Font Size:
Brother Xiang and I were taking a nap in the dorm when soon enough, we heard the voices of Little Fatty and Tai Long. Both of them were covered in shoe prints, looking completely miserable. Little Fatty came back, pulled his blanket over his head, and started sobbing under it.
Honestly, I felt a little guilty then, so I went over and patted him, saying, “Fatty Bro, don’t get too down. There’s still a chance, right? Besides, you’ve been beaten up before—don’t cry over this.”
Little Fatty shook his head, saying, “No, that’s not it. I spent all my money on those flowers, so now I’ll be starving for the rest of the month. That’s what I’m sad about.”
What a character he is, seriously!
Life was actually pretty good overall. Han Si Fan, despite everything, turned out to be a decent person, and after that incident, we often hung out together. I should probably explain a bit about our school—our gender ratio is three to one. There’s this saying around here: “For every couple, there’s a bromance.”
It fits our school perfectly. Even the fierce-looking girls have a few guys lined up hoping to take them out after class, aiming to play the brave knight slaying the dragon.
There’s a saying about birds of a feather flocking together, and Han Si Fan’s roommates were all beauties too. Thanks to Han Si Fan, they often joined us when we hung out. One of the girls, named Xia Yu Meng, was just as cute as her name, with a baby-face haircut, and totally my type. She was super nice, but honestly a little too innocent. I was considering making a move until that very night when Tai Long pointed a dinner fork at my throat, saying, “Xia Yu Meng is mine. You dare say a word to her, and I’ll show you!”
Alright then, I’ll just back off. There were still two others: one was named Jin Xi Shan. I have no clue what her dad was thinking to give her such a weird name, but she was really gorgeous, on par with Han Si Fan in looks and figure. According to some whispers from Han Si Fan, this girl’s family was well-off, with her dad being some government official and her mom in business—a typical rich, beautiful girl. Brother Xiang had been dreaming about getting with her every day, but I knew I didn’t stand a chance.
The other girl was named Xi Que. She wasn’t a knockout, but definitely easy on the eyes. Sweet and gentle in personality, she was the mildest one in their dorm. This one I could probably handle. As for Han Si Fan? I’d let Little Fatty try his luck, though it was clear he didn’t have much hope.
It was about two months after school started when we’d all gotten pretty familiar with each other and often hung out together. Around that time, Jin Xi Shan invited us to celebrate her birthday on a Saturday at Jin Cheng KTV, a famous karaoke spot in Chongqing. It was known as a place for rich people, with a minimum spend of over a thousand dollar—crazy expensive for students like us.
That day, the four of us dressed up nicely. Especially Brother Xiang, who was determined to win over that rich beauty Jin Xi Shan. Even Tai Long, who usually didn’t care about looks, put on a suit. And Little Fatty? He wore something particularly formal, with his hair slicked down until it shone.
Then there was me, dressed in a black T-shirt and regular jeans. It’s not that I was trying to keep a low profile—it’s just that Tai Long and Brother Xiang teamed up to mess with me, even ruffling my hair so I looked like a scruffy extra to make them stand out more.
I thought about it and decided, yeah, maybe it was better not to overdo it and end up looking like a try-hard.
Once we’d gotten ready, we met at the school gate. Jin Xi Shan drove her own car, told us to meet her at the entrance of Jin Cheng KTV, and then drove off with Han Si Fan and the others, leaving the four of us to struggle with getting a cab.
Seriously, sometimes rich people are just infuriating. We finally managed to flag down a taxi and made our way to Jin Cheng KTV.
It took about half an hour to get there, and the moment Brother Xiang stepped out, he started praising the place, saying, “Now this is a setup! No wonder this place is so popular—there’s no way it wouldn’t be with feng shui like this!”
“How so?” I looked around. Jin Cheng KTV faced south, and I knew that was generally considered good feng shui, but that’s about all I could tell.
Brother Xiang pointed to a lake in front of the building and began explaining.
Apparently, this was a “Three Yuan Feng Shui setup.” The door facing south represented the “Ming Tang,” and the lake in front meant “gathered water,” making it a “Ming Tang gathers water” setup. But it wasn’t just that.
To the west of the KTV was a small mountain, with a river to the east and north, which allowed the energy to accumulate within the KTV—this was called “Treasure Pot Collecting Qi.”
There was also a small bridge to the north with exactly twenty-four lamps on it, symbolising the twenty-four constellations protecting the site. These three aspects combined to form the Three Yuan Feng Shui setup, with Ming Tang gathering water, the Treasure Pot Collecting Qi, and the Constellations Watching Over, guaranteeing that any business here would thrive.
When Brother Xiang finished showing off his knowledge with a masterly demeanour, Tai Long laughed and said, “Wow, you really know what you’re talking about, man.”
“He’s just putting on a show and spouting nonsense.” I laughed, brushing it off. No way was I going to tell him that Brother Xiang actually studied feng shui. He just liked to show off whenever he could, acting as if he was an expert in everything.
The four of us walked up to the KTV entrance, where eight people were waiting: Han Si Fan, Jin Xi Shan, Xi Que, and Xia Yu Meng, along with four other guys who were dressed formally in suits, all looking slick and wearing designer brands.
As we approached, we overheard one of them saying to Jin Xi Shan, “Xi Shan, happy birthday! I had my dad bring this platinum ring all the way from the U.S. as your birthday gift.”
“Thank you, Young Master Liu,” Jin Xi Shan replied, taking it without a hint of expression. The other guys had brought her gifts too, from foreign rings to fancy watches, while Han Si Fan and the other two girls carried cakes.
The four of us froze for a moment—wait, did we forget to buy a gift?
“Are these your friends?” Young Master Liu glanced at us, frowning slightly before putting on a polite smile. “I’m Liu Tian Yi, a childhood friend of Xishan.”
Though he said this, he didn’t offer a handshake. I was already feeling annoyed—who did he think he was, acting so superior just because he had money?
At that moment, Brother Xiang went all-out, digging his right finger into his nose and then extending his hand, saying, “So, Young Master Liu, right? Just call me Brother Xiang. If that’s too much, you can drop the ‘Xiang’ and just call me ‘BRO’—I don’t mind.”
Young Master Liu’s eyelid twitched, and he took a step back, probably worried that Brother Xiang would wipe his nose-picking hand on him. He said, “Nice to meet you all. Let’s head in—I’ve reserved the biggest room here!” Then he led the way inside.
T/L Notes: