Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Argh.... fuck!" Swore Jin Lin as the annoying sound of his alarm clock permeated the air. His hand lazily slid out to turn off the alarm without moving the rest of his body from under the quilt.
He only managed to get some sleep after having that gloomy nightmare at the precinct again. It had already been five years but it haunted his dreams as though it happened yesterday.
The moment he finally managed to get some peaceful sleep the stupid alarm ruined it waking him up from his sweet dreams.
Even after feeling around with his hand to shut off the alarm he still couldn't find it. One might wonder why he was using an alarm clock instead of his cellphone like a regular person? It was because he had tendencies of exacting vengeance on the device especially when he couldn't find it.
The irritating sound of the alarm clock seemed to intensify its decibels the longer it rang which unfortunately led to him breaking his cellphone screen four times. This is why his friend, Fen Hao decided to buy him a Lin proof alarm clock with the ability to endure any hardship. Well, that's until today.
All of a sudden Jin lin sat up revealing a bird's nest head of hair and picked up his shoe flinging it at the poor alarm clock settled by the desk. Like a sharp shooter in the special forces, Jin Lin's strike was precise and brutal resulting in the unfortunate end of its short life span.
A slick grin appeared on Jin Lin's face as tranquillity was restored. He slid back into the quilt and went back to sleep as though nothing happened. Too bad the universe wasn't going to let him off that easy.
Right at the moment when the sleep got sweeter and the sandman granted his wish, his phone buzzed right in his ear waking him up completely. As expected, he grabbed his cellphone from under the pillow but just as he was about to fling it straight into the wall he recalled how expensive it was effectively changing his mind.
He pursed his lips and decided to take it out on the person who called him instead. Poor Fen Hao had no idea that he had become the target of the tyrannical General Lin yelling his greetings with too much energy for a Monday.
"Awake yet, Lin-ge? Let's have som-," he said but didn't get to finish his sentence when Jin Lin rudely cut him off.
"Too noisy," said Jin Lin followed by a loud beeping sound indicating that his phone call was cut off. Fen Hao had his phone on loudspeaker surrounded by his clique of second-generation rich heirs so they heard everything. Some drew in a breath of cold air while the rest looked at him with sympathy.
"Ah, Ha ha, he's probably still sleeping," explained Fen Hao with a nervous laugh before standing up abruptly to find a private place to express his grievances to his best friend.
Thanks to the first call Jin Lin was wide awake. He stood up to go to the bathroom and wash up when his phone rang again. This time he answered with a much better attitude than before. One would think it wasn't the same person.
"Lin-ge, did you have to cut me off like that? They are all laughing at me now because of you. I say Dage, don't you have any sympathy for me at all...," was Fen Hao's voice coming from the cellphone on the bathroom countertop.
"En," replied Jin Lin half-listening while brushing his teeth. He knew Fan Hao was calling him to carry those young masters in the game, Gods of Equino a famous 2D ancestor of the game Equino.
The gaming company that owned this game hadn't officially launched the gaming pod version of Equino claiming that they were working to perfect the virtual reality game. Gods of Equino was a replica of it allowing the public to practice and prepare themselves for the main event.
Because he wanted to see his elder brother he invested himself into Gods of Equino while live streaming as a means to make money. He was saving up towards a game pod for the official launch of Equino so he also had to supplement his income by carrying rich heirs in the game during his live stream.
"En, en, is that all you have to say to me. You know I can't endure their taunting any more. First, it was little fatty then four eyes so what do you think they are going to call me now?"
Jin Lin rinsed his mouth and unscrewed the cap of the mouthwash while coaxing his overly stimulated friend. "You lost a lot of weight and now wear contacts so whatever nickname they come up with next you will overcome it. Besides, why do you still hang around them?..... Don't tell me you are a little masochist," he replied before pouring the astringent liquid into his mouth.
Fen Hao rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. Jin Lin was right but he was also a second-generation heir and these were his people according to societal rules. His best friend was an anomaly that he would have never met under normal circumstances.
Jin Lin was the first genuine friend he made after his mother passed away ten years ago. His mother was the chosen heir of the Fen business empire and it was for that reason that she didn't marry. She had Fen Hao through sperm donors and ruled the Fen Family with an iron fist while raising her son.
The day she passed away the Fen Family fell into turmoil fighting for inheritance resulting in Fen Hao's neglect. Whether it was to grasp everyone's attention or get away from his problems, the young Fen Hao ran away from home.
Unfortunately, the little young master wasn't skilled in this area which meant he didn't follow the correct guide book on how to run away from home. In less than four hours, he was hugging his knees crying in a weird neighbourhood park.
Luckily, the young Fen Hao didn't have to spend the night on the streets because Jin Lin saw him crying and sat next to him. Jin Lin was on his way to look for his father after another weekly episode of getting kicked out by his mother when he noticed the chubby little boy crying in the street.
Jin Lin handed him a cool bottle of mineral water and just like that two boys, one chased out of the house the other a runaway became the best of friends. Fen Hao even transferred schools just to be next to his friend.
"Okay. okay..... stop lecturing me. Are you playing or not?" asked Fen Hao while watching his so-called friends through the corner of his eye.
Jin Lin spat out the mouth wash into the sink and stared blankly into the mirror. Carrying rich overlords in the game wasn't his most favourite thing but he had to supplement his income which meant he had no choice.
"En, give me thirty minutes," replied Jin Lin before cutting off Fen Hao's bootlicking praises by pressing the red button on the cellphone screen.