Six subjects a day, I feel exhausted after taking them.
The lunch box at the examination room at noon was spicy chicken. Xie Lan didn't eat spicy food, so she ate a few mouthfuls of rice to hold on until the end of the exam. When she left the examination room, she felt so hungry that her stomach ached.
It was drizzling outside, the dark sky enveloped the buildings of Yingzhong, and the street lights on the campus were lit up. Xie Lan walked out of the building slowly, and saw Dou Sheng waiting by the pillar of the doorway from a distance. He was wearing a white shirt and light gray trousers as usual, leaning against the pillar casually. His figure was even more slender against the night and the street lights, and he stood out among the students.
Dou Sheng was leaning on an umbrella with one hand and holding an McDonald's paper bag with the other. Not far away, a few people in the car were playing and eating hamburgers.
When Xie Lan approached, Dou Sheng raised his head as if he had telepathy, with a smile in his eyes.
"Finally out, are you hungry?"
The familiar low voice immediately pulled Xie Lan out of his fatigue from the exam. He let out a long sigh and said, "I'm starving. The lunch box was so bad."
Dou Sheng smiled and reached into the paper bag, "I knew it. Here, beef fritters. I also bought you two taro pies."
"Thanks."
Xie Lan eagerly unwrapped the burger and took a big bite. M's burger was only a little bit good, but he was too hungry. The combination of bread, beef and cheese on his taste buds was so delicious that it moved him.
Dou Sheng opened the umbrella, waited for Xie Lan to come under it, and walked slowly into the rain side by side with him.
Che Ziming's cheeks were bulging with food. He rubbed his face under Wang Gou's umbrella and said, "I would like to call this meal a resurrection meal. Thanks to Dou, I handed in my English paper early and came out to order takeout for everyone."
Wang Gou held an umbrella in one hand and a hamburger in the other. He ate all the crumbs of fried chicken batter that fell out of the wrapper.
"It smells so good." He couldn't help but sigh, "Life in the city is so good. Hey, how much is this thing?"
Dou Sheng answered casually, "No details."
Yu Fei bit into his burger and said, "Don't be polite to him, he's a big boss, he's rich."
Wang Gou sighed, "It's great that students can make money on their own. I'll be thankful if I can pass the test."
Dai You put down his iced coffee and asked, "How's your English?"
"It's OK. The questions this time are not difficult. I will definitely pass."
When talking about the exam, a few people naturally changed the topic and talked about the exam questions.
Xie Lan didn't want to answer questions, and continued to concentrate on eating the burger in his hand. It was a bit cold in the rainy night, but after the food filled his stomach, a warm feeling gradually rose up and spread throughout his body. After finishing a burger, he rolled up the paper and looked around for a trash can, and his eyes accidentally bumped into Dou Sheng's.
Dou Sheng calmly looked away from his profile and asked, "How was your English test?"
Xie Lan nodded, "Not bad. Did you receive my text message? Biology is also good, probably around 70."
Dou Sheng laughed, "I got it. Hu Xiujie was on patrol at that time, so I didn't have time to reply."
Dai You asked from the side: "Dou, what happened to this exam? I felt like your rhythm in answering questions in some subjects was off."
Che Ziming was surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"
"It's hard to say." Dai You frowned slightly. "I sat behind him, and I felt that he answered the math questions seriously, and his English was okay. But his answers to Chinese and comprehensive science were messed up, as if he took a break after writing a few words."
Xie Lan's heart seemed to miss a beat and he subconsciously turned to look at Dou Sheng.
Dou Sheng just smiled and said, "Have you never been ranked first in the school since you entered high school?"
"You're asking even though you already know the answer." Dai You curled his lips, "Didn't I always press the back of Chen Ge's and your heads in the examination room?"
Dou Sheng sneered calmly, "Then you must be the first this time. If you don't get first place, don't blame me for looking down on you."
Several people were silent. Dai You was confused for a while before asking, "What's going on?"
“No, I just had a stomachache when I was taking the Chinese and comprehensive science exams, so I didn’t answer them seriously.” Dou Sheng’s tone was indifferent, as if he was casually talking about rain.
The group of people finally quieted down, but Xie Lan felt a vague premonition in his heart and turned to glance at Dou Sheng.
After a while, Dou Sheng suddenly said with a smile: "Let's make a bet."
Xie Lan asked, "What are you betting on?"
Dou Sheng thought for a moment and said, "Let's bet on the difference in our total score this time. I bet it won't exceed fifteen points."
Xie Lan paused. Although he had expected this, he was still shocked.
"What do you mean?" He was a little confused. "You deliberately didn't do well in Chinese and comprehensive science?"
Dou Sheng glanced at him and hushed him softly, "We agreed to be in the same class."
Xie Lan was still shocked, "But..."
Dou Sheng interrupted him with a faint smile, "When you told me about biology, the first five subjects had already been taken. I was just making preparations for both scenarios. The so-called midterm exam is just one."
Xie Lan was silent for a long time before he continued to walk forward in the dim rain. In his peripheral vision, he saw Dou Sheng holding the umbrella handle. After walking for a while, he suddenly realized that the umbrella handle was not in a vertical line, but was slightly tilted towards him.
The vague strange feeling in my heart resurfaced, and I couldn't suppress it.
After a long while, Xie Lan lowered his eyes and asked casually, "Why do you have to say that we are in the same class?"
"Ah?" Dou Sheng paused.
Xie Lan also stopped, turned around and walked back under the umbrella, looking into those black eyes.
Not sure if it was his illusion, but there was a fleeting moment of bewilderment in his eyes, but soon Dou Sheng returned to his usual nonchalant look, looking away and saying, "Maybe I'm just used to being with you from morning to night, studying together, discussing together, and recording videos together. Besides, how can we record hardcore high school reality shows if we're separated? Half of my life is tied to you."
That's right. And that damn hardcore high school reality show.
Xie Lan relaxed immediately after hearing that and continued to walk out with him side by side. However, after taking two steps, he felt a sense of loss that he couldn't find.
Maybe it was because it was raining, the sky was dark, and the weather was bad.
When Xie Lan reached the school gate, he suddenly heard Dou Sheng say in a low voice, "It has rained twice in a row, and the temperature dropped each time."
When Dou Sheng said this, he turned his head and looked at the sycamore-lined avenue on campus. After a long while, he whispered, "I hope these trees will be stronger this year and bloom."
Xie Lan moved his head and nodded, "Yes, I must do my best."
School ended early on the day of the exam and Xie Lan got home just after eight o'clock. As soon as he got home, he received a text message from Zhao Wenying, who was on a business trip, saying that she had prepared a small surprise for him to celebrate his midterm exam.
Xie Lan lowered his head and replied seriously. Dou Sheng put away his umbrella and walked past him. "I want to catch up on the horror game live broadcast. Do you want to join me?"
Xie Lan raised his head. "Me? I rarely play games."
Dou Sheng waved his hand, "I mainly want to use your account to broadcast and increase your activity this month."
Xie Lan was stunned. "Is this possible?"
"Why not?" Dou Sheng smiled. "Your original update rhythm was disrupted by the midterm exam. It's not good to disappear for too long."
As he spoke, he walked into the kitchen in slippers, and after a while, he came out with two cans of beer.
Xie Lan couldn't help but remind him, "The platform doesn't allow drinking during live broadcasts."
Dou Sheng waved his hand casually, "Pour it into the thermos cup. Just don't let the audience know you're drinking. You should drink after the exam on Friday."
Xie Lan looked at his handsome back and couldn't help but curl her lips.
It’s hard to tell whether he wanted to indulge himself after the exam on Friday, or he wanted to play a horror game to give himself courage.
As timid as a bean.
Despite all the complaints, Xie Lan still logged in and posted a preview.
In fact, it's not all about padding the time. It's mainly because Che Ming mentioned the game "Paper Bride" a few days ago. It is said that the horror index is very high, and he is afraid that Dou Sheng will be scared to death if he plays it alone.
Xie Lan washed his face and changed his clothes. Dou Sheng had already started the live broadcast. The number of viewers gradually increased. He chatted with the comments while setting the atmosphere in an orderly manner.
It was raining heavily outside, so he took out a double bean bag sofa from the storage room and threw it on the ground. He drew the curtains, letting the white noise of rain cover the room, turned off all the lights, and the only light in the room came from two computer screens. Now both screens were running Bilibili, so there was still enough light.
Xie Lan didn't want to drink, so he got himself a can of Coke and pulled out a pillow for Dou Sheng.
As soon as he came in, he saw the barrage suddenly turned into a large patch of pink.
-Good evening, Lanzai
-Hi wife~
-Lanzai has finished the exam!
-How did you do in the exam
Xie Lan sat on the bean bag sofa and hummed, "I did okay on the test. Why do you use pink bullet screen?"
-Pink suits you better
- You can't help but...
- I can't help but see you two in the same frame...
- Ahem, pay attention to the front.
Xie Lan subconsciously ignored the comments, cleared his throat, and pulled the ring of his Coke.
Dou Sheng said as he unpacked the game cartridge: "I'll study the two-player mode, you can chat with the barrage."
"Um."
There were a lot more comments than before. Xie Lan estimated that he produced too little, and the audience's curiosity filter was too heavy. Every time he appeared on camera, he had endless questions to answer.
"I don't really like pink, but feel free to do as you please."
"Well, my Chinese has improved a lot recently. It's not strange to hear me speak, right?"
"Oh, the pronunciation of some words is not quite right."
"The music video will be out before May Day. Well, that's all I can preview."
"I might go traveling. I want to go somewhere closer to nature. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Yeah, with Dou."
“I have no plans to return to the UK in the short term.”
"Well, I'll stay with him here."
The beanbag beside him sank, Dou Sheng squeezed over and thrust the handle into Xie Lan's hand.
“Let’s play the two-player mode. I’ll play the groom Li Lingfeng, and you’ll play my secretary.” Dou Sheng said in a serious voice, clearing his throat, and then he said to the camera, “Good evening, audience friends. Welcome to the most handsome man in the world… oh no, welcome to Xie Lan’s devilish live studio. Tonight, the two of us will play the game Paper Bride, a Chinese horror story-solving puzzle. It takes about an hour and a half to play the two-player mode.”
- I'm already getting nervous
- Serious = tense
-Hahaha, the old bean fan just smiled but said nothing
-I am very curious, can Lanzi get the secret of Chinese horror
Dou Sheng picked up the thermos cup expressionlessly and gulped down two gulps.
As soon as the left screen was turned to a dark game page, the light in the room suddenly dimmed by half. Dou Sheng was completely shrouded in shadows, and Xie Lan could clearly see his Adam's apple sliding gently in the shadows.
"I'm starting." Dou Sheng said.
Xie Lan hummed.
The plot of the game begins with the groom Li Lingfeng going to the countryside to attend a wedding. The two-player mode is a bit useless. Xie Lan, the secretary, is just a follower, following Dou Sheng all the way into the quaint Chinese courtyard.
Judging from the scene lighting in the game, it should be night time. The courtyard is dark and the wind blows through the bushes, making them rustle.
There were four big red lanterns hanging on the beams in front of them, and candlelight shone through the oil paper, but the candlelight was white. When the wind blew, the white candlelight swayed greatly, and the shadows of the two characters on the ground also swayed left and right silently.
Barrage:
- Damn, this game is kind of dark.
- Is it so scary right after you come in
-Get married at night
Why are the bushes silent
-Your shadow is shaking, and my old clothes are about to crack.
Xie Lan was controlling the little man to follow Dou Sheng when he felt Dou Sheng bump into his arm.
Xie Lan asked casually, "What's wrong?"
Dou Sheng whispered, "If you're scared, you can shout it out. I'll shout it out too. Don't hold it in."
"Ah?" Xie Lan was stunned. "What's there to be afraid of?"
Dou Sheng turned around and looked at him, "Look at those white candles."
What happened to the white candle
Xie Lan paused, "I think white candles are quite romantic. Moonlight, courtyard, white candles, how romantic."
Dou Sheng's expression suddenly froze.
"romantic??"
"Ah." Xie Lan paused, then looked at the shadows of the two people swaying on the ground and smiled, "It's quite artistic. It reminds me of an extracurricular ancient poem I learned recently. It's very romantic."
The barrage immediately said:
-What poem
-Appreciate further details
-Has Lanzai made progress? He has learned poetry!
-Wuwu, I want to listen to Lanlan read me romantic love poems
The live broadcast room was so lively that only Dou Sheng was sober.
He looked at Xie Lan numbly for a while, and whispered, "Can I ask you not to say it? I have a bad feeling."
Xie Lan smiled, cleared his throat and recited aloud: "Waiting for the moon under the west wing, the door is half open to the wind. The shadows of flowers on the wall move, I wonder if it is the beautiful lady coming."
Just as he finished speaking, a shadow that did not belong to either of their characters suddenly floated across the ground, winding its way into the main hall in front of them, and then the tightly closed door opened automatically, and an old and long creaking sound came from the speakers.
The sense of immersion is very strong.
-? ? ?
-What the hell is this poem
-Xie Lan, are you from the development team of this game
-I'm numb...
Xie Lan couldn't help but laugh, "This game is quite poetic."
After he said this, there was no movement for a long time. When he turned his head, he saw Dou Sheng's numb face, which seemed to be even paler than before. He stared at him straight, with his pupils trembling slightly.
Xie Lan raised his eyebrows, "Are you scared already?"
"No." Dou Sheng's voice sounded too calm. He picked up the thermos cup and took two more sips. "Come on, I'll take you into the house."
Pushing open the antique door, the two stepped into the main hall.
Once you enter the main hall, the scene is darker than outside. There are four large red lanterns hanging on the left and right under the plaque. The red light creates a very atmospheric atmosphere in the darkness.
An old man and an old woman were sitting on the left and right of a wooden table, with scissors, a weighing rod, and a jade ruyi on the table. There was a huge red "囍" character behind them, and a male emcee wearing a small round hat was standing beside them.
The sense of ancient Chinese culture suddenly intrigued Xie Lan. He sat up straighter on the bean bag and nudged Dou Sheng with his elbow.
Dou Sheng's voice was hollow, "Want to recite poetry again?"
Xie Lan asked, "Where is your bride?"
Dou Sheng: “…”
Dou Sheng turned his head slowly, his eyes unfocused.
"Read the question. Paper Bride, Paper Bride. The bride is related to ghosts. How could she appear so soon?"
Xie Lan nodded and continued to look at the screen, "Oh."
Dou Sheng looked at him in despair for two seconds before slowly turning his head back. Xie Lan tried hard to pretend to be serious and nervous, but in fact he was secretly glancing at the comments.
-The bean gall has been broken
- You scare him
- Oh my god, this is just the beginning
-I am dying of laughter. Ermao is definitely a horror game expert.
-Xie Lan is here to make the game more difficult.
Xie Lan dragged the joystick and made his little man circle around Dou Sheng twice. "What are you doing now?"
Dou Sheng said in a low voice, "I guess there will be a process."
As soon as he finished speaking, the male host suddenly took a step forward with a smile on his face.
Before Xie Lan could react, he felt the arm next to him tremble violently, but Dou Sheng remained calm and moved his arm away without making a sound.
Suddenly, a 360-degree surround sound of a duck voice rang out from the speakers.
"The auspicious time has arrived. Please invite the bride and groom to perform the ceremony of worshipping the heaven and earth—"
Xie Lan was confused, the joystick dragged the little man around blindly, "What do you mean? Why don't I understand?"
Dou Sheng, who was tense around him, seemed to relax a little and said calmly, "Stand with me and press Y towards the old man and the old woman."
Xie Lan did as he was told without knowing why. In the camera, he and Dou Sheng knelt down facing forward together, with one of them bowing his head to the ground.
Xie Lan was stunned.
-"Where is your bride?" "It's you."
- Holy shit, hahahaha, can two-player mode be played like this
-I took a fucking screenshot!
-Is this a horror game or a love game
-Xie Lan, please wake up for your mother!
Xie Lan suddenly realized, "Didn't you say the bride is a ghost? Are you using me as your bride?"
Dou Sheng was much more relaxed than before, and said calmly: "Two-player mode, I'm trying to give you a sense of presence."
Just as Xie Lan was about to retort, the male MC was shocked again and sang loudly: "Second bow to the parents—"
Dou Sheng said, "Repeat what you just said."
Xie Lan was confused and had to repeat himself. But this time the game suddenly switched from the God's perspective to the first-person perspective of Dou Sheng's character. "He" knelt down and kowtowed. The camera slowly lifted up from the uneven cement floor tiles. The view was a little blurry, but a heavy staccato sound suddenly came out from the speakers.
Bang, bang, bang—
The picture was distorted and flickering violently. When it became clear again, the red lantern suddenly turned into a white lantern. The whole room was shrouded in pale light. The emcee turned into a paper man with a stiff smile, leading a paper horse, and the two elders disappeared. Their black and white portraits were placed on the two stools, one on the left and one on the right.
Before Xie Lan could react, the paper-made MC flashed in front of the camera with a smile. His fake grin stretched from ear to ear was projected onto the huge computer screen. A rustling voice came from the speakers: "Couples bow to each other."
Just as Xie Lan was about to ask this man what was wrong, he heard a "ah" from the side. In the dim light around him, a handle flew past his eyes, and then Dou Sheng grabbed it towards him frantically.
Dou Sheng: “Ahhh!!”
Xie Lan: "What are you doing? Are you sick?!"
It was pitch black and chaotic. Dou Sheng hugged him fiercely and rubbed against him desperately. The beanbag was not big to begin with, and he was almost squeezed to the ground. He wanted to stand up in anger, but he failed to stand up and fell back into the seat, hitting Dou Sheng's waist and hips, and his thighs overlapped with Dou Sheng's legs and squeezed together.
Xie Lan's first reaction was to be embarrassed. After all, Dou Sheng was thin, and the muscles and bones in his legs were clearly visible.
But his second reaction was to feel weak again, with half of his buttocks pressed on Dou Sheng's waist, as if he could sense what Dou Sheng was feeling at the moment.
Numbness, like an electric shock, spread from the tailbone all the way to the top of the head, and then to every part of the body.
Xie Lan was stunned for two seconds before realizing that he was almost sitting on Dou Sheng. His ears felt hot as if they were filled with blood. He was at a loss as to what to do. The two arms holding him stiffened slightly. Then, Dou Sheng seemed to be frightened again and jumped up.
Xie Lan was caught off guard: “?”
He only felt the person beneath him suddenly withdraw, and the left half of his body became empty underneath him. He fell down without a word, and fell into the deep pit of the bean bag with a clang.
“… … ”
On the live screen, Xie Lan's butt fell completely into the bean bag, with his limbs and head sticking out in a funny way, looking blankly at the camera.
The barrage exploded.
- What the fuck are you doing
- Grandpa is so funny
- I laughed so hard that my face turned red with shame
- Dou was scared to death by a ghost, Xie Lan was scared to death by Dou
-The previous one is wrong, Dou Xi was killed by Xie Lan, and Xie Lan was thrown to death by Dou Xi
- No, they both died of shame.
Xie Lan stayed in the pit for several seconds. Dou Sheng stood in the darkness, almost out of frame, and looked at him in a daze.
The bean bag was loose and soft, and it fit every inch of the body from all directions, draining all the strength from the person. After struggling for a few times, Xie Lan gritted his teeth in despair and said, "Pull me up?"
"Oh, okay." Dou Sheng said immediately, reaching out and grabbing Xie Lan's hand.
The moment their skin touched, Xie Lan suddenly felt Dou Sheng's hand was very hot, like the heat of running in the snow for forty minutes and then suddenly returning to the room. He first grabbed his hand, and when his fingers touched the bottom of his hand, he grabbed Xie Lan's wrist and pulled him up.
There was no air conditioning in the room, and a stuffy heat gradually accumulated on the rainy night.
The barrage of comments had been flooded with various gifts and rewards. Xie Lan stood in front of the camera for a while, still feeling flushed.
The light around him was dim and his mind was a little blank, but fortunately the sound was no different from usual.
Xie Lan said, "I'm going to the bathroom. Can you continue the process by yourself?"
Dou Sheng sighed, bent down and picked up the controller, "Sure, I'll set you to follow me."
"Um."
Xie Lan glanced at the barrage again and found that he had temporarily lost the ability to read Chinese characters. He had no choice but to give up, picked up the Coke and went into Dou Sheng's room to go to the bathroom.
The bathroom door was made of frosted glass. Xie Lan wanted to turn on the light, but hesitated, fearing that the light would ruin the atmosphere outside, so he gave up.
Dou Sheng's voice rang out outside, sounding very calm, no different from usual.
"Just turn on the light. It won't delay us."
Xie Lan subconsciously said, "It's okay, I'll just wash my hands and sweat a little."
Dou Sheng said, "Hurry up then. I'll be stuck in this process for a while. I'll wait for you."
"Uh-huh."
The bathroom was dark. Xie Lan took out his cell phone from his trouser pocket, thought for a moment, logged into Bilibili with his secondary account, turned on the mute function, and then clicked into his own live broadcast room from the homepage.
The camera showed the game screen, and Dou Sheng's image was in the lower right corner, on a small screen.
He had already restored the bean bag to its normal shape, and sat alone on the left side of the bean bag, leaving room for Xie Lan, and then naturally continued to push the game process. He held the handle tightly with both hands, staring at the screen without blinking, very focused.
But, maybe it was Xie Lan's illusion, he felt that Dou Sheng was too focused on the game, and his state was different from just now.
Xie Lan paused for a while. In the small picture-in-picture, Dou Sheng's facial features were in the dark, half in the dark, half in the light. The boundary between light and dark moved gently on his face as the game screen changed. His black eyes were as calm and deep as ever, his lips were slightly pursed, and his focused expression seemed a little gentle in the darkness.
In a trance, it reminds me of the figure holding an umbrella and walking in the campus on a rainy night, calm and gentle, accommodating and waiting quickly or slowly following the pace of the people around him.
Xie Lan took a deep breath, turned off the live broadcast, looked at his blurry reflection in the mirror with the light from his phone, then turned on the tap and put his wrist under the cold water.
After a long time, the burning feeling on my palms slowly faded away in the cold water.
Xie Lan's mind was still a little blank. He picked up the Coke and drank two sips in a daze. When he put the Coke back, the bottom of the cup collided with the ceramic tile surface, and the sound was not as crisp as he imagined, but rather a bit dull.
Xie Lan suddenly froze, and belatedly realized that the taste in his mouth was wrong. It was not the sweet taste of cola, but the astringent and slightly bitter taste of beer.
He was stunned and subconsciously reached for the "can"
—That is Dou Sheng’s thermos cup.
The body that had just calmed down began to feel numb again, and his mouth was dry. Everything around Xie Lan seemed to become very quiet. The only disturbing things were the tinnitus in his ears and his increasingly intense heartbeat.
—His internal organs were beating rapidly and frantically, and no matter how he tried to suppress or cover up, he couldn't calm them down. They wouldn't obey him and were beyond his control, trembling rapidly and frantically in his chest.
He looked down blankly and picked up the thermos again.
There must be something wrong with him. Maybe he was delayed in his puberty due to Xiao Langjing's illness, or maybe he was "not used to the local climate" after returning to China.
He was facing Dou Sheng, the son of his mother's childhood best friend, his desk mate, roommate, friend, or perhaps, the person he relied on the most in this familiar yet strange country.
I have some impulses that I can't express verbally.