015 The Game in the Girls' Dormitory (Fourth Update)

After they had left, Chen Wen suddenly said, “Do you know anything about Niu Ben’s background?”

“What kind of background could he possibly have?” Tian Hai retorted.

“Niu Ben is always getting into fights at school. By all rights, he should have been expelled ages ago, but the school has never touched him. Don’t you find that strange?”

“Now that you mention it, it is really odd,” Tian Hai said, beginning to worry about Zhong Yun. “So, do you know what kind of background that punk has?”

“His father’s name is Niu Shunjin. Apparently, he’s one of the leading figures in Mingzhou’s underworld.”

“The mafia?”

“The mafia.”

The next day, led by school leaders and teachers, over a thousand students visited the most famous spot in Fenghua City—Hundred Flowers Grove.

Moving such a large group was inconvenient and noisy. At first, Zhong Yun found it novel, but after half an hour, he grew bored and started browsing the web on his portable miniature computer. With over a thousand people crowded together, he couldn’t even see the scenery.

The entire day was really just a PR exercise. The school had even hired photographers to document the event. In plain terms, it was all for show.

It took all his patience to get through the day.

That night, the three of them found themselves bored and resorted to a primitive game—playing cards.

“Good thing I had the foresight to bring these,” Tian Hai boasted as he shuffled the deck. “This lousy hotel doesn’t even have computers, and we’re not allowed to go out. The night is so long—it’s killing me with boredom.”

The card game had a long history, but with advances in technology and the variety of entertainment available, it had been all but forgotten. No one knew where Tian Hai had even found a deck.

After a few rounds, Zhong Hai suddenly suggested, “Isn’t it dull with just the three of us? Let’s bring in a few more people.”

“Pfft,” Tian Hai scoffed. “With your current popularity, they’d probably kill you with their stares if you went over. Who’d want to play with you? Don’t make trouble for yourself.”

“How dense are you?” Zhong Yun rolled his eyes. “Who said anything about asking the boys? Why not invite the girls?”

Tian Hai slapped his forehead. “Hey, why didn’t I think of that? But who should we ask?”

“We’ll leave that important task to you,” Zhong Yun and Chen Wen said in unison.

Though Tian Hai felt helpless, he was the most well-connected of the three.

After thinking for a moment, he called up a girl he got on well with. After hearing his suggestion, the girls on the other end started chattering amongst themselves.

“Are you in or not? If not, I’ll ask someone else,” Tian Hai said impatiently.

“Why are you in such a rush? Come over—we’re in room XX on the Xth floor.”

Ending the call, Tian Hai flashed an OK sign, and the three of them snuck over together.

Seeing three boys arrive, the girls were just as excited—they were all bored, after all.

As the saying goes, a mixed group makes for lighter work, and the same holds true for having fun. Three boys joined four girls (the girls shared a room), and soon they were thoroughly engrossed in a simple card game.

“This is boring,” a petite girl suddenly threw down her cards.

“What’s wrong? We were having fun,” Xiao Ruo asked.

“They keep winning,” the petite girl complained, pointing at Zhong Yun and Chen Wen. “It’s no fun.”

Both Zhong Yun and Chen Wen felt wronged by her accusation—weren’t they allowed to win?

The other girls exchanged glances, feeling let down by the petite girl’s attitude, but with so many people present, they couldn’t say anything.

“How about this,” Zhong Yun suggested, struck by an idea. “Let’s play a little game.”

“What kind of game?” The petite girl’s interest was piqued.

Zhong Yun explained the rules: use seven cards—one through six and a joker. Each of the seven players would draw one at random. Whoever drew the joker became the King, and could order any one of the others (numbered one through six) to do something. The person chosen couldn’t refuse, or else would be barred from the next round.

Zhong Yun added, “The King can only ask for something within reason. For example, if you tell me to do a thousand push-ups, I’d die before I finished.”

The others all laughed.

“Sounds fun. Let’s start,” said the petite girl, clearly intrigued.

With everyone in agreement, Zhong Yun picked out seven cards, shuffled them, then offered them to Xiao Ruo, who sat beside him. “Ladies first.”

Once everyone had drawn their card, Tian Hai burst out laughing. “A lucky start!” He revealed the joker. His eyes darted across everyone’s faces. “Number three...”

One girl’s expression changed ever so slightly, and Tian Hai knew he had his target. “Draw an X on your face with lipstick.”

Pouting, the girl obediently took out her lipstick and drew a big X on her face.

The others burst out laughing at her comical appearance, with Tian Hai—the instigator—laughing so hard he nearly fell over.

The game became even more lively. Eager for revenge, the girl hurried them into the next round.

This game was all luck; even the King didn’t know who held which number, making it thrilling and nerve-wracking for the others, who dreaded being picked.

A few rounds in, the dares grew more outrageous. First, Tian Hai had to stand on one leg for a minute, then the petite girl was made to pull a ridiculously exaggerated face.

In the fourth round, Chen Wen became King. He came up with a particularly wicked idea, “Drink an entire bottle of soda in one go.”

The victim turned out to be Xiao Ruo, who reluctantly opened a bottle and began to drink, while the petite girl gleefully held the bottle for her.

After just a few gulps, Xiao Ruo couldn’t take it anymore; her fair face turned crimson. Finally, unable to hold it back, she choked and soda sprayed out her nose with a loud “Pff!”

Tian Hai and Chen Wen, the two scoundrels, laughed so hard they pounded the floor, tears streaming down their faces. The other girls clutched their stomachs in laughter as well.

Only Zhong Yun took pity, patting Xiao Ruo’s back as she coughed. “Are you alright?”

Face flushed, struggling for breath, Xiao Ruo managed to wave her hand to show she was fine.

So it went: the King reveled in giving orders, the others watched with glee, and the punished players plotted their own revenge for the next round. The atmosphere grew more and more lively.

After a dozen rounds, the clock struck eleven. Zhong Yun suddenly said, “The teachers will be doing their room check soon, we should call it a night.”

“No way,” the petite girl immediately protested. She’d just had to crawl on the floor like a snake in the last round—ending now would be unfair.

“Let’s play a few more rounds,” the rest chorused, clearly reluctant to stop.

Zhong Yun glanced at Xiao Ruo. Of the seven, only the two of them seemed to be keeping their heads. Xiao Ruo nodded. “Two more rounds, then we’re done.”

“Alright,” Zhong Yun agreed, seeing there was still some time left.

“Come on, hurry and draw!” Tian Hai urged. After the cards were drawn, he laughed and turned over the joker. “Didn’t expect my luck to hold!”

Rubbing his hands together, he said, “Since these are the last two rounds, let’s make it more exciting.”

Everyone cheered.

Zhong Yun saw that they were all too caught up in the game to be stopped, so he said nothing.

“Number five...” Tian Hai dragged out the words, trying to spot a reaction, but everyone had grown wise to his tricks and gave nothing away.

“Number five, give number three a French kiss,” Tian Hai declared with a wicked grin.

PS: Ten thousand words completed—please vote for a recommendation.