Tong Yao had a nightmare that night.
In the dream, she was in the bar at the street corner and was so intoxicated
that she was jumping up and down like a monkey. After she returned to the
base and saw the new mid who was going to replace her…...She cried, cried
so hard that her tongue was tied in a knot. Amid the endless tears, the only
sentence she could utter was, "I'm strong, I don't want to be the alternate who
can only keep an eye on the drinking fountain." In the end, she hugged Lu Sicheng
and earnestly said: Cheng Ge, I'll sing a song for you. Let me be the starting mid.
Afterwards, she began solemnly sing "Fireflies Fly."
Half way through the song, she was so moved by the song that she held Lu Sicheng
so tight as if he was her long lost father and she began to cry again-- --
In the dream, it felt as if the whole world had abandoned her.
Tong Yao didn't know what happened after that as she abruptly awoke from the
dream. The expressionless and mean face of Lu Sicheng, while listening to her
singing, was so real in her dream, it looked like a picture on a wanted poster.
"..."
Tong Yao opened her eyes to check the clock in her room. It was 11 am. The
ceiling in her room was twirling-- --She widened her eyes and kicked her blanket
with her foot. Nothing fuzzy came rushing out of her blanket: Dabing wasn't here.
It was already past the regular breakfast and bathroom time for her cat. As a
responsible cat owner, she was afraid that her own cat would flip over the litter
box out of hunger and frustrating and struggled to get out of bed...
Then she discovered that the whole world was spinning.
She had a severe headache and was sore all over like she had exercised too much
last night. When she stepped on the floor, her knees were weak…...She dragged
herself into the bathroom to take a shower. After the shower, she had sobered up
somewhat. She opened the door looking for her cat while drying her hair. As soon as
she opened the door, she kicked a plastic bag placed right in front of her door-- --
"...What's this?"
Tong Yao bent down to pick the bag up and found out that it was medicine to
help sober up.
She freezed with the medicine in hand at the doorway for about 30 seconds, then
returned back to the room and closed the door.
...
An hour later, at noon, the door to Lu Sicheng's room opened. The young man
walked out of the room yawning. His wet black hair drooped down, water beads
dripping along his face...
The disappearing cat came out from the room behind him. The cat squeezed out
its head between the ankle of the man and the door frame to take a look. Then it
went downstairs with its short legs-- --
The man looked down from the second floor and saw a unknown person wearing
a mask of Sun Wukong sitting in front of the computer furthest to the right.
She was curled up in the chair, still wearing her white sleeping gown. The fat cat
came to her, meowing, then jumped on and began stepping over her.
-- --It was empty at the first floor of the base. Everyone was exhausted after the
drama last night and probably wouldn't wake up until it was time for choosing the
new uniform.
Lu Sicheng walked downstairs, went to the refrigerator, and opened it to see there
was nothing inside. He raised his eyebrows when he saw all the empty yogurt drink
bottles piled up in the trash can nearby. He closed the refrigerator and walked behind
the only other lively person in the base. He stuck out one finger to lift up a corner of
the mask on her face. "Sun Wukong, where are my yogurt drinks? There were 5 or 6
bottles before I went to sleep last night."
"..."
The person on the chair was playing Super Mario.
Mario was busy jumping to grab all the coins, eating mushrooms, and stepping on
turtles. The person who was playing Mario was also very busy. She slowly backed
away from Lu Sicheng's hand, the mask bounced back onto her face.
She cried out in pain and covered a portion of her face.
Lu Sicheng: "What are you doing?"
Tong Yao: "I'm reflecting on life."
Lu Sicheng: "Starting from when? From the second you're born or about 15 hours
ago when you started drinking your first Long Island Iced Tea?"
Tong Yao: "..."
"I suggest the latter." Lu Sicheng lightly said, "Since it's already rich enough for you
to ponder on for a long time.
Mario stopped jumping, the person who was controlling Mario turned her
head around-- --It was a pair of evasive, uneasy eyes under the mask. Tong
Yao pushed away the keyboard and stood up on the chair. She looked down
on Lu Sicheng's face who was a bit shorter than her now. "Captain, did I do a
lot of improper things last night?"
"Improper?" Lu Sicheng couldn't take his eyes away from the grinning Sun
Wukong mask. "Which one are you talking about? Yelling that you don't have
any boobs but only pads?"
"..."
"Or mistaking my brother as a ghost that looked exactly like me?"
"..."
"Or crying while insisting that you're strong and can't be a substitute. You'll
lose the whole world if you became a substitute. Then you started singing
'Fireflies Fly'-- --I have a heartfelt suggestion, don't ever sing again; you have
turned a children's song into a soundtrack for a horror movie."
"......."
"Or trying to force the dirty tissues into the hands of every teammates as a
going away gift. If anyone refused, you would hug the person while crying
and wouldn't let go?"
"........."
"Or hugging your ugly cat and trying to lick its hair? In the end, you had its ear
in your mouth and wouldn't let go, though there were 3 or 4 people trying to pry
open your mouth. You even bit them?" Lu Sicheng lifted his index finger of his
right hand, showing a red teeth mark on his skin. "Actually, Sun Wukong, the
reason I got up this early is to go to get a rabies shot."
"........."
Threw away the cat in her arms, the person who was standing on the chair
covered her face and squatted down on the chair, shivering…...Lu Sicheng
sneered and turned around to go to the kitchen to pour a cup of water for
himself. He suddenly asked, "Have you taken the medicine?"
The one kneeling down on the chair raised her head, "What medicine?"
"To sober up. Wasn't it right in front of your door?" Lu Sicheng put down the water
jug. "Did you think your lunatic behavior can be treated by medicine-- --"
"Don't say anymore! Don't! I'm wrong! I'm wrong!" The voice coming from behind
the mask sounded stuffy. "How do I know that drink had alcohol in it! Why does
anyone call it Long Island Iced Tea if it's an alcoholic drink!"
"Because there's no wife in Wife Cake; no squirrel in Squirrel Mandarin Fish; no
Lei Feng inside the Leifeng Pagoda." Lu Sicheng lazily glanced over the person
who was sticking half of her head behind the chair, staring at him. "Therefore, the
Long Island Iced Tea isn't tea. Dork."
That half of the head quickly shrank back.
Lu Sicheng drank the water in his cup and went back to his desk to turn on the
computer to log onto the League of Legends. He turned to cast a look at the quiet
person who had curled up in her chair. The gamer chair, which was too narrow for
Little Fatty, could cover her whole body. She was wearing the slippers that they
went to buy in the market that day. The slippers and her white sleep gown totally
covered her ankles…...Only those two pale arms were exposed. She was holding
her knees. He could even see the scar left on her elbow probably from her naughty
childhood.
Due to her posture, some of her half dried short hair had fallen on her pale arm.
The hair was a little fuzzy since it had been air dried. The contrast between black
and white was quite eye catching.
Lu Sicheng: "..."
"Hey." The captain slightly frowned and lifted his foot to kick the chair next to him.
"Have you sobered up yet? Really, how can you come down still wearing your pajamas.
The investor is coming over to show us the samples for the summer uniforms soon.
Are you going to meet them like this?"
The person on the chair shook and slowly straightened up. She jumped down from
the chair and fluttered her skirt. Then she asked as if she just remembered something,
"Can I keep the mask on?"
"Why are you wearing it for?"
"I can't show my face."
"So you know what shame is. You didn't act like it when you asked people in tears
to guard your dirty tissues last night-- --"
"Ahhhhh!" Tong Yao covered her ears with both of her hands. "I'm not listening, not
listening, not listening!"
The man sat in the chair using one hand to support his head and smiled behind her,
though one couldn't tell it from his voice. "Get changed. The others will wake up soon."
From the corner of his eye, he saw the skirt turned around, the feet in the slippers
stomped away, then the girl went up stairs, seemingly angry and helpless. The door
to her room slammed shut.
Another hour later, everyone had awoken and gathered downstairs eating
the pork porridge that the housekeeper had just finished cooking…...Then,
the innermost door on the second floor slowly opened, a face with the mask
of Sun Wukong stretched out from behind the door like a thief. She was wearing
a pair of denim shorts and an oversized shirt, hunching her back as she walked
out of her room-- --
"You up?"
The sudden greeting from the team manager downstairs surprised her. She
stopped and looked down, everyone was there, including Lu Yue…...Tong Yao
cautiously moved into the crowd, gracefully sat down, then bent her head down,
pretending she wasn't there.
Xiao Rui touched her mask. "Smiling, what's this now?"
The person with the mask on bent her head down even lower. Lu Sicheng,
who was next to her, explained for her, "Too ashamed to show her face."
The one with the mask on raised her head, turned to cast a look at Lu Sicheng,
then turned to the young man with green hair and bare feet who was sitting not
too far from her. "Why are you still here?"
Her voice sounded muffled.
"Because you need a substitute."
The young man was playing around with her computer, her mouse.
Tong Yao took a deep breath-- --
"I don't need one."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"You do."
"I don't need one." Tong Yao stood up. "That's my seat."
"Oh yeah? See if it'll respond if you call its name."
Tong Yao rushed over to her own seat and began to drag him. Though the young
man was younger than Lu Sicheng, he had been graced by good genes from the
Lu family and towered over Tong Yao. She looked like a chick standing in front
of him...
Said little chick was now pitter-pattering and clamoring, trying to drive the weasel
out of her own nest.
"You get up!"
"I won't."
"You get up!"
"I won't."
"Oh! Cheng Ge! Why are you licking my cat's ear!"
The young man sitting on the chair instantly jumped up, grabbed his cell phone,
turned on the camera, and turned to look at the direction where Tong Yao's shocked
face was looking. When he met his brother's indifferent eye, he was quietly sipping
his porridge-- --The girl behind him bumped him off with her bottom and quickly sat
down on her own seat, grabbing the back of the chair with both hands...
The cat who was supposedly being licked by Lu Sicheng gracefully walked by the
feet of the fooled young man.
"A 19 years old is an adult already." Lu Sicheng slowly spoke, "Why are the two of
you acting like retards?"
"She is the retarded one. What a stupid lie just for a lousy chair."
"Stupid or not, at least you believed it. That makes you even stupider." The person
who was holding onto her own chair said firmly, "The chair is mine now, whatever
you say."
"Both of you, stop." Lu Sicheng raised his eyelids to glance outside the window.
"The new uniforms are here."
Someone knocked on the door just as Lu Sicheng was speaking, he stood
up to open the door. Passing by Tong Yao on his way, he lifted the mask to
put on top of her head. Tong Yao squeaked, released her hold on the chair,
and covered her face. Her face was slightly red from being covered the whole
day. She turned to stare at Lu Yue, he replied with an evil smile.
The supplier was offering 3 different types of summer season uniforms this
year for ZGDX-- --One had the same colors, red and black, as the spring season
uniforms. The outfit was black with a bright red ZGDX logo that looked as if it had
been painted by Chinese brush. It was quite fashionable. The second one was in
a dirty yellow color which was disgusted and ignored by everyone. The third one
was a brand new color combination, blue and white. The main color was blue with
a small ZGDX logo and there were logos of various sponsors on the sleeves and
chest in thin, dark blue characters...
Tong Yao, squatting on the chair, picked up the black and red one, looked it over,
then put it down; she took the blue and white one up to check and put it down again.
Obviously, she was having difficulty choosing-- --
The delivery guy watched the girl who was squatting on the chair with a Sun Wukong
mask on her head and carefully asked, "Are you Smiling?"
Tong Yao stopped checking the new uniforms, raised her head, and was about to say,
"Yes," when Xiao Rui suddenly chipped in, "She's the lunatic who came to our base late
last night and wouldn't leave. Before you leave, please bring her with you and throw her
into the trash bin at the street corner."
Tong Yao: "..."
After pondering over and over, Tong Yao reluctantly put down the blue and white one.
"I vote for the black and red one."
Little Fatty: "I agree."
Xiao Rui: "Our logo is blue and white and our uniform is black and red, somehow that
feels kind of awkward-- --I was thinking about it during the spring season. It'd be better
if we use blue and white for the summer season. The color matches the color of the
championship cup."
Old Cat: "I also like blue and white better."
Old K: "Those colors look cooler in the summer."
Tong Yao: "Black and red won't get dirty easily."
Little Fatty: "Right, right. I feel weird for a man to wear white..."
Tong Yao: "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
The overly consistent insistence of the team's Mid and Support confused Xiao Rui. He
turned to look at the two who were holding the black and red uniform and wouldn't let go.
"What's wrong with you two?"
Tong Yao and Little Fatty looked at each other, while Lu Sicheng suddenly said,
"Because white makes you look fatter."
Tong Yao: "..."
Little Fatty: "..."
In the end, they decided on the blue and white one because one of the persons who
thought she was fat could go on a diet and the other who was fat beyond help would
look fat no matter what color he was wearing.
After they decided on the summer uniform, Tong Yao pulled her mask back on her face.
And she was willing to drag her chair wherever she went, even into the bathroom.
That night, when everyone sat down for dinner, Lu Sicheng couldn't stop himself from
asking the girl who was sitting on her own chair, "When do you plan to stop your craziness?"
Tong Yao, who had pushed the mask up a little bit so she could eat, stopped eating
when she heard the question. She turned her head to ask the young man who was
sitting on the same row as her, "When are you leaving?"
"When I'm too old to hold a mouse." Lu Yue answered.
She turned her head back and glanced at her captain through the holes in the mask.
"When he's too old to hold a mouse and stops thinking of being my substitute."
Lu Sicheng: "..."
Tong Yao: "I don't want a substitute."
Lu Yue: "Wait till you can defeat Ah Tai, then say it."
The Sun Wukong sitting at the dinner table put down her chopsticks and lowered
her head.
"..." Lu Sicheng clanked his bowl, gave his brother a look, and said to him, "Don't talk
while you're eating. Get off the table if you aren't eating."