Chapter 104: Damn It, It’s All Your Fault — There Goes My Otaku Dance!
In a dark alleyway, Guo Wei and Yang Xin stood face-to-face, staring at each other in silence.
A chilly breeze swept through, and the atmosphere between them gradually froze.
“You guys left her behind to pay the bill? How could you do that?”
Guo Wei sighed. “Senior, I only invited you, not her.”
Yang Xin looked upset. “But you can’t treat Wenyen like that. She’s just a bit greedy, that’s all.”
“But every time we go out, she tags along, eats the most, and always orders the most expensive things!”
“So that’s why you treated her that way today?”
Guo Wei sighed again. “All I wanted to say was that let’s just go out alone from now on.”
Yang Xin frowned. “I could’ve just talked to her next time. Did you really have to do it like this?”
“You’ve talked to her before. Has she ever listened?!”
“I…”
“If you were her, would you follow someone around just for a free meal?”
Yang Xin fell silent.
If she was Ji Wenyen, she absolutely wouldn’t freeload like that.
It would feel shameful, and it’d definitely be a burden on others.
“Actually, I wouldn’t even mind treating her occasionally, if it helped our relationship in any way.” Guo Wei asked quietly, “Let me ask you. Hasn’t she always told you not to date me?”
“She… she has said that.”
“I knew it. Jiang Zhou guessed it. He said if he was Ji Wenyen, he wouldn’t let us get together so easily either.”
“Why?”
“Because once we’re dating, she won’t have an excuse to freeload anymore.”
Yang Xin fell into silence for a long while… then suddenly turned and walked off.
She knew that Ji Wenyen had gone too far this time.
But still, she was furious.
Ji Wenyen might be inconsiderate and greedy, but she was also her childhood friend.
Leaving her to foot the bill alone was just too much.
It made her feel like she’d misjudged Guo Wei.
Why couldn’t he just talk things out, why use such underhanded means?
“Yang Xin! Where are you going?”
“I’m going to help Wenyen pay. As for us, we’ll talk another time.”
Meanwhile, outside the alley, Jiang Zhou turned his head as she walked past.
Yang Xin glanced at him, but pretended not to recognize him.
“You know how much this meal cost?” Jiang Zhou suddenly asked, watching her intently.
Yang Xin turned and gritted her teeth. “Doesn’t matter how much. It’s my responsibility. It has nothing to do with you!”
“Oh yeah? Then how come you never said that before?”
Guo Wei ran over. “She did say it once, but I never told her the total.”
Jiang Zhou stared at him. “If you never told her, how would she know how much that pig ate?”
“That’s enough!”
Yang Xin’s eyes were red. “So what if it was expensive?! Do you really have to humiliate her like this over one meal?!”
Just then, a crowd started to gather around them.
Since this was a food street, a lot of students were nearby.
And nothing excited students more than watching drama between guys and girls.
“What’s going on? Why are they arguing?”
“Heard it was a date, but the girl brought a friend.”
“What? Arguing over that? The guy’s got no balls.”
“Yeah! How much could one extra girl eat? What’s the big deal?”
“Someone like that wants a girlfriend? What a joke.”
Hearing the chatter around him, Guo Wei hung his head in shame.
Yang Xin, however, felt even more justified.
She had once had a good impression of Guo Wei.
But now? She realized he wasn’t someone she could rely on.
“Shut up already. What does this have to do with any of you? Got nothing better to do?” Jiang Zhou snapped back at the crowd, then looked at Yang Xin. “Go on, then. If you want to pay, go pay.”
Guo Wei raised his head. “Jiang Zhou, maybe I should…”
“You got the money? If not, let her pay since she wants to!”
Yang Xin glanced at Guo Wei, then stepped into the restaurant.
Inside, Ji Wenyen was sitting on the floor, throwing a full tantrum.
From her point of view, she’d earned this free meal fair and square, so why should she pay?
She was the one being invited, right?
If someone wanted to chase her bestie, wasn’t feeding her part of the deal?
At that moment, Yang Xin walked in and pulled her up.
“You’re back, Yang Xin?”
“Alright, Wenyen. Stop crying, I’ll pay for it.” She pulled out her wallet, ready to cover the bill.
Ji Wenyen still felt wronged and burst into tears again.
“Yang Xin, promise me that you can’t be with Guo Wei!
“Listen, it’s only us girls who are truly reliable. Everyone else is fake!
“If he’s willing to set me up like this, he’ll treat you worse one day!”
Yang Xin nodded. “I understand.”
Then she turned to the waiter. “How much was the total?”
Outside, the crowd still hadn’t dispersed.
They were all waiting to see how the story would unfold.
How much could one girl possibly eat?
At most, 500 yuan, right?
Was the guy seriously trying to skip out over that?!
Though… was that really a “girl”? More like a basketball.
As they chatted, the waiter pulled out the bill.
“Hello, classmate. The total is 3,800 yuan. Cash or card?”
“H-How much?”
“Three thousand eight hundred.”
Yang Xin froze, her hand still clutching her wallet.
Three thousand eight hundred?!
She thought she misheard, so she asked again just to be sure.
Same answer.
Her monthly allowance was only 800 yuan.
And she didn’t even have enough on her now to cover a tenth of it.
“That was just one table of food. How could it be so expensive?”
The waiter apologized, “The regular dishes were only 500. The 3,800 is for the seafood.”
Yang Xin turned her head slowly to look at the menu on the wall.
Two-pound lobsters — 600 yuan each.
She remembered Ji Wenyen ordering two in a row.
Then there was that tiny bowl of coral trout — 1,200 yuan?!
And the swimming crabs, arctic surf clams, and more…
Added up, 3,800 yuan was dead accurate.
Yang Xin had never eaten such expensive seafood.
Her family background was modest. She couldn’t afford extravagant meals.
She had assumed seafood meant stuff like clams and conchs.
But Ji Wenyen had run up a 3,800 yuan bill.
She only had 500 yuan, which meant she couldn’t even pay a fraction of it.
At that moment, she finally understood why Guo Wei’s friends had done what they did.
They’d paid 500 yuan to treat her.
As a guest, even ordering one extra dish wouldn’t have been too outrageous.
But ordering over 3,000 yuan worth of food, how do you explain that?
Can you call that “just a little greedy”?
Or “just a bit immature”?
Or that she wasn’t supposed to pay because she was just tagging along?
Yang Xin suddenly felt like a complete joke.
How could she have gotten mad at Guo Wei just now?
If it had been her footing the bill, she would’ve exploded!
Yet Guo Wei and his friend hadn’t even scolded her.
And she… in the heat of others’ comments… had actually believed she was in the right.
How ridiculous.
At that moment, Yang Xin wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear!
Meanwhile, the group of university students outside the restaurant were completely stunned.
They stared at the “basketball” (aka Ji Wenyen), looking utterly shocked.
“3,800 yuan?! Holy crap! Freeloading can reach this level?”
“My monthly allowance is just 1,000. What is she, a pig?”
“All that fat on her belly probably came from freeloading!”
“This is insane! If it were me, I wouldn’t pay either!”
“Is this dating or pig farming?”
“I thought it was just a few hundred, guess we really can’t blame that guy now.”
“Of course not! I hate people who freeload!”
Hearing all this, Ji Wenyen’s face twisted into a fierce expression.
She didn’t say anything, just glared fiercely at the onlookers.
She was a “slightly chubby beauty” and not a pig!
So what if it was 3,800 yuan?
If you don’t even have 3,800, you think you’re qualified to date?
“Yang Xin! They’re all insulting me! Just pay the bill so we can leave already!”
After a long silence, Yang Xin finally asked, “Wenyen, why did you order such expensive food?”
Ji Wenyen blinked. “Someone else was paying! It wasn’t my money, so of course I ordered what I normally couldn’t afford!”
“But… he wasn’t inviting you.”
“We’re childhood friends! You’re not going to blame me, are you?”
“I…”
Ji Wenyen got annoyed. “Hurry up and pay. Everyone’s yelling at me!”
At this point, Jiang Zhou let out a long sigh.
He still thought Yang Xin was a good person.
If she and Guo Wei could be together, he’d honestly give his blessing.
But that Ji Wenyen… was disgusting.
She was like a parasite stuck to her childhood friend, draining her dry while thinking it was totally justified.
Jiang Zhou lit a cigarette, then took out his own bank card and shoved it into Guo Wei’s hand.
“Jiang Zhou, what are you doing?”
“I know you don’t want her to lose face.”
He leaned in and whispered a few words in Guo Wei’s ear.
Guo Wei froze for a while, then clenched his teeth and walked inside. “Yang Xin, this is the bank card you left with me last time. I brought it back for you.”
He handed Jiang Zhou’s card to her.
Yang Xin froze. Her eyes turned red the moment she looked at him.
“No, I can’t accept this.”
“There are too many people here. Let’s pay and leave first.” Guo Wei gently held her hand and swiped the card across the POS machine.
The waiter thanked them and returned to the counter.
Yang Xin burst into tears.
She didn’t even know why…
But she just had to cry.
“Guo Wei… has she always been like this?”
Guo Wei smacked his lips. “Yeah… but not quite this bad before.”
“What about that time you invited me for sushi?”
“We ate 200 yuan’s worth. She alone spent 300.”
—
Later that evening, around 9 PM, the university town was bright with lights…
Yang Xin returned Jiang Zhou’s card, then was pulled away by Ji Wenyen.
She didn’t say anything.
She didn’t apologize.
She just couldn’t face Guo Wei.
All she wanted now was to go back and have a real talk with Ji Wenyen.
—
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhou and Guo Wei found a roadside night stall.
They ordered a few beers and some edamame.
Then just stared at each other.
“Jiang Zhou, what the hell are you laughing at?”
Jiang Zhou couldn’t stop laughing. “You remind me of one of my old dormmates.”
Guo Wei was furious. “What dormmate?”
“He became a human washing machine after starting college. You? You’ve become a pig farmer.”
“I’m warning you, don’t let this story spread!”
Jiang Zhou chuckled, finally managing to calm down. “So what now? What are you and Yang Xin going to do?”
Guo Wei sighed. “How should I know? She didn’t say a word when she left.”
“But she definitely understands now what Ji Wenyen’s been doing.”
“Probably…”
“Honestly, Yang Xin’s still a good person. I could tell that she likes you.”
Guo Wei’s eyes lit up for a second, then dimmed again. “So what? We’re still at a dead end.”
Jiang Zhou took a drag from his cigarette. “You don’t think this is a good thing?”
“How the hell is this good?”
“If she comes around, you’ll gain a girlfriend and lose a freeloading pig.”
Guo Wei groaned, “Enough already. I’ll ask my parents for the money next month and pay you back.”
Jiang Zhou snorted. “Forget it. My Ganfanren is about to expand into the University of Technology. You can work it off.”
“Fine. But enough about me, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“What’s going on with you and Chu Yuwei?”
“Nothing. That girl says she’s chasing me, but I haven’t said yes.”
Guo Wei’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Wow, talk about role reversal!”
Jiang Zhou took a sip of beer. “But I’ve got another treasure who’s currently ignoring me.”
“Who? Have I met her?”
“She’s a little rich girl from my class. You definitely haven’t.”
Guo Wei thought for a second. “Do you actually like her?”
“Of course I do! I love her with my whole damn soul!”
“Then why’s she ignoring you all of a sudden?”
Jiang Zhou sighed deeply. “Because she saw me flirting with another girl.”
“Serves you right!”
“Yeah, I know. Even playboys have their pain, okay?”
Guo Wei laughed. “If you’ve got more stories like this, tell me more. I feel better already!”
Jiang Zhou tossed some peanut shells at him, but Guo Wei dodged them all.
Then Jiang Zhou glanced at his phone.
Still no message from Feng Siruo.
But Chu Yuwei and Su Nan had both sent texts.
Chu Yuwei: “You’re too much! If you like chubby girls, I’ll eat like crazy for you!”
Su Nan: “I burned the Lolita dress. You’re disgusting!”
Jiang Zhou was instantly furious.
Damn it, all because of Guo Wei!
Now even his otaku dance show was ruined!
“Get up, we’re going back.”
Guo Wei blinked. “Back where?”
Jiang Zhou picked up the beer bottle. “Back to the hotel to drink more. There’s no entertainment tonight anyway.”
“You had entertainment plans tonight?”
“Yeah, I was gonna watch an otaku dance, then sneak into Chu Yuwei’s bed. Now? It’s all down the drain.”
Guo Wei smacked his butt and followed along. “Jiang Zhou, you’re really committing to this scumbag lifestyle, huh?”
Jiang Zhou snorted. “Hey, I still think I’m a good man, damn it!”
“If you’re a good man, I’m Ultraman!”
The two bickered all the way back to the hotel.
Then they ordered half a case of beer and drank until they both passed out.
Well, Guo Wei passed out.
His snoring was like a demolition crew working overtime.
Jiang Zhou, completely unable to sleep, grabbed a pillow and left the room.
It was still early.
Now… whose room should he go crash in?