Chapter Fifty-Four: The True Nature of a Handsome Man

“That’s a great idea! I’ll go borrow a table and mahjong set from across the hall. Lao Xu, you hold the line here—make sure they don’t get out!” With that, Leng Haoyang hurried over to knock on the neighbor’s door. Soon enough, he and Jiang Fan emerged, carrying a table and some chairs. Leng Haoyang found a length of rope, tied one end to the table leg and the other to the door handle. They didn’t manage to borrow mahjong, but got two decks of cards instead. The four of them sat outside the door and started to play cards.

Leng Haoyang still looked a bit anxious. “Isn’t Mr. Wang on duty tonight? What if he comes up to check?”

“Don’t worry, at this hour he’s definitely gone home for dinner,” Tian Tian assured him confidently.

Xu Cheng, from across the hall, smiled and asked, “How can you be so sure?”

“Of course, he only spends Friday and Saturday evenings with his wife and kids. If he doesn’t go home on time, his wife would flip the whole house upside down,” Dong Yanyan laughed.

“You two little things, how do you know so much about these things?” Leng Haoyang grinned and played three Kings.

“Xu Cheng, can you keep the score? Give him a four-of-a-kind!” Dong Yanyan called out immediately. She knew Xu Cheng’s playing habits—he always saved a big card for last.

“Got it! Four fives!” Seeing that everyone’s hand was running low, Xu Cheng quickly played four fives.

Tian Tian cheered, “Four sixes! I’m out! With this fifty, we have exactly ninety points—Leng Haoyang, we win!”

“Alright, time for the penalty! Tape up, everyone!” Leng Haoyang laughed so hard he nearly toppled over, tore a strip of paper, and pressed it onto Xu Cheng’s forehead. He tore off another to stick on Dong Yanyan.

“Enough, I’ll do it myself!” Dong Yanyan didn’t want his saliva anywhere near her, so she pressed the paper on herself, then pouted at Xu Cheng.

“No worries, we’ll win it back this round!” Xu Cheng blew at the paper on his forehead and tilted his head.

Suddenly, Dong Yanyan remembered a time when she was quarreling with Lulu. The little girl, unable to out-argue her, stood up, blew her bangs upward in disdain, and asked, “Mom, can you blow your bangs like this?” Then, chin lifted proudly, she strutted out of the room. Dong Yanyan had nearly died laughing, and chased after her to ask what that hair-blowing gesture meant. Lulu replied contemptuously, “It means I’m not happy and I don’t accept it. Hmph!”

“Fifth Sister, it’s your turn to draw!” Tian Tian nudged her arm.

“Oh, just wait—I’ll draw eight fours this time!” Dong Yanyan declared with a wicked grin.

Time flew by as they played, hands repeating the rhythm of drawing and playing cards. The four were in high spirits when two boys came down from upstairs. One of them, from a distance, pointed and shouted sternly, “What are you four doing, huh?!”

Dong Yanyan looked up and saw it was Yu Bin from Class 95. Next to him, Wang Yunpeng, noticing there were two girls, turned and grinned, “Don’t shout so loud, you’ll scare the little sisters.”

“Wang Yunpeng, come play a round with us!” Lu Tian raised her head, smiling and beckoning him over.

“You guys have fun, we’ve got things to do,” Wang Yunpeng waved and whistled as they went downstairs.

“Are you all begging for trouble, being so loud?!” The door at the end of the corridor, room 510, swung open. Li Zhe walked over, carrying a basin, scolding as he strode towards them. Dong Yanyan took in his appearance—hair mussed as if it had been ravaged, his look disheveled, a big, baggy wool sweater and knit pants thrown on haphazardly, feet stuffed into huge blue slippers with toes sticking out. Compared to his usual polished, dashing self, this was a world apart—truly, looks can be deceiving!

“Sorry, Li, we didn’t notice the time,” Xu Cheng apologized with a smile.

“Watch it next time,” Li Zhe replied impatiently. Then, turning his head, he suddenly spotted Dong Yanyan. She quickly tore her gaze from his enormous slippers and greeted him politely.

Li Zhe’s expression softened a bit. He coughed awkwardly and forced a smile, “Yanyan, you’re here! I thought that voice sounded familiar. Oh? Tian Tian’s here too!” The first part was cheerful, the second, almost desperate.

“Yeah. Go wash up, it’s freezing,” Tian Tian exchanged a glance with Dong Yanyan and replied in an extra sweet voice.

Li Zhe’s face darkened. He turned and yelled back toward his dorm, “Jiaxuan!”

The door to 510 banged open; Ren Jiaxuan appeared in the doorway. His look was even more tragic—hair askew with a small wooden comb stuck sideways, wrapped in a red blanket, a toothbrush clamped between his teeth with foam still clinging to his lip. He squinted around, saw Dong Yanyan and Lu Tian staring at him, then glanced at Li Zhe, who was already hopping off with his basin to the washroom. Only then did he realize he’d been set up. With a howl, he slammed the door, and curses could be heard from inside.

Dong Yanyan and Tian Tian clutched their stomachs and pounded the table with laughter.

“Fifth Sister, now you’ve seen what the handsome guys are really like!” Lu Tian collapsed on the table, shaking with laughter.

Dong Yanyan covered her face and nodded, laughing wildly, “It’s too disillusioning! Why is the truth always so cruel behind the scenes? How am I supposed to swoon over them now? All I can see in my mind is blue slippers and red blankets—this is agony! I can’t go on! I hate them!” Suddenly, even Xu Cheng’s usual sloppiness seemed forgivable—it matched inside and out.

Seeing the two girls clowning around again, Leng Haoyang was torn between laughter and exasperation. “You two, keep it down! That’s not polite, you know?”

“Tian Tian, why are you here? I’ve been looking all over for you! None of your roommates can give a straight answer!” He Jingxuan ran up from downstairs, lifted Tian Tian’s chin, and peeled off the paper strips from her face.

“Classmate He, you act like your dorm is a model of normalcy! You’re all like mountain hermits!” Dong Yanyan snatched the paper from her own face, refusing to concede.

“There’s still one left!” He Jingxuan pulled the final strip from her face, waved it at her, and mocked, “You call this normal? You look like a ghost! Hey, why did you set up the table right in front of the dorm room? You’re blocking the door!”

“Uh—we were just playing some cards here. Tian Tian, if you’ve got stuff to do, go ahead.” Leng Haoyang forced a laugh, sneaking a look at Tian Tian.

“Let’s go downstairs,” Tian Tian said, grabbing He Jingxuan’s arm and dragging him away.

“Retreat! Retreat!” The remaining three quickly started cleaning up, moving the table away.

“Xiaohan, are you done? We should head back!” Dong Yanyan tidied her short hair and called out merrily from the door.

“Then I’ll go first. Take care of yourself!” Gu Xiaohan came running out of the dorm, beaming, waved goodbye to Liu Qiang, and didn’t forget to say goodbye to Xu Cheng and Leng Haoyang as well. She then linked arms with Dong Yanyan. “Let’s go.”

“What’s got you so happy?” Dong Yanyan asked as they went downstairs together.