Fake Slackers

Chapter 26: A Man's Quest

During evening self-study, Wan Da again mentioned his plan with great fanfare and a mysterious air.

"What about it? Do you want to add some color to your bland weekend life? What on earth is going on in the dormitory building? Aren't any of you curious at all? Shouldn't people, being alive, rise to the challenge and confront the unknown? Come on, can someone answer me? I feel like I've been left out in the cold."

Xie Yu looked at the stragglers left in the classroom. Aside from himself, He Zhao, and Wan Da, there were only two boys who didn't talk a lot in class.

Throughout the spiel, Xue Xisheng hadn't looked up at all, as if he hadn't heard anything.

He was still wrestling with an especially difficult question. He was completely immersed only in studying, and nothing around him could draw his concern.

The other boy was Ding Lianghua. When he answered questions, he sounded like a mosquito. His personality was quiet and he seemed especially timid. Wan Da had heard that Ding Linghua had a mild social disorder, but he didn't know if the rumor was true.

Only Xu Qingqing responded to let him down gently. "Little bro Da, although big sis is very interested... it's pointless. It's the boys' dorm."

Wan Da: "So what if it's the boys' dorm? As long as you're willing, you can be my big bro Qing anytime."

"..." Xu Qingqing tossed an eraser at him. "Go and die."

Wan Da felt that reality was too far from his ideal. The ghostbusting team he had envisioned wasn't like this.

He hadn't the courage to bother Xue Xisheng so he could only go and bug Ding Lianghua.

He sat in front of Ding Lianghua and noticed Ding Lianghua shudder.

Wan Da scooted forward and Ding Lianghua dodged backward. "Bro, what do you think? I'll say again—this is a man's quest."

Ding Lianghua: "......"

Ding Lianghua wasn't great at communicating with others, and after listening to him hemming and hawing for a long time, Wan Da still wasn't sure if he was going or not. It took a lot of effort to hold this conversation.

Xie Yu was shooting the breeze with Zhou Dalei.

Dalei sent him a photo of a fat orange cat and a kitten. The little fellow was adorable, with a coat of fine soft fur, and the two cats looked into the camera with identically tilted heads.

The background was Dalei's home balcony.

Zhou Dalei: Didn't see her for a few weeks and she went to give birth! He looks exactly like Fatty. I'm calling him Tubby!

Xie Yu smiled and hit save.

The fat orange cat was the communal pet of Black Water Street, her origins a mystery.

She hadn't been that fat when she first arrived. She had been skinny, her bones jutting out in hills and valleys against her skin. She must have been a stray for a long time; she hid when she saw anyone and no one knew where she usually slept.

Many dogs and cats passed through Black Water Street. Aunt Mei and Aunt Lei often gathered their leftovers, including fish bones if there were any, put them into steel bowls they didn't often use, and left them by their doors.

Time passed, and the orange cat made her home in Black Water Street.

This orange cat had personality. She didn't eat white rice. If she ate dinner at someone's house, she'd stay the night and catch mice for that household. She was very thorough about catching them and even brought the mouse corpses to the doorway and arranged them in a neat row.