“You make it sound like, ‘Look at this plate of stir-fried cucumber and potato. What emperor would dare say it doesn’t taste good?’” Lu Mingfei’s faint glimmer of hope shattered again. “This time… they saved money.”
“What do you mean?” Finger looked puzzled.
“My health insurance—the maximum payout is to fly my body back to China… and now I’m going to fly back to China myself and die there. Isn’t that a cost-saving move?”
“Like a pig walking itself to the slaughter line?” Finger said in a low voice. “I’m also feeling the sadness you’re emanating… But really, you need to trust my theoretical knowledge—it’s solid. Plus, I’m definitely Cassell College’s top guy in the network. Honestly, with my skills, I still have ‘A’ level access to the school’s network, though it comes with some risks.”
Lu Mingfei was silent for a while. “Finger, sometimes I think you’re pretty scatterbrained…”
“Not entirely fair to say that…” Finger tried to cut in.
“But sometimes, you really do seem quite good to me.” Lu Mingfei looked up at Finger, whose messy hair covered half his face. “Do you spend so much time on me just because you’re too bored?”
“Not entirely wrong…” Finger was quiet for a moment, then scratched his head. “You could say it’s boredom. I’ve repeated a grade four times and don’t even know what classes to take. I don’t leave the dorm; I just browse the internet for news. I need someone to talk to. So, consider my help to you an act of loyalty!”
“Is that a kind of loneliness?”
“Why did this suddenly become so philosophical?” Finger thought for a bit. “Yeah, probably.”
“Do you think loneliness could kill a person? I mean, lonely or not, you still eat, sleep, play games if you have them, or just daze off if you don’t.” Lu Mingfei said.
“You look philosophical, but I don’t get why you’re suddenly caring about such grand topics as ‘loneliness’.” Finger reached over to feel Lu Mingfei’s forehead. “Do you have a fever?”
“No.”
“Thinking about love?”
“No, it’s just that everyone seems so weird about this whole dragon-slaying thing. They’re all so excited. I don’t feel anything. What does slaying dragons have to do with me?” Lu Mingfei lay on his pillow, staring at the bunk above. “I really am just a bystander. This college is like an anime to me. I used to be a viewer. On Mondays, I’d watch Code Geass, on Tuesdays Gundam, Wednesdays Bleach, Thursdays Gintama, and Fridays Dragon Raja. Then one Friday, whoosh, I got pulled in, right at the climax scene. Other protagonists at least have a mentor leading them through a few battles before taking on the big boss. But not me—straight to the grand fight without even knowing what’s going on, and now I have to risk my life for something irrelevant.”
He sighed, tossing something onto the top bunk. “Here.”
“Hey, what’s this supposed to mean?” Finger caught the object and was stunned.
It was Lu Mingfei’s student ID.
“It’s my student ID that works like a credit card. If you hear I died in China, hurry up and use this card to buy things before it becomes invalid. It doesn’t matter if a dead person’s credit record is bad, right? No repayment needed.” Lu Mingfei said.
“You really think you’ll die?”
“I do.” Lu Mingfei’s eyes were distant.
“And you’re still going?”
“I’ve got a small reason, that’s all.” Lu Mingfei said. “Forget it, it’s not worth talking about.”
“I have no interest in your reason, but if you really think you’re going to die, why not max out the card now? Look, we could call and order two servings of chicken and mushroom soup, paired with medium-rare filet mignon, and for dessert, foie gras with black cod rolls, plus a double serving of Camus cognac! Anyway, your credit card limit is a hundred thousand dollars, and there won’t be another chance to max it out!” Finger waved the student ID and leapt down from the top bunk, lunging for the phone.
“Hey!” Lu Mingfei jumped down to grab him. “Senior, you’ve got it wrong! That’s not the line you’re supposed to say! You’re supposed to be moved and then encourage me!”
“I’ll encourage you after I finish my midnight snack!” Finger said solemnly, holding the card high in the air like a worker brother in a Cultural Revolution propaganda poster holding up a quotation book.
Lu Mingfei jumped, trying to reach the card. In moments like these, Finger, who usually hunched his back, suddenly seemed tall and strong, while Lu Mingfei looked like a monkey trying to reach a banana.
“I meant you should use the card after I’m dead, before it gets deactivated!” Lu Mingfei felt the harsh consequences of “trusting the wrong person.”
“It’ll be too late by then! A hundred thousand dollars—what can you even buy in this school? I don’t need luxury cars, just top-tier midnight snacks—enough to buy hundreds of meals!” Finger said.
“But I might not die! What if I get lucky and survive, only to come back and find my credit card debt is a hundred thousand dollars? Then I’d still have to jump off a building!” Lu Mingfei was flustered. “Damn it, this kind of life-threatening mission doesn’t even come with a high bonus!”
“Didn’t you just say you really thought you were going to die?”
“That was just a pessimistic thought! What if I don’t die? Just in case, you know!” Lu Mingfei’s face flushed red. That card really was his lifeline—he was just a poor guy relying on it to get by in this school.
Finger slapped him on the forehead. His hand was rough, heavy, and powerful, leaving Lu Mingfei stunned.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Finger shoved the card back into Lu Mingfei’s pocket, patted him on the chest, and turned to climb back up to his bunk. “There’s always a chance, after all. Sometimes losers survive because their luck is just that good, understand?” He slid back under the covers, leaning against the headboard while using his laptop, the blue glow of the screen illuminating his scruffy face.
Lu Mingfei was stunned for a long time. “Hey, are you trying to encourage me?”
“As fellow losers, we have to encourage each other, don’t we?” Finger didn’t even look at him.