Suddenly, in his groggy state, he heard the window slide open with a soft RUSTLE. It must be someone coming in, because he then heard the faint CREAK of the wooden bed.
Zhou Li woke up.
A person who looked exactly like him was halfway up the wooden ladder, peering down at him even as he continued to climb.
Zhou Li lifted his wrist. The light from his sports watch made him squint slightly. Still groggy, he asked, "You're back so early? Did Brother Nan almost see through your act?"
Huai Xu stiffened.
Then he climbed back down from the ladder, turned the chair at the desk around to face Zhou Li, and sat down.
"Not yet. Normally, people wouldn't suspect something like that. But I felt if I stayed any longer, I might ruin the persona I was maintaining for you. So I just said I was tired and wanted to go back to sleep."
"What happened?"
"She insisted on teaching me how to play some shooting game. We even played against each other, and I beat her more than ten times. Then we played another one, a parachuting game that also involved shooting. I really didn't want to just flail around aimlessly and play badly..."
"Is that it?"
"And they ordered barbecue in the middle of the night, insisting I eat. There were also a few bottles of some drinks brewed from grain..."
"It's fine," Zhou Li reassured him. "As long as you don't start scaling walls and leaping across rooftops in front of them, they won't find anything you do or say too strange. Besides, we probably won't ever see them again."
"I was afraid I'd mess things up for you."
"You won't. Go get some sleep."
"Okay."
Huai Xu then stood up, climbed onto the bed, and lay down.
Zhou Li couldn't sleep anymore. He got up, fetched his phone, and sat at the desk to look up information on various schools.